kicking ass and taking names

Yesterday I started the C25K by doing #1 of week 1.... it went like this:

5 minute brisk walk warm-up

20 minutes alternating 1.5 minute walk and 1 minute jog 

Today I ran with a partner who has been doing it a lot longer than me. We did #3 of week 6 and HOLY COW I am in pain! I kept up though! Twice I stopped jogging and walked for about 15 seconds, but other than that I actually jogged for 22 minutes! Wow!

5 minute brisk walk

22 minute jog

Then I went home and soaked in the tub because I'm hurting really really bad! I'm going to run in the morning... something easier though. Maybe Week 3? I feel like I'm way past weeks 1 and 2 but I'm not ready to stick with week 6. Then I'm going to take a break until Friday or Saturday when I run with my partner again.

Here's the whole plan:

Week	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3
1	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
5	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
6	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 22 minutes) with no walking.
7	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

Make sure you check out the C25K website and like them on facebook!

I'm also trying to not weigh myself. I tend to get in the bad habit of weighing myself multiple times a day every day. Not good...

squeeze them until they pop... and everything else I did tonight

Today I started C25K... which is Couch to 5K. I did Workout #1 of Week 1 on the treadmill plan. Basically I ran and walked for 25 minutes. It's one of those training plans that keeps your heart rate in check. Really good for weight loss, btw.

After running I did this workout that I adapted from one I saw on Pinterest.

50 Jumping Jacks

25 Crunches

10 Tricep Dips

15 Squats

10 Lunges

50 Jumping Jacks

25 Crunches

10 Tricep Dips

10 Lunges

20 Standing Calf Raises

5 Push-Ups

Ouch. I'm hurting.

Then I went to a free women's self-defense class. So.Much.Fun! But I can tell I'm going to be bruised! My wrists are so sore. The instructor was kind of funny. We talked about defending ourselves by kicking for the groin (hello, obvious) and he said it's better to grab and twist "until they pop." LOL. It's a free class every Monday in February. I'll definitely be going back next week.

weigh-in

Yikes! I've gained 6 pounds in the 3 months since our wedding. No good. :( I'm at 150 today. This does not make me a happy girl.

Goals for 2012

I've really been thinking a lot about what I want to accomplish this year. Last year I really set my mind to a few things and they turned out great. I want this year to be just as great!

Business:

• Re-brand! I barely put any thought into my business name/colors and I don't feel like it suits me or my company. I want something that expresses my personality.
• Book at least 15 weddings for 2012.
• Branch out! I'd love to do as many birthday parties, showers, etc. as I do weddings.
• Do more e-consulting.

Personal:

• Go on a honeymoon! We didn't get to do this after the wedding for a lot of reasons and I really want us to take a trip this year. So far our only vacations have been to see my family in SC. I want to do something fun and memorable.
• Finish losing my extra weight! I got a good start and got down to 144 for the wedding. Now I'm at 148. I'm not so much worried about numbers, but I'd like to get to the point where I feel comfortable in my own body. There are 11 months left in the year and that's got to be enough time to get this done!
• Eat more organic foods and less fast food. I've been working hard on this. We've pretty much eliminated McDonalds completely (minus one Big Mac slip up when I had a bad day last week) and I haven't had much else either. I hate the idea of eating chemicals and heavily processed foods. I also want to eat intentionally... like plan my meals so I'm getting all of the vitamins I need and not just because it's time to eat.
• Finish my sewing projects. I have boxes of fabric I bought for specific projects and then never finished or never started them. I want to finish these and then purge the scraps because I really don't sew all that much anymore.

Finances

• Plan! I created a budget spreadsheet when Bryan and I moved in together, but neither of us uses it. I would really like to track our spending better. I want to know what we're spending money on so I know where to cut and save. 
• Keep saving! I got a generous bonus when Plantation sold and so far we haven't touched it. It's about two-thirds what I would like it to be for when we make a down-payment on a house.
• Pay off debts! We have been really good about this. We bought a mattress set when we got the apartment and it had 1 year with no interest. I think we're only halfway into that and there is left than $100 owed on it. Go us! We also purchased our living room set. It has 4 years of no interest and we have been steadily paying it off as well. Paying more than the minimum payment is key! Right now the focus is on our options for student loans. We've been talking about consolidating them and yesterday I spoke with a bank rep about it. My next step is to contact the company I have my loans through to find out if I'm even allowed to consolidate. (Apparently most student loans can't be unless they were originally financed through a bank.... bummer!)
• Pay off my car! I know this qualifies as a debt, but it's a little different. My dad actually financed it and I make the payments. I would love to pay it off, sell it, and buy my own car. I've been lusting after the Nissan Murano for years and I'd love to commit to it! 

The last thing is buying a house. I think that belongs in all three categories. I don't know yet if it's a realistic goal for 2012, but definitely it needs to happen in 2013. There are a lot of big and little things that need to fall into place before we can accomplish this goal. Most of them are out of our hands.

I'd like to create a bulletin board for Bryan and I that has both our goals on it. We have a great spot in our kitchen and it would be a daily reminder to take the small steps to get things done.

Any advice from other married couples on accomplishing goals together?

pin it, do it, blog it - mircowave brownie

Tonight I saw this yummy chocolate brownie that was quick and easy.

Source: blogs.babble.com via Kayleigh on Pinterest

Mine took 60 seconds and probably could have gone a little bit longer. I wouldn't say that I loved this, but I'm not a huge chocolate person. Ice cream would have been great! I poured some cold soy milk over it and it was yummy. This took longer to microwave than it did to make!

bridal portraits

When it comes to wedding photography, this was the area I was most excited about and it's ended up being the biggest headache. I'm really unhappy with our photographer. Yes, she took a lot of really beautiful portraits of us.... but where's the rest? There are a lot of really important things missing. I wore my mother's garter and there is not one picture of it anywhere. There are no pictures of us at our sweetheart table. There are no pictures of our guest book table which was my FAVORITE part of the decor. Aside from things that weren't photographed, I'm really upset with her lack of attention to detail. My hair is sticking up in the front in the romantic pictures we took before the wedding. She couldn't have said something?!?!?! Bryan left his keys, phone, and wallet in his pockets during pictures. It's the FIRST thing I noticed about him in pictures. She couldn't have said something!?!?!? I ordered these forks for when we cut the cake that said "bride" and "groom" that are so cute. The picture she took of them is terrible! They are upside down and there is a dirty serving spoon on the plate with them. Maybe I expect more because I work with excellent vendors in a major city, but the best thing I can say about her work is SLOPPY. She also took FOREVER getting them edited.

I FINALLY got my bridal portraits the other day. She apparently forgot about them. I even paid an extra $100 to get them on a CD and she just never sent me anything. I texted her to find out what happened and instead of an "omg I'll mail them this afternoon" I got "I'll mail them tomorrow or Monday." MONDAY. It's been months since the wedding and you need another four days to mail me a disc? Come on!

Anyway, I'm not super happy with most of them because of really unflattering arm positioning, but here are some that I like.

puppy love

Jack got the most adorable hair cut on Christmas eve.

We had his body shaved down but his face like a Schnauzer. 

So darn cute.

I will never, ever bring him back to that Pet Co though. He was there for TEN AND A HALF HOURS!!!! I find that ridiculous. And he stunk when we got him back. I just had to bathe him as soon as we got home. It smelled like he had been in a nasty, dirty crate. 

He does shake a little now like he's cold... which makes me feel bad. I even bought a sweater the first day but I hate them so much I can't bring myself to put it on him again.

Bryan loves him too. (Look how horribly lumpy my couch already looks!!!! Also ridiculous...)


We got him neutered and micro-chipped last Friday, so he's (really) officially ours now. We took him to the Houston Humane Society because it's cheaper and WOW are the employees there incompetent! I guess the girl couldn't figure out that the cap was upside down (hello, common sense) so she just set it on there and put liquid, un-capped medicine in a baggie. Dumb.  It wasn't until I got home and took it out of the baggie that I realize that it "not going on tight" actually mean "not on at all because it's upside down." Wow.


The stitches seem to have healed up fine and he's stopped licking at them.


Now he just needs to learn some tricks!