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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Today

Today, Boots went to the vet to get her free exam to check her out.  Everything is good.  She weighs 7.69 pounds.  She got a vaccine and a feline leukemia test.  Stool sample was taken in.  Also, medication for worms, just to be sure there is none in her system since she did come from a shelter.  A phone call back from the vet's office letting me know both the stool sample and the feline leukemia tests came back negative.  Now she's curled up into a kitty ball on the red futon chair.  Sean and I refer to it as her chair.

Last night I went running.  Run, run, run.  Blah, blah, blah.

I've been unmotivated lately.  With the bi-monthly weigh in coming up on Thursday, maybe that will reinforce my motivation.  Or maybe it will tell me I had too many Sweet Martha's Cookies at the State Fair.  Obviously, I'm hoping there is weight loss.  I'm thinking so because my pants have been feeling looser lately, which excites me.  But, I don't want to get ahead of myself and say that I'm going to lose a bunch of weight when I enjoyed the food at the Fair and didn't worry about the calories.

I'll get back to you on Thursday about that.   

Saturday, August 27, 2011

World, meet Boots

Sean and I have a kitty.  Meet Boots.  I like to call her Bootsy.  She follows me around like a puppy.  She uses Sean's stomach as a trampoline to jump somewhere else.  She purrs when she gets picked up.  She is a fan of lap time. 


She's sleeping on her chair right now.  This afternoon was the most she's slept in the past 24 hours since we've had her.  She looks very tired in the picture. 

At first, she seemed terrified, but slowly she crept out of the bathroom and into the two bedrooms.  Then, she would make her way to the end of the hallway, creeping closer to the kitchen and living room.  Once she got to the living room, there was no stopping her.  Now she occasionally runs around and watches kitty TV, a.k.a. sits and looks out the window. 

She's wonderful. 

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Award winning cake

  

The Great Minnesota Get Together started today.  And guess what?  My chocolate cake placed third in the chocolate cake lot.  Yay!  It's the chocolate cake with white frosting with a white ribbon hanging under it near my arm/shoulder.



Now, I'm exhausted from walking around the fair all day.  Oh, and I should also mention, I went for a run this morning before the fair.  Maybe that counteracted some of the calories?  Probably not.  But, Sean and I think we ate less than last year, which is probably a good thing.

Good night world.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Week 4 started

Week 4 of 5K training has begun.  It breaks down like this:
  • brisk 5 minute warm-up walk
  • 3 minute run
  • 90 second walk
  • 5 minute run (!!)
  • 2 and a half minute walk
  • 3 minute run
  • 90 second walk
  • 5 minute run
  • 5 minute cool-down
It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but then again, I didn't run as much as I should have.

Note to self -- don't go running when you have to go to the bathroom don't know you have to go to the bathroom but realize it halfway into the workout.  It's not fun. 

I really...

...wish my parents or sister-in-law would blog more often.  Just saying.  'Tis a lonely world in the Lingen blogosphere. 

In other news, the Lingen family rebellion reunion is scheduled for September 10 in Sleepy Eye.  I should think of something tasty to cook/bake for the event.

There's a cupcake recipe I've been wishing for a reason to bake.  Maybe the family gathering would be a perfect oppurtunity. 

Maybe...

Sunday, August 21, 2011

C25K Week 3 is in the books

I'm done with week 3 of 5K training. 

My last run was on Wednesday and that night my right knee was hurting a little.  Because of that, I pushed Friday's run to Saturday.  Then on Saturday, I got busy baking my creative activities - baked products entries for the State Fair.  I made dark chocolate cake with toasted marshmallow frosting, spice cake with white chocolate frosting, salted nut roll bars, and banana bread. 

Now, I have to go and shower so Sean and I can drop the entries before 11 this morning.

How was your weekend?

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

It's a small personal item belt, not a fanny pack (you know who you are...)

A couple weeks ago I ordered a Spibelt.  It's a small person item belt and not a fanny pack like my mother and Sean were saying last weekend

I love it!  When I go out for a jog/walk, I usually do not wear exercise pants that have pockets.  Actually, when I think about it, none of my exercise apparell has a pocket large enough to fit anything.  (With the exception being capri legging that have a pocket large enough to put keys in a pocket right above the butt, but those I wear when it's cooler out because they get so hot.)  I read about the Spibelt on another blog and after a little research, I placed my order. 

It fits everything I need perfectly and it is also useful for storing things when I don't want to lug around my purse a.k.a. Brown County Fair and State Fair.

You may call it a fanny pack, I call it convenient. 

Monday, August 15, 2011

Run

I ran all of tonight's run, and then some.  Life is good.  If I'm feeling it, I may even run tomorrow. 

Weigh day

I'm weighing myself only on the 1st and 15th of every month.  Since today is the 15th, today is weigh day.  I was really excited for it because my pants have been feeling looser.

The results are in:  I'm down 8.5 pounds.  And I'm really happy about it.

Total lifestyle change weight loss: 11 pounds

Have a good day!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

The weekend and life in general

This weekend Sean and I went to visit my parents in Sleepy Eye.  My parents had gotten a quarter beef and offered to give us some, so of course we took them up on the offer.  By the way, we had steaks tonight and they were delicious.

I was supposed to start week 3 of the Couch to 5K program, but with going to Sleepy Eye on Friday, that did not happen.  Instead, my dad, Sean, and I went to the Brown County Fair.  My dad saw a few people he knew (six to be exact, Sean and I were counting) and I spotted Ed and Mary from Solar Drive-In in Springfield.  It was nice to catch up with them.

Saturday morning I got up and went for a run.  Surprisingly, the transition wasn't so horrible.  Yes, there was a point where I my lungs were screaming at me telling me to stop.  Yes, I did walk about 20 feet in the middle of the 3-minute runs.  But yet, I still felt good about it.  I'm making progress!

Sean and I also went for a bike ride around Sleepy Eye Lake, total of 4.5 miles with biking to the lake and around Kiefer Park.  'Twas enjoyable. 

Overall, it was a very nice weekend.  Now, on to a little relaxing before I go to sleep.  What did you do this weekend?

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

C25K: W2D4

Today was the first day I was genuinely excited about a run.  That is the first time that has ever happened.  I feel great about that excitement alone.

And I'm even happier about the run.  I ran it all and I felt great.  My favorite time to workout it about 8 o'clock because a) I don't have to get up 45 minutes earlier b) it's generally cool and nice out and c) there's more people around and about so it's not so eerily quiet.

Now, it's time to bring a fan back to Target that Sean and I bought earlier this evening.  The fan already broke.  A blade totally broke off and made a scary, loud sound as the other two medal blades were chopping at the broken one.  Then, an allergy pill and I'm off to sleep.  

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Need protein?

I've become very conscious of the calories I'm ingesting with the Lose It app.  I've also been checking the nutrients I'm taking in and watching the percentages of carbohydrates, fat, and protein daily. 

According to About.com:

"The USDA suggests that 50% of your calories come from carbohydrates, about 30-35% from fat, and about 15-20% from protein. For a 2000 calorie per day diet, that equals 250 grams carbohydrates, 67 grams fat and 75 grams protein per day."

Over the course of the last seven day, my protein has been all over the map, as you can see below.

 Eeeek!  Only 10% protein yesterday and an even worse 4.5% August 5.  I really need to work on that.  I'm trying, but I think I need to try more. 

I think in addition to upping my protein I should also up my fiber.  The FDA recommends people get 14 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories consumed.  Roughly 25 grams of fiber for women, 38 grams of fiber for men.  In the last week I've highest amount of fiber consumed was 21.7 grams.  That was on August 7, and looking back in my food log, I thought I ate really crappy things that day.  Apparently, nutrient-wise it wasn't horrible. 

Katie agreed I should up my protein more especially since 5K training because my body needs more protein for my muscles.  If you have any good protein increasing tips, feel free to let me know!

Oh and P.S. If you listen to Pandora, you should probably make a Spice Girls station because you won't be disappointed.  If you love any late '90s pop music (like I do) it will become your newest obsession.  Trust me on this one.

Monday, August 8, 2011

C25K: W2D3

Tonight's run went a lot better than Saturday.  A lot better. 

I really did not want to go and run tonight.  I knew it was going to be nice out today so I wanted to sleep in this morning.  I'm glad Sean made me get out there and run tonight though.  Thanks boyfriend.

Although the run went nicely, it started out a little rocky.  The first couple runs were slow going and I was pretty winded.  But, then I seemed to get my second wind or something.  To make up for the slacking on the first two runs I ran a few blocks more at the end of it when I was supposed to be walking the cool down. 

I'm happy about my progress so far.  I really feel like I'm getting better at this and maybe, just maybe, it's getting slightly easier.  On Wednesday, I'm going to do another week 2 workout.  I haven't felt like I've really nailed the workout yet, so I want Wednesday to be that day.  Then, I'll move on to week 3. 

Have a good night!

Last week's calories

Every Monday I'm planning on posting a screenshot of what my weekly caloric intake is.  I previously discussed the Lose It! app on my iPod and tracking my caloric intake.  (Also, the program is available online, not just as an app.)  Lose It! sets up a program for you where you enter your weight, height, and select male or female.  Then it asks if you are doing weight loss, maintenance, etc.  If you select weight loss it ask you for a goal weight and how many pounds per week you would like to lose.  The maximum is two pounds per week you can set the app to lose.  Then, it calculates the maximum number of calories that should be consumed. 

My maximum is 1,958.  I generally consume 1,300 to 1,700 per day.  Below is a picture showing the number of calories I took in last week.


It also shows how many calories under or over I am for my weekly allotment of calories.  As you can see, I was 2,561 calories under my calorie maximum. 

Lose It! also allows you to enter in the amount of exercise done and how that configures into your calorie intake.  I haven't been adding my exercise simply because once an exercise is entered for the day it adds more calories available to consume.  I don't want to take in more calories that I burned, so for now, I have not been inputting exercises. 

By the way, the Lose It! exclamation point is bothering me.  I think I'm going to quit putting in the dumb exclamation point (!) and hope you know what I'm talking about.  Okay?  Good.  Good talk. 

Saturday, August 6, 2011

C25K: W2D2

Well today's run was crappy.  Real crappy. 

Between the humidity, side aches, and being lightheaded made the run just miserable.  First, weather.com says the humidity is 82% with a dew point of 70.  Then, I started getting a side ache at about the second run.  I would get to the walking part, the side ache would go away.  As soon as I started running again the side ache would come back.  This went on for the remainder of the workout.  And I should have eaten something before going out because I was getting lightheaded.  Yes, the water I had helped for a little bit, but add that on top of everything else and it just sucked.

Oh well, there's always next time. 

Today is a very special day!  It's Charlie's 1st birthday!  Happy birthday nephew! 

Now, time for me to shower so I can head to Winona for the birthday party.  Have a good weekend!

Friday, August 5, 2011

First 5K

I'm signed up for my very first 5K.  It's the 2011 Dave Ryan's 5K & 10K for Special Olympics Minnesota.  If you are interested in running (or walking) it with me and a lady in my office, sign up and let me know!

With the $25 regristration fee (it's $30 the day of the race) you get a t-shirt.  There are other awards and prizes as well, I think, but I'm not 100% sure.

It's going to be a good time -- consider signing up!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

I've been a bad lemon tree mommy

I've been horrible.  I've neglected my lemon tree.  My lemon tree = my baby.  I can't believe I've let it get this bad! 

Look at all of those yellow leaves!
A bunch of leaves have fallen off within the past couple days (see the lush looking tree when I first got it here).  It has gotten really bad in the last 72 hours.  The leaves are yellow because the tree is lacking nitrogen.  I found that out after doing some research.  At first, I thought it was because the soil was too wet, which can also cause leaves to be yellow.  After letting the soil dry out for about a week, last night a couple leaves that fell off had brown spots which means it needs to be watered.  Clearly, it wasn't over watering causing the leaves to turn yellow. 

I then found out it was a lack of nitrogen.  Apparently citrus trees need fertilizer with a 30-10-10 ratio of nitrogen-phosphate-potassium.  After work tonight I went and picked up Miracle Gro Miracid.  After re-potting the lemon tree into some fresh dry soil I applied the Miracid.  I'm supposed to feed the tree with it every two weeks, which means every other week I'll be using a solution of the Miracid to water the tree. 

On a happier note, the tree has a bunch of new leaf growth.  I'm happy about that!

You can see the new growth above by the yellow leaf that is going to fall off within the next 24 hours.  By the way, this is an amazing picture with the depth of field from the blinds.  I love it!
Not to toot my own horn here, but how awesome is that picture?!  I really think I should be photographing plants for my career.  Obviously, I'm pretty good at it.  :)  I'm also very modest.

Other good news -- the little lemons haven't fallen off and they've doubled in size since I got the tree.
At least the lemons are still doing okay.  I guess that is what matters.  I will try to be a better lemon tree mommy.  Why is it that I can grow any other plant just fine with no issues?  I can forget to water it, neglect it and nothing happens.  The plant just wilts a little but perks right up after being watered.  Why is it the the plant I care most about I am having issues with? 

I will keep repeating, "I will try to be a better lemon tree mommy.  I will try to be a better lemon tree mommy..."

C25K: W2D1

I so didn't want to get out of bed this morning.  I was desperately looking for an excuse not to get up at 5:45, but I knew I would be mad at myself if I didn't go.  And now I'm glad I went.

Week 2 workouts consist of:
  • Brisk 5-minute warm-up walk
  • alternate 90 seconds of running with 2 minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes
  • 5-minute cool down walk
I was jogging on the eastern edge of Como Park when I heard sirens in the distance.  Suddenly I heard a bunch of howling and remembered that the wolves at Como Zoo are on the eastern edge of the park.  Usually at the zoo Sean and I have only ever seen one or two wolves.  I heard at least four different howls.  Then, I remembered how Frankie used to howl whenever there were sirens around, or when I would play a particular song on the piano really loud.  I chuckled to myself and kept jogging.

I'm glad I went, but I'm tired.  Have a good day.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

C25K: W1D3

Well, I got up at 5:45 this morning and worked out.  I thought it was going to be cooler out since it rained last night, but I was mistaken.  It was humid and miserable.

Good news though, I ran everything I was supposed to run!  I am very happy about that.  Thursday morning I'll start week 2, which is exactly like week 1.  So, I'll have three more days of doing the same run/walk I've been doing

Now, it's time to shower and get ready for work -- I need it I'm very sweaty.  Happy Tuesday!

Monday, August 1, 2011

Pampered Chef schtuff.

As most of you already know, I had a Pampered Chef party at the beginning of July.  Below is a picture of all the loot I got for (mostly) free.

The benefits of hosting a party is pretty evident, you could get a table full of stuff!

I know, I got a lot of spatulas and spoons, but in my defense we needed new spatulas.  Listed are the things I got:
  • splatter screen
  • 1 and 2 quart microwave bowl
  • measure-all cup
  • 1 cup prep bowl set
  • manual food processor (which I LOVE)
  • food chopper
  • liquid measuring cups
  • dry measuring cups
  • measuring spoons
  • bread knife
  • 2 quart collapsible bowl
  • handy scraper
  • garlic press
  • large and medium scoops
  • bamboo spatulas
  • mega scraper, master scraper, micro scraper (red spatulas)
  • bamboo spoons
  • 5 piece spatula set
I've been making fresh salsa with the manual food processor which Sean and I have really enjoyed.  I haven't used my food chopper yet, but I'm excited to do so.

This isn't related to anything in particular, but I was transferring pictures from my camera to my computer this evening.  My parents, Sean, and I toured the Summit Brewery in the end of June.  This is a picture of my parents which I think describes them perfectly.

My mom looking normal and smiley and my dad smirking about something -- two of the best people I know.
Tonight I did some Wii Fit ab strength training exercises, but my lower back has been hurting all day and doing the ab exercises was just making the pain worse, so I decided to stop.  Tomorrow, I'm getting up to do the Couch to 5K: Week 1 Day 3 workout.  I'm getting up at 5:45 to workout before work when it's not insanely hot out.  Also, today was weigh day.  I weigh myself on Wii Fit tonight and it keeps track of my weight and BMI.  I haven't decided about posting the weight yet, still thinking it over.  Good news though, I'm down 3 pounds from when I weighed myself on Friday.  That is even after a big dinner tonight.  What did YOU do today?