Get Out Your Pom Poms!

When I first started a blog, I was a little hesitant to tell my friends and family about it because I thought they may think I was a total loser (and I'm clearly still in middle school in my head so I worry about things like that). To get Eric on board with the whole idea, I told him that sometimes bloggers receive free samples of food or fitness products they want you to try out. He was totally sold on this idea, "what kinds of food?" "how do you get it?" he asked.

His interest means it's only fitting that my first free sample be a product that Eric was very excited about! I received an e-mail from the pom blogger asking if I would like to receive some samples of POM Wonderful. Eric has tried POM Wonderful before and loves it so he was very happy about the idea. To be honest, I have never been a juice person. Juice hurts my stomach now, but even when it did not I almost never drank it. I have never been a person to drink my calories, and I never liked juice enough to waste calories on it (clearly I do waste calories in other ways haha). I probably have not even had a sip of juice in 2 years. But of course I accepted the free sample anyways because I knew Eric would drink it, and I'd bring it to the Cape and my brother would drink it too.

Soon- in the mail I received a bunch of 8 oz containers of POM Wonderful and some information on what is healthy about Pom Wonderful.

The first thing I noticed was HOW wrong I was about "wasting" calories on juice. I am sure I was right about some juice, but NOT Pom Wonderful. It has been clinically tested to improve cardiovascular health and be an amazing source of antioxidants- better than red wine, grape juice, blueberry juice, cranberry juice, green tea and all those things I consider to be FILLED with antioxidants! Also, in a major bonus for Eric and my brother- it has been shown to improve prostate health and erectile function. While there are other brands of pomegranate juice, they are not all created equal and POM wonderful is the only brand guaranteed to have all of these health benefits.

While I'm not too sold on prostate health myself, I am a major sucker for antioxidants. I worry that I don't get enough of them since I never drink red wine, and fruits like blueberries hurt my stomach when I have more than a few. I knew I was going to have to figure out a way to drink this POM Wonderful even if it was in very small doses. Finally, thinking about how I always add a few blueberries or raspberries to my oatmeal in the morning, my mom came up with an idea. "What if you add some POM to your oatmeal in the morning before you cook it?" Ah ha! Great idea. And so I began.

I normally cover my oatmeal with water, so I almost covered it and then added about 4 oz. (half of the bottles) to my oatmeal. It looked a little like blood, but I don't judge a book by it's cover.

And then cooked it...

And then I added some apple slices.

Finally, it was time to eat it and the verdict is: DELICIOUS. The best way to describe it is oatmeal with a kick. It just adds this nice, subtle taste to the oatmeal that is a bit tart and really yummy. I am definitely planning to add POM Wonderful to my oatmeal in the future, which means I am going to have to buy some since Eric and Jake have almost completely polished off my free samples. If you have not tried POM Wonderful yet, I definitely think you should- even if you are "not a juice person." :)

Age Is Just a Number

Last week I started reading the book "Age is Just a Number" by Dara Torress, the swimmer from the Olympics last summer who was 41 and won 3 silver medals! I heard about her book and decided to read it because I was in need of a break from my obsession with Jodi Picoult and I also needed some serious motivation to become a swimmer. Sometimes I really like to read books like this where someone to talks about life, seemingly with no organization (although she obviously has SOME haha). Another book like this is Teri Hatcher's "Burnt Toast" which I also enjoyed.

Like probably everyone, I have a complicated relationship with age in my life. In my immediate family I am the oldest kid by 4 1/2 years. In my extended family I am one of the oldest, with about a million little cousins at every age down to about 3. So, I guess you could say I am used to be "old". However, with a June birthday I was always one of the younger one of my friends, which really didn't matter except when we went to get our driver's license or turn 21...grr. Also, when I started teaching I was the youngest teacher at my school. This remained the case for 2 years until my principal finally hired a music teacher who had just graduated college. Although my school has a lot of young teachers, there was still a feeling from other teachers and parents that I was SO young. And in a way I am, since many of them are old enough to be my parents.

I always try not to be one of those people who is miserable about another birthday and hates to get old. I know this is easy for me to say since I am only 25, but I hope to continue this even when I am 30, 40, 60...etc. Much as I miss the lack of responsibility of my high school self, I really enjoy who I am now a lot better than who I was then. Plus, with less responsibility came less independence and ability to make my own choices. Now if I want to make (minor) bad decisions, there is no one to stop me (unless it was a terrible decision then Eric would most likely stop me haha).

When I was younger I was very active, but I didn't enjoy much of the active things I did, not the way I do now. I used to think the rest of my family was so active and I was born into the wrong family because I just wanted to chill out and read a book. 15 year old Kelly may have had a more capable body, but I never would've run a 5k or a Sprint Triathlon voluntarily. I think Dara Torress really gets at this in her book. Although we may have younger bodies in our teen years, we may not have the motivation and drive to really succeed in our athletic dreams. In winning her Olympic medals last year, she proves that maturity and experience may be able to cancel out the advantage of having a younger body. So maybe when I'm 40, I'll run my first marathon- haha.

Speaking of getting older, so many of my friends are getting married. Last night we went to the wedding of one of Eric's high school friends. I have always thought I am so lucky to have awesome friends myself, but Eric also has amazing friends- who happen to date great girls- giving me all the more friends. The bride picked out the exact color bridesmaid dresses I want, so if they look familiar in a year, don't mind me :) Here are some pics:

Bride and groom coming out of the church into bubbles-

Picture of the girlfriends/fiances/wife of the Wilmington boys.

Me with the beautiful bride.

5 more days until the festivities for Katie's Wedding begin! Best Maid of Honor ever- here I come! haha.

Taking On New Challenges

I have made a "final" (which will obviously change because I am the most indecisive person ever) decision about my work outs in light of my knee injury. I am going to take a break from running. Several awesome people have shared with me that they too had to take 6 month, year long breaks from running because of knee pain. All of these people are running again pain free so I feel like it can happen! However, I'm not convinced it can happen without actually rest, so I am resorting to other work out plans.

My favorite things about running are the fact that 1. you can do it anywhere and 2. it does not take a lot of time to get a good work out- walk out the front door, run 30 minutes, come back and I'm done. Therefore, I will need to be more creative about fitting in other work outs. The bike is good, but it takes at least 45 minutes to get in a good work out on a bike AND that doesn't include filling up the tires and the prep that is involved in getting the bike ready. Swimming is also good, but that involves driving to the gym which is about 20-25 minutes round trip. Also, technically my membership ran out at the gym. When I get home I am going to have to deal with this haha.

While I am down the Cape time is less of an issue so I've been thinking about things I can do. I couldn't bring my bike down, but I did bring my tennis racket and rollerblades. If I really want to bike my parents have mountain bikes in the garage, but I think they are not filled up with air. So I think what I am going to try to do while I'm down here is swim 3-4 times (I can pay $5 to go to the Y that is 15 minutes away or if I get really crazy I can swim in the ocean), rollerblade once or twice, play tennis two or three times and in between do On Demand work outs like pilates, yoga and any other low impact cardio I can find (any recommendations?). For now this will work.

This morning I woke up and headed over the Y. I wanted to get the most of my $5 guest past so I started with the elliptical. I have found that my knee hurts if I had resistance (which is annoying because I think the interval plan keeps things more interesting). I could only manage that for about 15 minutes, especially once I realized the magazine I brought I had already read. After that I did the leg press because I was doing that at PT and that is a leg exercise I can't really keep up at home. I also did the hip lift where I have the big ball under my legs, which also cannot be done at home until I invest in the ball. I LOVE this exercise, it is so good for the back of your thighs! At the end I put on my bathing suit and hopped in the pool for my first swim since the triathlon. I found myself in the middle of a Masters swim team practice (the Cape Cod Y does not like to post things like this on their pool schedule), which was actually kind of good because I am seriously considering joining the Masters team at my Y. It did not look TOO intimidating and I didn't really see a coach anywhere (is there always a coach? or do they just follow a work out?). I did 24 laps today, which totals at 600 yards. I'd like to work up to 1500-2000 before I actually join a team, so I have a lot of work to do. I'm not sure exactly how many yards the typical Masters practice is but maybe one of you guys knows? I'll also have to work on my flip turns and other strokes besides freestyle.

I'm going to see swimming as my new challenge that running can no longer provide. It's much easier on my body (except my skin and hair) and maybe even better for my whole body overall (as far as using my arms and other muscles as well). When life hands you lemons, make lemonade...and then take a swim in it :)

Too Much Dress Shopping

I would just like to start by saying my hatred of invitations has dropped dramatically because my amazing sister and Maid of Honor volunteered to enter all the addresses into the labels for me, so I can simply print them out. Thanks Caroline :)

So I have not blogged in a couple of days because I've been insanely busy DRESS SHOPPING. On Tuesday I headed into Boston with my mom, Eric's mom and Caroline (my sis) for Operation: Buy a wedding dress AND bridesmaid dresses. It's no secret that shopping for a dress is not one of my favorite parts about wedding planning so I picked a place I knew had a lot of great stuff and was SET on buying a dress (or at least finding one I was set on buying, maybe not making the purchasing so quickly). While the trip was more successful than the others I have done so far- it still was not what I would call a success. I found one dress that my mom and Eric's mom really liked on me, but I was just not quite feeling it. I definitely liked it, but I wasn't SURE it was "the one" (I'm not really sure if I'm going to be a "the one" person anyway, but I'd like to be a little more sure). I came home and looked it up on the website and I'm not a huge fan of the model in the dress which is not adding to my love for it. If you are curious, the dress can be found here, and it's number 19 of 25. Hopefully Eric will not go through the hassle of looking at that, haha. My major problems with the dress are the straps are sort of wide on my shoulders, they fall on the outside more than in a normal spot. Also, as Caroline pointed out, the beading is a little strange, instead of normal circular beads, they are more the long rectangle shape that I'm not sure I like as much. Shockingly, the mermaid aspect does not bother me in this dress- normally I avoid it at all costs.

On the bridesmaid dress front, I did find a company (Watters) that makes the exact color fushia I want- bright and beautiful. I also found a dress that looked nice on Caroline but I'm not sure how large of a fan of it she is, and I don't know how great it would look on others. However, I am definitely going to continue to look at stores that sell Watters dresses so I can hopefully order in that exact color. It seems as though finding that color is definitely half the battle! So overall, I did not find a bridal gown or a bridesmaid dress. Which stinks, a lot. Plus, I had to go to the MALL on Tuesday night to find a dress for a wedding I am going to on Saturday. So basically I hated shopping by the end of the night on Tuesday.

In between all this ridiculousness, I did manage to squeeze in a bike ride with Caileen, my newest biking buddy! If you have been reading for awhile you know how bored and unmotivated I am biking alone. Ash is a wonderful biking buddy, but she lives in Chicago and Caroline is also a great biking buddy but will soon be back at school and not quite close enough to meet. My new biking buddy is Caileen! Caileen and I met in high school on the bus (haha, remember the bus?) and we became friends while playing hockey together. We lived down the street from each other, so I broke that ridiculous 6 month rule (can't drive friends around for 6 months after you get your license) about 300 times driving her to school and hockey practice. We blew tons of money on daily Starbucks runs, skipped hockey practice for Chilis and had way more fun before 6 am than most people do during the day. I have not seen Caileen in awhile so I was very excited to catch up over our new shared hobby. Caileen is one of those people who just gets me, she'll say something and I'm like YES I totally know what you mean. Plus she cracks me up. Here is a picture of us when I came to her house to watch her take pictures before her senior prom. This was 5 years ago....

Now I am officially down the Cape for my "vacation", which I put in quotes because today Eric and I are off to look at hotels for the wedding. But I'm looking on the bright side, at least I don't have to go to work. Yesterday when I was tutoring and one of my kids absolutely flipped out because he was winning a game and the game told him to go back 3 spaces (at which point he'd still be beating me by at least 15 spaces)- not working for over a week was definitely good enough for me!

And one more thing, my AWESOME wedding photographer is in the running for the Cape Cod A-List. If you guys liked my engagement pictures, please vote for her for best photographer. You need to follow this link and then vote for "Hike Photography." Just to remind you, she is responsible for THIS awesome pic:

Doctors Appointment Recap

This morning I woke up bright and early for my doctors appointment about my knee. I was so nervous that they were going to tell me I needed surgery and I had already ran through my head how no possible time this year would work for surgery (is there ever a good time for a kindergarten teacher to be out of work and then on crutches? probably not!). Fortunately, that is not what it came to.

I got to the appointment and the first thing they did was take some XRays. I have never had XRays except at the dentist but that was pretty straightforward and not too scary. Then I was lead back to my own little room where the doctor would meet me. When the doctor came he talked to me briefly about where the pain was, what triggered it etc. Then he checked out both of my knees and moved both of them around a lot. He said that everything looks good in my XRays except for a small rough patch along, I believe the tendon? (I should always write things down). But that it was nothing to really worry about (but did explain the pain when we press down hard on my knee). He said that he agrees with the patellar tendonitis diagnosis. The weird thing is, both he and my PT both used patellar tendonitis interchangably with patellafemoral. I'm not sure if that's because they are the same (it appears different in my online research though?) or because they don't want to outright say that my original diagnosis was not right. It does not seem like the treatment plan is very different for either one so it probably does not matter.

The doctor today said that my treatment plan so far has been good and that I should continue to go to the Physical Therapy, which I cannot do because insurance will no longer cover it. I just have to make sure I continue with all of the exercises as religiously as I possibly can. He said that I can continue to run but I should cut down a lot from what I was doing. Since right now I am doing no running at all, I'm not sure if cutting down is really possible. He also said that I have to take Advil before and after running and continue to use the knee straps. I am supposed to go back to him in April 2010 if it still hurts and then I will get an MRI. I really hope it does not still hurt then. So basically this appointment confirmed what I already knew, but did make me feel a lot more confident about my diagnosis and not left wondering if I really have a tear that we just do not know about.

The big guest now is what to do next. Clearly he said I can run, so my first instinct was to do the Couch to 5k plan again, so I can slowly build up my stamina both for the sake of my own body (I am not one of those people who can just pick up at run 3 miles again) and because I am sure the knee would do better with a slow and steady return to running. However, I'm wondering if yes I CAN run, but if it would really be better if I did not. I have tried resting the knee for 2 months now (with the exception of about 3 runs) and it has improved by still does not feel 100 percent. Should I continue with the biking, swimming and walking until I am at 100 percent? Will I hinder my progress and end up back at that doctor's in April if I start running again? I really do want to run, believe me, but even more so I really want this knee to get better. I am no expert on tendonitis, but I thought rest was considered the best thing for it. Does anyone have any experience at this?

I have a fun filled day of beauty appointments (in preparation for the next two weeks of weddings) and some tutoring of the kiddos. I'll leave you with some pictures from my weekend in NH with Eric's fam.
1st- Eric and I on the boat...
On the awesome deck with the lake background...
I love summer weekends.

It's Very Simple

I would like weddings better if...

1. It was appropriate to send out evites to a wedding...I'm serious. I hate invitations. Just after finishing invitations to 2 of my best friend's showers I have now started on my engagement invitations. I immediately regret doing an engagement party instead of a shower- if I did a shower, someone would have to do this for me, haha.

2. No one else offered their opinions unless asked and even then, only said what I want to hear.

3. People did not move, change their last name or anything else that changes my very time consuming to deal with guest/address list.

4. I had no job and had time to dedicate my entire life to dealing with this party that will be over in 5 hours. Wait on second thought, I would hate being that large of a waste of life...moving on to #6...

5. If I had a personal assistant who would do all wedding related work for me, including bring me beautiful dresses that I love to my house to try on.

Is that really too much to ask?

On a positive note, I had a great weekend and succeeded in getting a small tan with NO tan lines by wearing my only strapless shirt I own. I am literally the queen of tan lines and uneven tanning, but I am trying to change my ways so I do not look ridiculous in my friend's wedding next week ( NEXT WEEK? AHH!) Speaking of that dress I am wearing, I picked it up last Thursday after having it altered A LOT. The lady was a serious miracle worker. It looks 300 times better. It amazes me that someone can alter the size of a dress so much. Anyway, I need to get to bed because I have an early appointment with an orthopedist about my knee (yay...or maybe yay!). I'll let you know how that goes. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Might have killed my arms...

This morning I decided to go to the first spinning class in awhile. It was a different class than I've ever been to before, but I decided to go because it was only 30 minutes (yup, I admit I'm a gym class slacker). I got to the gym a bit early so I started to do some of the great arm exercises you guys have been recommending. I did probably 15 minutes of all arm weights which is a huge amount of me since I rarely work my arms. Then I get to spinning and the instructor hands me a resistance band. Immediately I think uh oh. Uh oh was right...we did arm work almost the entire time (with spinning). It was great, except for I think it might have been a bit much for my arms. Tomorrow is parent conferences at my summer job so I am really looking forward to feeling extreme soreness while I am trying to explain the progress of my kids this summer, haha- oh well it will distract me at least. After tomorrow I am technically done with summer work, wooo! I still have a lot of private tutoring to do, but I will be taking a full week off in two weeks to spend some time at the Cape and go to 2 weddings :) Anyway, I will be without the internet this weekend in NH, so I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and I'll catch up with you on Monday!