Week 1 Fitness Update

Girls Weekend 2013

Well yesterday marked the end of week 1 of my fitness challenge with Mr. J.  I'm going to attempt to give you a recap although my brain has never fully recovered from having kids!  I swear baby brain is REAL & NEVER goes away!

Monday I had every intention of working out.  Never happened :(  BUT my eating wasn't too bad! Although I ate a doughnut and regretted that ALL day.   I am gluten free and trying dairy free for a month so my choices of foods are usually pretty healthy.  But I was having an emotional day and the doughnut was talking to me and I gave in.  My stomach then yelled at me the rest of the day!

Tuesday I started the 10 week program of T25!  If you have ever heard of Insanity or P90x, it's by the same company (Beachbody).  The guy that leads the workouts, Shaun T, is a AMAZING!  He is super energetic & positive.  He doesn't yell at you (like some trainers, Jillian Michaels!).  He constantly shows you the modified exercise and encourages you to do that if you need to or feel like you need a break.  The workouts are only 25 min.  And when he says 25 that's what he means!  He even shows a timer so you know how much longer he is going to torture keep you working! And for only being 25 min you CAN feel it the next day and you WILL be sweating like a pig!  Again my eating wasn't too bad.

Wednesday, looked a lot like Tuesday.  Another T25 workout DONE!  This one was called Speed 1.0.  Its like a cardio workout but with stretching.  Very fun! And food choices weren't horrible.

Thursday (Thanksgiving!)  My workout was an early morning hilly (and chilly) 4 mile run!  Which I PR'd (personal record) and you are sure to hear about that every time I talk about this race. Sorry NOT SORRY! My food choices were surprisingly not bad.  They weren't great but for it being Thanksgiving I ate a lot of veggies and paced myself.  I never felt overly full or sick.  I'm pretty proud of myself.

Friday, OH FRIDAY!!  Can we just not talk about Friday? Please?! No workout, and my food choices?  Nauseating to say the least!  No breakfast, a small (about a cup) helping of plain gluten free spaghetti, and then by the time supper rolled around I was SO hangry I wanted to hurt someone. Just in case you don't know, hangry = hungry + angry.   I honestly texted a couple friends that I would kill for some nachos.  When I get hangry you better WATCH OUT!  So what did I do?  Called Mr. J, who was out hunting, and made him bring me home some Taco Bell.  And not just Taco Bell, a nachos bell grande, a mexi melt, AND a chili cheese burrito.  And I ate it ALL!!!!!  Yep that's more gluten in one meal than I've had in a month and all of it covered in cheese!  Can I just tell you within about 30 min I was in tears.  I have never felt so sick in my life.  Stomach flu had nothing on dairy & gluten that night.  Regretfully Thankfully I never got sick but it was torture!

So that was my roller coaster of a week!  I looked at my calendar today (in the 5 seconds I had to myself!) and discovered that I am so busy I may have to schedule time to eat!  Oh and our Christmas trees (yes 2) are both half lit with no decorations.  I really must get on that too!  But our Christmas dishes are washed and put in the cupboard!  I had coffee out of one this morning & felt super holidayish (is that a word?).

Well, I'd better post this since it's already 10:30pm!!  I am teaching tomorrow at church.  I help lead worship for Pre-K, Kindergarten, & 1st grade.  It is SO fun!  I get to jump around, and dance, and sing, and act crazy, and see these little people learn about God!  It's the highlight of my week! So I'd better get to bed so that my dancing feet are ready to go!  

Love, Lacey

Thanksgiving Recap

K & I at our Thanksgiving Morning Run

What a GREAT Thanksgiving!  K & I started our day off with our annual Galloping Gobbler race.  It was a balmy 23 degrees, with 8 mile an hr wind & a 30% chance of snow! Our local running company had a promotion that if you got your picture with the live turkey in front of their banner you got a special offer! So obviously we had to do that!   I even pet the hen after we got done!  By the way she was soft and sweet! Although she looked a little creepy at first! I worried about the safety of my eyes!  So after our party with the turkey, K & I got ready to run.  And run we did!  We both got a PR (personal record!).  I was VERY happy with 44:30 on a hilly 4 miles.  I'm not a fast runner but I do love it!

My outfit of the day!

So after our race I came home and got ready to head to my in-laws!  I wore some black leggings from Walmart ($8!), a burgundy bat wing top also from Walmart ($5 on clearance!), a brown & gold scarf from who knows where cause I've owned it so long.  And some brown riding boots from Kohls ($60 about 2 years ago!) For hair and make up I went minimal.  I was so comfy but looked great! So I asked Mr. J to take a picture & then we were off!

View from my in-laws house

Normally I would now insert a picture of my food but I have two problems.  One, my food was not that exciting!  Being gluten free & dairy free there wasn't a lot of the normal Thanksgiving food.  And Two, I just completely forgot!  By the time we ate I was STARVING!! But I did include a picture of the field behind my in-laws.  If you look on the left side of the picture by those bushes, those little dots are actually black Angus cows!  I just love the country.  I love taking a walk around their property because it's so quiet and the view is great!

All in all it was a successful Thanksgiving!  We all ate till we were stuffed!  A few even took naps (wish I was one!).  And at the end of the night we came home, put the kids to bed, and then Mr. J and I watched "Christmas Vacation".  We love that movie and it's always our first Christmas movie of the season!

And just in case you were wondering I didn't really go black Friday shopping.  I woke up not feeling so well so I slept in a bit and then headed to our local running store for some good deals!  I'll try to post tomorrow my super cute jacket! But for now it's time to put up the tree!!

Love, Lacey

Happy Thanksgiving!

As you are reading this I will be running my annual Thanksgiving race!  The Galloping Gobbler has been a tradition for me & my birth mom (K) for the last 4 years.  I love this race! It's a hilly 4 miles (no I haven't done the 8 yet! I just don't have time that morning.) that goes from a local college out through a cemetery and then back to the college.  I know it sounds creepy and weird running through a cemetery but this particular one is just gorgeous.  In fact I had some pictures taken of me & my car (senior picture style) there quite a few years ago.  There are some really old graves and some graves that I believe are written in Russian. There are a few really gorgeous big statues too. One in particular stands in the part of the cemetery that I THINK is the children's area.  It's a GIANT (like 12+ foot) angel. It's always a bit emotional running past there but another good reminder to hug my crazy babies a little tighter.  But my FAVORITE part?! I don't feel guilty having that second piece of pie! In fact a couple years back I was really struggling the last half a mile to the finish and the lady running beside me said  "Just focus on the pie!"  and I named (in my head) the different types of pie and rated them in order of most to least likely to have multiple pieces.  I know!  I have issues and running brings out how crazy I really am! 

ANYWAYS!  I hope you all have a super Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you eat until you have to unbutton your pants!  I will be wearing leggings so I can eat and not worry about fitting into my clothes! I will make sure to take lots of pictures and give you a full run down of my Thanksgiving on Friday.

Speaking of Friday!  Who is going Black Friday Shopping?! I'm on the fence about it this year. Last year I got better deals & bought more on line than I did when I was out shopping all night. So I'm on the fence.  I'm sure it will be a last minute decision tomorrow.  But I'll let you know! I know some of my friends have already been shopping today on line!  I guess I'd better go and get some shopping done now!  

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Love, Lacey

Thanksgiving Musing

Those are wild turkeys!

This may be a rambling post but it's one I have had on my heart for a few days and knew I had to post.

As Thanksgiving approaches, my friends and I have been talking about where we are going and what we are doing on Thursday.  Some were going out of town, some to in laws, and some were staying home.  But one thing that we all had in common was that there was at least one person that we were not looking forward to seeing.  The list of people ranged from in laws to siblings to grandparents (and everyone in between!) but we all seemed to have at least one person we were dreading.  And as Thanksgiving approaches I had a couple of thoughts and have been convicted by the spirit to reflect on my attitude and how much I am blessed. I have two thoughts I wanted to share.

The first thing I was reminded of is that I get to choose who I want to spend Thanksgiving with.  We have sort of a tradition to go to my in laws for the day but I choose to go.  I could say no or fain being sick but I do have the choice to go. A picture of those serving in our military is brought to my mind. A picture of men and women who are serving either overseas, in a war zone, or (in the case of our family) stationed far from home. Those men and women have dedicated their lives to our country. They don't get to choose where they live or where they go. They don't get the chance to complain about seeing that annoying brother-in-law or dread hearing the same questions from Great Aunt Molly. I can't even put into words how thankful I am for the sacrifice they have made for us. But I can't help but feel a guilty complaining about my plans when some of them are serving so far from those they love. 

The second thing that comes to mind is that as a christian I am to show Christ's love to everyone around me. I am currently reading a book called "Just give me Jesus" by Anne Graham Lotz.  I am only on chapter one and I'm already in love! I could probably write a whole post about the book (and maybe I will) but I want to share a few quotes from the book that really just stuck with me.   "When you and I live lives that reflect Jesus, His light in us reveals the darkness of sin and rebellion and ignorance in the world around us.  This may begin to explain why your old friends have rejected you or your coworkers avoid you or your neighbors shun you.  If they are living in darkness, the light in you makes them uncomfortable."  Have you ever had someone that didn't like you and you just couldn't figure out why.  Maybe this is why?   This is not to say I'm perfect.  I am SO far from it!  I mess up daily! There are some days I wonder how God doesn't just give up on me.  But PRAISE Him he doesn't! 

Matthew 5:14&15 says "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put i under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." We are called to shine our light to EVERYONE around us.  We aren't called to only share Christ's love with those who look, think, or act exactly like us. I can't help but think that not everyone in every family  knows Christ.  Maybe that aunt that is so annoying really just needs Christ's love. Or maybe that grandpa that is chronically grumpy just needs to hear that Christ loves him or that YOU love him.  We are called to shine our light. We are called to stand out to others.  To be that person that others look at and wonder what is different?

I am NOT perfect in this.  I have people in my family and Mr. J's family that annoy the crap out of me. People I just dread seeing! Ask the Six Pack, some of them have heard me complain all week (and probably half the month!) about a few people on my list! Just so you know, I'm witting this post for you but I am reading it and taking it to heart too.  A friend of mines husband's grandfather passed away yesterday.  And I can't help but think of how short life is. I can't help but think that walking around mad or upset or disliking someone is NOT how I want to spend my life.  I'm not saying I'm going to like everyone I come across but I need to show them Christ's love and the joy that He has given me. 

So my prayer is that we will all remember how blessed we are this Thanksgiving.  We have a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food on the table. My heart reminds me that not everyone has that and I need to be more thankful for all that I have been blessed to have. 

Love, Lacey

How to remove difficult nail polish

Happy Monday! Today seems like a Makeup Monday! So I'm going to show you how to remove stubborn nail polish! We have all had it, that glittery nail polish that just won't come off.  Or that DARK red or purple or black that seems to stain your nails.  Here is a quick tutorial on how I remove my nail polish (glittery or not).

So here are my nails! This is the new Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat polish in the color All Yarned up. If you don't know what this polish is, it is basically like a chunky glitter/confetti/sprinkle type polish.  It's a cute polish but its not easy to get off!

First, I take a cotton ball and unwrap it. It should unwrap into a long continuous piece of cotton.  I tear the long piece into about 5 or 6 chunks per cotton ball.  Then I pour some of my nail polish remover into the cap of the bottle. Be very careful not to spill.  I usually do this on a table or at our kitchen counter.  I use 100% pure acetone remover.  I know it's not the healthiest for your nails but my nails are strong and it works great for me!

Then take one of those cotton pieces and dip it into the remover.  Be careful not to soak up too much remover as you don't want it to drip everywhere. Then simply lay it on your nail.  Make sure the wettest part of the cotton piece is touching the nail itself.  That is what will allow it to soak the polish or glitter off. 

I usually leave the cotton on my nails for between 1 and 3 minutes.  It just depends on what polish is on my nails.  If it's glitter (or something like this fuzzy polish) I leave it on 3 minutes.  If it's just a regular polish, 1-2 minutes will be fine.  Once your time is up simply use the cotton that is on each nail and wipe them off.  If you have some still left around the edges take another cotton ball soaked with remover and simply wipe them down it should come off pretty easily. 

And there are my nails all clean!  It all came off pretty easily considering that it was a lot of glittery type pieces on my nails.  And you can see the crazy blue color that I painted them next! I hope you try this method of taking off polish the next time you are ready to change your polish. Hope you have a happy Monday!

Love, Lacey!

Saturday Morning

One of my MANY mugs

Saturday mornings tend to be a bit lazy and laid back around here.  It's currently deer hunting season so that means Mr. J gets up before dawn and heads out to his stand to wait.  This also means he wakes me up in the process.  Lucky for him I'm not a morning person and can go back to sleep easily.  Usually the kids wake me up around 8 or 8:30 and ask me to make them breakfast.  We usually have breakfast and then just hang out and watch cartoons.  I say USUALLY because that is how it usually goes.  NOT TODAY!

Today Mr J woke me up at zero dark thirty by turning on almost all the light in our room.  Seriously husband?  I'm trying to sleep!  Then the children woke me up at 8 to tell me that they couldn't find that cat.  He's probably hiding from your little "loving" hands!  They then proceeded to tell me that they broke the handle off the microwave and needed help with breakfast.  Cue me wanting to cry because I could tell what kind of day it's going to be.  

I go out to the kitchen and sure enough the handle it broken, AGAIN!  This is the 3rd time in the 3 years we have lived here that the handle has broken.  We are too cheap to buy a new microwave so we just keep gluing it back on.  And then I hear the cat crying.  Where is that coming from? I walk around the kitchen and then I realize it's coming from the garage.  Mr. J must have left the door open and the cat thought he would go out and explore.  Poor thing was scared to death. That's what you get for going out in the garage.  I opened the door and called him a few times and he reluctantly came out from under that van. He ran inside and then scarfed down his breakfast.  

So by 9am the cat is fed and rescued, the children are fed and fighting, and I have my coffee and have gone back to bed to watch TV.  Then Mr. D comes to tell me they are still hungry and need toast.  OK fine I'll come make toast.  "No mom!  I can make it!"  Alrightly then.  We will see how this turns out!  Now the thing you need to know about our toaster is it's more temperamental than a hungry pregnant woman.  If you even so much as look at the light/dark dials it will burn your toast faster than you can say YEAH TOAST! Well my sweet, loving, caring, 7 year old decides to turn the dial up to 3.  Anything past 0 (maybe a 1 if you are lucky) is charcoal.  So all of a sudden I hear him tell his brother "The smoke alarm is going to go off".   I come out to the kitchen and sure enough it's filled with smoke and just then the smoke alarm goes off.  This in and of itself is not anything unusual.  I set the smoke alarm off at least once a week cooking dinner.  So much so that when it goes off the kids yell "Suppers ready!" (yeah that makes me feel good!) So as the smoke alarm is going off and I'm trying to get the burning toast out of the toaster, I hear the garage door.  Mr. J is home from hunting just in time to find me in my element.  PJ's on, hair a mess, the kids crazy and the house filled with smoke. 

It is now 10:30am.  The kids are playing upstairs, I'm FINALLY drinking my coffee (and writing this blog) and contemplating what I want to make myself for breakfast.  And Mr. J is curled up with a blanket & his iPad watching YouTube videos on how to brew your own beer.  I love our crazy little family.  Some day I'm going to reread this and smile at how crazy we all looked.  But for now I'm going to hide the toaster!

P.S. I went and saw Catching Fire last night!!  LOVED it!  I was so jumpy! My poor bestie on my right probably has bruises on her leg from me grabbing her! 

The Journey

I love this picture.  It always reminds me of a journey.  I love that you can see nothing but the path & the trees.  I took this picture on a run this past September.  I was on a girl's weekend with my besties (The 6 Pack) and I had a half marathon (13.1 miles) to run the next weekend so I couldn't miss my last long run.  On Friday morning two of the girls & I went out for a nice peaceful run.  I had never run this path before.  I didn't know anything about it other than it was safe, straight and went on for 34 miles so I knew I could do a nice easy out & back.

This picture also reminds me that I too am on a journey.  The path is long and some times winding but there is a start & a finish.  Although on my path there seems to be many starts and stops.  Many other opportunities to go down different paths. One of the paths that I have chosen is the path good health.  WAIT!!! Before you close my blog and say "Oh no!  Another health nut!"  That couldn't be farther from the truth! Why just yesterday I had McDonald's for lunch.  Now I don't make a habit of that but it was for good reason.  You see my husband's office is doing a weight loss/get healthy type challenge.  He has quite a bit of weight he would like to lose and in order to motivate him, we have placed a little side bet between the two of us.  Whoever loses the most % of weight wins!  What do you win? Glad you asked! I (yes I'm going to win!) will win a $100 gift card to a place of my choice.  The loser has to pay half of that with their own personal money!  AND, the winner can choose to make the loser go shopping with them!!

Now before we start all of this let me give you a little background.  I was a little overweight as a kid.  Not necessarily fat but I was not exactly small either.  I thinned out in high school (around freshman/sophomore year) but then packed on about 20ish pounds after graduation.  When Mr. J and I met, I weighted about 164.  I am about 5'4" on a good day.  So I wasn't huge and in our wedding pictures I look fine.  But I wasn't honestly happy with myself.  Before we had Mr. D, I started working out & lost about 20 lbs. But after we had Mr. S, I did Weight Watchers and lost about 20 lbs (those silly 20 lbs have come & gone about 20 times!).  And I kept that off until Miss V was born then I had to lose it all again.  ANYWAYS! All of that to say I'm smaller now than I was when I met & married the man of my dreams.  I'm happy for that.  But I also worked REALLY hard for it.  I became a runner after Miss V was born & have worked hard to get stronger and go farther and faster.

From our honeymoon in 2003

*DISCLAIMER*  I do NOT think I'm fat or need to lose weight.  I'm within the healthy weight for my height.  I would just like to tone up and build some strength to not only help with my body image but also to help with my running. 

So I thought I would take you on my fitness journey.  I don't know if I will actually be able to lose 10% of my body weight (thankfully Mr. J is giving me a 3% head start). But I am going to work on eating right and toning up.  I have an exercise plan and I'm sticking to it!

From Girl's Weekend in September

So here are a few of my stats!  I haven't taken before pictures yet so I'll save those until the after (Jan 20!).

Height: 5'4"
Weight: 140
Measurements
Chest: 36"
Waist: 35"
Hips:40"
Arms:
Left -11"
Right-11"
Legs:
Left-23"
Right-24"

I can't wait to share more of life with you!

Love, Lacey

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About Me

Here is that awkward first date introduction post I promised!

That's me! I'm Lacey, a 31 year old married mom of 3. I have been married to Mr. J for the last 10 years! (wow did that go fast!) I have been so lucky that for the past 6 years I have stayed at home with our kids and have tried to keep our household running smoothly. Our children are Mr. D age 7, Mr. S age 6, and Miss V age 4.  And YES they are very close together. And YES they were all planned!  It has been crazy busy but I love it! And I have tried not to let my stay-at-home status equal frumpy clothes or  lack of makeup.  I try to keep up with at least some of the latest trends but I also really LOVE classic pieces in a wardrobe.  I love dressing up but I also love dressing down. Nothing like jeans & a t-shirt to make you feel comfy (well maybe yoga pants would be better!)  I am  passionate about a lot of things and I LOVE to talk!  I hope to share more of who I am and what I love in the weeks to come!

To New Beginnings . . .

GOOD MORNING!

When I first dreamed up this blog, it was going to be a beauty & fashion blog dedicated to the savvy shopper.  But as I wrote posts and took pictures and got ready to launch something didn't feel right.  I am so much more than beauty & fashion.  I'm a complicated girl!  You see I love fashion and makeup but I also love running, singing, being a wife, being a mom, studying the bible, shooting guns, eating. And so much more!  I could fill a blog just with the things I love!

I decided as time went on not to launch my blog like I had planned but to launch what I hope will be like a public journal of sorts.  The name "Live, Laugh, Love, Lacey" seemed like a fun name and I think that is what I want my blog to be about.  About my life, what makes me laugh, what I love and generally just about me . . . Lacey!

I'm not sure how often I will post although I'd love to post everyday, but I will try to post at least a few times a week.  Maybe I'll have a tip for you.  Maybe I'll show you an outfit or a makeup I'm loving.  But I may just post a video I think is funny.  Or maybe a blog I'm loving! Or I could just tell you about an amazing run I had or some awesome food I ate!

I will post an introduction so you can get to know my family & myself a little better.  But for the most part we will just get to know each other over time.  I read a blog once that said introduction pages are kind of like first dates.  They tend to be a bit awkward & forced.  So I'd rather tell you a little about me & then take you on my journey!

So make sure you subscribe & check back!  And let me know if there is something you are loving or hating or want to see.  I'm here to share life with you!

Love, Lacey