.Vulnerable

If you read my last post, I'm sure you noticed that it came from the heart. On occasion, we are all guilty of portraying life as fan-freaking-tastic when it's really not. So I felt I needed to get some things off my chest and truly I did feel a lot better afterward.

Thankfully, one of the stressors has lifted itself! We got the good news that our house had sold yesterday and we are over the moon! It's still a little stressful that we have to find a new place in the next two months, but we've seen a lot of places we like so it's just a matter of making a decision. We are looking for our "almost forever" home - which means we are looking for a place to settle for the next 20ish years or so until Kendrick and one day future baby move out. Then the plan is to build our dream home. There are definitely some exciting times ahead!

Father's Day actually went a lot better this year. I'm not sure what it was, but it didn't seem like there was a black cloud hanging over the day like there was last year. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing man as my husband and the Father to Kendrick!

Photo by Breanne Marie, Edmonton

Photo by Mandi D Photography, Edmonton 

I crushed my first 15K of the season this past weekend! I'll be honest, I don't know why I signed up for a 15K when I was probably only ready for a 10. When I signed up for the race package I tried to up my mileage in the monthly races leading up to the Edmonton half. I should have done another 10K, and then completed my first 15K in July. When I realized my error it was too late to do any changes so I went for it anyways. Considering the course was pretty hilly and through some thin trains at some points, I felt not too bad for the first 12K. The last 3K however were tough and I was struggling. I was also a dummy and didn't eat beforehand, which is a no no especially for a long run like that. Usually under 10K I can get away using an empty stomach and sport beans, but 15K was too long. My longest run previous to this was 9K and although I didn't feel prepared, I actually wasn't too disappointed with my time of 1:46:09. I have another 15K on July 1 (which is actually my favourite race of the year, the Canada Day Road Race) and another on July 10 before the big half on August 21. My goal for this week is to run 9K tomorrow and 12K this weekend to hopefully get my stamina up. I also didn't feel as sore after the 15K as I thought I would, which means my cross training at Blitz Conditioning boot camp is paying off.

Speaking of boot camp, we are outside and I don't know what it is but mosquitos LOVE me. It's awful. Even after wearing bug spray my legs have at least 25 bites on them. I don't understand why they like me so much!

I'm still working on losing about 7 pounds so that my abs show up a little more. It would be really nice to do this before I get pregnant again, as I've heard it's much harder to lose the weight the second time around. I've been keeping up with bootcamp every Tuesday and stairs every Wednesday, and running 1-2 times on Monday, Thursday or Friday. I think the biggest thing for me is eating. I need to be planning better and eating better as I know I haven't been at my best lately. The food prep has been tough, I just haven't had the energy at night. I need to get better at this! My goal is to get back on the meal planning wagon this weekend. I am motivated!

I'm also craving a vacation. Particularly to Disneyworld. One can dream...

xo

-Dianne

PS: I tried out a new Epicure recipe for pancakes for Father's Day breakfast, and it went really well! I literally went on the Epicure website and searched for "pancakes" and decided to try the Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes recipe. The only difference is I added a tablespoon of cocoa to get some healthy chocolate flavour without the calories and the sugar of the chocolate chips. They tasted amazing! I think next time I may try adding some Sweet Coconut Vegan Protein Blend protein powder to the mixture too! I also used only whole wheat flower as well. 

PPS: I think I'm going to invest in a new pair of Nikes next month! I'm brand loyal and I've been using Nike Flex for the last few years and am looking to change it up. Anyone have a favourite brand of Nike runners they recommend? I'm looking at trying out the Nike Free Run Distance shoe as that was rated #1 by a poll I saw, but I am not sure if I'll need more support than that yet.

.Reality

Maybe it's because I'm thinking about the fact that this week I'll get my last full pay cheque for a year. Or maybe it's because the nursery is really starting to come together & baby stuff is building up in our living room. Or maybe it's because a new friend in a first time moms group I joined headed to the hospital and delivered her baby five weeks early! Things all of a sudden got real, and I got hit with a bit of a reality check this week.

I know I've mentioned it many times in this blog but I absolutely love to travel. I had a couple of ideas for trips to go on while I'm on maternity leave but my eyes seem to be bigger than my budget. I still want to conquer a few of them but I think DisneyWorld might be on hold until at least 2017. It's disappointing, but at the same time just not realistic. We're going to be in charge of a little person soon! I'm still coming to terms with that. 

At 38 weeks today, technically there's two weeks left before the due date but baby could come really at any time at this point. I can't really explain how it feels to be excited and terrified at the exact same time! I've been trying really hard not to complain during this pregnancy as I am very thankful that I'm able to get pregnant, however, as the days go on I'm starting to feel more and more uncomfortable. I'm pretty lucky that since the first trimester I've had a fairly good pregnancy. Now I believe I have entered the painful, waddling stage :). I also have crazy insomnia, which was bothering me before I got pregnant but now it doesn't seem to matter how little sleep I get the night before, I can't fall asleep until after midnight. Maybe this is my body preparing for lack of sleep once little Baby Peanut comes along?

The nursery is coming along really well. My husband painted, built the crib and changing table, and we just put up the giant Snoopy wall stickers yesterday. I love Snoopy. The room is starting to look awesome!

I miss running. I really, really miss running! Almost as much as I used to miss gymnastics when I was in a car accident and had to quit. I'm really looking forward to slowly getting back into it starting with walking around the neighborhood when the snow melts! We've had such an odd winter so it's kind of hard to say when that will happen, but I'm hoping by April I'll have the energy to start off slowly and work my way up to running half marathons again. I'm still signed up for the half marathon in Vancouver in October and fully plan to rock it (and by rock it, I mean cross the finish line) and I'm hoping to conquer a 15K in June for the Heart & Stroke Foundation, but I may change that to the 5K walk with the family if I'm not feeling up to it.

I've been trying to blog for about a week now & have been having troubles putting my thoughts together, which is why this one is a little all over the place. I blame the baby brain. :)

xo,

Dianne

PS: I've been slowly prepping some freezer meals so that when the baby comes, the nights that we don't feel like cooking we can pop something in the oven or microwave and have an easy, no prep dinner. I had some steak pieces in the fridge so I did some google/pinterest research on some enchilada recipes. I didn't really like any of them - so I created my own! Fairly healthy too! I overstuffed them so they looked more like burritos than enchiladas, but they tasted delicious! See below!

Smothered Steak Burritos

Ingredients

1 package of pre-cut steak bite size steak pieces (or any meat you'd like to use)

1 can of black beans

1 can of corn

Chopped mushrooms

1 cup of cooked whole wheat rice

Salsa 

- (I made my own - chopped up tomatoes, onion, garlic, and cilantro and mixed with a little bit of     lime juice, Epicure's Poco Picante Salsa Mix and salt & pepper to taste)

Shredded cheese

Whole wheat tortillas

Tomato sauce 

- (I used canned organic tomato sauce from Costco and added Epicure's fajita spice and salt & pepper to taste)

Cook the rice in one pot using water & a little bit of butter. In another pot simmer the sauce so the flavors mix together. In one more saucepan cook the steak, mushrooms, corn and black beans and mix in some fajita spice. Once everything is cooked, heat up the tortillas in the microwave for about 45 seconds so they are soft. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread some of the sauce at the bottom of a large glass baking dish. In each tortilla layer rice, the steak mixture, salsa and top with cheese. Fold each like a fajita/burrito and place in the baking dish with the ends down (I fit about six giant ones in my baking dish; four across and two at the top). Cover the top with the remaining tomato sauce and top everything with cheese. Put foil over the baking dish and put in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted. 

ENJOY! :)

.Antsy

I'm feeling a little stir-crazy at the moment. Part of me wants to get up and be more active but the other part of me is lazy and tired and feels a little restricted. I want to run, but I know I probably couldn't even run for a minute without huffing and puffing at this point (and the baby inside probably wouldn't be too impressed since it's been a few months since I've slapped on the running shoes).

Sometimes I feel like I've forgotten how to balance a busy work life with an active one. I was fairly good at it, but these last two weeks I've wanted nothing more to sit on my couch and watch TV and do nothing. Then yesterday I somehow managed to break my Nike Fuelband. I think the universe is trying to tell me something.

Speaking of the Nike Fuelband, I think I may be in the market for a replacement. This is now my third band in two and a half years. The first one just stopped charging after a year but I was able to get a replacement. Then a year after I got the replacement that one had the same problem. I just got a new one sent to me a few months ago and now it seems like part of the band has broken. I haven't taken a good look at it yet to see if it's fixable (it very well might be), but I'm starting to wonder if I should start shopping around for a new brand. I had a Fitbit before the Fuelband and I wasn't a fan of it - but I know Fitbit's have really evolved in the last couple years. I'm looking for suggestions for a band that counts calories doing every day things (not just running or activity), a sleep tracker, maybe a heart rate monitor (so it counts calories more accurately) and something that's not huge or bulky. If you have any suggestions please feel free to leave it in the comments below! I am pretty brand loyal to Nike but if this one really is ca-put I may need to look elsewhere!

I have narrowed down my wishlist for half marathons to run while I'm on mat leave. I think I'm three... oh my. That's slightly terrifying but also extremely motivating at the same time. The first one will be probably the Edmonton Half in August, mostly because I've deferred the last two years (last year I sprained my ankle a month before and this year I couldn't run due to doctor's orders), so I have free entry. It's in my home town, I know the course, and it's a chance for my friends and family to be able to cheer me on if need be. Not looking for a personal best in this one, but just looking to finish to tell myself that I can still rock these! The second one is going to be the Rock N Roll Half Marathon in Vancouver in October (essentially a year from now). I've run the Rock N Roll Half in Vegas (it was my first EVER half) and it was a lot of fun, so I'm looking forward to what the race will bring to Vancouver! I also have many friends there that I would love to see, and haven't been in so long that I've nearly forgotten what the place looks like. Let me know if you want to join me! I just now have to convince the husband! :) Last but not least, my final goal is to run the Disneyworld Princess Half Marathon in Florida in February 2016. I love Disney, and I love their races. So far I've ran the Tinkerbell Half in California and the Disneyworld Half in Florida and both were just awesome. This one is still a little up in the air as obviously it's going to cost the most and take the most planning. I've wanted to do this one for a few years (was thinking of 2014 but then we got married on the exact same weekend!) and think it would be great to take the future little one to Disney when it doesn't cost anything for him to fly. This one will need to be decision made after the baby is born to decide whether it's feasible and do-able. Usually for races I have no issues going on my own as I just love to travel, but things will change when there is a baby involved!

Just talking about all of this makes me happy and I feel very motivated for the upcoming year. So many changes but also so many experiences and chances to learn. I guess this is what they call growing up!

xo,
Dianne

PS: I've finally figured out how to fix the comments! You can now comment in the boxes below and I should be able to see it! :)

PPS: In the last few weeks I've been able to feel baby Peanut moving around. It is a crazy, exciting, terrifying, weird feeling that I can't explain, but I love it! :)

PPPS: If you want to get some Christmas shopping done in the month of November, consider having a Stella & Dot trunk show! Lots of specials this month & our new collection just launched in October. Invite the girls over for an afternoon to shop and earn yourself some free jewels. Lots of gifting ideas too! Click on the email button on the left of the blog to send me a note if you want to book a date! I anticipate they will be going quick!