Anyway, I know this is absolutely the latest possible Wordless Wednesday post ever (and not-so-wordless at all), but I have to share this moment with all of you.

I just checked out the most local Relay for Life event raised over $30,000 with 498 participants. That is HUGE! Kudos to the Kennesaw State University Relay for Life team!

This post is sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

MAMAVATION TV: Join us Monday night at 7pm PST/10pm EST on Mingle Media TV.

Weekly Goals

• Drink at least 64 ounces of water each day – I did a much better job at the water intake last week. I was diligent about it and made it a point to get it in. There was one day when I missed it, but I was there every other day.
• Get to the gym at least 3 times this week – Can we say, “DONE?” Because it’s done. I hit the gym 4 times last week and ran two 5Ks. Okay, I walked one of them, but that’s not the point.
• New Goal: No fast food this week. I will not eat at McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King, Wendy’s or any other fast food chain because this is an area I struggle in and really need to reign in.

 Challenges

• Water Intake - The thing is, I work at a desk 8-9 hours a day. And refilling my water requires stopping what I’m doing, walking away and going across the office to the water cooler. I generally just sit at my desk with nothing to drink once my Diet Coke runs out (shut up) and I need to cut that out! I must refill that water continuously (and become best friends with the bathroom).
• Pushing Myself - I’ve got to push myself harder at the gym. I’ve only got about 30 minutes to really workout during my lunch hour and I tend to keep the level down so I don’t sweat too much (I’ve got to go back to work afterwards, after all). My hubby has given me the go-ahead to start hitting the gym before work, which means I can kick my butt early in the morning, shower, get cleaned up and head in to the office refreshed and accomplished. This might just be the way to go.

Triumphs

I feel like I conquered the vending machine this week. A few times, I went to the machines looking for something to hit the spot when I needed a snack and that is a dangerous place to be. Luckily, the vending machine man must have known I would be coming by because he stocked the machine with little cups of Dole peaches. Those were the ONLY thing I allowed myself to eat from the vending machines and I am darn proud of that.

I completed two 5ks this weekend! On Friday, I ran the Collective Bias Virtual 5k on the treadmill at the gym. I completed the 3.1 miles in 40 minutes and was really proud of myself. On Saturday, I did the Race for the Cure 5k. Running was a little more difficult there due to the 14,000 people surrounding me, but my team still completed the 3.57 miles (ha!) in 1 hour 7 minutes. So, I did both my first and second 5k this weekend. I call that a major triumph.

Weekly Weigh-In

Starting Weight: 176.2 lbs

Current Weight: 155.2 lbs

Weekly Loss: -6.4 lbs

Total Loss: 21 lbs

Goal Weight: 154 lbs

SHUT

UP!

I don’t know if last week’s weigh in was a fluke or what, but I am STOKED by this week’s update. I lost a total of 6.4 pounds this week and I am only 1.2 pounds from Goal #1 – a healthy BMI.

Did you see that?

I lost 6.4 pounds this week and a total 21 pounds since the beginning of the year.

~*~*~

This post is sponsored by Dole and hosted by Mamavation – a community dedicated to obesity prevention & weight loss for women and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway.

The idea behind Mothers’ Day is to thank our mothers for all they have done and most families give mom a break from her duties for the day. Here’s the problem with that idea…

I get a break everyday.

My husband does the majority of the cooking and, quite honestly, the cleaning. I take the brunt of the kid duties, but that’s because he’s already got his hands full. I feel guilty on Mothers’ Day because my husband, quite literally, won’t let me even help with the stuff he already does.

I can’t wait for Fathers’ Day!

I will say, however, that this Mothers’ Day has been particularly awesome. My girls made me an exorbitant number of cards (Pumpkin alone has given me five already) and the gifts they brought home from school are some that I will keep forever.

The new gym bag was just icing on the cake since mine was falling apart at the seams (literally). Plus, my husband went out and got me french toast from IHOP for breakfast (YUM).

This one goes down as one of the best Mothers’ Days I’ve ever had.

To all the moms out there, Happy Mothers’ Day! I hope this day is as special for you as it has been for me!

This picture doesn’t do the crowd justice. The line went ahead of me as far as I could see and was behind me as far as I could see. Over 14,000 people came together on this cold, dreary, rainy morning to raise money to help fight breast cancer. As the morning wore on, it started to warm up (probably because of the 14,000 bodies huddled together) and spitting rain started coming down. By the end of the 5k, the rain was coming down a good bit, but everyone was in good spirits and enjoyed the expo where we picked up our t-shirts, checked out the vendors and grabbed some chocolate milk, oranges and chicken to fill our tummies.

I didn’t run the 5k, as I had planned. I mean, YOU try running with all of those people jammed together around you! I fall on own enough – I don’t need the help of potholes, curbs, bumps in the road and other runners to help me to the ground. So, we walked 3.57 miles (I GPS’d {pronounced ‘gypsed} it and this was no 5k, people) as a team (Melissa, her mom, her sister, her sister’s boyfriend and her friend). It took us an hour and 7 minutes, but we finished it!

It’s amazing to me (in the saddest way) how many people’s lives are affected by breast cancer. Almost everyone there had on a pink back sign with the name of a person they were either celebrating or running in memory of. For most of the team, there were “In Celebration Of” signs with several names. Among them was Melissa’s mom – you might remember when she shared her story of survival right here on my blog.

I ran with this sign on my back…

In 2003, I lost my Aunt Brenda to breast cancer and I ran to celebrate her life and memory. She fought a long hard battle and went to be with Jesus on November 20, 2003. I miss her every single day, but she taught me so much about how to be a Christian woman and I am thankful to have known her.

To top it all off, I also ran the Collective Bias 5k on Friday to celebrate the community’s birthday. That one was a virtual 5k that was run on my own on a treadmill, so I actually ran it. I was able to do the full 3.1 miles in 40 minutes, which is a full 5 minute improvement since the last time I ran that distance. I was so happy to have participated in the “event” and I felt great after pushing myself to hit that mark. If you’ve ever wondered what I look like after running my butt off, here’s my red-faced sweaty picture after the CB 5k.

Don’t judge.

I am feeling really accomplished this week and I can’t wait to share my Mamavation Monday post with you all this week. It’s going to be awesome!