A Royal Affair

I'm not sure if you heard, but there was a small little wedding in London, England yesterday. ;0) Even though I am not a crazy celebrity stalker, and I make very little time/fuss for things/people outside of my little circle, I was hands-down genuinely excited for the wedding of Prince William & Kate, ahem, Katherine Middleton! I didn't purchase any magazines about the couple, and as much as I would have liked to, I did not watch a single TV special about their relationship or their upcoming wedding. But as the wedding date approached, my excitement continued to grow for this special occassion, and I was trying to think how I could make this event even grander for my family then just watching the wedding on TV. The day before the Prince and soon-to-be-Princess exchanged "I Do's" I decided to throw a Tea Party at our home in their honor.

All four of us were really excited...even Rick! :0)

I went to storage and pulled out four place settings of our china...or as the kids keep calling them, "Mommy's Chinese plates." We then went to my mom's house and borrowed a pitcher for our fesh squeezed lemonade, and a tiered serving plate for all of our eats.

The kids helped me bake our cookies...





And then I whipped (literally) up some fresh whipped cream for our yogurt parfaits, and the rest of our tea food.



We enjoyed oatmeal cookies...



Fresh fruit...



Crown shaped sandwiches...





Our yogurt parfaits...



And our lemonade...



Everything was delicious!



Beatrice loved drinking out of a real tea cup...





And Wyatt insisted this was the "proper" way to eat at a Royal affair...





Before eating we each prayed for the bride and groom, and wished them many years of happy marriage. I will never forget waking up in the wee hours of the morning to watch the wedding live on TV and to share that moment with great girlfriends via facebook, and text messages. I hope my children will remember how history was made on that day, and that they too will have great memories of our Royal Tea Party! :0)

GREAT Friday

A week ago today was "Good Friday." I love Good Friday becuase of everything that it represents for my Christian faith...but I talked about that in a previous post. :0) The reason why this particular Good Friday went from "Good" to "GREAT", is that in addition to reflecting on how amazing God is, it was also my final day at my (paid) job!!!

I had worked in Real Estate for 11 years, and 8 of those years I worked for Trisha & Joanna, Real Estate Agents of RE/MAX Associates.









After Wyatt was born, I switched to part-time hours, and I was able to bring Wyatt with me to work for 2 of the days I went in to the office...but my heart was no longer in Real Estate. I longed to be a full-time mommy. Almost 3 years later I got pregnant with Beatrice, and Rick and I decided that at the end of that pregnancy I would stay home full-time.

It was a WONDERFUL blessing! I was so excited to be welcoming our daughter into the world AND to not have to leave her (and Wyatt) at some point in the morning to head off to work. I was a full time mom for 1 year, and within a month of Beatrice celebrating her 1st birthday, Rick had some health issues, and we were 99% sure he was going to be out of work for a while. As much as it killed me to do it, I called my boss Trisha (Joanna was no longer with the company) and asked her if I could come back to work. I was working longer hours at first, but when we found out that Rick was going to be able to continue working at his company, I cut my hours WAY back to just 8 hours a week...4 hours on one day in the office, and then 4 hours working from home. As soon as we knew Rick's job was fine, I continued to work those shorter hours so we could pay off our debt. Rick's car was already paid off, but we had accumulated some credit card debt, and we had the loan on the mini van. We designed an aggressive budget and made it our mission to become debt free! In addition to being a mom and an employee, I am involved in MANY church activities, and playgroups. On most days, life was overwhelming becuase I was over-working myself. I needed to cut something out of my life, but I had good reasons and a desire to keep every single one of my commitments...I just kept plugging along. 18 months later we paid off the credit card, and 3 months after that the van was paid off! It was a GIANT weight lifted off of my shoulders...not only were we debt free, but we had accomplished a HUGE goal for our family. We had made SO many sacrifices during that time. But it was ALL worth it when we reached the finish line! We paid off our debt last month, and I continued to work for 1 final month to build up our savings account.

And then...finally...my last day of work arrived!!! I was beyond excited for my family, and we had so much joy going into my final morning in the office. I expected it to be just like any other day in the office...get in...do my work...leave...and then be excited with my family afterward. But my bosses were SO much cooler than that. As soon as I walked into to my office, I knew it wasn't going to be a normal day...



I was shocked to see my desk completely decorated! They had even had a card for me that was signed by all of the other Realtors and admin staff in the office....SO NICE!

Within an hour, my boss had brought me in a flower arrangement that she had done herself. She had picked different flowers to represent qualities in my character that she admires about me...I'll spare you the gooey details, but her words were exceptionally kind.



She then went on to say that the best part about this arrangement is that they figured out that money does not grow on trees, but that it grows on the stems of flowers. I honestly hadn't noticed it at first, but sure enough, there was money wrapped around the stems of the flowers! SO exciting! :0)

After doing only an hour of actual work, my bosses (Trish and her new Real Estate Partner Judy), and their new assistant Crystal (whom I ADORE!), took me out for Brunch at Sea Port Village. The view was incredible, and the food was delicious...



After we ate, they asked if we could take some final photographs... :0)







I was overwhelmed by their generosity and the love they showed me on that day. I pray that I will never need to return to my paid job, but it is wonderful to know that I have a great place to go back to should that be required. :0)

So other than my plate of food at brunch...why is this post Chubby Diaries worthy??? Well ever since my family became aware of the generous bonus I had received, I have been continually asked what I was going to spend the money on. I tithed 10% of it, then I gave Rick some, I put some in our savings account, and then I had this chunk of change remaining. I had no idea what I was going to do with it!? My first inclination was to buy some fun clothes for my vacation (in 3 weeks!!!), but I thought that was lame seeming as though I don't plan to be in this size for much longer. I had also contemplated doing nothing with it immediately, but to wait for a rainy day. However, as soon as I walked in the gym on Monday, I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to spend the money on! A personal trainer! I have never done anything like this, and it was a substantial amount of money, so I took this idea very seriously. I spent the next few days interviewing the personal trainers at my YMCA, and by Thursday I had selected a trainer, and paid for 6 sessions. I start on Monday...they are 1 hour sessions...2 sessions per week...for the next 3 weeks. My final session will be the day before I leave for vacation.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm completely nervous about it, but so far the excitement is overpowering the anxiety. :0)

Better Late than Never

I always try to get my blog post in on Monday's...but here it is Thursday, and I am finally getting around to it. :0(

I wish I could report that I have gone back to my great dedication to the diet...but in fact, I have gone even FARTHER back to my lame trips to Jack in the Box. OK, so it was just ONE trip to Jack in the Box, but still, I have been totally off track on my calorie consumption.

A holiday brings with it additional opportunities to eat poorly. I have consumed jelly bean, after jelly bean, after candy coated chocolate egg. They all tasted great in the moment, but after 15 minutes I regretted my decision, and after several days I am regretting the 5 pound jelly bean that is spilling over the top of my jeans! :0(

Putting diet aside, the marathon training must go on. I am SO grateful for the marathon! If it wasn't for the commitment I made to this race, I fear I surely would have abandoned all exercise at this point too.

Our mid-week runs increased again. Tuesday's run is now up to 9 miles. Last week it was just 8 miles, and I had to do that on the treadmill...not my fave.

Fortunately though, this past weekend's long run was only 12 miles. I had the opportunity to run with my dad and sister again at Lake Miramar. Jenni had arrived at the lake about an hour before my dad and I had gotten there, but since she runs at a slower pace, I was able to catch her in the end. She finished literally 15-20 seconds before I did. This was the fastest I have ever ran a long run...and I owe it all to her. She was like a rabbit in front of a dog. She was just out of my reach, but close enough for me to strive to catch her. It is normal to start out a run strong, and then slow down your pace as you start to grow tired. But this dog had a cute little bunny to chase! I was determined to finish before her. Which I never did, lol, but it was still an amazing goal to try for.



Even though the run was a shorter long run, it is still a great distance. There are times you think, "Let's quit" or, "This is taking FOREVER!" But having the advantage of going to our Good Friday church service the night before this run, I had a heavy heart for the pain Christ endured in his crucifixion. Every time I would feel some discomfort in my knee, or my feet, I would ponder the unbearable pain Jesus had felt...and every time self doubt would creep it's way into my head, I would remember how Christ did not give up even when he knew what was coming. He could have shouted "Wait! Stop!" so many times while he was arrested, and yet he never did. He never gave up. He knew the end result was worth it. It sure made for a quick reality check. I am capable of doing the things I am set out to do. I just need to do them!

Our Resurrection Easter Weekend was incredible! Both the church services on Friday & Sunday were inspiring and heartfelt. And the time spent with family and close friends on Saturday and Sunday was great fun! Each year, my mom hosts a 2-day Easter Lala Palooza at her house. On Saturday we spend all day dying eggs, decorating cookies, playing yard games, chatting, relaxing, eating, and this year Wyatt (and his assistant Brady) put on a puppet show! :0)









On Sunday, after church, we have a traditional brunch, an Easter Egg Hunt, and wonderful conversation.













It was a great weekend of celebration! :0)

Advetures in Eating

These last few weeks I have taken a detour from my strict dieting. It was not intentional to take a 3 +/- week break, but making a single bad choice is a slippery slope. Every day I would wake up and say, "I'm back on my diet today." And at some point, I would fumble in my decision making, and then say to myself, "Well, I guess the diet starts tomorrow." It's a (familiar) viscous cycle. The diet is always starting "tomorrow", and it never does. I'm only up a 1/2 of a pound for the week, but in the last few weeks, I have gained back 6 pounds from my lowest weight on this journey. That's lame...I'm lame.

Specifically in this week, I have ventured to Peter Piper Pizza, and Bob's Big Boy with the family...



I had two "Sugar Shack" orders. The first order was for 36 cupcakes...18 chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing, and 18 strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream icing. Each of the recipes made 36 cupcakes...I could have halved the recipes, but I wanted to do some test runs with cupcake liners, and do some experimenting with freezing the cupcakes...so I made the full batch of both batters.



After all of the testing was done...there was sampling to be had. I consumed too many "experimental" cupcakes. :0( The strawberry cupcakes were the lightest, and best tasting cupcakes I have ever made! There were TONS of fresh strawberries throughout the cake AND the icing...I even added a whole cup of my sister's homemade strawberry jam to the batter...SOOOO good!

After the cupcakes were completed on Thursday, I had my niece's 1st Birthday cookies to do on Friday.





But more about that in a minute. :0)

After my run on Saturday, I made the BEST "comfort food" meal! A few weeks ago we had been given a huge package of Foster Farms chicken breasts with the skin on and the bone in. Rick and I are VERY picky about our chicken, and we are not a fan of skin on, and bone in meat. :0( I had immediately shoved this chicken in the freezer until I knew what I was going to do with it. But when it hadn't magically disappeared, and I had finally grown tired of it taking up so much room in the freezer, I decided to do something with it! I went on to Foodnetwork.com and typed in "skin bone chicken breast"...there were a TON of results, but the very first recipe caught my eye...Chicken Stew with Biscuits. It was fairly involved, a bit time consuming, but weeeeeell worth the wait and effort!



The stew was creamy and flavorful, and the biscuits were moist and buttery...soooo good!

Now back to Samantha's 1st Birthday Party...

It was oodles, ahem, Poodles of fun!!!

My sister Jenni and her husband Desmon have a wonderful tradition of having their children get dedicated to the Lord on the morning of their childrens' 1st birthday party...that way we can witness the dedication, and then go straight to the party...all in one day/event.



The dedication was beautiful. Samantha was stunning in her gown, and she clapped the whole way through worship. :0) Even though I was visiting my sister's church, Maranatha Chapel, and have only been there a handful of times, it felt like home...the Palm Sunday sermon was wonderful, and it was so neat to have the rare opportunity to sit next to (most of) my entire family, and have my old (as in time, NOT age, lol) youth pastors sitting right behind me (shout out to Myke & Pam!)!

After the dedication, we headed to my sister's house for the Poodle party where we were treated to some DELICIOUS "puppy chow"!

They served muffins, fruit, eggs, bacon, sausage, scalloped potatoes, and my favorite, Blueberry French Toast Casserole...







For dessert my sister had made some simple cupcakes, a mini candy buffet, and my poodle cookies...







"Sambone" devoured her first cupcake! :0)



I had a wonderful day celebrating (and eating) with incredible family, and the best of friends.

But it's now Monday, and my diet starts today...right??? ;0)

"Sweet Sixteen"...it turns out it's not so sweet.

I knew this run was coming for a while. Each time I saw this 16 mile run on the schedule, I kept saying to myself, "I know the title of THAT blog post...Sweet Sixteen!" My runs have been overall extremely pleasant and encouraging, and I couldn't wait to report how sweet this 16 mile run was. But it turns out, sixteen miles weren't so sweet. :0(

Per my new usual, I wanted to mix things up again. I have grown tired of running in circles. I have been running my 3 mile loop around my neighborhood again and again to equal the distance needed, and on occasion, I have ran the 5 mile loop around Lake Miramar over and over again to accomplish the required distance. But this week, I wanted to map out a run that would be one solid loop.

I drove to a couple of locations earlier in the week that I thought FOR SURE were 8 miles away from my house so I could just run there, and then back. But as usual, I have ZERO perception of distance! Each time, I came up short. I thought the kids' dance studio was at least 8 miles away from our house, but it turns out it is just 4.5 miles away. And I thought running to Target was about 6 miles away, but it was just 3 miles away. I'm an idiot!

My friend (shout out to Katie!) told me about a cool website that you can map out your run, and then it will calculate the mileage, and graph the elevation for you...I was stoked!!! After a very shocking experience about realizing just how flippin' far 16 miles was, I organized a run that was a solid 16 mile loop from my home. The run took me to and through the city of Jamul. At the bottom of the web page, I noticed the elevation graph which reported a substantial 3 mile uphill climb. There were additional up (and then down) hills, but there was one very drastic climb.

Unfortunately for me, not only do I not comprehend distance, but I also have no understanding of elevation. When I look at a graph, I have no idea if that hill is equal to what I run around my neighborhood...or even at worse, something closer to what I ran when I ran up Mt. Helix a couple of weeks ago. I made a mental note to drive the course before I actually ran it on Saturday.

Except...I didn't make that happen. I let the week get away from me, and then next thing I knew it was Saturday morning, and I didn't do my "homework". :0( In my head I had no choice but to follow the route I had mapped out, and I just told myself that "the hill" would be nothing larger than anything I had conquered in the past.

I set out, and as usual, the first mile bit the big one...but what's new!? I just had to get warmed up. Which shouldn't have been too difficult...even though I had left my house before 8am, the morning sun was already making heat waves. Within 15 minutes, I took another mental note to start wearing sunscreen on my runs.

At about 1.5 miles in, I ran past my YMCA. That was kind of cool to run past the place that I usually get my workout from. I continued on Campo Rd and that was pretty much the last time I saw normal civilization for a whiiiiile.

I had made it up some inclines and I felt fairly strong. I past by 2 horse ranches, several dead rabbits, a couple of dead birds, a dead snake, 2 pennies, and then this sign that was set up outside a shabby house out in the country...



Despite it's crudeness, it gave me a good chuckle! :0)

At 4 miles in, I met my mountain. :0(

If I had driven the course first, I would like to think I would have been smart enough to devise a new route. The mountain was larger than my ability. It would be 3 miles up this monster. I told myself, "one foot in front of the other...JUST.DO.IT" And so I did. It was so incredibly difficult. It's by far the hardest thing I have ever physically done in my life.

Even though I am training with a few other friends/family I felt all alone that day. My friend Katie is running with a new running club, and their run this week was only 10 miles. Jenni completed 9 miles at the lake, and then decided to stop and do another 3 miles at the beach. And finally, my dad is still recovering from his aches and pains last week, and he wasn't attempting the run at all. Not only was no one running this mountain with me, but no one was even doing the distance I was doing. That was discouraging.

But I kept one foot in front of the other, I avoided the occasional car/truck flying around the mountainous corners, and eventually I made it to the top. But there was no cause for celebration, I was tired. And I knew, "What goes up, must come down."

In a normal situation, I embrace running down a slope after running up an incline for a bit. But this was not your normal little slope. This was a steep hill and I felt every step in my feet, my knees, and now my back.



Before I left my house, I told my husband to come looking for me if I wasn't back in 3 hours. Many times on this run I wanted to give up. I wanted to stop right in my tracks, sit down on the side of the road, and wave the (imaginary) white flag. But during my head trips, I realized that eventually 3 hours in time would pass...and at the end of those 3 hours, I could either be sitting on the side of the road defeated, or I could be sitting on my couch becuase I had made it home from a 16 mile run. I kept going.

Eventually, I made it to the bottom, and I could see the mountain behind me that I had just ran up...and then down...



I was wishing that that was the finish line. I had given it my all, and I was spent. But unfortunately, I was only 10 miles into my run...I had 6 more miles to go!!! Even though I wasn't technically lost (because I had written directions in my fuel belt), I felt lost. I have never driven these streets, so nothing looked familiar. There wasn't a 7/11 I had passed everyday, and the golf courses I was running by were foreign to me.



I missed the familiarity of my usual "loops". The completion of a loop meant that I had just 3 more to go, or 2 more to go, or...etc. This run was like a never ending nightmare. I kept going.

After more running, lol, I made it into "town" and things felt like home again. I stopped in at my local Jack in the Box to use the restroom, and to splash some cool water on my HOT face and shoulders.

I hit the streets again with 3 more miles to go. At this point, I knew where everything was, and the head trips started in again. I started contemplating taking a shortcut home. It was SOOO tempting. "The difficulty of the run certainly equaled 16 miles."..."It's too hot to be running in this weather."..."Your body has new aches, just stop."

2 young runners passed me in the street and said, "You are doing great!" How did they know!?

I told myself, that I couldn't do this run in vain. I didn't just run up and down a mountain to cheat myself out of saying, "I ran 16 miles today." I kept going. I texted my husband and let him know I was almost home.

Right before I ran through my doors, I looked at my phone and realized I had ran 16 miles in 3 hours and 5 minutes. Considering that I had ran 15 miles in 2 hours and 32 minutes last week, that was a HORRIBLE time! :0(

I ran through my doors defeated, and the first thing my husband (who had been cleaning the entire house while I was gone, and watching the kids) said to me was, "What took you so long?"

I burst into tears.

Rick: Oh. I guess that was the wrong thing to say. (HAHAHAHAHA!)

In the moment I had no idea how I would be able to run one more mile, let alone another 10 miles to complete a full (26.2 mile) marathon in just 50 days!

But in the last 36 hours I have reminded myself over and over that the marathon will NOT be like this terrain AT ALL! AND, even though I wanted to quit over 100 times during this run, I never did...I ran all 16 miles...and if I was psychotic enough to get through this run...I might just be psychotic enough to push myself through 26.2 miles come race day!!!

It didn't heal my aches and pains, but my celebratory lunch at our new Mexican food joint did help my mood a bit. :0)



"In your life you'll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team, but I didn't know it at fifteen."- Taylor Swift, "Fifteen"