It's a Beautiful Day in our Neighborhood!

Today was a beautiful day in Boise. Temperatures were in the mid-70's. As usual we got a bit of a late start, which works perfectly for me because I'm a night owl by nature! It was a running around day for me.

I heard a sound on my back passenger side tire last time I took the car out that sounded like I had studded tires on! I was concerned that I'd run over a big nail or something that was stuck in the tire and if I didn't take care of it, when I started my freeway drive back home it might cause the tire to blow. So I was going to head to the Firestone dealer, but I decided to check one more time this morning to see if I could find the source of the noise. Sure enough in the light of day without rain, I found a large rock lodged in between the tire treads. Thankfully there was no damage to the tire, so I pulled it out and went on my way.

First on the agenda was to get a Tdap immunization. There's been an outbreak of whooping cough in Washington. It's at epidemic proportions, and is the worst they've seen since the 1940's. I felt that it was important to get immunized since we have baby Brooklyn and then baby Vona that we'll be around, and they can't be immunized for it until they're 2 months old. Darvin already got his at work.

Got that taken care of at a RiteAid that has a walk-in clinic in the store. Afterwards I went to a women's running store named SeeJaneRun. Got fitted for a good sports bra and some running shoes as mine are starting to show signs of wear. It was a very comfortable shopping experience. The ladies were all very nice and they had me walk barefoot and then run on the treadmill to check my gait. My feet overpronate, most notably on the left foot. Apparently since I had the broken big toe on this foot I might subconsciously try to compensate for it. It tends to have pain where the phalange meets the metatarsal bone. The shoes I chose are Brooks (same brand as last pair). They give me plenty of room across the toes and they're nice and lightweight with plenty of support. I bought the Adrenaline GTS 12 in size 8.5 medium width (B) (that's so I have a record for next time I purchase some!). I'm looking forward to putting 3-400 miles on these babies! I'd told the ladies I am just finishing my c25k training program and then will begin training for a half marathon for September. They told me next time I'm in Boise to check back in and give them a 'report'!

I went looking for capris or burmuda short at Old Navy, but didn't find any that looked decent on me. Went next door to Nordstrom Rack in search of sunglasses. I've lost mine in a box somewhere at home and I realized that on my return trip home on Monday I'll probably be heading into the sun for a few hours, so thought I'd better go ahead and get a new pair. Found a decent pair with a hard case (I'm hard on sunglasses if they don't have a hard case for protection). Also found another sports bra. So no excuses for not getting out there and doing that exercise 6 days a week!

I came back to Lindsey and Thomas's, cooked some dinner and then went out on my 45 minute bike ride. It was a nice ride. Took the greenbelt up to BSU to where they've blocked off the greenbelt, then on the way back detoured over the bridge to the zoo and park and headed for home. Worked up a sweat and got a sore butt, and it felt good!

Getting Healthy Challenge

It's been a little over a week since I started the "Getting Healthy Challenge". Marci Fillmore in our ward had participated in the program with her sisters and sent out an email wondering if any of the women in the ward wanted to start a 'round'. We've been split up into teams and our program lasts 7 weeks. We receive points each day for the following categories:

2 pts: Contact with Teammate
5 pts: 64 oz Water
5 pts: Stop eating before 8:30 pm
5 pts: 5 fruits and vegetable Servings (1/2 cup per serving)
5 pts: No Sweets/Sugary Treats - Bonus 20 points if you go 6 days without
5 pts: 30 min. exercise OR 7 pts: 45 min. exercise (6 days)
5 pts: Healthy snacking (up to 2 snacks a day: morning and afternoon, healthy, at least 2 hours before meal)
3 pts: Not over eating all day (eat until you are 80-90% full)
3 pts: At least 7 hours of sleep from the night previous
2 pts: Flossing once a day
5 pts: Scripture reading (at least 15 min.)
5 pts: Journal
6 pts: Prayers (3 for morning, 3 for evening)

After the 1st week there is a rotating 'area of focus' that's worth double points. For this 2nd week (which started on Monday) we receive 10 pts for exercising 30 minutes or 14 pts for exercising 45 minutes. I am so excited about this program because it's helping me improve in areas of my life that should be high priorities but sometimes get shoved to the 'if I have time' category.

I'm proud of myself because the challenge started at a difficult time for me. We only received a couple of days notice that it would start on Memorial Day which was 2 days after Brooklyn was born. And of course I'm not at home. I could have made excuses about why I couldn't do it, but I just decided that it was too important not to start and give it 100%. Lindsey and Thomas have been very supportive while I've been here in Boise. Thomas was my exercise partner last week which gave me a great start.

We just got an email with our weekly totals. Although our team "Mission Slim-Possible" didn't do particularly well as a whole, two of the members of our team made the top two for points, me and Dadra Clement (go Clement women!!)! Both of us got 100% on our points plus lost weight. Dadra had 432 points and I had the top spot with 438 points because I lost 7 pounds. I know much of that may be water weight lost, but I'll take it! I also know that the weight loss from here on out will be much slower, but that's all right too. I'm trying to eat healthy, sensible portions and with the exercise each day I'm sure slowly but surely the weight will come off.

Being the oldest member of my team it's kind of thrilling to be setting the bar high for the rest of the ladies. I realize that their lives may be more complicated on a regular day to day basis (with young families), but this first week, my life was pretty complicated too. So, I'm just going to be prideful and bask in the limelight for a second here!

I'm still in the process of my Couch to 5k training program. These past weeks I'd been walking and running about 30-35 minutes three times a week, but with the Getting Healthy Challenge, I've increased my daily exercise time to 45 minutes six days a week. With the sidetracks I had coming to Boise for Brooklyn's birth it's taking me a little longer than the cookie cutter program, but I can't beat myself up too much about it. After all, 8 weeks ago I could barely alternate jogging 60 seconds and running 90 seconds for a total of 20 minutes. Now I'm running (at a snail's pace mind you, but still running) 28 minutes in a row. That's certainly progress and I will persevere! After I 'graduate' from the c25k program I'll have a couple of weeks that I'll work on increasing my distance and then I'll begin my 10 week half marathon training.

I still can't imagine running for a total of 13.1 miles. I'm committed to running the Indian Summer half marathon in tri-cities toward the end of September. I have two goals: finish the race and don't finish last! If I have to jog/walk then so be it, but I WILL finish!

I don't want to end up being one of those sedentary old people taking handfuls of medication and watching life pass them by. And "If it is to be, it's up to ME!" So, I'm going for it!

Waiting...

It's about 9 p.m. local time and I haven't gotten my 45 minute workout done yet. It was raining earlier and we had some running around to do. Got up relatively late this morning as usual. I'm not keeping too close of an eye on the clock these days but I think it was somewhere between 9 and 10 a.m. I read my scriptures first thing this morning. I'm going to try to start reading them in the morning rather than at night. I think I'm more focused when I read them in the morning.

After Thomas left for work I made me and Lindsey a brunch of scrambled egg omelet (all the fixings of an omelet, but scrambled). I added vegetables (including our leftover broiled broccoli), meat and cheese. It turned out pretty tasty if I do say so myself.

After a while we did some running around. It's amazing how much longer it takes to get ready to do anything when you have a newborn! Lindsey fed Brooklyn in the car while I picked up my Cabelas order of running shirts that were shipped to the store. I bought a couple of the head lamps like the kind Darvin had bought for me there for Lindsey to have for future emergencies. Then we headed to Target. Thomas's coworkers had given them a $165 gift card to Target to welcome baby Brooklyn. Lindsey found some cute newborn outfits for Brooklyn, a car seat cover and a few other things.

We headed to the mall to look for a sun hat for Brooklyn and some nursing bras for Lindsey. I can't believe Children's Place doesn't carry sun hats for newborns! They're all 0-6 months and she was swimming in them. A customer at Children's Place said she shopped at Build A Bear after she had a preemie. So we headed next door to Build A Bear. Unfortunately all they had was boy sun hats. They did have girls rain hats which were the perfect size, but would have been super sticky as they were made of plastic material. On the way out of the mall we stopped at Baby Gap. Surely THEY would have them. But nope. So instead we bought her a little cotton hat that had a little ruffle edge. Certainly better than nothing. As Lindsey was standing in line holding Brooklyn I noticed that Brooklyn had had a massive blow out up her back (maybe she's taking after her cousin Alex). As I waited in line Lindsey took Brooklyn to the bathroom to clean her up and change her. By this time Brooklyn was starving too. So we hot footed it home so Lindsey could feed her.

After we got home I headed back out to do some more running around. Got another bag of almonds from Costco (my new favorite healthy treat) and filled my gas tank. I'd purchased a new set of leather scriptures with a snap closure from the Church Distribution Center for $58. I had them shipped to Lindsey & Thomas's so I could get them personalized here in Boise. I took them tonight to Deseret Book and had them personalized. I then programmed the GPS to take me to Winco. Unfortunately unbeknownst to me the closest Winco was the corporate headquarters! So I got to 'tour' Winco's corporate headquarters parking lot this evening! As I was headed back the right direction Thomas called to tell me that they'd let him off work early, so I picked him up and then we stopped at Winco for a few more groceries.

When we got home we made some dinner and I started getting ready to go running. As I got my Garmin watch ready I noticed I only had 22% battery power life...GRRRR So now I'm waiting for the watch to charge so I can get out and get my run done!

On a sad note, Brooklyn sounds like she's catching a cold. At first it sounded like it could be allergies. She's been sneezing a lot and has a little bit of wheezing sound when she breaths. Hopefully it will resolve soon and won't get worse.

I guess that's the excitement for the day! Looks like the watch is up to 94% charged, so I guess I'll get running!

Monday, Monday

The day started out uneventfully and has ended with a little excitement. We got up and ready relatively early so we could take Brooklyn to her 10 day doctor's appointment.
She gained back the weight she'd lost plus more. She's up to 7 pounds 14 ounces and her head measured 35 cm. Dr Erwin said she looks great. She had her 2nd PKU test. Unless she gets sick in the meantime, she won't go back to the doctor until she starts getting immunizations at 2 months.
We went to Walmart afterward as Brooklyn was almost out of newborn diapers. Picked up a few other things including a few groceries. I've been trying to be consistent in eating healthy, so lots of fruits and vegetables and lean protein. I actually feel good when I eat right! And I lost 7 pounds last week by changing my eating and exercise habits. I'm sure some of that was water weight, but I'll take every pound of it!
We came home and had some leftovers for lunch and then Thomas left for work. Lindsey, Brooklyn and I took a nap. Later I vacuumed the apartment while Lindsey fed Brooklyn. Lindsey said Brooklyn liked the vacuum sound.
We heated up leftovers for dinner. I heated and ate mine first while Lindsey held Brooklyn, then when I was done we traded and I held Brooklyn while Lindsey heated hers and ate. Right after Lindsey finished heating her food in the microwave the power went out. The winds had really kicked up and apparently there are downed power lines all over the area. After Lindsey was done I told her I needed to get my run in. She discouraged me because the wind was so fierce, so we came up with an alternate plan. I climbed the stairs at the apartment complex for 15-20 minutes and then came in and did the Biggest Loser Cardio Max workout for another 30 minutes, playing the video on my laptop.
We've been making due the rest of the evening in the dark and with battery power. We're using the head light from my tool bag in the trunk of my car and the one here in the apartment that I use when I work out at night (that Darvin just bought me! THANKS HONEY!). The power's been out about 4 hours already. Thomas got on his Iphone and found some news that said about 50,000 people in the area are currently without power, so it might be a dark evening! Good thing we're prepared!

Some fun

This past week has been a lot of fun. Enjoying Brooklyn's first week and having some quality time with Emmett too. Nana HEAVEN! Here are some pictures from the past week:

Emmett enjoyed some male bonding time snacking with his Tio Thomas. A way to a man OR a boy's heart is through his stomach:

This past Thursday we took a family walk to a local specialty candy store "Powell's".

It was Brooklyn's first walk and Lindsey's first exercise since she delivered.

It was an enjoyable walk, but it was a little too much for Lindsey, so she's been taking it easier the past few days.

Happy Week!

Time is flying by. Baby Brooklyn is now 5 days old.

Darvin was able to travel over the day she was born and stayed until Tuesday, May 29th.

Briana and Emmett arrived on Sunday, May 27th the day after Brooklyn was born. Briana's been taking a zillion beautiful pictures of the baby and family. We're so lucky to have such a talented photographer in the family.

I'm still working on my Couch to 5k program and I missed my workout the day before Brooklyn was born as we were laboring all that day and then I was way too tired to makeup the workout the day she was born. So Monday I dragged Thomas out with me to the greenbelt to try to catch up on my training in. I'm on week 8 which is a 5 minute warm up walk and then 28 minutes of running. The longest I'd run to date was 25 minutes.

One Week Ago Today

One week ago today our sweet little Brooklyn Brielle Giles was born. She's already starting to change. All the puffiness in her face from the birthing process is gone. We're starting to see her personality. She's generally happy and quiet unless of course she's hungry, has gas or needs a diaper change.

Speaking of gas...this little girl came with the worst gas I've ever smelled in a baby! I never realized such a tiny little person could produce such a huge rotten eggs or sulfur smell. It's been kind of hilarious. It seems like now that she's worked through the meconium poops, she's getting less gassy, or at least the gas isn't as 'potent'! lol For being such a cute little tiny thing she can sure produce a great big stink!

Thomas's parents, Sandee and Harold Giles, arrived on Thursday and will be leaving for home tomorrow. Briana and Emmett will also be heading for home tomorrow. One of the little neighbor boys Adrian has been Emmett's surrogate Alex and I think they're going to miss each other!

Today Thomas took us to the local farmer's market. When we got done wandering around and buying the 'wares' we stopped at the splash park and gave Emmett the opportunity to play in the water. Briana had brought his swimming trunks and an extra diaper. He was pretty tentative about the whole thing. The water shot up pretty strong and I think that had him a little worried.

I enjoyed taking the time to get him acclimated to the water and the hub bub that was going on around him.

After a while he decided that he could 'test the waters'!

A little girl that was probably a few months older than Emmett took a liking to him.

It was so cute, she leaned over and gave him a little Eskimo kiss rubbing nose to nose with him. It was adorable! Emmett seemed to like it!

We finally got to the point that he enjoyed getting a little wet which was nice since it was hot out today!

With my healthy challenges program we're supposed to exercise 6 days a week. Three days each week I use my couch to 5k training and add additional walking or running time to reach the 45 minutes per day of exercise to get maximum points on my healthy challenges program. Then on the other 3 days I cross train. So far it's been biking or walking. Today was a cross training day and I took Emmett out in the baby jogger this evening for a walk. Emmett has been having an extremely difficult time sleeping since he's been in Boise. We've been taking him out for a walk or jog and it helps him relax and go to sleep.

Anyway, today I intended to take a walk with Emmett but once I got outside I couldn't stand just to walk the whole 45 minutes, so I did a walk/jog. It took 30 of the 45 minutes before Emmett finally gave up and fell asleep. Before that he was desperately trying to keep himself awake! He was talking and pointing at the trees and leaves, other joggers walkers, and dogs, he would even look back up at me pushing him. Silly little man. He finally gave up and had a nice evening nap in the jogger! He didn't even budge when we got home and rolled the stroller into the apartment. And it didn't phase him when Briana got him out of the jogger and put him in the crib. Hopefully he'll sleep all night long!