The crazy Vegan diet

I don't have any pictures for this post at he moment... I just wanted to chat about my vegan experience this month. I started this "thing" a little over three weeks ago, and let me just say, I feel amazing.
I have "cheated" here and there, but I did not stray very far or very often. (although, I did not give up chocolate this whole time!) The course that I signed up through has provided some fantastic recipes and information that I really find quite appealing and the results are pretty nice too.

I have lost about 5 lbs in these 3 weeks, which really isn't surprising to me at all. I have upped my running and changed my diet, which is a no brainier for weight loss. But it is the way I feel too. I feel like I have more energy, and feel all around, MORE healthy from the inside, out.

I have been surprised with how delicious a lot of the recipes are, and KNOW that I will continue to use them (and try to convince Tyler that meat is not necessary at every meal!) I just got finished watching the documentary Forks Over Knives. So much of the information, I already agreed with, but some great added knowledge on my part too. It really emphasizes a plant based diet, and I'm starting to agree wholeheartedly. But I am ready to compromise too.

Tyler and I had a conversation about our meal planning just today and how to budget a bit better for it. We came up with the idea of eating the same basics Monday through Friday, and a change up on the weekends. So I think my compromise will be eating vegan-ish on the weekdays, and get our meat fix on the weekends with good cuts of meat. If you take a general approach, saying Monday will be spaghetti, Tuesday will be tacos, Wednesday will be oatmeal, Thursday will be beans and rice and Friday will be pizza, and then just get creative weekly with diffent variations, I think this could work very well. And make it easier on me for menu planning! Then on the weekends have some wild Alaskan salmon on Saturday and a BBQ chicken salad on Sunday... Everyone should be happy, right?

You know who I really wish would give this "diet" a try? My parents. Mom and Dad, come stay with. Us for a m onto, and see how/if this changes anything for you.... If it does, GREAT! If it doesn't, well, you could cross it off your list! I worry about your guys' health on a daily basis. And I truly believe you would benefit from a diet change. Love you guys!

So there is my ramblings... Hope I haven't scared any of you. Are you going to look at your current diet a bit harder now? Do you feel good every day? Do you want a change? I have a few recipes I could pass on to get you started! Like blueberry breakfast muffins... And an avocado and white bean wrap. An amazing peanut sauce.
Oh, and I ran 5 miles yesterday, with a smile on my face, and felt FANTASTIC! That book i read, Born to Run, made such an impact on me. Today I took my first Texas yoga class, and really enjoyed it.

Running for contemplation

Running has always been my sport. It started in high school because of a knee injury, and ever since then, I have used running as a type of meditation, if you will.
I think a lot of people do this.
I run to get a few minutes of quiet time (unless I take the jogging stroller, which is a chore in itself).
I run to think about both my small bubble problems, and big world problems.
Some of the conversations I have had with myself include building a grand community garden; our self sustaining house in our future; why recycling seems like such a hard concept, but is not; how people can seriously think that renewable energy is a waste of our time and money (seriously?!); and then I have contemplated my kids futures (who will they become? Will they call when they move away?); friendships and the ebbs and flows that come with them.
I run because I have to.

As of this week, I am up to running two miles (straight, with no breaks) in about 19-20 minutes. I have started out this regimen really slowly because of how achy and sore my joints (particularly my knee) are after running. It is a hard sport on your body. All of that impact on your feet and knees and hips CAN'T be doing good things. But it does help me loose weight. Thank goodness!
To help with the problems that come with the impact, I am running alongside the paved paths here on base... so much nicer to my knees. I come back home feeling fantastic.

The Tough Mudder is my goal (October 6th in Austin) and I am so excited to act like a kid and play in the mud! I know it will be tough, but heck, I like having a goal in sight. AND I am so excited to have a couple female running partners for the race! (Thanks Jessica and Heather!) Two of my friends from my days back in Misawa, Japan... it will be fantastic. Tyler is running it too, but he is undoubtedly going to be faster than me...

Today I am doing a green smoothie fast. Something to help cleanse my system and (!) hopefully kick start more weightloss! The smoothies are mostly fruit and veggies and then added water. I know, I know, I am breastfeeding, but I figured one day of eating really good stuff isn't going to hurt that in the least bit.

Some cute pictures from May for you::

Soren is getting his two top teeth (one is out, one is coming), so he is getting a toothy grin! So cute! We took the kids to the dentist the other day, and Colton has 8 new cavities (in a YEAR!) not really confident with the work they want to do on him, so we are getting a second opinion, but hopefully we will not have cavities all the time with him (like Tyler and I do!). Ayla was in the no cavity club though!

Oh, and another thing... I am officially a NON facebook user. I have deactivated my account. It has become a huge source of controversy for me, so I am choosing not to have that clutter in my life. If you need to get a hold of me, feel free to email me, or call me!

97- 106 pictures (April 6- April 15)

97'366:: He loved laying in the grass... especially when Sofa, the cat, joined him

98'366:: I just LOVE the looks on their faces. Priceless.

99'366:: For some reason, I just love the light in this picture. And of course the little foot too :)

100'366:: Isn't his sweater adorable? Looks like a cute little fireman... courtesy of Grammy Roxanne!

101'366

102'366:: One of my all-time favorites.

103'366:: This kid has a genuine, homegrown mohawk!

104'366:: Vampire?

105'366:: Pure happiness

106'366:: A boy and his ball

Around here::

Ayla is now registered for pre-kindergarten here in Texas... and she couldn't be more excited. Of course, it took 5 HOURS this morning to register her?!!! Seriously, it was madness! Thanks Linda, for keeping me company :)

Colton starts tee-ball practice tomorrow, so he is pretty excited.

And to gear up for his first sport, he joined me in a mile run today... this kid has stamina... and says he enjoys running. So cute. A boy after my own heart. We just purchased new running shoes for both him and Ayla (and myself), and Colton proudly puts his on specifically to run. And I honestly believe he will start running circles around me in the near future.

He says "Maybe tomorrow, just me and you can go for a run tomorrow, Mom. And when I start getting faster than you, then me and Daddy will go for runs."

Smart boy.

He knows it won't take long.

I have been running a mile solid for two weeks now. And last time I timed it, it took me 10 minutes. I am going to S-L-O-W-L-Y work my way up to a couple miles and then add in some long ones... all so I can be ready for the TOUGH MUDDER in October. I am so excited for this!

Running is fun

Seriously, it is! Back in high school I started running because I injured my knee in basketball (and didn't know that I actually more than likely tore my ACL at this time), and couldn't participate in sports with side to side action, otherwise my knee would give out... not fun!
Anyways, I started running track in high school and fell in love with the 800meter. This is twice around the track... not really long distance, but not a sprint either. And I was good. I hate to toot my own horn, but really, I won a lot of races back then. (Went to State my junior year to compete... but totally failed there :) )
I gave up running a bit after high school... admittedly got fat, and then decided to join the Navy 2 years later. And needed to get in shape before bootcamp.
So I ran.
Now, I don't remember how far or for how long I was running before I went to bootcamp, but running did help me lose 20 lbs before I left. Which is always good, right?
Well, bootcamp really wasn't that hard. I passed easily.
But I kept running.

I ran when I was stationed in California, learning Russian. I would go through my list of vocabulary words that I had to memorize while I ran along the beautiful ocean. (oh, how I miss that place) My favorite memory is saying dostapremchatelnoste while I ran... it means places worth seeing, if I remember correctly. It still is my favorite Russian word. I ran many miles there.

Then in Texas, I ran and ran around the old flight line. My ex-boyfriend would run with me sometimes. But it was Texas and during the summer, so it pretty much sucked! My favorite story from there was when we were doing a "fun run" which is basically a run that you had to go to (you know, attendance was taken and stuff), and my good buddies- Bianca, Bryr and Traci - were all there with me. Bianca HATED running (yet she looked great and smoked like a chimney) and immediately after attendance was taken and we were running for fun, she headed back to the dorms to smoke with some wise-ass comment (oh, I love you Bianca).
NOW, Bianca is a marathon runner who is super fast and super fit, and oh how I envy her (and am so proud of her!)

When I was stationed overseas, in Japan, I took up biking too. I would bike to work (4 miles) and then run home. Sometimes I would take the long way, which doubled the distance. And then the next day I would run to work and bike home. I was in the best shape of my life. And I LOVED running.

It has always been the time for me to decompress I guess, and answer all my questions that I had been pondering, and sometimes coming up with some really good answers - or not.

Well, I started running again. Monday was day one, and boy was it hard. I had a million excuses to NOT start running until after the holidays. And then, I just decided to do it. And it felt good. Until I got home :) Then I was SO sore.
I hadn't ran in a year and a half.
A YEAR and a HALF, people!
My knee surgery and then pregnancy were my reasons for not then, but since my knee is fixed up and I am gladly not pregnant anymore... I had to do something.

And I ran again today. I am a little less sore right now too.

I am so glad I started back up... now I need to keep it up.

I will keep you (whoever reads this... wait, WHO reads this?) posted.

OH! And I just purchased a Vitamix (used of course) so now I think I am getting back on the green smoothie wagon! I would love to lose some more of this baby weight (16 lbs to pre-Soren, and about 35 to pre-Colton ISH!)