I'm still ticking!

Apparently I've just turned into a bad blogger.  I can't say for sure I will get back to my regular blogging self anytime in the next century, but what I can do is blog when it's feasible and not blog when it isn't.  Sounds fair to me!

Since we last parted ways...

I've suffered the loss of a friend.  My friend was Friday Night Lights.  I watched all 5 seasons on Netflix and then...felt empty.  For 5 seasons I lived in Dillon,TX.  For 5 seasons I "cared" about football and the lives of my many "friends".  For 5 seasons, I got all caught up in the drama and then....nothing.  Empty.  I'm trying to replace my friend, but so far nothing has hooked me yet.  I will let you know if/when that changes.

Since we last parted ways...

I've traveled to Huntington Beach, CA to visit my brother and sister-in-law.  I arrived on Friday, 2/3.  Eddie took me to our Surf City Marathon Expo where I stocked up on all sorts of goodies.  Have you ever tried the Halo brand sweat bands?  OMG!  I have never in my life worn a sweat band that truly did not allow sweat to drip in my eyes.  Best. Sweat Band. Ever.  I also purchased a visor with a built in sweat band, but I've yet to try it out.  I then purchased a pair of Experia Cool Max PINK socks which are awesome!  We all know how much I enjoy NUUN, so I bought a few cylinders of various flavors to tide me over.  Wouldn't you know I would forget my SPIbelt?  No worries...I bought a bigger one at this Expo which totally holds everything I need - including my cell phone!  =)  Yes, I totally dropped a small fortune, but it was well worth it!

After the Expo, we headed to Slater's 50/50 - Burgers by Design.  Eddie had been telling me about this place for quite some time.  He wanted us to be bold and daring and try the Peanut Butter and Jellousy.  We had amazing service and we were even encouraged to each pick out a burger and then they would split both burgers for us so we could each have half of the other's burger.  We decided on the PB&J burger (pb, strawberry jelly, bacon, burger on a honey wheat bun) and the special of the month, the Pizza Burger (1/2 beef 1/2 Italian sausage burger, fried cheese sticks, red pepper pizza sauce, and pepperoni on a Ciabatta roll).  Though we both enjoyed the pizza burger, we agreed the PB&J burger was the MOST AMAZING BURGER EVER!  I might have convinced him we needed to go again to experience it in all of it's glory once more before I left. 

Saturday was more or less a chill day with plenty o' carbo-loading.

Sunday was race day.  Eddie and April had never done a half before.  This was my 8th.  I was, of course, walking the race since I have not been running for almost a  year now.  I have to say that it was probably the most boring course I've ever been on.  You may recall that I did the OC Half back last May and the course, though VERY hilly, was fantastic taking us along the beach, cliffside, and through some beautiful neighborhoods.  The Surf Side City Half was a different ballgame all together.  We started on the Pacific Coast Highway (or the PCH as the cool kids call it) and with the exception of a 2 mile detour off a side road which looped back to the highway, we remained on the PCH through the finish line.  Although I did appreciate the beach scene, it wore out its welcome at the 8 mile turn around.  I will say that the runners and walkers in the race were incredibly friendly and supportive.  The staff members working the race were helpful and sweet dispositioned.

A few cool / mentionable moments.  Around mile 3, I met an older couple.  We were chatting as we walked and they told me the best experience they have ever had was walking the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer two years in a row and that they looked forward to walking it again this year.  What you don't know is that I've been listening to the advertisements for the Houston Walk on 96.5 thinking that this may be something I want to participate in.  More on this subject in another post, but needless to say, I took this as a sign I needed to walk the walk!  Near mile 4, I hit up a hydration station and disappointingly noticed they didn't have any Vitalyte available.  I knew I needed electrolytes to help stave off the calf cramps, so I asked oned of the volunteers and he said he would look for some.  I told him thanks, but not to worry about it and kept marching along.  He apparently found some and ran it over to me.  What a great guy!  Then, around mile 6, I was traipsing along and some really awesome girl who was on the other side of the highway about 4 miles ahead of me came running across the median to give me a bracelet and some words of encouragement.

Overall, I was okay with my performance.  I maintained a decent consistent pace through mile 8 and then it went completely downhill when the calf cramps blasted me around mile 9.  I had a hydration plan of only drinking the Vitalyte at all stations, but the first one didn't have any and then I was only able to find it at the second and third.  By the time I hit the 4th station, they were out.  I hit up a medic tent around mile 10.5 and got a cup of Gatorade that took me to the finish line, cramps and all. I didn't end my race listening to music, so there is no finishing song on this one.

I think it's time I buy some salt pills to take with me on my journies.  =/  Any suggestions of brands?

We pigged out on pizza Sunday evening.  I think I was trying to replenish the 2260 calories I burned during the race. 

April and I got foot massages on  Monday.  Then I headed back to Houston on Tuesday.

Wednesday was a pamper-me day.  I got a MUCH needed haircut in the morning followed by a 70 minute hot stone massage that I purchased via Living Social a long time ago.  Although the massage was relaxing, I have to say that I still prefer my deep tissue torture sessions.  ;)

Thursday, I had eye surgery...AGAIN.  6 years ago, I jumped on the lasik bandwagon.  Right before I was to have standard lasik surgery, the doctor decided he would prefer to do a procedure on me called Epilasik.  This was as a result of my astygmatism and it meant a longer recovery period.  I remember being totally miserable for about 5 days or so.  Well several months ago I noticed that my vision had changed and since I had paid for a "warrantly" of sorts on my surgery, I was entitled to free touch-ups as necessary.  I went through the whole process with Lasik Plus before they determined the procedure would be beneficial to me.  This time they decided to do PRK surgery - slightly different than Epilasik and a longer recovery period.  I wasn't able to return to work until the next Tuesday and even then...my eyes were not as they should be.  My left eye was slightly over-corrected and my right eye was lagging behind.  It made for a very unbalanced vision causing me eyestrain and glaring issues.  It has since improved, but is still not perfect.  My doctor basically told me to have patience.

I'm sorry for the lack of pictures in this post.  Not only am I bad blogger, but I'm a terrible picture taker, as well.  =/

I have so much more to catch you up on, so hopefully I will get to writing another post ASAP so you can share in my family's excitement!

Where in the World is KIMpossible?

I know, I know...I've pulled a disappearing act.  I'm back, though.  So that's what matters, right?

This is gonna be a hodgepodge of stuff.  Bear with me.

I know I owe y'all (and me) a checkpoint, but well...big shocker here...I haven't been quite as dedicated and diligent as I planned.  Back on the wagon, though, so I guess it can be said that at least I don't give up.  =/

My brother and sister-in-law planned a vacation to Jamaica.  A flight from Los Angeles (where they live) means a necessary lay-over.  They were able to manage an overnight one on Friday, 9/30, which allowed for my entire family to celebrate older sister Cathy's birthday.  We went to Perry's Steakhouse and had a most wonderful meal followed by this:

and maybe a little bit of:

Afterwards, Cathy opened up her presents.  My siblings went in on the gift thing with me, so we were able to get her some Brighton jewelry that she wanted and perfume.  Here is my cute packaging:

Oh and in other news, I chopped off all my hair.

I decided this hairstyle looks better straight than curly, so I've been straightening it daily.  There is the fast way - round brush - and then there is the slow way - Chi.  Nine times out of 10, I do it the fast way.

Oh...and I'm embarrassed to say I blew off my first race.  I did not end up doing the Beach Palooza 5K obstacle course on 9/24.  I woke up that morning and was just not feeling it....the drive all the way to Galveston by myself...the fact that the only friend I knew who was racing it had a time slot a couple of hours before mine...and finally that I want to be able to run a 5K outright again before I sign up for another. 

I have my See Jane Run half coming up on Sunday.  My training has, of course, not been as I had hoped for, but I am still excited.  I will be leaving on Friday after work to enjoy a nice leisurely Saturday meeting up with friends from days gone by (college) and perhaps even a blogger meet-up later that day.  My father's birthday is also on Sunday, so I will high tail it home after my race to celebrate with my family.

I had some Chinese food at family lunch and this was my fortune:

Can I substitute "dogs" in place of "children" since I don't have kiddos yet?  No?  That's okay cuz I don't think I would ever call my dogs the most wonderful - haha!  I do love them dearly, though.

This past Saturday, we all ended up hanging out at my parent's house - swimming, eating, and watching the dogs play.  On Sunday, my dogs were both dead to the world.  Besides breakfast at 6am and a prompt return to bed, Penelope didn't join the world of the living until 3:30pm.  Yikes! 

I have a slight obessesion with Tai Pei's wonton soup.  I eat it almost every day for lunch and I buy it in the frozen section at Walmart.  Don't judge me.

Another slight obsession I have is with dystopian and/or post-apocalyptic novels.  I just can't get enough!

We are planning young sister Linda's baby shower.  It's going to be so fun.  My mom has made a motorcycle "diaper cake".  Wait until you see it!  I've been commissioned to make a watermelon carriage like I did for Melissa's baby shower and I'm also making fruit salsa to be eaten with cinnamon & sugar pita chips.  I love party planning/preparation!  So fun!

I've been watching Medium on my Netflix.  Oh my goodness, it's so very good.  I'm half way thru with season 6 (out of 7 seasons).  I've picked out my next show once I finish.  It's gonna be Friday Night Lights cuz my parent's swear by it.  Have you seen it?

Okay, that's all I have for you for now.  I better start catching up on reading all the blogs I've been neglecting!

Sweaty Sunday and the rest of the weekend

My road is always paved with good intentions.  I was so drained on Friday after work, y'all.  I mean like the life was sucked out of me.  I didn't even get home until 8:15pm.  That's a long a$$ day.  I had planned on doing a 4-mile walk or heck...I would have even been satisfied with hitting my new exercise bike, but alas...I was burned out, so I went to bed at 9pm with no exercise.

I had thought to surprise myself by getting up at 5am to go ahead and get my long WALK in.  When I woke up and put the dogs out, it had already started drizzling.  By the time I let them back in - it was a storm.  Ugh.

I went back to bed.

When I finally did get back up, it was HOT, HUMID, STEAMY, and every other adjective you can think of to describe miserable conditions for outdoor training.  I decided to do my missed 4 miles.  I only ended up doing 3 and the last mile was just awful.  I felt defeated.  I then hit my exercise bike for 30 minutes before showering and dressing for family lunch at BJ's Brewhouse.

After our lunch, I went to get a facial at Visage Salon and Day Spa.  I had purchased a Groupon for a 50% discount a couple of months ago and was excited to use it.  I really loved the relaxing music playing in the room and the fact that my esthetician didn't try to sell me the products that I knew I wouldn't buy.  Once my massage was over, I did something I've never done.  I cheated on my hair stylist.  I've been going to Leena for 13 years now, but I just couldn't deal with my overgrown bushy mop-top any longer.  Visage also had a hair salon, so I asked if they could squeeze me in and I only had to wait 15 minutes to become publically acceptable once again.  I don't have a picture, so sorry, but really I didn't do anything extreme - just cut a couple of awful inches off and then had my layers "tuned up".

I wanted to get up at 5am again on Sunday for my long WALK, but I stayed up too late on Saturday night (bad Kim) and managed to head out for my WALK around 7:15am.  It was already ridiculously hot and humid, but so what?  I mean it's going to be this kind of weather for The Hottest Half on 8/14, so I might as well get used to it.  This was the first time I used my new camelbak.   The night before I filled the bladder with water and added 3 Nuun tablets and then put it in the freezer.  Maybe I should have put it in the pack first because it was a real struggle on Sunday morning to get the frozen bladder in the pack.  =/ 

I looked ridiculous....overkill for a walker, but whatever, I mean the camelbak prevented me from having to hit home for additional hydration before my 8 miles were through AND this is imperative for me because I have a bad habit of hitting home and not resuming my mileage. 

The first mile was ROUGH.  I was having some major issues with my calves being super tight.  I had even foam rolled and stretched before going out.  1/3 of the way through my first mile, I pulled over to stretch my calves against the curb.  They still hurt, but I kept on going.  They loosened up during my second mile and I could finally speed up.  I did really well until I hit the 6th mile and then I struggled for the last two, but not because I was hurting...it was because of a lack of fuel.  I just wasn't hungry in the morning before I headed out, so I choked down half a Clif's bar.  I didn't bring anything with me, so I ended up burning 1157 calories only having had 120 in my system before I left out.  I know for this coming Sunday's 10-miler that I will need to plan out my fueling better - in other words, make arrangements to eat something halfway through my WALK.  Oh...and in case you were wondering, I did drink the entire 72 oz out of my camelbak by the time I hit my front door.  I was kinda bummed about this because I had hoped the 72 oz would be enough for the entire half marathon, but...apparently that won't work.

I immediately took off my shoes and socks once I got inside...RELIEF!  I then noticed chafing!  CHAFING!  I didn't think about my arm hitting the strap from my camelbak.  Doh!  I will know where to Vaseline it up next time!  I took this picture of myself with my phone cuz the battery was dead in my camera.  There was one small area on my shirt dry.  Weird.  The rest of me was soaking wet.  I couldn't wait to hit the shower and use my minty wash to cool me down.

After I was all clean, I got dressed for my MUCH needed massage.  It could not have come at a better time.  I went ahead and made an appointment for another one after this coming Sunday's 10-miler!

I grabbed lunch at Lenny's Subs.  I was ravenous at this point.  Then I took my lunch to my parent's house and hung out with them until later when my mom and I met older sister Cathy and brother-in-law Jay at the movie theater to see Friends with Benefits.  Probably not the most appropriate movie to watch with one's mother, but it was hilarious!

All in all, it was a lovely weekend - once again rejuvenating me for the week ahead.

Hope y'all had a lovely weekend, as well!  =)

bye bye bag ladies

I know I've mentioned before how undisciplined and unruly I am.  It's true.  I'm not proud of this, mind you.  I think it has something to do with my hair.  What chance did I have?  There must be a direct correlation!  If you too suffer from frizzy, crazy mop-top syndrome AND you lead a well-balanced/managed life then please keep it to yourself.  I'd rather live in my la-la land of denial than face the facts that I'm just lazy and disturbed!  ;)

Now that we got that out of the way...

I don't sleep anymore.  It's not that I can't sleep, it's just that I don't.  I stay up to ridiculous hours and then I wake up at the crack of dawn.  I only get around 5 hours of sleep per night.  This is not healthy.  This is not conducive to being productive.

What am I doing up so late?  I'm hesitant to even tell you.  It's so ridiculous.  I'm not watching TV or movies. Oh no.  My DVR is getting ridiculously full!  I have Season 3 of Big Love and Season 4 of Dexter all brand new in their packages fresh from Christmas just waiting to be watched. I'm not cleaning or working out.  I'm not reading or taking a nice leisurely bath.  Nope.  I'm playing games.  Mostly Zuma Blitz and Rummikub.  See...pathetic.  I play Zuma because I'm really good at it.  I typically walk away from the week with the #2 score.  The #1 score always goes to a girl who went to high school with me.  I have threatened to drop her as a FB friend so that I can be #1.  She thinks I'm kidding.  I'm kinda kidding.  =D  I play Rummikub because it's mostly a game of strategy (there is a bit o' luck involved).  The really stupid thing is that I find myself getting really really intense playing Zuma and getting really really angry playing Rummikub.  Aren't games supposed to be fun?  I think the work-up of my emotions so late at night prevents me from feeling tired which leads me to staying up so late which leads me to playing later and...I think you get the idea.  It's only after one of the dogs puts herself to bed and the other one whines incessantly for hours that I finally give in and go to bed. 

My eyes have bag ladies under them.  Yes, that's right.  Bag ladies. 

So, what to do?  I could, of course, just not play the games.  This isn't likely considering my total lack of discipline.  I could, say, limit the amount of time I spend playing the games.  I could incorporate other activities in my life - a, dare I say, balanced life of sorts - tv, reading, cleaning, SLEEPING, etc like I used to have.  I could give myself a bed time.

Anyway, I've decided the best thing to do is to give myself weekly goals established on Sunday or Monday (depending on when I get the post out) and then to follow up on them the next week.   These goals will not be just about exercise, but all walks of life since apparently I need lots and lots of help.

This week's goals:

Monday - make/prep my meal for the week, clean the kitchen, play my games for 1 hour, watch one TV show from my DVR, run 3 miles, read one chapter from my book while taking an Epsom Salt Bath, in bed by 10:45pm

Tuesday - up at 5:45am, play my games for 1 hour, clean the floors and guest bathroom, watch two TV shows from my DVR, do kettlebell DVD, read one chapter from my book while taking an Epsom Salt Bath, in bed by 9:30

Wednesday - up at 4:30am, run 3 miles, clean master bath, play my games for 2 hours, watch one TV shows from my DVR, read one chapter from my book while taking an Epsom Salt Bath, in bed by 10:45pm

Thursday - up at 5:45am, play my games for 1 hour, watch one TV show from my DVR, run 3 miles, read one chapter from my book while taking an Epsom Salt Bath, in bed by 10:30pm

Friday - up at 5:30am, play my games for 2 hours, watch two TV shows from my DVR, x-train for 30 min to an hour, in bed between 11pm and 12am.

Saturday - up between 6am and 7am, run 6 miles, do as I please so long as I'm in bed between 11pm and 12am.

Okay, fingers crossed I can stick with the plan to sing "Bye, Bye, Bye" to these bag ladies beneath my eyes.  Ready, set, GO!

weekend recap

I was relatively lazy this weekend and I loved it.  I started off my Saturday with family lunch at BJs.  Upon conclusion of my meal, I went shopping!

We all know Christmas is a time for giving.  We all know the saying "it's better to give than to receive."  We all know...well maybe you don't know...that I have A.D.D. when it comes to my Christmas shopping which leads me to yesterday.

Let me start off with the disclaimer that I do love to give.  I really am not a selfish girl.  I'm just going to come across that way as it seems I get some of my best shopping done this time of year.  I mean the stores send you all kinds of coupons and are running all kinds of sales.  I really don't have too many winter clothes.  I am smaller than I was last winter (yay), so I was going to need to buy new stuff anyway.  I also do like to have a new outfit or two to wear while in Chicago for Christmas.  Yes...I am going to Chicago AGAIN - this will be my 4th trip back there this year.

Okay, so I had a vision of buying a sweater dress when I woke up yesterday morning.  I didn't necessarily care what color, though I kind of had gray or mulberry in mind for some reason.  I had a very nice coupon for JC Penny, so I thought I would try going there first.  They had quite the selection of sweater dresses, let me tell you. The problem with me right now is that I am sort of in between the plus sizes and the regular sizes.  This means I can sometimes pull of an XL depending on the dress/shirt (not bottoms...definitely need plus size for bottoms still), but more often than not I need the 1XL.  I just can't stand looking frumpy.  I have curves and as long as they are displayed nicely, I want them to be seen.  So, I pulled 10 dresses with me into the fitting room.  9 of the 10 made me look like stuffed sausage - not a pretty picture.  The 10th dress, however...well that was another story.  I liked it and it was on sale.  I thought a cute purse would go great with it and maybe a new pair of earrings.  I was able to buy all 3 with the use of my coupon for $67 including tax.  I heart JC Penny!

Then I went to Lane Bryant to get a few pairs of tights, but while I was there, I noticed some sparkly things.  Oh how I love me the sparkly things.  I bought a gray sequins tank and matching 3 quarter length sweater which will go great with my black slacks.  I also found a couple of very flattering long sleeved shirts and another pair of earrings.  I had a nice coupon and when applied and including tax, I got all that for $153.

Finally, I got my mop top cropped.  I had been looking like quite the ragamuffin lately.  It was time!  I showed my long time hair stylist Leena a picture of how I wanted my hair to look when it is straightened and she cut it to look just like that and then she straightened it for me.  I will never get it to look like that again, but it was nice to know that for one night, my hair looked great.

Later that evening, I went with my friend, LaShaune, to a party.  It was pretty adventurous of me to go to a party knowing only two people.  There was a plethora of fashion FAILS going on which made for an even more amusing time.  I know, I know....I'm so snarky.  'Tis not the season for such business...

On Sunday, I had a massage scheduled with Sarah.  I wasn't nearly the knotted-up mess I usually am since I haven't been running.  When I was done, I headed over to my parent's house as we were all invited over there for a food tasting (long story).  I was filled to the brim with all things yummy!  A wee bit later, my mom and I headed out to see Fighter starring Marky Mark and then we went for dinner at Carrabbas.

What a nice, relaxing weekend!  It's great to start off a week knowing there are only 4 weekdays!  It's even better knowing that Christmas is right around the corner!  I heart Christmas!  =)

Are you ready for something different?

I've been growing out my hair for 3 years. At first I was doing it for Cathy's (older sister) wedding - so that my hair could have hope of looking half way decent. Then...on the horizon...a year and a half later there was Eddie's (brother) wedding, so I decided to continue Operation: Grow d' locks. Then...11 months later there was Linda's (younger sister) wedding, so why mess with the plan?!

Sure, I remembered the days of going to my long term stylist, Leena, and telling her to do "whatever" as I used to back in the day. I loved giving her free reign to do whatever suited her fancy. I mean she has been cutting my hair for over 12 years, so I totally trust her. BUT alas...something happened in the past 3 years...I became attached to the idea of becoming a Rapunzel (in my own right) and almost fearful of cutting my hair other than the required trim for maintenance purposes. It was almost like I was letting the length of my hair define me.

Saturday was different. On the way to Leena's salon, I made the decision to hand over the chi of creative license, once again. As I sat in the chair and she asked me if I was ready for something different (as she always does), I found myself tearing up as I told her yes. I actually got emotional at the thought of cutting my hair, y'all. I am so NOT that girl, so what gives?!

Well...I've marinated on it and then disected it and I figured out that it wasn't really the actual IDEA of getting more than a trim, but rather more what it represented...yet another step in the transformation. At this point, I've dropped almost 80 lbs, I've pushed myself to physical limits I never thought myself capable of with the whole running thing, and I'm fitting into a clothing size I haven't fit into since I was 14 or 15. The idea of a flattering haircut that would properly frame a face which is finally showing signs of having a bone structure...well, I suppose it's acceptable to make a girl a little emotional.

I kinda still want to cry, but only because I know I will NEVER be able to replicate the style Leena did on Saturday. Sometimes I wish I could bring her home with me and make her do my hair every morning.

Here are some pics!

A couple of weeks before my haircut:

After the haircut:

Straight as a Board

Yeah yeah, so I totally know it is supposed to be "STIFF as a board", but bear with me here. I'm being witty and clever and tying this title in with the title of my first post.

Everyone knows that you should reward yourself (or others) for a job well done. I mean that is half the fun of setting goals, right?! It's hardly productive to say, "when I lose 60 lbs, I get to go to The Melting Pot and do the whole 4 course meal - cheese, salad, meat/veggies, and chocolate." Don't get me wrong, I'd love nothing more than to hit up my fave restaurant, but as previously mentioned that kind of an event would fall under a planned cheating kinda thing and I'm so not there yet. Rewards for weight loss are probably better off not being food based, don't ya think?! On July 6th, along with choosing my diet plan and strategy, I also came up with my first reward. I decided when I lost my first 60 lbs (by January 1st - totally a head of schedule - yay!), I would reward myself with a hair treatment called Keratin Complex.

I am blessed/cursed with naturally curly hair. I don't have the beautiful natural spiral curls of my younger sister, Linda. I have a bird's nest of unpredictability. My hair likes to grow fuller outwardly versus downwardly (think Bozo)
and I have never known the feeling of being able to run a brush through my hair in a sort of "get up and go" kind of way. In fact, I don't even use a brush as brushes tend to make frizzy curly hair less curly and way frizzier (think 70s afro). I would like to take this moment to thank Houston's humidity for making my life more complicated.

The treatment is pretty costly, though Leena, my long term hair stylist (10+ years) provided me with a cost that was 30% less expensive than most salons AND she threw in a hair cut, to boot. I heart Leena! Leena and I decided it best for me to "accept my reward" on a Thursday because post treatment, you cannot wash your hair, add product, or use any kind of hair accessory for 72 hours. Eeeeek! On Monday, 12/7, I called Leena to set-up my appointment for Thursday, 12/10, because I had surpassed by 60 lb goal and was ready to receive my honors.

So this is probably when I should insert some before and after pics. I COULD insert some BEFORE pics 60 lbs heavier with my wild untamed mane. I COULD then post some AFTER pics 60 lbs lighter with my sleek straight style. I COULD...BUT, I'm not gonna...not yet. I had the unexpected extraction of my wisdom (teeth) on Thursday prior to the straightening of my hair. This means I had total chipmunk cheeks, so exercise your patience, my little grasshoppers and I will post pictures soon enough.

The next weight loss goal is 40 more lbs for a grand total of 100. I would like to accomplish this by April 1st. Does anyone have any suggestions for rewards?