It's the action that counts!

So!....I once heard, "We judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intentions". I find myself sometimes going there these days. I am judging myself by what I am thinking and feeling, rather then what I am REALLY doing. So as I was out biking with a ladies group tonight I thought about going home writing a list of what I have DONE not what I have thought about it....so here goes......I DID show up for the bike ride (even though I thought of not going)....I DID make it up every hard long hill (even thought I though about getting off and walking)......I DO take care of my body by getting some sleep (even though some days I don't feel to worthy).....I DO let ALL my kids know how awesome they are daily (even thought I feel over whelmed with the responsibility of them).......I DO make a healthy good dinner for the family (even though by the end of the day I am so tired and done I can't think straight)........I DO go to bed with the thought of, "I'll try again tomorrow (even though I feel that some days were just a write off).....I DO keep finding ways to stay in motion (even thought I'm so tired I'm dizzy and I don't really look forward to it right now)....I DO keep getting back on the bike (even thought my Va-j-j screams at me PLEASE NO!!) ....WOW!! Ok that's pretty awesome!...there seems to be some pretty awesome things I'm doing right now.....what do you DO despite what you are thinking? Hope you're living in YOUR Awesome today!

Getting committed....

SO! I'm getting committed now! I have signed myself up for the Try-Tri distance at Kelso in Sept!!! EEEKKKK!!!... I know that signing up for a race is something that is helpful to help me stay in motion. I was just thinking about it too much and fear and self doubt was starting to creep in again. I have learned in the past that the best way to deal with that is just make a decision and move on!! So signing up for the race was me making the decision to keep and stay in motion and that's that!! I'm not sure what race day will look like but I'm just going to be taking it a day at a time anyways. Each week I am finding I am able to do more with less physical problems. Plus I am continuing to work closely with my medical team to ensure that everything I am doing is ok.....So as I registered I had a smile on my face as I typed in my race name 'Gail Van Awesome'! LOL! I love hearing them call that name as I cross the finish line :D.....SO! Van Awesome is BACK!!! I might not be as fast, as hardcore or as able as I once was but I have come to learn that 'VanAwesome' is my spirit, my attitude and my love for the life I have and the people in it...everything else is extra awesome! Hope you are living in YOUR Awesome today

Kicking PPD's a$$

Ok so! it's been interesting around here for sure. I have had some Post-partum depression issues coming up for me and things have become more challenging then normal. I am very lucky to have such awesome people in my life who are supporting me...one main one being my hubby Mr. VanAwesome. Often he has taking on a lot more then normal around here and with 3 kids in tow :D xoxo........The best way I can explain it is that the first voice that is in my head these days is the one that says, "I don't want to do that!" OR "Don't do it" OR "Just stop, just quit"...so I have to mentally battle past that first reaction to get down to the awesome thoughts of, "Let's do this!" OR "It's going to be awesome", "I love doing this!!"....I see how important it was for me to have set up such a ridge routine these last 3 years as I find myself still going through the motions even as I am thinking about how I don't want to do this...so I'll be heading out for another round on the bike and not wanting to, but doing it anyways or thinking about how I really want some crappy junk food right now but instead I am standing in the kitchen cutting up the veggies for a salad! LOL!....It's strange for me right now that my 'insides' don't match my 'outside' and that is a condition that I don't like, so I am taking it one day at a time. Some days I get tired of the battle, on those days the PPD kicks my ass and on other days I kicks it's, but my plan is to be at the winning end in the long run :D It's been really helpful to have the Mommy's/Babe's in Motion team to Coach on the Tues nights. It forces me to get out of my head, help others and get in motion...things that are the hardiest to do some days but end up helping me feel the best in the end. Like the other Tues night I was so tired and so down and just wanted to sit and cry... I felt like if I started crying I would never stop through. I went out to Coach the team and didn't want to break down in front of everyone...so I just kept my head down and started to bike with them, after awhile of biking, sweating and breathing hard and talking with and helping the other girls I felt awesome again...I was even able to run (I've been cleared to run now by my Pelvic floor therapist) it felt SO good to run and BOY did the baby fat on my ass juggle!!! Wholly shit!! It was just flapping in the wind I couldn't believe it, all I could do was laugh as I ran and it felt good to laugh and run!! I even went home after and ran again for another 20 mins....I ran and cried and ran some more...I wasn't sure why I was crying...because it felt so good to run again...because I'm sad about feeling sad?...not sure, but the main point was that I wasn't sitting at home 'in' it any more...I was out doing something about it...and the other good news was that I did stop crying in the end, went home had a shower and an awesome night sleep!...so for now the sweat and tears will clean where the shower can't reach. I hope you are living in YOUR Awesome today!!

Part of the group again...

So I must say that one of the times that I have found the hardest is when I go Coach on Tues nights the 70+ awesome woman of Mommy's/Babe's in Motion and they go out and bike and I have had to sit in the parking lot waiting for them to get back. I don't feel part of and I am missing out on being able to help these ladies while they are out there. WELL!! 2 weeks ago I brought my bike out to join them!!!...we were doing hill repeats on a really hard hill so I figured that I would just bike out with the ladies to the top of the hill, be there for them and bike back with them. I was so excited and nervous about it all day I couldn't stop thinking about it!! So I made it out to the hill and felt pretty good so I decided to do one hill and if I couldn't make it back up I would get off the bike and walk it up....as I was going up the hill and gearing down and feeling the burn in my legs the saying, "It's not going to be easy, it's going to be worth it" came to mind....so I kept peddling. When I got to the top I felt tired, sweat and out of breath...it was awesome!! LOL!!...after sitting to rest for a bit and talking with the team about how to gear properly going up hill I felt rested enough to do another hill!!...and so I did, as I got to the top again I started to cry because it felt so good to be doing something hard again and pushing myself through it. It makes me feel able, powerful, accomplished and of course awesome!! I thanked Scott at the top of the hill telling him that there was no way I could have done that on my old bike, the gears on the new bike are awesome and did a lot of the work for me that I couldn't do right now. Something else I was missing that I didn't even know about until I was able to do it again....I LOVE going down hill fast!!! I LOVE the the feeling...just like I am a kid again...so I always yell out WOOOOO HOOOOO!!!! or HEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAW!!!! as I go down it feels so awesome and makes me smile....just loved being able to hoot and yell again about enjoying something as I do it!! Hope you are living in YOUR Awesome!

Who is beside who?!

So the reason why I started this whole 'lets get up and be active and healthy' thing was so that I could be there beside my children in their life as they were active too. In June 2010 for the Moon in June race this is when it hit me that I had reached and was living my goal. My oldest, Nicholas who was 3.5yr at the time and I ran in the kids 1k race. I had tears running down my cheeks as we started the race running hand in hand and I looked down at him and saw his big smile as we ran along. Then in 2011 I was there again with Nicholas beside him as he had his first Triathlon experience....now recently as I am working myself back up I see something different happening. When I did my first race after having the baby a few weeks back Nicholas asked if me could join me on the 5.6k walk...

so along he came and we passed the finish line together...when I head over to my Moms in some evenings he to get in some swimming he comes along with me

.....and on my first bike ride he heard that I was going out and asked if he could come along...since I was just looping around my street I said "Sure"...in fact it was really nice to have him there as it gave me someone to talk to as I did my first ride and was a good distraction from the fear I was feeling....after that ride I thanked him for coming along with me and told him it ment a lot......that's when I thought to myself....'Who is really beside who now?' Hope you are living in YOUR awesome today!

Living through your stories :)

So recently I have had a few e-mails, messages, posts from other people sharing with me their stories of how they are living in their awesome. I just can't tell you how much this helps me these days! I love reading about how someone has committed to being healthy and active and finding anyway to follow through on that and since there is many things I am unable to do right now I enjoy hearing how others are doing it and how they feel so awesome afterwards...I live through that story....for instance here was a recent post....."Gail I just wanted to share with you ~ I went to bed last night and set my alarm for 5:15. My plan, to get up and go for a bike ride this morning (I hurt my foot this week and biking is the only cardio I can manage right now). So, the alarm goes off, I get up. I look outside and see rain...I stop, I think, I go back to bed. And then YOU showed up in my head!! LOL! All I could think was "that's not what Gail would do". So, I got up, got dressed and went out and had an awesome ride, in the refreshing rain! Thanks Gail!"....isn't that AWESOME!!! As I read this I had tears in my eyes as I smiled and I was 'feeling it' with her. I know it's not so 'awesome' when the weather is crappy and you just want to crawl into your nice warm bed again....but to follow through on your commitment to yourself is a great gift! I also imagined it was me out on that bike in the rain with the water wiping me in the face and dripping off my helmet. Riding through puddles and feeling the water splash up my legs and the spray from the back tire giving me a mud strip up my butt and back...oh yeah baby!! I LOVE IT!!! (in fact the above picture is of me out on my bike during the rain doing puddle 'repeats' 2 summers ago! LOL!...felt like a kid again!)....For a brief moment I was there with her and that to me right now is priceless. So I am so grateful for her taking the minute to post that to me and share her awesome moment.....now in the post she thanks me, but I didn't do anything!! SHE was the one who decided that doing it was going to happen and SHE made it happen. If there's something that I learn from this it's that I was 'on her radar' and that is why she thought of me in order to help her get up.....so going forward I will be sure to keep people who are committed to an active healthy life style on my 'radar' too...seems with a combination of commitment from self and having someone 'in your head' helps keep things moving....I mean there is another way this could have gone right!...maybe something like this..."I looked out saw it raining and went back to bed...then YOU were in my head and I thought this is not what Gail would do....and then I thought to myself....aww fuck what Gail would do, so I went back to bed" !! LOL!!.......So thank you Kathy for choosing to 'live in YOUR awesome' and sharing that with me...we will have to go for a bike ride in the rain together one day!! Hope you are living in YOUR awesome today!

Move, Rest, Recover....Repeat

So I must say things these days sure are going a lot slower then I am use to! From taking 50000 years to get out the door in the morning with all the kids to being able to fit in a swim, bike or walk. Man! if only I had realized before I had my third kid how much 'free time' I really did have I would have enjoyed it more! LOL!....it's all about perspective eh! So before, getting in 4-6 workouts/training sessions a weeks was no issue. I would wake up early or go in the evenings or if I only had a short amount of time I would just do a short hard workout. Well now I am unable to do that. With the baby up once a night to eat an early morning just isn't working for me now and having the kids all day I am wiped out and in bed at 7pm most nights. I also am not able to do a 'hard' workout in a short time as my body won't allow that right now....so what's a Mama to do?!!.....well just get MORE creative...us Mama's are good at that :D......I find I have to MOVE (workout or train) for a day or two then REST while my body RECOVERS and then REPEAT. So that means I have a few days of down time and I am not use to that, but I have to listen to my body (even when my mind is begging me to do more) I just can't take the chance! I have three awesome little boys I have to be able to keep up with for years to come. So this year is an important one! I have to build a strong body again....but do it SMART!! So my creative ways involve swimming circles around my Moms pool while the kids splash and play and sticking to 20min of biking around my streets....

which by the way I finally did on my new bike!!! and all I have to say about that new bike and it's awesome gears is that it's SWEET ASS!!!!!! LOL!!! OMG! I love it and I am really excited about getting back to my normal one day because I got plans for that bike! We are going to go places!! I even called Scott after I did my first ride on it to let him know just how sweet ass I thought it was LOL!....

of course the first thing I did before I got on the bike was take my pink ribbon that represents Meredith and put it on my new bike...I wasn't going to go without her. So I continue on as I move, rest, recover....repeat. I hope you are living in YOUR Awesome today!

My time....A tip!

So a little tip I have learned along the way as I have tried to fit in exercise and family. When I go for a walk/run on my own, I am sure to stay outside of the house while I do my stretches. I use to stop on the front lawn and do them before I went into the house, cause I found that as soon as I stepped in the house my kids would be on me about stuff and I would forget to stretch....however the kids now have caught onto this and come outside as soon as they see me! LOL! and I have noticed that with the nicer weather the neighbours are all sitting on their front porches....watching me! LOL!....so now I hide...oh I mean stop on the back path by my house and stretch just to make sure I get it in. I was proved right today as I came back from my walk and had stretched already... I was making my after workout smoothie and as soon as I hit the button on the smoothie maker my 4yr ran into the kitchen saying, "Can I have a smoothie too Mommy!??"...."Sure buddy!", so I wiped out all our reusable smoothie cups and made one for the 2 big kids, my hubby and me....a mothers work is never done LOL!

An obstacle is.......

An obstacle is what you see when you take your eyes off the goal :) I was thinking about this on my walk today. I feed the baby and put him down for a nap then checked in with hubby who was home to let him know that I was going for my walk and he was in charge of the three boys. So I set off with a goal in mind. To get in motion, and with the sun shining I knew that it was going to be awesome.....as I set off walking I cut thru a forest by my house. I try to walk/exercise in nature as much as I can cause I just feel that it gives me that extra boost. I had just entered the forest when up ahead I see a full tree had fallen across the path. I figured this was kinda funny, "Huh a tree is in my way" I thought. This is when I thought about obstacles being what you see when you take your eye off goal. So my goal that day was to get moving, get sweat, get some sun and live in my awesome. So I stopped at the tree and did standing push ups on it!! LOL!!....how smart is THAT!! I then ducked under it and kept going with a smile. That tree changed my whole walk! Now as I walked across the bridge I stopped and did some more standing push ups into a T reach....sweet now I'm getting an arm workout too!! In the end I walked about 5k, got sweaty, got some sun and felt awesome!!!! Goal accomplished!...no tree is going to stop me! LOL!! I hope you are living in your awesome today too!

Into action

Ok so it's been a big week around here. My first 'race' on Sat and my first bike ride on Wed. I finally just got tired of living in the fear and when people asked me if I had been on the bike yet I got tired of hearing myself say, "No, next week" So I went back to the basics and planned the day I was going to go and told people about it, because I know that I just can't go back and NOT do something after I have committed to it when it comes to being active. I had an idea in as to how it was going to go and of course it didn't go that way...instead it went just the way it was supposed to :) I had originally planned to go out with a girlfriend (another thing I did to ensure the ride would happen) but with 3 kids plans have to change a lot and sometimes at the last min, so I had to change the time and she wasn't able to join me then. Hubby was putting the little kids to bed and my 6yr heard me say to hubby that I needed my bike down to to go for a ride, "Can I come with you Mommy!?" he asked. I agreed that he could come since I was just doing loops around my street for 20min. I had to nurse the baby before I went out and Nicholas (my 6yr) sat beside me while I did. I told him that I was really excited that he was come with me, I explained that it was my first bike ride and that I was feeling really scared about it, "What do you think I should do about that buddy?" I asked. "Just breath" was his reply....I held back tears as I thanked him for the advise and realized in that moment though my own weakness I was teaching him how to be strong. So hubby got out the new bike and my heart was thumping so hard, the back tire was flat so hubby pumped it up for me. While we were doing this my 4yr saw us on the front lawn and came out, "Are you going on your bike Mommy?" he asked."Yes buddy I am" I told him..."yeah!! Mommies going on her bike!!" he yelled....my own little awesome cheerleading squad :) I hoped on the bike and started to go but hubby noticed that the back tire went flat again. So I got off and thought for a moment that this ride was not going to happen tonight....then the voice of awesome screamed loud and clear in my head....."You still have your old bike that's all tuned up and ready to go!!!" So hubby got it out for me... I tied back on the pink ribbon for Meredith to come along too and me and my son were off. I felt SO awesome! I thought I was going to be wobbly on the bike due to my weak core and back but I wasn't. As I rode down the street I could hear the wind in my ears and feel it on my face. "Woooo Hooo!!" I yelled out, I felt awesome!! We ended up doing 6 loops in the 20mins and I had to force myself not to go faster and further......"Just do this first ride the way you planned it Gail" I kept saying to myself...it was like trying to keep an excited child calm! LOL!.....I made sure that I concentrated on proper posture on the bike. Shoulders down, tail bone out, relaxed arms, but my the 4th loop my fingers were going numb because my core and back are currently too weak to hold myself up, so all my weight was on my hands.....not a good way to ride...but whatever! I did 6 loops!!!!....I thanked my son for joining me and told him how awesome it was that he was there with me. We did a high five and a hug before I stretched to ensure that I cooled down properly......after that I came in the door... took my running shoes off.... and cried. It felt so good to be into action again, even if it was just 6 loops, I plan to keep at it and will work on making those loops more and bigger :) I hope you are living in YOUR Awesome today!

Nothing left but fear....

So this Sun a friend that I meet over tweeter came to help me. Her name is Samantha Montpetit-Huynh and she is the owner of Core Expectations, she is a trainer who trains pre and post-natal woman and she is AWESOME!!....This girl knows what she is talking about, she shares the information very well and she loves what she does and it clearly comes across in her spirit....I fully trust her to help me take my post-baby body to the next level in a safe proper way...and that's just what I did.

I love 'living in the solution' and talking with and learning from Sam was just that. It was so fantastic because I easily understood what she was talking about, do to the knowledge and experience I have had in these last 4yrs. It continues to amaze me how becoming healthy and aware of my body has all these little side effects I never thought of....It's funny because although I know my body and different types of exercise, I learned that I can only 'train myself' so far. Sam suggested a few exercises to me that I didn't know about to do and she also suggested some ones that I did know AND should have been very obvious to me but I didn't think about them until Sam mentioned them...DUH!! LOL!....and that is why it's important to reach out and ask for help from others. I can't do it all on my own and an important lesson I have learned through all this is that trying to do it all on my own is lonely....because I am on my own! So my new attitude about asking for and accepting help is this...although I might be capable of doing things if someone offers to help me or join me, say YES!!! because then I don't have to do it alone! :-D So another reason I had Sam come was to just double check with another professional that I was ok to go ride on my bike. She said yes....it was funny cause as soon as she said that a voice in my head said, "Ah shit! now you got no reason, all that's left is the fear" I hope you are living in your awesome today!

An hour of awesome!

So today I decided to do my Physio outside on the deck in the sun, while the baby slept, it was a very awesome idea. I had my music going and it felt so good to get all hot and sweaty in the sun and cool off with every breeze that came by.It reminded me of the workouts I use to do with the Phat Chicks at the park...I miss those chicks.... I find it to be a type of meditation for me. It helps me to just slow down in my day and in my mind, things become clear for me as to what needs to be done AND I get my best ideas during this time too. I got another good idea in this hour, the only problem is that I didn't write it down right away and so my baby brain has taking it away and I can just remember having a good idea but not what it was!!! LOL!...oh dear!...ok next time I am going to have a pad a paper beside me so I can write these things down to do at another time! Hope you are living in your awesome today!

The awesome father of Subway

So last week I got the very rare opportunity to meet Fred DeLuca the founder of Subway. It was way awesome to learn about the history of a place that me and my family often go to. When I started on my healthy journey I switched out our pizza nights to Subway nights instead AND imagine my delight when they built one right behind my house!! OH YEAH!! Fred started Subway in 1965, he got a $1000 loan from a family friend and built the first shop in Newfoundland. He had started construction on the building when the city came along asking for his permit, "What permit?!" he asked...he didn't know you needed one to build! LOL!!...so he went done to City Hall and asked for a permit. When asked for his plans for the building, "What plans?" was his reply....so he sat out front and drew up the plan for the shop went in and they gave him a permit!!! WOW! I also learned that although Subway came to Canada after McDonalds, Subway has more stores then them! Huh! I asked why he made the store set up the way it is with it all open right there in front of you. It was explained that he wanted to show that there was nothing to hide, all the fresh food was out there in front of you. Your sandwich was made the way you like it in front of you...awesome, I like that. I was also so impressed to hear how happy the employees were, from the front line workers to the shop owners to people who over see the shop owners. Fred seems to have really built a 'Subway family', their success is his success so he is heavily invested in them and provides support for them in all areas of the business. Right from the start they are provided an intense Franchise 'training'. Fred also keeps the Franchise cost low so that the owners turn over a profit faster and are happy....and happy workers make good workers. I love that Fred understands the front line because he has built it literally from the ground up and on his way up he has kept that appreciation....very humble and very awesome! It almost makes ME want to buy a Subway! LOL!....who knows, I'll put it on 'the list'...I am currently growing three future sandwich artistes!! LOL!!...OH! and one last thing, Fred and I have the same fav Sub...turkey!!! AWESOME!!! I hope you are living in your awesome today!

Remembering Mer......

So all through the year I often think of Meredith Hagan my very first trainer that I got when I started going outside of the house to do exercise. Her and Suzie Opie are owners of Phat Chicks and they offered a free trail class to Momstown. As soon as I saw the name I loved it!...tried the class, loved it more, ....met Meredith and Suzie, loved them and signed up right away! Meredith was a beautiful amazing person from the inside out. In my first year of healthy living (2010) I told her how I was going to do a Triathlon that Sept, "I can help you!" she said to me.....she never got the chance. On a beautiful day in April of that year Meredith was out on Kings Rd on her road bike training for the full Ironman she planned to do when she was 40 (she was currently 36) she hit a strange spot on the road flew off her bike and into an on coming car.....Meredith died the next day from the injuries....I still cry when I have to type this. Although I have known Meredith longer in death then I have in life her presents in my life for those brief 6 months has impacted me SO greatly and the fire that she helped light still burns strongly inside me today. She loved being active and feeling awesome, she loved helping others to be active and feel awesome. Still daily I often bring Meredith with me as I head out for a race or go help a client or friend....I think to myself, "Mer would have liked this" or "Mer would be proud of this"...or "This would have made Mer smile"....I am unable to look at her picture everyday but I have it on my dresser upside down and every once and awhile I turn it over and look at her and remember...... I have my pink ribbon ready to be tied on my new bike, I use that pink ribbon as my way of bringing her 'with me' when I'm out there. She use to always wear a pink head band in her hair....but it's not just her that I am bringing, it's her friend and partner Suzie Opie too. Those two together were a force of awesome I tell ya! I felt so empowered to do the imposable workouts they put in front of me. Many times they would explain the workout and we would look at them like WTF!!! and they would smile and say, "You can do this!..it's going to awesome!"...and guess what...I did do it and it WAS awesome! They believed in me before I could believe in myself.....it's that feeling of empowerment and confidence that the pink 'Mer' ribbon represents to me. Just yesterday I got to dress up and head down to Toronto to meet Fred DeLuca the founder of Subway (which I'll tell you about in another blog!!) I put on the 'Meredith' bracelet that her sister had made. It has the beautiful jewels and her tattoo that she had on her which represents 'double happiness' as I put it on I felt like I was bring Meredith with me, "Meredith would think this is awesome" were my thoughts. So now I am heading into the weekend of her race, it is this Sat and you can register all the way up until the day. It's a really fun run and a great route on the trails of Mountsburg. It's called the Inspiration run, they have it around her birthday every year. I will hopefully be doing the 5k walk this year. I feel like I will be able to do it and I am excited that it will be my first race after recovering from the medical issue from having the baby. I plan to do it but know that if I have to stop at some point or can't finish it's ok....at least I am trying...and that wold make Meredith smile....she had a beautiful smile.... I hope you are living in YOUR awesome today! xo

Lights, camera....awesome!!!!

So just as a follow up on the story about Scott from Rock & Road Cycle....CHCH News came out to interview me on it, then they went over to Scott's shop to interview him about it. He's such a sweet man that you can see at the end part of his interview he got all teary eyed! Just makes me want to go and hug the guy really!........knowing that I can trust the 'man' behind the counter means a lot to me when I have to intrust my safety and money in what he is telling me I need and what I need to spend means a lot these days....it's not all about the bottom line for him. He loves to bike and just wants to help other do it too :) Here is the clip from CHCH News tonight!

Confessions of a BFing sweet tooth MONSTER!!!

Ok I must have forgotten about this from the last two kids or maybe it was because I didn't care what I was putting in my body before, but WOW!!!!! The sweet tooth is out....of....control!! It is bothering me even more this time cause I am aware of what I am putting in my mouth and what it's made of....and yet, I can't stop myself from going to the corner store and getting a Caramilk bar and 4 sour keys!!! I got this 'craving' for jub-jubs the other day and I was like, "Ok, NO Gail they are pure crap and not going to make you feel good and you will be really thirsty after having them. So I tried eating other things that were better for me.....but 3 days later I still had them in my head.....that is how I ended up at the corner store, "eating like a teenage boy", that's how one of my other BF Mama friends puts it. So you think that would make the 'monster' happy right.....well NO it just made it MORE hungry for crap food! I even found myself thinking about going to get some McDonalds (which is not like me).....So the other night I had to stop in after Coaching to get some banana's (we are always out of banana's)...so I walk into the grocery store, tired and hungry...not good. The sweet tooth monster showed it's ugly head...however the voice of my ever expanding post baby ass won out this time!! LOL!...The voice that begged me not to eat the crap I was craving and do that to my body....so I had a delima...want to eat crap REAL bad....don't want to hurt my body with the crap. So I figured if I bought some dried fruit that would help with the 'chewy' feeling I was looking for and the natural sweet of the fruit would do it...well I then got on a roll with other yummy tasty healthy things.....I felt like I was pregnant again!! LOL!....so the picture above is what I ended up coming home with...Dried blueberries,dried fruit mix, dried mango, raisins, dries cranberries, almonds, mangos, peaches, watermelon, salmon, crab meat and the thing I originally went in for....Banana's! Man oh MAN!! I must say though the dried fruit seems to be doing the trick and they are WAY better then the jub-jub's I originally had in mind .....I call this 'damage control!' LOL!.. Hope you are living in your awesome today!

omg! Omg! OMG!!!!!!!

Ok SO! OMG!!!! I have to share cause this is totally awesome!! As I have been feeling better weekly and getting back to doing my normal things I've started thinking that I might be able to get back on the bike again and just start going up and down on my street to start building up the strength again. So the owner Scott from Rock and Road Cycle is our bike mentor for Mommy's/Babe's in Motion and he's awesome! So I took my bike to him for a tune up trusting him to do the best as I know he really cares about me and my team and our safety out there on the bikes. While I was picking up the bike Scott mentioned to me that the back tire had needed work again (which he did fix and didn't charge me for it!) and that pretty much all the stuff I do on the bike now it would be best that I get a new better bike at some point. I explain to Scott that I did realize that, but now with 3 kids and a single income home I am left doing the 'poor man triathlon' and that I am happy to make do on what I have :) So Scott GAVE ME A BIKE!!!!! WTF!! "I'd love to see you on one of our bikes" he said. I raced home that day burst into the house calling to my hubby. He thought something was wrong cause I was crying. "I'm going to get a real life BIKE!!!" I told him, then told him about what Scott was doing to help me get out there on the bike again and to have another goal to work towards. That week he ordered me a sweet ass nice and shiny Devinci bike, built it and sized me on it. It currently is hanging in my garage 'calling to me' LOL! I'm not joking I swear I hear it calling, "Gail...Gail...come on Gail lets go for a ride you are going to LOVE it!" So I am having an inner battle about this right now as I have TWO different 'voices' going on. One being the bike 'voice' calling me to get on and go and get the first time over with. The second being that nasty (not awesome) voice of fear saying, "I don't think this is a good idea...your core is still too weak....you are still too weak....do it next week" I want to cry and throw-up at the same time as I think about getting on the bike again....I know I just need to stop thinking about it and go...I know I need to just get the first time over with...I know.....I know...I know....but in the end it's not about the knowing, it's about the doing....so for now the bike just hangs there in the garage...waiting for me.... I hope you are living in YOUR awesome today!

Moon in June 2013 ~ Multi Tasking Mama!!!

So this is our 4th year running in the Moon in June Race. This is a very special race for me because it was the first race I ever did and my oldest son ever did and the kids 1K Meredith's Fun Run is named after my trainer Meredith Hagan who died while out on her bike training. So this year I was not able to run in the race but I still signed up the big kids for the 1K. My hubby was going to run the 5K by himself this year, last year we ran it together (his first race ever). But he got sick and injured at the start of the week so he couldn't. So the night was just about the kids and we had a blast. When the kids were lining up to start their race OF COURSE that was when the baby starts crying and wants to eat!!! So what do I end up doing!? I am nursing the baby (with one of my new fancy nursing tops where no one has to see anything but the baby can still eat) while sitting on the side of the road cheering on the kids racing and taking pictures!! LOL! At one point I race across the street to get a good picture on the other side and everyone was watching me...not sure if they could tell I was carrying and nursing the baby at the same time or that I was just a crazy woman running around with a baby! LOL! OH man!...but I didn't even care...I just wanted my kids to see and hear me cheering them on at the side and to get a good picture. In the end we got a few good pictures and the kids had fun, got there medals and freezes and we had another successful night as a healthy active family together. Hope you are living in YOUR awesome today!

Cooking up a storm!!

Ok so I am definitely feeling better as I am now trying out a new dinner recipe :) The baking didn't go so well! But I think the dinner did :)...now my goal is to try a new dinner each week. But really due to cost and time and my energy it adds up being more like once a month. The reason being is that the new recipes take so much prep time cause it's of course a healthy meal and a lot of fresh food in it that needs to be prepped. So how do I get that done on my own with the 3 kids you ask?!!! Like this! I sling the baby to me and prep the food while the big kids are eating their snack and prep all the food into different bowels so it's good to go when I have to cook it and I can just throw everything in...I feel like I'm on a cooking show! LOL! This is the recipe that I tried out tonight ** I used Quinoa instead of couscous, SO much better for you ** So of course things never go as planned around here. As I was cooking this up it smelled SO good and yummy and it tasted really good to. However I am the only one that is able to tell you that and you will just have to take my word on it!....My hubby who is NEVER sick came home tonight throwing up...ewww...as he went up stairs to the bathroom he asked me to turn on the stove fan cause the food smell was making him feel sicker! LOL!!!...well then. Poor guy didn't have a chance to eat it. But I loved it and will be making it again :) Hope you are living in your awesome today!

The summer clothes swap!

Ok so I finally switched over my own clothes today to the summer ones. I had done all 3 kids but didn't get to mine yet so I pretty much have been wearing the same 3 outfits! LOL! It was an interesting experience with this post baby body...I'm in a new place once again. I am not obese like I was 3yrs ago and I'm not fit like I was 1 yr ago and I'm not pregnant like I was 3 months ago. I had a bit of the same experiences and a few new ones. First of all, the all to familiar feeling of trying on some pants that I am too big for and before I even get them half way up my thigh they are too tight and I know that I am not going to fit them! LOL! Now at least I have learned my lesson over the years to NOT keep trying to pull those pants up and fit them around my 'to big for these pants' ass and then try and do them up because...just maybe... if I can get them done up... they will fit!....yeah know! Next with the tops, some I could get over my head but they got stuck on these breast feeding milk jugs. I remember that when I was big. One time I got stuck in a top in the change room. I got the top over the boobs put I couldn't get them back up as I tried to take it off...took me about 15min to get out of THAT top and I was sweating after!! LOL!.....Now the new experiences that I had was that some of the clothes did fit me.. WOW! That made me feel a bit better about this marshmallow post baby body. So the good news is that I will have clothes to wear this summer :D...and it was actually kinda fun seeing all my old tops that say, "Awesome" and "I tried being good but I got bored" again and the one that says, "Punish me" made me laugh. Just another thing to help me reach my goal of getting to a healthier weight and being able to wear them again. For now they are packed back in the closet waiting......