What Happened in May? A Lot of Things!

Carley took five days of spring swim lessons. She ended up taking eight more days in June, as well, to strengthen her strokes. She wants to try out for swim team next year.

Carley played in her very last elementary band concert. She starts middle school in August and did not choose band as her elective. She'll be taking art and performance in school, which is still falls in "visual and performing arts" so not too bad. She is looking forward to expanding her experiences.

Mother's Day was in May. Carley made me breakfast in bed.

Josh went to his 8th grade dance. I cannot believe he's finished with middle school! He's in the back row.

My Girls on the Run team ran their 5k! I started co-coaching a Girls on the Run team at Carley's school back in February.  It's a really great program for 3rd-5th grade girls that not only incorporates exercise and goal setting but the lessons also cover important topics such as self-esteem and celebrating individual
qualities. The team met after school twice a week. All teams in the area ran the Girls on the Run 5k in May. I was so incredibly proud of Carley and all the other girls on our team for accomplishing their goal.

The girls needed an adult "running buddy" to run the 5K with them. Since I was a coach and needed to be at the finish line, my friend, Christy, ran with Carley. Thanks Christy!

 Carley received an award from her teacher for improving her reading over the course of the year. Carley really did work hard and through individual tutoring and help at school, she brought up her reading a couple of grade levels.

What Happened in May? A Track Meet

Our school district puts on an open invitational elementary track and field meet each year for 4th-6th graders. Each year, including when Josh was younger, I would only hear about the track meet after it happened. This year, because of my involvement in PTA, I heard about it ahead of time! 

Carley participated in each event: long jump, shot put, 70 meter hurdles, 370 meter run and 70 meter run. 

Students could only participate one time in each event. Each flight included nine students and each child received a ribbon for their place. The highest Carley received was 5th place but she went out there, gave it her all and had a great time. 

long-jump

shot-put

5th place in long-jump and shot-put

70 meter hurdles

370 meter

70 meter

The meet was a fun event and Carley enjoyed participating with her school friends. 

Rounding Out April

Obviously I'm still having the love-hate relationship with this blog. I am still slowly posting but it is so sporadic and for that I apologize. 

I already posted about two events that happened in April: a Taekwondo tournament and our trip to Carpinteria. Believe it or not, other things happened too! 


First of all, I cannot believe I have not yet posted the April Fool's Day food that I made for the kids. Originally I didn't think I would continue the tradition, mainly because I was so busy with work and life, but I could not quit this fun holiday just yet. 

The kids knew it was coming this year. I offered them juice when they got home from school and  right then they figured I was up to something. 

"Juice" was actually Jell-o that was cooled with a straw inside.

"Fried Egg" Sundae is pudding, marshmallow cream and ice cream.

I also checked another item off my Life List: #89 Bet on a Live Horse Race. My youngest sister, Ashley, was in the Bay Area for work. My schedule was crazy busy that week so we decided to meet up Sunday afternoon at Golden Gate Fields to watch some horse races. I had so much fun! 

It was Dollar Day that day so parking, admission, beer, hot dogs, etc. were all just $1. I decided I was willing to lose $20 on bets but ultimately ended up winning most of the bets I placed. I think I walked away $4 ahead. 

My first bet!

It's a winner!

Me and Ashley

The last post-worthy event was a 5K race that the kids and I ran to support the local school district: Race for the Stars. It was a cold, cloudy, drizzly morning and we were feeling lazy but we braved the run anyway. 

Josh ran the full 3.1 miles without stopping to walk and finished at about 29 minutes. Carley's leg was bothering her and it was painful to run so she and I walked the majority of the race and finshed at 50 minutes. 

As usual, we hung out at the post-race expo for a little while before heading home. There was a bike raffle, which we knew nothing of, and in the background I hear Carley's name being called. Apparently all of the children racers were entered into the raffle. Sure enough, Carley won a bike! It is a little big for her but she is outgrowing her small one so the timing couldn't have been better. 

Pre-race

Josh at the finish line.

Sweaty hugs

Feeling proud

Carley's new bike

Wait. There is one more thing to post about, Easter! Our Easter was pretty simple. We dyed a dozen eggs, the kids got simple and small baskets, and the family went to Sarah's house for an Easter potluck meal. 

And that wraps up April. 

Where The Heck Did Summer Go?

Labor Day weekend is considered the unofficial end to summer but we had our unofficial end to summer two weeks ago when the kids started back at school. At that point, we were all left wondering "where the heck did summer go?"

This was the fastest summer vacation I can remember. Even both kids felt it went by a little too fast. I guess it's because we kept so busy we never really enjoyed the lazy days. Or at least the lazy days just felt like recovery days where the kids usually hid away in another room to play video games or watch TV.

Back at the end of May, we had very few plans for summer vacation. Then one thing led to another and BAM it was over.

Here's a look back at some of our summer fun.


My summer vacation started with a Women's Fitness Festival 5K run.


While the kids were finishing up their school year, I darted off to Wyoming to meet up with some girlfriends.


I took the kids and friends to go see the corpse flower at UC Davis Botanical Conservatory.


The kids and I went to Yosemite for the first time.


Josh attended fire camp with Sac Metro.


Walt's dad, Grandpa Thiel, came to visit.


The kids and I went stayed at Lake Tahoe for two nights with friends...


... where we ended up on a ropes course.


The whole family took a mini-vacation to the coast and California Redwoods State and National Parks.


I drove the kids to Washington and back in order visit my family. We missed our annual visit last year so the trip felt long overdue.

The summer wasn't all about hustle and bustle. We enjoyed some simple pleasures too.


The kids played sprinkler Twister...


... which led to a mud fight.


We took silly photos at the playground.


We even roasted s'mores in our backyard fire pit.

And believe it or not, we actually did some stuff that I didn't document through photos.

So the summer may have gone by in the blink of an eye but looking through these photos reminds me that it was definitely a memorable summer.

Move More, Eat Less Update

I'm off the wagon. WAY off the wagon. Move more, eat less? What's that?

I'm not going to stop talking about it because that means I give up completely.


The last time I ran was March 4th. MARCH! That's well over a month ago.

I have gone mountain biking since March 4th, but not much. Probably only once.

As far as Weight Watchers goes, the last day I tracked my food for a full day was March 31st. MARCH! That's nearly a month ago.

The good news is I've stayed about the same weight; 20 pounds lost since December.

The bad news is since I haven't been exercising but have been eating no so well I'm probably losing muscle.

The point of this "confession" post is to get me in gear again and let you know I haven't given up. Yet.

Still Moving More & Eating Less

Yep. Two months later, I'm still at this exercise and weight loss thing. I see progress and feel good so it keeps me going.

Here's my progress:


Weight Watchers online is working for me. I've lost 18 pounds in two months. I'm not to my goal yet but I know I'll make it. I think the hardest part will be maintaining it. But I'll make that my goal once I reach my goal.

I love being able to track my points. But sometimes I eat what I want and make up for it with exercise.

That happened last Friday when the family went out to eat at Logan's Roadhouse. I ate what I wanted, a barbecue chicken burger with bacon and cheese. That sucker alone cost me 22 points without counting the roll or sweet potato fries! So for the next three days I ran my fanny off. And lost 0.8 pounds for the week.


I ran about 9 times during February. I also got exercise by riding my bike or at home with a P90X video.


My favorite run of the month was last Sunday. I ran 3.2 miles without stopping to walk. I'm trying to up my pace and my distance so I've been trying to push myself occasionally.


Monday I ran along the American River trail for variation. The trail is more scenic than my neighborhood and there are hills to conquer. I definitely had to walk a few times throughout the run.

There you have it. I'm still posting about my goal of Move More, Eat Less, which means I'm proud of what I'm accomplishing. As soon as I stop talking about it, you'll know I've fallen off the wagon so to speak.

Thanks for listening.

Move More, Eat Less

Day 3 of 7 Daily Posts: don't forget to check back tomorrow!
I plan to post before 9 a.m. every day but today errands took priority. Keep checking daily though. I promise I'll post something new every day this week.

Move more, eat less. That's the goal.

It's a goal, not a New Year's resolution! I feel like resolutions made at the start of the new year fade faster than a fad. I like setting goals in my life when I feel inspired to do so, not just based on a date.

As the semester ended and I recovered more time for myself, this goal kept nagging in my head. So I've decided to do something about it.


A month or more ago I bought a new pair of running shoes. My old ones just plain hurt. This is where my new running shoes sat. In the closet untouched.


The day after Christmas I decided to lace those bad boys up and go for a spin. Finally.

The last time I'd gone for a run was in May! I feel so out of shape. I run, walk, run, walk, run, walk. But I get through about 30 minutes and just over two miles. It's a start. I know I'll get stronger.

As far as "move more" goes, I don't have to run. I could do other activities. But right now I find running the easiest activity to talk myself into. Especially on a day like today. It was spring-like outside.


I always run with my iPod and Nike+. That little doohickey tracks my speed, distance and time.


The small, oval sensor can slip right into a special spot inside my Nike shoe but I prefer to put it in this Velcro pocket that easily attaches to my shoe laces.


And after I attach my iPod to the computer the run information uploads to nike.com. I can see my run stats. The dips in this graph are the times I walked.

It's so gratifying to me to see my run. I can track how many runs I've completed in a week, month or year. I can see if I'm improving or not.

My intention is to exercise 30 minutes per day five times per week, at least. Sometimes life gets in the way and I can come up with a million excuses. But only I can make myself feel better!

So I've covered the "move more". The "eat less" part seems to be my biggest problem.

I've gained 30 pounds over the past three to four years!! And from what I hear, it only gets harder to keep weight off as I get older. Sometimes I have to sort of trick myself into losing weight by doing something like a Biggest Loser challenge with family or friends. But after a couple times, the trick doesn't work for my motivation and need to try a new way to challenge myself.


This time around, I joined Weight Watchers online.

I feel so silly saying it! But now it's out, isn't it?

Often I get naysayers giving me "You don't need to lose weight!" or "Look how much skinnier you are than me!" But technically I am overweight. And better yet, I don't feel comfortable in my own skin. I finally want to do something about it!

I have successfully completed my first week of Weight Watchers and counting points. Some days I feel so strong and in control. And some days I just want to quit paying attention to what I eat! My first weigh-in is tomorrow. I know that I've lost a couple pounds and that's great! But my biggest obstacle is me. Sometimes I want change NOW and quickly grow impatient when change is slow.

But I'm going to keep at it.

Move more, eat less!