Happy Anniversary!

Today is my parent's 29th wedding anniversary! They are an incredible couple - loving, fun, supportive, and joyful. They have been the most tremendous model of a loving marriage for their children, and I'm so grateful to have grown up with parents who made their marriage a priority.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! We love you so much!

Today is another anniversary of sorts, also. A year ago today, this little booger came to live with us...

I've told you before that I'm not a dog person.... but folks, I get it now. I get why people are dog people. Derby brings so much love to our house - I can't imagine coming home now without a puppy over the moon to see me. I don't think there's anyone in this world who loves us as much as this dog does, and we love him right back. 

Happy living-with-us-anniversary, bud. We love you tons and we're glad you're in our family. 

Happy birthday Derby!

Yesterday, Derby turned one. When we adopted him from a farm, the owner of Derby's mother told us that Derby and his siblings had been born on Mother's Day. Awww.

I've told you before that I'm just not a dog person. I don't automatically love every dog I see. I'm sort of afraid of big dogs and dogs that jump on me. And yet...

Sometime over the past few months (ok, let's be honest. Less than 24 hours after we brought him home.) I completely fell in love.

Here's what we started with:

And now... happy birthday to Derby!

This is what a one year old puppy looks like!

Yummy dog treat that I spent way too much money on.

How good is this dog that I can take this picture?? I just noticed that he's literally licking his chops!

Thanks for my new toy, mom and dad!

This sounds so cheesy, but I was completely unprepared for all the good that he would bring to our lives. He kept Zac company while I was gone all the time. It's impossible to have a bad day when he tries to lick your face. He keeps my feet warm in the winter. Running with him helped us all get healthier. He helps me feel safe when I'm home alone. 

When did I become that person??

Happy birthday Derby. We love you, and we're so glad that we get to be your people!

Couch to 5 K is COMPLETE!!

It's been awhile... but my Couch to 5 K challenge is officially complete! I wrote about it before here, and Derby and I did our final run to complete the program over the weekend.

We came home, and I told Zac that being finished was good news. The bad news was that now I needed to figure out what to do next!!

     

That's obviously not me. I don't live by mountains. And my sneakers are blue.

Here's the 411 of the experience:

• Overall, it's awesome. Because it's not really that hard. Don't get me wrong - it's a workout. But it isn't so awful that you give up immediately.
• I lost weight. Like, substantially. I've lost 10 pounds since Christmas, 6 of which I'll attribute to C25K (less gluten gets the other 4 probably - fewer carbs!). Not only that, but my body looks really different. None of my clothes are tight anymore, and I'm considerably less "jiggly." Win, win, my friends.
• Derby loves it. The other day our neighbors were talking to Zac on the porch, but when we walked outside Derby walked right past them to begin our run. He also knows what putting my sneakers on means. He's so smart, that puppy.
• It took me longer than the 9 weeks it's supposed to, and I'm okay with that. There were a few weeks I only managed to run twice, and a few times Zac came with us and messed up my routine. When he runs with us, we usually run half as far but twice as fast. Still counts, but doesn't fit with the program!
• Slow and steady just works for me. I don't stress out if I don't fit a run in. I don't know that I'll ever run a 5K, but I can run for 30 minutes without stopping and it's pretty easy. I'll take that.

So there you go. I conquered getting into an exercise routine. Now that I've seen the results, I'm pretty sure I'll stick with it. I like how I look 10 pounds lighter, and that I don't feel guilty one bit if I sneak some white chocolate M&Ms. In fact, it's not really sneaking. It's more like, "these are good and I can have a few (bags) without worrying about it."

Has anyone else finished the program? What did you do next? That's what I need to figure out now!!

Couch To 5K Progress Report

With two weeks left to go in December, I decided to start the Couch to 5 K program. If you haven't heard of it, it's basically an 8 week program of workouts that gradually works you up to running a 5 K.

                                               
                       
I tried it for two weeks in July, at which point it became almost 100 degrees at 6:00 AM and I gave up. Plus, at that point, Derby wasn't big enough to come with me. All of that has now changed.

Let me interject here with an embarrassing tidbit. This isn't my first time at the party. I was a runner in high school. I ran cross country and long distance track. I have six varsity letters for running sports. I even ran at the State Championship meet once.

I tell you that not so you think I'm awesome (if you think I'm awesome for 10 year old accomplishments, I have more I can tell you about!), but so that you can get some perspective. I used to be able to run a mile in under 6 minutes. And I needed to start again with walk one minute, run one minute. And that was hard for me.

I haven't seriously run since high school, actually. I enjoyed running then because I was good at it and I liked being part of a team. The day I ran my last track meet was the day I last really ran. I just didn't enjoy it outside of the organized team aspect.

Fast forward to now. I knew I needed to do something. I was getting sick of my exercise videos and needed something more routine. Plus, we now have a 50 pound puppy who needs exercise as much as I do.

We started this program the week of Christmas. This was actually a great time for me to start, because while the holidays are busy, they aren't normal life busy for me. I had time to run three times a week. By the time the new year came around and things got busy again, we were already two weeks in. It was already starting to feel like a routine.

We're now on Week 5, which is honestly further than I even hoped we would get. Right now we run at least three times a week, more than that if my schedule allows it (which has happened once). There are a few things that are different this time around for me, so I'll share them with you:

1. I got a new phone, and downloaded the "Get Running" app. This was $2.99 well spent. Not only does it track when you do the runs, there is a sweet British lady who tells you when to run and when to walk. You can also stream music while the app is running. Which brings me to my next point...
                                                        
                                                         
   
   
2. Find something you like to run to. For me, that's NPR. Don't judge - it's like someone's talking to you the whole time you're running but you don't have to talk back. I love listening to their news programs, and I don't have a ton of time during the day to hear them. I had a friend who downloaded audio books and only listened to them while exercising. Another friend does pump me up music. Find something that works for you and makes you look forward to running.
                                                    
3. Get an accountability partner. Mine happens to be a puppy. He loves running with me. When I get my tennis shoes out of the closet, he knows exactly what we're doing. The other perk? He pulls me along when I get tired and I run faster than I would on my own. Plus, I love him and I want him to be healthy, which means even when I don't feel like going, we usually go.
   
4. Find somewhere you like to run. I hate running with Derby on the streets because there's so many people to dodge. We walk to a park by our house and then do the run there where there isn't as much traffic. I'd rather run loops around a field then dodge cars any day.
   
                                              
   
   My park!
   
5. Reward yourself if you need to. Get a new pair of shoes, some new running pants, or a pedicure if you meet your workout goals. I don't actually do this, but now that I've thought about it I might start.
   
6. STICK WITH IT FOR AT LEAST 4 WEEKS! My friend Katy ran her first half marathon last weekend (yay, Katy!) and she gave me this advice. It takes 4 weeks before you'll start to see changes in your body. It takes 8 before other people will notice them. Push to this 4 week mark. I wanted to see changes earlier than that (let's be honest - after one run), but it wasn't until last week that I began to see them for real. And once you get to that point, it's a whole lot easier to continue.

Do you have any tips that help you stick to an exercise routine? I'd love to hear them!

Derby goes to school!

Derby is a fantastic puppy. I mean, really, as far as puppies go, he's awesome. He is pretty well behaved, he's really sweet, and he's fantastic with kids and new people.

Sometimes though, he drives me crazy. And a few weeks ago, we had a few of those days in a row. I decided it was time for Derby to start puppy training, and we signed him up for a class at PetSmart.

The class was...okay. The trainer was good, but the training space was small and some of the other "puppy parents" in the class were more focused on complaining about their dogs than on working to improve their behavior.

So, in what has been a Bonistall tradition since the beginning of time, I had to snap his first day of school picture. 

Well, since I'm in it, I guess Zac snapped it. But isn't he just the cutest thing ever??

I've been avoiding you.

It's not personal. Really, it's not. It's just that I don't have a lot to write about. Don't get me wrong... I have a ton of stuff going on, but none of it is really "write about it" worthy.

To illustrate my point:

1. I had no idea how exhausting having a puppy was going to be. He is nonstop. He's adorable, but he's adorable wanting to play with you 24/7. And we're taking him to puppy school which means we spend a lot of time practicing what we learn at puppy school. More exhaustion. And I don't want the only thing I do on this blog to be post pictures of the puppy!
2. I just got a promotion at work! Good, I know, but it means more responsibility and more stress! Cue additional exhaustion.
3. The only things I've been sewing are gifts, and I can't show them to you yet! Know that I'm not just a bump on a log, I am making things, but they are secret things!
4. I start a 20 hour / week internship for my MSW program next week. In addition to my full-time job. And whatever other "life" I'm going to piece together! The most exhaustion is from even thinking about this.

Don't worry, I'm not leaving forever. In fact, I might not be leaving at all. I just don't want to feel guilty when I don't update. I'll do it as much as I can - I promise.

To hold you over until next time...

Meet Derby!

Our family got a surprising new addition a few weeks ago that I haven't told you about yet... Meet Derby!

A friend of mine's in-law's neighbor (seriously) had a litter of 9 puppies unexpectedly that he needed to find homes for. So... we're suckers, and decided to adopt this little guy!

I should point out that he is not really a little guy anymore - he is growing like a weed! He is a lab mixed with... something! All of the other puppies are black, and most of them look more like golden retrievers, maybe? Derby is definitely very lab-like.

It's tough being a puppy and trying to stay cool!

Don't let this sweet sleeping face fool you! When he's awake, he's a crazy man!

My mom is convinced that he is going to be gigantic, and so she keeps comparing him to Clifford the Big Red Dog.  She even found him a Clifford toy!

He's very sweet, and follows us everywhere. He's done a great job with house training, likes to meet new people, and has fun playing with other dogs. Even though his crazy puppy-ness (ie: biting my feet constantly) is driving he crazy, I think he's a keeper!!