Hikin’ In Garner State Park

What? What?! Why yes, I did knock off another item of my 30 before 30 list…thank you for asking!  # 23 in fact.  That’s right; I have 5 down and 25 more to go!

At the front entrance to the Park, it’s a tradition that we take a nice picture by the sign and a funny picture of us trying to jump at the same time (that one didn’t work out so well so I won’t paste it).

I love Garner State Park and I have always loved the mountain (hill?) Old Baldy.  My mom says that I climbed it when I was a kid but I don’t remember doing it so I did it again!  However, no one told me that you are supposed to bring a rock with you to the top and sign your name to it and leave it up there with you.  I will have to go back and do that, but for now I completed my mission!

Wanna see some pics? Ok, let’s dive right in.

A trail hike is not complete with our sunscreen, trail mix, and Gatorade

At the trail head of Old Baldy, we are about to start!!!!!

My friend Kathy at the trail head

This is the view from about ¼ of the way to the top.

Steep part of the trail.  Be careful not to slip and slide.

It’s yours truly!!

This is near the bear cave entrance

View from ½ way to the top

At bear cave-I don’t see how a bear could fit in there.  Maybe bat cave but no bear cave.

 

Me on top of the world!

Me and Kathy at the top of hill (this is where the pile of rocks with everyones name on it).

View from the top-Beautifully breathtaking

I hope you enjoyed #23 on my list! 5 down, 25 to go. Visit Garner State Park soon, I know you will love it too!

Question of the Day:

Is there any place you have always wanted to hike?

Superman….errr Supercat!

I took Jabba’s picture this morning.  He is a nut. Does this remind you of someone?!

SuperCat!!!!!!!!!!!!  LOL! This is actually one of his favorite ways to take a nap or lay down.  I catch him like this all the time and it’s my favorite.

Question of the Day:

Does your pet do any silly things or sit/lay in weird positions?

We Run these Streets

Last Thursday night my friend Hector and I drove up to Nacogdoches, TX to visit Driving Jacks.  What is Driving Jacks you ask?   Well, Driving Jacks is a non profit designated driver program that is FREE to all students and Stephen F. Austin State University and also anyone that lives in Nacogdoches (or visiting).  Driving Jacks runs completely on donations and sponsorships so students can focus on getting home safely.  Read the Driving Jacks mission here or learn how you or your company can sponsor Driving Jacks here.

I actually helped start Driving Jacks when I attended SFA.  I was in Student Government and they made an announcement about wanting to start a designated driver program at SFA like at Texas A & M (their program is calling C.A.R.P.O.O.L.). 

On January 25^th, 2007 Driving Jacks gave their first ride and to date has given over 11,000 rides!!!!!   Hector and I were both Presidents of Driving Jacks at one time so we went to surprise all the members.  It was super fun!

Since I left in 2007 Driving Jacks has had two offices, this one being the biggest and best yet!  I was so jealous of the room (we originally got a little desk and a corner of a lounge area…that was before they realized how COOL we really are). Now Driving Jacks has some sweet diggs.

I was running late (as always) and Hector stopped at Walmart to pick out a gift for them.  I believe it was a game and some lime green colored items for parties (forks, cups, table cloths-all Driving Jacks become OBSESSED with lime green by the end of the semester).

These are all of the trophies Driving Jacks has won over the 4 ½ years it has been operating.  I think they have gotten organization of the year 4 years in a row!!  There is also a picture of Amy Shields and her favorite poem (Amy Shields was one of the founding members that got killed by a drunk driver the fall semester of her senior year.  Amy never got to see Driving Jacks in operations, but her parents come to events throughout the year-for more of the Amy Shields story go here).

These are my favorite promotional item I saw that night!  Bumber ribbon magnets!!!!!!!!!!  I have now attached one ot my car!  The inside of the ribbon is a magnet for your refridgerator.  I just love these things.

This is me and Hector with our friends Britney (current President) and Garrett (VP).

Pic of the some of the faithful Driving Jacks that were working on the first night of the semester (Driving Jacks operates on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 10 pm to 3 am during the semester only)

Me and Brittney! Past and current Presidents-ladies represent!

Hector and Brittney

Me and Hector posing

Miss you SFA!! 

Driving Jacks is a great program that is very rewarding to be a part of.  For more information about bring a program like Driving Jacks to your school or town go to www.SRPU.edu

Remember, Driving Jacks only runs on donations so if you have some change to spare-DONATE!! J

No Veggie No ‘Mo

Today marks the end of my 1 month of being a VEGETARIAN!!!!!  Whoo hooo!!  I made it.  I get to mark one more off my 30 Under 30 List.

In addition to being a vegetarian for a month I wanted to learn more about the food industry and why some people choose to be vegetarian in the first place.

To do this I focused watched the movie Food Inc. and read the book Skinny Bitch. Both made me think very hard about what I have been putting in my body for the last 29 years.  So I decided for the time being to stay a semi-vegetarian.  Semi? Yes, semi. 

When I went out with friends I always felt it was a hassle to ask the waiter for special accommodations.  It was always a great conversation starter as to why I was doing it and it always led me back to the list.  So now I am being a semi vegetarian.  I am not going to worry about what it is I am eating for that one meal, because overall I am making a difference.  If I go on a date and can’t find something to eat, I won’t make a big deal out of it, I will just eat fish or something. No big deal.  I do plan on eating fish now (during the 30 days I didn’t) especially shell fish because I love shrimp, crab, and crawfish way to much to give them up completely. 

So let’s look back to what I have been eating for the past 30 days shall we?!  Yummy, Yummy, get in my Tummy!!!

Bean Nachos-OMG I love these and have to have them all the time!

Bean Burrito bowl from Bullrito’s filled with lettuce, jalapeños, cheese, beans, corn salsa, green salsa, red salsa, and pico di gaieo (sp?)

Fried Pickles and ranch dressing-one of 4 my appetizers that made a meal.

Habanera Margarita-All I can say is YUMMMMMMMYYYYY!  Can’t wait to go back to get another one.  Yes, that is an actual real fresh jalapeno sitting on top of the margarita.

Luby’s Vegetable Soup and Salad-This was day 5 because I posted it on my Facebook page.

Vegetarian sushi X’s 2-Love, Love, Love sushi!

Salad Xpress-salad bar with yummy toppings that if I wouldn’t have been a vegetarian I probably would have never tried such as chickpeas, bean sprouts, field peas, and beets.  Many other things were included on the salad like romaine lettuce (always had gotten iceberg before), tomatoes, cucumbers, black and green olives, onions, eggs, and broccoli.

Spinach quesadillas with whole wheat tortilla, steamed zucchini and squash, with corn salsa

Sweet potato, spinach, and bean enchiladas.  It was an interesting combination, but I’m not sure that I would make it again.

Stuffed Veggie Avocado-normally I would have gotten a beef stuffed avocado, but this one was oh, so good!

Veggie sandwich from Jimmy John’s with salt and vinegar chips and tea.  The sandwich was huge!

Whole Wheat Waffles with peanut butter and trail mix.

  Most importantly, who can live without water in a FLAMINGO cup?

The Help

I just finished the book, the Help and it was wonderful!  If you have not read it yet, I suggest you hightail it to Barnes and Noble and pick up a copy.  When I was reading the book I was struck by how awful people were treated back then.  I just wanted to educate these people about some things! 

I went on Saturday afternoon to the AMC in Houston for the 12:45 show.  I had finished my Kingwood 5K, went home, took a shower, cleaned a bit, and left for the show. 

For a 1 pm movie it was really crowded. 

  I still hadn’t gotten my full appetite back from the race (is that just me or do other people not feel like eating right after a race?) so I just brought some trail mix that I got in my race packet and munched on it. Shhhh….don’t tell anyone that I brought food in with me.  I am a rebel!

The movie:

I really liked it.  Of course, as with any book then turned movie combo that I read I always love the book more, but it was still really good.  They combined some parts of the movie to make the movie more seamless.  I loved how they actually made the movie funny! The book had a few funny parts, but the movie made me laugh at several parts.  They really made the book come alive.  I didn’t really like how they made the part with Constantine different. I don’t want to ruin the movie for anyone, so that’s all I have to say.  I also didn’t like that they took out mostly all of the Skeeter/Stuart story line.

The Cast:

Ms. Hilly-She was kind of disgraceful.  In the book she was a nightmare, but in the movie she was really bad.  I had pictured her more graceful and evil behind your back.  She was evil in front of your face!  The pie part with her squishing it in between her teeth and smacking was really gross!

Skeeter-I love Emma Stone as an actress anyway, but I really think she nailed the character of Skeeter.  The attempt at frizzy hair was bad though, they could have done better.

Celia Foote-I loved her character in the book; she seemed like such an outcast.  Secretly I wanted Skeeter and Celia to take over the club or start a new one and all the other outsiders of the town unite against Hilly Hollbrook!  That didn’t happen though. :/  In the movie she just seemed dumb and way to giggly.  Annoying!

Abileen-Nailed it!  What a great actress she is.  I loved the end when she is made to retire, her emotions were right on!

Minny-Love her in the movie.  In the book she seemed loud and obnoxious, but Octavia Spencer really brings her alive.

Stuart-I don’t know who I would have wanted to play him, but I didn’t like him.  I just pictured someone else I guess.  I wish they wouldn’t have cut out so much of his storyline, but I understand for time sake they had to.

Skeeter’s Mom-LOVE HER!  She is the perfect mom character.  Nag, Nag, Nag.

Elizabeth-I think she captured Elizabeth really well.  Especially when she was ignoring her children.

Constantine-I didn’t picture her so old and frail!  When they were retelling her part of the story I felt so sorry for her when she was serving people the food and kept dropping it.  In the book I don’t remember her being so old.

Lake Houston 5K/10K

Last Saturday I did the Lake Houston 5K in Kingwood, TX.  I have lived in Houston most of my life and I don’t believe that I knew where Lake Houston was and that it was in Kingwood.  Silly me.

Anyway, I woke up at 5:15 am to my alarm clock named Jabba the Hutt.  He wakes me every morning at 5:15 so he can be fed…I created a monster.  I got out of bed and threw on my running outfit that I was going to wear that day, grabbed my water bottle, keys, wallet, IPod, and breakfast.

I wasn’t sure how long the drive was so I made my breakfast to go.  It was a wheat tortilla with peanut butter, bananas, and chia seeds.  Yummy!

Lake Houston is about an hour drive from my house so I had to book it if I wanted to be on time.  My friend Armando was running the race with me also so I met him there.  You might remember Armando from the Outriggers 5K.  We both got there right on time and I got our numbers, timing chips, and swag bags. 

I knew I would be really sweaty and gross so we took a few pics of the finish line before the race. LOL.

And their off!  My pony tail was swinging and I was doing the princess wave.

At the beginning of every race I try and choose someone to beat.  Now, I am a very slow runner so I pick people anyone could take on.  My Outriggers 5K I took on a pregnant lady (really pregnant, as in about to pop), and this race I took on an old lady. 

I kept seeing her ahead of me and said to myself, ‘Really, you are going to let a 60+ year old lady beat you?’  I didn’t catch up to her to mile 1.3, but at least I did.  Actually to be fair I didn’t really notice her til about mile .75 mile and it didn’t take that long to catch up with her.  About mile 2.25 she passed me for a sec and I said ‘Oh, hell no’ and picked up the pace.  Mile 2.5 she was there again.  Ugh! Didn’t she know I am slow!  That’s ok, I picked it up again and finished a head of her.  I didn’t see her again til the free stuff area so I don’t know how much longer she took to finish.  We are just going to pretend I beat her by a mile….

After the race was over I met up with Armando and chilled out til we found the results that were posted.  Armando finished 3^rd in his age group!  WHOO HOO!!!  We had to stay for awards so we did.  This is Armando with his medal!!  Go Armando!  I will be getting a medal one day.

Got home and look at all the free swag I got at the race.  In addition to this pile I got a popsicle, banana, Gatorade, and a bottle muscle milk.

The awesome sponsors gave us all this stuff:

-Tote bag, t-shirt, two koozies, eye glass cleaner, eye glass hand wipe thing, Bio Freeze (pain reliever gel), Band-Aids and holder, first aid kit, Mary Kay sample eye shadow, Nutri-Grain granola bar, My Fit Foods trail mix, pen, water bottle, orange, fruit strip sample, free meal from My Fit Foods, wrist I.D. hand sanitizer, sewing kit (??), and balance wrist bracelet.  Lots of cool stuff.  I used the trail mix at the movies later in the day. 

Guess what?  I beat my personal record again!!!!  My official time was 36.13 min which was only a small increase again, but I still beat it.  I WILL one day place and receive a medal in my age group. 

All in all the race was great!  I wish my family and friends could have come, but having my running buddy Armando drive in from Lufkin was awesome.

What’s a girl gonna do?

Sometimes, even though you are eating healthy….you just need a cupcake!

My Getting Hot Plan

So everyone knows that I have been trying to lose weight for awhile.  Every since I had a breast reduction in December of 2009 I have been trying to eat healthy and stay active.  I have lost about 30-35 lbs since December of 2009 and I can’t seem to lose more!  Ugh! 

I have decided on a plan of attack to lose even more weight and “Get Hot”.  I am calling it my “Getting Hot Plan” or GHP. These are things that I have read about on other blogs and through books.   I plan on doing these things throughout the end of the year (while working on my other list) so I can be super hot, hot, hot! Hopefully I can get to my goal weight of 135 by then!

I don’t want to add anything about calorie intake because I know that with the increase in activity I will be hungry!  I know I need to take into account my exercise calories but I don’t want to overeat and overcompensate for them.

Here is a detailed out line of my Getting Hot Plan:

1.  Run 4X per week (at least 3 miles during week and 6+ on weekends).  This is one to prepare myself for my ½ marathon in December. 

2.  Do 30 Day Shred for 1 month straight (this is also part of my 30 Under 30 list)-Jillian Michaels is one bad mama jamma and I hurt after her DVD’s.

3.  Read Skinny Bitch-I’ve read several reviews of this book and I want to check it out.

4.  Watch Food Inc.-This is a movie on the food industry and I’ve heard it makes you not want to eat anything ever again that isn’t organic.

5.  Do Insanity (one full cycle)-‘cuz it just looks crazy!  We will see how it goes.

6.  Watch Food Inc.-This video is supposed to be about how the food industry works and I am intrigued.

7.  Do P90X (one full cycle)-‘cuz everyone else has done it and so can I (or just at least give it a shot)

8.  Run at least 2 races per month (5K’s can count towards #1)-Also to help prepare me for #9 and beyond.

9.  Run ½ marathon in December-Part of my 30 under 30 list and one of my goals I never thought I could do-but I now know I can-I am woman, hear me roar!

10.  Remain somewhat vegetarian-Sometimes a girl just needs a steak so I am not going to say never again!

11.  Eat no/less process foods-self explanatory

12.  Post pics/updates at least once per month-So ya’ll can keep this girl motivated and accountable!

The time I had a breast reduction

I feel it is important to put my story out there for everyone to read because I know that I feared what will happen during and after my surgery and I want every woman out there thinking of having one done to know what happened.  Before my surgery I couldn't find stories about breast reductions, so here you go! :)  Surgery is a scary thing, but I am thankful that I was able to get one done and that it turned out great.  Talk to your doctor about the risks involved since this is only my experience and there are different risks for different ages. I went through a plastic surgeon, but be sure to research the doctors in your area before having it done (and don't just choose one because they are the cheapest!  Insurance covered mine and if you go through the proper procedures yours might as well-at the time we had Blue Cross Blue Shield). 


In December of 2009 I had a breast reduction.  The doctor removed 4 lbs total from my breasts.  I lost 4 lbs instantly!  Actually, not really but it sounds great, LOL. 

Before picture (in October 2009):

Recent picture (May 2011):

See the difference?  They were gigantic weren’t they? haha.

The reason I am telling you this is because it was the one thing that got me really moving on my weight loss journey.   Sure, I had joined Curves before and worked out there but I always felt in the back of my mind that it wouldn’t matter and that no matter how hard I worked out my huge boobs would still be there.  They always held me back.  Now that they are gone I feel free!  My back hurts less, my posture is much better, and I don’t always feel like everyone is always looking at my boobs and not me.

I used plastic surgeon Dr. Chaney in the 1960 area at T.O.P.S. hospital (Houston).  I highly recommend him. He is a great plastic surgeon, has a great sense of humor and a bedside manner, and most importantly, he is a Christian man.

The recovery:  I had the surgery the week of Christmas 2009 on Monday the 21^st, the following Monday the 28^th, I was back at work (moving slooooowly though).  For the first week it took so much energy to do anything!  Putting my clothes on for Christmas dinner was a chore and I felt like I needed a nap afterwards.  I gradually got my energy back to full speed and started working out again in early February.

It was a year and a half ago so my memory is fuzzy, but here is a recap:

Monday-I went into surgery early (around 7am?) and was terrified!  What if I don’t wake up, what if they look funny? What if they are uneven? LOL.  (Note:  I had only been in the hospital twice, once when I was born and once when I broke my arm and they had to put me to sleep to reset it…so I was nervous!).  I remember the nurse trying to wake me up and all I wanted to do was sleep.  They wheeled me in to my room and I heard my Mom talking somewhere.  ‘Where’s my Mom’ I said (yes, I wanted my mommy) and she was right there along with both my grandparents, my little sister Tori and my Dad Keith (my grandfather might have been there but I was on pain medication so I don’t remember much of this day).  I had to wake up to eat something and for them to check me out.  My sister texted everyone that I was ok and out of surgery (I loved those texts BTW, they made me feel special with all my friends and family praying for me!).  Then I went to sleep and my family went home.  My blood pressure was really low so they took me off the morphine to see if that’s what was causing it (it was) so I didn’t get any more morphine the rest of the time.

Tuesday-In the morning I woke up and they told me that I was doing great.  They said I could go home around lunch if I could walk around by myself.  I had a catheter in and they removed it so I could get up and about.  Both of my grandmothers hovered walked around the hospital with me while I got my strength back up.  They took me home and I went straight to bed!  It was arranged earlier that instead of staying at my house by myself while I recovered that I would stay at my parents house in my little sisters room because she had the TV (she didn’t mind).  I was sitting on the couch with my older sister Laura and had just taken my Vicodin.  Laura was sitting with me so my Mom could run some errands and I wouldn’t be left alone just in case something happened.  Laura and I were talking and my palms started to itch.  I just itched them and kept talking (I’m a talker), then the itching got worse and that’s when Laura started to notice.  She asked if I was ok and I told her that I was just itching a bit.  She called my Mom and told her I needed new medication since I was having an allergic reaction.  Go figure, I’m allergic to Vicodin! 

Wednesday-The shower day.  I remember I had to take a shower and remove the bandages to clean them.  Yuck!  I am not a fan of blood (but vampires are hot!).  TMI: The bandages were sticking to me and had blood clots (double yuck) and I almost passed out then.  Luckily my Mom was there helping me and she made me not pass out.  I had stitches that dissolve and stitches that I could see.  The surgery was an Anchor shaped scar so there are a lot of stitches.  The water in the shower was not hot (can’t really have hot water on you after the surgery) and I got out and reapplied the bandages and sports bra that Velcro’s in the front.  After I had used up my energy for the day, I fell back asleep.

Thursday-CHRISTMAS!!!  Who doesn’t love Christmas?!  My Mom had went to the store and bought me a yellow zip up sweat shirt and yoga pants so I would have something easy to put on.  I had been laying around in my flamingo pajamas and my new heart pajamas the entire week so it was time for me to get a new outfit.  I was so tired by the time I got dressed that I didn’t want to go downstairs.  My family had all come over so I wouldn’t have to go anywhere (I <3 font="" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" them=""> 

I was moving really slow but I made it.  I did go back to bed before everyone left.

Friday-Saturday-Sunday-just the same ole stuff, but getting stronger everyday.

Monday-Back to work day.  I thought I could handle the drive, but with potholes, seat belts, swerving, and holding my arms up on the steering wheel the entire time (at 10 and 2) it was not fun.  I drove from Spring to Pearland (about 45 minutes without traffic).  I got to work exhausted, hurting, and bleeding from a few stitches.  I couldn’t lift anything heavy so I just did light paperwork (which is pretty much what I do anyway but sometimes I lift heavy boxes and move them places).  Several people at work new that I had had the surgery and it was really awkward.  I felt like they were staring the entire time at how much was gone.  That first day back I held a binder up to my chest when I was walking around. LOL.  It was all in my head though I’m sure.  The next day I worked at an office that was closer to my parents house so I wouldn't have to drive that far again, then the day after that I went back to my house and was ok to drive to work.

Skip to January-stitches removal!  Stitch removal = OUCH X 50!!!!

February-fully back up to my energy levels, stitches out, and workouts begin.  I did try this ab cruncher machine that a bar goes across your chest…no smart!  After that pain had subsided I left the gym that day. Ha ha.  I started more cardio (spinning!) and light weights that didn’t involve my chest muscles. 

Scars-my scars are minimal and although you can tell they are there I don’t really notice them so much.  Where they reattached the nipple there scaring is heavy and you can see a circle scar through a light shirt.

That’s it!  That’s my breast reduction story.  Hope you had a great read.

Outriggers by the Bay 5K

A while ago I signed up for the Outriggers by the Bay 5K in Kemah TX.  We raced today and I was soooo tired at the end of it.  Two months ago at my Astros 5K I ran it with no problem, but today it was so hot and muggy that it was horrible!  I didn’t run the entire time like I did my last race, but I haven’t been running every morning like I used to.  I was doing great until the second water station where I stopped to drink.  After stopping I just felt so drained and could not focus.  I walked about 1/2 a mile after the second drink station and then started jogging again.  Would there be no end in sight?  Finally, after I took another walk break a woman that was running said "Don't stop!  You are doing so great.  Only a 1/2 mile to go."  That is the push and the mental boost I needed to run as fast as I could.

Here are some pics!

On Friday after work I picked up my race packet at On the Run in Clearlake.

I picked up my packet, and my friend Michelle’s packet.

Outriggers is an oyster bar and grill in Seabrook where the 5K was held.  My friend’s dad actually owns it! (but I didn’t see him)

The racers!  Me, Michelle and Armando

Me and Michelle (Michelle is one of my friends from high school.)

Me and Armando (Armando is one of my friends that I met in college at SFA, he lives in Lufkin, TX.  He works nights so he got off work at 3:50 am, went home and took a shower and drove straight here for the race.  That’s dedication!

I got my chip for my shoe and I’m ready to go.

At the finish line

After the race we wanted a place to sit and rest but inside Outriggers was way to crowded so we sat on the bridge.  We were tired.

My official time was:  36:27.5  which means this is MY PERSONAL RECORD FOR A 5K since I beat my last 5K (Astros-37:13.1) by .86!!  (LOL, sad that it was only that much but whatever-I still beat it!)

Not great, but I am slow!  I will build up my speed, but right now my goal is to just do a few races in preparation for my half marathon in December.