Newest skirt

Here's a really blurry picture of the newest SkirtSports skirt I added to my collection! It's the Tought Girl that Mike got me for Christmas. Isn't it adorable! This is after Tuesday's evening run and Wii Active workout.I gave blood on Wednesday and am SO happy to report that my blood pressure was normal! It was, in fact, outstanding! From looking at my previous donation records, my blood pressure in 2006 was:
160/80.
My doctor back then didn't want to put me on medication but was thinking about it. My blood pressure yesterday was:
112/70!
WOW!

But there is one bad thing about giving blood. For some reason, I thought the rule was wait 4 hours before heavy lifting or exercise. But it's 12 hours. (You have to leave the bandage on for 4 hours.) So no yoga on Thursday night. Boo!

Boo-Boo Kids Quilt (and more)

Another top done! Here is my Boo-Boo Kids Quilt for the Project Linus Make-A-Blanket-Day event! Every year, we are given a theme fabric (this year it's the darker yellow with orange stars) and a theme (this year-Wish Upon a Star). Earth's sun is the largest star (indeed, the largest object) in our Solar System. So my quilt's title is "Dream Big". Now I have 8 days to get it quilted and bound before I have to drop it off for the competition!

And I almost forgot to post these two pictures! These are the two Linus blankets that Mike picked out the fabric and did the fringe on!
And here are the NICU Linus blankets I made with the Serger my friend loaned me! I will certainly be looking for one of those at garage sales this summer, it worked like a dream!

January mileage

Total miles for January: 5.75

But that was from only the last week because January 24 was my first day back from that sprained ankle.

So far my runs have looked like this:
January 24-run .5, walk .25, run .5, walk .25, run .5, walk .25
January 26-run .5, walk .25, run .75, walk .25, run .5, walk .25
January 29-run .5, walk .25, run .5, walk .25, run .5, walk .25

February 1-run 1, walk .25, run .5, walk .25, run .5, walk .25

When my ankle was still bugging me, I tried deep water aerobics (supposedly the more rigorous of the two workouts they offer). My assessment:not a great workout. It was less of a workout than swimming laps, I certainly didn't get winded or break a sweat. I thought the stereotype was going to be false but it actually is for old ladies. So I didn't go back.

Talkin' about Weight on Wednesday

Start Weight: 215
Current Weight: 176
% lost overall: 18.13%
Sunday was my first run since my failed test run on January 3. I did 3 half-mile stretches with quarter-mile walks in between to assess how my ankle was doing. And it did GREAT! I am heeled! And Tuesday's run was just as great! I am so proud of myself for giving it a full 3 weeks off. I am not even disappointed that I probably could not run 3 straight miles right now. While I was laid up, I spent some time reading John "The Penguin" Bingham's archives and found a really helpful passage in his Running Tips series where he is talking about Chutes and Ladders:

"But, then you hit one of the Chutes. Your mileage cuts back. You miss a workout or two and have to start a few days back. Just remember that the cycle of success is normal. Going backwards is just as important as going forward."

I also reflected upon PastaQueen's post about loose skin. She raises the same issues that I have with the possibility of plastic surgery. (This is all assuming that I win the lottery or get famous like Kate of John and Kate Plus 8 and someone offers to give me a free tummy tuck.) Months of not being able to exercise? Seems like it would be a HUGE setback that directly counteracts the reason you GOT the procedure done! Yes, it's only a few months and as I was just saying earlier that you move back a few steps and start all over again. But for vanity, would I really give up the strength I have now and have to start all over? Just like PastaQueen, I'm not sure. My arms? That's a different story! If someone wanted to give me an arm lift for free, I would take it today! To be able to wear a bathing suit, sleeveless dress or tank top without worrying about my arms, that would be a dream come true!

I used the TrueStretch apparatus at the gym for the first time! It is really quite awesome. I was all alone in the stretching room and decided to give it a go after my run as my back was kind of hinky from the night before. It was delightful and has really nice graphics on the back that tell you exactly where to grab to stretch the muscles you want.

None for me, thanks.

I am very adventurous, I'm always up for something new! So I'll give anything a try. But there are some things I have tried in the past couple of years, things that other people RAVE about, that I just didn't like. I read a slew of healthy food/fitness blogs and that's where most of my new ideas for food come from.
#1 Greek Yogurt- I'm sorry, I have tried to like it. But it makes me choke. It's SO thick and even pasty at times. I like my yogurt nice and smooth, almost pourable. Dannon Light and Fit for me, all the way! The Fit Bottomed Girls wax rhapsodic about it regularly and KERF eats the stuff constantly, but I am not a fan. Nearly all the comments on this Cranky Fitness post about yogurt were how much everyone loves the stuff!
#2 Green smoothies-The darling of the fit/running world. I tried it. I tried it a couple of times. It's ok, but not something I would seek out to drink every morning. Certainly not something I would create a website about. I love Oh She Glows, but I do not love green monsters.

#3 Nutritional yeast flakes- Nope, sorry VeganDad, these do NOT taste like cheese. Nor does a concoction of cashews, nutritional yeast, pimentos and a whole bunch of other stuff that's NOT cheese. I have tried sprinkling these on a wide array of things and I'm just NOT into them, even though I could really use the iron and b-vitamins. It is nasty on a baked potato, nasty on popcorn, nasty on vegetables, nasty on bread. Nasty with a fox, nasty in a box.

#4 Powdered peanut butter (aka defatted peanut flour)-iateapie seemed to like it. (But then, she also rated Kashi Go Lean Crunch 5 out of 5 and I think that stuff tastes like dirt and chaff.) So I ordered a sampler. Ew. Yes, it's lower in calories and fat than peanut butter from a jar. But ew, it TASTES like it!

I'm not mentioning these things to knock the people who love them. They are healthy things, things to be proud of liking. But if you, like me, DON'T like them, do not be ashamed! There is no shame in hating Greek yogurt!

Pampered Pooches Quilt

I hadn't posted an updated picture of my Pampered Pooches quilt (the very first quilt I'm making to keep for myself!) so here it is with all the borders, the top is done!Look who else is making one too! Swooze! I haven't worked on mine since October (you know, before all the Christmas projects took over) so she has revitalized my interest in it! I need to choose a backing fabric for it.

Some fitness giveaways

Do you like to win things? I entered a couple of fitness giveaways and thought I'd let you know about them too!

Biggest Loser prize pack at Wisconsin Mommy

New Balance shoes at MizFit

Denise's Daily Dozen book at Growing a Baby in Seattle

And also at MommyPR

52 to Fabulous

I have been getting the 52 to Fabulous emails this year and so far they are great suggestions if you are just starting to evaluate your life and goals but mainly they are questions I have already asked myself. This week's task is to make a Vision Board. I made one of these last year for my 2009 goals so I thought I'd show you.The words may be hard to read, you can see it better if you click the picture to enlarge it. My goals were: Get up earlier, Walk the dog once a day, Remember birthdays, Exercise, Re-caulk the bathrooms, Read more books, Bake for librarians/police/fire department, Brush my teeth every day, Enjoy a vacation away (which is hard for me, I love to be at home), Plant more flowers and veggies that I eat, Make 2 quilts and Do a Christmas letter. I also added a quote that I like:

Lost, between sunrise and sunset,
One glden hour, set with sixty diamond minutes.
No reward is offered, for it is gone forever.

I achieved most of these goals, but as you can see ("exercise") some of them were nebulous and not really well-defined. This year I think my goals are more pin-point and attainable, yet still challenging. And this year's quote is:

Count that day lost whose low, descending sun
views from thy hand no worthy action done.

Mid-January goal update

It's time for a mid-month check-up of my 2010 goals.

1. Complete the St. Jude’s relay and donate at least $300.

I have $175 already from ebay auctions and misc. projects!

2. Keep track of all miles I run in 2010.

So far, only 1 mile! I am on the mend though, my ankle went through Zumba class last night and isn't hurting at all today so Saturday is the day I give it another trial mile and see how it goes!

3. Donate 10 quilts/blankets to Project Linus.

I have 4 NICU blankets cut out. My Boo-Boo Kids challenge quilt will be 5 and Mike has graciously said I could count his two fringed fleece blankets in my total since I cut the fringe for him. So that's 7 already!

4. Pay off our credit card.

Mike and I (mainly Mike)have devised a plan involving our tax return!

5. Earn the Silver Award in the President’s challenge.

I am 52% of the way there. But at the beginning of the year I was at around 50% so it's slow going. 45,000 points is a lot of physical fitness!

6. Enter 10 or more items in the county fair.

Today I am ordering the thread for my doily. No one seems to have a great color selection around here so I had to go online.

7. Try something new like tap dancing, water aerobics or herding.

I have been investigating either adult beginner ballet or gynmastics. So far, gymnastics is a bust, no one offers adult beginner classes! What about my dream of doing a cartwheel?? Ballet has more options, 4 studios offer adult classes for absolute beginners but they are quite pricey and three of them are at least a 3 month commitment. The shorter, 2-month session is at a fairly strict studio where I'd have to observe a dress code, wear a bun and, frankly, it scares me a little!

8. Grow only things I eat in the garden and eat what I grow.

Too early but I plan on not planting as many kale seeds this year!

9. Visit family more often and remember to send birthday cards.

Eep, need to get on this!

10. Add I deep cleaning task each week to my cleaning schedule.

This weekend, me & the vacuum shall dance!

Quilt block completion!

This is a sampling of my blocks for the Holly Jolly Block Swap. 12 nine-patches and 12 theme blocks done! Once I laid them out this way, I kind of fell in love with just the presents! But I know I'll be getting some other fun blocks from everyone else so I am only a little sad to be sending them away. I know Aunt Pitty Pat will take good care of them!

A friend at work loaned me this monstrosity.I'm only calling it names because I tried to thread it this morning! I have not used a serger since high school so it will hopefully be like riding a bicycle! I am using it to make NICU blankies for Project Linus, which are fleece but must have a serged edge. Wish me luck!