Something unexpected!

I have been struggling with my weight since I had Cody. Stupidly I thought the weight would just magically fall off after I had him. Not the case of course. I have been trying to figure out why I am still fat. I have a ton of excuses. I'm a working mom. I'm stressed out. I'm too old and can't lose weight easily. I have no time. There is no gym close by. I can't afford to buy healthy food. I have no one to work out with. Enough with the excuses and enough with me feeling sorry for myself. I can no longer look at the person in the mirror or continue to buy clothing in double digits. That's just not acceptable to me. I come from a family of fit, healthy people and I'm worried people are looking down on me or talking about how I didn't "bounce back" since I had a baby. I know women who have gone right back to their pre baby weight and am convinced these women must be aliens. After feeling down and out for a while, my best friend (who recently lost a ton of weight) convinced me to sign up for a 5K in September 2015. I was dreading it. I didn't train because I knew I would do bad and just figured I would walk the whole thing. But something changed when I lined up and saw all the runners. There was this feeling of energy and hope that I couldn't explain. As soon as the horn blew, I ran. I didn't run very far, but I ran. So I ran, walked, ran, walked the race. As I saw the finish line in sight, I ran down the hill and around the corner where I saw my mom, best friend, and my sister and her boyfriend cheering me on. I felt awesome and crossed the finish line at 42:30 with a huge smile on my face.

I was so excited I started training and signed up for The Trick or Treat Trot in October in Streetsboro where I finished with a time of 36:12! I ran with Beth and my 2 favorite boys came to cheer me on!

Next up was Between the Lakes 5K. It was really cold and really hilly and I didn't think I was going to make it. There was this gigantic hill towards the end and I literally thought I was going to fall over just walking up it. But again, I did it! Not the best time, but I was ok with that.

I decided to finish out the year with the Reindeer Run! It was a chilly but beautiful day and it was the first time I had ever run 3.1 miles without walking! I was a little disappointed with my time of 35:52 but I was proud of myself for not walking! My dad was there to support me which was awesome.

I wouldn't have been able to do this without the encouragement and motivation from my best friend Beth who has been there with me for every race I've done and the support of my family. I am down about 20 pounds since I started and have about 30 or so to go. I find myself making time to run. No excuses. I make sure I keep signing up for races so I keep that motivation. I never thought I would actually enjoy running. It always seemed boring to me. But now, I guess I can say I'm a runner!

Wow, it's been a long time.

So, here it is 2016 and it's been a few years since I updated my blog. So what has happened since then? I have gotten married and had a baby! Our wedding was on June 2, 2012. We were married at St. Vincent Church in Akron (home of Lebron!) We had perfect weather. There was actually a double rainbow! It was important to me to get married in a Catholic church and it was important to Brian to have his friend Bill, who is a pastor in a Methodist church, participate in our wedding ceremony. We were lucky that we were both able to get both of our wishes! Our closest friends and family attended our wedding and reception. Here are a few pictures from that day.