This is where balls go to die!

When I turned 30 last month, one of the things I decided to do was to start procuring "adult" furniture. I have been living off of hand me downs from my parents and friends up until this point. I believe the most I have spent on furniture was $75 on a table and  two chairs my upstairs neighbor left when she moved back to Hawaii. I'm not sure what I was waiting for... a bigger salary.. a nicer apartment... a husband... well, none of those are in my immediate future, so its time to take upon myself to buy nice stuff.

My first purchase was a bed.... for my nice mattress ( oh! I did buy very good, very expensive mattress set, so I guess I have splurged on one thing - queen sized - folds in half like a taco, for easy corner maneuvering (prior to this I was sleeping on a mattress form my grandmothers house bought in the 1970s and you could only sleep right in the middle)) So Wednesday, July 4th after a long Internet search, I ventured up to IKEA. I have only been to IKEA during the week at lunch time. I'm only about 10 minutes away. I love me some Swedish meatball and mash! I was not prepared for the hoard of people at IKEA on a holiday Wednesday, but I guess everyone was buying "adult" furniture.

Two things I didn't think about before I purchased my IKEA queen Hemmes bed frame. 1.How am I going to get this in my Honda Civic? and 2. Who is going to help me carry this up the 16 stairs to my apartment? Details. Details. Details.

Luckily... with all of the seats flat the bed fit. A very lovely woman waiting for her husband offered to help me. I had to say" thanks, ma'am. But if I can't get it in the car by myself. I can't get it out by myself."

I also have to admit, it never crossed my mind to call someone to come and help me either... I had to do it myself or not at all. I managed to get it up the stairs by tipping it end over end, and sliding it on the carpet. Not bad I have to say. I also managed to put it together myself with the aid of two very high heels to prop the ends up! ( I wish I had taken a picture of THAT) It was not until I had finished though that I went into the living and found two of the wooden pegs. Clementine had come in while I was distracted and took two pegs... but I wasn't missing any while I was putting it together...sooooo...hmm

In the month since the bed has been up, I have started to have second thought about the decision. Why Katie? Why would you have second thoughts about having a nice "adult" bed and not having your mattress on the floor any more?

This is why?

This is where balls go to die! Clementine has 20 balls - tennis balls, treat balls, spiky squeaky balls, but the one ball that matters is this ball.

THIS IS THE BEST BALL EVER!

Don't ever accidentally step on this ball, or let her see you holding it. This ball is Clementine crack. She will do anything for this ball and only this ball.

We have three, two blue and one green. The green is slightly inferior, he lost his squeaky shorty after purchase. That's the other thing. I found this ball on a lark while staying at my parents house in Louisville. We got a pass to the dog park and not knowing what to expect, I stopped on the way at the ValueMarket in the MidCity Mall. I didn't know it would be a hit. When I am in town and close to Bardstown Road (during the day) I try to stop to pick another one up. A couple times they have not had them. But sometime I'm lucky.

The inferior green ball - still crack - just not squeaky crack!

I didn't realize at first that the balls were seeking  their final resting pace under the Hemmes bed. Until one day, Clementine was laying with her face half under the bed when I walked by the door, she didn't move, just looked up at me, looked back under the  bed, back at me with a whimper."What's under there, Clem?" Katie get on all fours and looks "It's your ball!" Katie retrieves ball. GREAT! Now she knows I will get the ball for her. This exercise occurs approximately 6 to 20 times a day.

Stop taking my picture and just give me the ball she says.

Having grown up things is so exhausting!

On Sale. Cute. Size Medium.

In my first blog, I mentioned why I started this blog - accountability to get my chubby butt moving. So, here is the story of what my tipping point was.

Earlier this month, I organized a team building exercise at work. During the event one of the spectators took pictures for our work blog on my camera. Later that afternoon I downloaded the images to my work computer and started to go through them. At first, my reaction was "she took really good pictures", then I came to the below photo. AHHHH! are you kidding me!  Katie, what's with the gut.

While this photo can be blamed on horrible posture, the below picture, I can only blame myself!

Look out Wide load coming through!

A little back, back story.... In January of this year, I decided that since I was turning thirty this year I wanted to really step outside of my comfort zone and challenge myself. I joined a training group to train for the Cincinnati Flying Pig Half Marathon. The first two weeks of running (run/walking) were horrible. I mean awful, horrendous, killer...we were only running 2 to 3 mile twice a week, but I was in tears after every run. Shinsplints, side pains, I couldn't breath.  Then I got super sick, with flu like symptoms, no energy, so I went to the doctor. Cold.. nope. Flu.. nope. Mono...nope.

Doctor: "Is it possible that you have asthma?"

Me: "I wouldn't be surprised"

(Later, I called my mom "Mom, turns out I have asthma" my Momma's reaction "Yeah, Sounds about right" - Thanks Ma)

Two weeks to let my lungs recover and I was back and running like a champ. Until....... St. Patrick's Day!

The morning of St. Patrick's Day we were scheduled to run 9 miles. This would have been the longest I ever ran. I was ready to go. Ate right the night before, woke up early. About 6 miles into the run both of my heels were killing, but I continued to run. No Pain, No Gain. I finished the run and knew I was in trouble. I had planned to head out early to enjoy the beautiful 70 degree, sunshine, Saturday St. Patrick's Day. (Side note: I love St. Patty's Day. Love It. Everyone is Irish and it is great people watching) I iced my foot, went to lunch with a friend where I said "I probably should stay off this thing" and then went and drank for 12 hours. Long story short... Two weeks later I was in boot (named Peggy) and out of the Flying Pig for 2012.

The point of the story is until recently I was not even allowed to walk the dog long distances, exercise with impact to my foot was out. So, I was lazy. I didn't exercise at all, and took a deep dive into comfort food.

My foot is still a little off, and I still need to get some injections, but I am back walking distances, now I just need to get the calories in order.

I am doing several different things to improve the way I eat. I am using a Calorie Counter App on my phone and Ipad to count calories. It's a great app, the best I've seen. The best is that it has fast food and popular restaurants, so it is easy to eat out. I have also given up dairy. Prior to this intervention, my diet was predominately cheese and milk based. Grilled cheese, mac and cheese, broccoli and cheese soup, cereal with milk, ice cream. I have switched to almond milk, given up most cheese products and overall I've been feeling better. (full disclosure: For dinner last night I had Chipotle with Extra Cheese and a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream- and I felt like CRAP)

Supplement wise, I began taking Green Coffee Extract yesterday. Dr. Oz recommended it on his show. I mean, if Dr. Oz says it work, I'll try it. It says right on the bottle burn fat, lose weight, feel great. I let you know if it works.

In addition to this, I am drinking a Body By Vi shake a day. They taste like cupcakes! I switch between breakfast and lunch, mainly because I would definitely get tired of drinking it for breakfast everyday and when I drink it for lunch I am starving by 3pm.

My current goal is pretty simple. Fit into this dress. On Sale. Cute. Size Medium. Too much in the middle, too much in the back to fit.

I have to say, exercising and eating right does make me feel better overall. But I also want to reinforce that I hate the word "FAT", you won't ever see me use the word in this blog. This goal is not about being skinny, it is about feeling good and healthy. I have been blessed being raised by very strong women who did not put emphasis on being skinny, but being happy with yourself. 

Here We Go Y'all

Starting a blog is something I have been pondering for a while. Deciding what to talk about took me a loooong time. What would be interesting and ME at the same time. Finally, a couple of weeks ago it hit me, actually it had already hit me.... The weight! What? You say,the weight. Yes, my chubby butt needs to get into action! And.. What better way to keep myself accountable than to blog about it. So...Topic #1 My new healthy lifestyle, Topic #2 The pup - the best most awesome dog in the world, Topic #3 Old School- stories I always wanted to write down, and Topic #4 Odds and Ends. Lots of Pictures to illustrate, and frequent posts. So I hope this is a humorous, lighthearted way at looking at and figuring out life after 30!