Getting back to normal

My surgeries are finally OVER!!!!!! I will be 5 weeks post-op on Wednesday and my doctor has said I am okay to "try" running again. I've been power walking for the last week and I will probably continue for the rest of this coming week. I'm enjoying walking, it's getting me back into the swing of things without the impact on "the girls." I'm also walking 5-6 miles at a pretty wicked pace (as far as walking goes) and I want to keep that up because I know there is no way I will be able to run those kind of miles for at least a few weeks.
Not running and not being able to go to the gym regularly for the past 9 month has really messed with my thighs so I'm working really hard to get rid of this extra "fluff" that has popped up. I thought I was doing good because I've managed to stay within 3-5 pounds of my "before surgery weight" but I guess I've lost a lot of muscle because I've got some new dimples and a certain back roll has decided to resurface. :(
The kids and I are going to be doing a 5K on the 19th, Nicholas is actually going to run it by himself this time and Sophia and I are going to run/walk it. We're getting ready for Daddy to come home (which will be SOON!!!) because he's been running alone in Afghanistan and he can't wait to have some running partners. I also want to be ready to run for our vacation because we're taking another cruise and my favorite part last year was getting up at sunrise to run on the deck, it was amazing!
So, get ready, I'm going to be posting again now that I can run and not feel like a poser writing a running blog and not being able to run. LOL

I guess God had other plans...

We're just over half way through January and it already looks like some of my resolutions for this year aren't going to make it. Last Thursday, after a week and a half of hard core gym hitting and mostly good eating I had a major setback. Everyone knows that I had breast augmentation and lift back in September and then I had to have a revision surgery in November, well, I somehow developed a pretty nasty seroma (seromas aren't really uncommon with the surgery I had but they also aren't expected either). So, on Wednesday I got to have 250cc of lymphatic fluid drained from my left breast (which sucked) and then Thursday evening I got another drain put in. At this point I don't really care about the seroma or the drain or the fact that I will need another surgery now because the seroma was so bad that it stretched out my incisions from before; All I care about is that my husband will be home for R&R soon and I do not want to be recovering from anything while he is here.

I'm going back to my doctor tomorrow to see if we can figure out how long I need to keep the drain in and when I can schedule the next surgery (hopefully, AFTER my hubby is back in Afghanistan). I'm going to need at least 6 weeks after to recover before I can start running again so it's looking like my plans of running a half in May are going to be scrapped. Since it looks like I'll be missing out on peak running time here in Germany I'm considering having my tummy tuck sooner rather than later. I think I've reached a maintainable weight since I've been unable to run and go to the gym for most of the last 5 months and my weight has only fluctuated by a few pounds. The hardest part is picking which time of year will be best to recover in and, knowing that I am already going to be losing out on run time from my other surgery, it just seems smart to double up.

I'll definitely be posting my plans here as soon as I know them but, once again, I'm letting you all know that I am out of commission for running until further notice. :(

I'm not dead.

The holidays were rough this year, a lot harder than I thought they'd be and I pretty much crawled under a rock except when my friends dragged me out. I missed my husband, I missed my family, the weather was crappy and I really just wanted the whole thing to be over. Unfortunately, I have children so that wasn't an option and I had to pretend that it was the most wonderful time of the year.

We did have some great times like when we took the train to Rothenburg's Christmas market on a snowy wintery day. We also made a trip to Ramstein to shop at the big PX and eat at Chili's! We all got sick from eating greasy American food but it was worth it. We also had Christmas dinner with our wonderful friends here in Germany and we spent New Year's Eve with even more friends. We are truly blessed to have met such great people and I know the holidays would have been 10 times harder without them.

I'm happy that 2012 is finally here though, everyday is a day closer to seeing my husband and the kids seeing their dad, they miss him terribly. But 2012 also means that I get to refocus myself and start working toward real goals with my running and my fitness in general. So, I'm going to share my 12 goals for 2012:

1. Cross train. I've already started doing Spin class twice a week, it's such a different workout than running and other than my butt being ridiculously sore, I love it. I am also weight training at the gym and doing a step aerobics class on Fridays.

2. Run at least one half marathon. There is a half marathon in Würzburg on May 20 and I would really like to run it but I don't know yet if it will work with my schedule. There is also one in June in Stuttgart that might work and then there is always Berlin in September, I would love to do all of these but I'll be happy with just one.

3. Lose 25 pounds. I'm 25 pounds from being in the normal range for BMI and I'm sick of being considered obese.

4. Run more with my husband (obviously after he gets back). I love running with my husband and also hate it. I'm super competitive and he pushes me and I think he is the key to improving my running.

5. Spend more time outdoors. It has been rainy and cold and wet here for months now, we missed this part of winter last year so I don't think I fully appreciated Spring and Summer in Germany. This year I will make the most of the sunlight and warmth.

6. Travel more. I haven't traveled as much as I would like because Luis has been gone but once he gets back we have to make up for lost time, we have so much to see and only 2 years left to do it.

7. Keep working on my German. I had stopped with my German lessons but I'm starting back next week. I know enough to get by but I want to learn more conversational German.

8. NOT cut my hair. I know for most people this doesn't have to be a goal but I've been wanting to grow my hair out for years and I always end up chopping it off. I will not chop my hair off this year and by next year I will be able to do all kind of cool hairdo's that I wanted to do last year but couldn't.

9. Be more affectionate. I'm not an affectionate person at all, I have to remind myself to hug my children. That's sounds horrible, I'm not big on people touching me but I'm working on it. I'm hoping that if I keep working on it then it can become a habit and maybe one day it will become second nature instead of a conscious decision.

10. Cook more. A lot of my lack of cooking has been due to Luis' absence, the kids and I just don't eat enough to make a big meal, especially since they usually complain about some aspect of it and won't eat it. My first week of cooking has already gone well, I'm making healthier food and we can always use that.

11. Read more. I enjoy reading but it always comes in spurts. I'll read everyday for a month or two and then nothing for a month or two. I want to be more consistent and give myself reading time everyday.

12. Spend less time on Facebook. I know I have sucked at blogging since I moved but it's not because I'm never online, I'm always online in some way, be it on my computer at home or on my phone that is always with me. I'm just always on Facebook, it's a great way to stay connected with my friends and family in the states but I waste a lot of time on Facebook and I'm going to try to reduce the hours spent staring at status updates this year.

Nails, nails, nails

Since I haven't been running much lately I haven't written a whole lot on the blog either, I honestly don't know what to say since most of you are running junkies and don't stop by for my opinions on Demi and Ashton or Kim Kardashian (for the record, I couldn't care less about any of them). I have my second surgery coming up next week and I know that this means at least another month without running, it's driving me crazy. So, I have come up with a new hobby thanks to Pinterest (if you haven't checked it out yet, do it. If you need an invite, let me know.). I've become a bit of a nail whore. It works perfectly for me because I spend a lot of time on the computer chatting with my hubby (in case you're new here, he's deployed) so it gives my nails plenty of time to dry. I use Pinterest to give me ideas and that is also where I found this awesome blog that tells you how to do some really awesome manis. Here are some pictures of manis that I have done since I started this obsession. Enjoy.

Still no running :(

I feel bad for not posting but I'm going to be honest here, blogging here makes me think about running and I'm going crazy not running right now. The weather here is perfect right now, the leaves are gorgeous and I'm going slightly mad with the hubby deployed, I think a nice long run would solve all my problems....except I'm not supposed to run yet. To make matters worse, I've got to have another surgery. Chances are I won't be running again until closer to the first of the year.  Right now I'm taking online classes so I haven't had all that much time anyway but once my English class is done in a few weeks I think I'm going to start walking. I walked a 5K with the kids back in October but it was so hard to make myself not run. I figure walking is better than nothing and hopefully it'll get me back to running quicker.
My next surgery is scheduled for the 29th so I might try to run a little before if it doesn't hurt. I'm really missing racing right now.  I need my hubby to get back so I can plan a half marathon and start training...but I guess I need to also be able to run. One step at a time.

Lucy is turning 12!!!!

Hey everybody, I just wanted to let you all know that Lucy activewear is turning 12 this year and to celebrate they are having their annual birthday sale. The whole store is going to be 25% off on Saturday plus they'll be giving out goodies to shoppers. Be sure to stop by and check it out...then come back and let us know what you got.

So, I made it out of surgery and I'm back home now, I'm hurting quite a bit so I'll wait to discuss everything later but I just wanted to stop by and say hi. Thanks for all the well wishes, I'm hoping to be more myself come Friday when I get the drains out. Take care and run some miles for me. :)