Workin that Core

I have never been the queen of core strength. I did have a six pack during hockey season in high school, I think because I leaned over weird when I played hockey...but since then, my core strength has been minimal. One of my major goals for the month of December is to improve my core strength. This means I'll be working on the muscles that stabilize my midsection which include my abs, back, hips and butt muscles :)

Why work my core? Two reasons:
1. Improving your core muscles can help maintain proper alignment of your body, which can help you to be efficient in all exercise that you do. This is especially key for me since the running coach I met with about my knee mentioned that I tend to lean to my left, putting more stress on my left knee.
2. The core muscles, especially the ab muscles have always been a weakness of mine. Since I have started to really improve my leg muscles through knee physical therapy, the core is the area I'd like to work on next.

What is the plan?
I am going to specifically work on core muscles 4 days per week for the month of December (and hopefully beyond). I also want to do pilates more often (famous for working the core) and continue with spinning, which also works the core muscles. I have designed a core work out plan using moves from Angela's Whittle my Middle challenge, and some others I found online :)

1. The Plank
I didn't have to do any research to find this one. Everyone knows it whips your abs into shape and I could not be any more terrible at it. I had to STRUGGLE to get to 30 seconds today.
Goal: 2 minutes by Jan 1.

2. Side Plank
Also, one of those moves that screams core...and also a huge struggle of mine.
Goal: 2 minutes on each side by Jan 1.

3. Nose to Knee Crunch
I found this move online this weekend and I am in love with it. It's one of those moves you can just immediately feel. Basically, what you do, is put your arms on a stability ball and lean forward as though you are doing a push up on your ball. Then, you bring one knee at a time to your "nose." Serious exercise in balance...and core muscles.
Goal: 3 sets of 15 (maybe even on each side if I get really strong) by Jan 1.

Sorry about the unnecessary butt shots. Our "gym" room isn't really big enough for a normal photo shoot.

4. Stability Ball Jack Knives

Anyone who has done "The Shred" will share in my fear for these. I hate jack knives anyway, and add in the stability ball, ah! For this move you are going to put your feet on the stability ball and arms on the ground like you are doing a push up. Then, you use your core to bend your knees and pull the ball closer to your arms. Get ready for the butt shot...
Goal: 3 sets of 15 by Jan 1.

That is where I am going to start for now. Then, hopefully I can build on it with some additional exercises as I get better. The pilates video that I have been doing (Total Body Pilates on Exercise TV) mixes in a lot of butt moves, so I'm hoping that will supplement some of my ab/back moves.

What are your favorite core exercises? Do you make it a priority to work your core? For more information on core muscles and their importance in running, you can see my sister's post on the topic: All About Abs.

Also, check out Amber's blog today because she interviewed me on being a Kindergarten teacher.

Stay tuned to my blog tomorrow for a GIVEAWAY!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...

...Christmas!
Today was my last day of swine flu/Thanksgiving break haha. One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving break is that all my friends come back to town and I get to see them. Except that...my friends seemed to have all moved back to Boston in the last few years so really, Susanne is my only far away friend who's parents live here. Wow, she should feel special. Anyway, I met up with her today for lunch and we caught up on everything :) Then, my parents texted me to see if I wanted to join the family to buy their Christmas tree. Like I would pass up on a Christmas related event?
Since my brother and sister are home from college this weekend, the whole family headed to the store to get a tree.

Usually the "kids" always want a giant tree, but this year my dad was on our side and we ended up with a nice big tree, which I will show later, but first...

So many amazing Christmas decorations...

The kids...we look like an advertisement for North Face fleece...and Merrimack College, which isn't even where my brother goes haha...

Look at the little reindeer...

Just me and my mommy...

Okay enough. I was a little obsessed. When we got back to my parents house Jake took care of the tree on his own. These pictures make him look short, but really this tree is like 9 feet tall!

And finally...

I love getting Christmas trees and I'm excited I get to do it again for my own house next weekend. Eric and I decided to wait until he is done coaching football before we get our tree (well actually, it wasn't so much of a decision as, if I wanted him to come, I had to wait haha). Don't be surprised if there is some champagne in the picture of us getting our tree because Eric will be DONE with football and back to having a life, yay!

I hope everyone had a great long weekend. Check back tomorrow for my new core workout for the month of December!

*The title from my last post, "and I'm back in the game" is from the movie 10 Things I Hate About You. Brings you back huh?

Sorry!

Hi everyone,

Sorry about the random and unfinished posts. I am trying to create some additional pages to list at the top of my blog, but it's a work in progress at the moment. I promise to post a normal, real post by tonight :) Hope everyone is having a great long weekend!

Races

Race Recaps

My First 5K- May 2, 2009

My First Sprint Triathlon- July 19, 2008

Wedding

I got married to my best friend on July 10, 2010. I often talk about wedding plans or my wonderful husband on the blog.

Wedding Related Posts

Dress Shopping- Take 1

What Should I Wear For Engagement Pictures?

Engagement Pictures

Ceremony and Reception Site

Honeymoon Planning

Kelly Gets Annoyed with Weddings

Kelly Gets Annoyed with Weddings, Again

Dress Shopping- Take 2

Dress Shopping- Take 3

Kelly Buys Her Dress

Search for Rehearsal Dinner Spot

Search for Rehearsal Dinner Spot- Take 2

Engagement Party Invites

Engagement Party- Part 1

Engagement Party- Part 2

Wedding Meltdown
Kelly Hates Guest Lists and Wedding Formalities
Crossing Things Off the Wedding To-Do List (and Hair Trial)
Wedding Flip Flops and First Gift
Dance Lessons
Wedding Water Bottles
Two Months To Go

My Bachelorette Party!!!

Kindergarten Marriage Advice
Will It Rain?
The Phases of Life

Wedding Day
Twas the Night Before My Wedding (Rehearsal Dinner)
Ceremony Script
I Give You This Ring
Never Gonna Feel Like This Again
It's All In the Details

Kelly and Eric

History of Us

We take on Glamour Magazine

My Friend's Weddings

Katie's Bridal Shower

Katie's Bachelorette

Katie and Adam's Wedding

Melanie's Bridal Shower

Melanie and Pat's Wedding

Chrissy and Paul's Wedding

Timna's Bachelorette

Timna and Matt's Wedding

Tiff's Bridal Shower

Tiff's Bachelorette- Part 1

Tiff's Bachelorette- Part 2

Tiff's Rehearsal Dinner

Tiff and Ronnie's Wedding

Sarah and Brian's Engagement Party
Sarah's Bachelorette
Sarah and Brian's Wedding

Food

Breakfast Ideas
Oatmeal Pancakes
Oatmeal Apple Muffins
Pumpkin Egg White Oatmeal
Baked Banana and Blueberry Oatmeal
Baked Apple Oatmeal
Egg White and Salsa Sandwich
Greek Yogurt w/Banana & Chex

Lunch Ideas
Salmon and Mango Wrap

Dinner Ideas
Vegetarian Sweet Potato & Beans
Vegetarian Rice, Beans & Mango

Eric's Sweet Potato Risotto

Restaurants- Boston
Porto Bello, South Boston
Legal's Test Kitchen, South Boston
Stella, South End
Myers and Chang, South End
Picco, South End
East Coast Grill, Cambridge
Chung Shin Yuan, Newton
Il Casale, Belmont
Thai Moon, Arlington
Tango, Arlington
Blue Stove, Burlington


Restaurants- Cape Cod
Cape Cod Sea Grille, Harwich
Asa Grille, Hyannis
Roadhouse Cafe, Hyannis
Inaho, Yarmouthport
Ocean House, Dennis

Restaurants- Newport RI
The Red Parrot
Fluke Wine Bar



My History With Food

I grew up eating very healthy. My mom is a fantastic cook and made it a priority to feed the family with as much nutrition as possible. Outside of the home (especially during college), I did not always make the most nutritious choices. However, in 2007 I was started having a lot of problems with my stomach. I was bloated all the time and I always felt like I was fighting a stomach bug (and since it was my first year teaching, I didn't think much of this at first). I was eventually diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and my doctor told me that I needed to slowly improve my fiber intake. In this process my diet received a full overhaul. Suddenly I could no longer eat Pringles as a mid afternoon snack, or indulge in a piece of cake on someone's birthday.

Being diagnosed with IBS forced me to learn more about what I was putting into my body, and helped me learn to cook for myself. It also encouraged me to try new foods because I had to get rid of so many of the foods I had previously enjoyed. I still do not have my eating down to a science (neither do doctors!). However, in general I try to eat more soluble fiber (bread, squash, potatoes) and mix insoluble fiber (beans, berries, peas) in where I can. I limit my fat intake to healthy fats whenever possible and always avoid deep fried foods and anything baked with a lot of butter. I have learned that IBS is really a balancing act. It is important to have fats and insoluble fiber in a healthy diet, but I cannot have too much of either.

An example of a perfect meal for me is the pizza I began making myself earlier this year. I start with white pizza crust (whole wheat is great for everyone else, but it can be too much insoluble fiber for me if I'm not careful). On it, I add some Whole Foods tomato sauce, black beans, zucchini, summer squash, mushrooms and carrots. This meal provides a lot some grains, a lot of veggies, and protein from the beans. It also mixes a lot of soluble fiber- the bread, squash, mushrooms and zucchini with a manageable amount of insoluble fiber in the beans and the tomatoes.

Workouts

Even though I sometimes have to drag myself to the gym, I truly love working out. I will use this page of my blog to post different work outs that I try. Check back for frequent updates!

General
Workout Organization

Cardio Workouts

Spinning
Spinning 2

Couch to 5K

Strength Training

Kettlebell

Core Muscles
Importance of Strength Training
My Lifting Class
Lifting at Home
Lifting for Women- Book Review

Stretching

Foam Rolling

Physical Therapy Stretches

And I'm Back in the Game

100 points if you can tell me what quality teen film my title is from.

1 week after I was first officially knocked down by H1N1, I am officially back in the game. I finally feel back to my normal self (with a few coughs and some extra tissues). A lot of people who have been getting H1N1 have been knocked down for over a week, so I consider myself one of the lucky ones (I was completely knocked down for about 4 days, still recovering for maybe 2 after that). I attribute this luck to the following things:
#1- As soon as I got a fever I literally did not move from the couch for 5 days. With H1N1 you can convince yourself that you are not just taking time for yourself by resting, you are also sparing everyone else from being exposed.
#2-I went to the doctor and got Tamiflu. Supposedly Tamiflu should be taken within 48 hours of your first symptoms of H1N1. I let my fever last 24 hours and then visited the doctor. This is probably the biggest reason that I recovered quickly.
#3- I have been loading up on Vitamin D. Gina is always singing the praises of D, and I've recently seen a lot in the news about the greatness of Vitamin D for the immune system. Say no more, I need all the immune system I can get.

Since I am officially feeling better I decided to get back into the world of exercise today. My bike challenge has suffered a bit as a result of the flu, but I think I am still on track to meet my 200 by Dec. 31st challenge. I will just have to step up the spinning classes this month, but that's probably a good thing!

I started my return to the world of exercise with some foam rolling. How has everyone been doing with their foam roller? If you have not bought one yet, just do it. I know it's not a great deal of fun, but it is well worth it when you are all loose and injury free.

As I was foam rolling I decided that my cardio today would be a bit unconventional...

Haha, yes- I considered vacuuming my cardio today. Jillian Michaels would SO not be impressed, I can hear her now, "That's a false sense of lethargy that is not doing you any favors!" Maybe she'll cut me some slack since this is the first day in a week that I have walked farther than up the stairs...(or would that make her more mad?)

After that I did my favorite Pilates video from Exercise TV. It's called "Total Body Pilates" and it's only 20 minutes long. Even though it's pretty short it's a nice core work out and the girl on it does not drive me completely insane as they sometimes do. Though...if she said "booty" one more time...

I think I am going to declare December the month of Pilates. Pilates is an old love of mine that has gotten thrown by the wayside for yoga. My goal is to make time in my life for both of these essential exercises. Even though December tends to be a very busy month, it's also a very crucial time for exercise, especially if I am going to have to continue to fight off all these illnesses.

What is everyone up to this weekend? I hope you all have 4 days off. Isn't it amazing how much more fun you can have (and how much more can get done) in a weekend twice as long?

PS. I have officially read Twilight and New Moon. I see why people have enjoyed them, because Meyer does do a good job developing her characters, but I find the characters too annoying to continue reading. I also found a good list of what girls learn from Twilight. I know that the point of all books can't be girl power, and that teenage girls tend to be a bit dramatic when it comes to boys. But I can't help but wish that such a popular book had a stronger female lead. I am now back to reading adult books so I don't have to get so emotionally invested in my pleasure reading :) And my sister told me everything I missed in the last two books...haha

Black Friday

So, do I seem like the type to you that wakes up at 4 am, gets in line and starts fighting for the goods?

Nope.

I come from a long line of great shoppers...well, my mom is a great shopper. People who know me in person know this because most likely if you tell me you like my shirt, coat, sweater, pants etc I am probably going to reply that my mom got it. She also probably got it on sale or at TJ Maxx. I love TJ Maxx, don't get me wrong, but no one finds deals at TJ Maxx like my mom does. And yet, you will not see my mom hitting any stores on Black Friday.

I, also, DO NOT hit the stores bright and early. There is really no deal good enough for me to wake up early on a day I do not have to work. I slept until 8 this morning and it was beautiful (by the way, that's extremely late for me, but my body clock has been adjusted a bit since I haven't been to work in so long). Even though I am not part of the 4 am crowd I did do a little shopping today. I hit up Michael's to get the goods to make Christmas cards at 25% my whole purchase and then I made a slight detour to Old Navy where I got two sweaters, a sweater dress and an awesome scarf for $50 (saved $46 wooo). Yeah...I didn't do any shopping for anyone else, but at least I will be well dressed, haha. Seriously though, if you felt how freezing it is in my classroom you would understand my need for sweaters.

On another note, I had my records from my last visit with the doctor regarding my knee sent to me so I can bring them to my new doctor. They include all the notes my doctor wrote...

"This is a 5 foot, 5 inch female appearing younger than stated age. She is awake, alert, appropriate, interactive and cooperative..."

WHAT? LOL. Is this normally what doctors write because I laughed out loud when I saw this? Not that I am ever going to mind people saying I look younger but...is that really important to my knee? And also, if I looked OLDER than my age, would they seriously write that? Someone could get pretty offended! At least I know I can use my student discount for a few more years...

Secondly..."awake"- do people generally go to the doctor's office asleep???

I am also glad that I am appropriate and cooperative cuz behind his back I am thinking about how much doctors piss me off and how not helpful that appointment was.

But seriously, now at my next appointment I'm going to be paying attention to this sort of thing. I have to make sure I look awake enough and act interactive. I wouldn't want him to write that I was boring...or inappropriate. And what exactly is inappropriate when it comes to a doctor's appointment?

Kinda wondering what a 25 year old is supposed to look like...Do they learn this in med school?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am SO happy today. Why? Because for the first time in ALMOST A WEEK, I did not sit on the couch watching talk shows and reading crazy books all day! YAYYYYY!!! I was finally feeling better enough to actually exist like a normal human today and just in time :)

I did skip Eric's game this morning because I did not think my body would appreciate entering society again by sitting in the cold(ish) drizzle. But I managed to make it to my family and Eric's family and hopefully I did not infect anyone. I have to admit, my family was a bit concerned about catching H1N1 from me. For example, me: Mom, do you need any help in there? Mom: Not from you! Hahaha....oh well, I won't complain, I get to sit around and do nothing and not looking like an ungrateful child. Sounds good to me!

Time for some Thanksgiving...

Beginning with some gorgeous table set up. My family has finally found a use for the dining room :)

My mom made this gorgeous centerpiece, it's got real cranberries on the bottom and some serious BC colors on the top!

The Food Begins with some sweet potatoes...

My favorite...

My second favorite...

All together now...

See the free spot above? That's because everyone was scared to sit next to me. They claimed it was a special empty spot for "Eric" haha, yeah right!

For dessert I had a very small piece of lemon meringue pie (and took a bigger slice home to eat when I didn't have to worry as much about my tummy)

Next, I headed up to see Eric's family where there were a lot of dogs attacking small children going on...

And some sleeping if you can see in the background (too much night before Thanksgiving fun?). Also I love this picture below...

It kind of looks like the two of them have been drinking a little bit too much. I'm not going to lie, that has been known to happen on holidays, but today both of these two cousins have not had a sip to drink. They still look like they are have though, which makes it amusing.

Thanksgiving was very low key and relaxed this year for me, but it was just what I needed after 5 days on the couch. How was everyone's Thanksgiving? If you didn't celebrate Thanksgiving then I hope you had an awesome Thursday!

Time to go avoid online shopping. There are just so many good deals going on right now!

Thanksgiving Eve

The night before Thanksgiving is usually a night to hang out with old friends and get excited about all the yummy food and fun times with family the next day. This year is a little different than usual for Eric and I. Eric has to be up at 5am to get ready for the Thanksgiving football game and I am still recovery from my lovely dose of H1N1.

I know I should be appreciative that I was able to receive Tamiflu when I am not a high risk patient, but I have to admit I am really a bit angry that I was not given the vaccine in the first place. I know they are starting with people that are likely to have serious complications, and I appreciate that. But then again, my healthy med school friend was able to get it because she works at a hospital. So obviously, we have moved beyond high risk patients to high risk patients and people we the doctors are immediately concerned with. As a teacher, I am probably only slightly less likely to be exposed than a doctor so give me the vaccine. Sometimes I just hate that big decisions about my health are left up to other people and not me. I guess now is not the time to go on a health rant...

In GOOD news...I downloaded this application called "Blogo" in hopes that it is going to make my blog posts more efficient, mainly in the area of picture posting. I haven't been taking any pictures lately (unless you want to see pics of my TV?) so I thought I'd post some from last year's holiday season.

That would be Eric with our little tree. We are hoping to have a slightly bigger one this year in our house, but then again our apartment living room was actually bigger than our house living room, so we'll see. Eric's only request is that it smells more like a tree, haha.

Last year right before Christmas Eric's brother took us into Boston to see How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It was the perfect Christmas night...

Also right before Christmas, Eric and I got engaged...yipee! I'll probably tell the story when we get closer to the one year anniversary :)

What are you most looking forward to about the holiday season? I am so excited to decorate our first house for Christmas. Eric already put the lights up outside, but we are probably going to wait until football is over to start on the inside. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving tomorrow.

PS. Canadians- I love that no one knows where Canadian Thanksgiving began haha. Now that I hear the story is similar I'm starting to wonder if the whole story was completely made up by everyone. Oh well, at least I get to eat delicious food and hang out with family!

*Special Note: I tested out Blogo for this post and I'm in love. It was SO quick and easy. If you have a Mac (and therefore can't use the Windows program that makes putting pictures up easy) then I highly recommend the free trial of Blogo. I'll let you know in a month if I decide to pay for it, but I probably will! Let me know if you decide to try it.

Almost Thanksgiving!

It's only November and I've officially broken my sick day record. It really feels weird to not be at work for this long when I know everyone else is...I feel a little left out of it all...that is weird, I know. What can I say? I like to be in the center of the action.

Tomorrow is (American) Thanksgiving and I will do something during the day even if it absolutely kills me. The thought of sitting on my butt watching another day of TV makes me want to cry, in fact I don't even know if I can manage the rest of the day today.

Eric and I like to be as crazy as possible on holidays so that we can see everyone. Our families live within 20 minutes of each other, so it is possible, though we usually end up exhausted by the end of the day. Our original plan for tomorrow was getting up bright and early for Eric's football game. Eric coaches the high school team in the town he teaches, so they have their big Thanksgiving rivalry game. Then, I was going to head to my parents for food and then catch up with Eric after he closes down everything with the football kids at his parents house.

However, I'm going to have to see exactly how much I can manage tomorrow. But something will be done. Or else the blog post tomorrow will be much more insane. Haha.

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? What is your favorite thing to eat at Thanksgiving?

If you are from Canada, can you enlighten me about the Canadian Thanksgiving story? To be honest, before I started reading blogs I didn't know Canada had Thanksgiving at all (I am terrible, I admit it!). I'm guessing it has nothing to do with the Pilgrims, so what's the story?

Housebound Day 4.

Before I begin, I would like to say "Happy 200th Post to Me!" I definitely thought this post would be a lot more eventful, but frankly- when you have been sitting around, checking your temperature, watching tv and reading books for 4 days straight there is really not much eventful to say. I thought being sick would motivate me to blog a lot, since, what else am I doing? But it turns out most of my blog inspiration occurs outside of my house...a place I have not seen in awhile. I promise to get back to relatively normal posts soon, but until then:

Notes from the Housebound Life

1. I very rarely say that I feel “old”, as I know that 25 is actually quite young in the grand scheme of things. But when I saw Scott Wolf on TV today and he was 41, it freaked me out a bit. To me he will always be in his early twenties…and named Bailey Salinger. Okay, so I live in a bit of a fantasy world…

2. If I was a stay at home mom, I would get nothing done until 12 each day- too many fantastic talk shows on in the morning. I am going to miss them when I am better.

3. I’m getting a little sucked into the Twilight books. I really like New Moon better than Twilight so far. Typical Kelly to hate something and then like it. Not obsessed yet though…

4. As a teacher, I don't spend a lot of time in my life "alone." Sure...maybe 4 or 5 hours a day when Eric isn't home yet or something, but not stay...full days alone. I am not good at it. I have started talking about celebrities and book characters as though they are my friends.

5. I wish I could be more like Ellen DeGeneres. I love how she just dances by herself on TV. Being housebound makes me obsessed with celebrities.

That's all from this housebound girl. I'm hoping to be back at work tomorrow, so maybe that will make me a little more interesting?

Check Out Below

Hi everyone!

I'm still sick. Diagnosed with the flu this morning officially and given Tamiflu by the one doctor in the universe that never argues with me when I tell him that I need medicine. Actually I didn't even have to tell him, he suggested it. Amazing.

My life has consisted of attempting to watch TV (ugh there is nothing on), attempting to be on my computer (but sitting up for too long is difficult) and continuing to read Twilight- though I am starting a list of scary quotes that Edward says to Bella, as in "you are my life." Definitely would've run screaming at 17...and now.

So I have nothing interesting to blog about. Eric did make me soup! But that's about all I can eat right now. I decided to finally do my About Me section. I hope it makes sense because it took me about 10 lie down breaks to get through it. I know I should be resting but barely moving from the couch for 2 day straight is a lot for me. And I am taking tomorrow off work. It's safe to say I'll be going insane by tomorrow night.

I hope everyone is doing well and if you haven't yet got a H1N1 vaccine, get one now. I would've got one already if they would let me (I know, I know pregnant woman are five year olds are priority). But if you can find one, get it, this sickness stinks!

Rereading this post has proven to me that my About Me section must have a lot of typos, I promise to update it when I am back to 98.6.

About Me- Updated 8/8/10

Hi, I’m Kelly, the girl with the Red Sox Cap!

What’s My “Healthy Living” Story?

I was fortunate that growing up, I had an extremely active and nutritious family. I was definitely taught what healthy living is at a very young age. Unfortunately, some of those lessons were forgotten when I went to college. It’s not that I didn’t want to be healthy, it’s just that it was dining hall food, there was candy everywhere and I was not great at managing all the choices. Okay, so I guess it's that I wanted to be healthy while eating 4 servings of pasta for dinner, with a dessert of reeses soup (what my roommates called my frozen yogurt that had more topping than actual yogurt). This got even worse when I went to Australia and the dining hall was truly terrible. I lived on pizza, Pringles, Mars bars and apple crisp (the only thing I liked at the dining hall). I went to the gym almost every day in Australia and I still gained at least 10 pounds in 6 months.

After I got home I met Eric and I made so many classic “eat like a guy” mistakes. He introduced me to Dunkin Donuts and I got my coffee with cream in it, ah! I did manage to lose a bit of weight during senior year, but I gained most of it back eating 3 meals out a day during our trip to Europe that summer.

Fortunately, after college I moved back home and back to my mom’s nutritious cooking. It was also during my first year teaching that I developed Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and back when I didn’t know what it was, I would feel nauseous for days on end. Although I would not wish it on anyone, it was definitely the miracle weight loss disease for me. I lost about 10 pounds that first year, and almost 10 more when I learned that I could control IBS by eating healthier and getting to the gym as often as possible.

Would I gain all the weight back if IBS suddenly went away tomorrow? No. Here’s why:

1. Minus the stomach problems, I have never felt as great as I do now. I eat healthy, I exercise regularly, I get enough sleep and so I feel energetic and happy almost every day. While I do believe food is meant to be enjoyed, I also have to remember the top reason to eat is to fuel our bodies, and that cannot be done with brownies and chips. When I eat healthy, I feel healthy and that is more enjoyable than Pringles could ever be.
2. Having IBS has forced me to learn more about nutrition and learn more about what is in my food (especially at restaurants, yikes!). Now that I know this information, it would be hard to go back to eating terrible for me foods.
3. One of the best things about IBS (and there is pretty much nothing else good about it) is that there is really nothing I can’t eat a small bite of. IBS is not a food allergy, so if I want a bike of chocolate cake, I can have a bite. I’ve found that most of the time I don’t even mind not having more than a bite. In the end, it’s such a healthy way to enjoy delicious, but not healthy foods, in very small doses.

Why Start a “Healthy Living” Blog?

I started this blog for myself, as a way to chronicle my training for my first triathlon in July 2009. I quickly learned that blogging is not an isolated activity, there is a whole blogging community out there and so many people I can learn from. I have been known to tell stories about my blog friends as though I know them personally and I definitely feel like I do.

Blogging has challenged me in ways that I never thought it would have. I have completed my first 5k and my first sprint triathlon since I started blogging. I took up spinning and tried kettlebell classes. I have tried new foods, new restaurants, and even met some new people.

I hope my readers can identify with me because I am a lot like you guys…I try to be healthy, but I have good days and bad days. I try to get to the gym, but I get bored and I have to try new exercises. I have a love/hate relationship with my job. I eat too much ice cream. The list could go on…

What Do We Want to Know About the Girl Who Wears a Red Sox Cap?

Well, #1 I look terrible in hats and I very rarely wear them. However, I am a huge Red Sox fan and I got the idea for my blog name from the Kenny Chesney song, “She’s From Boston.”

I graduated from Boston College in 2006. This is my fifth year teaching Kindergarten. I got my masters degree in Reading and Language in May 2009. I am loving ever minute of not being a “student” anymore for the first time in almost 20 years, whew! Everyone who knows me in real life thinks it’s weird that I am a Kindergarten teacher because I don’t quite fit the stereotype., whatever that might be…

This summer (7/10/10) I got married to my best friend, Eric…who is much more likely to be found wearing a Red Sox cap than I am. Eric is also a teacher, but he teaches Physical Education to middle school students. Right now Eric and I are training to run a 5k together!

I have a wonderful and supportive family, who I have to credit for 90 percent of my healthy ways. My sister Caroline, has been captured by the blog world as well. Even though she is my younger sister, she is definitely someone I look up to as far as living an active lifestyle. If only she had gone to college first, perhaps I would've realized the possibilities as far as being healthy in college. My brother Jake is also a college student, known for his sense of humor and knack for finding trouble. But he also has that protective "brother" way about him and if anyone dares mess with me, watch out. It would take too long to get in all the reasons my parents are the best, but trust me on this one. However, ready to hate me? I also got gained the most easy-to-get along with, welcoming in-laws probably anyone has ever had.

When I'm not blogging I like to plan trips (and go on them), eat out at restaurants, spend time with my family and friends, read, write, attempt to cook and do yoga (not at the same time). Also, Eric and I have been known to find touristy things to do, even if it's at a place 10 minutes from home.

If you happen to stumble across my blog, please leave me a note. I love to learn who my readers are, especially if they have blogs I can become addicted to...

Sickness Has Arrived

Ever since the school year began, my kindergarten students have been sicker than usual. I have had kids out for a week at a time, and I rarely have a day where all of my kids are at school. I know part of this is the swine hysteria making everyone careful about when they send kids to school, but there definitely has been more going around than usual. I've made it through pretty successfully with only a few short and mild colds. I have not been able to get a seasonal or swine flu vaccine because of the shortage (they are now giving it to 5 year olds, but not the teachers of 5 year olds haha). I have be making deals with God (I do this often) about not complaining if I get sick, as long as it's after Tiff's wedding (last weekend). So today, all the sicknesses finally hit me and I had my first fever in almost 5 years. I can't remember having a fever even once since I had mono in college. Now, to be honest, I had to actually buy a thermometer today to find out that I definitely had a temp, so it's possible I have had some low grade fevers but never the sweats/chills that were going on today.

The great news is, it's a Saturday so I didn't have to think at all about whether or not to go to work, what sub plans to leave, etc etc. Being a sick teacher is pretty much the most annoying thing ever and I can only imagine sub plans would be infinitely worse with a fever.

I did manage to get some quality relaxation time including watching Love Actually (absolutely love that movie, could probably watch it 100 times and not get sick of it). I also read some of Twilight, which I am attempting to read, but I think secret crazy feminist Kelly is going to end up not liking this book too much. I like my teenage girl characters to have a little more of a backbone :) But I'll withhold further judgments until I really finish the book.

Yesterday afternoon when I was starting to feel crappy but still fever free, I managed to write our entire wedding ceremony script. A few things will need to be added or edited later, but for the most part it is 100 percent done. I'm back in wedding planning mode :)

Anyway, I did kick my fevers butt with some rest and of course, Advil. But now I can slowly feel it creeping back up (and my trusty thermometer confirms it). So I'm going to take some more medicine and get to bed early. I'm hoping I can see a doctor tomorrow and they can give me some of that flu medicine. it would be awesome if for once they would actually have enough of something that healthy 25 year olds like myself could get it, but I'm sure that's unlikely. Obviously they did not see one of my kindergarten kid's tantrum the other day when I was out of the classroom for a meeting. It is for the good of all that I be will enough to go to work on Monday, haha.

I hope everyone is having a more exciting weekend than me!

Me and My Other Half

Happy Friday everyone! Amber did this fun post today that I did for facebook a long time ago. Since I always talk about Eric and our wedding on the blog I figured you might as well learn a bit more about us :)

What are your middle names?
Gail (mine), Richard (his)

How long have you been together?
It will be five years in March. Whoa.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Less than 2 months. We pretty much dated from the beginning.

Who asked whom out?
Eric said, "so can I call you my girlfriend now?" (very Eric)

How old are each of you?
I'm 25, Eric is 28.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
Due to football Eric doesn't really see anyone, and my brother is in college in Connecticut so I haven't seen too much of anyone but my sister lately. But, in general we see them pretty equally, we are both really close with our families.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
We don't really have a lot of hard situations, but probably the subject we "debate" about most often is the fact that I am always exhausted at night and like to go to bed, and he likes to stay up late. This is fine when we are home, but causes a lot of anxiety for me when we are out at night because I know that if I stay up late I am still going to be up by 7am (internal body clock), so I'll end up just getting no sleep. My life would be a lot easier if people in general would be more social during the day. I have always wondered why if everyone is sitting home during the day we can't just all hang out and then get to bed at night. Haha...I'll make an awesome grandma I know...

Did you go to the same school?
Nope, never.

Are you from the same home town?
Nope, our home towns are about 15-20 minutes apart.

Who is smarter?
It all depends what you mean by smart. Eric remembers everything. If he sees it, he will remember it. He also knows a lot of random information. I am definitely more of a school person though, if that counts towards smartness.

Who is the most sensitive?
Eric says me, but I don't know about that...we both have our sensitive issues

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Lately we have really been switching it up a lot so it's hard to say. Eric and I love to eat out more than basically anything else, so there are a lot of restaurants in our life :)

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
I think that would be Greece.

Who has the craziest exes?
According to Eric, he does- but fortunately I have not had the pleasure of dealing with any of his crazy exes!

Who has the worst temper?
Eric- when driving, Kelly- when hungry or tired

Who does the cooking?
Actually Eric and I cook completely separately. As in, I cook for myself and he cooks for himself. We are pretty stubborn when it comes to what we like and there is a lot I can't eat, so...we just act like roommates who cook for ourselves.

Who is the neat-freak?
Neither of us, but both of us have our things we like to be neat. And both of us have our moments where we are like, "AH this needs to be cleaned!"

Who is more stubborn?
We are both pretty stubborn. It doesn't cause a lot of fights though, because we basically just do things on our own the way we want them done.

Who hogs the bed?
No one, we have a giant King. But I hog blankets.

Who wakes up earlier?
Me. By hours.

Where was your first date?
Fenway theater, we saw Coach Carter.

Who is more jealous?
Neither of us really gets jealous.

How long did it take to get serious?
I can't really pinpoint the exact time that I was like, "this is serious" but I would guess it was sometime during the first summer we were dating. We were never really that casual though...

Who eats more?
Eric eats more, I eat more often.

Who does the laundry?
We both did our own laundry for the past two years of living together, but we are just now starting to do each others laundry. Neither of us really mind doing laundry.

Who’s better with the computer?
We are both pretty good with the computer, Eric might be slightly better, but I make up for it in passion, I love the computer way more!

Who drives when you are together?
We switch off. Eric drives us more frequently, but my car has better gas mileage so I tend to drive to the Cape and on longer trips.

I hope you learned something new, and maybe you can relate to some of these?