Friday fun

I swear I'll be back next week with a real post (I have worked A LOT this week in addition to 5am wakeups for boot camp!)...but in the meantime this was too funny not to share.

I give you, the literal interpretation of "Party Rock Anthem."

HERE because Blogger is pissing me off and not embedding the video.

My favorite shot is of the guy shuffling the cards while the days of the week flash by, Grandparents Day, Arbor Day, etc. ("every day I'm shuffling"). Awesome.

Enjoy your weekend!

Creme de la Creme

As last year dragged on and we were stamped as “INFERTILE” in June, I started trying to read blogs about infertility. Since we weren’t sure what was going on (other than CP’s lower than normal “good” sperm), I tried to find blogs about male factor infertility. Surprise, surprise….there isn’t much out there. But as I searched further, I came upon a great infertility resource: Stirrup Queens.

Want to know more about adoption? Anovulation? Surrogacy? The various fertility treatments? The various infertility tests? Do you need a how-to video for injections? This is your site. It’s pretty amazing. Every year Mel, the woman that runs the site, asks bloggers to submit their best post from the past year for the "Creme de la Creme." She writes a little blurb about what the post is about and puts a link to every single post up on January 1st. So far there are 219 (!) entries (I’m #14. Looking back probably not a very good post, but oh well).

The Creme is not just about infertility issues though. It's about pregnancy losses (those posts will BREAK YOUR HEART), adoption, having to leave Facebook, and everything inbetween.

I obviously don’t have the time to go through ALL of the entries, but what struck me (and saddened me) about every single post that I did read was that when I looked at more recent blog entries, the blogger was STILL not pregnant. This happened in every single entry except for TWO. Disappointing. Disheartening. So many other words come to mind- but certainly none of them are particularly hopeful.

So as I continue to wait for my period to return, thinking ahead to our first IUI, I’m not very hopeful that it is going to work. *sigh*

Exhausted

Turns out getting up at 5am to workout every day this week makes this girl VERY TIRED.

I have been trying to make sure that I get in bed before 10pm but the past two nights have been hard. CP went to a concert Tuesday night as a fill-in for his friend’s sick wife. He didn’t get home until 11pm as I was drifting off to sleep. I was rudely awaken by the dogs who heard him come through the side door downstairs. They immediately barked (something that I’m okay with because a very loud and deep bark hopefully will scare off any would-be intruders) and ran downstairs. A sudden noise like that will send anyone’s heart racing!

Then last night I snuck out of a girl’s night event at 10:30pm so that I could head to bed. Because I was gone for the night, CP headed over to a friend’s house. When he got back at 11:30 he once again woke up the dogs with the same result of my heart racing again.

The result? Today I am EXHAUSTED. I had planned to run today after work but honestly? I just want to take a NAP. A bunch of my friends have come down with bugs this week so maybe I need to take tonight to rest so that I don't get sick? Maybe a run will have to wait until Saturday morning….

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So this morning I weighed myself prior to jumping in the shower. The first number I got was really high. I got off the scale, let it reset and got on again. Now I was 5.5 pounds lighter than the first number. Ummmm WHAT? I mean, I would LOVE to know how I lost 5.5 pounds in the span of 30 seconds. I’d like to do that more often!!

Maybe my scale needs new batteries??

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Sadly, this is my post for the day. My brain is not functioning on a high level right now and I can’t wait to leave work!!

Retirement

Friday night CP and I went to the MOST elaborate retirement party I have ever seen. It was similar to a wedding. Held in a hotel conference room there were centerpieces at each table, a color scheme (purple), a huge cake (shaped like a purse), passed appetizers, dinner buffet, a slideshow of pictures of the retiree and friends/family/coworkers, favors (mini bottles of Cooks champagne), speeches, a dance floor, DJ, and two hours of open bar. It was ridiculous.

Then again, the retiree is the coworker in my division that had been with the company for over 31 years. That is a LONG TIME to be at one place. People flew in from a couple different states to celebrate her working career. She has never been married and therefore has never had the pleasure (ha ha) of planning a wedding, so her retirement party WAS her wedding.

I am happy that she has retired because I am busier at work. I’m still not doing stuff that I LOVE but this will be my job for the foreseeable future so I just have to live with it. Having said that, my company just lost a great employee. While at times she was passive aggressive and rude, she did some great work and a wealth of knowledge just walked out the door.

I just hope that I can step into the big shoes she left behind. It doesn’t come with a pay raise or a promotion…but hopefully more personal satisfaction?

Have you ever attended an over-the-top party?

Weight loss challenge/ Boot camp

I joined the 10-pound Challenge hosted by Newlyweds on a Budget. Lose 10 pounds in 12 weeks, win $$$. Are you in?

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Two months ago a Groupon popped up for a boot camp class in my town. I convinced my friends to grab it and we decided to do the class together. They patiently waited while I recovered from surgery and we made a plan to start the class in January.

Well, our first class was yesterday and we have 30 days to get us whipped into shape (before the Groupon runs out). The workouts are based on Marine Corps workouts and remind me a bit of a Cross Fit workout. Today there were 6 different stations (burpees, medicine ball mountain climbers, moving planks, kettleball thrusts, large rope undulation, and TRX-assisted pikes) that we did for 30 seconds each before moving to the next station and getting ready for the next move within 15 seconds. After we did the circuit 4 (5? Ha! I don’t even remember!) times, we did burpees. LOTS of burpees. Sets and sets of burpees. Today was seriously the first time EVER I had the feeling that I might throw up during a workout (for the record I didn’t.)

I have no problems with the workout. It’s HARD and I am seriously out of shape (especially in my core because of the surgery). Most of the exercises seem to be for shoulders, core, or arms where most women (including me) have a lot of difficulty with strength. I wouldn’t mind more squats, lunges, etc. but I’m sure we will get to those. Plus I guess not doing as much lower body work is good if I am going to continue to try to run throughout the week (including today when I get home from work!).

But the trainers so far have yet to yell something at me that motivates me. For some reason I just want to tell them to SHUT UP. I would never think of talking back to Jillian Michaels like that while doing the 30 Day Shred. Maybe I like getting yelled at by a woman rather than a man? Maybe I just like more positive yelling?

Either way, I have 18 workouts left so I’m going to make the best of it and try to jump start getting back into shape. My friends both have kids so we are going to the 5:45am class which is SUPER EARLY for me. With my short commute these days I’m generally getting up around 6:30am. However for this class the 5am alarm is KILLER. But it is really nice to be done with my workout before heading into work. I wonder if I can continue to do that after the boot camp is over?

Do you exercise in the morning?

Waiting waiting waiting

When trying to conceive, EVERYTHING is a waiting game. Waiting for your period to end. Waiting for ovulation. Waiting to see if you get your period.

These past few months have been nothing but a big long waiting game- except it has been much longer than the usual “two week wait.” Once I found out that I had to have surgery, it was then waiting to get the Lupron shot that would shut down my ovaries. From there it was waiting to get a surgery date. Now it’s waiting to see when I will get my period again. In addition, it is waiting until February to start trying again.

By the time next month rolls around, we will have lost HALF A YEAR of trying to conceive because of the fibroid. The waiting has been especially frustrating because we aren’t getting any younger.

But it is really going to be odd when we start trying again because it will have been so long. I feel so removed when I read other bloggers in the midst of charting and patiently (or not so patiently) waiting the requisite two weeks. Do I feel removed because I am not charting? Because I haven’t had my period since the beginning of September? Is it because we have been so busy with Buster it has taken my mind off getting pregnant?

Knowing that we had to wait this long has resulted in less stress. I’m not stressed about wondering if I am pregnant or not. I don’t have to worry about whether I am in the mood at the right time of the month or not. With not trying there is no Googling of possible pregnancy symptoms. There is no check the underwear every time you pee drill. There is no question of whether I should or should not drink alcohol, dye my hair, eat sushi, etc.

But I would rather be back in the game, stressed or not. Crazy behaviors and all.

The waiting continues….

Running recap of 2011

Total miles run
2009- 117 miles

2010- 108 miles
2011- 256.55 miles

Miles per week

2009- 3 miles per week

2010- 3 miles per week
2011- 9 miles per week (despite taking Sept, Oct and Dec off)

Average Pace

2009- 13:03/mile (running/walking)

2010- 13:12/mile (running/walking)
2011- 11:53/mile

Calories burned

2009- 13,934

2010- 16,058
2011- 39,543

In 2010 my best month was November when I ran 21 miles.
In 2011 my best month was April when I ran 65.7 miles. That’s of course when I was training for the half marathon, so no surprise there.

Weight by month
March- 206
April- Not sure. One day I weighed 201, the next 207. I’m still confused about that one!
May- 202.5
June- 199
July- 198
August- 203
Sept- 205
Oct- 205
Nov- Forgot to do a post!
Dec- 211

I’m starting off 2012 with a weight of 209. Looking at the numbers above, it shows me just how important RUNNING is to losing weight. There is an OBVIOUS correlation in weight and the number of miles I put in running.

I MUST REMEMBER THIS while I am still trying to lose weight.

That being said, I’m pretty impressed with myself. Running 256 miles and burning almost 40,000 calories is awesome. While I may not get back into half marathon shape, I plan on being more consistent this year (PLANTAR FASCIITIS BE DAMNED!). I don’t want to call it a resolution, but…..