But, I don't feel any older.......

Last Saturday, I turned 29. This was my last twenties birthday. I thought I was okay with it but I'm not. I guess I'll try not to focus on my years slipping by and just enjoy them instead. That's a better plan, right? Right. I declared multiple times it was the first time I was turning 29, not the last.

I got some lovely gifts from lovely people.

Grey TOMS



Michael Kors Tortoise & Horn Watch




Plus, workout clothes, spa day (Eeeee!!!!), new baking sheets, gift cards, especially to my guilty pleasure, JoAnn's and more! I celebrated with friends and family and CAKE! It was a great birthday that lasted an entire week.

I read a timely article about free birthday perks from restaurants. Thus commenced a flurry of filling out my email address on various websites and then watching the flood of free entrees, appetizers and dessert emails flow in. It was glorious! I highly recommend that you do this. Actually, I recommend you sign up the month before your birthday as they typically give you a coupon for something just for signing up, and THEN you get a bigger perk to use during your birth month. So, John and I will be eating free for the next 30 days! I signed up with:

Bravo

Brio

Cold Stone Creamery

Melting Pot

Sephora - no free meal but I did get free Sugar lip gloss that is wonderful!

So, if your big day is coming up, or even if it's not, get on the free things train. Whoo whooo!

Recipe Reblog #12

HAPPY EASTER!

These recipes aren't Easter related but they are tasty. John and I recently hosted some friends for a game night. Game night = snacks, right? Among other dips and treats, I tried these two new appetizer recipes.

Mini Corndog Muffins: I am so sorry I didn't take a picture of the cutest appetizer I've ever made. These were easy, delicious, crowd-pleasing little bites. You mix up the corn bread batter and pour it into a mini muffin tin. Then you cut up a hot dog and stick a piece in each muffin. The perfect poppable bite! I cut the recipe in half to yield 24 muffins. Great snack for all ages!

Garlic Chicken Bites: A friend of mine has made these a couple times when hosting us and I always want to eat the whole plate. They're like grown-up chicken nuggets. A little more spice and flair for you. I cut the oil in half and they didn't suffer one bit. Quick and easy and pretty healthy too!

OK, I'm off to eat my weight in Cadbury eggs!

Cutting It Out

This year, John and I focused on making some changes in our diet for the better. Fewer starchy carbs, more green veggies, lots more protein. It's helped but we've been slipping. It seems like there's always an excuse to pick up an extra sweet treat here or there. Holidays (like Easter) don't help one bit. Trips to our hometown don't help either. Neither of us are seeing any movement on the scale like we want. We have been adding in extra walking with Sadie and of course the new strength programs I talked about yesterday so the workouts are not the problem.

On our Sadie walk the other day John says he's considering making a very drastic dietary change. No sugar? I asked. No refined sugar, he says. And cutting out white things like bread, pasta, etc. I broached this subject with months ago and he scoffed at me. I don't know what article he read but all of a sudden he's spouting off facts about how gluten can be bad for your digestion and sugar is slowly killing everyone. After I picked my jaw up off the sidewalk, I wholeheartedly agreed. Of course I knew all these facts but to hear them from my sugar-loving husband's mouth was quite shocking.

Because our trip to Florida is a mere 5 1/2 weeks away, we decided now is as good a time as any to give it a shot. No one wants to look flabby in a bathing suit. Am I right? While nightly desserts will be difficult to give up, I think we'll be okay. It's just a retraining of the mind to not need a certain type of food. I've already done that with other foods for that last 8 years. Does this mean I have to give up the sugar in wine too? That might be a tad more difficult......

Any tips for tricking a sweet tooth? Have you gone off sugar? Let me know!

New Rules of Lifting for Women

In 2009, I read the book New Rules of Lifting for Women. You can see what I thought about it here. I ended up re-reading the book last year but didn't repost it because I didn't think a double read counted. The first time around I found the workout plan interesting except for the part where he eschews most forms of cardio. I love my cardio and will never stop doing it in lieu of weight lifting. However, as Zumba Toning wasn't really doing it for me anymore, and I had access to heavier weights in my basement, I decided to switch my two strength days per week to this program.

I am halfway through Stage 1 of 7 stages and am happy to report I feel a whole lot stronger already. I've doubled the weight for my leg exercises in just 5 weeks and upped the weights for my upper body too. Initially, I saw a lot of change in my measurements but that has kind of plateaued a bit. I know the further I go with the program the more muscle I'll gain replacing the fat that used to be there. The entire program will likely take me about 6 months to get through because I'm only doing it 2 days a week instead of the recommended 3.

Perhaps I should have taken some before and after pictures. Oops. I already see changes for sure. And in an act of camaraderie, John is following the men's version of the same program. I think he's enjoying the challenge too. He even said after the first couple workouts that he's clearly been lifting all wrong his whole life. What an endorsement!

Stay tuned to see what other changes happen with my muscles!

Happy Halter Dress - Simplicity 4581

I have had this pattern in my to-sew box so long it is now out of print. This is unfortunate because it's a good little halter dress. I made the dress on the model and featured in the upper left-hand corner of this pattern envelope. Perhaps there's a Simplicity archive somewhere you can purchase this? This view I sewed calls for piping, I skipped that part.

Using a mustard colored cotton printed with juniper berries, I cut this out pretty quickly. I used their size 12 and actually graded up to a 14 in a couple spots. This proved a bit problematic later on when matching seams but I was glad I did. I have a big rib cage and it wouldn't have fit otherwise. No joke. Small chest, big rib cage. We all have our faults. And as we know, sizing on patterns is typically cut smaller than ready-to-wear clothing. In dresses I am always a 10, an 8 in certain cuts and on a good day! If you didn't know patterns do not necessarily equal ready-to-wear sizing, learn it now or face much sadness with your seam ripper.

                                                                       Here I am!

Windy!

The halter on this is lined by the middle bodice section and the skirt aren't. I'm considering adding a lining to the skirt. I haven't worn it in the sun yet to see how see through it is but a little modesty never hurt anyone, right?



No warning from photographer



From the back - still windy

I'm really happy with the way it turned out. The pattern didn't have anything too tricky to it as far as skills go: some gathers, invisible zipper, fitting the halter. That's about it. It only took me a couple sessions with my machine to finish too. I'm hoping no one will look too closely at the side seams on the bodice. They cough-don'tquitematchup-cough. I forgot to take into account the fact that I used a combination of sizes. Oh well. It's not that noticeable with the print on the fabric......I hope.

If you can get your hands on this out of print pattern, don't hesitate to stitch it up. Can't wait to wear it as the weather continues to warm up this spring!

This dress kicked off a sewing roll for me. Watch out for lots more projects in the coming weeks. I can't be stopped!

March Running Round Up

March went much better than February in my running world. I'm off the Aleve, mostly. Sometimes I take one before a run, when I remember. I still have the pain in my right hamstring but it's a lot less prevalent. The doctor suggested physical therapy but for now, I've declined. I'm learning that a good stretch regularly, foam rolling and yoga help keep the pain at bay.

Running makes your muscles SUPER tight. I never knew the meaning of that until I started running twice as many miles a month as I used to.

Here's how it played out for March:

Mar 3: 3.5 mi in 32:00, neg splits, pain toward end
Mar 4: 6 mi in 57:11, avg pace 9:35, pain last 2 miles
Mar 10: 3.3 mi in 29:45, neg splits, would have done 4 sub36 but ran out of time
Mar 11: 6.5 mi in 61:41, longest run yet 10:00/9:42/9:23/9:16/8:46/8:41/5:00
Mar 13: 3.4 in 29:53, 1 aleve only, 9:01/8:46/8:36
Mar 17: 3.6 mi in 36:00, first outside run - no aleve, some pain
Mar 18: 4 mi TM, 1 aleve 9:51/9:41/9:28/9:22
Mar20: 3.45 mi in 29:45, 1 aleve, 8:36/8:25/8:07-fastest mile yet!
Mar 24: 4 mi outside in approx 40 min, no aleve had pain
Mar 25: 4.5 mi in 41:40, 9:15 pace, leg pain :(
Mar 27: 3.35 mi in 30:00, no aleve, no pain- walked Sadie beforehand
March 30: 3.4 mi in 32:04 9:51/9:31/9:20, pain halfway

49 miles

Not too shabby, eh? Did you see that 8:07 mile in there? Fastest for me, EVER! The pain is still there, yes, but I'm learning to manage it. I had two outside runs, first ones for 2012. I hate transitioning from the treadmill to the road. I feel so much slower and it's a lot harder to propel yourself down the sidewalk than it is on a rubber belt that's moving for you. My pace outside is all over the place, I know. I take some walk breaks, something I never have to do on the treadmill. It's a process, I suppose. I'll get there. Maybe this month I'll actually hit the 50 miles that I've been striving for.

Warmer temps in April and a beach trip coming in 6 weeks? Better keep on, keepin' on.

Recipe Reblog #11

Something exciting for you today! Breakfast outside of the box.

Breakfast Quesadillas: My sister passed this recipe along to me so we have her to thank today. These are sweet breakfast quesdillas using items you very likely have on hand. All it really takes is tortillas, cream cheese and fruit! I used strawberries because they are super sweet right now, plus I had a coupon. My sous chef and I cooked these up quickly on a Saturday morning. They hit the spot! Healthy breakfast with fruit and protein minus eggs? I'm in!

Happy April Fools Day, fools!