Holidays and Runningdays

I finished the 10k training and have moved on to a 1/2 marathon training program. I have reached 10 miles so far and keep plugging away. Max has been my partner through all of this and I doubt I would have had the motivation to do it had he not been there beside me. We are going to run a 1/2 marathon in New Orleans on February 28th, 2010. I am excited.

I am currently on my winter break from school. Spring semester classses pick up on January 19th. I am enjoying the break but am eager to begin the next semester. I just want to be done already! :) So far, I am doing well. This past semester I received all A's. (Yay!)

Max and I went to my aunt Dawn's for Thanksgiving and also went up to Kansas City after Christmas. It was nice to see family and friends. I got Max a Tivo for christmas and he got me a new computer.

Max's birthday party (which we threw after we got back from KC) was a hit! We had more people in this apartment than we ever have before. Crazy leaning tower of pisa cake.

Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Mileage

We went to the Melting Pot with the Chiccos for 80's night. It was tons of fun!!


I am training for a 10k. It is an 8 week training program. Max and I are on the 3rd week. I completed a 5 mile run this past Sunday which was the longest distance I've ever run continually. :) I was very excited.

I have lost another 5 lbs. bringing me within 5 lbs. of my goal weight. School has kept me very busy and its been difficult to cook healthy meals during the week. I have been relying on frozen dinners (mainly Amy's) and takeout. I've been doing my best to make healthy choices and have therefore maintained my current weight for months now. When this semester is done I will have 4 weeks before the Spring semester begins. I will take advantage of that time and focus my efforts on ridding myself of the last 5 lbs.

My classes this semester are Microbiology, Anatomy & Physiology, Nutrition, Probabiliy & Statistics, and American History. They are keeping me quite busy.

Modern MadHatness

I have lost 20.2 pounds as of today. Healthy lifestyle pays off!! Only 10 more pounds to go until I reach my goal.

Here is a picture of Max and me on St. Patrick's Day in Rice Village. We had fun! We also had a potluck on the Sunday before the holiday. :)

Yay!!

We have an Easter Potluck coming up this Sunday and I have a lot of preparations to do from now til then. :)

I have finished my 9 week running program and have started a new program. This new program is only 4 weeks but it is a lot more intense. It has me running 5 days a week as opposed to the 3 days a week of the last program. It is also focusing on interval training to improve speed and endurance. I am excited and a bit intimidated. To celebrate my completion of the 9 week running program, Max and I ran a 5k. (It was the Yuri's Night 5k Fun Run) My only goal was to complete the race without walking. I had no goal as far as time or pace. I accomplished my goal and finished the race at 29:48 minutes. :)

In addition to the new running regime, I have started a new weight lifting program. My last program was 8 weeks long, 4 days a week. My criticism for that program was that each day focused on a different body part so that I only worked out my legs on Mondays, for example. I wanted to work out body parts multiple times each week. The new program is also 4 days a week but has me working legs twice a week, and so on. So far so good.

Healthy Lifestyle

Been a long time... I have been very busy over the last few months. I just returned from a trip to Missouri to make up some time at my Army Reserve Unit. All in all, it was a productive trip. I passed my PT test and updated all my records.

My biggest change began in January. It wasn't a New Year's resolution but the timing would suggest that it was. Max suggested that we should eat healthier at home. Since coming home from Iraq, I had pretty much been cooking (and eating) whatever I wanted simply because I could. I gained almost 15 lbs in the mean time. I was working out but not consistently. Anyhow, I agreed with Max and began cooking healthier.

Once I started cooking healthier, I decided that I was going to remake other areas of my life as well. I've done a lot of yoyo-ing with my weight over the years and I am on a mission to stop that. Max and I began this new phase with a 24 hour fast. I followed that up with the South Beach Diet which I had used for weight loss in the past. I simply wanted to jump-start my weight loss. I also began two workout programs: one for weight training and another for running. I am now 7 weeks into my "change" and I have lost almost 15 lbs, 3 inches off my waist, and made working out a real habit. I am losing weight slowly (which is recommended) at about 1 lb per week.

I am not strictly using the South Beach Diet anymore because it restricts carbs too much and I need them for energy. I am using a porportional approach with a calorie limit. I consume approximately 1200 calories per day with 45% being carbs, 35% proteins, and 20% fats. I eat 4-5 meals a day to boost my metabolism. I fill up those 1200 cals with lean proteins, whole grain carbs, and lots of veggies. Also, I have become a big fan of Ellie Krieger who has a show on the Food Network. She offers healthy recipes with serving sizes and nutritional facts. That is really helpful because I am keeping track of my caloric intake via a software program.

I am very happy with my progress. I feel I have made working out and eating right integral parts of my everyday life. This is not a phase--this is a lifestyle. Yay!

Hurricane Icky

Meh. That's all I have to say.

I was not here when Hurricane Ike hit land. I spent the weekend in San Antonio, TX with my husband and 4 of our friends. We had a fabulous time and not a drop of rain.

When we returned there was little damage to the exterior of our apartment and we were lucky enough to have power. Yay!!

All in all, we're good.

Psst! That's a pic of us at the Alamo next to a well.

Hurricane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so maybe not. But it is supposed to be a tropical storm at least and its headed our way. Max gets the rest of today and all of tomorrow off of work which means I will have company! Yay!

Yesterday we went to a Beer and Sausages party at a friend's house. It was fun. Max and I got liquored up and then we were tired and head ache-y. Blah. I ended up crocheting a blanket I'm working on while watching a Gregory Peck movie. Max worked on his final for his Micro Economics class (?).

I like BanOranPin Juice.

Inside Andrea's Sofa

While moving from my parents' home to Texas with my husband, Max, we discovered that my Ikea love seat was jingling like a set of keys. We opened up the bottom to reveal three pairs of tweezers, two nail files, a bottle of nail polish, and a ballpoint pen. Apparently in the time I lived with my best friend, Jacque, my sofa had squirreled away plenty of our beauty tools.

After arriving in Texas and settling into our new apartment, I was replacing the cover on that same sofa when again, I heard a rattling. This time it was a pen and a Ziploc bag containing a watch, two bracelets, a pair of earrings, and a nail file. Hmmm, I'm starting to wonder if I should keep this thieving sofa... The most exciting part was that one of the bracelets was my charm bracelet that I had mourned the loss of for a few years now. Yay! I'm so glad it is recovered (both the bracelet and the sofa).

More updates on civilian life later. I'm busy.