10 Things I've Been Up To

A couple months have passed since my last post. I would ask for forgiveness but with a blog, I think it's best to just pick up and move on, right?

There's lots to report from the time I've been away, some big news, some small. Given my blog topic I will stick mostly with the weight/lifestyle/fitness related news but I have to throw in a few other things to keep it interesting.

Should I make a list? I like lists. And pictures. So this will be a list/pic heavy post and in no particular order....

1. Autumn is in full swing and with it came Halloween. Myra was Princess Anna (from the movie Frozen, for you non-parents out there) and Marek was a SWAT team guy. I went overboard eating the candy but eventually made a hail Mary pass to the garbage can of ALL the candy in my house.

We carved pumpkins and enjoyed the season. Me too much with the candy.

 

trick-or-treat!

2. Myra turned 5! Can you believe it??

Celebrating our daughter.

She had a pool party. Love that girl!

3. I took Marek on a special night out, just the two of us, we went to a baseball game. He thanked me a million times. I'll remember that night always and I think he will too.

on the ferry to the park.

Game on!

I love this boy. Bonus - the Giants won!

4. I was/am in the Nov/Dec issue of Weight Watchers magazine. What? Really? Yep, really. So cool. I shared my July backpacking trip with the kids because bringing them up with a love of adventure, the outdoors, and physical activity as fun is, well, it's a huge payoff. A NSV for sure.

It's so cool that my kids are in this picture. They are a huge source of inspiration for me.

5. I've been lucky to squeeze in time with friends.

Reina!

Stacy!

Michelle!

pub trivia night - we actually won that night! (no easy feat)

6. My mom and I took the kids to Disneyland! It was a whirlwind trip and we had a whirlwind time. And I think we're all full up on Disneyland for the next couple/few years.

Checking out the emergency info made him a tad nervous.

Spooky Mickey! We're scared.

7. I ran a half-marathon. Did I just say that? Yeah, well, other than this and a couple other runs, I've hardly broken a sweat in the past few months. More on that in a bit. But it's true, I ran 13.1 miles on almost no training (NOT something I recommend, I paid for it for days after). It helped that the Healdsburg Wine Country Half-Marathon has actual wine during the race. Really! 3 wine tables in all and I had a sip at each one. I ran the whole race. But with almost no training it was my slowest, with a 12:46 per mile average. I might write a real race report for it soon just to log it but for now, this is it. I'm planning to do this race again next year, and really enjoy it next time! Gorgeous day, amazing course...and wine! I ran the race with a group of triathlete and runner types from Marin. What a time we had, so fun!!

Bright and early, Halloween morning. It's still dark out.

Almost showtime

Wine tasting #1

Wine tasting #2 (I was too "focused" to snap a pic at #3)

We made it!

8. I don't know how to say this so I'll just get it out. I have a boyfriend. Dating at this time in my life has been, well, interesting. And if this were that sort of blog, the stories. But it's not, and I'm happy to be out of the dating world at the moment. Things are newly serious so I'm not making any predictions but it's serious enough to introduce him to you. The boyfriend and I, I'll call him Mr M for now, have been having an adventure. I hope to be writing about future adventures now that you've met him.

Mr M and I

I went with him to my first ever hockey game last month (he's from Canada, apparently it's a big thing there)

We went out for Halloween as a 20's couple.

Yes, I ran a half-marathon in the morning, took the kids trick-or-treating with Miguel, and then went out that night including the obvious martini or two. Took me two days to recover.

9. I have a bit of weight to lose. Can I blame dating? Or just a good old-fashioned slump? Or...? I can whip out excuses with the best of them but it's not helpful. What is helpful is doing what works. So I went to my regular Wednesday WW meeting today and paid for my week of membership (since I'm over by a few pounds it's not free). I was153.4 pounds at the meeting. I missed weighing in last month. I'm around 150 in the morning. If you've followed along, 150 is my alarm-bells-must-start-tracking weight. So I'm on it. And I had a solid, goal-oriented day of eating today. Very back-to-basics, which feels good. I'll be writing more about my eating and exercise and my mini-journey back to healthy habits. Also maybe more about WW too. You saw I was in their magazine and something more might be brewing. I'm super excited because you know how much I love to share the message. It can be done.

10. You make a list and it's 1-9 there has to be a "10" right? So I asked myself, "what else"? And the answer came quickly. Gratitude, wonder and joy. I am thrilled with now. And I am so curious to see what's to come. I am open to not knowing. I am taking it all in, reminding myself to be gentle, kind, loving - first with myself, because that really is the toughest - and then with others. Especially the two little lights of my life. So I'll close this post with them.

That smile, those glasses.

There's my update post. I intend to start writing more regularly but as I just said, I'm open to not knowing what's to come. What I do know is that writing helps me problem solve. And as you can see in #9, I have a problem. And this blog has always been where I come to work out any problems in that area.