Jillian

Dear Jillian,

I do believe you are trying to kill me with your thousand squats per workout, but thank you. If you must know, my butt hurts all night at work, but it's that good hurt that means I have been working out.
                                             Victoria

By Jillian I of course mean Jillian Michaels. I have been doing one of her at home work out DVD's borrowed to me by Ashley of course, and she kicks my butt every time. By 9:30a.m. this morning I have worked 7 and a half hours, ran 1.54 miles (short run today, was my off day, but it was so nice after work that I just felt like running anyway) and got my butt kicked by Jillian for half an hour. As I was running, I was thinking about some things I would maybe like to buy with the Christmas bonus we got at work today. Here was my list: long sleeve running shirts, more running socks, new earbuds as mine fall apart sometimes, compression leggings from Old Navy, and there was something else but I can't think of it at this moment. Guess I should have been writing this down as I was running. I have to be honest, the items on my list actually frighten me a bit. Everything on it was something to do with working out. No way is that where my mind went with last year's bonus. A lot has changed since then though. I think this is finally the time I stick to the lifestyle changes that I need to make to get back the body I once had. Of course I am sure the stretch marks are here forever,but Parker is so darn cute that I will wear my stretch marks with pride if I get back my bikini body.  Would I really ever wear a bikini again though I wonder? I guess if I put in all the effort to make it look good, I should at least rock it a little bit. Being able to step on the scale and see the number going down on an almost daily basis is such a great feeling! I can weigh myself with my clothes on right now and still weigh less than I did without clothes on a month ago. That feels pretty darn good.

I realized today how close the Color My New Year Run is getting. It frustrates me that I still have about a 13 minute mile, but I guess it's pretty normal for someone my size based on posts I have read on the fitness group I am in on Facebook. I would love to be around the 10 minute mile by now, but I know that I am working hard and I will get there. It also frustrates me the difference between running outside and running on a treadmill. On the treadmill I can run 20 to 25 minutes straight and not walk. When I get outside I can't seem to pace myself properly, and I have to walk a minute about every 7 minutes or so. I also get this side pain when I run outside and I can't breathe as well either. I very much love running outside because of the fresh air and the scenery though. I ran outside today, and I kind of want to kick the people that still have not bothered to clean the ice off of their sidewalks from the snow 4 days ago!!! I usually lose myself a lot more in an outside run, but today I had to pay attention to make sure I didn't fall on my butt.

Christmas is creeping up very quickly, hoping to get Parker's room remodel finished in time. His bed is going to be built this weekend though and after that everything should go quickly it's mostly the decorating stuff then. I have not stained the wood for his baseboards and trim yet but I don't really have space to lay it out to stain it with everything from that room in a different room, plus the old carpeting is rolled up upstairs, and the Christmas tree and treadmill are in the spot I usually do my wood staining. But, he is 5 I highly doubt the focus of his attention will be on his baseboard.

One thing I have noticed, healthy food does not fill you up nearly as well as junk food. I have really been trying to pay attention to what I eat, and I have been happy with it, however I eat before work and by the time I take my first break I am so freaking hungry again it's just crazy! Digging into my new Hungry Girl Cookbook for lunch today.....let's not tell Brian that he is eating healthy food or he won't eat it just on principle.

Until next time!