I'm Back

Hello! I'm back. I hope to make this a habit!

So a lot has happened since I've written on the blog.  I completely stopped eating the Belly Fat Cure way. I have struggled with eating healthy! I joined weight watchers online (I think twice, I'm currently enrolled right now) but I find it such a pain in the butt to figure out the points value of everything you eat.  With BFC it's easier because you only need to know two nutrition facts (and make sure there's no false sugar) plus it's easy to remember the 0/0 items for when I don't want to have to "think" too much.  So with that said I started BFC again on Monday.  I'm already down 2 pounds!!

In other news, I ran my half marathon in San Francisco.  That's right only a half not the full but I don't want to say only because I trained hard for those 13.1 miles.  It was the most amazing experience.  I will have to devote another post to the whole thing.  Two weeks after my first half I ran another half! And I'm running another one this weekend.  It's so addicting.  Unfortunately it hasn't seemed to help with my weight lose goals.  I remember this post from Amber from the blog Me & Jorge. I remember thinking I hope she's wrong. She wasn't :(

The wedding planning is in full swing so I'm mildly stressed : )  More reason to get my diet under control now! We have a date set, venue picked, dress picked, and we just sent out our save the dates. Here's our wedding website: http://smithpreuss.ourwedding.com/ I'm ready to just do this thing!!

Well I'm glad I finally posted.  I will return soon to talk about the Nike Women's Marathon experience!

Michael

I want to say sorry for my absence.  I'm not giving up on blogging but I've been on a roller coaster ride of emotions in the past month and it's been difficult to find time to blog. I first had such great news to share when I got engaged a month ago. And then I got really bad news.

About 3 weeks ago I got news that my brother, Michael, was headed to the ER to get checked out for some pains and problems he had been having for a while.  We thought he was going in for kidney stones or an infection, or something along those lines.  The next day I got a call that he didn't have stones and that he might have cancer.  It was one of the scariest calls I've ever received.  I booked a ticket a few days later to be there with him and his wife in San Diego.  We were still waiting on the biopsy results so we were just trying to enjoy our time together and act like everything was normal (as much as we could).  Besides the fact that he's lost about 40 pounds, walks very slowly, and is in a lot of pain he was acting like himself.  He's still a total smart ass, makes a joke out of everything, and is super stubborn.

After I returned from San Diego we got the call that the doctor's confirmed that Michael had stage IV cancer.  It's a very rare cancer called Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor.  He's young and a fighter so I think he can kick cancer's butt. I have all the faith that he is in God's hands.  With all that said I've been a total wreck the past few days.  Training for this marathon has taken on a whole new meaning for me.  If you can donate to my fundraiser please do it for Michael. Thanks!



Me and Michael in San Diego May 2012

Sooo busy

For the past (almost) two years, since I've lived in Baton Rouge, I have had a lot of free time.  I moved here with my boyfriend, no friends, and a job where I work from home.  It's been hard to meet people.  Especially when my boyfriend (now fiance) has only single friends.  Needless to say I've been mostly a home body.  I've finally started to meet more people, joined a running group, working full time again, and now planning a wedding.  I now have no free time.  I miss my down time. 

Mostly this post is to just say "hey!"  I haven't abandoned my blog; I'm just really busy.

I hope to have a full update later this weekend! 

Kelly's Avenue Designs

I've been meaning to give a big shout out to my friend Kelly who designed this blog for me.

If you're looking for a new or fresh blog design she is offering a special this month.  I highly recommend her.  Show her some love!

Show her some love!

So much has happened....

I had a pretty big weekend! 

Saturday I woke up at the crack of dawn to go to my first group run.  It was so great to meet a lot of the people on my TNT.  Some very inspiring stories of why people are out there running.  One guy lost his daughter to a blood cancer, another person's father in law passed from it, and another person's husband has it.  Makes me proud to be training for a reason other than my own goals.  I thought our first run was going to be easy but they had us go the whole loop around the lakes which is 4 miles. I was not ready for that.  About half way through I had to let my running partner go ahead and I walked/ran the second half of the run.  I was spent!!!!! I was also exhausted by lunch time and took a 2 hour nap instead of eating lunch.

Speaking of food I have not behaved at all!!!! But I know I need to get on board especially since I'm training.  Which brings up another point.  Our trainer specifically said to not go on a low carb diet.  I know Amber is completely grain free while she trains for a half marathon but I admit I'm questioning the BFC while I train.

Sunday was pretty uneventful until about 8:30 PM when this happened...

I GOT ENGAGED!!!!! I'm so happy and blessed!  This blog will now probably include some wedding planning entries as well.

I will say this inspires me even more to lose weight.  I want to feel confident on my wedding day (which I'm hoping happens this year).  I have been debating joining weight watchers again b/c I have been so successful on weight watchers.  I just hate the thought of tracking so many different components of everything I eat.  I would just love a personal chef that cooks delicious and nutritious meals that didn't require me to think at all.  A girl can dream....

Exhausted!

Just got back from a run...I'm still sweating and panting. I'm not sure how far yet because I haven't mapped it but I'm guessing about 2.5-3.  I'm finally getting into a groove but I shouldn't say that just yet because My first Saturday group run is this Saturday.  I'm finally going to meet all my teammates!  I am a little scared knowing that most people are running the half marathon and only myself, my friend (Rebecca), and one other person are training for the marathon.  Rebecca's run a half before and the other girl has run a full so I'm the complete newbie out of the 3 of us.  But that's okay (at least that's what I'm trying to convince myself)! I'll just think of them as great inspiration and motivators.

So starting this week I've starting following our training calendar which is only 2 and 3 miles this month so I'm glad it's not overwhelming yet.  Rebecca gets up and runs with me in the mornings but she runs to my house and back home so she runs another extra mile or so. This week I have run about 6-7 miles.  I'll take it.  I'm so exhausted right now I can't think of what else I wanted to say.

I'll leave you with this fun graphic I found on mp3running's blog

Some of the font is really tiny and I'm not sure why the image wont get bigger since the original image is much larger.  If you have any suggestions let me know.

Top Ten Favorite Stella & Dot Pieces

For those of you that don't know, I am a "stylist" for Stella & Dot jewelry.  Which all that means is that I represent the jewelry line very similar to Avon and Mary Kay reps.  I decided to become a stylist mostly because I love the jewelry!  If you ever interested in knowing more about becoming a stylist feel free to email me about it.

Here's my Current Top Ten Favorites:

1. Serenity Stone Drop Earrings

2. Chantilly Lace Chandelier Earrings

3. Soiree Studs

4. Harmony Bands

5. Pegasus Necklace

6. Starry Night Necklace

7. Third Time's a Charm

8. Tribute Bracelet

9. Luna Wrap Bracelet

10. Chantilly Lace Cuff

Do you have a favorite?