Well hello there

I believe a month just passed me by there. It's been a blur.

This semester I have two very challenging courses that force me to use math-related brain cells that have been dormant for 15 years. (Did I ever really know what natural logarithm was?)

Also, I finally asked for a job change at work. Constantly being in front of a classroom for eight hours a day was wearing me down. I now am in a new role of writing training materials for the physicians and nurses that use our software. It is still demanding work, but the focus of it is a much better fit for me right now.

My workouts have been falling by the wayside lately. I dutifully set my alarm every morning and then hit snooze ten times until I am actually running late. I always feel like crap when I am not working out regularly. I felt like  I needed a goal to work toward. I needed a reason not to hit snooze again.

So I signed up for a marathon. I have fun four before, but it has been several years, and I honestly thought my achy, child-bearing hips couldn't take it again. I ran a tentative five miles, then eight, then ten with no problems. This past weekend I was all the way up to 14, more than half way there! My feet are riddled with blisters, but otherwise, I am feeling good. My sister and I are running the marathon together, and we're going to make it a long, family weekend event. We've run several marathons separately but this will be our first together. (And she's had five kids, so I can't complain much.)

I started running when I was 13, and it has always been a part of my life. Crossing the finish line of my first marathon and feeling the weight of the medal around my neck was one of the proudest, most exhilarating moments of my life. Running makes me feel athletic and powerful. When I was struggling with my hip and lower back problems, I felt a lot of sadness that I would have to give up running. I certainly had to cut back for awhile. I am a lot creakier than I when I was 22 and hadn't given birth to three children, but I still feel athletic and powerful when I lace up my running shoes. And I can't wait to cross that finish line again.

--MM

I need to stop eating cookies

I have a problem. The cafeteria at my work is amazing. the food is truly gourmet and it is cheap. It's just three dollars or so for a beautiful meal. And the desserts! There are always at least five choices from cookies to bars to pudding, pie, and gelato. I started a bad habit of having dessert every single day. Sometimes I would say to myself, "I'll just go look, and I'll only get something if I really want it." The problem is, I always really want it.

I pride myself on being able to many things at once. Work, school, family? No problem! but something of course has to go by the wayside. And that something  is exercise. I do still work out at least twice a week on the days I am teaching Step aerobics at the Y. But other than that, my workout clothes mostly stay piled optimistically next to my bed. My alarm goes off obnoxiously early since it was set with best intentions the night before, but it is slammed into sleep mode at least five times before I finally drag myself out of bed and step over my sad workout clothes.

The problem is this: I used to work out a lot. And I would run a lot. That is just not happening anymore. I am too busy, tired, and unmotivated and my hips ache for days after I go on a long run (and a lot of other really good excuses reasons). When you work out a ton, eating dessert every day, at least once a day is OK. Not so when you are a lazy slug.

I still weigh 15 pounds more than I did before I got pregnant with Lena. Many of my pre-pregnancy clothes still don't fit. I have caved in and bought bigger clothes. So, I need to turn things around here. That means either working out more or eating fewer wonderful cookies. Since I don't foresee more hours joining my day or any new found willpower, I am going to have to skip the dessert counter. Sigh.

--MM

Clothes-shrinking closet

I had a friend who used to say her closet kept shrinking her clothes. I love that. I have the same problem. None of my clothes fit, so it is clearly a closet problem.

During our last couple moves, I weeded out my clothes and got rid of all the bigger sizes. So now, two months after having a baby, nothing fits. It's frustrating. It sounds minor, but it really is a hassle trying on ten outfits to find something that looks nice to go out to dinner, or squeezing into jeans that rub my still-tender C-section incision.

I quickly lost 15 pounds after giving birth. I gained a total of about 30. I figured I was well on my way to getting back to normal. I'm breastfeeding after all. Isn't that supposed to make the weight melt off? Sure. In the past week or so, I have gained a couple pounds. Not good. This is not the direction I want to go.

I have been easing back into exercising. It is definitely not as easy as it was with the boys. I was running again just weeks after having them, but this time my belly is still sore. I have also been eating like I was still pregnant--cookies, ice cream, third helpings. So something has to change, and I think I found the right thing.

I was messing around with my iphone apps--only the free ones of course, and I came across My Fitness Pal. It is the coolest thing! You enter in what you eat and how much you exercise and it calculates the totals for you. It keeps you totally accountable! I do have to enter "breastfeeding" as cardio exercise, but it is still pretty slick. T is using it now as well. He gets a lot more calories than me, so I am jealous. You can also keep track online at www.myfitnesspal.com.

I would love to lose 15 pounds and get back to where I was a year ago. We'll see if this keeps me on track, and if I can get my closet to stop shrinking my clothes.