My baby girl is 21!

It's June 8th, a very special day to me. 21 years ago, my first born daughter, Jan'a Mechele was born. She was 6 weeks premature, but thank goodness she was healthy. Now she is a beautiful young woman, who is carrying her first child. I decided to display pictures of my "baby girl" in honor of her today.

Happy Birthday, sweetheart.

Jan'a and me at Komen for the Cure

Jan'a and me!

Jan'a (right) and her sister, Whitney (left)

Jan'a - 3 months old I think - always loving the lace and frilly things!

Jan'a (left) and Whitney (right)

Jan'a (left) and Whitney (right) on our recent vacation to Gatlinburg

Motherhood sure has its rewards! We have had so many good times together. I love my family!

Stress- How do you deal with it?

STRESS. My mom always tells me I am too stressed out. For most of my adult life, I have found that I get overwhelmed easily and sometimes feel like I'm going to explode. I also chose a career that tends to be more stressful than others. What was I thinking?

My college graduation photo

I definitely do not remember my professors in college giving us that helpful bit of information. Accountants are constantly dealing with strict deadlines, which seem to be inconsistent. At least I am no longer working in tax. Even though the stress for that type of position only lasts for about 5 months or so, the long work hours can be unbearable, especially if you have a family or any outside interests. I have learned to deal with my work stress by exercising more, having monthly massages, and learning to relax when I feel overwhelmed.

My kids laugh at me because I buy relaxation CD's and lotions with aromatherapy that claim to relieve stress.

relaxation CD's

Stress relief lotion

 If nothing else works, I always enjoy a glass of wine to chill out.

A few years ago, I actually took a class on Stress Management at a local community college and that was very helpful. Today, I found this article on the American Heart Association website :  Four Ways to Deal with Stress. It has some good ideas I'd like to share with you.

How do you deal with stress? What works for you?

Running...Is this for me?

As you may know, I am participating in the Couch to 5k training plan as well as a 5k training plan on Active Trainer to prepare for a few 5k races I have signed up for in the fall.

I'm doing the 5k the same day as this Half Marathon in Nashville

 I am on week 4 of this training and am somewhat frustrated at my progress. I am able to finish the workouts but can't help but feel awkward while running. Most of my workouts have been on the treadmill but my last workout was done on the indoor track of the MTSU Rec Center on Saturday. I enjoyed my free pass as an alumni to the Rec Center. It was a change from my home workout equipment. And who can pass up a FREE deal? Not me!



MTSU Rec Center





What do I mean by awkward? I felt like I was running in slow motion. My legs felt heavy. I'm was short of breath. Running on the track is definitely different from the treadmill. I had some other issues too. My MP3 player decided to start skipping and for some reason the power off button would not work. So most of my workout was done without any music and the gym where I worked out was holding a cheerleading camp. So you can imagine, I'm trying to workout without my music but I am surrounded by dozens of young screaming girls. I was happy to finish that workout and spend some time in the pool before having my relaxation massage at Massage Envy.



 I'm wondering if there comes a time where I will feel like"Hey this is getting easier!" I long for that day to come. I watch others running and it looks so natural. I can just imagine what I look like! Another question that comes to mind is "Why am I so passionate about being a runner?" I'm hoping to find the answer to these questions soon.

Today is the day for my final workout for week 4. I'm going to give it 100%. I can't give up now!!





Welcome Weekend!

I'm glad the weekend is here! Even though it was a short work week for me, it seemed to last forever. Tonight I did my cross training workout. It was a breeze compared to my running workouts. I biked almost 6 miles on the stationary bike and followed that with strength training. I ate a healthy dinner while the rest of my family had fast food. I'm proud of ME!

I have a busy weekend planned. Tomorrow I am visiting the college I graduated from for Alumni Day in the MTSU Recreation Center. All alumni members and their families can attend for free and use the facilities which include an indoor and outdoor pool. Nice! I also plan on doing my running workout on the track to take a break from the treadmill.

Later in the day, I have an appointment for a much needed massage at Massage Envy. I am looking forward to that! I've had two migraines this week and the best medicine for that is a massage.

On Sunday, I plan on attending church in the morning with my parents, resting in the afternoon and surprising my sister by going to hear her sing her first solo in her church choir. That should be wonderful.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and do something to pamper yourself! You deserve it! Summer is here and there's so much to do. Be sure and stay hydrated if its as hot in your area as it is here! The south officially has a heat wave!

Healthy Eating - USDA Choose My Plate

I just saw the USDA website for Choose My Plate. This looks much different from the usual Food Pyramid we are used to. This website have some very helpful tips and information. I encourage everyone to check it out!

photo compliments of http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

I try my best to maintain a healthy diet, but living with teenagers and a husband who loves junk food makes it hard sometimes. I just try my best to keep the pantry and fridge stocked with healthy food so I'm not tempted to give in to the goodies! While on vacation, that was a different story. I drank soda, ate oreos, chips and other things that I usually never eat. As of yesterday, I am back on my healthy eating plan now and feel much better. I can tell a difference in the way I feel when I'm eating healthy. Here are some of my favorite healthy foods!

Oatmeal with organic blueberries

Green tea

veggies with brown rice

What are your favorite healthy foods?

Running workout...check

I'm glad I was able to do my running workout after work today. After all....it is National Running Day! Sometimes it's easy for me to make excuses especially after working all day. Today was my first day back after a 7 day break! So that made it even harder. But....I did it!

I'm ready to go...

This workout was longer than I am used to and I have not worked out in over a week. I'm glad to say that I made it through the workout and felt good about my pace. I get bored on the treadmill but its almost 100 degrees here now, so an outdoor run was out of the question. I was a little concerned that I had a bad headache after finishing my workout. I don't think that has happened before. I did have a migraine yesterday, so this could be this recurring. I hope NOT!

I'm rehydrating myself with some Silk Light chocolate. I love this stuff!

 I felt like I was beating myself up earlier today since I labeled myself as a slacker. But after looking at my May workout calendar, I felt better about this month. I have worked out more consistently this month than the previous months of 2011. That's a victory for me!

Workout calendar - May 2011

I'm ready to tackle June now!

National Running Day

Today is National Running Day - June 1, 2011. Will you join me? Why do YOU run? I love the feeling I get after completing a workout. Its a feeling of accomplishment! Today is the day I begin back on my training program and what better day to start than....National Running Day! I've been a slacker for the last 7 days. My excuses are....our family vacation and too much drama last week. Now that I've said that out loud, I feel like those are pretty lame excuses. I need to figure out why I allow myself to make excuses and how I can change that in the future. I have some running events coming up in a few months and I need to be prepared.

I decided to restart my Active.com workouts and repeat week 4 of the Couch to 5k training. These workouts are almost the same so I am doing them together. The Active.com workout gives me an online calendar to keep up with the workouts and to log my vital stats as well. I am doing the Couch to 5k with a group of Twitter friends and want to stick to that too. I enjoy the motivation I receive from both plans.

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it." - Oprah Winfrey

Family Vacation

I am back home from our family vacation. It was a nice long weekend for us. I feel like I haven't posted in such a long time. We had limited cell phone and computer access in our mountain cabin, which was probably a good thing. But in the age of technology, it took a little getting used to. Here are some pictures from our trip. I'll post more when I get them from my kids.

The view from our cabin

Whitney and Deborah riding the ski lift in Gatlinburg

We took every opportunity to take pictures with bears!

Our group picture from the Titanic exhibit in Pigeon Forge.

The Titanic - museum in Pigeon Forge

Bubba Gump Shrimp in Gatlinburg

Eating at Bullfish Grill

The Old Mill restaurant in Pigeon Forge

Bubba Gump

Cades Cove

Big Daddy's Pizzeria

Now that vacation is over, its time for me to get ready for another week and get back on track with my fitness goals. I have decided to repeat week 4 of the Couch to 5k challenge since I was very distracted last week and didn't get all of the workouts done. I can do it!

Stressful Week

I realized I haven't posted since last Saturday. This week has been so busy and stressful. And it's only Wednesday! I am thankful that I am on vacation after today and will have a relaxing long weekend with my family. We have dealt with issues with our newly used car we just bought, a car wreck with my pregnant daughter, and trying to get everything ready for our vacation. Needless to say, I have let my workouts slip for the past two days since I have been so overwhelmed. I'm looking forward to a running workout tonight when I get home.

Luckily, my daughter is o.k. from her wreck and even though she was transported to the hospital, the baby is fine also. The car on the other hand will need some repair work. I was excited though to see the ultrasound performed on her in the hospital. I was overwhelmed with tears of joy to see my grandchild for the first time.

It's amazing to me how much stress can affect you physically. After dealing with the car accident yesterday and going to the hospital, I found myself very nervous and exhausted. I almost felt light headed and like it was difficult to breathe. Usually, I know how to calm down when I'm feeling overwhelmed, but yesterday was a different story. Eventually I was able to relax after drinking a glass of vino and playing with Tiger.

How do you deal with stress?

Back to training

It's a lovely Saturday morning here in Tennessee! The sun is shining, its going to be warm today, and as far as I can tell, the end of the world did not happen as they predicted. I'm hoping to relax today since yesterday was extremely busy for me. I had cleaning to do, cooking, buying a new car, and a high school graduation to attend. I'm glad I didn't have to work on top of all the other things going on.

new car!

Whitney at Graduation 2011

Whitney & her band friends before the performance

Today is a XT day for me, so I'm planning on doing a Tae Bo workout. Actually yesterday should have been my XT day, but Friday left me feeling a little frazzled. Tae Bo is a great way to include cardio, strength training and flexibility into one workout. Soon as I have my coffee and a quick breakfast....I'll be punching and kicking to the max!

Tae Bo - I have several workouts to choose from

Must have coffee first thing in the a.m.

Kashi cereal with skim milk

Silk Light - my favorite way to start the day!

This Couch to 5k challenge has me feeling like an athlete. I never thought I would say that. I've gotten serious about the training to the point that I have 2 5k's and one 4 miler on my schedule for the fall. One in September, one in October and the last one on Thanksgiving Day.

5k registration - Women's Half Marathon/5k in Nashville

I also took advantage of a free Active.com training plan after registering for the Women's Half Marathon/ 5k a few days ago. I'm using that in addition to the c25k training. I like this plan since it includes email reminders of the daily workouts and motivational words to keep me on track. Also, when I log in my workouts, there are fields to enter vital statistics as well as b.p./ pulse readings. Its a helpful tool.

I hope your weekend rocks!

Family Vacation plans

I love taking family vacations. We are going away for Memorial Day weekend. Here is a peek at Our vacation cabin in the mountains of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. My hubby and I were married at a wedding chapel there so we go there at least once a year. Since this year marks our 5 yr anniversary, maybe a vow renewal should be planned? Here's a picture...

Our wedding picture - Gatlinburg Sept 2006

This time we are taking the kids with us for a 4 day family getaway. My kids are almost grown but they really enjoy our vacations. They are a little bit spoiled.

I don't want to let my fitness slack off during this time, so I'm researching hiking trails to possibly attempt. I can't guarantee that the rest of the family will join me though. These cabins have a full kitchen and gas grill on the deck so at least we can prepare some of our meals, without having to eat out every day. It's easier to include healthier options that way too.

One of our favorite things about the cabins is the hot tub. I keep telling my hubby that this needs to be our next big purchase. They are so relaxing! And there's something about sitting in the hot tub on the deck of the cabin with the mountain views with a glass of wine and your sweetheart that is just marvelous.

The town just outside of Gatlinburg is Pigeon Forge and is a fun place for tourists. Here are some Pigeon Forge travel links. Since my husband is a veteran, we will hopefully find something to do to honor veterans on Memorial Day.

What are your plans for Memorial Day?