Happy Birthday to Us!

Celebrating Birthdays Together Since 1978!

With our birthdays just a day apart, we've always shared birthday celebrations over the years, and, surprisingly, neither of us seemed to mind it. Then I moved to Florida for 10 years, and we had to take a hiatus from our joint birthday festivities due to our geographical separation...

Then in 2012... together again at last! Hooray!

Angie and her family came up for the whole weekend, along with our friend Rich, and we jam-packed the entire weekend with activity.

On Saturday morning we were all up early and layered and ready for the Shamrock Shuffle, a 5k/10k local race here, and for the first time, everyone participated. Yes, the boys, too, and even Adam! Angie, Michael, Michael's buddies Rich, Dave and I ran the 10k course while Josh took the boys on the 5k course. Rich generously offered to push Adam for us, since he's the more experienced runner, so Adam has unofficially raced his first 10k! And beat Mom and Dad! He was a trooper in the cold and fell asleep around mile 5. The 10k course was a bit hilly, but overall we had a great race with perfect temperatures. I love running with my sisters (and girlfriends, too)!

Notice all the Kentucky blue? Much of the weekend was also centered around UK Basketball. March Madness!! We spent Saturday's game at Buffalo Wild Wing's, splurging after our big calorie burn that morning. (Well deserved, I'll add.) And when we weren't watching basketball, we were napping, bowling, eating or further celebrating our birthdays.

We've decided this will be an annual tradition now that we're close again!

Thanks, everyone for coming up to Ohio for the weekend!

Biggest Loser: Week 7

Here it is only 36 hours until this week's weigh-in and I am just now recapping last week. My delay in blogging may be an indicator that my initial enthusiasm has diminished. I have to confess, hitting the 10 lb mark has made me relax my eagerness to lose more.

Let's see if I can remember last week. The week started off well with a 4-mile run, but by Wednesday I was starting to feel run-down and a head cold was rearing its ugly head. I skipped the gym on Thursday morning to rest and recover and took it easy through the weekend. I'm not sure if I was eating less or what the reason, but somehow I managed to lose 2.5 lbs. I know, I can't figure it out either! I even weighed myself while fully dressed, and then weighed myself a second time a couple hours later, and it was exactly the same. I actually wanted it to be higher because I knew I hadn't worked for that loss and, more importantly, birthday weekend was on the horizon! And I plan on eating! (And while I firmly believe that calories don't count on your birthday {weekend}, no one has yet to tell my scale this. {Sigh}

So, heading into this week after a lazy last week.... not productive, at least to start. (A friend caught me texting on the leg press machine, so, yeah, not productive.) BUT, we had a couple gorgeous afternoons and I actually wanted to get outside and run. On Tuesday we had Family Run Night, loaded Adam up in the stroller, and decided to check out part of our 10k race course for this weekend. We ended up doing a full 5 miles! (Hills are not my friend, but running downhill is awesome!) It felt good overall. Then Wednesday it was gorgeous again, so we took Adam to the park and I did another 2 mile run outside again. Tomorrow is our 10k race, and I'm feeling a little better about the distance and the hills. And then, because I ran 6 miles, I"ll tell myself that I deserve to eat anything I want. Plus, it's birthday weekend, and calories don't count!!

Now, could someone please inform my bathroom scale.

Biggest Loser: Week 6

Another week down, and frankly, I'm getting used to this better (smaller) eating and exercising thing. Better yet, I've gotten a few comments from others who have noticed my hard work paying off. Dare I say I'm almost ready for bare-midriff bathing suit season?? It feels good.

Last week was a week of mileage. I logged about 15 miles running on the treadmill, my longest distance in one week in a very long time. I'm gearing up for a 10K with my sister next weekend, and even though I've covered the distance on the treadmill, I know it's not going to be anything like running outside on the pavement in the cold and hills. I'm dreading it a little. I've grown quite fond of my runs in the gym's Cardio Cinema, a dark room with cardio machines and a big screen movie. (In case you were wondering, 6 miles at my pace watching Top Gun is from opening credits to when Goose dies. Plus, midway through when you need a pick-me-up, you get the beach volleyball scene!)

By Sunday I had moved back in the right direction after my gain last week, putting me back to where I was 2 weeks ago at my 10-lb loss mark and making me the biggest loser overall for another week. Yippee!  Kudos to Michael for being the biggest loser guy. (You know, babe, we make a great team!)

We have a month to go, and while I'd still love to get down to my wedding weight (in the 120s...ooooh), I'd be happy maintaining and keeping up this workout schedule. Getting up at 5:30 is getting easier and easier, if you can believe that!

Bargain Hunters Unite!

It's our constant quest to find all the local attractions to share with our out-of-town visitors (if they ever should come). First we brought you Jungle Jim's, and now, for those bargain shoppers at heart, I bring you Valley Thrift Store in Evendale, Ohio.

I was introduced to this gem by my friend and fellow crafter Laura, who frequents this place for materials to repurpose to sew. I mentioned that I'd always wanted to make pillows out of old sweaters and she was quick to direct me to just the place for materials.

After spending some time in the racks, I walked away with 3 old sweaters for pillows and a pair of jeans which I intended to remake into capri jeans. My total: $12.74. Of course, once I got home I realized I actually really liked the Gap sweater, and the jeans fit me too well to cut up. So..... I probably shouldn't admit to this, but I ended up with a new-to-me ensemble for $2.98 + tax.

And, once I get tired of the sweater I can turn it into a pillow. :)  Here's one of the pillows I did manage to make. (Well, Laura actually made it for me. I added the button.) Someday I'll get around to making the other pillow.

OR...

I just read a blog post about how to make a toddler sweater dress from a ladies sweater. Hmmm, maybe that other sweater will become a new frock for my niece Lilly or for one of the upcoming baby girl baby showers I have.  Hmmmm....



{Laura, I know you're reading this... you game? May require another Valley Thrift/JoAnn's/Craft Night Extravaganza soon. (Hubs is out of town next month, hint hint!)}



Disclaimer: If you're going to go to Valley Thrift, don't get your expectations too high when you see the parking lot is packed and the place is hopping. It is a thrift store after all, with aisles that are narrow and jammed and a general look of disorganization and damaged items. But if you're willing to put in the effort, you may come out with some real winners.

Happy Birthday, Papa!

And a little extra...

2 years

Biggest Loser: Week 5

I took this week off. Intentionally.

I celebrated last week's victory and indulged myself. I started on Sunday with pizza to celebrate the launch of my brother-in-law's TurningPoint Church. It eased into Monday with some Skyline coneys. I still hit the gym 3 times but by Friday we were celebrating Michael's birthday with a 3-course meal. I skipped my usual Saturday long run and instead discovered Jenny's "Frisch's-style" cheeseburger pizza. (Where has this been all my life??)

Ahhh, it was enjoyable.

Until Sunday afternoon when I stepped on the scale and all my hard week for the prior week was gone. Wow, do those little pounds creep back on quickly! So, yes, I had a gain this week... which means I get to hit my 10-lb goal again and celebrate all over again!!! (just kidding)

Last week I got away from logging all my calories. That helps a lot, so you Losers out there keep on using your apps to count your food intake. I also was less motivated to work out.

This week I need to get back on the wagon and join my fellow Losers in their awesome progress! Congrats to Angie for being the overall winner last week (another win for the girls!) with a 4 lb. loss. Nice! Josh M. was the biggest guy loser.

I'm back to counting my calories and I'm back at the gym. Already today I ran 5.5 miles. On a treadmill. Before work. I must admit, when I see my treadmill telling me I burned over 600 calories, there's still a part of me that wants to go eat McDonald's at lunch because I earned it, but I'm not going to blow my hard work just yet. We're only halfway through the challenge!

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And in case you were wondering...

Frisch's Cheeseburger Pizza

1 Boboli pizza crust
1 lb ground beef
1/2 jar Frisch's tartar sauce
lettuce
dill pickles
cheese

Precook the pizza crust for 10 minutes. Brown the beef in a pan and pour off the grease. Combine the beef with the tartar sauce and spread on pizza crust. Top with dill pickles, lettuce and cheese. Bake until cheese is melted. Mmmmmmmm, yummy appetizer!

Florida.. for Kids!

Mommy posted about our trip to Florida last month and told you all about her super friends and the good time they shared catching up.  Helloooo....  what about my adventures?? I got to experience all kinds of awesome things and see my fun friends, too!

The trip started at one of my favorite places -- the airport. Usually I love watching the planes come in and out but since we flew out of a really small airport at night, there weren't any planes to watch until ours came in to unload. Then I got to watch the plane and luggage cart with my new buddy Dylan, who was also 2. We loved chasing each other and looking out the window. Empty airports are so FUN -- they have lots of room to roam around and explore:

I took a great nap on the airplane but woke up when we arrived. Gramma and Grampa picked us up in "Papa's Truck", another one of my favorite things! I loooooovvvee Papa's Truck; I can see everything! I am still always asking Mommy and Daddy when we're going to see Papa's Truck again.

We arrived to Gramma and Grampa's house and it looked vaguely familiar. I think I'd been there before. It was really late at night but I kept wandering around the house, and when I found a new wooden toy with balls and a hammer, I was ready to play again. (Gramma is always up for it!)

On Friday Aunt Christie came over and we finally got to meet Stella. She's pretty. Pretty Stella. Looks just like her mommy!

And then later all Mommy and Daddy's friends came over to see us, and I got to play with Brennan, Noah, Gracie, Gabby, Gwen, and Clara. Mommy still can't believe she didn't take any pictures!

On Saturday we had another day of fun! Ryan and Noah came over for some swimming and playing, but I think the most fun we had was in Gramma's laundry room with the sliding door.

That night Mommy, Daddy and I went to see my buddy Wylie, Ms. Amy and Mr. Brian and to meet baby Ella. Wylie and I used to play every week at the park. We played in his sand box and with enormous bubble wands and chased either other in the cars while the grown-ups visited. He's so fun. Again, Mommy didn't take a picture but here we are together last summer:

The next day was our last day, and Daddy took me swimming. It took me a little while to get used to the water again but in no time I was kicking and jumping and swimming.

Before long it was time to go back home... but you know what that means... another airport!

And another favorite thing... escalators!

When can we go on another trip so I can play at the airport again???

And one more thing - Happy Birthday, Daddy!!
(my most favorite thing!)