Erin Jimenez

257 posts

Who is StorybookErin?

Mom Life Uncategorized

Today on the blog, I’m answer that question. Who is this Storybook Erin girl and what’s she all about?

I started blogging in 2011 as a hobby, I blogged about movies and just general daily adventures. At the time health wasn’t a priority in my life. It’s scary (and sad) to admit, but it wasn’t. I was in graduate school, working full time and dreaming of starting a family. Through all of that, I went from overweight to obese.

From the time I got married in 2008 until the end of 2011 I had gained a good 50-60 pounds and was completely uncomfortable in my own skin. I asked my husband if he would start walking with me to help me lose some weight and he agreed.

In January of 2012 we started walking a few miles a couple days a week, and limiting our junk food intake. It was around this time my blog started to shift focus and become more of a weight loss journey.

By April of 2013 I had fallen in love with running, ran two half marathons, countless 5k’s, lost about 60 pounds and was finally pregnant with baby number one.

Baby # 1 Pregnancy

My blog took a little shift again, and now was all about my pregnancy and running. After baby number one (Little Lady) was born, I continued to blog about running, being a mom and training for the Goofy Challenge at Walt Disney World.  In September of 2014 we found out that I was expecting again, so the blog went back to pregnancy posts, mom life and training for the Goofy Challenge.

Baby # 2 Pregnancy

Now here we are.

I’m a stay at home mom to two beautiful girls and on the blog you will find a combination of mom life, training, weight loss and all our adventures as a family of four living in Florida.

If you’re interested in following our story, please check out my social media channels linked below!

Question of the day: What’s your favorite fall activity?

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Please leave the link to your blog in the comment section so I can stop by and say hello!  

Favorite Products for Running + Training Run Recap, Fall 2015

Healthy Living Run Disney
Outfit of the Day! 
*this post contains affiliate links*

How I felt during the run: 
This was a very comfortable outfit for my 8 mile run. The visor helped keep the sweat out of my eyes, and the shirt was a mesh back so I was able to keep cool that way too.

I was having a little trouble with the sparkle skirt and the running belt today, for some reason the skirt just wasn’t sitting right on my hips and I felt like I was pulling it down the whole run.

Overall it was pretty comfortable and the compression socks help keep my legs feeling strong for those miles.

Question of the day: Do you run with a running belt?

Recipe Review: Black Bean Smothered Sweet Potatoes

Healthy Living

It’s been a while since I tried a new recipe. I’d gotten into a groove of buying the same groceries over and over again, it made meal planning easy and groceries faster. The only problem, I was sick of eating my own cooking. Truth is, if I AM  sick of my own cooking, I knew my husband probably was too. He doesn’t like routine when it comes to meals, he likes more of a variety.

I knew I had sweet potatoes roasting in the crock pot and some black beans in the pantry.

So, off to google I went and a quick google search landed me on the eatingwell.com website where I found a recipe for smothered sweet potatoes! 

This recipe can be done over the stove or if you are in a hurry it can be done in the microwave.  My husband and toddler (1.5 years) and I really enjoyed this meal. I loved that it was something new to try with ingredients we already had in our pantry. It’s also a great meal if you are trying to eat less meat.

Question of the Day: Have you ever tried black beans on your sweet potato?

You might also like…
5 minute meal for the picky toddler.
2 slow cooker recipes for a budget.  
Oven s’more recipe. 

Zoo Review: Audubon Zoo, New Orleans

Family fun

Our family recently road tripped to New Orleans to go visit the Audubon Zoo. We LOVE going to the zoo, mostly because animals are always fun to watch and you can guarantee that you will always have a unique experience at the zoo.

Animals are just fun!

After hubby and I took turns running through the city and breakfast at Starbucks, we set out for an adventure at the zoo!

(His Run & My Run Recaps!)

We arrived at the zoo right when it opened, and just enjoyed the beautiful fountain. Elephants are my favorite animal, so I didn’t mind spending time at the fountain.

The zoo was a little on the small side, so It didn’t take the whole day to get through the exhibits. Honestly, when you have two young children and it’s almost 100 degrees outside, you tend to appreciate smaller zoos.

A couple of the exhibits were not open (such as the elephants, sea lions and frogs) but of the exhibits that were open, our favorites were:

  • Primates
  • Giraffes
  • Louisiana Swamp
  • Reptile House
  • The white alligator

Other non-exhibit things we enjoyed were:
  • The Elephant Fountain
  • Ice Cream Shop
  • The play ground
  • The beautiful trees

Disappointments
I was pretty disappointed that everything seemed to have an extra charge. The zoo itself was almost 20.00 per adult to get in, and then if you wanted to go to the water section, dinosaurs and train there was an additional fee. I understand the train and merry-go-rounds, but I was disappointed that we weren’t able to see the water section without paying an additional fee. 
It seemed to be pretty cool based on what we saw on YouTube, but we didn’t experience the water section during this trip. Perhaps when the girls are older we will go again. 
Question of the day: Would you prefer to have an all inclusive ticket or pay separately for sections of a zoo? 

You might also like…
The Jacksonville Zoo 
Santa Fe Zoo 
Central Florida Zoo
Zoo Run Recap – 2013

Packing Tips: Two under Two

Family fun Mom Life

Our family recently went on a weekend trip to New Orleans. We loaded into the car at 2:00 a.m. and drove to New Orleans. We had a great trip, but a lot of planning went into the packing for that trip. There is a fine balance between being prepared and taking too much!

One way I stay organized now that we are a family of 4 is with packing cubes. I first learned about packing cubes on Jen’s Youtube channel (Pretty Neat Living).  On her blog she has a whole section about travel and packing, you should check it out – I always get lots of inspiration from her! Upon first glance, packing cubes can be quite expensive. However, I use a site called ebates and buy from the ebags website.  if you use the referral link included you can get a 10.00 gift card and start earning money just for shopping online! The ebags website typically gives back 8-12% cash back for purchases!

Go now, Free Money!!

Anyway, back to how I pack for trips with two under two!

Yes, you will be investing in the cubes, but i’ve found them to be so helpful. Especially because my oldest daughter loves to pick out her own outfits. With the packing cubes, I don’t have to worry about her picking a shirt she’s already worn, she only has the options still in the packing cubes!

How do you pack.

I put each persons items in a cube, all their socks and clothing must fit in a cube.
Towels, burp cloths, blankets and *extras* go in a different cube.

What happens when you get to your destination? 
All clean clothing and items stay in the cube. Dirty items go in a pile (sometimes they make it into an empty bag) until it’s time to go home.

Do you put dirty clothes in them to come home?
I don’t. I feel like it adds extra work when I get home, so I typically ONLY put clean items into the cubes, so they are ready for our next trip when we get home.

All the dirty clothes get stuffed into 1 bag, and the cubes, clean clothing, extra diapers and items go into the second bag.

Don’t believe me? Here’s a list of items packed for the girls ALL in 1 bag! 

Items for my four month old.

  • 2 pajamas
  • 5 pairs of socks
  • 2 dresses
  • 3 diaper covers
  • 2 shorts 
  • 1 pair of jeans 
  • 2 shirts
  • 1 hat
  • 1 swim shirt
  • 3 onesies

Items for my 19 month old.

  • 1 pajama
  • 6 pairs of socks
  • 1 pair of jeans
  • 1 bathing suit
  • 1 hat
  • 2 dresses
  • 2 onesies
  • 3 shorts
  • 3 shirts
  • 3 swim diapers
Extra’s packed
  • q-tips
  • powder
  • saline sprays
  • diaper rash cream
  • 2 bibs
  • 6 burp cloths
  • 1 sheet
  • 1 changing page
  • 100 wipes 
  • 38 Size 2 diapers
  • 32 Size 4 diapers
All items above were packed into 1 large duffle bag, and by using the packing cube system, I felt very organized upon our arrival in New Orleans! 
My husband and I also used packing cubes for our clothing and found it to be helpful when looking for our clothes. 
An added benefit to using the packing cube system is that it forces you to really think about what you will need, and NOT over pack. 

For fun I created a short video of me packing the girls items for our trip, I hope you’ll enjoy! Be sure to subscribe for more fun videos! 

Question of the day: Have you ever used packing cubes or a similar system for travel?

You might also enjoy…

Scene on MY run – New Orleans Running
Scene on HIS run – New Orleans Running
All the (mugs) I mean Souvenirs we purchased in New Orleans

Influenster Review: New Pampers Cruisers

Mom Life

Disclaimer: Influenster sent me a sample of the new Pampers Cruisers to try, all expressed opinions are my very own.

If you saw my unboxing video on YouTube last week, you saw that we were selected to try some of the New Pampers Cruisers. These diapers claim to turn your sag into swag. A pretty strong claim, i’d say.

My daughter is quite active, and loves to dance and play and does NOT like to be slowed down long enough for silly things such as diaper changes… (potty training time?!) I used the three diapers during nap time or bed time, because those were the two times she would go the longest between diaper changes.

I have to say, I was quite impressed. The newly designed pampers really do limit the sag – Good job, Pampers!

Here’s the closest I could get to a picture of her in the diaper… (go phins)!

Thanks again Influenster and Pampers for the opportunity to try your new product 🙂

Tips from Jeff Galloway – Do I Need a Training Plan?

Healthy Living Run Disney
Since I am part of the Jeff Galloway blogger program, I get tips and motivation from Jeff himself to share with all of you! This information came at a great time for me as I am about to start seriously training for an upcoming Half Marathon! 

Enjoy!

THE TRAINING PLAN
 

WHY SHOULD I HAVE A TRAINING PLAN?  When using a proven strategy, a runner gains control over fatigue while improving motivation.  Those who follow the right training plan, for the individual,  tend to improve more, with less injury risk.

WOULD BEGINNERS BENEFIT MORE FROM A PLAN  Unfortunately, most beginners “run as they feel” or follow conflicting advice.  This leads to confusion and more aches and pains.   The right schedule will systematically increase the type of running needed for a goal, with strategic rest for rebuilding.
 
KEY TRAINING ELEMENTS:

1)       A longer run builds endurance, 2) a hilly run builds strength, 3) Scenic or social runs insert fun and keep you coming back for more.

WHAT IS ADDED TO A PLAN IF THE GOAL IS TO RUN FASTER?  The right training plan will gradually increase the speed repetitions needed for the individual goal.  Easier days and rest days must be inserted before and after speed workouts.  To avoid injury, the pace and the increase must be realistic for the individual.   

EVERY OTHER DAY!  Most runners—especially beginners—run best when they run every other day.  This allows for the “weak links” to heal.  The very slow long run is usually on the weekend, when there is more time available.  Hills and fun days can be run on the short runs during the week (for example, Tuesday and Thursday)

SHOULD I EXERCISE ON NON-RUNNING DAYS? While you don’t have to exert yourself on non running days to improve your running, exercise will energize your mind, and improve your attitude and vitality—while burning some fat.  So I recommend any exercise that does not fatigue the calf muscle, such as recreational walking. 

DOES VARIETY HELP?  Changing things a bit can improve motivation.   You don’t have to change the “mission” on specific days, but alternating some of the courses or running with different groups can make each day more interesting.

WHAT ARE VARIOUS MISSIONS, FOR VARIOUS DAYS? Each type of run bestows a different benefit.  Hill runs build strength.  Drills that work on cadence, gentle acceleration and gliding will improve your running form.  Long runs produce stamina and endurance. 

WHAT SHOULD I DO THE DAY BEFORE AND THE DAY AFTER LONG OR FASTER RUNS?  Take it easy on these days.  Do little or no exercise, don’t over-eat, drink 8 glasses of water/sports drinks, and focus on how you will enjoy the next run.

SHOULD I SKIP THE REST DAYS—TO IMPROVE MORE QUICKLY.  Not Recommended!  It is during the days off from running that the running body rebuilds and improves.  While some runners can get away with running short and slow runs on rest days for a while, these “junk miles” can compromise recovery and lead to injuries. 
 

IF I DON’T LIKE A WORKOUT CAN I SUBSTITUTE? Following a consistent plan is more likely to lead to success and improve motivation.  Those who pick various elements from different schedules experience  more burnout and injury.  
_ _ _
NEW Jeff Galloway’s Customized Training Plan!

Let Jeff customize a plan that allows you to “have a life” while achieving your goals!  Your 6 month plan includes:
  • customized training schedule
  • daily email reminders for your workouts
  • drills to improve your running form and efficiency
For for runners of all levels, from beginning to ultra, with busy schedules or without a local Galloway training program.

Learn more now!
Jeff’s proven method has helped hundreds of thousands to achieve their goals, injury-free. Whether you’re a beginner or a Boston Qualifier, let us customize a plan that allows you to “have a life” while achieving your goals.Your 6-month Custom Training Plan includes –

  • A customized training schedule to your target race over the next season
  • Daily email reminders of upcoming workouts
  • Based upon your current conditioning
  • Drills to improve running form, efficiency, and speed
  • For runners at every fitness level, from beginning runners to ultra-runners
  • Perfect for those without a local Galloway Program or with busy schedules 
Register now for the Jeff Galloway 13.1 Half Marathon weekend from December 11-13th. 

  • Jeff Galloway 13.1 – Sunday, Dec. 13th
  • Barb’s 5K Presented by BeeCause – Saturday, Dec. 12th
  • NEW Fit Kids Run/Walk – Saturday, Dec. 12th

Register now!

Travel Souvenirs: New Orleans Edition

Family fun

Lately I’ve been really into watching “haul videos” on Youtube. I’m not sure why I’m so fascinated by them, but I am. I like to see what’s available and what people buy. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that our family tends to purchase the same types of things when we travel and I was curious if anyone else shares similar interest.

So, here’s a list of the souvenirs we purchased on our recent trip to New Orleans.

1. Hard Rock Cafe Pins.

My husband and his best friend both collect pins from the Hard Rock. My husband displays them on his guitar strap, and it serves as kind of a reminder of the places we’ve been.

2. Nike New Orleans Shirt.

My husband and I both LOVE Nike Shirts, we like to lounge around in them and to be honest, 90% of my husbands shirts are nike shirts (the other 10% is star wars or mickey).  We happened to mention that it would be fun to go get a nike shirt, and when we looked up the nike store, we were actually only a few miles away! So, we went!

3. Starbucks: You are Here Mug

I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t like to drink coffee out of this mug. I use my Mickey Mug every day and I LOVE it, so why change? However, we do love to collect these mugs as little memories of the places we have been, and they are wonderful for eating Soup (or ice cream) out of!

4. Books.

Since our girls are growing SO fast, I feel like clothing is a total waste of money. So, we purchase a book about the area. This trip we purchased Hello, New Orleans and What Sleepy Animals Do.  both of them were purchased at the Audubon Zoo. I get a little nervous about over spending because, as you can see EVERYTHING can be found on Amazon, but the prices were the same with the exception of the Hello New Orleans book. We paid 1.00 more at the zoo than if we’d bought it online.  Since we purchased the zoo book AT the zoo, we scored a signed copy, so that was pretty exciting for the girls.

Our girls really enjoyed both books, and Hello, New Orleans has become part of our bedtime routine.

5. Coffee and Mug.

If you go to New Orleans, GO TO CAFE DU MONDE! It opened in 1862, and you can get coffee and beignets 24 hours a day! The first time we went, it was almost sunset and the lines for both the take out window and the dine-in were ridiculously long. We actually waited in the take out line for almost an hour. Let me tell you, it was WORTH every second of the wait!

We went back on our way out of town and I purchased a can of coffee to bring home and surprised my husband with a mug and a can of the coffee they serve. New Orleans is a city he has ALWAYS wanted to visit, and I wanted to surprise him with something he wouldn’t expect.

Question of the day: Do you purchase souvenirs when you travel and what do you usually pick up?

Guest Post: Scene on HIS Run: New Orleans

Healthy Living

Hi Friends!

Since my love and I took turns running in New Orleans last weekend, I thought it’d be fun to show you some of the pictures he took while he was out running solo in the City! (Here’s my run in case you missed it).

My hubby’s Social Media.
Twitter Feed
Instagood pics
Facebook Page
Blog – Holy Things
Blog – All about Books 

There were a few things on my “must do list” for Labor Day Weekend in New Orleans. Beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde, see the mighty Mississippi river that Mark Twain raved about so very much, visit the Audubon Zoo as is our family tradition, eat an authentic New Orleans po’ boy sandwich and add a run to my map on Nike Plus.

OK, maybe that’s a bit more than just a few things. But if I was going to make the long trek out to NOLA, I wanted to be certain that there was enough to occupy my time. Oh, the trek? We left at 2 AM (Eastern) and arrived at 2:30 PM (Central). That’s a lot of time in the car. After being cooped up, I wasn’t sure that I actually felt like running. On several occasions, I considered scratching the fitness element off my list.

After arriving and checking into the hotel, we set out on our first adventure: beignets. Oh yeah, we were on vacation and we were going to treat ourselves immediately. Cafe du Monde, here we come! It was about 0.7 miles from our hotel, so we strapped up the baby and grabbed the toddler by the hand and made a beeline for sugary-fried-goodness.

Get in my belly Coffee & Beignets!

It felt like a hundred degrees outside and we got fresh, hot beignets, so we couldn’t get back to the hotel’s AC fast enough. There would be no running that afternoon for me. I would need to cool off and rest. Remember all that driving?

Taking Pictures @ Jackson Square

The next day, I got up early with my alarm. I got up at first light. Early enough when you’re on vacation. I had my clothes laid out so I could throw them on without disturbing the girls too much. I said bye to the wife and hit the road.

First (or second) light on Immaculate Conception Jesuit Church

It was a cool high 70s outside (South Florida Runner, that’s cool) and the city was quiet compared to the bustle of the previous evening. I made my way down Canal street towards Harrah’s Casino. It was about as peaceful as one would imagine a major city could be. I crossed the tracks by the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and there it was: The Mighty Mississippi.

Reader: perhaps you are from a part of this country that borders the Mississippi River. Perhaps you could read Huckleberry Finn on the very banks that the protagonist of that book explores. Until this weekend I had never visited it. I am a fan of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, so seeing the river brought me joy. Isn’t that why we go on vacation? For the joy of it? Isn’t that a good reason to go for a run? To bring a little joy into your life?

The Mississippi & Monument to the Immigrant

Next came a few selfies. I know, it’s very narcissistic but I did it anyways. As I cut through Riverwalk Park, I paused to take a pic of the Monument to the Immigrant because who cares about pace when you’re on vacation? Once I got to the Steamboat Natchez I decided I should head back. I promised the wife I’d only put in a mile and I was about to hit up cafe du monde again. For you close readers, you’ll note that I broke my promise.

Running through the French Quarter

I headed back to Canal street via Decatur and paused for a selfie in the French Quarter. The architecture was just beautiful. I had to document the moment. There were no incidents coming back up Canal street. Just friendly faces and more than a few fellow runners. I imagine they too were on vacation, adding a little run to their map as a memento of their trip to NOLA while relishing in a morning burst of endorphins.

As I entered my hotel, I realized that the model of New Orleans they had in the lobby was a perfect replica of the area I had just run through. I quickly snapped a picture for Instagram. I just ran NOLA.

Map of 1.90 mi. run through NOLA

 I entered the hotel room and realized right away that I’d be babysitting for a little while. Erin was up even though the babies were asleep still (we REALLY need to buy blackout curtains) and her running clothes were laid out on the bed. “Should I go out for a run? Is it safe?” I smiled. Going out for a run was probably the best decision I made that weekend. She should definitely go out for a quick run.

“Go.” I told her. And so she went for a quick mile run.

Just in case anyone is mad at me for going further than I said I would, take a look at this map. Yes, she went out further than I did, so there! You can read about the Scene on Her Run right now.

Scene on Her Run: my perspective

Scene on my Run: New Orleans

Healthy Living

Our family road tripped to New Orleans over Labor Day weekend. While the babies slept my husband and I took turns running around the city. It was strange for me to be running solo in a new city while my family was relaxing in the hotel, especially because my husband and I typically do EVERYTHING together, but it was a nice experience!

I set out to “only run a quick mile” but…

I ran 2. 
Here are some of the pictures I snapped while I was out. 
Aren’t the clouds beautiful!
The Mississippi River!
Cute little park by the river. 

Outside the aquarium.

Crossing the tracks and heading back to the hotel!

Stopped at Starbucks for a surprise treat for our daughter! She got to try Chocolate MiLk for the first time during our trip! 

Question of the day: what’s your favorite part about traveling? 

5 minute lunch for the picky toddler!

Mom Life

My comfort food is and has always been Macaroni and Cheese. I love it SO much I even recently ordered it at a restaurant. It’s just so comforting! 

My heart was a little broken when I realized my daughter does NOT have the same love for good ol’ fashion Kraft Mac & Cheese. I guess I should be glad since it isn’t the healthiest option available, but still I was a little saddened. 
She does however enjoy a good bowl of noodles with cheese. So, little lady’s special Mac & cheese was invented. It takes less than 5 minutes and is always a hit with my toddler. 
Recipe:
Cook peas (as desired)
Cook egg noodles 
Mix together with shredded cheese
Serve! 
My daughter loves this meal and I love that I can fix it in minutes. 
Lately she’s been helping me cook it, which is a bonus learning activity! 
Question: what’s your favorite quick lunch?

Family Vlog: Sanibel Beach

Family fun

In honor of #throwbackthursday I thought i’d share about a little adventure we had on Wednesday.

My Aunt and Uncle are staying in a little cottage on a local beach, so my sister, husband and two girls went over yesterday morning to visit for a little bit and go to the beach.  It was a short visit, because my husband had to work that afternoon, but we had a lot of fun.

Here’s a little sneak peak into our morning at the beach.

Enjoy!

How I transitioned our daughter off the bottle in 3 days.

Mom Life

This is the story of how our family transitioned our oldest daughter off the bottle in three days. Our method may not work for everyone, but it’s what worked for our family.

Background Story
Right before my daughters first birthday I resigned from my position at work and became a full-time stay at home mom. I was getting ready to welcome baby number two in a few short months, and wanted to get into some routines before the baby was born. One of the routines I wanted was a bottle free 1 year old. 
I didn’t want my oldest to be dependent on a bottle or a pacifier, and I didn’t want to be washing bottles for two babies. 
Well, after months of trying every sippy cup created, and dropping the bottle before naps etc. I stopped, she wasn’t ready, I was exhausted, we were approaching my due date and my husband had just accepted a new job (which would require us to move)… 
She kept the bottle.

18 Months.
At her 18 month check up, the pediatrician recommended we drop the bottle as soon as possible. Since I had been trying to wean her slowly off of the bottle for 6 months with NO success, I knew we would have to drop it cold-turkey.

The total transition took three days, and yes we have had some whiney times, broken a new leche (milk) cup, and have spent late nights reading stories and singing songs trying to get her to fall asleep without a pacifier or milk BUT, her last bottle was 10 days ago and we are moving forward!

So, here’s what we did.

Day 1 – Love, Love, Love.

After her appointment, I made sure to give extra hugs and kisses. Whatever comfort she was getting from that bottle needed to now come from me (and her daddy). I held her while she slept, gave her a hug and a kiss and told her how much I loved her before each bottle – she got lots of attention!

Day 2 – Conversation.

In addition to extra love and comfort, on this day we added in the conversation. Before each bottle, and while she was drinking the bottle we’d hold her and talk to her about what type of big girl “cheche cup” (milk cup) she wanted to buy. We talked about how she could go to Target and pick out any two cups she wanted to drink her milk out of, and how special it was that she was able to drink her cheche (milk) from a cup!

Day 3 – Shopping. 

After church, lunch and nap time on Sunday it was time. I pulled out a Target gift card, and gave it to my daughter so she could go shopping for a new cup for her milk. She was so cute as she held her little gift card on the way to target. Once we got there, she walked right into the aisle and quickly began to inspect ALL the cups.

The top choices were a Cars cup, A Princess Cup, Ninja Turtles and of course a Frozen cup. She held all four of them for quite some time but when it came down to it, Elsa and the other Disney princesses prevailed and we were on our way to the check out.

After she paid for the cups, she carried her bag all the way to the car.

When we got home, she and I had some milk in our big girl cups and said goodbye to the bottle.

That night, we had story time while drinking some milk then brushed our teeth and went to sleep.

The Week.
She has been a little more emotional, and had several more meltdowns that I know would be resolved in a second if I’d give her a bottle of milk – BUT, we aren’t going to do that. Her meltdowns don’t last too long, she gets distracted easily with her sister and begins to laugh.

Tips for Moms.

  1. Give yourself some GRACE.
    • I read post after post online about how important it is to drop the bottle before 18 months.
    • I almost cried when the pediatrician told me the bottle had to go.
    • I was scared we wouldn’t be able to transition, but we did and you can too!
  2. Know your child.
    • My daughter doesn’t do well with gradual change, she’s persistent and will eventually find a way to get what she wants (in this case, the bottle). This is why a coldish turkey method worked best. She knew it was coming, we talked about it and we did it!
    • Maybe your child isn’t ready, thats okay! 
  3. Coffee. 
    • Coffee (or Tea) is relaxing. Go have a cup…
Happy bottle transitioning! 



Weekend Recap: National Geocaching Day!

Family fun Healthy Living

Happy Monday Friends!

How was your weekend? Our family had a great visit with my parents, and spent a good portion of the day Geocaching!

If you aren’t familiar with Geocaching, it’s basically a little treasure hunt with your GPS. I’ve been geocaching since 2006, when smart phones weren’t in the hands of every person from 8 to 80.  You enter some coordinates into your gps and search for a small log, once there you sign the paper and then go into your geocaching website and log it there too! Back in the day, you needed a real hand held GPS and a notebook to jot down clues and information found on the website before you left on your adventure. Now, you can download apps on your phone and be on your way without any planning.

It goes up and down with popularity, and I even go through phases with it, BUT it’s a lot of fun! My husband and I love it because it’s something you can always do. If you have a day that you aren’t sure what you want to do, geocaching is an essentially FREE option. Essentially you are just paying for a little gas to drive from location to location and you’re good to go!

More info can be found here!

We’d planned an adventure with my parents for Saturday, and then while we were on our way geocaching I realized that it was actually National Geoaching Day! So, that was pretty exciting!

Here’s a sneak-peak into our afternoon of Geocaching!

After geocaching we went and had some soft serve ice cream at a local produce stand and headed home before the afternoon thunderstorms.

How was your weekend? Have you ever been or heard of Geocaching?

Running Tips from Jeff Galloway

Healthy Living Run Disney

As you know, I am a blogger for Jeff Galloway. As such, I get tips directly from Jeff to share with my readers! 

Hope you enjoy his tips on training through the heat, I know in Florida it’s always a struggle to start a training plan for a fall or winter race because you have to begin in the hottest part of the year! 
Enjoy!

Dealing With the Heat

Training through the summer can not only be grueling, but down right dangerous.  Here are some tips to train safely and as comfortable as possible in the hot summer months.

Slow down by 30 sec/mile (20 sec/km) for every 5F temperature increase above 55-60F ( every 2.5C above 14C)
When the temperature is over 70F (21C) you may take a 5 minute “cold shower break” every 25-30 minutes to keep cool.
Try to complete your run before the sun rises above the horizon.
More frequent walk breaks during hot weather can lower body temperature increase.  If you used to run 3 minutes between walk breaks, run only 90 seconds (walk 30 seconds) at 70F (21C) and at 80F (26C) drop to 60 sec run/30 sec walk or 30/30
When you start to heat up more than normal, take a longer walk in a mall or indoor AC building
Pick shady courses on hot days.
Don’t wear a hat!  Pour water over your head
Have an indoor alternative—treadmill, etc
Run in the deep end of the pool, using a flotation belt
– – –
ANOTHER AMAZING LAKE TAHOE RETREAT!

We stay at the beautiful and comfortable Squaw Valley Lodge. Lodge amenities include indoor and outdoor hot tubs, swimming, tennis, sauna and fitness room. Week camp began Thursday, July 23th.  Weekend camp began Friday, July 24th at 5PM. Both camps began with an easy run to get acquainted.  The morning breakfasts were followed by clinics by Jeff and his guests. Seminar topics include Running Injury Free, Nutrition, Speed work, Goal setting, Shoe selection, Pool running, and Running form / analysis.
After lunch, our guests shopped, went sightseeing, sunned by the pool, or joined the group for a scenic hike, T-shirt swap, bike ride, river raft ride, etc. The group gathered again in the evenings for dinner onsite or at one of the nearby restaurants and after-dinner relaxing.

You can learn more about the various Jeff Galloway Retreats at http://www.jeffgalloway.com/retreats/.

– – –

MAKE YOUR NOMINATION FOR THE MARATHON FOTO/ROAD RACE MANAGEMENT LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Make your nomination today!

In conjunction with the Road Race Management Race Directors’ Meeting, Road Race Management and MarathonFoto will again honor an individual who has made a major difference in the sport with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award is for contributions to the sport of long distance running over the course of a lifetime. Nominees, who may be either living or deceased, should have made major contributions to the sport in more than one area, for example as an administrator, elite athlete, promoter of the sport, or innovator as an event director or vendor.

“We are seeking to honor a ‘sport changer’…a person who really made a difference,” says Phil Stewart, RRM editor and publisher.
Nominations from the public are being solicited and will close on August 31, 2015.

A ten-person committee will choose the winner to be announced November 6 at the Race Race Management Race Directors’ Keynote dinner in Hollywood, FL.

3 things that surprised me after losing 90 pounds.

Healthy Living

We all have a starting place… Mine exceeded any number I thought I’d ever see on a scale, and the thought of attempting to lose 100 pounds was scary – the thought of NOT losing 100 pounds was even scarier.

I don’t share my story to brag, because honestly, I couldn’t have lost a pound without the support I found online through social media or more importantly my husband and family.  I share my story to help others who may know they need to lose weight but are terrified to start.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that since January 1st, 2012 I have lost 90 pounds and become a mother to the two most beautiful baby girls i’ve ever seen. In fact, I’m not sure i’ll ever be able to wrap my head around it, but here are the three things that surprised me after losing 90 pounds.

Take a moment and look at these few pictures from 2010 – 2011, it’s when I was reaching my heaviest.

Go ahead,… take a look.

Our Church
2010

FIU
2011
Camp
Summer 2011

Beach Vacation
Summer 2011

 

See how happy we are? My husband and I were genuinely happy. Our weight was steadily increasing, but so was our love for each other. 
So, now that you’ve seen more of less where we started. 
Here are 3 SHOCKERS about losing a large amount of weight. 
Shocker 1: It’s really hard to take a compliment. 
If in the last few years, you’ve told me how great I look – and I’ve been really awkward in response, or perhaps offended you, I am sorry. 
I just really don’t know what to say when people comment on my weight loss – really… I don’t. Mostly because I’ve been uncomfortable with my weight for most of my life, and because of my discomfort I read WAY too deeply into what people say to me. It’s sad, but it’s the truth. 
From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!  If I seem awkward or slow to respond just know my heart is bubbling, and I’m thankful someone noticed my hard work. 

My FIRST 5K, Everest Challenge
May 2012

Shocker 2: The struggle is REAL

My husband gets onto me ALL the time because when we go shopping I will automatically look at the plus sizes – not just look at them, but try them on. This is why I’m no longer allowed to shop online – I have no idea what size I am. 
When you’ve seen certain sizes in your closet for your entire adult life, it’s very hard to re-train your brain to give that medium a try. 
Shocker 3: You won’t look like you envisioned, and that’s okay. 
When I first set the goal of losing 100 pounds, I imagined I’d have a flat stomach and basically look perfect. The closer I get to my goal, the more I realize my vision won’t be the reality, and I’m okay with it. 
Truly. 
I’ve had two babies, and lost a significant amount of weight in order for me to have a flat stomach, I’ll probably need skin removal. I’ve got saggy skin, it’s gross – but it’s the truth. 
Whatever your goal is, go for it! Weight loss has been the hardest journey I’ve ever taken, but look at these two beautiful gifts I received after getting my health on the right track. 
Weight loss is a process, it takes time, dedication, and a decision to make better choices each day. I’m so thankful my husband said yes when I asked him to help force me out of bed an hour and a half earlier each morning for a walk. Those early morning walks are some of my most cherished memories of our times together. 

A day in the life – RunDisney Registration Day!

Mom Life Run Disney

Now that I’m a full-time stay at home mom, I thought it’d be fun to share a day in my life. Unfortunately, every time I think about writing one, or filming one, … I realize my life is pretty routine and slightly boring.

But, if you are interested in a “normal” day, let me know. I’ll be happy to share!

So, here we go!

Our day, RunDisney Princess 1/2 Registration Day!!

As you know I’ve been excited nervous about registration day for a while. My sisters and I are going to be running at the Princess weekend, and registering for these races is getting more and more competitive. So,… I had to be ready!

If you don’t know, I have two beautiful daughters. My oldest is 18 months, and my youngest is 3 months next week.

4:00 a.m. – Baby 2 wakes up for a snack.

5:00 a.m. – Baby 2 wakes up for a snack again.

6:30 a.m. – My husband gets up and gets ready for work.

7:45 a.m. – Both babies wake up for the day.

8:00 a.m. – My husband leaves for work.

From 8:00 – 11:00 a.m. – My oldest will have breakfast and a snack during this time. We also spend some time with the baby on her tummy and read lots of stories.

11:00 a.m. – Boot up the lap top to get ready for registration. Change diapers, prepare snacks and try not to freak out about registration.

11:30 a.m. – Baby wakes up from her nap extremely fussy.

11:35 a.m. – Start the Little Mermaid.

12:02 – I’m registered!!!!! (oh, I was able to calm the baby down during registration)

12:30 p.m. – FaceTime with my sisters, relieved that we MADE it into the Disney Princess weekend!!

12:30 – 2:00 p.m. – More play time and tummy time with the girls

2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Singing time and nap time for my oldest and more tummy time and play time for my youngest.

Have you noticed that the baby only takes small cat naps? … yeah.

4:00 – 5:30 p.m. – playtime until Daddy comes home.

6:00 – 8:00 p.m.  – Chick Fil A Cow Appreciation Dinner. We dressed like a cow and got free meals at Chick Fil A then went to the park to play for a bit.

8:00 – 9:00 p.m. – I went to the store and did the dishes from the day while my husband did bath time routine and played with the girls.

9:30 p.m. – Bedtime Routine for my oldest, and one last feed for the baby.

10:00 p.m. – both babies are asleep for the night.

Yep. We play all day and I try to do most cleaning and housework when my husband is home to play with the girls.

So, that was our day!

How was yours?

Running Announcement: RunDisney Glass Slipper Challenge

Healthy Living Run Disney

Friends, I’m in!

I’m officially registered for the 2016 Princess Glass Slipper Challenge!

Any other princesses out there?

I’m looking forward to sharing with all of you my training. Now that I’m a mom of 2 under 2, and my husband is marathon training, and we just recently moved to a new city and so many new things I know it will be a challenge but I can’t wait to share my journey with you!

Blacklight Run – Tampa Recap

Healthy Living
“The colors will wash away, but the memories never fade”
… (excerpt from Blacklight Run 2015 Youtube Video.)

Registration
Ever since my sisters watched my husband and I complete the Goofy Challenge  they have wanted to get into running, and have sent me a few runs to consider doing with them. When we saw a local fun run for only 20.00, we thought it’d be great!

My husband and my sisters husband agreed to watch the girls (3 of them… all under 2 years old) so we could do it – SO we registered.

Training
I didn’t train.

My sisters did, I did not.

Packet Pick up

This run almost required you to pick up your packet the day before. Actually, if you didn’t pick it up, there was a fee of 5.00 to pick it up at the race… seriously? What’s up with that?

Thankfully my sister picked mine up for me, so I was able to save 5.00.

Pre-Race Communication

I received several emails prior to the event asking me to download a specific app to participate for a chance to win prizes. but no emails with instructions for parking etc… only in an initial email that it would be 10.00 to park, and so car pooling is recommended.

I didn’t download the app, my sister did and said it was just like instagram.

Traffic & Parking Direction

It took us over an hour to get less than 2 miles, and when we actually got too the gate it was only 6.00 to park (not the 10.00 as stated) and there were only 2 people directing traffic.

2 people for something like 10,000 people? – I’m not actually sure how many people were registered.

Signs & Lighting

Okay, we’ve arrived and parked. (Hallelujah)

We had trouble locating the starting line, and really anything because there were NO lights. … Typically for a night run, you can find the start line because it’s well lit, not this one.

In fact, the finish line didn’t have a single light at it either!

The Course

We were in a wave that started around 9:15 p.m., I’m not sure how many waves went before us but when we finally got to the start line and went, the cones were all over the place, there was no direction, limited lighting, pot holes EVERYWHERE, only a few random poles with a blacklight at the top and tons of people crowded around it trying to take a picture… (of what, i’m not sure because the color stations didn’t have any powder…)

It was hard to run because of the crowds, and lack of proper safety necessities (such as lights and volunteers or employees)

There was a water station (in the dark) with no one staffing it, just a table with bottles of water.

When we arrived at the finish line, there wasn’t anything. No lights, no water, no volunteers or any visible staff …

Additionally, there was only one ambulance and maybe two medics about half way through the course…

Bottom Line.

I was disappointed in the way Youtube portrayed the run, because when you watch the youtube promos you see lots of glow stations, color and fun… when you arrive, it is NOTHING like i’d seen on the Youtube videos.

I hope to NEVER participate in this athletic event again. We probably would have had more fun spending our 20.00 at dinner or a movie than the Blacklight Run in Tampa.

Question of the day: What’s the most disappointing run you’ve participated in?

I am in no way affiliated with the Blacklight Run, I registered and paid for this run with my own money. I always try to find the positive in things, and give honest feedback. However, I felt that this athletic event is not worth the time, I was extremely disappointed in the organization of this event. 

Tips from Jeff Galloway – The *new* Run/Walk/Run

Healthy Living Run Disney

As you know, I am a Jeff Galloway blogger and as such I receive tips from Jeff to share with all of you. The latest tip introduces a new way to complete the Run-Walk-Run method. When I was pregnant, and Marathon Training I used 1 minute ratios.

See the latest from Jeff on the best ratio for increasing speed below.

Jeff Introduces a New Run/Walk Strategy
 The 30-second Walk Break

Jeff Galloway‘s Run/Walk/Run method was revolutionary for three reasons: 
1 – Run/Walk/Runners felt better throughout the long run.
2 – Run/Walk/Runners recovered faster and got injured less often.
3 – Run/Walk/Runners went faster with the breaks than without. 
Since his introduction of walk breaks in 1974, Jeff he has received feedback from hundreds of thousands of runners, allowing him to fine tune Run/Walk/Run to keep people feeling better, staying healthy, and running faster. 
The greatest benefit of the walk break comes in the first 30 sec. 
Our heart rates come down, the running muscles relax, we catch our breaths, and the fatigue melts away. 
After 30 seconds of walking, we tend to slow down. 
Here is a typical example of what happens with a 1-minute walk break: 
A run/walk/runner averaging 10-minute pace in a marathon using 3 min/1min might walk at a 15-minute mile pace for the first part of the race.
As fatigue sets in, that walk gets slower, and by halfway, the runner may be walking at 18 min/mi. 
This means faster running is needed to stay on pace, which creates more fatigue at the end of each running segment, so the walk will get slower, and so goes the downward spiral at the end of the race. 
Avoiding the Slow-down 
Compared to running constantly, the 1-minute walk break still results in runners feeling better, staying healthier, and going faster, but it can get even better! Limiting walk breaks to 30 seconds, or in some cases even less, while cutting the run time accordingly, gives all the same benefits, with even less fatigue and even faster times. 
The Bottom Line 
If you are in already using a 30-second walk break or less, you don’t need to adjust. If you are using an interval that takes a 1-minute walk break, keep the same ratio but cut your walk and run times in half. For example, a 1-minute/1-minute interval now becomes a 30-sec./30-sec. interval. It’s that simple.

Do you run-walk-run, what’s your preferred ratio?

First Run After Baby # 2

Healthy Living Mom Life

June 3, 2015

National Running Day. 
It was the day I’d chosen to make my way back into the running world after my little break during pregnancy. 
It was going to be perfect, I was going to feel fast and graceful. I’d be like a beautiful gazelle running in the sunshine. 
Yeah. 
That didn’t happen. 
That first run felt awkward… It was like my insides were jiggling from my throat to my my toes and then settling somewhere inbetween during walk breaks and did I mention my skin? It may have been slapping me in the face… Well maybe not – but I’m sure it was flapping. 
I wish I’d remembered these feelings from the first run after my oldest was born, but I didn’t. 

I put this photo as my profile picture on Facebook as a reminder that I… 
– trained for a marathon with an infant at home 
– trained and ran that marathon (goofy challenge) 6 months pregnant.
– that mouse (man) next to me believes in me
– I will get my groove back someday
Question: how was your first run after a break?  

Fort Myers Life with Two under Two

Mom Life
Friends, we have officially been in our new city as a family of four for 3 weeks. Somewhere between unpacking the boxes, finding a rhythm and attempting to keep food on the table and lunch in my husbands lunch box every day my babies started to grow up.


My 16 month old started a consistent nap and bed time (for the first time in her life) and my newborn packed on three pounds and two inches.

I stand at my counter typing this post gazing at my toddler playing in the (extremely messy) living room and my newborn watching closely from the swing and ask I myself the same question I get over and over again.

“How do you do it?”

I no longer plan anything more than meals, naps and bedtime.  The diaper changes, snacks, story times, play times and all over daily activities are unscripted.  We simply go with the flow… if we want to read an extra story, or pull out every last toy, or have a little dance party – we do. 



Why? 

  • Because if I stop and think about the stressful things going on,
  • my husband starting a new job
  • selling our first home – the one we worked SO hard to get…
  • our A/C dying (forcing my husband to leave me alone in the hospital with our newborn)
  • Our car randomly smoking – like CRAZY  due to a loose oil cap.. (the oil cap that just doesn’t seem to stay put)
  • resigning from my job (I did that in January, but still…)
  • moving to a new city with my husband and 15 month old as my only support for this new life
  • etc… etc.. etc.. 

    I’d miss the precious tender moments with my girls. I might have missed our newborns first social smile, I might have failed to hear my toddler exclaim “Good Job” to her sister during tummy time and I might have neglected to sit and listen to my husband when he came home from his first few weeks of work. 


    So, how am I doing it? 


    He must become greater and greater and I must become less and less.  Jn. 3:30 (The Living Bible)

    Until you realize that God is way bigger than all those little things (that build up into big things) you’re going to miss out – and I don’t want to miss a moment with the three most important people in my life. 


    As long as I remember that my God is bigger, and able to supply my needs we’re going to be okay. 

    And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:19 (New Living Translation)

    Until next time… 


    Running with Friends – The Galloway Training Group

    Healthy Living Run Disney

    Do you run with a group, or do you prefer the time all alone? I’ve only ever run with my husband and on occasion my sister and her friend. However, I’m so curious to see what training and running with a group is like.

    Jeff Galloway has several training groups all over the U.S.  sadly, there isn’t one in my area but maybe there is one in yours!

    THE POWER OF THE GROUP

    The fun of running with a group pulled me into the sport 57 years ago.  Running and training with my friends Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter Bill Rodgers, brought out the best of running in me—while we became good friends, and Olympians.  As I travel the US this season, for our Galloway training program kickoffs, I see the same fun, support and friendship development.  I hope to see many of you at our free clinics.  Here are the ways I’ve observed runners of all abilities improve more and have more fun when in the right group.
    1. Great friendships
    2. The miles go by quicker—telling stories, sharing life experiences
    3. Guidance in running with the right group for you, with the appropriate run walk run strategy
    4. Because the group is waiting for you, you will stay motivated and get out there more often
    5. You’ll learn about some interesting races, places to run, fun running experiences
    6. On the really tough workouts and races, the group will pull you through
    7. Access to tools for management of nutrition, fluids, motivation, aches/pains
    8. The right group leadership can fine-tune the pace of each workout, avoiding injury/exhaustion
    9. Helping others who are struggling bestows an amazing sense of achievement
    10. Sharing the empowerment of finishing a long run can change your life
    Most groups, like our Galloway programs allow runners to try them out for free.  Together we can celebrate fitness and inspire others to improve the quality of their lives.

    Highlights of this year’s Galloway Training Programs:

    • Discount on the Jeff Galloway 13.1 and Barb’s 5K LINK
    • 50% discount of Jeff Galloway’s Running Schools and Blue MT Beach Retreats
    • Discounts on Phidippides products – Jeff’s store and the original running specialty store LINK
    • Discounts on ElliptiGO, my favorite way to cross train outside
    • Discounts on Pacific Health Products Accelerade & Endurox
    • Discounts on Cooper Complete vitaminsLink
    • Galloway Alumni hat available just for those who have been a part of our team before
    • Newly redesigned Galloway Training medal to celebrate completion of this year’s program

     

    Question: Would you consider training with a group? 

    Family Announcement: We moved to Fort Myers, FL

    Mom Life

    I can hardly believe we are creeping up on the half way point for 2015!

    What??? 
    I have so much to share, but some of it I’m not exactly sure how to share so for now… Here are some of the happenings from the first part of our year! 
    – resigned from my job to stay home with my babies. 
    – ran a Marathon (actually, the goofy challenge at Disney)
    – said bye bye to our doggies (they are “on vacation” at Abuelas) 
    – had a baby
    – got our condo ready to sell
    – moved to Ft. Myers (husband got a new job) 
    There are lots of other little things, but those are the biggest and the crazy part is… The last three all happened between March and April… 
    So, how am I doing? I’m exhausted. I miss my home, I miss having my mother in law drop by with  fresh (warm) banana bread, I miss my church, I miss so many things… 

    In fact

    I’ve cried so hard at times my chest hurt.
    But… When I see my husband walk in the door from work, and he’s happy, Genuinely happy to be working in a field he worked so hard to be a part of, and when we sit around the table as a family of four to eat dinner, I know we are right where God led us to be. 
    From the moment he scheduled the interview, I felt God telling me it would all be okay. 
    Yes, I’ve cried a fair amount of tears in the last few weeks. 
    Yes, I miss our home and life in Miami. 
    The answer is yes. 
    But when I stop and think about it, the four most important people in my life are here. 
    And it is alright! 
    So, here’s to the rest of 2015 and our new adventure in Fort Myers. 

    Photo Credit: Vincent Hogan, The League of Extraordinary Artists 

    An Earth Day Birthday and the Famous Lily

    Mom Life

    Introducing Robyn Zuzu

    As you know from our first daughter, we spend a lot of time thinking, talking, and praying about a name for our children. Naming a child is a huge blessing and responsibility, and we are always sure to take our time.

    Once we pick the name, we save it. We pray daily for our baby by name and spend the rest of our pregnancy bonding with our baby.  Now that we have two babies it was a little harder. We’d decided after our first that we wanted to do two things with our children’s names.

    1. We want them to start with the letter “R”
    2. We want to incorporate Christmas into the middle name.

    Christmas is a very special time of year, especially for our family as we got married at Christmas time  sooooo, why not?

    Zuzu.

    I first came across the name while looking online at lists of Christmas names and when I realized that Zuzu came from It’s a Wonderful Life, I was in love.

    Literally in love.

    It’s a Wonderful Life has a special place in my husbands heart, and a growing place in mine.

    So, the research started and here is what I found out.
    1. Our Zuzu is not the only one, in fact one Zuzu was a popular Brazilian fashion designer.
    2. It is a form of the name Susan (actually Zuzu is a nickname for “Susan” in It’s a Wonderful Life)
    3. It means Lily in Slavonic

    Zuzu is not only fun to say, but it has personality and as each day passed, I couldn’t imagine our baby to be named anything different.

    She was Zuzu.

    We struggled with the “R” name for a while, but when we started looking at meanings, everything was clear and the name Robyn Zuzu was hers.

    Robyn, which means “famous” and Zuzu which means “Lily” reminds us of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

    So, when you meet our Zuzu, may not only your heart be warmed by memories of Christmas, and how wonderful life is but you think about our Lord and Savior.

    The Lily of the Valley, Charles W. Fry.

    I have found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me,

    He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
    The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see
    All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.
    In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay;
    He tells me every care on Him to roll. 

    Refrain:
    He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
    He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul. 

    2 He all my grief has taken, and all my sorrows borne;
    In temptation He’s my strong and mighty tow’r;
    I have all for Him forsaken, and all my idols torn
    From my heart and now He keeps me by His pow’r.
    Though all the world forsake me, and Satan tempt me sore,
    Through Jesus I shall safely reach the goal. [Refrain]

    3 He will never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here,
    While I live by faith and do His blessed will;
    A wall of fire about me, I’ve nothing now to fear,
    From His manna He my hungry soul shall fill.
    Then sweeping up to glory to see His blessed face,
    Where rivers of delight shall ever roll. [Refrain]

    Four Ways To Energize Your Day and Clear Your Brain

    Healthy Living Mom Life

    Good Morning Friends,

    Happy Marathon Monday!!! I’m so excited for all those running in the Boston Marathon today. It’s such an accomplishment to train for a Marathon, and the 26.2 miles is part of the celebration!
    So, congratulations to everyone who lines up at the starting line!!

    As you know, I am a Jeff Galloway Blogger. As such, I am given the opportunity to share tips and articles written by Olympian Jeff Galloway. Here is the latest article, hope you enjoy!

    Four Ways To Energize Your Day and Clear Your Brain
    by, Olympian Jeff Galloway
    runinjuryfree.com

    It’s natural to become focused on the big things in life, and worry about outside forces, building stress.  A few simple lifestyle adjustments can result in greater control over attitude and energy, while reducing stress and fatigue.  Yes, you can exert more control over your life, produce positive attitude hormones, and blend together body, mind and spirit by planning and taking action.
     

    1. Walk or run, one day and a walk (or cross train) the next.  While the exertion will wake up the muscles, you’re away from the phone, allowing the mind a little freedom.  Most who start with a blank mental state, finish their exercise session with the day planned, and a few new ways to deal with problems.  Others like to walk/run during lunch hour, while munching on an energy bar.  This can clear out morning stress and prepare mind-body for the challenges of the afternoon.  Many evening exercisers believe that the weight of the day’s stress is erased or contained with the after-work workout.  Scheduling these outings gives you control over your existence.
    2. Don’t sit–walk!.  The addition of a few extra short walks, throughout the day, will energize the body and activate the mind.  Park farther away from work, the food store, the transit station, etc.  Many of my clients use a step counter for motivation and calorie counting.  It helps to find one that is consistent and reliable (usually @ $30).  Shoot for 10,000 steps a day.  You are rewarded for  getting out of your chair (or  the couch) more often.  These short walks burn fat, which adds up (up to 30 pounds a year!).  The best reward is the head clearing effect, which can power you through the mid morning or mid afternoon energy crises.  Even a 3-4 minute “recess” walk at work, can result in clearer thinking, more energy, and greater self-confidence.   
    3. Eat more frequently.  Each time you eat, even a small snack, you’ll boost your energy level. The longer you wait to eat, the more likely your metabolism will slump into drowsiness and laziness.  This also means that you’re not burning many calories.  If you divide up your daily calorie budget into 6-9 snacks a day you’ll burn more fat (up to 10 pounds a year).  Eat a snack every 2-3 hours, and you can feel better all day.  It helps to choose foods that have (percentage of calories vs total calories) about 20% protein, about 15% fat and the rest in complex carbohydrate.  This combination will leave you satisfied longer with fewer calories consumed.  To experience a fat loss, consumption can be managed through websites or journals.  For more information, see A WOMAN’S GUIDE TO FAT BURNING by Jeff and Barbara Galloway.
    4. Help someone exercise. The psychological benefits are significant when you help someone improve the quality of their life.  Offer to walk (run, hike) with your spouse, parent, friend co-worker, child—or all of the above.  My books WALKING & GETTING STARTED have proven programs with motivation which can lead you  and your “coach-ee” through the training. 
    Question of the Day: Do you need to focus on any of these tips? Which one (or ones)?

    Why do we get injured? – Jeff Galloway Tips for Running

    Healthy Living Run Disney

    I hope you’ve been enjoying all these tips on running from Jeff Galloway, I know that I have.

    Motivational Tips.  More Tips.

    On Injury. 

    When following a training plan its important to know your body. Here are a couple tips from Jeff Galloway on just why we get injured.

    1. Be aware of the irritation of weak links.

    The key weak links are body parts where my runners tend to experience injuries are these:

    • knees
    • feet
    • calf
    • achilles
    • hip
    • glute
    The body parts that YOU need to be aware of are the sites where you are injured or suffer more aches and pains. 
    So, if you’re sensitive to the first indication or irritation in these areas and take immediate action its possible to avoid injury. 
    2. Stress build up due to the way we train. 
    • Training schedule is too intense-not enough rest between stress. 
    • Adverse training components – speed is too fast or has too much, too soon. 
    • Running form – too long a stride, forward lean, bouncing too high off the ground. 
    So staying focused on the way one runs and following these guidelines, can often allow runners to maintain a manageable increase without injury. 
    _ _ _ 
    Top 5 Ways to avoid Stress Buildup and avoid injuries
    1. Take walk breaks more frequently and run shorter run segments
    2. Form: shorter stride, feet low to the ground
    3. Slower long runs, with more walk breaks
    4. Avoid Stretching
    5. Be careful when running speed sessions 

    Jimenez Family Zoo Tour – Jacksonville Zoo

    Family fun
    All about that bump…
    34 weeks! 

    Our third and final Zoo for the tour was the Jacksonville Zoo. We woke up a little later than we wanted, BUT our little lady was SO exhausted so it was nice to get some extra sleep.

    When we arrived at the Jacksonville Zoo I was so excited, it was really big and organized, and pretty!   To be honest, it felt like we were standing in line to go to Busch Gardens.  It was also exciting to watch our Little Lady excitedly run into the zoo. By the time we made it to this zoo, she was a pro!

    She would run from exhibit to exhibit to and shout “Dadda, Dadda” and point. I LOVED it! Chris and I love to go to the zoo, we love to walk around and see the animals and just enjoy a relaxing day together. There is nothing more magical than seeing your daughter enjoy the same things that you love.

    “Dadda, Dadda!”
    Showing Dadda the ducks.
    Elephants!
    Mommy’s favorite exhibit at the Zoo.
    The Giraffe Exhibit
    Snack Break! 

    We spent about 7 hours at the zoo, and just barely made it through all the exhibits before the zoo closed. Thankfully the zoo was well organized with one main road through the center with several loops of animals to look at.

    Some of our favorite exhibits included:

    • Giraffes
    • Elephants
    • Aviary (not my favorite, because I’m scared of birds)
    • Leopard 
    • Zebra
    Planning our next stop! 
    Petting Zoo!

    She LOVED petting the “dogs” at the Zoo. 
    One tired little lady! 

      Our Honeymoon
      St. Augustine
      December 2008
      After Jacksonville we realized we were only about an hour from St. Augustine and… we had a rental car…so it wasn’t miles on our car…and Little Lady would LOVE the Fort… 
      Okay, really… she was asleep in the car and we really didn’t want to just go back to the hotel at 5 p.m., so we decided to go soak in some more vacation in St. Augustine. We went there on our Honeymoon and just love the city, so we decided to go enjoy the evening together. 

      The Gates of the City, St. Augustine
      #awkwardfamilyphoto

      It was great, we loved spending the evening together and with our daughter. I can hardly believe that that will be our last get-away adventure as a family of three before our love bug arrives! I’m excited for our family and looking forward to the arrival of our Love Bug in just a few weeks! 

      Question: What’s one of your favorite places to visit? 

      Jimenez Family Zoo Tour – Santa Fe Zoo

      Family fun

      Next up on our Zoo Tour was the Santa Fe Teaching Zoo in Gainesville, Florida. This Zoo is affiliated with Santa Fe College, and is a place for zoo students to get real life experience during school. It only took us a few hours to see the whole zoo (at a slow pace), and we really enjoyed being shaded by the lush trees, and intimate atmosphere.

      Some of our favorite exhibits included the Gibbons, the Ocelot and of course the Otters!

      There is no splash pad at this zoo, but there is a nice play ground for the kids to enjoy, and a large picnic area out side of the zoo.

      After the Zoo we went to visit my family for the afternoon.

      Jimenez Family Zoo Tour – Central Florida Zoo

      Family fun

      Family Vacation Day 1.

      We over slept. 
      Yes, completely slept through our alarms and woke up around 7 a.m.. By 8:00ish we were loaded into our rental car and on our way to the Central Florida Zoo. 
      We decided to stop at Starbucks for some coffee and breakfast (yum) but while we were there my daughters diaper leaked ALL over me (gross) and Starbucks doesn’t have any changing stations (what’s up with that Starbucks, aren’t moms your biggest consumer? – anyway!). Right next to the Starbucks was a Wal-Mart, SO… we went there to clean up the baby and buy me a new shirt to wear (I’d only packed 1 shirt per day of vacation). 
      On the way into Wal-Mart morning sickness got the best of me, AND… I threw up in the plants outside of Wal-Mart. 

      I went to the restroom, cleaned myself up now and headed to the ladies department looking for a new shirt. 
      Back on the road, my husband announces that at a certain location we are going to stop for gas. I was playing Frozen Free Fall on my phone. I had no idea I was supposed to watch for the exit (oops). So, we passed it. 
      Yep. 
      Our car had been telling us we had 0 miles to go until we were stuck on the side of the road, and our GPS was telling us it was 14 miles until the next gas station. 
      On a prayer (and fumes) we made it to the gas station. Thankfully little lady slept through the whole thing! 
      We got some gas, changed a diaper & gave our little lady a snack and headed to the zoo. 

      By the time we made it to the Zoo, we were exhausted. I still didn’t feel well, but we were determined to have a good time and build memories with our little lady. 

      My thoughts on the Zoo.

      Things I liked: 
      • Nice Playground near a snack bar
      • LARGE Splash pad for the kids (also next to a snack bar)
      • Animals were easy to see
      • The Giraffes were active
      • Big play zone outside the zoo (for older kids – ropes course)
      • The boardwalks and trails
      • Lots of parking
      Things I’d have like to see differently: 
      • Consider adding more boardwalk areas 
      • More shade around splash pad 
      • The bees around the splash pad should be re-located 
      • Add changing table to the regular bathroom (near splash zone) for guests not using the splash zone. 
      Question: What’s your favorite animal to see at the Zoo?

      Tips from Jeff Galloway on Injury

      Healthy Living Run Disney

      I’m back from our family zoo tour, and am excited to re-cap our adventures for all of you. BUT! Before I do that, I wanted to bring you some tips about injury from Jeff Galloway.

      From Jeff Galloway

      • Most injuries experienced by my runners are due to 1) pacing long runs too fast, 2) increasing the weekly mileage too quickly, 3) lengthening stride and 4) stretching. 
      • The principal in staying injuring free is to balance gentle stress with the right recovery periods – allowing for rebuilding. – Check out the book Running Injuries by Jeff Galloway for more info. 
      • Finding the right Run Walk Run strategy from the beginning of a run has been the best way I’ve found to stay injury free, come back from an injury and in some cases, continue to run while the injury heels. 
      I agree with finding the right Run Walk Run strategy at the beginning, when I ran my first Marathon at 25 weeks pregnant, I knew I could keep up with the Disney Pacing requirements if I just stuck with 1 minute of running and 1 minute of walking for all 26.2 miles. That pace and strategy helped me to focus on the moment, and not the mile – it carried me to the finish line! 
      More from Jeff Galloway
      • Are you concerned that running will damage joints, and other body parts? I was told this regularly, from my first week of running over 50 years ago but the research shows the opposite result: Runners have healthier joins, etc. than non runners as the decades go by. 
      • While researching for my book RUNNING UNTIL YOU ARE 100, I have reviewed dozens of studies and could not find one showing that running harms legs, feet, joints, etc. 
      • It may surprise you to know that many studies show runners have fewer orthopedic issues compared with non-runnersas the years go by. 
      • A respectful and large population study out of Stanford following thousands of runners over 50 who had run for more than 20 years concluded that runners had less than 25% of orthopedic issues compared to runners of the same age. 
      As long as you stay below the threshold of irritation you can often continue to run while the injury heels – Jeff Galloway 

      Question: Have you ever considered what it’d be like to run at 100? 

      WDW Marathon Weekend – Half Marathon Race Recap

      Run Disney

      Welcome to part 2 of my WDW Marathon Weekend Recaps!!

      In case you missed part one, here’s a link!  WDW Marathon Weekend – Kids Races & Expo

      Now, onto the WDW Half Marathon Recap!!!

      The night before the race we had a dinner at Chef Mickey’s,  and spent some time organizing our outfits and getting ready. I was pretty nervous, but I was in good company. My husband also had a little bit of nerves to deal with.  I hadn’t really thought about the distance we were going to be running over the next two days, I was just focused on finishing.

      The alarm went off bright and early at 2:40 a.m., and suddenly… our daughter began to cry.  Not a simple sleepy whimper, but .. like actual giant tears. My husband and I took turns getting ready and holding her, trying to soothe her tears – but her diaper had leaked so we had to get her cleaned up and back into some dry clothes. As you can imagine, she was NOT impressed.

      My husband takes over the diaper duty while I go grab a bottle of milk, hoping a little milk will save the day (nope, I was wrong). About the time I was going to grab milk my Mother in Law knocked on our door and offered to take her. So, while little lady was screaming we continued to get ready for Part 1 of the Goofy Challenge.

      Oh, is it here that I should mention I was well aware of my pregnancy as Braxton Hicks joined the party?

      goodness – what a morning!

      I drank some water, took some deep breathes and we made it out the door and loaded onto the bus around 3:15 a.m.

      Still dealing with nerves and Braxton Hicks my husband and I took some photos and skipped out on the meet ups with various RunDisney fan groups. Around 4:20 we started the long walk to the corrals, and there we sat for about 2 hours until our turn to start.

      I had packed a pair of old sweats to wear until the start and then toss, but it was SO cold that I ended up wearing them the entire race. – This was new for me, I’ve NEVER in my life run in sweats, in fact… I even had on two layers of shirts and I never once felt the desire to take one off. 40’s is much colder than I’m used too..

      In the corral there was a LOT of complaining around me. People whining about the weather, and whining about the announcers, and this and that and … basically everything. So, I put on my headphones and got myself into “the zone”.

      So, around 6:30 a.m. it was finally our turn to start and I was ready!  I popped out my headphones to soak in the fireworks, and then…we were off.

      My fingers were FROZEN. It was so bad I looked around on the ground for a pair of gloves. I couldn’t believe how cold I was – even though we were running!!! Anyway…

      Since I was 25 weeks pregnant, it was a big deal to keep myself fed, hydrated and my heart rate stable. It’s important to remember that whatever your heart rate is, the baby’s is faster. So, with that in mind I’d trained with a 1:00 / 1:00 ratio of running and walking.  It was how I trained and I was ready to go all 39.3 miles that way. Determined to finish!

      The first 5 miles seemed to fly by! I was surprised because our time didn’t indicate that at all. I blame the long lines for the porta-potties.

      **Sigh** Preggo Problems, always have to pee…

      We approached Cinderella’s Castle and were greeted by Elsa, Anna and Kristoff. I was hoping this would be our chance to actually RUN through the castle… but… nope. Every single person decided to STOP and WALK SLOWLY through the castle and down the ramp.

      *Tear*

      It was so annoying.

      We were finally able to get running again and I still felt pretty strong.

      The next miles were also a blur, I was focused on my 1:00/ 1:00 run-walk so I don’t really remember much about it. When we approached Epcot my heart began to leap for joy.

      We were almost done with Part 1 of the goofy challenge, and did NOT get swept by the “balloon ladies”

      Since we were IN the park and not going to be swept, we stopped to say hey to our good friends Phinea’s and Ferb, Of course we asked “Whatcha doin’??” snapped a photo and continued on our way.

      Hooray, the finish line!! We did it!!!!

      Time: 3:17:35

      Question: Do you ever get so focused on your run that you lose sight of how far you’ve gone, or how much you have left to run?

      Motivation & Tips from Jeff Galloway!

      Healthy Living Run Disney

      If you missed my first post, you can read it here. I was selected to be a part of the Jeff Galloway blogger program! So,  stay turned to my Facebook page & blog for tips and motivation from Jeff Galloway!

      As always, you can check out Jeff Galloway’s tips and motivation on his page www.runinjuryfree.com.

      When I was training for my first Marathon, I used the Run Walk Run method. I really felt that it helped me avoid the “exhaustion wall” because I knew it was an interval and it helped me focus and stay in the moment!

      In researching my book MENTAL TRAINING I discovered that running turns on brain circuits for a better attitude more vitality and empowerment better than other activities studied – Jeff Galloway.

      Yes. So much yes!

      In college, I went to the gym a lot – I never seemed to lose weight (and keep it off) and I never got that “feel good” buzz from working out. Finding running was truly a game-changer for me.

      How about you, does running improve your attitude more than just working out?

      7 Training & Motivational Tips from Jeff Galloway

      Healthy Living Run Disney

      I am SO excited to announce that I have been selected to participate in Jeff Galloway’s blogger program. I was first introduced to Jeff during the WDW Everest Challenge at Disney. It was my first 5K, and I loosely followed one of his training plans. 

      I then followed his training plan to complete my first ever Half Marathon in February of 2013 (Princess Half) Of course, when it was time to train for the WDW Goofy Challenge, Jeff Galloway was my go-to-guy for training plans! (You can read about it here)

      Now that I’ve established, I’m pretty much the number 1 fan. You might still be wondering WHO IS JEFF GALLOWAY??? 

      1972 U.S. Olympian, Jeff Galloway can be referred to as “America’s Coach”, he has helped thousands of people (just like me) train and accomplish running goals with his proven Run-Walk-Run method. Check out his website for additional information. 

      On a personal note, he and his wife were among the first two people to know about Baby #2 (sorry mom!) My husband and I were at the Expo for Disney’s Tower of Terror 10-miler, and we happened to see the Jeff was there talking to runners, giving tips, taking photos, etc… So, we stopped by, said hello and then got to talking about training for the Goofy Challenge. Our conversation was just started when I mentioned I’d be running the Goofy Challenge at 25 weeks pregnant and would LOVE any tips. Immediately he referred me to his (totally adorable) wife, and we talked for a good 20+ minutes about running pregnant, and following the run/walk method. 

      So, I’m VERY excited to be a part of the Jeff Galloway blogger program. Not only because his run/walk method has gotten me to the finish line with a smile on my face EVERY single time I’ve used it, but because I truly believe his advice is helpful and want to share it with all of you! 

      So, here we go! 

      7 Tips for Jeff Galloway himself! 

      • When paced correctly, running delivers the best attitude boost you can get. Sustain this by pacing yourself gently during the first mile or three.
      • A well-paced run enhances vitality for the rest of the day.  Start each run at least 30 seconds a mile slower than you will run at the end.
      • If you have a Run Walk Run strategy that is right for you on that day, it’s possible to feel good after every run-even the marathon.
      • Running is the best stress reliever I’ve found. Research shows that running tends to activate the conscious brain which over-rides the emotional subconscious brain and manages the negative and anxiety hormones during and after the run.
      • Research shows that as runners get faster, their stride length shortens.  A quicker cadence is the mechanical key to faster running.
      • The finishing of a run that is longer than you’ve run in the last 3 weeks can bestow a sense of achievement that is unique and empowering-due to positive brain circuits that are turned on.
      • You can’t run a long run too slowly or take too many walk breaks.  You’ll get the same endurance based upon the distance covered.

      Why Goofy During Pregnancy?

      Healthy Living Run Disney

      If you are new to my blog, and only reading about my Marathon Weekend Adventures (Parts 1, 2, & 3) You might think I’m a little crazy and you know what, that’s okay.

      So, here I am. Answering the question that I’ve gotten already a few times, and if someone has actually asked me – chances are there are people who are thinking it, but not asking.

      So, why goofy?  Why accept the challenge to run 39.3 miles at 25 weeks pregnant?

      Medical Clearance.
      Let’s start here. My Doctor said I could… Now, I am NOT a medical professional, I am a mom-blogger who loves to run. My doctor cleared me to continue training and to run the Goofy Challenge. I reviewed all my fuels with her, my run/walk intervals and I promised that if at any time I were to get a cramp, felt weak, dizzy or any other symptoms of an injury or dehydration I would stop.   I was very open and honest with my doctor about my training – and very grateful for her support.

      January 2013
      Take a walk down memory lane with me for a moment. It was here that I first decided to run the Goofy Challenge at Walt Disney World. I’d successfully made it through an entire year of changing my lifestyle and getting healthy, I was AT Disney World during Marathon Weekend, surrounded by hundreds (or thousands) of people who LOVED running and many of them were about to complete the Goofy Challenge themselves.

      I was so inspired.

      I was set to run my first half Marathon in about a month (the Princess Half) and completely hooked on running. I’d decided that in 2014, I WOULD run the Goofy Challenge, and I WOULD have a blast doing so.

      April came along, and we registered. Around the time we registered, or a little before… I even posted about how we would be training for the next 9 months and compared it to another 9 month life changing experience … (post here)

      Isn’t it ironic that instead of the 9 months of Marathon Training I thought I was going to have, I ended up spending the next 9 months preparing for motherhood? … Crazy – I know.

      Our family was growing, and I was due the weekend after Marathon Weekend. Goofy would have to wait… I was able to run until 38 weeks pregnant (all with medical clearance from my doctor), and continued to eat healthy and make plans for crossing the finish line for the Goofy Challenge.

      January 2014, we welcomed Little Lady into our lives, and it was beautiful. Our little family of 2 had now grown to 3 and honestly… I hardly remember life without her (that’s a lie, we slept more).

      In late February i’d received medical clearance to run and resume all forms of exercise. I actually didn’t start much more than walking until March of 2014.

      From March – June I focused on my core doing yoga and programs such as PIYO, with the intent to begin training for the Goofy Challenge on July 1.

      July 1 – day one of training.

      YAY!!!! I’m finally training for the Goofy Challenge, it was AWESOME!! Our little lady was big enough to handle being in a jogger, and we were ready to train.

      Around September I found myself in bed (or hugging a toilet) for 3 days. I thought I had been over training, or perhaps doing too much. I had recently returned to work, I was still trying to breastfeed, I was not sleeping more than about 5-6 hours a night and honestly I just thought I was tired.

      On day 3 of not holding anything down, feeling weak and overly emotional I called my husband at work and asked him to take me to urgent care. I just wanted to feel better, I wanted to feel better so I could start running again. I HAD to cross that finish line…

      While at Urgent Care they asked my permission to test for pregnancy. I honestly didn’t think much of it and when the doctor came in evaluated me and told me he wasn’t sure what was wrong other than severe dehydration i’d gone back to my original thought that I was over-doing it – and there was not a baby on the way.

      When he ran back in and told me he “solved the mystery” I was a little stunned (mostly at how excited he was) – he says “You’re pregnant!”

      I burst into tears. I couldn’t believe it… Pregnant,… again? Will I ever get to Run the Goofy Challenge? He put me on an IV with fluids, gave me some anti-nausea medication and told me to take a nap.

      So, I napped.

      When I got home, I called my OB and scheduled an appointment.

      During my first appointment she sent me right away to have an ultrasound to see how far along I was and when I came back, her first question “Are we Marathon Training again?”

      … she knows me so well.

      Since I was only 7 weeks along, and at the time of the Goofy Challenge I’d still be in my second trimester, she agreed to let me train with the intent of running the challenge. We had many long conversations about fueling, and hydrating and hydrating, and hydrating… and through all the crazy morning sickness (that I still have) I was able to maintain 16 minute miles (with bathroom breaks etc…) so I felt confident I could complete the challenge.

      It was an honor to run with my husband and my bump. I was very focused during the challenge. I was focused on hydrating, and staying in-tune with my body. I made sure I knew what type of turf we were running on so not to trip. I made sure I kept my blood sugars stable by eating constantly, and I made sure to stay away from the middle of the course so that there would be less chance of being in the way of a runner.

      Final thoughts.

      Training for a Marathon with an infant, a pregnancy (with crazy morning sickness), a full time job and a husband was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. BUT – my husband was also committed, and we have such a supportive family that knew of our commitment so it was totally doable.

      Would I do it again?

      Yes.

      Would I do it again pregnant?

      I’d have to review the situation, it totally depends on the pregnancy.

      Question of the Day: Who is in your circle of support for training, or big life commitments?

      WDW Marathon Weekend: Kids Races and Expo Fun!

      Healthy Living Run Disney

      Welcome to Recap 1 of one of the most exciting weekends EVER!!

      My husband and I started our health Journey in January of 2012. We began by simply tracking our calories on MyFitnessPal , walking and drinking more water. I started running one morning when I was embarrassed that an older larger man could run and I couldn’t. So, I took off and ran too. Surprisingly… I didn’t hate it!

      So excited about my new found form of exercise I told a co-worker who then encouraged me to run the Everest Challenge!  We ran the challenge in May of 2012 and from the moment we were hooked on running   crossing finish lines.

      January 2013 we attended the WDW Marathon Weekend (ran the 5K). Marathon Weekend is so inspiring, I hadn’t even run a 1/2 Marathon yet and I told my husband (and announced on Social Media) that in 2014 I was going to run the Goofy Challenge.

      Obviously, the Lord had other plans and instead of running the Goofy Challenge in January of 2014, I was deferring the challenge to welcome our Little Lady into the World.

      So, here we are… Two years later. Recapping the weekend I’ve been thinking about since the last time I was in Disney for Marathon Weekend!

      Thursday, January 8
      3:20 a.m. – The alarm goes off, and our daughter begins to go into hysterics. … A bottle of milk saves the day and we make it out the door by around 3:45ish. Head over to CVS to pick up some last minute items and make it to my husband’s parents house by 4:15.

      Everything gets loaded into the car and we are on our way by 5:00 a.m.

      Around 9:30 we make it to O-town and stop for Breakfast at Cracker Barrel!

      10:30 it’s EXPO time!!!


      I’d done a bit of planning so I knew exactly what building we needed to go to in order to grab Little Lady’s packet. There was NO line for her bib OR our Goofy Bib’s so we went ahead and grabbed the bibs, snapped our “goofy challenge” picture and headed out to the field for Little Lady’s race.

      Unfortunately, it was about 40 degrees with a windchill so our little Miami lady was NOT willing to leave our arms for the race. We put her in about 3 different heats of the Diaper Dash and she flat out refused to move for either one.

      **sigh**

      Oh well,… another time.

      After the kids races we went back through the Expo to pick up our shirts and check out the Merchandise. I was pleasantly surprised at how much official merchandise there was and how smooth everything seemed to be flowing at the Expo.

      I purchased an “I did it” shirt for the Goofy Challenge and the Marathon, and promptly put them at the bottom of my drawer in the hotel. I was NOT going to even THINK about them as part of my wardrobe until I’d actually accomplished the Goofy Challenge!

      Other than the official merchandise, we really didn’t spend too much time at the Expo looking around. I was quite tired and getting hungry so we opted to head over to our hotel to check in and have some lunch.

      It was great to run into my friend Lena from The Beginners Runner Blog and catch up.

      My First Daughter’s Birth Story

      Mom Life

      I wrote this post a year ago, and wasn’t sure if I would post it. BUT, as we celebrate one year with our Little Lady, I felt ready to share our story of induction.  Recaps from my Marathon will begin either late this week or over the weekend, but for now.. enjoy.

      January 10th, 
      This is the day that I was “supposed” to be giving birth. Due to a Policy enforcement from the Hospital, my OB was not able to induce me before 39 weeks. Since, I was 39 weeks on Sunday I had to wait. … 
      Not really a big deal except my OB was going to be out of the office during my 39th week. Therefore, the baby would be delivered by a different doctor. 
      When I got the news of this Wednesday evening, I cried. I’d spent my whole pregnancy going over EVERY detail with my OB. I was comfortable with her, and was just ready to bring Baby Jimenez into the world with her help. 
      I nervously waited to meet the new doctor, and was pleasantly surprised when I actually felt a sense of peace upon meeting him. He was nice, competent and very respectful that I wasn’t exactly thrilled about the last minute change in plans. 
      The Weekend
      The weekend was exhausting. Since we were supposed to have already given birth, we had quite a bit of inquiries as to why I was still pregnant. It was exhausting, but we survived and Monday finally came! 
      Monday, January 13th 
      My only plans for the day were to get my nails done and sleep. Of course my phone charger had broken, and we realized we had several last minute things to do – so Chris took me to the nail salon for a manicure and pedicure while he ran all over town. 
      8:30 p.m. – Time to leave. 
      We excitedly left the house and drove to the hospital. I was so giddy with excitement, even though I’d been warned that inductions take time, I was just so excited and in my mind Riley was going to be here in a matter of hours. 
      By 9:30 we were taken to our delivery room, and we began the exams, IV’s, blood pressure … etc, etc.. 
      11:00 p.m. –  First dose of medication. 
      11:20 p.m. – A visit from my parents. They visited for a while and then headed to our house to get some sleep. 
      3:00 a.m.  – 1 CM dilated. 
      8:20 a.m. – 1 CM dilated 
      10:45 a.m. – The Doctor stopped by, told me not to stress. Sometimes inductions take time, but we were going to have the baby and we were not even considering a c-section. 
      12:05 p.m. – Let the Pitocin begin. (p.s., still only 1 CM after 3 doses of the first medication) This was very frustrating for me because my contractions were getting ridiculously harder but nothing was happening! 
      2:30 p.m. – Still only 1 CM, the contractions were out of control. I had just been told that another woman was in the same boat as me (only 1 CM after 3 doses of medication and pitocin) and she just came out from a c-section. I guess that they were trying to comfort me… but all it did was freak me out. When the Doctor told me I was still only 1 CM, I broke down in tears and begged for the Epidural. 
      I’d had several conversations with the Doctor about the Epidural, and although I was nervous, he assured me that the Epidural would help me to relax and allow my body to progress.

      So, the Epidural came. I (of course) cried through the whole thing. My nurse held my hand and told me it was going to be okay, I kept asking why I couldn’t feel my legs, and if I was going to be able to walk again.  I think I might have been less stressed if the girl prepping me for the Epidural wasn’t singing “I do what I want, what I want with my body…” But, it was a memory. I also kept looking over at Chris, and thinking “why is he still in here? – I hope he doesn’t pass out”. Chris didn’t pass out and after my nurse assured me about 900 times that I would be able to walk again, I finally relaxed. 

      By 3:30 I was still only 1 CM and was in no pain, so we allowed some family to come visit. It was fun watching all our family members inspect the room. Of course the medical family members wanted to look at the print out of the babies heart rate, and the non-medical people would explore all of the stuff prepped for Baby’s arrival.
      Around 4:30, my nurse came in and I told her that “I peed on myself”. She laughed at me and said there is no way I peed on myself and I’m just feeling the effects of the epidural. Still feeling like I was sitting in a pool of water (gross, I know) I accepted it. 
      Around 5:30 I still felt like I had peed on myself so I told her again. The nurse said she’d test my glucose levels and then check, but there was no way I could have peed on myself.  
      Turns out … my water had broken! 
      What an answer to prayer! At 6:00 p.m., if I still wasn’t progressing, the doctor was going to manually break my water (something I was quite nervous about) 
      Doctor came in, the nurse explained the situation – we all got a good laugh about my description of my water breaking and I was now 4 or 5 CM dilated! 
      I was told to take a nap because baby would probably be here around 11:00 p.m. Then, the doctor went off to have dinner and the nurse went to re-chart everything from when I “peed on myself”.
      Chris came over, gave me a kiss and I started to go to sleep, while he pulled up netflix on the Kindle. 
      6:37 p.m. – The nurse RUNS in and says “I need to check you RIGHT NOW!, something strange happened” Now, I’m nervous. … all I could think was something was wrong with Baby! 
      I’d felt a strange urge to push about the time she ran in – but was now too scared to move. 
      Chris was on my left side and the nurse shouts out “Oh my God, Oh my God! – I gotta call the doctor right now!” As she takes off her gloves she manages to say “9.5 CM!, get ready baby is coming!” 
      Pause. 
      The shift changes at 7:00 p.m., it’s now about 6:40. 
      The next few minutes felt like an eternity. 
      • I can hear the the chaos outside my room as they are trying to get ahold of my doctor.
      • I can hear the chaos of them trying to see if my evening nurse was in yet. 
      • I can hear the nurses laughing. 
      • I can see Chris pacing… 
      We made the decision not to text the family that she was coming. To be honest, there wasn’t time. Chris had to clean up our stuff, put the couch back together and then it happened. 
      The doctor arrived. It was now about 7:10 p.m.. He and the day shift nurse prepped Chris to assist with the Birth of Riley while the evening nurse got herself settled.  
      The doctor had given Chris instructions, and asked him to go over to the couch if he at any time felt nauseated. The doctor then performed an exam to see how I was progressing and said “Look Daddy, she’s blonde like her Mom”.
      Now, I’m no doctor. … in fact, medical stuff grosses me out. But … doesn’t that mean that I’m crowning? 
      Yes. Riley was indeed ready to come. 
      In the room is still only Chris, 1 nurse and the Doctor. Due to the change of shift, they were still trying to get everyone in place. 
      With Chris on one side, and a nurse (who I still at this point don’t even know her name) the doctor asks 
      “Erin, Did you take a birth class” 
      “yes”

      “What do you remember, about pushing?”

      In a very frighten, shaken voice I shout “NOTHING” 

      “Don’t worry, that’s very common! We will help you through this” 

      5 sets of pushing later, at 7:30 p.m. Ms. Riley Noelle was in our arms. A 6 pound, 3 ounce healthy little girl, full of energy!
      As she was being born, the other nurses, and neonatologist arrived and began to introduce themselves to me. 
      My birth experience was not how I could have ever imagined it, but it was perfect. The Lord blessed me with a quick and safe delivery of our baby girl. 

      Family Announcement, Stay at Home Home

      Mom Life

      2015 is here!!

      As 2015 approaches, here a couple things I am looking forward to this year. 
      Completing the Goofy Challenge at Walt Disney World. That’s right, I want to complete the 39.3 mile challenge, and claim that beautiful bling and join the ranks of a select group on people who have completed a Marathon (all while being pregnant – because I’m slightly crazy GOOFY!)
      I’m looking forward to welcoming Baby 2 this April! I’ve been working on pulling out all the tiny baby girl stuff, and organizing it – anything to help get ready for baby girl, and also keep my mind busy. Every time I have a spare minute I start to panic about the Goofy Challenge… yikes! 
      I’m also looking forward too…
      • Reading more books with Little Lady
      • Sleeping less (wait? not really!)
      • More home cooked meals 
      • More Yoga pants / less heels 
      • Potty Training 
      • Weaning a baby off of a pacifier
      • More laughing

      and most of all, … I’m looking forward to transitioning into the role of Stay at HOME Mom!!!! 

      Starlight Half Marathon and Mount Dora Half Race Recap

      Healthy Living

      Hello Friends!

      I’m finally ready to talk about my husband and I’s double half marathon weekend! If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw that for our 6th wedding anniversary we decided to complete two half marathons in 1 weekend.

      Our Schedule:

      12/20 – Happy Anniversary!!!!

      • 10a – drop off Little Lady
      • 10:30a – drive to Palm Coast, FL 
      • Lunch time – Panera Bread, and a quick trip to Kohls for a car charger
      • 4:30p – Packet Pick up! 
      • 6:00p – Starlight Half Marathon!!
      • 9:15p – Starlight Half Marathon completed
      • 10:00p – McDonalds Cheeseburger
      • 11:30p – Arrive in Central Florida 
      12/21 – Half Marathon 2
      • 4:30a – Alarm goes off…
      • 5:15a – Leave for Mount Dora
      • 5:45a – Packet Pick Up!!
      • 6:00a – Meet some AWESOME RunDisney people from an Online RunDisney Forum (shout out to RtD) 
      • 7:00a – Mount Dora Half Marathon
      • 11:00a – Mount Dora Half Marathon completed
      • 11:20a – The biggest serving of iHOP food I’ve ever eaten… 
      • 12:00p – Shower / Stretch / Nap
      • 3:00p – Drive to Disney
      • 4:00p- Check into Allstar Music
      • 4:30p – Explore Disney
      • 9:00p – Dinner at Beaches and Cream 
      • 11:00p – Goodnight Moon 
      Okay, now that you’ve seen the schedule here’s my recap! 
      Starlight Half Marathon

      The Course:
      • I loved it! It was so lovely, and there were so many Christmas Lights, and other festive decorations throughout the course. 
      • The only negative was the course was VERY dark at parts. … VERY dark. 
      The Amenities:
      • Shirt (long-sleeved)
      • Medal (large size)
      • Beer / Hot Chocolate
      • Snack after the race
      The Volunteers / Directors:
      • Fabulous! Honestly, there was a great support system from the local police, and just locals. Everyone was so positive and encouraging – it was wonderful! 
      Considerations for next year? 
      • more bathrooms (this preggo was in desperate need of a potty!)
      Would you run it again? 
      • I think so, I really enjoyed the course and the support from the volunteers and coordinators. 
      Time: 3:18:50 (~15:00 min mile pace)

      The Mount Dora Half Marathon

      The Course: 
      • Really pretty
      • Too many hills 
      • Seriously… like Florida MOUNTAINS
      The Amenities:
      • Tech Shirt
      • Snacks
      • Fuel Station 
      • Water Bottles at the finish
      • Advil at the finish (if desired)
      • Nice medal with spinning rocking chair
      • Bag with race logo 
      Volunteers / Coordinators:
      • Wonderful! 
        • I truly felt that the people organizing the event truly enjoyed watching others run, and were so encouraging throughout the race. There was also a lot of support from the local police station, also very encouraging! 
      Considerations for next year?
      • Couldn’t think of any… 
      Would I run it again? 
      • If I was in the area, i’d do it again – but NOT after 3 hours of sleep…. 
      Time: 4:00 hours (~18 min mile)
      What went wrong? 
      Well, due to the lack of sleep, lack of proper hydration and food I got a cramp. Since I’m pregnant, I’m really sensitive to any discomfort (especially in my side or abdomen) so we decided to walk for the first mile or so. 
      That’s not a problem, but… it was a little chilly out and with already sore muscles and hills – we got cold and tight. Therefore, it was near impossible for us to get warmed up. I finally got my stride for a few miles, but I was cold, stiff and not feeling very well so it was tough. 
      In tears I turned the corner towards the finish line – I’ve never felt worse approaching a finish line and hope to never make such poor choices again. 
      Half Marathon #4 is in the books, and I’m looking forward to sharing some of the lessons learned and how I will manage the hit my pride took as I prepare for the Goofy Challenge next weekend! 

      Pregnancy # 2 Announcement

      Mom Life
      It is with great joy and excitement that I announce little lady’s promotion to BIG SISTER!  We will welcome our new little love bug home in April of 2015!! 
      Now, the details! 
      How / When did you find out?
      During the Month of August I’d been feeling quite nauseated, tired, and just over all blah. I decided that I “couldn’t be pregnant!”  and figured I was over training. I had just started doing PIYO six days a week, and was running 3 days a week. Additionally, i’d just gone back to work full time So, I thought I was just plain tired. 
      Well… There was about 3 days in Early September that I was physically unable to move. Every time I moved, I would be instantly dizzy and nauseated – thankfully it was a weekend so I was hoping I’d feel better enough for work on Monday, but when Monday rolled around and I was still vomiting and  I called in sick. By 11 a.m. I was so weak I called my husband and asked him to come take me to urgent care. 
      The nurse asked for my permission to give me a pregnancy test and I agreed.
      The doctor told me I was “dehydrated” and there is a bug going around. He said he could give me some fluids and anti-nausea medication and send me home, so we agreed that i’d go get some rest. 
      Since he didn’t say anything about the test, I figured It was just dehydration and was happy to get some medication and be on my way. 
      A few minutes later the doctor runs back in and says 
      “THE MYSTERY IS SOLVED! 
      YOU ARE PREGNANT” 
      Now, at this moment in time I had a baby who wasn’t even 7 months old. … 
      WHAT? 
      I looked at him with a blank stare and then burst into tears. 
      How close in age will they be? 

      15 months. 
      How are you feeling?

      This pregnancy is far different than my first. I have been so sick. Zero appetite, Zero desire to even hydrate, I just feel blah. 
      I’ve lost about 5 pounds, and am hoping the nausea will stop soon so that eating will stop feeling like a chore. 
      Goofy Challenge?
      After many conversations with my doctor, I have been cleared (for now) to keep running and training.   
      It’s been a struggle to run because I’ve been so sick, but when I’m running, the nausea goes away… 
      So, maybe I can just run all the time? 
      As my pregnancy progresses we will see how I feel, but I am not too proud to walk if I have to or even wait for the bus if I feel its better for our baby. 
      My doctor keeps telling me “don’t be a hero, just know your body”  So, that’s my new mantra… “don’t be a hero, don’t be a hero”… 
      Cravings??
      No. 
      I don’t want anything. 
      Except, the other day I wanted spaghetti o’s. … That was odd. 
      Question of the day: Do you have a sibling or children less than two years apart? 

      Packing for a Disney Race with a Baby.

      Disney

      As we approach Disney’s Tower of Terror weekend, my day planner is filled with checklists and deadlines to help get us out the door! Our original goal was to get out of town by 8:00 a.m., but my pediatrician called and said little lady needs a flu shot – so, looks like we won’t be getting our “runcation” on for a few more hours.

      So sad.

      When we were a Party of Two, life was much easier to pack for. We could throw everything in 1 bag and get out the door as quickly as we could wake up!

      Now that we are a family of 3, that’s not the case. Here are three tips I follow to get out our family out the door!

      1) Make a plan!
      As a type-a person, this isn’t difficult for me.  Planning is pretty much my life, and a good plan always helps me stay focused and calm. What do I “plan for” you ask? well, it typically starts with a spread sheet, or some type of written document with ALL the things we want to do each day. This includes reservations, check in times, recommended outfits and anything that I don’t want to forget.

      Once I have a plan, I start a list.

      2) Household duties to accomplish before leaving.
      I always start a list of things I want to accomplish around the house before we leave. This includes, laundry, items to buy, dishes and cleaning. I usually share this with my husband so he knows what I want to accomplish and he’s always VERY helpful to get everything done.

      3) Over pack.
      Have you ever traveled with a baby? Seriously, I never in my life imagined how much stuff it would take to keep your baby happy on a trip. For this trip we will be running the Tower of Terror 10-Miler and my wonderful parents are going to come hang out with little lady in our hotel while my husband and I go play! So, my plan is to pack plenty of clothing, diapers and wipes. I will also pack her sheets from home, and the pack-and-play she’s used to sleeping in at her Abuela’s house and a few toys from home to help keep her occupied.

      Along with over-packing, I always pack a baby first aid kit because you never know when your baby is going to start teething and run a fever, or get a runny nose etc. My biggest lesson learned is – just take it.

      We live fairly local (about 5 hours away) so we can drive ourselves and “over packing” isn’t really a problem. If I had to fly, I think I’d still take the extra diapers, food, etc – but something large like the pack and play would probably have to stay home.

      So, we are so excited about this vacation and I can’t WAIT to run the Tower of Terror 10-Miler with my love!

      Question: What are your packing tips?

      Run Disney Goofy Challenge Training.

      Healthy Living Run Disney

      I am just days away from officially beginning goofy training!

      excuse me for 1 tiny second.  GOOFY?

      Yes. Goofy!

      I feel like I talk about Goofy like its a common knowledge, and I understand that for those in the RunDisney world it is. However, for those regular Disney fans who when they think “Goofy”, they picture this guy… I will explain the challenge.

      May 2013, Before we knew about Little Lady… 🙂
      The Goofy Challenge is hosted by RunDisney each January during Marathon Weekend. It consists of running 39.3 miles over 2 days. 
      On the first day, you run 13.1 miles (Half Marathon hosted by Donald Duck)
      On the second day you run 26.2 miles (Full Marathon hosted by Mickey Mouse)
      At the end of the two races, you have officially run 39.3 miles, and through all 4 parks (some of them twice)! As a reward you get 3 fabulous medals and of course the satisfaction of knowing that YOU have run a Marathon!!! 
      This year is the 10th anniversary of the Goofy Challenge so there is a special medal and everything! 
      I’m SUPER excited, and SUPER nervous! 

      You can read more about the challenge on the RunDisney website.  
      QOTD: Do you RunDisney? – What’s your favorite race? 

      Clermont 12k on Lake Minneola, Race Recap

      Healthy Living

      In order to get a proof of time for the Tower of Terror 10-miler, we needed to run a 10k or longer distance, and when we found the Mineola 12K, we knew it was the right one for us. My parents live not too far from Clermont, so we had someone to watch our daughter and a place to stay!

      Here is a breif recap of our experience at the Minneola 12k.

      The course was beautiful, we started in the park and ran completely around the lake – which was nice because at times you could feel the cool breeze.
      Miles 1-2 I held up a 4 min run / 1 min walk routine. 
      Mile 3 – I started to feel really dehydrated, so I switched to a  3 min run / 1 min walk 
      Mile 4 – choked down some GU, made me more nauseated. 1 min run / 1 min walk 
      Mile 5-end – finally feeling better!! 2 min run / 1 min walk 
      I genuinely felt great! I was super nervous with only 1 hour of sleep the night before and I was also feeling nauseated (nerves always get me) – but, it was a great race! 
      I’m proud to turn in this pace for my upcoming Run Disney events!!

      3 Reasons Pregnancy Made Me a Better Runner

      Healthy Living
      Add 

      Last May when I found out I was expecting, I was undoubtedly excited. I couldn’t wait to be a mom.

      Only thing, I  was in the early stages of training for my First Marathon… Actually a 39.3 mile, two day challenge at Walt Disney World. 
      My pre-pregnancy plan was to keep up my base mileage, and work on strength training. I’ve read so many articles that encourage a strong core for better running form, so I was going to work on my core, and building my base from April – July. 
      In July, I was going to start the Jeff Galloway training plan for the 2014 Goofy Challege. Since I was expecting, I couldn’t train for the race but with my OB’s consent (and constant supervision – seriously, she was always checking in on my mileage) I continued to run until I was 36 weeks pregnant. 
      Becoming a #pregnantrunner helped me in many ways, here are three of them! 

      1) Proper Form
      When you are carrying a child, your balance is different. In order to compensate, I took shorter, more focused strides and was sure to keep my head up.  By focusing on proper form, and taking slower runs during pregnancy, I’ve seen a change in my current running. 
      I’m actually paying attention to the details of the run, not just pounding the pavement gathering miles! 

      2) Nutrition 
      Running for two requires attention to your water and calorie intake! 
      It’s easy to get focused on the need to run and forget to make sure you are properly hydrated, and have a snack before the run. 
      Now that I’ve gone from #pregnantrunner  to #breastfeedingrunner the same applies! 

      3) Enjoy each run, and be thankful. 

      At 37 weeks, my baby was full term and I had started to lose weight. Baby was healthy but my OB was concerned for my health and asked me to stop running, and only walk a few times a week. 

      I was bored. The 8 weeks I wasn’t permitted to run I missed it… 

      My lesson was learned. Even on the rough days, I try to be positive and thankful that I was able to run! 

      Question: did you / would you run while pregnant? 

      Reminder: I’m not a health professional, prior to running while pregnant be sure to get clearance from your doctor! ❤️

      First pregnant running event! (June 2013)






      Organization Hack for when babies outgrow clothes

      Mom Life

      Babies grow really quickly, they are in and out of sizes faster than you can blink! Here is how I am keeping things neat and tidy in my daughters room.

      I have a small basket on the shelf by her crib and if something doesn’t fit, I put it in the basket. Once the basket is full, I go ahead and box it away to either donate or keep for future babies.
      Easy and convenient. 
      Since I’m still losing weight I’ve taken this tip and incorporated it into my fitness life. 
      I have a bag next to the dryer of clothes, as I fold clothes and find things that are too big, I put it in the bag to donate! 
      Question: how do you organize clothes that don’t fit? 

      2014 – So many transitions

      Mom Life Uncategorized
      2014 is a year of transition in our Storybook Life. 
      Our hearts expanded in mid January when we welcomed a beautiful princess into our family. 
      I transitioned from pregnancy to motherhood, and Prince Charming was an instant super dad. 
      On Tuesday our Princess will be 3 months old, so the next transition for us will be moving from bassinet in our room to the crib (a.k.a. Big girl bed) in her room. 
      Here are 4 things I’ve been doing to help transition baby girl to her room. 
      1. Tummy time!
      All tummy time is done in her room. I’ve moved all her toys into her room, (re-claimed my living room) and we just have a fun time exercising our muscles and playing with toys. 
      2. Diaper changes. 
      I’ve moved all of the diaper changes to her room. 
      3. Feedings. 
      I’ve started feeding her more in her room. Associating comfort with her new space. 
      4. A.m. Nap 
      I’ve been successful a few times with getting her to take a long nap (30-45 min). I stay in her room and fold clothes, or rest for a few minutes while she sleeps. I think it gives me piece of mind to be in the same space, and also I love watching her wake up from her morning nap – seriously, check out these smiles! 
      Anyway, we are still transitioning and the process isn’t fast, but we are moving in the right direction. 
      Question: when did you transition your child into the nursery? Any tips? 
      P.s. Afternoon naps (if she naps) look more like this, and I really don’t mind one bit! 

      3 ways to get fit during tummy time

      Healthy Living Mom Life

      Yesterday we had a beautiful day with just the family! Little Lady had her 3 month check up, and ears pierced. She looks adorable, by the way! In order to celebrate, and spend some time outside of our condo, we bought zoo passes!

      We LOVE the zoo, and now I have a place to walk around with Little Lady. Saturday we are going to go meet the Easter Bunny at the Zoo. So fun!

      If you’ve had children in the last 20 years, you know the importance of “tummy time”. Ever since the “back to sleep” campaign, which encourages care-givers to put babies to sleep on their back, infants have needed additional time on their tummy. This helps them to build neck control, and build up the upper body strength needed to crawl and eventually walk.

      (Disclaimer, not a medical professional – just a mom)

      Anyway, since little lady and I have been spending a lot of time on our tummy I thought i’d share a few ways I’ve incorporated fitness into our tummy time.

      Note: Always monitor your baby, and keep his/her safety your number 1 priority!

      1) Planking.
      With your baby on their tummy, do a plank (or a few planks) in front of them. Talk to the baby while you plank, this will help pass the time for you and encourage them to look up at your funny face for a few seconds.

      2) Super mans.
      Baby’s on their tummy kind of look like they are doing super mans. I will mimic her action, causing her to smile and well, I’m getting some core work done.

      3) Squirms.
      Same concept as super mans.

      As your baby ages, you spend more and more time during tummy time, and you will find ways to incorporate yoga poses, or other workouts into the routine.

      My goal is to make tummy time fun for both of us, and show my daughter that living an active healthy lifestyle can be fun!

      As I said, always be sure you are watching your baby and considering his or her safety!

      What are some ways you’ve incorporated fitness into tummy time with your baby?

      THIS moment…

      Mom Life

      As each day passes and I see Tiny Princess develop I must stop and be thankful for the moment.

      Yes, I want her to have her vaccines and for flu season to be over so we can return to church, or go to a crowded place. 
      Yes, I want her to be strong enough to hold her head up. Every mom wants that, it would make it easier for me to allow people to hold her anyway… 
      Yes, I want her to nap in her bed. But not really because she won’t want to be in my arms forever. 
      Yes, I want to eat a full meal in one sitting. 
      Yes, I’m looking forward to her first trip to Disney.
      Yes, I think about all the adventures we will have when she’s old enough to remember them. 
      Yes. The answer is probably yes, I’m looking forward to [insert milestone here].
      But for now, I will remind myself to enjoy THIS moment because all too soon it will be a memory. 
      All too soon she will be independent.
      All too soon she will no longer be my tiny princess, but a full grown princess. 
      To my readers, may you live in THIS moment, because if you stop and look around it’s probably beautiful. 
      Typed on my phone as Tiny Princess naps in my arms, please excuse any typos. 

      The Return to Fitness After Baby

      Healthy Living Mom Life

      One of the best parts of being a mom is that I get to watch Tiny Princess discover new things ALL the time. Her latest discovery? …fingers! We were sitting on the couch during our afternoon “sing-song time” (where I sing basically every song I know very loudly in all different voices for about 15 minutes) and as I was counting with my fingers, she reached her hand up and pointed a finger, then quickly inspected it.  Now, I might be a little crazy – but it made my whole day. She’s been mesmerized by her fingers ever since.

      Life is one grand adventure, and on the days where it seems the laundry is piled far too high, or we don’t have a single clean dish I remind myself that someday I will remember these as “The Good ol’ Days”. So, in celebration of “The Good ol’ Days” we set out on a family adventure on Saturday.

      Last Monday I was given the okay by my OB to resume fitness, and reminded that my body has changed so I need to 1) be careful and 2) take it slow, and re-introduce myself to my body.  Soooo, this week I’ve been “taking it slow”, but yesterday I just HAD to go on a “long run”. (more than 1 mile currently equals “long run” status). So, I did. and… WOW! … my hips feel huge!

      Moving onward. 

      After a lovely run in 78 degree Miami Sunshine, our family loaded into the car to go for a walk at Matheson Hammock Park and search for a few geocaches.

      What is Geocaching? 

      Geocaching is basically a treasure hunt with a GPS. You go online, and look up coordinates to a location – plug them into your GPS and when you get there, you’ll find a little log book. Log your username, and the date then go back to the internet and log that you found the spot.

      I’ve geocached off and on for the last several years, and always enjoy it. One of the coolest things about it is that you will find little hidden trails, or beautiful spots that you never knew about RIGHT in your own city!

      More information on this –> website!

      Now that we have a Tiny Princess, we’ve started geocaching again. It’s a fun way to be active together, and build family memories.

      What adventures do you go on as a family, do you geocache?

      Photographer Review: The LXA

      Family fun

      When I found out I was expecting, almost immediately I mentioned to my husband that I wanted real professional photos of our baby.  I mean, what mom wouldn’t want fabulous photos of their precious gift?

      About 2 months before my due date I reached out to a couple photographers, and ended up going with The LXA, and I’m so glad that I did!

      Things I loved about working with Vinny and LXA!

      1. Enthusiasm
        1. Vinny has a contagious enthusiastic personality. Prior to the session i’d only emailed Vinny, within 5 minutes I felt like we were besties just hanging out taking fabulous pics!
      2. Client Guided Shoot
        1. When we arrived he took the time to bond with Riley, and walk us through his ideas.
        2. The temperature was set very warm so that Riley would be comfortable during the shoot.
        3. Riley set the pace – we were not rushed (at all), if she was enjoying a set, we just kept shooting. If she didn’t like it, we moved on. 
      3. Previews and Online Gallery
        1. The turn-around time to see some photos was crazy fast! (Riley’s shoot)
        2. The on-line viewing made it easy for us to share the photos with friends and family
      4. Professionalism
        1. Working with Vinny is the perfect blend of working with a friend and professionalism. You get the professional and artistic images without the stuffy studio feeling (not that studios are bad) 
      I was completely pleased with my entire LXA experience! Vinny treated Riley, my husband and I like family. I would without hesitation recommend him to anyone looking for pictures! 

      Introducing our first Daughter!

      Mom Life

       “From Life’s first Cry…” Lyrics to a song I’ve always loved, but until 7:30 p.m. on January 14th, 2014 I could only dream of its beauty.

      January 14th, 2014 after 22 hours of labor Ms. Riley was born. 
      Weighing in at 6 pounds and 3 ounces, she couldn’t be any more perfect.

      Photo Credit: The League of Extraordinary Artists

      When Christopher and I found out we were expecting, we began the journey of choosing the perfect name. We knew that we wanted Baby Jimenez to have a name that had meaning, and we knew that we wanted the name to begin with the letter R. Actually we already had our “If it’s a boy” name picked out. In fact, while I was training for my half marathon’s I used to pray for my future baby by that name. So, naturally I thought it was going to be a boy – I mean, i’d been praying for peace with whatever the Lord had, and was ready to accept that maybe motherhood was not something the Lord had for me. So, on May 21st when I saw the words “Pregnant” on the screen I was so thankful for the answer to prayer and my prayers went from praying for baby by name to praying for Baby Jimenez.

      A few weeks before my mid-pregnancy ultrasound Chris and I began thinking up a name for Baby in the event that it was a girl. It was a Sunday morning during Lords Supper, our Chapel had been focusing on the theme of “Bold Faith”. One of the brothers got up to give the announcements and encouraged the saints to “Be Courageous with our faith”. I remember just sitting there, after meeting was over and saying to Chris, that’s what I want for our baby… With a look of shock Chris said “I was thinking the same thing!” So, we were on a quest to find the perfect name that would go with our verse. 
      Joshua 1:9 
      Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid nor dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with you wherever you go”
      After we identified a verse, and prayer for her it didn’t take us long to fall in love with the name Riley. Not only is Riley a cute short name, but it wasn’t on the top lists and it means “courage” (How perfect is that right?) 
      I’d like to say that her middle name was inspired by the “Code of the Elves” (Elf) where it clearly states we are to “treat every day like Christmas”… it wasn’t. I just thought it sounded really pretty together, and Chris agreed. 
      So, Riley Noelle became our “if it’s a girl” name. 
      On August 29th, when the ultrasound tech said “you guys are having a girl” I couldn’t help myself, I blurted out “Hi Riley!” and then, the journey of keeping it a secret began. 
      So my dear sweet Riley. Our prayer for you is that as you grow, you would come to an understanding of your need for Christ as your Savior at a young age and that you would courageously follow Him. 
      Photo Credit: The League of Extraordinary Artists

      Special thank you to Vinny, with The League of Extraordinary Artists for capturing so many beautiful photos of Riley.

      Inside my hospital Bag – First Baby

      Mom Life

      While my instagram, twitter and facebook feeds are full of images of costumes and packed suitcases for Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World this weekend, my bags packed for a much different reason.

      My hospital bag is packed, the car seat is installed and I am so ready to have this baby! I procrastinated for far too long when it comes to packing my hospital bag. Most online forums will encourage you to have it packed by 36 weeks. That way, when you are full term (37 weeks) you don’t have to worry about running errands, and packing a bag should you go into labor before you estimated due date. I  didn’t finish packing mine until last Friday (just about 38 weeks). 
      What’s in the bag? 
      I spent a lot of time on google, and youtube putting together lists of items I might want. When packing, I took a few things into consideration.
      1. I don’t like clutter. Since I’m not a fan of cutter, I wanted to be sure that I didn’t over pack. 
      2. I hate to be unprepared. Since I hate to be unprepared, I spent quite a bit of time talking over the birth process, and hospital procedures with my OB. I wanted to be sure I was fully aware of what would be allowed in the hospital. 
      3. I wanted my husband to have everything he needed. I love my husband, he’s been my rock through this whole pregnancy. While working full time and completing his final semester of graduate school he has taken care of me and NEVER missed a doctors appointment. So, I wanted to be sure that while we were in the hospital HE would have everything he needed to be comfortable. 
      So, after I internalized what I thought I might need I came up with the following list of items to take. 
      For Labor:
      • Birth plan 
      • Small note book w/pen 
      • Focus cards 
      • Kindle with funny movies 
      • Ipod with calming music 
      • Paper fan 
      • Tennis Balls 
      • Chapstick (about 5 tubes in every pocket of the suitcase)
      • My Pillow 
      • Phone
      • Camera 
        • Batteries and Chargers 
      For After Birth:
      • Pj’s – two different sets 
      • Going home outfit
      • Flip flops
      • Socks
      • Make up 
      • Toiletries
      • Hair Straightener
      • Dry Shampoo 
      For My Husband:
      • Snacks
        • Meal replacement bars
        • Energy Snack mix
      • Change 
        • for vending machine
      • Gum
      • Water Bottle
      • Sweatpants
      • Socks 
      • Beanie Hat – He is always freezing! 
      • Clothing 
      For Baby:
      • Receiving blanket
      • Hats
      • Outfits 
      • Socks
      • Mittens
      For Nurses: 
      • Day 1 nursing staff gift basket 
        • Chocolate
        • Rice Krispee Treats 
      • Day 2 nursing staff gift basket
        • Chocolate 
        • Rice Krispee Treats 
      Other:
      • Baby Book – in case my husband wants to start filling it out while we are in the hospital (*hint-hint*)
      • Guest Book 
        • We are taking a guest book for any visitors in the hospital to sign
      • Empty bag in case of freebies, cards or other things to bring home
      I’m sure there are other things in our suitcase, I’m just not sure right off hand. 
      What did you pack in your suitcase, am I forgetting anything? 

      2014 Goals!

      Healthy Living Mom Life Uncategorized

      The calendar has flipped from December to January.
      Our Holiday decorations have begun to be packed away, and we are all trying to get into a post holiday routine. Yep. It’s time for the New Year Resolutions to flood our newfeeds. Promises of “this is my year” and “I will lose weight” All well and good, but as one who has fallen in the trap I encourage you to make attainable goals.

      My weight loss journey began with a simple goal of making a conscious effort to make the healthy choice. From January 2012 – May 2013 that simple goal helped me shed between 55-60 pounds, fall in love with running and complete 2 half marathons. So before you get discouraged over the scale refusing to budge – take a moment to change your perspective.

      By the way, my own husband texted me his 2014 goals yesterday. Yes. They are weight loss / body composition related, and I encouraged him to set some smaller goal to accomplish his big picture
      So, please don’t misread this – if weight loss is a dream of yours then CHASE IT!

      So, with a changed perspective I bring you my 2014 goals!

      I am literally DAYS away from giving birth to my daughter, and I absolutely cannot wait!! As you can imagine, 2014 is going to be full of lots of changes for our family. Not only will we welcome our daughter into our home in a few days, my husband recently graduated from graduate school and is on the job hunt.

      If having a baby, and career hunting isn’t life changing enough… Since we had to defer the Goofy Challenge (Thanks Baby Jimenez), we will also be Marathon Training!

      So, what are my goals for 2014?

      As much as i’d love to do the 5 by the 5th with Mommy Run Fast, or the 14 races in 2014 challenge with Jill and Jen – I just can’t commit this year. I did complete it last year, and LOVED it! So, if you’re looking for a good challenge to keep you motivated make sure you check out their challenges!

      I may participate in some of the 5 by the 5th runs, and perhaps a few of the virtual 5Ks in the 14 in 2014 challenge, but like I said… I have a new perspective.

      In 2014, I’m going to take it 1 day at a time!
      ‘

      Goal Completed: Run 13 races in 2013

      Healthy Living

      Last year I set a goal of completing 13 races in 2013. When May rolled around, and I found out I was expecting … I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to finish – but I DID!

      About the Challenge. 

      Here’s a couple shots from my 13 in 2013 journey (in no order)

      April 2013
      First Half Marathon! 
      Last pregnant run
      Last Pregnant Event – (walked it)

      October 2013, 26 weeks pregnant

      June 2, 2013 (First Pregnant Race!)

      When I began 2013, I had dreams of finishing the Goofy Challenge in early January. As you know, I’m currently expecting our first child and due DURING MARATHON WEEKEND! Soo, my 2013 goals had to change. Instead of Marathon Training for the last half of the year, I focused more on the health of myself and Baby Jimenez. I’m pretty excited for her to get here, and to celebrate her first birthday at Disney in 2015 when I’ll finally (Lord Willing) be able to run the Goofy Challenge!

      What was your activity level like in 2013? Did you stay active no matter what the challenge or change in plans? 

      Our 5th Wedding Anniversary

      Uncategorized

      Today’s post is brought to you by the Number 5!

      On this day 5 years ago, I had the privilege of becoming the wife of @cjmnz8. It’s hard to believe that he has been in my life since December 1999. When we met in the dining hall of the summer camp during a staff reunion, I never imaged that he’d be my husband someday. 

      As I reflect on the many years of our friendship, relationship and marriage I can only think of one thing… 

      The LORD has done great things for us… (Psalm 126:3)

      As we anticipate the arrival of Baby Jimenez, I’m thankful for the 5 years that we’ve had with just the two of us. It’s been quite an exciting journey and we are very much looking forward to the next chapter in our story! 

      Happy 5th Anniversary Christopher, I love you!

      AD: Announcing the 2014 Kaleidoscope Tour!

      Healthy Living
      This is a sponsored post, I recieved two complimentary entries into the race in exchange for this post.
       All opinions are my own. 

      Remember a few months ago when I talked about the Happiest 5K on the planet? Well! I’m very excited to have the opportunity to share about 2014 Color Run!

      The Color Run can still be referred to as “The Happiest 5K”. However, they have re-imagined the race, and in 2014 your Color Run Experience will be different than ever before.

      The Color Run returns to Florida in January, and it’s sure to be a lot of fun! There’s new participant gear, fresh music, and Color crazy race attractions. The 2014 Color Run promises magic as only the Color Run can do! 
      The Color Run is a 5K event where all participants (young and old) begin in a white t-shirt and end with an array of colors splashed all over! There are no time constraints, no times, and the rules are to wear as much white as you can and HAVE FUN! 
      The focus of The Color Run isn’t to “win” or get a qualifying time for another race. The focus is bringing families together, and having fun while being active! 
      One of the best parts of The Color Run is that it’s safe for  ANYONE to do! Parents, Grandparents, Children, and even Pregnant Runners like me! 
      26 Weeks Pregnant, October 2013

      Ready to sign up? Be sure to check out the Events page to find The Color Run closest to you!

      *Florida Runners, here’s a couple of options for you!
      When you sign up, be sure to save 5 dollars with the discount code COLOR5OFF. Be sure to physically type the code in (don’t cut, copy and paste).

      Question: Have you ever done The Color Run? What’s your favorite memory? 
      *This is a sponsored post, I received 2 free entries for the run in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed above are my very own.*

      Being diagnosed with gestational diabetes

      Healthy Living Mom Life Uncategorized

      Last Monday, I had the delight of seeing my baby girl on the big screen (ultrasound). My princess is already head down, so I didn’t get to see her face or much of her profile – BUT the rest of her body sure is cute. 🙂  After my ultrasound I was to meet with my OB and learn the results of my GTT from Friday (Glucose Tolerance Test). I was so nervous.

      I’d read all week about Gestational Diabetes, what it means and was pretty confident that if Gestational Diabetes was a part of my journey i’d be okay. However, it clearly wasn’t something I wanted to experience.

      I stepped on the scale, and had (surprise) lost another pound. Now, officially bringing my pregnancy weight gain to 4 pounds.

      Blood Pressure – perfect range

      “I’m doing great with this check up!” I thought to myself.

      Then, the doctor comes in.

      “How are you feeling” … “Any decrease in fetal movement” … (You know all the normal third trimester questions). Then, …

      “How do you think you did with the GTT”.

      I was silent for a moment then, I responded with “I hope I passed, but i’m prepared if I didn’t”.

      My OB is very kind, she paused – looked at me in the eye and said “It’s going to be okay… You did fail the GTT. HOWEVER, you barely failed it” She went on to explain the test, my results and the risks of me developing type 2 diabetes in the future.

      So yes… I failed it.

      What does that mean?

      1) I failed the test by 2 points. My actual diagnoses is “Gestational Diabetes Mellitus”. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. But, my understanding is that the difference between GD and GDM is that GDM is more commonly able to be controlled with simple dietary and lifestyle changes.

      2)  I will now be induced at 39 weeks, to prevent Baby Jimenez from growing too large. – This is something I’m still looking into, because I really don’t want to be induced – and I feel like there has to be information out there on WHY I’m now being told that I have to be induced.

      3) New diet, Sugar Testing, Urine Testing, and monthly ultrasounds.

      I met with the Diabetic Counselor on Friday morning to talk about number 3. Of course, going into the appointment I was a disaster. Although I was anxious and disappointed … mostly … I was just sad. I was sad that I wasn’t able to outrun GD, I was sad that Baby Jimenez would now be a “statistic”. I’ve read the reports, that babies with mom’s who have GD during pregnancy are more likely to develop diabetes and other health problems. I was sad, that THIS was now a part of my journey.

      My appointment began by the usual.
      Weight and Blood Pressure.

      Weight – Lost 2 more pounds (total weight gain is now 2 pounds)
      Blood Pressure – Still at perfect health.

      The Diabetic Counselor was lovely. Her first words to me were, “you can do this!” I know she probably says that you everyone – BUT- it’s nice to hear. She then asked me about a thousand questions about my health, my family history, and Chris’ health. After that exhausting task I was handed a folder and probably ten different pamphlets of information.

      I was doing well until she said “You know, after baby you might want to consider getting on a weight loss regiment”.

      EXCUSE ME? 

      I smiled, and said “may I tell you something? I understand that I am still considered overweight, and that I need to lose weight. However, prior to my pregnancy I lost over 50 pounds through running and a modified diet. I am confident that post baby I will be able to continue on my journey to a healthy weight”.

      She paused. Smiled back and said “I apologize, Congratulations!”.

      To be honest – once I got that off my chest, we were both more open with one another about this new lifestyle.

      The Lifestyle.

      From now until December 6th, I will have to test my sugars four times a day and my urine once a day. I log all the information and then email it to the counselor twice a week. On December 6th, (my birthday) we have another appointment to see the baby (growth ultrasound) and check in with the counselor. If i’ve been able to keep everything under control with diet and exercise I will get to decrease the amount of finger pricks.

      How’s it going?
      So far, everything has been good! My sugars have been normal with the diet, and I’ve even almost adjusted to testing my blood.  I will never cease to be amazed at the level of love my husband must have for me. He’s held my hand, and dried my tears as i’ve learned to adjust to this new lifestyle. He’s always supportive, and has even changed his eating to mimic mine. He’s reading labels, giving meal suggestions and just loving me through it.

      How’s the baby?

      The baby is fabulous. She’s healthy, active, not too big, not too small and we love her sooo
      much.

      Miami Zoo Run – Recap!

      Healthy Living

      Last Sunday I had the opportunity to participate in an inagural run at the Miami Zoo. One of my fitness dreams for this year was to run in an inagural race, and I got to run in TWO (so far).  The first one was the Tutu 10K relay and the second, of course this one!

      My thoughts!

      Packet Pick Up
      They had packet pick up at a local running store, and everything was super organized. I was in an out super quick, and even had a chance to check out a new running belt.

      The Event
      We arrived at the event nice and early, found parking and headed to the start line. Note to self, porta-potties are gross. Porta-potties when you’re pregnant are unbearable! (Runner Problems) Anyways!! The event started on time after a moment of silence in memory of September 11th, as well as The 2013 Boston Marathon. I had tears in my eyes as a crowd of 2200 runners + spectators stood silently reflecting on freedom.

      The course was great, and who wouldn’t love running through the zoo?  One of my favorite aspects of running through the zoo is the amount of families who run together. When I think of zoos, I think family and memories. When I think zoo runs … I think healthy active fun for families!

      The Post Event
      After the run there were several vendors, bounce houses and activities. I certainly enjoyed walking around eating all the samples. 🙂

      In addition to all of the samples, bounce houses and other fun activities the zoo was open for everyone to enjoy!

      Pregnant Running
      Wow! Running while pregnant is not easy. I ended up walking most of the 5K – but I did manage to complete my goal.

      My goal was to complete the 5k in under an hour and my time was 52 minutes and 4 seconds.

      Question: What has been your most recent fitness goal that you accomplished? 


      Weight Loss Journey – Non-Scale Victories

      Healthy Living

      Since I’m expecting, I no longer get the pleasure of standing on a scale and celebrating when I lose weight. In fact, when I lost weight during my first trimester there was NO celebration.

      So, I thought it was time to celebrate a non-scale victory!

      What is a non-scale victory?
      It’s reaching a goal, or noticing a healthy change in your life and celebrating it!

      My Non-scale victory?

      Last October I had to buy a new suit for work. I bought a beautiful suit, that “fit” but was a little snug. Since I was losing weight I figured it wouldn’t a problem. Since I got pregnant I haven’t exactly tried the suit on.

      Until… Tuesday.

      Tuesday I had to wear a suit to work and guess what …

      Not only did it fit.
      It didn’t look horrible, and was even a little lose in some places and not too tight around my bump!

      So!!

      That was my non-scale victory!

      What’s your’s? – What are you celebrating right now?

      It’s a Girl – Our first Baby!

      Mom Life

      If by chance you missed it … We are having a GIRL!

      Prince Charming and I found out on August 29th, but we had to keep it a secret until my parents could come into town for the big reveal! So, our dear friends opened their home and allowed us to invite our families and friends over to announce!

      Prince Charming and I went over to our friends house (in the pouring rain) early on Saturday morning to decorate. I was dropped off to decorate and Papi went to party city to get the final supplies for the reveal ready!

      Our guests arrived, and voted!

      We then had an “Old Wives Tales, Gender Prediction Trivia”. It was fun to gather all of the old wives tales from google and create the little trivia cards. We had 7 general questions, and then 3 questions based off of my pregnancy!

      The bonus Round!
      1) What is Baby Jimenez’ average heartrate? (140)
      2) What has been Erin’s number one craving? ( Peanut Butter / Cuban Food)
      3) What day did we find out we were expecting? (Chris’ birthday)

      It was fun to listen to everyone shout out answers, and try to make me blush.

      Directly after the trivia we moved over to the voting board and split into teams!

      Team Mustache and Team Bow!

      The two teams were given clues and had to run through the house searching for the answer. The final clue read:

      He or She? 
      Come to the Dining Room and be the first to see! 
      Once in the dining room everyone waited with great excitement to see what was going to happen next (It was great!) Then … out appears my husband with a giant bouquet of dark balloons!! 
      Confusion, speculation EVERYTHING you can imagine was being whispered as he slowly made his way through the sea of excited people and got everyone in a circle. 
      First, he gave a balloon to each grand parent. Then one by one the aunts and uncles recieved a balloon and each couple also got one. 
      At the count of 3, everyone popped the balloon and out exploaded (EXPLOADED!!) Pink, Purple and Silver confetti!! (a few seconds later) out popped screams of joy as people realized that even though BOY was the popular vote, Baby Jimenez is indeed a girl! 
      We are very excited, and feel very blessed that both Baby Girl and I are healthy. 

      AD: The Happiest 5K, Color Run

      Healthy Living
      Sponsored Post – All opinions are my very own. 

      Are you a runner, a walker, a non-athletic person who loves to have fun?

      This “race”, yes, THIS race is for YOU! 
      Why is this run so perfect for EVERYONE? 
      1. No pace requirements
      2. No minimum / maximim age requirements
      3. No possible way to be involved in the event and NOT smile
      4. Two rules! 
        1. Whear white at the starting line
        2. Finish covered in color! 
      Why do I love the Color Run? 
      • The goal of the Color Run is to promote healthy living! 
        • Not only for individuals but families! 
      I’ve been very open and honest about my struggles with healthy living, and my weight. So, when I see a FUN run with the target of EVERYONE I get excited! I get excited because I strongly believe that working out and making healthy choices should be FUN!  The color run, my friends is exactly that -FUN! 

      Does the Color Run come to my city? 

      The 2013 Color Run is traveling to over 100 cities, so there is sure to be one near you! 
      Check out the list of locations HERE! 
      Last year I ran with my sister and husband in Tampa, IT WAS A BLAST! 
      Aren’t you pregnant, is the color run safe for Baby? 
      Yes, I am pregnant. 
      As long as my physcian clears me to run/walk at the time of the run, there is no reason I cannot participate because there are no chemicals in the color! 
      *For the safety of yourself and your child, if you are pregnant PLEASE be sure to check in with your physician prior to participating in this or any race!* 
      As an ambassador for the Color Run do you have a discount you can share? 
      Yes! Use the code COLOR5OFF for 5.00 off any upcoming race that is NOT sold out. 
      This discount can only be used at the time of registration, it is not valid for those already registered for the color run. 
      Check the list of Locations for a race near you! 

      Still want to learn more? Be sure to check out the Color Run website

      Question: Have you ever participated in the Color Run? – What do YOU love about the Color Run? 
      *This is a sponsored post, I recieved two race registrations in exchange for this post. Although this is sponsored, the above opinions stated are my very own. *

      The TUTU 10K, Key West Florida

      Healthy Living

      On June 1st, my husband sister in law and I ran a Tutu 10K relay? Well, I never did a recap of the run because I wanted to wait until the news of Baby Jimenez was announced.

      So, now that it’s announced. I will give you the long awaited recap!

      Location: Key West, Florida.

      Passing the TUTU!

      Course: We began in a restaurant parking lot right on the beach mostly followed the water line and at a certain spot turned around.

      Format:
      Teams could be as big as you wanted, but it must contain 3 people.

      The Experience:
      At the time of the race, I was about 7 weeks pregnant. At that time, I was experiencing extreme fatigue and trying not to be moody (since no one knew I was expecting!) So, when the humidity was close to 100% and the temperature was not far behind I was NOT having a good run. Truth be told, if my sister in law hadn’t been with me for part of the run I probably would have cried during the run.

      Now, MY experience was directly related to where I was in my life (a.k.a. trying to figure out how to share a body with a growing baby!)

      The Tutu Relay experience was a blast! It was a small local race filled with lots of food (brought by volunteers) and free beer for runners at the end. I know a lot of runs have free beer at the end. However, this was different because it honestly felt like you were walking up to a pic-nic table of friends and sharing a beer. I didn’t drink a beer, but that was my sense of the experience.

      It was an adorably fun run, and I loved sharing the experience with my family!

      Baby Jimenez’ first Bling! 

      Pregnancy Announcement: Our first Baby!

      Mom Life

      On May 21st, 2013 my Prince Charming celebrated a birthday. I was very tired the night before so I went to sleep around 8:00 p.m. When I woke up at 4:30 a.m., I waited (kind of) patiently for Prince Charming to wake up and go to breakfast with me.

      We enjoyed breakfast at the local cuban cafe, and I enjoyed my last cup of cafe con leche. At this point I was suspecting I might be pregnant, but not willing to believe it. We had tried for many years, and I was ready to move on, train for my marathon and let God decide when HE wanted us to have a child. 
      After breakfast we went to work for a few hours and then, … we went to lunch! So, here’s the fun part! ready?? 
      I had lunch with 5-guys AT 5-guys! Yep, we celebrated a birthday lunch with some of our dear friends at one of our favorite burger joints! After lunch we went back to work, and I watched the clock… I couldn’t wait for the clock to strike 5 so we could go to CVS! 
      Pause. 
      We live VERY close to a LOT of people we know and love. These people all share a Publix and a CVS with us. 
      End Pause. 
      So, we arrived at CVS and snuck into the store trying our very best not to be discovered. Unfortunately… EVERY SINGLE PREGNANCY TEST WAS SOLD OUT!  So, we snuck over to Publix! 
      Thankfully, we didn’t get caught. 
      Right before I tested, I paused. 
      I prayed that I would accept the answer no matter what. I prayed that no matter what the answer, God would be with us. 
      So, … fast forward through the TMI part. 
      “Pregnant” 
      I’m pretty sure I froze. At that moment, all I could do was remind myself “breath in, breath out”. I finally let out a yelp, or scream, or …some type of noise and burst into tears. Prince Charming ran in and asked me what the answer was.  Not able to say it outloud I handed him the test. 
      We both hugged, cried and thanked God for the beautiful gift. 

      Spirit of the Marathon II

      Healthy Living

      Disclaimer: I received two complimentary movie passes and press release materials from NCM Fathom events in exchange for my post promoting the movie. As always, all opinions are my very own. 

      I am SO excited to have the opportunity to share about the Spirit of the Marathon II.  This movie features 7 inspirational and motivated competitors training to run the Rome Marathon. As a self proclaimed “Newbie Runner” who aspires to conquer the 26.2 challenge, I am very excited to see this movie. 
      This movie will race into select theaters across the United States at 7:00 p.m. (local time) THIS EVENING! That’s right, check your local theater and make plans to attend the premiere of “Spirit of the Marathon II”. 
      About the movie. 
      Get ready to be transported to six countries for an “up close and personal” look into the runners’ lives. When I was training for my first half marathon, I remember the struggle I faced. I wanted to stay out late with friends, or watch movies until late hours of the night or you know eat junk food. But, I knew that if I wanted to achieve my goal of running and completing my first half marathon I couldn’t live that way anymore. I had to make some sacrifices. I had to go to bed early, and make healthier choices about the food that went onto my plate. 
      During this documentary, we will have the opportunity to see how these 7 athletes deal with the struggles and continue to motivate themselves as they prepare for the Rome Marathon.  
      The event will also feature interviews with marathon greats such as Stefano Baldini, Paula Radcliffe, Frank Shorter, Kathrine Switzer and others.  They will offer perspective and insight into this incredible run. Since I am currently daydreaming of the 26.2 challenge, I can’t wait to hear what they have to say! 
      Information about the runners has been extracted from the above link. 
      Julie Weiss, Veteran Marathoner. Julie began a quest to run a marathon a week or a year to honor the memory of her father on an emotional journey to shed awareness and raise money for pancreatic cancer – the devastating disease the claimed his life. 
      Ylenia Amelli, First time marathoner. While struggling to keep her mom-and-pop running shoe store open in Milan and raising two children, Ylenia takes on the challenge of training to run her first marathon. 
      Vasyl Matviychuck, Olympic Hopeful. The elite, but aging marathoner trains with the pride of country in his heart in hopes that a fast time at the Rome Marathon will earn him the last spot on the Ukrainian National Olympic Team. 
      Mimmo Scipioni, Veteran Marathoner. The good-natured, hard-working owner of “Pizzeria II Podista” (The Runner Pizzeria) in Rome, Mimmo has lined his pizzeria’s walls with photos and trophies from more than 40 marathons which he has run. It is a pre-race tradition for runners to carbo load with Mimmo. For Mimmo , the family tradition of running the Rome Marathon is in jeopardy due to a nagging injury. 
      Domenico Anzini, Veteran Marathoner. Prodded by his cousin Mimmo, it took a lot of convincing for Domenico to give running a try. Now, 18 years later, the 73 year-old has run in every Rome Marathon since its inception. The camaraderie and humor the cousins share during their training runs goes to the heart of the family. 
      Cliff Scott, First-time Marathoner. Scotts bucket list decision to run his first marathon in his 60’s is an inspiration until itself. When faced with an unimaginable family tragedy he struggles to make peace with himself during training runs in the woods. It is painfully obvious that his loss has taken its toll and calls into question whether he will be able to finish the Rome Marathon. 
      Epiphanie Nyirabarame, Two-time Olympian. One of the few professional runners in Rwanda, Epiphanie proudly represents her country around the world to create change for women. Having been deeply affected by the genocide in 1994, Epiphanie uses her resources to invest in her community, advocating for progress and growth, especially for the future generations of runners. 
      As you can see, there are 7 very powerful stories, and I’m not sure if I could ever choose which story I am most excited to follow.  
      Ready to join me? 
      Tickets for “Spirit of the Marathon II” are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.fathomevents.com  The event will be broadcast to more than 600 select movie theaters across the country through NCM’s exclusive Digital Broadcast Network. 
      Film producers, NCM Fathom Events and movie theater circuit partners AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings, Inc. and Regal Entertainment Group will donate a portion of the proceed from the “Spirit of the Marathon II” event to The One Fund Boston to assist those families most affected by the tragic events that unfolded during the 2013 Boston Marathon on the 15th of April. 
      “Spirit of the Marathon II” is a passion project made by marathon runners and accomplished filmmakers Jon Dunham (director) and Gwendolen Twist (producer), who led a team that includes three-time Academy Award Winner Mark Jonathan Harris (executive producer) and Academy Award nominee Megan Williams.
      Once again, I am honored and excited to be teaming up with National CeneMedia (NCM) to promote this inspiring documentary about running!   

      Review: Bokos Sandals

      Healthy Living

      This is a Sponsored Post, all opinions are my own

      A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to review a pair of sandals. Being a shoe-lover I was SUPER excited for the opportunity.

      The Bokos Story! 
      From the Website. 

       

      My Bokos Story! 

      When you read my blog you can be sure of one thing. No matter if the post is sponsored, or just a post about my goals you will find that I provide my honest opinion. My honest opinion of the look of the shoes? … well, It was a little masculine, and not exactly “cute”.  But, I slipped them on and …
      Hello New Favorite Sandals.  

      Yep. My entire perspective changed. These aren’t shoes for “looking cute”, these are shoes for the more sporty aspect of your life. 

      I wore my Bokos all over the house, walking outside, canoeing, and even took them to a run. Prior to the run, I was really happy with the shoes. They were so comfortable, and I loved how my feet didn’t slip and slide around while being drug around the neighborhood by my two dogs, or canoeing.  I was completely sold on the shoes when I traveled from Miami to Key West for a 10K relay. 

      We left our house early in the morning, and I really wasn’t ready to put on my sneakers. So, I put on my trusty compression socks and slipped on my Bokos Sandals. When we arrived at the run, we were a little early so we went for a little walk on the beach. I’m usually a flip flop kind of girl for the beach – but honestly I get SO annoyed because they flip and flop sand all over the place. Not my Bokos! I hardly had any sand to wipe off my feet prior to putting on my shoes! – It was fabulous! 
      We ran the race, and then I quickly changed from my Nike’s back into my Bokos. The moment I realized that I wanted to put the sandals back on was the moment I knew I was hooked. I can get over the fact that they aren’t exactly “cute” because they are so functional and practical for sporting events, the beach and general life activities!

      If you don’t want to take my word for it, go ahead and check out what the website has too say! 
      Why Bokos? 

      Again, I do not recommend these sandals for going out on a date, or any place you’d need to wear fancy shoes. But, I do recommend these shoes for runners, swimmers, triathletes, soccer players, football players or people who enjoy the beach or camping. These are very functional, comfortable and affordable sandals!

      Question: What are the characteristics of your favorite sandals?

      *This is a sponsored post. I received one free pair of Bokos shoes in exchange for this post. Although this post is sponsored, the opinions are my very own.*

      What it’s like to Volunteer for a RunDisney Race!

      Disney Healthy Living Run Disney

      It may or may not be a life long dream of mine to be a Disney Princess. I may never get to be a Disney Princess, but I did get to volunteer for the Mouse last Saturday and this is my experience. Full disclosure, I am a RunDisney / Disney fan, I have not other affiliations to the Walt Disney Company. The opinions posted are my very own. 🙂

      To Volunteer is to freely offer to take part in an enterprise or task. Our first task? Run Disney Kids Races. I have always wondered what the Kids Races were like. Since we don’t have children, I always felt it might seem a little strange to go watch. So, how can I get in on the excitement of the Kids Races? Volunteer of course!

      To be honest, our original intent was not to work the Everest Weekend. On the first Saturday in May of 2012, I laced up my sneakers and ran my very first 5K. The Everest Challenge. I had been begging Prince Charming to let us register but the event sold out before we could register. So, we opted to volunteer. A perk of volunteering is that you can earn hours or points towards a free ticket to Disney. Since we plan to run the Goofy Challenge in January, we are trying to cut costs here and there soooo earning a ticket, AND being at the event that changed my life one year ago,… it was a win win!

      Truly, my experience at the Everest Challenge in 2012 gave me the confidence to continue running and register for the Princess Half (Recap)

      So, now that you know my motivation to volunteer for this specific weekend, let me get on to the volunteer experience.

      Kids Races

      The Everest Challenge Weekend isn’t exactly the largest weekend Run Disney does. I’m not really sure why though, it’s REALLY fun! Prince Charming and I serve at our Youth Group on Friday nights so we couldn’t leave until either late Friday night or early Saturday morning. Since we wanted to save some money and sleep in our own bed, we opted to drive up Saturday morning. 

      3:00 a.m., my alarm went off and we loaded in the car and headed to Disney! When we arrived, it was fun to see they had parking reserved for us volunteers! Since it was raining, and our spot was literally the first row before the side walk – I was pleased!

      We checked in and waited for our turn to be escorted to the Kids Races! Prince Charming and I quickly realized that most of the volunteers are PROS! Seriously,… these people all know each other and have “their jobs” a.k.a. “I ALWAYS give out medals,  …” and … “I Always pass out the water!” haha Prince Charming and I waited for our team leader to ask for 2 volunteers to … (whatever, as long as we were together, we didn’t care). Our turn came, “I need 2 people to work the obstacle course!” Yess!!! We were chosen!

      Our job?
      1) demonstrate the obstacle course for the kids while the announcer cheered us on.
      2) cheer on the athletes!

      I was super excited about our job!

      Although we were super stars at demonstrating the obstacle course, we were moved to parent direction. Yeah, … we had to stand in the middle of a field with signs and direct parents.

      Have I mentioned it was raining?

      After that job, we hung out at the medals for a bit and then were moved over to the Family Scavenger Hunt for more runner direction!

      It was there I saw Rachel from Runners Tales. Okay, … when I saw her. I didn’t realize I’d seen her.  I knew she looked familiar, and I loved her team shirts – but didn’t say anything. It wasn’t until I was on Instagram that I realized WHY she looked so familiar!

      anyways! After our shift ended at 1, we drove to our hotel and checked in.

      After a quick power nap (2.5 hours) we were back up and ready to go volunteer for the Expedition Everest 5K! I was SO excited!!

      When we checked in, we were given an arm band. This was a Magical Armband! Why? it gave us 2 hours of access into Animal Kingdom after our volunteer shift was over!!!

      Our shift went pretty quickly, it was our job to make sure runners were properly hydrated, and that they had plenty of garbage cans to throw cups into!

      Prince Charming and I were stationed at some tables between Coral B and C. It was so much fun to see the crowd get excited, and be there for the start of all the waves. Prince Charming and I started walking up and down the corrals offering cups of water to runners inside their corrals. I know that when I take my GU I always wish I had a little sip of water to help wash it down. We also tied an extra trash bag on the outside of the fence so runners had more opportunity to throw garbage in a bin!

      After all the athletes started, we moved over to the finish line where we congratulated runners and handed out water!

      I felt like a hydration Diva!

      There was a young boy passing out water just in front of me, so runners would go to him first and thank him for volunteering. It was cool to observe.

      Overall, I’m taking the following lessons with me from my volunteer experience.

      Fact:  Filling cups of water and lining them on the table is exhausting, and there are very few people that actually say “thank you”.

      Lesson: Say thank you, volunteers need to hear it!

      Fact: Sometimes just two hours in the park can feel like a full day and riding Everest 7 times in a short period of time can make your tummy twirl!

      Lesson: No matter how tired you are, take the time to ride Everest as many times as possible. Because when you leave the park, you only have your memories you don’t get to take the rides with you.

      Fact: I’m afraid of dinosaurs!

      Lesson: I think I should skip the Dinosaur ride, because it makes my heart rate go up.

      Would I Volunteer Again? 
      Absolutely! I loved it!

      Colorado Springs Glow Run – Race Recap

      Healthy Living

      A few months ago Prince Charming and I were talking about our fitness bucket list. One of the items on my bucket list was to earn some race bling in a different state. The intent was to travel somewhere specifically for a run. Well, if you think I’m addicted to the Active.com website… you should talk to Prince Charming. Knowing my desire to earn some bling in a new city, he found the Colorado Springs Glow Run!

      Over dinner we discussed our travel budget, and quickly came to the conclusion that we would skip the whole Horseback riding through Garden of the Gods and just drive or walk through it. (I’m pretty sure that’s a clue that we are addicted to running).

      When we picked up our packets the young man (probably about 11 or 12) says to me “Are you really from Florida? I LOVE FLORIDA!” Prince Charming and I talked to him for a little bit about how excited for the run and then. …

      Decision time. 
      Pink, Orange or Yellow. 
      Okay, … it wasn’t THAT hard. Since I’d just gotten an email welcoming me as a Sweat Pink Ambassador, (YAY!!) Pink was the obvious choice!! 
      Race Day! 
      Prince Charming and I had a full day of adventures planned for Race Day. So, we got up super early and headed over to the the Olympic Training Center and then found ourselves at the Zoo. 

      We hiked around the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo for a few hours and then headed back towards the hotel for some pizza and much needed rest! 

      The run took place fully on the Pikes Peak International Speedway. (I felt a little like Lighting McQueen!) anyway! The energy was as vibrant as all the colorful shirts, tutus and glitter! 

      We arrived pretty early so we had lots of time to take some goofy pictures use the restroom before the sun went down. The sun went down, we loaded into the start line and then … We were off!! 
      There were about 2,000 runners at the event but it didn’t feel crowded. This was because the course was on the track and so there was plenty of space! The weather was a lot colder than I’m used to running in, and there is the whole, I walked 4 miles through a mountain zoo that afternoon AND some little thing called Elevation Sooo, I wasn’t all that surprised when my Asthma started acting up during mile one.  After a walk break and some deep breaths I was back in business! 

      Prince Charming and I did the whole run in about 32 minutes. Now before you get all excited congratulating me on my time I must tell you. The Course was about a 1/2 mile short!

      (Another clue I’ve crossed over into Running Addict!)  I was disappointed because I’d taken a walk break and was gearing up to push it the last 1/2 mile when I was brought to a halt by the clanking of medals and flashes of cameras.


      More Info About the Run! 

      1) This Run is for EVERYONE
      If you are new to running, prefer walking, want to encourage your children (or other family members) to be active this is the run. It is sooo non-competitive, and family friendly. 

      2) Fun Shirts & Medals
      I know a lot of people take shirts and bling into consideration. The shirts were cotton, BUT they had youth sizes for the kids (See family friendly) and the medal was pretty substantial AND it glows! 

      3) Glow Zones
      The glow zones were pretty cool to take some fun pictures – we didn’t stop BUT I saw a lot of families and groups taking pictures! 

      Would I do it again?

      Conditionally.

      I don’t think Prince Charming and I would run it alone. However, if I were given the opportunity to run with some friends I would TOTALLY do it again!

      Clearwater Iron Girl Half Marathon – Race Recap

      Healthy Living

      As you probably know, my husband is in Graduate School (Gradschool Blog). The program is online, but not fully. Therefore, he has to travel to Tampa every so often to attend classes in person. When he goes, I try to find adventurous things to do. I happened to see that the Iron Girl event would be taking place in Clearwater one of the weekends he had class! I was soooo excited, I began to check some of the Tampa Bloggers for discounts (or better, a give-away!).

      Mindy was hosting a give away on her blog and I was determined to win! One of the entries was to tweet about the give away every day. So, … every evening after work, I’d sit at my lap top and tweet away! The day the give away ended, I’d told myself that if I didn’t win, it wasn’t meant to be.

      But … it WAS meant to be. Because, I WON (post)!

      Heading into the run, I had 1 thing on my mind.

      Have Fun. 

      I knew I’d be running it alone, and I was determined to have fun no matter what! Of course, I had my eyes on the 3 hour mark. …but. …

      Those bridges were like mountains, and it wasn’t like a just had to cross 1 bridge. I had to cross multiple bridges.

      So, the idea of dropping 30 minutes off of my Half time was extremely hopeful.

      The run began with us heading up a hill straight towards a bridge. Honestly, before we even hit Mile 1, I was drenched in sweat, questioning why I even wanted to run this thing in the first place, and tempted to turn completely around and go home. – Yeah, I was freaking out!

      but I remembered my goal.

      Have Fun.

      So, I put my head up and ran.

      As I approached mile 4, I see the pace car and the lead runner zoom by. We cheered, took pictures and continued on with the race.

      Around Mile 4.5, I turned my phone on and sent a text to my family. I’m pretty sure they were just getting out of bed, but they all texted back with words of encouragement and I continued on my journey.

      I walked, ran, and took pictures throughout the course. I wasn’t tracking my run with any apps or anything so I really had no idea what my pace was. Since i’d lost the 3 hour pacers I didn’t really care too much. I just wanted to (you know, Have Fun!)

      Mile 8 I was given a girl scout cookie by some of the cutest little girls. Seriously, it was adorable! “Erin, do you want a cookie?” Now, I’ve never had a cookie in the middle of a long run before but … who can pass up a cookie from a girl scout? 

      Mile 9 was approaching and even though I was sooooo sweaty and tired I began seeing signs for “hot pirates ahead”

      Of course they are hot. … It’s FLORIDA!

      Right after I took my picture with the Pirate, I started to get nervous about those bridges. If I thought going over them the first time was bad … going BACK over them might actually be worse!

      I turned my phone on and saw a tweet from a fellow Girls Gone Sporty Ambassador.  Rachel had sent out a tweet to cheer me on, and you know what? It was amazing to have her support. Truly, I felt so loved! 

      I made it back over the bridges, and found out that apparently “tired legs are sexy” and found myself at Mile 12.

      Right before I left for the start line, Prince Charming told me “when you see Mile 12, you know you’re almost there! Don’t give up!”

      Mile 12.

      A couple ladies asked if I’d take there picture, of course I said yes and asked them to return the favor.

      Mile 12.

      Just one more bridge, and a spiral ramp leading me to the finish line.

      Just off of the spiral ramp, I hear my name. I’d heard my name throughout the course, (seriously those girl scouts were cheering runners on by name! – how cool is that?) Anyway, this time it was my prince.

      There he was.

      With his sign, a venti coffee from Starbucks and our large camera. I couldn’t help it, all I could do was smile.

      I crossed the finish line, gathered a bottle of water and ran over to the side on the fence to give my husband a kiss. At that moment, that medal (with glitter) didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was my Prince. It was such a joy to have him there cheering me on.

      Did I meet my goal of 3 hours?

      No. I did not. However, I did shave 20 minutes off of my official half marathon time so I have no complaints.

      Iron Girl Highlights
      – The Course, BEAUTIFUL!
      – Volunteers, outstanding!
      – Girl Scouts, adorable!
      – Organization, excellent!

      Would I do it again? Absolutely!

      Question: Have you ever done an Iron Girl Half?


      Epcot Flower and Garden for my Moms Birthday

      Disney

      Last Friday Prince Charming and I took my Mom to Disney’s Flower & Garden Festival at Epcot. If you’ve never been, and if you like flowers I highly recommend it!

      Instead of a frilly or glittered card Prince Charming and I wanted to give her the gift of memories. So, on Thursday night after work we loaded up in the car and drove to Central Florida to stay at my parents house.

      After enjoying breakfast, and getting into the park we convinced my mother (who is deathly afraid of heights) that going on Soarin’ would be a “good idea”. We waited line for about 20 or 30 minutes, and finally it was our turn to soar through California. We got my mom all loaded into the ride, the lights lower and I lean over and whisper …

      “Mom, you don’t even feel it when it flips upside down!” 

       “WHAT, ERIN YOU DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT GOING UPSIDE DOWN!” 


      She then proceeded to grip my hand so tightly I’m kind of sure I may have lost circulation at one point… just maybe? haha 



      After Soarin’ we explored through the countries.

      We met some princesses and had some tea. Of course, we invited Alice, we didn’t want the Mad Hatter to think she was just showing up uninvited you know. We explored some more gardens and towards the end of the day, we checked in with our friends Mickey, Minnie & Pluto.

       

      Happy Birthday Mom!

      St. Patrick’s Day Virtual 5K – Race Recap

      Healthy Living

      In honor of my St. Patrick’s Day virtual 5K, please notice I have changed my text color to GREEN! St. Patty’s Day is one of my husband’s favorite holidays (no, we are not known to be found in the party-scene.. BUT for some reason, … he just loves the holiday!) [His Recent Post] anyways!  I was very excited that one of Jill Conyers 13 in 2013 Virtual races was a St. Patrick’s Day theme!! I had BIG plans! Mr. Handsome and I were going to run the race together, we were going to eat some corn beef and wear green (blah-blah-blah). Well,… life sometimes happens and we aren’t always able to accomplish our plans. 

      Life was so busy I didn’t even get to do the race during the scheduled time! (I was one day late.)
      I tagged Jill in a photo on Instagram and asked for her forgiveness, and of course (being the fantastic lady she is) she gave it! 

      She reminded me that “It’s all about the run”. So, thank you Jill for the opportunity to virtually run with you and so many other fabulous people! 


      So, how was the weather? 
      I’m sometimes torn when I think about the weather. On one hand, it’s SO ridiculously HOT for being March. When I left my house for the run it was 82 degrees outside. Seriously? It’s MARCH! On the other hand … I see my blogger / twitter / instagram friends bundled up praying for some sunshine. So, I’d decided YES, it was absolutely ridiculously hot out there. BUT I’d rather have my sunshine than a treadmill. … (p.s. treadmill runners inspire me!) 

      And how about that run?
      It wasn’t a PB or anything, BUT considering I haven’t had a chance to run at all this week, i’d say it was pretty good. I was able to maintain under 16 minute miles. Considering I’m not really much faster than that on a good day, and it was 82 degrees and sunny … I’ll TAKE IT! Besides, I felt so relaxed and happy during my run. All of the stresses simply melted away. (p.s. PB = Personal Best NOT Peanut Butter). 

      Anything else? 
      Yes! Our microwave officially died this morning (remember when I recently cleaned it?). So, my darling husband and I are going to go pick out a new one this afternoon. We are ALSO going to use one of our groupons for wine tasting this afternoon. I’m pretty excited! 

      How about you? 
      Are you doing the #13in2013 challenge, or did you participate in a St. Patty’s day run? 





      Running Announcement: Goofy Challenge 2014

      Healthy Living Run Disney

      It’s official, I’m going Goofy.

      On February 27th, 2012 there was NO way I was expecting to be thinking about running a Marathon in January of 2014. I mean, lets be honest. … training for the 5K was challenging  BUT, in less than 1 year I did run a Half Marathon and my running confidence level is kind of high right now

       So … Why not

      To celebrate registering for this race, the Run/Walk method developed by Jeff Galloway and felt amazing!  Unfamiliar with what the Goofy Challenge is? Read about it here and follow my Journey to Goofy on the blog and on Instagram!

      2013 Princess Half Marathon – Race Recap

      Healthy Living Run Disney
      Are you ready to read about the most grueling, scary, exhausting, frustrating and FUN 3 hours and 27 minutes of my entire life?  I’m not ashamed to state that it took me 3 hours and 27 minutes to complete the Princess Half Marathon. In fact, I am proud to declare that I did it!

      Grab a cup of coffee, and read all about my very first half marathon!

      Since we stayed off of property, we had to get up EXTRA early. My Ursula costume wasn’t working so I changed to a “Cinderella inspired” option. Upon checking the weather I realized it was probably going to rain and I didn’t really want to be wearing white if it did.

      So, … I snapped a picture  and changed into a pink shirt and went with a Princess Aurora inspired look!

      We left the hotel and headed to Epcot!  We may have left a little early because the roads were not blocked off all the way yet, and our gps (and the traffic directors) directed us right to the STAGE! Yep. … the stage. The bad thing is, we were IN OUR CAR!!! haha So, we got turned around (yelled at by some other traffic people) and headed to find the runner parking!

      Finally at the race (about 3:30ish a.m. a.k.a. 1 hour after we left our hotel room that was literally 5 minutes away) we made our way to the stage. I really wanted to meet up with some princesses and be calm before the race but that lines were REALLY long and so I opted to stand in the potty line instead.  After a little bit of dancing, and sneaking in shots of the Princesses between pictures with the runners it was time for us to start walking to the Corrals.

      Hello Nerves …

      On the way to the race I had eaten my traditional handful of nuts and right when we got there I ate my apple. So, at 4 a.m. I felt great! My tummy was full, I was excited, I was in the zone.

      We finally made it to the Corral (after what felt like an eternity) and I began to realize that I was about to run a half marathon. After months of training, a wisdom teeth extraction nightmare and starting my whole training plan OVER after 2 months of not running, the day was here and I was ready!

      FYI – we were originally scheduled for the very last Corral (H) but with our 10K time were were able to get moved up to E!!!

      Anyway – we sang along to the music, took some more pictures and before we knew it, it was our turn!

      I was so thankful to have my husband there with me, he has been my coach, my cheerleader and my bestie and I couldn’t be more thankful to have him in my life (His blog. )
      With the sights and sounds of fireworks, we were off.
      Miles 1-5 weren’t exactly anything to blog about, a lot of smiling, a lot of happiness and a lot of running! In FACT we were running at about a 10 minute pace. For a girl who averages 13 – 14 minutes, i’d say

       that is PRETTY GOOD!

      We entered the Magic Kingdom, and just about the time you’d THINK I would start to pick up the pace, my body began to crash.

      Remember when I told you I ate right when we arrived (at like 4?) Well, we didn’t start running until 6. Therefore, my food was practically gone so I was relying heavily on my cliff shots, water breaks and power aide.

      I held it together through the Magic Kingdom, and had fun stopping for some pictures along the way. As you can see, I was super happy and excited to be inside the Magic Kingdom. I got a little wave from Minnie, and continued on my way.

      As I continued, my pace began to slow down and my body began to shut down… I needed food. That apple and those nuts were GONE.I  was dizzy, my head was pounding, my cheeks were as bright as a red rose. With rosy cheeks, and chills I refused to let it beat me! I grabbed my husbands hand and asked him to please let me walk.


      As we walked and I refused to tell him what I was experiencing (because I didn’t want him to take me to the medical tent) I felt the tears begin to come. We had sacrificed so much to be at the race. Hours upon hours of training, hours upon hours of reading and researching how to be a runner. Hours of planning and budgeting. How could mile 9-12 be this hard? How could I have been so stupid not to eat enough?  Why was this happening?  All those thoughts filled my head and a few tears began to fall. Just as I was getting ready to act like a big girl, I felt someone rub my back, look me in the eye and tell me “good job!” She made sure I saw her, because she then grabbed my elbow and repeated herself. With tears in my eyes I thanked her and hoped she would move on so not to see me cry.

      We finally made it to Epcot, and my darling waited in line to meet Pinocchio. After a few pictures in Epcot it was time to finish what we started. So, we took a picture at mile 13 grabbed hands and ran it in!

      As we ran it in, my husband got a big high five from goofy, and I was dusted with some pixie dust! A beautiful pink, gold, glittered, Princess Half  Marathon medal was placed around my neck and the realization hit me.

      We did it! 

      2013 Princess Half Marathon Expo

      Healthy Living Run Disney

      Today is the 1 year anniversary of my career as a runner and I’m feeling a little emotional about it.

      On February 27th, 2012, I laced up my sneakers, put the leash on my dog (one of my dogs) held the hand of my husband and began a journey. We had been walking each morning for a couple weeks, and were starting to see some weight loss results. Motivated to continue, we woke up at 5 a.m. and headed out the door for a walk.  If you know my story, you know that on that particular morning, a larger man ran by me and inspired ME to run.

      I, Erin (former swimmer, current couch potato) began my journey. If you are new to my blog, you may not realize that this is my transformation. …

      In one year, I lost an estimated 60 pounds through running, eating less, drinking water, and sleeping. That’s it. No special diets, no special pills, no schedules, just the good ol’ fashion hard work. Pictured to the left you will see my husband and I at Epcot (on Vacation) in 2012 and at Epcot at the end of the Princess Half Marathon (2013).

      I began my post with this information, because I truly believe that if I can run 13.1 miles, YOU can run 13.1 miles (or walk).

      This weekend, I had the amazing opportunity to meet so many of the bloggers I follow.  Meeting someone you follow on social media sites in real life is quite the experience. During the Marathon Weekend, I was only able to meet one person, so this trip I was determined to meet as many people as possible!

      I met, Lena from The Beginners Runner. This girl is adorable! We first met at the TeamRunDisney ice cream social, and then I tagged along to another meet up. I LOVED talking to her about running, training, energy supplements, life, The Dumbo Challenge … Um, yeah. It was GREAT and I love reading her blog on Thursday’s when she posts the songs she’s currently jamming too!

      I also met Erin from For the Love of Disney Running I have followed her since my early running days, and also LOVE her running costumes and LOVE for Disney. She and I also share the same name, so be default she’s cool and you should check out her blog!

      Let’s see, I met Marcia from Travel, Run Eat actually. …I am fairly new to her blog, I just started following it in January. She was extremely kind, and i’m looking forward to reading about her traveling adventures.

      Finally … I met Kat. I started following her blog after Pretty Muddy Tampa and just really never stopped. She’s a lot of fun to follow on instagram, and her blog. She even gave me a little shout out on her blog today (blush!). So, check out Sneakers and Finger paints! 

      In addition to ALL those wonderfully inspiring ladies I met, I ALSO experienced the Fit for a Princess Expo! 
      Oh. my. word.  was THAT an over crowded mess!!!  Due to the Baseball Season, we were not able to have the Expo at Disney’s World Wide of Sports. Therefore, we were crammed into one ballroom with packet pick up, t-shirt pick up, hundreds of vendors and of course 20+ thousand of our new best friends. 
      For some reason, … we went both days. 

      I was glad we did because I got the opportunity to meet Jeff Galloway (twice) and tell him about my

       blog, my running anniversary, and my weight loss story. I got a side hug and a bow from Jeff Galloway. Seriously, I think I glowed for HOURS after that – I was just THAT honored to meet the man who helped me train!!  I also got to meet Ali Vincent (First Female Biggest Loser). She was pretty inspiring to talk to, and encouraged me a LOT.

      Even though it was crazy crowded, and a lady offered to buy my tiara OFF MY HEAD, and another lady tried to steal the mug (out of my hand) in the Disney Merchandise tent, I LOVED the expo. The energy, the excitement, the tempers. … Oh the magical memories.

      Question: What’s your strategy for Run Disney Events, and Expos? 

      WDW Marathon Weekend: Royal Family 5K Recap

      Healthy Living Run Disney

      The Family Fun Run 

      Remember when we were young and the day after Christmas we began planning for NEXT Christmas? We couldn’t wait for the season to come around again, we looked forward to everything about it! We were on our best behavior, we dreamed about what it was going to be like.

      Maybe I’m the only one…

      Well, this 5K was the equivalent of Christmas morning.

       It is the event that I begged my sister in law to register for, the event I convinced my mother and father in law to attend, the event I’ve been dreaming of for the last 10 months. Those 3.1 miles of beautiful Epcot.

      Daisy and Belle

      3:32 on Friday morning had finally arrived and I have absolutely Z-E-R-O desire to get out of bed. My throat hurt, I didn’t sleep very well, I felt horrible. Around 4ish, I pulled myself out of bed and began to transform myself into Daisy Duck.

      My husband and I led our team of Fun Runners through a series of warm ups and stretches, gave them a couple of last minute tips and then warned them that we wanted to RUN!  Belle (sister) and I all dressed up and ready to run.

      The course was everything I imagined it would be, and I loved every minute of this race! The Family 5k is such much fun, absolutely perfect for people who are just starting to run and love Walt Disney World!