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Mon, June 24^th – Day 17 - 3:30min walk warm-up and one mile in 10:06, followed by 1.15mile walk with Molly – had a rushed morning, so I needed to cut our walk short.

Tues, June 25^th – Day 18 - 3:30min walk warm-up and one mile in 10:00, followed by 1.74mile walk with Molly in the morning and prenatal combo fitness class after work.

Wed, June 26^th – Day 19 – Preggo biathlon - one mile treadmill run at 6mph pace, followed by 1000yards in the pool.

Workout –

3x {100 free, 100, back, 100kick}

50free

50back

And we took Molly for a 1.77mile after dinner.

Thurs, June 27^th – The running streak ended.  I am sad about this, but I was having a bad food day.  Everything was going right through me, so I didn’t think running after work was the best idea.  I can’t feel too bad that I didn’t make the 31-days, I’m 28weeks pregnant and carrying an extra ~12lbs.  How many preggo women do you see out there running??  My mom ran and played tennis up until my birth, so it might just be in my genes.  I still want to do my mile runs, but it might be more like running every other day or every few days.  I am at 159miles running for the year, so my 200mile goal is 100% achievable!!!

We did walk 1.86miles with Molly later that night.

Fri, June 28^th – Day 1 (or day 20) - 3:30min walk warm-up and one mile in 10:06, followed by 1.6mile walk with Molly.

Sat, June 29^th – Day 2 (or day 21) - 3:30min walk warm-up and one mile in 10:17, followed by 2.86mile hike at the same trail we did last week with Molly and G.

Sun, June 30^th – Sleep in morning!!  It was a late night out hanging with friends, so we didn’t take Molly for a walk until 10am – hot!!  We walked 1.83miles.

Hope you had a great workout week!

ELH

Another shout out to Nadeau!

Love Love Love this furniture store.  If I had a BIG house, everything would be from Nadeau.
Remember my recent post about my new friend - the small cabinet in our living room?  Love Nadeau!  And I can't recommend it enough.

G's brother recently moved from into a big house and they were in need of a solid wood table.  They mentioned looking at typical furniture stores and Cost Plus World Market, but finding solid wood and not particle board was turning out to be more difficult.  Of course when I heard this, I immediately told my SIL you need to check out Nadeau.  I am sure you can find the perfect solid wood table for ~$600-800.  The pricey part will be chairs and that they don't usually sell "dining room sets."

So I was surprised and excited to see this picture in my inbox last night -

In-laws new kitchen table!

If you are in the market for furniture or just like to shop find your local Nadeau and check it out!
-ELH

WWW - a day late, but not a buck short!

Mon, June 17^th – Day 10 – “Preggo biathlon” - 1mile treadmill run @6mph pace, followed by 1000yards in the pool.  I like these workout days, since I do everything in a gym ~5pm, so I can sleep until 7am in the morning!  Ah the small things!

Workout –

200 free

100 back

100 free kick

100 breast stroke kick

6 x 75 – 50 swim, 25 kick – odds free, evens back

50 free

Tues, June 18^th – Day 11- 3:30min walk warm-up and one mile in 10:18, followed by 1.6mile walk with Molly in the morning and then prenatal combo fitness class in the evening.

Wed, June 19^th – Day 12 - 3:30min walk warm-up and one mile in 10:04, followed by 1.61mile walk with Molly in the morning and then prenatal yoga in the evening.  Working out like a champ!

Thurs, June 20^th – Day 13 – “Preggo biathlon” – 1mile treadmill run @6mph pace and 1000yards in the pool.

Workout –

3x {100 free, 100, back, 100kick}

50free

50back

Fri, June 21^st – Day 14 - 3:30min walk warm-up and one mile in 9:45, followed by 1.6mile walk with Molly.

Sat, June 22^nd – Day 15 - 3:30min walk warm-up and one mile in 9:55.  We then took Molly for a hike near a local river.  It wasn’t too hot and the trail was well covered with shade.  We did 3.5miles in an hour and a half and had an elevation gain of 537ft.  Going up hill is extra hard on me.  I just get so winded.  Cooking a baby is hard work!

Sun, June 23^rd – Day 16 - 3:30min walk warm-up and one mile in 9:52, followed by 2mile walk with Molly and G.  All of our legs were tired from yesterdays hike.  

What workouts have you been upto?  I really like this mile a day challenge and am up to ~156miles running this year.  My goal is at least 200 for the year.  Had I told you?  I figure that I won't be running in August, September, and October.  I'd like to try and get back to some running in November and December, but wanted to set myself up for success to reach my 200mile goal while I still can!  I would say I am on track :)

Enjoy!

ELH

Spring 2013 Book Review

Happy 1st official day of Summer!!

Can you tell that I am catching-up with posts?
Spring 2013 is designated at April 1st - May 31st.  The shortest "season" of the year for my reading, which explains why I only read 5 books!  Technically the first 2 in the list I listened to and the last 3 I read really paper books!

My reviews -

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler, 4 stars

I would classify this book as a historical fiction following the life of Zelda Fitzgerald, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife.  I enjoyed this book and enjoy reading about the "other side" of famous men.  I read The Great Gatsby in high school, but don’t remember it all.  I would like to reread some of his work.

I would also recommend checking out The Paris Wife by Paula McLain (about Earnest Hemmingway’s wife), Mary: Mrs. A. Lincoln by Janis Newman, and Loving Frank by Nancy Horan (about Frank Lloyd Wright’s unofficial wife.)

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, 2 stars

I didn't realize this was a squeal book...opps!  #2 in the Thomas Cromwell Trilogy.  The summary on Goodreads makes the book sound amazing and really good.  It wasn't.  Maybe if I had read the first book in the series, I would have liked this book more, but I don’t think I will do that!
I did like the perspective from "He, Cromwell" but it was a slow and boring book.

Divergent #1 by Veronica Roth, 4 stars

Do you miss the Hunger Games? Are you watching Revolution on NBC? If you said yes, then this is a great book series. It follows a female protagnist through a modern revolution set in Chicago. It is a fast read and I am looking forward to the next in the series. My only negative, is because it is such a fast read you will want the next 2 books immediately and the third and final book isn't out until October 2013. So you may want to wait a few months to start the series!

Insurgent #2 by Veronica Roth, 2 stars

This book was lacking and didn't really add anything to the series. It made plenty of allusions to a larger force/being/cause to why the factions were fighting/being taken over, but nothing was made clear. However, in the final chapter Roth, does help the reader out and provide a major clue that will make you want to read the final book. I just hope that Tris' character will grow-up and stop repeating her same behavioral patterns. It started to get annoying and made her character unlikable. 

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, 3 stars

I bought this book as a recommendation from reading The Night Circus, not sure about that connection. It was a good book, similar to a Dan Brown theme with hidden historical secrets, but with a Google twist!

What books have you been reading?  Any recommendations?

I am currently listening to Paris: The Novel by Edward Rutherfurd and Wool (books 1-5) by Hugh Howey.  Both are excellent books so far!

Enjoy!

ELH

Artichoke is 7!

I am a bad fur-mom... I missed Artichoke's unofficial 7th birthday!
But don't worry, she got her kitty treats and gets lots of daily loving!

To celebrate, here are some pictures of when she was a kitten.  After I brought her home she got a flee bath!

She still likes to get into drawers!

Love this kitty!

-ELH

WWW

Mon, June 10^th – Day 3 – 3:30min walk warm-up and one mile in 10:12, followed by 1.62mile walk with Molly.

Tues, June 11^th - Day 4 – 3:30min walk warm-up and one mile in 9:54, followed by 1.57mile walk with Molly in the morning and prenatal combo fitness workout – sort of jazzercise for preggo girls in the evening.

Wed, June 12^th – Day 5 – 1mile in 10:32, followed by 1mile at work in the morning, followed by prenatal yoga in the evening.

Thurs, June 13^th – Day 6 – 3:30min walk warm-up and one mile in 9:45, followed by 1.63mile walk with Molly in the morning and then swimming after work!!

I did 100yard, flip turns and all!

Workout –

200 free

100 back

100 free kick

100 breast stroke kick

200 IM (3R, 3L, 3 fly for the butterfly)

4 x 75 – 50 swim, 25 kick – odds free, evens back

Fri, June 14^th – Day 7 – 3:30min walk warm-up and one mile in 9:54 followed by shorter walk with Molly (running late!) 1.36miles.

Sat, June 15^th – Day 8 – Today was a little different – I brought Molly with me for the run.  We started out with a 0.5mile walk (got to get the poop out and in the trash!), 1mile run @11:05 (slower than usually because we were going down a hill and I didn’t want Molly to pull me over – probably not the best idea!), followed by a 2mile walk home!

Sun, June 16^th – Repeat of Saturday’s run with Molly but a different path – 0.5mile walk, 1mile run @10:47, and 2.7mile walk.

I am enjoying this 1mile a day running thing!  Originally, I didn’t have a set goal for how long I would do this, but now I am thinking I could make it a 31-day challenge or as-many-day challenge as my body will allow.  So for the week – 7miles running and 13miles walking!  Pretty good!

St. Johns picture

Some of my favorite pictures from the trip -

Trunk Bay

Trunk Bay

Trunk Bay

Reef Bay Trail petroglyphs

Cruz Bay

Enjoy!
ELH

Workout update

Tue, May 28^th – No official workouts for the next week!  Beach vacation to St. Johns US Virgin Islands!  The morning started out with a drive to the airport, plane to St. Thomas, drive the rental Jeep across island, car ferry to St. Johns, and then pool time!

Wed, May 29^th – Ferry to Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Island for a day at the beach!  We visited the Soggy Dollar Bar and Foxy’s.  We did walk to the first beach and it was a roller coaster hike!

Thurs, May 30^th – Another roller coaster hike to Honeymoon beach on St. Johns.  At least this time, it was a hiking path on not on the main road!  The water is so clear blue!  We spent the morning at the beach (snorkeled and saw 2 sea turtles!!) and the afternoon at the pool and napping!

Fri, May 31^st – We drove completely around the island and had lunch at Skinny Legs in Coral Bay.  The afternoon was pool and naptime!

Sat, June 1^st – Trunk bay beach time in the morning and pool/nap time in the afternoon.

Sun, June 2^nd – We did the Reef Bay hike down to see the petroglyphs – 4miles round trip with 700feet of elevation change!  It was a tiring hike back, with a well-deserved jump into the pool when we got home!

Mon, June 3^rd – Last day in paradise – we spent the morning at Cinnamon Bay beach and the afternoon at the pool. 

Tues, June 4^th –  Time to go home… actually it was a perfect day to head home since it was thunder storming all morning.  St Johns is a beautiful place and I highly recommend visiting.  If we do go again, we would get a small group of people (~6) and charter a boat for the week.  That way you can boat around all the islands and enjoy lots of beautiful beaches.

Wed, June 5^th – We woke up and took Molly for a 1.6mile walk before long days at work!  Starting back slowly from vacation.

Thurs, June 6^th – I was a little lazy and didn’t want to run, so I took Molly for 3.1mile walk in the morning.

Fri, June 7^th – Another lazy running morning that turned into a 3.1mile walk with Molly.

Sat, June 8^th – Running…. So here’s the thing…. Running has been hard for me this year…. Have you noticed?  Right now I am have gained ~12lbs since January – baby weight!  I am 26weeks pregnant!  

Little Chub will be joining us in September!

Within the past week, doing normal things have really gotten hard for me and I get out of breath easily.  Definitely time to really slow down with my workouts.  I still want to do some sort of daily workout and running.  The new plan it to keep up with my weekly prenatal workout class (previously referred to as my "ladies" workout!), start swimming, and run 1-mile each day!

 

I started the 1-mile running plan today (I saw 31-day 1-mile running challenge on pinterest and thought this might be good for me) after feeling awful pain in my side after my scheduled 1-mile walk break. Some running is better than no running.

I also have a running goal - 200 miles for the year.  I am at ~136miles.  I would like to be somewhere around 150-160 by the end of July, and then run 40-50mile in November-December.  Seems pretty reasonable and doable!

Back to Saturday's workout –

3:30min warm-up walk

1mile @ 9:46

2:12min walk break

0.24miles @10:19 – felt awful

1.5mile walk home

Got Molly and G and we went for a 1.83 mile “cool-down” walk.

I also did some arm work with my 10-lbs weights.  Need to keep my arm definition!

Sun, June 9^th – Day 2 of the 1-mile run plan.

3:30min warm-up walk

1mile @ 9:35

1.75 mile walk with Molly and G.

How have your workouts been going?  Keeping any secrets?

Enjoy!

ELH

Dresser staining

Over the long weekend I tried out staining an old dresser (13 years old) a darker color.  I decided on Minwax PolyShades (stain and polyurethane in one) in American Chestnut.

The dresser was a light honey color before -

I sanded it with 80 grit paper and followed up with 220 grit.  Wow 220 grit paper is awesome!  It made the surface so flat and smooth.  Awesome!!

After the first coat -

Looking ok.  I liked the color, but not the finish.  The wood looked really dry.  I don't want it to be super shiny, but this look was bad.

After some more reading on the Minwax website, I decided I just need a clear polyurethane coat in semi-gloss.  The PolyShades only comes in satin.  Opps!

Before I bought the clear polyurethane, I had some touch-ups on the front of the dresser and the second coat really made the difference (sorry no pictures).  I let it dry overnight before I decided what to do on the rest of the dresser....

It needed a second coat!
I guess stain and paint are the same, the second coat makes all the difference!

I am going to let the dresser dry/outgas for ~a week before moving it inside and taking finished pictures, but I love how it looks.

Oh, since I didn't open the polyurethane and it isn't a special mixed paint, I'll probably return it and save ~$12 on my project!

Tips for wood staining -
1. Double check the wood chips for the stain finish.  If you are looking for something more than satin, then I wouldn't get PolyShades.
2. Trust the directions - do a second coat before making any opinions on your work.
3. Definitely get mineral spirits to clean up the brush.
4. Work in a well ventilated area!  Even though I was outside, I wore a respirator and didn't smell a thing!

Happy staining!
ELH  

May mileage

22.86miles running

31.68miles walking

My latest knitting project!

Yearly totals - 136.74miles running, 149.88miles walking

Enjoy!

-ELH