November News

Derek completed his Surgery Rotation!

It  was really tense and really difficult to be positive while being yelled out all day for four weeks.

He starts his E.R Rotation on Monday and he is very excited for it.

I'm constantly playing referee, in this house it's Acalias vs.Skofield.

Guess it's preparation for what life will be like with a second child. Not going to happen for another 3 years!

Acalias believes that Skoey's toys are his, and he refuses to share his own toys. The other day Skofeild suddenly started going ballistic, when I came to check on them Acalias had put Skoeys toys into his toy which made it impossible for Skofeild to get back. Wish I caught it on tape, it was a ridiculous argument between the two.

Skofeild believes that whenever Acalias gets a treat, he merits one as well. He will chase Acalias around the house and nudge him and even eat food right out his hand. Drives me nuts but maybe Skoeys actions will help Acalias become a sharing person in the future. 

I registered for this this marathon on April 28, 2012!!!

Two days after I signed up for it, my treadmill  of 5 years died on me. Great....I felt so disheartened, it's been two weeks. I linked up with the local running group and have been running harder then I ever have (8:30 min/miles) in my life! Maybe it was a blessing in disguise, one of the runners said "I hope you don't take offence to this but I'm glad that your treadmill broke down!". Everyone is super friendly, we meet at 4:50 am weekdays and 6:30am weekends. Crazy I know, I never thought I'd be running in freezing cold weather so early in the morning, but I've enjoyed it very much. I wear this headlamp and this reflective vest and Skofeild wears this! I'm confident that I will reach my goal of running the marathon in less than 5 hours this time around. 

Derek and I have decided that Heavenly Father created  toddlers extra cute because they get it to so much trouble. Just when I think that Acalias couldn't get any cuter he does. He also is into everything, he loves the drawers in the kitchen and bathroom. Just recently he has learned the discomforts of a poopy diaper. He will notify us of this by sticking  his finger in his diaper and shoving his finger along with it's bodily contents in our faces...gross! We love him though here are some recent fun clips of him.

Pucker lips!

It's been a Pumpkin bonanza in this household this month. We purchased a huge pumpkin that we never got around to carving so I steamed it and pureed it. We had 5 bags of it in the freezer so we've tried out these recipes and loved them: creamy pumpkin soup, low fat pumpkin bread with pepitas replaced the pepitas with mini chocolate chips, low fat pumpkin chocolate chip cookies,  pumpkin spiced oatmeal pecan cookies, crockpot turkey white bean pumpkin soup

I made my first dress! I've made skirts & shirts in the past but never anything that I really loved.  I purchased a bunch of patterns on sale and made this dress that I'm so excited about.

Pattern $3.59 +  1 1/2 yards fabric $7.58+ thread $2.99= $14.00 Sweet deal eh! 

No more coveting Kate Middleton, Alison Sweeney (Host for The Biggest Loser reality show), Kelli Williams (Dr. Gilllian Foster-Lie To Me cast member) Michelle Obama, Jackie Kennedy Onassis type dresses, I will create my own style with a vintage flare!

Halloween

This year we decided to be a family of clowns. I purchased the pattern and used some of the old sheets and pillowcases I had horded from the SWAP (an activity where you bring old things that you no longer use to swap with others) we had at our last ward activity. We also stopped by the thrift store to find colorful sheet sets, we lucked out and found an NFL team sheet and striped curtain sets. Overall we spent less than $20 and the majority went to bias tape, rick rack, hooks, zippers and elastic to make the costumes. Grandma Nativa spent a month with us so I convinced her to be a clown too!

I personalized each costume to fit our personalities, or better yet our hobbies and interests. Acalias is as cute as a button so I thought his costume could use some cute buttons. I'm the runner in the family so I placed a patch of a bugs bunny runner on my arm. Derek grew up in Michigan and attended many Lions games as a child, he still love's the team to this day. Grandma has 4 Great-grandchildren who she adores so she got four little hand buttons to represent each one of them.

The Halloween holiday was busy for us this year. It started off with Mother Goose time at the local library on Friday. I loved seeing all the other little kids in their costumes. Acalias enjoyed the snacks they offered, once he finished he found another child with a sucker and snatched it away from him. Goodness, my child is aggressive especially when he wants something. I'm working on correcting that, it's an ongoing process in our household.

Enjoying party snacks with great-grandma.

The sucker thief!

On Halloween day I participated in the Halloween Hustle 5k in Morgantown. We woke up to iced windshields and snow and I was not excited about the freezing cold temperatures. The race registration fee was donated to the Children's Museum and they encouraged us all to wear costumes. When we arrived, no one had on costumes so I decided to try to wear my poncho because it was pouring slushy snow. As more runners showed up in costume, I gave in and put on my clown costume.

The run went well. I enjoyed the challenge of running in costume and enduring the elements. It was  the coldest race I have ever run. I thought about running the Frozen Sasquatch 15 miler in January but running this race helped me visualize what running on an icy trail in freezing conditions would be like. No thank you! I'll pass on winter trail runs.

Before and After the race, I was soaking wet!

My #1 fan is clapping for me.

I ran the 5k in 24 minutes and placed 2nd in my age range. Acalias and I explored the Children's Museum while we waited for the other runners to finish.  I couldn't tear him away from the kitchen area, he loved it.

He also enjoyed the tools.

When we returned home, I threw my costume in the wash and prepared several dishes for the ward party. I was in charge of the doughnut on a string game so I sent Derek to pick up my order of 5 dozen doughnuts. I painted grandma's face and she laughed throughout the entire process. This year was the first time she had ever dressed in costume to celebrate Halloween.

Starting with the cutest clown of the pack, Acalias 16-months-old. 

He wasn't a big fan of the wig.

The family.

OK so we're not the greatest at applying clown make-up. 

All the primary children were so afraid of us! 

side note: I made my pant legs short on purpose because I didn't want them dragging on the ground when I ran my race.

Yup, this is my hair. I sprayed it with a lot of paint spray. 

Thank goodness I didn't have a problem washing it out. 

Grandma Nativa

Trunk-or-treat, ate the candy as he received it. 

Halfway through the party we washed our make up off. 

It was thick and uncomfortable on our faces. 

On the way home.

A walk with Skoey in his costume.

Our failed attempt to take a family picture with the dog...hey at least we tried. 

We've already got next years theme and costumes picked out for next year!

We love Halloween. 

New River Gorg-eous 1/2 Marathon

Grandma Nativa, Acalias and I traveled to Beckley to stay with our friends the North's the night before the race. Derek stayed behind to prepare for his surgery rotation and watch Skofeild. We stopped by a few scenic look-outs so my energizer bunny could get his wiggles out.

Scenic look-out an hour outside of Clarksburg.

New River Gorge

We had a great time catching up with our old friends and Acalias enjoyed interacting with another child close to you age. It's crazy to think about last October, our babies were so small then. Children grow so fast.

These two were so fun to watch together.

The race didn't start until 11am, we met up with the Bishop family at the Ace resort where the race began.

Pre-race pictures.

It was cold that morning but I was happy that the sun was out.

Starting line.

I set a goal to run it under 3 hours, I figured that the elevation wouldn't have steep inclines like the trail run I participated in, in California. I started off in the middle of the pack. I love fall and I love spring. The colors were so beautiful to look at as I ran. There weren't too many big boulders to jump over so I was happy about that, I'm a wuss when it come to leaping from boulder to boulder.

Beautiful right?

This is what I love about trail running!

At about 1hr 35 min into the race the sun had warmed me up so I removed my long sleeve shirt. I was feeling confident that I could possibly run the race in 2:30. I fueled up and found an upbeat song on my i-pod. As soon as I was getting into my rhythm there was a slight decline, my foot snagged a root or rock and I went flying through the air. This time it wasn't graceful (a woman told me I fell gracefully at my last race) my face thumped the ground so hard that I felt like my brain shifted. I remember groaning as I rolled onto my back. I just laid there for a few seconds, shocked at what just happened. The runners ahead of  me and behind me crowded around me. I was embarrassed. Warm fluid ran from my nose, I thought it was blood but it was mucous and it flowed like the sink faucet. I had scraped my arm, chin and lip. The runners helped me up and handed me all my gear that strewn about the area. I just stood there reassuring them that I was ok and to keep running, I didn't want to hold them back. I re pinned my bib and took the Tylenol that I had in my hydration belt pack, my head was pounding. I continued to run at a slow pace, the fall had forced me to be overly cautious. The thing about trail running is falling tends to happen to everyone. The moment you look up to enjoy the scenery you inevitably fall. I love the fall leaves but the leaves hide what lies beneath them, rocks, roots and even slight declines.

I approached a fork on the trail and I had the option to run the 8 mile route but I continued with the half-marathon. I hate to train for a 1/2 only to participate in a smaller race. I headed toward the half-marathon route trail. The leaves were plentiful, and the trail was nice and wide. I ran the next stretch of about 5 miles alone, I thought that I may have taken the wrong turn. I didn't see a single runner for what seemed like forever.

I was excited to see a living, breathing being after miles and miles alone.

Yup, my chin is still oozing with blood but at a least I have a smile on my face.

I decided since there wasn't a single runner near me that I'd relax, enjoy the trail and snap more pictures.

I also switched my i-pod from music to a podcast, Jillian Micheal's show (I just discovered them and I really, really enjoy running to them, it's like running with a friend and I didn't feel so alone)

Running towards the finish line, finished at 2:43 (19 minutes faster than my first trail run, even with the fall!!)

After the race.

This may be an annual race for me, first I need a pair of trail running shoes.

I ran into the guys that helped me out when I fell. One had to call the ambulance he had rolled his ankle. I have a love hate relationship with trail running. I love the challange and the beauty that surround the trails but lets be honest I do not like falling.

I usually don't stay long for the award ceremony but they fed us a delicious free burrito.

 I was surprised to hear my name over the intercom, I placed 3rd in my age group 20-29. Sweet! 

My #1 fan!

 I look forward to the upcoming trail races in the spring!
Please don't forget to vote this week:)

My Weight Loss Story -part 1

Cue Jennifer Hudson's smooth silky voice... and pretend it's mine.

15 months ago I was pregnant with my first child. I was so excited to have our son, but a bit nervous about all the weight I had gained.

I gained 40 pounds, to make matters worse, I was already overweight before I got pregnant.

Here I am weighing a whopping 219 pounds!

After giving birth to our little boy Acalias, I avoided the scale while I enjoyed my bundle of joy and recovered. At six weeks postpartum,the doctor gave me the green light to start a workout routine.Weight Watchers was the only weight loss program that worked for me in the past so I registered once again. 

6 weeks postpartum

197.8 lbs

I started training for a 1/2 marathon and dropped 25 lbs training for it! 

Three months later.

172 lbs

Eleven months later.

155 lbs

14 months later

150 lbs

Today

147lbs (Goal 145lbs)

How has losing weight affected me?

Yeah, this pictures is the classic Haitian or Dominican pose, 

it's cheesy but I had to get creative beyond the white wall.

Mentally & physically feeling ENERGETIC,CONFIDENT & COMFORTABLE

Fitting into these Hot skinny jeans!

What motivates me?

Who do I hope to inspire?

All of you!

Please take the time to vote for me.

Voting period is from October 20-25, 2011

You can also post this link on your too!

https://apps.facebook.com/storyofyou/facebook/video/35/

Thank you for all your support.