40 is closing in too fast...

I want to be okay with it...I really do.  I've been dreading it for so long, but I am trying trying to take a more positive outlook on it.  I figured I had such a hard time with 30, that 40 will be a bitch...but does it really need to be?

And...I started this post nearly a month ago...I am now two days out!  I should be on a cruise right now...but alas, I have a family that primarily sucks, it got canceled, so now spending it home with the only family that truly matters to me anymore:  my husband and my child.  And, unfortunately, tomorrow will be spent with a recovering little one as she is scheduled for round two of tubes in the a.m.

When I originally started this post, it was with the intention of comparing turning 30 with turning 40.  As I mentioned, I had such a hard time with turning 30, I have been dreading turning 40...but you know what?  I think I'm finally okay with it.  I am not the same person nor am I in the same place as I was 10 years ago.  Then, I was reluctantly living back with my parents, not done with any college degrees, enjoying the alcohol a little too much, living the single girl life, etc.  And broke.  Still broke, but hey...maybe it's because since then I got both my associates and bachelors degrees, moved out the 'rents' house for the last time, met and married my husband, finally got a decent job, had a beautiful baby girl, and finally got my ass into shape...best shape ever!

So there...that was what I wanted to say with this post...and I did.  Maybe later, I'll do some picture updates of what's been going on these past few weeks (um...no-brainer there really....more working out, running, etc.).

Gotta keep on running...

Okay...seriously...this is slowly becoming my new 'thing'...running.  Would never have thought that would have happened, but I was searching for something different finally decided to try...and it has started to snow ball from there!  I am now running for about 3.5 miles at a time when on the treadmill.  Finally went for my first outside - with the husband even - run last week at the park...not a great distance...but it was cold and my ears felt like they were going to fall off!  I even participated in my first organized race yesterday...it was only two miles, but I did it!  And in a much quicker time than I thought I would (under 20 minutes)!  And I loved it!  I loved the sense of accomplishment, of achievement  had when I finished!  Even better?   I finished third in my division (now granted, since I will be...gasp!...40 in just a few short weeks, this will likely be the only time in that division)!  My husband finished first in his!

And with this, actually before this, I am considering following in the husband's footsteps and while not full blown triathlon....maybe take a shot at some duathlons.  Maybe.  Very likely, actually.  I'm ready to start signing up for some actual 5ks.  Maybe even a half marathon by next year.  I even went to a 'Good Form Running' clinic tonight.  I tell ya...I am on a roll!

getting a little too old for days like yesterday...

It was St. Patrick's Day, yes...but I wasn't out celebrating that, at least not intentionally...nope, out celebrating the 40th birthday of one of my best friends.  She's the first of us to turn 40.  Now granted her birthday was two weeks ago, but yesterday was as good of time as any.  My turn is next...just one month and one week away now.  And then the last of us will be 40 end of July.  This is us early in the day:

There are, thankfully, at least not that i am aware of, no pictures from towards the end of the day.

Start 'em young...

And just one more post for the night...I will leave you with this:

This was from a few weeks ago (it has been in 'draft' mode), but this is Stella making use of some of Mommy's exercise tools.

To make up for the bad day...a skimble workout review

I am the buttless wonder.  Seriously.  Baby got no back here. So I have at least one day a week that I focus very specifically on that specific area in the gym as well as added squats here and there with other workouts throughout the week.  As I've mentioned previously, I have found the Workout Trainer by Skimble to be quite helpful.  My current favorite is the Brazilian Butt Workout. Love it!  Now granted...I have added some modifications such as:

• Squats with a bar in place of circling donkey kicks (eventually I will add weights to this)
• Stationary front to back lunges in place of split squat hops
• Side squats have become more of a hybrid of the side squats and split squat hops using a BOSU ball
• Hip lifts I add either a 20 lbs. kettle bell or dumbbell
• Lunge kicks I have replaced with dead lifts, currently with 40 lbs.

By the end of that 30 minutes, I'm definitely feeling like I've accomplished something...at minimum I have worked up a small sweat.  I have learned, however, that this is not a workout to be done immediately after a 30 minute jaunt on the treadmill.  I tried that once and had a serious case of shaky legs and it was all I could do to finish.

Today is just a bad today.

The week, actually...at least the second half of the week has been crappy.  A co-worker, love her to death, restocked her candy dish last week.  It's been several weeks since it ran dry and I was hoping it would stay that way because I have zero willpower.  None.  Well...when I noticed it was restocked, I started hitting it.  I hit it hard.  Feeling HUGELY guilty about that.  On top of that, I seem to be going through a bit of withdrawal from my Concerta since I just hadn't had time to get to the pharmacy to get it refilled (well...I had to remember to call the doc's office first, then I had to find the time to pick it up and then find the time to get to the pharmacy).  Yesterday I was dragging ass hugely and today was not much better in addition to feeling like absolute crap since I had been overindulging in mini Snickers, Twix, Skittles, etc.  I didn't even make it to the gym this morning that's how bad I felt.  I got up at 5:30 and rather than doing one of my Jillian Michaels videos (did I mention I recently added Six Pack Abs to my collection?) I took a shower and tried to eek out a little more sleep.  My prescription is now refilled, I hope tomorrow it is back to normal for me because I feel like crap not just with the upset stomach but with the guilt of not making it to the gym.  At all.

If not for bad luck...

I think you know how the rest of this goes...

40th birthday next month (boo).  Vacation has been booked (yay).  Nearly at my goal of 'being able to rock a bikini' (yay).  Purchased said bikini (perhaps it wasn't entirely advisable to buy a bikini where the top promises to add two cup sizes given my normal size) (yay).  So where does the bad luck come in?  We may now be taking a 22 month old child on this cruise.  Please do not misunderstand...I love my child to pieces.  But dammit, Mommy needs a vacation!  Mommy and Daddy need a vacation sans child!  I am already stressed (my child tends to be a bit...high maintenance).  It is what it is though...we will survive...and (I hope) have fun!