The First Day of the Rest of your LIFE!

I wish I could carry this around with me all the time and play it to myself and others at that moment when it's needed most!!  

First is the Worst of all the Game

This morning was race #2 of the year. My second 5K. I was super excited for this one though! I had a bunch of friends there running too AND it was a FREE race!! That's right, FREE! Because running was meant to be FREE!!

Here I am with a few of the Marathon Mamas!! Without these girls I really don't think I would be ready for our Marathon in 4 weeks! They have made those long runs not only do-able but ENJOYABLE!! Thanks girls! I love ya!My neighborhood girls!! A few of us have moved away from that neighborhood but I will forever be grateful that we moved there and I had the chance to meet these women. Great friends. Period.An old valley friend was there too!! Isn't this chick just GORGEOUS?!! When I run, I look like crap! She makes running look GOOD!!!I am still floored by my race this morning! I was planning on running it with a friend; it would have been her first race and she was nervous. But she hurt her knee and couldn't make it. So I really had to get my head in the game and decide what my game plan was. I don't think I had it figured out until after it started!! Annie caught up with me and basically said, LET'S DO THIS THING!! Okay. Let's do!!
Here is my little fan club! My kids made "Go Mom" signs and I literally almost cried when I ran past them!! It was an amazing feeling to have them cheering me on!!And I REALLY can't believe the results! FIRST in the woman's division! Holy Smokes!! I didn't quite beat my PR. I should have looked down at my watch!! I KNOW I could have beat it!! There was a guy who was trying to sneak up and pass me at the end but there was no way I was going to let that happen!! So I blew him out of the water!! {Oh, sorry... that's my competitive side talking. I try not to let her out very often}

I got a certificate and a loaf of super super yummy bread!! Wow. I am blown away!! Next Saturday I have my first 10K of the year. I REALLY want to beat my PR and I really think I can! Is there a stronger word for addicted?

Official Results!!

I finally remembered to check the official results for my race last Saturday. So Guess What?! I came in #10. SECOND overall female and FIRST in my age division!!! HOLY SMOKES!!!

I went and bought myself a knee strap today. I really hope it does the job but really I just hope my knee quits hurting all together; I don't like this pain business!! I've got another easy run tomorrow and then a big 14 miler on Saturday. I WILL survive, da da da di dee.... I don't remember the rest of the song!!!

Nike Women

I was exploring the Nike website, messing around with Nike+ stuff and I came across THIS page called Nike Women. I think I'm in LOVE!!!



It is so STINKIN SWEET I can't get over it!! You sign up {free of course}. You make a cute little Mini Me. You pick some workout routines and how often you want to workout. Then you simply go in and it has a series of workout video clips all organized and ready to go. You check off which ones you did. It's AWESOME!!

So now you don't have to buy a bunch of workout dvd's! You can also hook up with buddies and cheer each other on. You can join the same workout if you want. I am so excited! I love my Jillian workouts but I'm wanting variety too!!

So go check it out. Look me up. I love cool stuff like this!!

Feelin' Fine!

Today I had my first race of the year!! I have been anxious all week with my knee being tweaked and all. But I iced it and tried to stay off it so I was hoping that by the time this race came around that I'd be able to at least run it. My friend, Annie, let me borrow her knee strap and I am ever so grateful that she did!! I think it made a world of difference!

I went into this race without a time in my head {a first for me}. I just wanted to finish and I kept telling myself, "Run SMART". I seriously did NOT want to make this knee injury worse! I BLEW THE DOORS OFF!!! My first mile I ran in just under 7:00!! But my knee felt great! So I just ran! I think I was NEEDING a good run SO BAD! I shaved off an awesome 3:04 off my previous PR from September of last year! Final Time ~ 23:28!! Official places haven't been posted yet but we are pretty sure that I came in 9-10 overall and as the 3rd overall woman! I am THRILLED!!

Plus I won a pair of sweet new socks! I am far from 100%; but I am pretty psyched!! BOO YEAH!!

Be Your Own Valentine!

A big part of taking care of yourself is loving yourself. It's HUGE! If you love yourself you have more confidence. You are happier. You are more able to GIVE to others, which in turn makes you even HAPPIER. This Valentines Day I want you to think about all the reasons that you love YOURSELF!

I'll go first:*I am talented. I love music and play a number of instruments. I love to act and sing. I am fairly crafty. I love to take pictures. And I love to learn new things all the time.
*I am loved. I have a great support group of family and friends who all love me. It doesn't get better than that.
*I am strong. I workout 6 days a week and though I won't be winning any body building competitions {nor entering them} I am getting stronger every day.
*I love my little red popped blood vessel located just below my eye. I've had it as long as I can remember. My Dr. think I should have it removed. I don't think I will though. Weird, I know, but I love it!
*I love my stretch marks. They remind me of the 4 perfect babies I helped create.
*I love my blue eyes*I am a fiercely loyal friend. *I am beautiful. Not necessarily the way the world would consider beautiful but I could give a rats *^%@* what the world thinks!
*I am thrifty. I've managed to feed my little family of 6 on a pretty skimpy paycheck!
*I am smart. I love learning, reading and having intelligent conversations.

What do you love about YOURSELF?!!

Operation Beautiful

I came across this website today and I spent the last 15 minutes looking at all the photos and crying. Oh My HECK!! Go to www.operationbeautiful.com; its seriously so AWESOME!

This is an amazing idea and I am SO on board! I could imagine myself in high school, walking into the locker room and seeing a note pasted on the mirror saying that I'm beautiful inside and out; I'm pretty sure that I could have used that a time or two! Or walking up to the treadmill at the gym and seeing a note telling me that I'm strong and beautiful... I can guarantee that I would have a killer run; proving to myself that I AM strong AND beautiful!

Post-It notes has just been added to my shopping list.

What the HECK!!

Okay so I'm definitely frustrated. I have oddly been gaining weight. Not too big of a deal but I have gained more SINCE the holidays than I gained DURING the holidays. What's up with that? I am working out regularly, so I'm telling myself that it's MUSCLE from all the strength training I've been doing... don't pop my bubble, my self esteem is on the line!

I haven't had a computer for nearly a week; the darn thing just decided not to start one day. I was in a panic for fear of the THOUSANDS of pictures and important files that I thought were surely lost. Luckily I just got the darling back from the computer-fixer-man and he was able to recover it all... sigh. I will now be busy completing the back-up files I had begun earlier; though now I will be sure to finish!!! I'm so happy to have it all back!!!

We're moving AGAIN. This will be #7 in 10 years. Moving sucks! I'm looking forward to this move though. New house. 1 acre. Out in the country. Closer to my family {and still close to my husband's family}. More room. Better school. It's going to be FABULOUS!!!

Still training hard and feeling great. I am hoping to run on Saturdays {my big run day} with some friends. We went out last Saturday and it was great fun. And I scored BIG time... my friend's husband offered to watch my kids too... maybe I should build him a cake or something! Thanks D, you're so awesome! 5 miles tomorrow, it's going to be GREAT!

1 YEAR

One year ago I started the wee little blog. I just wanted to keep track of my goals and progress. My personal fitness journal. It morphed as I learned things along the way. Thank you all for visiting... for your comments... for your support. I'm excited to see what this next year will bring!! BRING IT!!!

My Story

All this 2010... New Year... Resolution... Goals... talk has got me thinking. I have thought a lot lately about being healthy and what holds people back from actually DOING what they NEED to do to get what they ultimately WANT. I've thought about my own health history and the journey I'm on.

WAY back in high school I was VERY active. I participated in basketball, track & drill team. I had always been small but I still struggled with my self esteem {as most/all teens do} and I experimented with anorexia & bulimia for a couple years.

I got married young, 2 weeks after my 19th birthday. A year later I was pregnant with my first child. 17 months after she was born, our first son joined our family. 22 months later, another son. 3 1/2 years later we had our fourth child, another son. Four kids in 6 1/2 years. I wanted that and I defy anyone to criticize me for it.

This brings us to December 2008. My baby was 3 months old and I decided that I was going to change my LIFESTYLE. I have ALWAYS hated diets, I even HATE the WORD {in my opinion it's a four letter word for FAILURE}. I didn't have a lot to change, mostly I just needed to get off my butt and be more active; even chasing 4 kids around isn't enough! That and I needed to learn some portion control with my eating {a complete 180 from my teens}. I started this blog one year ago {TOMORROW} at first as a fitness journal; over 3000 hits later I can't help but hope that in helping myself, I may be helping others too.

My husband made the choice too and it has been AWESOME. We helped keep each other focused & motivated. We did this together and now we're both enjoying all the benefits! I also got my parents, siblings & their spouses/girlfriends to run a 5K with me last June. It was the start of a fun racing year with at least one race every month during the summer and fall. That continues to be a great motivator for me.

I continue workout regularly and I LOVE it. I eat healthy {yes I indulge but I deserve it too} but I'm not fanatical about it; I am trying to feed a family of 6 on a tight budget {thank you very much crappy economy}. I think more positively; I surround myself with positive, encouraging, supportive and happy people {that makes ALL the difference}.

So that was it, I changed the way I live.

What's YOUR story?

Brand New Year

I went back home a couple days ago to help my sister clean her room and teach her a piano & violin lesson. I came prepared with my running shoes and my snow shoes! I DIDN'T come prepared with a pack & play crib for the baby {yes, I still call him "baby" even though he's 15 months old}. That was a BIG mistake!!! He slept terribly and therefore I didn't sleep AT ALL!! I didn't let that get in the way of my workout though!! I borrowed my sister's under armor and I headed out the door for a beautiful winter run.

It had snowed A LOT the day and night before and I chose a run that was out in the sticks. 5 miles out & back with only a few homes breaking up the view of fields, trees and mountains. It was gorgeous. It was AWESOME!!! It was one of those runs that bring me peace. It was the PERFECT way to end 2009.

While I was running I thought about all the things I've accomplished this year, especially concerning my health. I was pretty proud of myself! I got rid of those baby pounds {20 pounds or so}. I ran in a number of races. I eat better and sleep better. My self esteem is higher & my energy level is higher. I look better but most importantly I FEEL better! I have succeeded in accomplishing some of my goals and it's only looking better from here!!

I am not a HUGE fan of New Year Resolutions. I feel like people all too often set goals too high and set themselves up for failure. I'm more for setting smaller goals more often. However, I am going to set a few goals for a more healthy self, and hopefully I don't become one of "those" people!

*Run a marathon {I have my eyes set on two, hopefully we can find babysitters}
*Keep my weight in my healthy range
*Surround myself with positive and kind people
*Cut out soda {though I will allow for RARE indulgence}
*Go to bed early and wake up early

Thank you for your support and encouragement. I hope that you too are finding success and that you're making the choices TODAY to live a HEALTHY life! Bring on another year!!!!

Breakfast of Champions

We ♥LOVE♥ breakfast! It's the most important meal of the day, didn't you know?! A few of our favorite breakfasts are breakfast burritos, crepes, oatmeal, 720's {a breakfast roll we've thought up and perfected}, quiche... okay so we love everything breakfast! We really believe its importance though. We want to be sure our kids have a lot of energy and brain power for school and we want the same for ourselves. So we are sure that EVERY morning we eat a good breakfast... you should too!

I found this awesome article HERE. It mentions a few studies to back up breakfast! One has found that if you skip breakfast you are 4.5 times MORE likely to be obese than those who eat breakfast daily. Now, this article is geared more towards cereals. If you listen carefully to those commercials they always say, "PART of a complete breakfast". So in my HUMBLE opinion, you better be eating something else too. Say, a bowl of fruit & yogurt or some scrambled eggs... whatever you prefer but a bowl of cereal just isn't going to cut it.

Still not convinced? Try these articles on for size. THIS one is about breakfast & the connection with weight loss. THIS one talks about the many benefits of eating breakfast. I could go ON and ON. There are countless articles on how important this is.

So here's to eating better! Start your day out right!! Eat a good breakfast!

Spoiled ROTTEN

Christmas was great. We played our hearts out and had a blast the entire weekend!! I am not one to boast about loot from Christmas but I just HAD to share what I got... cause it's what I'm going to be DOING!!! I must have been a really good girl this year because I was spoiled ROTTEN!!

Santa left some GU in my stocking! Ah Yeah!!!He also brought me Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 for my Wii. I am SO ready for her to kick my butt!
My man got me the Wii Fit Plus!! I am so excited; I hear this one is WAY better than the original Wii Fit.And I SCORED BIG time with these Yukon Charlie's snow shoes!!! They were intended for my sister but she already has a pair so she graciously sent them home with ME!!! I seriously CAN NOT wait to try these babies out!
A HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to Stonewall, S. Jay See {my sis} and my parents!! I've got the tools and there are NO EXCUSES!! I ♥ you guys!!! Thanks again!!!

I also got a hot new hairdo!! Oh how bad I needed a pro color job!!! It looks so GOOD!!! Thanks goes to my MIL for letting us use her kitchen, My SIL for hooking me up with her sister, K for doing such an amazing job and to Stonewall for forking out the dough! Man I feel good!

Merry Christmas!

I really can't believe that Christmas is just a couple days away! We are so excited to spend time with family and enjoy the snow {we're praying for more to fall}. We have the whole week packed with Christmas Concerts & family gatherings! We'll be heading up to my hometown {the most beautiful place on earth} tomorrow and I can't wait!!! I'm going to make sure and get in at least one good run and maybe some snowshoeing! There will be PLENTY of delicious food, EXCESSIVE laughter and a million memories to show for it!

Two things before I take off.

#1. I think that Christmas is entirely too commercialized and has completely gone away from the TRUE meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. Everyone is so hypersensitive about being PC with the whole holiday. And I think that it's sad.

#2. It IS possible to get through this holiday season without being glutenous! Yes there will be more goodies than you can imagine BUT just remember "All Thing in Moderation"!! Yes it's okay to indulge every now and then but try not to over do it. And then be sure to get off your butt and do something PHYSICAL!! Being surrounded by family is a great opportunity to be active with great company; you'll LOVE it!

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

The Countdown Begins

So my Sister-In-Law did it. She convinced me to run a marathon. GASP! I've had my reasons for putting it off. And despite the fact that the requirements I've given myself haven't all been met, I'm going to go for it anyway. This is going to be my "MARATHON Year!" Stonewall and I are going to run one together before he leaves too. It will help him be tip top shape before heading in to Basic.

SO... I am starting Jeff Galloway's Marathon Training Schedule TODAY!! On the rest days I will be doing a variety of strength training workouts... pulling from P90X, Wii Fit, Jillian Michaels workout DVD's and the like. I like to mix things up, keep my body {and mind} guessing!

I have already identified my BIGGEST HURDLE: the darn treadmill! I hate the thing. I hate that I'm not outside. I hate that the speed isn't the same as running outside. I hate that time & distance seem to EEK by. I hate how it's so noisy {I don't like to listen to ANYTHING while I run, well except for my feet hitting the street & other outdoor noises!}. UGH! There is more BUT I have GOT to change my attitude.

I picked myself up a couple books on tape: Hitler Youth {I am a WWII geek} and my M-I-L brought over The Time of My Life by Patrick Swayze and Lisa Nieme. I am REALLY hoping that they keep me occupied enough that I forget I'm on the treadmill or at least make it bearable.

Got any pointers for my first marathon?

My First AWARD!

So Tiffany {over at Skinny Jeans} has bestowed upon me my very fist blogging award! WOAH! Didn't see THAT coming! How COOL is that?! Thank you Tiffany; I am elated!! Check it out:So as part of the "deal" of getting this prestigious award I have a few things to take care of:

-Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass the award on to five most deserving blogger.

-Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author and the name of the blog from whom s/he has received the award.

-Each Superior Scribbler must display the award on his/her blog, and link to The Scholastic Scribe, which explains the award.

-Each blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr Linky List. That way, they'll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives this prestigious honour. http://scholastic-scribe.blogspot.com/2008/10/200-this-blings-for-you.html

-Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

So. . . the only left to do is name MY 5 choices. . . and they are {drum roll please} . . .

1 Healthy Ashley - keeps me motivated to eat healthy and KEEP RUNNING
2 Apron Girls - a group of domestic goddesses who are uber talented
3 Summertime Designs - some of the cutest digi scrapbook stuff out there
4 Seriously So Blessed - sarcasm and hilarity abound
5 Get Off Your Butt and Bake - Martha Stewart, watch out!

I C-A-N

There are those who have already seen this video of Dick & Rick Hoyt. Every now and then I have to come back and watch this; it makes me cry every time! What a story of love and determination. I am so impressed by this father. I am so happy for this son. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

I also just found a book written about them. I will be looking for this as I'm sure it's amazing!

Body Fat Percentage

It's been ages since I calculated my body fat percentage. I started P90X this week so as part of the BEFORE stage I figured out what mine was. I also found some great information on the subject from HERE.

Your body fat percentage is simply what portion of your body is made up of fat. A certain amount of fat is NECESSARY!! It helps with body function, insulates & cushions organs and tissues. And it's the body's main storage of energy. It's IMPORTANT to know what your body fat percentage is so you know a REALISTIC weight loss/gain.

AGE (Years)	HEALTHY RANGE OF BODY FAT FOR FEMALES	HEALTHY RANGE OF BODY FAT FOR MALES
18 - 39	21 - 33%	8 - 20%
40 - 59	23 - 34%	11 - 22%
60 - 79	24 - 36%	13 - 25%

Have you taken the time to determine your body fat percentage? I found a cool little website that makes it easy cheesy!! All you need to do is measure your waist, figure your height & weight. Click on Male or Female & enter you age & you're set! Go HERE and check yours today!

Vacation Run

I love to run while I'm on vacation. It all started about 4-5 years ago. I was battling postpartum depression; I had three children ages 3, 2 and 4 months. We had traveled to the Washington coast for the wedding of a very dear friend. Our hotel was ON THE BEACH!!! It was FABULOUS!! Anyway, I went walking alone out on the beach early in the morning and it was that moment that I once again felt peace and an inkling of happiness! Whenever I go anywhere near the ocean I HAVE to duplicate that morning.We have been planning a trip to Disneyland and San Diego {gasp! I HATE crowds}. One of my FIRST thoughts is, "where am I going to RUN?" I have had more fun planning this run than much of the rest of this trip! I've been scoping out beaches and parks near our accommodations and there seems to be a lot of options!! We will have Gramma & Grampa with us & they have offered to stay with the 4 monkeys so my husband and I can go run TOGETHER; a rarity but something we both LOVE to do!!! I am SO EXCITED!!!Do you know of any good running spots in San Diego? We'll be there for 3 nights; we'd LOVE to run a different place every day!

2000!!!

Wow!! TWO THOUSAND visitors!! I am pretty excited about that. I have had people find me through search engines; looking for specific workouts and dieting tips mostly. Others are my AWESOME family members and DEAR friends who are always SUPPORTING me!! How did YOU find me? I hope that you'll come back! Let me know what you want to see more of!!! Spread the word; help others get off THEIR butts & get FIT!!!