Cookie Crumbs

My Girl Scout Cookies Are Gone.

I ate them.  All of them.

Now I can go on living normal again...

Letters to Share

This blog post has been inspired (and pretty much copied) from my friend Katie Bastian, whose blog I LOVE.  Every now and then she'll write random letters (like journal entries) to anyone and post her thoughts, concerns, feelings, etc.  I've decided to do the same...

Dear Puppy,

I'm sorry you don't have a yard to run in or a grassy area to lay in when it's sunny outside.  I'm also sorry that big dog around the corner turned out not to be your friend when we thought he was.  I'm sorry you really don't get to HAVE any friends because dogs are weird and don't know how to be appropriately social.  Maybe we should let you be in PetSmart training classes again so you can make dog friends.  I love that you are straddling the couch right now with your head in the blinds, staring out the window at mid-night.  You're a weird, furry little thing but I love you.

Dear BYU Basketball Fans,

I watched the game too, and I'm a huge, sore loser.  I hate losing, especially when there was so much hype and good reason to think we were going to win.  It doesn't even make sense that I'm so affected by the loss because 3 months ago I didn't even really care about or watch college basketball. I usually only follow football. I confess that I'm a bandwagon jumper this season and have become obsessed with BYU's success and completely support and admire the ridiculous skills of Jimmer Fredette.  Hopefully we'll have some magical success in the next game.  *sigh*

Dear Roommate/Land Lord/Best Friend,

Thank you for giving me a place to live.  Thank your sister for giving me a bed to sleep in.  I'm sorry that an open Saturday night that should have and could have been a lot of fun, turned out to be the opposite.  I'm sorry that I can be really moody without good reason.  But I hope you know how much I loved hanging out last night.  Listening to the BYU game in the car on the radio, eating tasty treats and cheering our heads off-- it was so much fun.  And as I took Sadie for a walk afterwards, I thought: "I love my life right now.  I love that I just spent the last 2 hours with my best friend having such a good time."  And those are the moments I forget that I'm 30 and single and often feel like I'm going no where... but instead just feel happy and content.  Thank you for being a good friend.  And I hope you can overlook my faults and weaknesses.

Dear Teens,

I absolutely LOVED skiing with you today.  I love that the ski people assigned me to be a coach for 2 of you when I really hardly feel like a skier myself... but they think I'm good enough.  I love that they watched me go down with one of you when I helped you FINALLY make big, safe, wide turns and not go out of control.  I also love that I laughed my head off when I was going down with another one of you and you completely flew off down the hill and my "successful teaching" wasn't so helpful that time.  I love that my job today didn't feel like a job at all.  I love you kids.  I love that you are willing to try new things and really take advantage of great opportunities.  Also,  I'm not rich enough to buy you McDonald's breakfast every Saturday but I was in a good mood and enjoyed doing it today.  

Dear Boys in My Ward,

Not a single one of you has ever asked me on a date in the last 2 years that I've been in the ward.  The sad thing is I totally would go on a date with any of you-- not because I want to marry all of you, but simply because I'm nice and would go on a date with you.  If you had asked.  

Dear Male Species,

I wish I could watch a romantic comedy with at least ONE secret love interest in my life to think about.  Unfortunately there isn't a single person to linger in my thoughts right now.  Where are you?  

Dear Friend,

I'm glad you needed help with your Spanish tonight.  I don't speak it enough, but when I do-- especially when I read or speak it out loud-- I am reminded of how much I love it.  And I feel things differently in Spanish, like the words are more meaningful.  I miss speaking Spanish... and then I miss my mission.  I hope your Spanish attempt goes well tomorrow.

*Sigh*  I feel better now. Thank you Katie Bastian. :)

Running Report: Back on Track

Well it's official.  I have to start running and can't afford to lose anymore time.  Let's face it-- I've paid a total of $240 for the upcoming relays and races I'm running in.  I REALLY can't afford to just toss out that money and then not do my part in training and getting back in shape.

Future goal dates:

April 9-- 5k or 10k to benefit The Boys & Girls Club  
May 14-- Red Rock MOAB! 6 person relay  (First year for the race)  Red Rock Relay website
June 17-18-- Ragnar Wasatch Back (Logan to Park City), 12 person relay  Ragnar Wasatch Back website
September 9-10-- Red Rock St. George, 12 person relay 


Right now I don't have any plans for another half-marathon this year, but that may change over the summer.  It's a heavy goal for me and a big accomplishment, but I want to make sure I'm doing strength training and more cross-training to get my legs in shape and reduce any knee pains and issues that I started to feel this past fall.  Basically, I just want to be smarter about things and not run my bones into the ground.

So!  How did I get back in the running groove?  My job, of course!  We have an awesome board member for the Boys & Girls Club (a cool lady in her 30's named Sam) and she volunteered to start a "running club" with the teens to get them ready for a 5k in April.  So every Wednesday we'll run as a group and increase our mileage weekly to work the teens up to 3.1 miles.  Precious!  So even though I'd been sick this week, I brought my stuff to work, ready to transform into my running character that evening.  There were 3 girls who were tough enough to take on the challenge.  And I did wear my bandanna and told the teens I had to be gangsta to keep the hair and sweat out of my face.

We ran a simple mile on a route I'd mapped out in the neighborhood around the Club, and it was probably the easiest mile I've ever run!  Especially after taking so much time "off" lately, I thought I would die.  But we trotted along at a comfortable pace... I called out random times along the way, "6 minutes and 31 seconds... good job ladies! Keep it up!" and suddenly we were rounding the bend to finish off the mile.  It was great! I'm actually surprised 2 of the girls stuck it out, with their flat-soled Keds and Converse which aren't comfortable at all to begin with.  Bless their hearts. As we were stretching on the front lawn of the Club, we saw other staff members and kids watching and pointing from the window-- we felt cool! :)  I'm hoping this little running club grows as other teens start to see the fun we're having.  Eventually we'll start driving places to go do our runs-- like the river parkway trail, or running trails closer to the mountain, or Sugar House park, etc.  It will be lovely.  And this is part of my job. Amen!

I still had my running attire on when I came home from work that night, so I decided to run another 15 minutes just around the neighborhood.  I actually like running at night-- despite the sometimes creepiness to it all-- but I stay in well-lit areas and run in the middle of the road (when cars aren't around) so weirdos can't jump out of the bushes or anything.  And the night air is refreshing and delightful.  However-- I usually do most of my runs in the morning, just so you all don't get freaked out and feel like you need to warn me of the dangers of being out at night.  I know, I know.  It's like texting and driving.  I'm improving and being more careful. :)

This morning I got up and went running as planned.  I love to color coordinate my outfits, which is practically half of my motivation to get out the door.  Today I wore black capri running pants with a green stripe down the sides.  I wore a long-sleeved black "sweat absorbing" shirt with a green running shirt on top.  My bandanna of choice was blue & green tie-dye (thank you Mom) and of course my silver and pink Saucony's.  Too bad the shoes didn't match. I'm sure people who drive by me probably think I look like some maniac girl with short hair sticking up all over and bright colors everywhere... but it all makes me happy and I don't care. I've chosen not to run with my iPod the past 2 days because sometimes I prefer the peace of running outside and not having to fiddle with anything.  But I do enjoy my "running genre music" and look forward to busting those songs out soon.

I also played basketball tonight (another disaster as far as my skills go)... so I considered it a good hour of sprinting up and down the court with a few pauses here and there.  Good exercise.  *ahem*

I took a risk and did maybe 15 lunges on each leg today.  I just want to see the level of soreness that may appear tomorrow.  I have another full Saturday of skiing with the teens and don't want to overdo it before then.  If tomorrow comes and I'm fine, then I know that 15 lunges are okay and I won't be limping for 5 days like last time.  Like I said before-- I just need to be smart about things and not kill myself over dumb things.

Last year I started running in January/February... and by October I'd lost 20-25 lbs.  The great thing is all I did was run.  I never did crunches or push-ups or squats or any other random things. I didn't cross-train or eat crazy healthy.  I just ran because I liked it and was excited to see the pounds shed along the way.  But this year I want to work-out better all around. I want to run when I should run.  I know I need to do strength training exercises for my legs, arms, abs, etc. to keep my body healthy and fit in all areas!  And I need to take advantage of cross-training opportunities:  I love roller blading!  I love biking!  I love sports.  I need to allow myself to take the time to do those things too and not do running ALL the time.  I'm hoping this will be a good year of growth and change.  Oh, and then there's eating.  The more consistent I am with exercising... the better my eating habits are.  Diets are no good for me.  I end up splurging way too much.  But if I stay within the realm of the meals I know that I like (that aren't complete junk)... I'm on a good path.

At this point I have gained 10 lbs back since my lowest weight in the fall... and I'd like to get back down to that magical number again.  It's my secret number.  And I know weight isn't a huge deal, but it's something to measure and if clothes fit better along the way... it's a good thing to keep me motivated.

Well this has certainly been one jumble of a rambling session!  Thank you for coming along for the ride. :)  Stayed tuned until next time!

Girl Scout Cookies. They're Baaaaaack.

*Ahem*  This is pretty much how it goes for me.  I wonder why the Girl Scout boss people choose March as the month for the cookies to appear.  It's so not fair.  January is when people try to kick new year's resolutions into place, and it usually takes until February to finally get on board.  Then *WHAM!*  Cookie season, for crying out loud.  And it's tricky because you order them like a month before-- forget about them-- and then they come at the worst possible time.  In my case, the week I decided to be super careful about my eating habits and write down every little thing in a food journal.  What?  Did I really order 4 boxes of cookies?  That's embarrassing.  Must've been a rough day. :)

To back up a few weeks, I went snowboarding in Colorado over President's Day weekend and witnessed a genius idea.  A few girls and their moms had set up a Girls Scout cookie table right inside the lodge of the resort!  People in and out all day long, hungry and exhausted.  And in my case, I simply thought, "Dang, that's a great idea!"  So I bought a box of the caramel ones just to give them props for doing it.  That box only lasted about a day, between me and 2 other people.  (Thank you to Jaide and Cassity for helping me not eat the entire box myself).

So yes, last week I started eating healthy.  I whipped out the "Super Market diet" book to follow for menu ideas and shopping lists.  I really did write down everything I ate each day, and noticed on the days I was eating right, it felt good to write it down.  Sliced apples... broccoli... don't mind if I do!

Then Friday came... and so did my 4 boxes of cookies.  Yikes!  Here's what I ordered:

The names of these cookies have changed so many times, I just call them whatever I want:  chocolate peanut butter ones... peanut butter cookie ones... caramel ones... and thin mints are still thin mints.  I don't know if I have a #1 favorite, but I do love the perfect chewiness of the caramel ones.  Mmmm!  And my least favorites are the thin mints, although they seem to be most everyone else's favorites.  In fact,  I could just throw away the box of them now and not feel sad about it.  They're waxy and don't do anything in milk.  The peanut butter ones, however... mmm.... they're crispy, soft, and perfect dunked in some milk.  *sigh*  And as for the chocolate peanut butter ones-- chocolate peanut butter ANYTHING is delicious to me.  

I shared some with Cassity the other night.  I made a "variety plate" of each kind and a few cookies of each.  Do you know how many CALORIES were screaming from that plate??  Well, just to give you an idea... a serving size is "2 cookies", which is generally 7-9 grams of fat, or 140-160 calories.  You do the math, because I refuse.  It's probably not a coincidence that I missed the last 4 days of writing in my food journal.  (oops)

So then I think:  "Hmmm... is it better to just eat them all at once so they're all gone".... or.... "Should I savor them over the next few weeks and drag it out longer?"  I still haven't come to a conclusion.  But here I sit-- home from work because I'm sick.  I have 4 boxes of Girl Scout cookies in my cupboard.  WOW I could really make a mess of myself right now!  But I haven't eaten any today, so far... and that's an accomplishment.

Remember how I need to start running?  Yeah.  Everything under the sun is working against me.  If it's not my own body, it's the world around me. :)  For now, I'll stay cozy inside, feeling oh so powerful with 4 boxes of Girl Scout cookies... with all the control in the world of whether or not I'll eat them, share them, or save them.

P.S.  Did anyone else ever watch "Troop Beverly Hills" when they were younger?  I seriously watched that movie ALL the time!  Here's a little clip to celebrate cookie sales and what not.  Yee haw!

I Hate When I'm Sick.

Being sick is one of the things I hate most.  Especially the day before you really ARE sick, when you start feeling the symptoms of a sore throat, water eyes, sneezing, runny nose... and hope for some miracle that you'll wake up the next morning and you'll feel fine.  Wrong.  Today I woke up and definitely felt worse.  If I was in high school I would've thought, "Yes, I can tell mom I don't feel good and see if I can stay home from school."  But today I awoke knowing I had a Relief Society presidency meeting, ward council meeting, and then 3 more hours of church.  I'm too old to make excuses or have my mom or dad tell them I won't be at church today.  I still had to take the dog out in the cold, wet morning air, get ready as usual, and make it to church on time.  I made it through the first 2 meetings and the first hour of church-- then I went home early.  Luckily I have a nice roommate who made us soup for dinner after she got home from church.  That makes life easier.

But I'm still sick.  The dog still needs to go out.  And I feel miserable.  I hate it. 

I also hate that 2 weeks ago I couldn't walk due to severe post-workout soreness; 1 week ago I couldn't run due to "hernia"-like pains and symptoms. And now when I've finally overcome those struggles, I'm just plain sick.  Some evil force out there REALLY wants to keep me from running and getting back into shape.  For crying out loud, get off my back!  Can't a girl just feel good and normal?  *sigh*  Hopefully soon...

"It's Not a Toomah"

It's not a tumor.  It's not a hernia either.  I never thought I had a tumor, but I did think I had a hernia.  I thought that for about 5 days and I started getting nervous.  Let me take you back a week or so...

Remember that workout I did with the teens a couple weeks ago?  Yeah. Click here to review that day.  Anyway, it killed me.  Only it was mostly killing my legs, nothing else.  The next 4 days I couldn't walk normal and was in excruciating pain.  All the while, I had this increasing pain growing in my stomach but didn't think much of it.  I noticed it first 2 nights later as I was stretching and felt sharp pains right above and to the left of my bellybutton.  So I stopped that stretch and hobbled along my merry way.  The next day I went snowboarding-- bad mistake.  Since my LEGS were so sore and worthless, I used all my stomach muscle strength to get up from the ground each time and really over-exerted myself without realizing it.  The next few days followed with decreasing leg pain until exactly 5 days after the workout-- I felt almost okay.  

Then Thursday came, exactly a week after the workout.  I sat up in my bed and there was a stabbing pain in that same spot in my stomach.  I knew it wasn't "sore abs" because I didn't have that pain anywhere else-- just in that one direct spot.  It killed.  I got up for a minute, laid back in bed, and the pain was there every time I tried to roll over, move, shift, etc.  Thursday at work was okay and I felt the pain off and on. I did some research on the computer with one of my teens at work, and someone mentioned it could be a hernia.  I didn't even really know what that was.  So I read about it and felt like I had the correct symptoms and the possible causes seemed to fit the description. (the projection of an organ or part through the lining of the cavity in which it is normally situated, esp the protrusion of intestine through the front wall of the abdominal cavity. It is caused by muscular strain, injury, etc.)  My teen just brushed it off and told me to stop being a wuss, and actually punched me in the stomach to toughen me up.  Ouch. Then I was an idiot and decided to play church basketball that night.  Why would that ever be okay?

I played basketball anyway and that was another mistake.  I didn't last the whole game and probably played one of the worst games of my life.  Every time I passed the ball, shot the ball, dribbled the ball... the pain was stabbing and throbbing and aching.  But I kept playing until finally towards the end I sat out and couldn't bear to go back in.  When I left afterwards I was close to tears and was actually quite nervous and confused at such intense pain all at once.  I took some Ibuprofen and had to roll myself into bed and try to be extra careful.  The pain was throbbing all day Friday and I felt terrible.  I tried to call a few doctors but no one could see me right away.  I went to Urgent Care and as soon as I found out my co-pay was $100 I left.  :)  Luckily my friend's mom is a nurse so I called her and she asked questions and thought it could be a hernia also.  I decided I needed to lay low for the weekend and not do anything stupid.  I also called another doctor and made an appointment for Monday.

I was most upset over the fact that I'd planned on going snowboarding on Saturday to use the brand new snowboard I bought the week before.  It had snowed on Friday and the conditions were perfect.  But the stabbing pain wasn't worth fighting and I'd just have to keep my snowboard shiny and clean until another day.

The weekend slowly passed and I thought I had a hernia, and that was scary and weird.  But Sunday I actually felt a little better and I could tell it made a difference to just relax and not be very active.  I was excited for Monday to come so I could figure out what the heck was wrong with me.  And after visiting the doctor and doing a few painful sit-ups so he could press in on my stomach in various places (ouch)... he concluded that it wasn't a hernia (It's not a toomah) but a strained stomach muscle.  Really?!  PHEW!  He prescribed me some muscle relaxers (which I only take a night because they cause major drowsiness), told me to ice the area (which I've only done a few times), and said no physical activity for 7-10 days.  Sheesh... after all this motivating effort I've made to get back into my running groove, I just had to quit for a week.  Kind of a nice break but definitely sets me back a little.  Oh well.

It's been a good week and I feel close to 100%.  Sometimes I still feel the jabbing pain when I'm in the process of laying down or sitting up in bed, but other than that I'm good to go.  I'm actually looking forward to next week when I'm all better and can run free and sweat as much as I want to.  Until then... I'll enjoy a few more days of taking it easy and feeling grateful that "It's Not a Toomah."

Favorite Food Combos

Maybe I'm weird.  Maybe I like to eat weird things.  Maybe I got most of these ideas from my mom. :)  And I'm soooo glad she introduced me to them!  I'm a picky eater.  In other words... I eat like a 5 year old.  I would much rather eat a grilled cheese sandwich and chicken nuggets than some fancy Italian meal with gross herbs and spices.  Or I would rather have a whole box of macaroni and cheese than have a fresh meal of steak and potatoes.  But the following food combinations are my absolute FAVORITES and I could eat them every day, all day, and never get sick of them:

Macaroni & Tomato Juice

+

This is the cheapest meal of my life and I crave it all the time.  Cook macaroni the normal way, drain water, then add a mini can of tomato juice-- not sauce-- the juice.  I can eat it cold or warm.  Growing up, I always ate it with a slice of cheddar cheese and a glass of milk.  Recently I've also added a can of chili and shredded cheese.  Seriously! It's soooo good.  I'm so hungry just thinking about it.  

Toast & Orange Juice

+

This one definitely came from my mom, as did the macaroni and tomato juice.  It's simple.  Butter your toast, then dip it in a glass of orange juice and take a bite.  I usually break off pieces of the toast so it can fit better in the glass.  It's deeelicious.  If there is ever orange juice in the fridge... BOOM... toast is on the way.  Mmm!

Ritz Crackers & Mini Marshmallows

+

I have no idea where this one stemmed from but you have to be careful because these little snackers are addicting!  It's like the more I eat... the more I want.  Just pile on 4-5 marshmallows on top of a Ritz cracker, and eat it!  Shove the whole thing in your mouth or break it in half.  Either way, it's the perfect combination of sweet and salty.  Basically, Ritz with ANYTHING is fabulous-- cheese & peanut butter, etc.  But marshmallows are the best!

Banana & Peanut Butter

+

I know this one isn't totally unique, but I love it.  The perfect banana is just after it's turned from green to yellow... before it gets soft, brown, and spotted.  I usually just peel it, have a knife in hand, and use it to wipe peanut butter on the end after each time I take a bite.  I'd much rather do that than make a banana & peanut butter sandwich, although that tastes good too. Just give me a banana and peanut butter and I'm happy.

Additional Tasty Combos:

Vanilla Yogurt & Apple (cut into small chunks)

Bread w/ Peanut Butter, sprinkled with Nestle Chocolate "Quik" Powder

Spaghetti with Chicken Nuggets (cut into small pieces)

Go ahead.  Try any of them if you haven't already.  And tell me how much you love them!