Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Training Tuesday 4.30.13


This link-up is just a way to talk about training [in any way, for anything] to help hold ourselves accountable and possibly brag a bit. I mean, you ran 1 mile without stopping – you totally deserve a chance to brag about it! That shit is hard. You did 10 push-ups in a row, HOLLLEERRR.

And even if you’re not training for anything, you’re just putting yourself out there to be healthier, to get slimmer, to whatever you can share it on Training Tuesday. Let’s say you were sitting at home and instead of eating a carton of Oreos you instead ate 20 baby carrots and just imagined they were chocolate-y crèmey goodness [hypothetical situation, of course] – share it here!

Abbey & I don’t discriminate – we congratulate.
 
Grab the button above & link-up below to let us know what’s going on for your Training Tuesday (or any day really, linking up throughout the week is good too!)

My Training

4/23 – 30 day Shred Level 2.
4/24 – 30 day Shred Level 2 in the morning. I woke up all bright eyed and bushy-tailed. I fear my body is learning to accept morning workouts. I don’t know how I feel about this. During lunch I did 40 minutes of stairs with Moj for WHY GOD WHY Wednesday. We also used 4 lb hand weights to get some upper body in and ended it with 100 jump squat jacks (basically a jumping jack but lower) and 50 push-ups.
4/25 – I wanted to try something new so I did the two following workouts (I found via PopSugar and/or Women's Running – I can’t remember. Oops.) I’ve never really pushed myself on the recumbent bike, so my quads were way sore afterwards (it probably didn’t help that I did stairs the day before either). I got a really great sweat on with mixing it up. 1-My Pictures8If you’re interested in using either of those, you can download it here.

4/26 – Rest Day.
4/27 – Donkey Dash 5k. I totally killed it. Like, yeah, my first mile was in 11 minutes. Oh, you heard that right. 11. My following two not so much, but eh, you win some, you lose some. Race review will be up in a couple days. IMG_1327 4/28 – Nursing a hangover by eating McDonald’s works out something, right?
4/29 – Nothing. I was actually kind of mad at it all day. Like, I thought I wanted to sleep in and not do anything but then when I didn’t work out with Jillian it just threw my whole day off. But Lillie did come to work with me, so that was pretty adorables. IMG_1397

Okay, I’m curious. What do you guys like to hear about? Or have questions about? I don’t always think I’m “serious” enough to write posts on running products I like, or field questions for newbies. But what do I know? I fall up the stairs for heaven’s sake.

So, I’ll leave it up to you guys. You know I’m an open book. What are you interested in?

PS. Holly & I are hosting a CD swap link-up! Check back here tomorrow for more details. #JellyofmyJams

Saturday, April 27, 2013

A Self-Interview

A Selfie Blogger Interview

I joined a blogger community (I’m like legit now you guys) and they are having a self-interview link up party (uhh, see image above) so, here’s me interviewing myself. How fancy am I right?

1. What part of the state do you call home?

I live Deep in the Heart of Texas! (You can’t tell me you didn’t just sing that). Basically in the Waco, TX area.

2. How long have you been blogging?

Well, I used to have a blog called Tickled Silly on Myspace like 7 years ago. Ha. Myspace. But Lehmann Laughter is fairly new – right around 2 years old. I started up just a few months before my daughter, Lillie, was born.

3. Why did you start blogging?

I started just as a way to keep out-of-state friends & family in the loop on my daughter’s arrival and because I enjoy the creative outlet it gives me.

4. What do you hope to get out of Texas Women Bloggers community?

New friends. Inspiration. A place where I can say Howdy without a single judgment. The usual stuff.

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In blog terms, I have no idea. I hope I’m still writing about my fitness goals and cheering others on with theirs. Personally? I don’t like looking that far in the future. You never know where your life is going to lead you – I like to keep it a surprise.

6. If you could choose an actress to play you in your life, who would you choose and why?

Sandra Bullock. She’s gorgeous. She’s funny. And she got to make out with Ryan Reynolds in a movie. So, uh yeah. We’re like totally the same anyway.

7. Name 5 things on your Bucket List that you hope you’ll check off before you die.

- Run a FULL marathon
- Meet some of my fabulous blogger friends
- Cheer Lillie on at her first, well, everything. 
- Celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary with the husbandface.
- High five a celebrity. Any will do. Dane Cook would be my top pick though.

8. If you could be known for one thing, what would it be and why?

Kindness. I want people to say “Hey, you know Tam, right? She’s the sweetest. She’d give you the shirt off her back if you needed it and then apologize for the pit stains. What a girl.”

9. Describe one “wow” moment in your life.

Knowing that in the exact moment that my boyfriend pushed a stray piece of hair away from face and tucked it behind my ear that he’d one day be my husband. 11 years later and here we are.

10. If you could “be” anything (no consequences, no fear), what would you be?

An actress. A dream since I was cast as the lead in our 1st grade Christmas play.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Can’t Hold Us

Just a nice, weird random post for you today.

1. Katie at State of Change made a promise. And I, for one, would love to see it carried out. 250orbustShe’s a great blog to follow so head her way. We have this amazing textual relationship where we talk about our daughters, compliment the husband’s biceps and send each other pictures of food we eat (mostly me complaining about baby carrots). She’s also really honest with her readers, which is wonderfully refreshing in the blog world. I’m convinced that she needs to write a book. (DO IT KATIE!) She only needs 5 more!

2. I am in love with my Twitter/Blog friends. I have a 5k tomorrow and was looking for some new music to jam too so I tweeted this and seriously, the response AMAZEBALLS. And not to mention, Holly, had a great idea for a music swap and I jumped on that like a redneck on Keystone – so you’ll see more of that next week once all the details are worked out. #JellyofmyJamsSwap

3. Per #2 I downloaded a few new songs and I made the following playlist for tomorrow (with a few of my own additions) – I’m pumped. I’m totally listening to it right now as I type this. Blogger Style Playlist 4. My daughter wanted to take a picture of our cat, Smokey, yesterday. So, uh, here you go.

IMG_1301 Yeah, that’s my knee the cat is digging into. She did not want her picture taken. But our yard looks nice, doesn’t it?

5. Someone found my makeup (when she was supposed to be using the potty all by herself) and then went all creepy on me as I tried to take a photo. Seriously. Let’s just say that while she enjoys makeup she does not enjoy makeup remover. Thy bathtub runneth over with tears.GoldLillie 

Hope your weekend is filled with fun, laughter and lotssss of wine. You deserve it.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Training Tuesday 4.23.13


This link-up is just a way to talk about training [in any way, for anything] to help hold ourselves accountable and possibly brag a bit. I mean, you ran 1 mile without stopping – you totally deserve a chance to brag about it! That shit is hard. You did 10 push-ups in a row, HOLLLEERRR.

And even if you’re not training for anything, you’re just putting yourself out there to be healthier, to get slimmer, to whatever you can share it on Training Tuesday. Let’s say you were sitting at home and instead of eating a carton of Oreos you instead ate 20 baby carrots and just imagined they were chocolate-y crèmey goodness [hypothetical situation, of course] – share it here!

Abbey & I don’t discriminate – we congratulate.
 
Grab the button above & link-up below to let us know what’s going on for your Training Tuesday (or any day really, linking up throughout the week is good too!)

My Training

4/16- 30 Day Shred Level 1.
4/17 – 30 Day Shred Level 1.
4/18 – Nada.
4/19 – 5 minutes on step mill. 10 burpees. 5 minutes on step mill. 10 burpees. Yeah, that for 40 minutes. The step mill said I went up 199 flights of stairs though. I feel bad for the girl that used it after me, it was pretty sweaty.
4/20 – I was going to work out while Lillie napped but then I watched TV instead and it was glorious.
4/21 – 30 Day Shred Level 2. (I finally made it to Level 2, what what!) I followed it up by playing Dance Central 2 on the Kinect. I never realized but they have a fitness option where you decide on the level (warm-up, cardio frenzy, sweating it out, blah blah) and get after it. I did about 30 minutes and I was sweating it out for shorty.
4/22 – 30 Day Shred Level 2.

I have a 5k this Saturday and I’ve only ran once since my half in March. I’ve just been focusing on other workouts (mostly Jillian) and haven’t laced up the running shoes. I’m excited for the 5k just to see how cross-training these past few weeks holds up to 3 miles. I don’t anticipate being faster than my last time (however it would be nice!), so I’m just going into this as a fun way to get my exercise in and to hang out with my friend, Sunny, for a bit.

Also, it doesn’t hurt that we get to run through the finish line with a corral of miniature donkeys.

Yeah. You read that. Miniature donkeys.

I’m going to run my ass off. (Pun totally intended)

So, I’ve got a question for you.

The other day I was wearing a shirt (one that is in constant rotation since it’s a Baylor shirt) and the husband asked me if I was sucking in. I wasn’t. I  took that as a compliment seeing as I’ve been trying to lose weight & have been fairly diligent with my 30 Day Shredding. For me it meant that the person I’m closest to is seeing a difference and that’s a big deal. When you see the same person every day over and over again, sometimes you forget what they really look like. Which can explain why my husband has stuck it out through all the weight gain/loss I’ve had the past 10 years. God bless him.

Anyway, he told me last night that some of his buddies thought he would have gotten in serious trouble for this comment. Am I weird for taking it as a compliment? I mean, would you?

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Random Thursday: Holy Grail Cosmetics

 

I’m joining Em, Lin, & Meaghan for Random Thursday and this weeks subject is -

I decided to throw down vlog style thinking I’d be able to do it in 5 minutes or less, but uh, that does not happen. I don’t know why I think I can talk in a short amount of time, but it’s nearly impossible.

Also, I show you my awesome make-up bag and promised you a link if you’re interested. I am not a ‘purse’ girl, but I love their products and they’re kind of converting me. I no longer put a wallet in my back pocket like a 12 year old boy.

Yeah, that’s how good they are. So check it out. www.gigihill.com/emilietobias 


For those who can’t really watch or don’t really want to (shame on you). I only have one serious holy grail item and that is L'Oreal Double Extend mascara. It makes my eyelashes large and in charge. Over the years I’ve mascara-whored myself out by trying new things but this is the one I always go back too. Even if it did make me flip out thinking that I was losing my eyelashes the first time I wore it. (see video below)

I also talk about Sorme Eyebrow kit, which I think is a good investment if eyebrows are a thing you do. I never did anything with my brows up until this last year and I love how it makes my face look now.

Also, I just want to say thank you to my ‘online’ friends who texted/called/tweeted me concerning the explosion in West, Texas that happened last night. Your thoughtfulness and love is amazing. I live south of the area and was not affected, but plenty of our friends & their family have been – so please just keep our community in your prayers & thoughts.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Training Tuesday [4.16.13]

It's another Training Tuesday, so you know what that means!

This link-up is just a way to talk about training [in any way, for anything] to help hold ourselves accountable and possibly brag a bit. I mean, you ran 1 mile without stopping – you totally deserve a chance to brag about it! That shit is hard. You did 10 push-ups in a row, HOLLLEERRR.

And even if you’re not training for anything, you’re just putting yourself out there to be healthier, to get slimmer, to whatever you can share it on Training Tuesday. Let’s say you were sitting at home and instead of eating a carton of Oreos you instead ate 20 baby carrots and just imagined they were chocolate-y crèmey goodness [hypothetical situation, of course] – share it here!

Abbey & I don’t discriminate – we congratulate.
 
Grab the button above & link-up below to let us know what’s going on for your Training Tuesday (or any day really, linking up throughout the week is good too!)

My Training
4/9 – 30 Day Shred Level 1.
4/10 –50 minutes of stairs. I wore a shirt I won from #RunMeganRun and Viewsport that is sweat-activated, and yep, it sure was. It’s supposed to say BOOM, but apparently my muffin sides don’t sweat as much as my tramp stamp. Who knew? I’ll do more of a review on it in a later post.

IMG_1161 4/11 – 30 Day Shred Level 1.
4/12 – Snooze button Friday. No workout.
4/13 – 30 Day Shred Level 1 in the morning before a niece’s birthday party where I went roller-skating. Yeah, first time in like 15 years so my quads were a little sore the next day. I also got in a gladiator ring for Alfred’s birthday party…so uh, that probably didn’t help any either. I have pictures involved in both of these situations…be patient grasshopper.
4/14 – Sangria hangover workout. I’ll let you use your imagination as to what that entails.
4/15 – 30 Day Shred Level 1.

Ever since hearing the news of Boston yesterday, I’ve been a tad bit emotional. And not just because of the horrible, sad circumstances but also because of the amazing tales of heroism and uplifting spirit that I’ve seen through facebook, news stories, twitter, other blogs, and well, everywhere.

I know, for me personally, that sense of community, of love, I found myself even more determined to lace up my shoes today. To show them (whoever they may be) that we will not be torn down by hate, but instead we will choose to be brought up by love.

..and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1

IMG_1192

I held Lillie a little closer last night, I snuggled her a little harder & longer this morning (in fact, my hair is a hot-ass mess since I didn’t take the time to actually do it) because I am grateful for what I have been blessed with. I don’t ever want her to not follow her dreams because of the very few who wish to tear the human spirit apart.

I don’t ever want to not follow my dreams because of those few.

I run for me. I run for her. And I damn sure run for Boston.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Simply Sad

I don’t typically post whenever something horrible/shitty has happened in the world because I feel like everyone is already doing that.

And I don’t want people to think I’m just “following the crowd”.

What more can I add to it?

But, after watching the live coverage of the Boston Marathon this morning as the elites crossed the finish line followed by the the thousands of other runners who were making their dreams come true while running the most sought after race ever and then hearing there were bombs that went off near the finish line – I just didn’t want to not say something. Even if everyone else has already said it.

I’m a runner. It changed me. It helped me through post-partum depression, it made me realize I’m strong, I’m capable and I am beautiful – even if not by society’s standards – I am through my own.

And the fact that someone chose to hurt people who feel the same way, who worked hard to get to Boston (if you’re not familiar you have to run a specific time to qualify – for me I’d have to run 3:35 which translates into like an 8 minute pace for 26.2 miles) who were ready to prove to themselves that they could do it, it just makes my heart overwhelmingly sad.

I cried. I know, I don’t even know anyone there, so the logical part of my brain knows it’s ridiculous– but the emotional and spiritual part of me - I couldn’t help it. I am simply sad.

And so, whether you believe in Him or not, I just ask you give yourself up for a moment in silence to think of all the people affected by this tragedy and that nothing more will happen.

..and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Training Tuesday…err Wednesday

It's another Tuesday Workout Wednesday, so you know what that means!

This link-up is just a way to talk about training [in any way, for anything] to help hold ourselves accountable and possibly brag a bit. I mean, you ran 1 mile without stopping – you totally deserve a chance to brag about it! That shit is hard. You did 10 push-ups in a row, HOLLLEERRR.

And even if you’re not training for anything, you’re just putting yourself out there to be healthier, to get slimmer, to whatever you can share it on Training Tuesday. Let’s say you were sitting at home and instead of eating a carton of Oreos you instead ate 20 baby carrots and just imagined they were chocolate-y crèmey goodness [hypothetical situation, of course] – share it here!

Abbey & I don’t discriminate – we congratulate.
Grab the button up above & link-up down below to let us know what’s going on for your Training Tuesday (or any day really, linking up throughout the week is good too!)



My Training

4/2 – 30 Day Shred Level 1. I decided to be a bad, horrible person and lay in a tanning bed during my lunch break for April (instead of working out like I normally do) so I’m making an effort to wake up and do it in the morning. I am not a fan.
4/3 – 30 Day Shred Level 1. Same deal. Up at the buttfuck crack of dawn to sweat. Why do people do this?
4/4 – 30 Day Shred Level 1. Also, at lunch I didn’t tan but I joined in on a sweat-fest at our stairs in the building. We usually do this on Wednesdays but we changed it to Thursdays to accommodate a friend who wanted to join us. So, yeah, two workouts in one day. Color me badass.
4/5 – I was freaking exhausted, so I did not hang out with Jillian. BUT, I did go to the gym with Mojgan and did a lot of crap that I don’t even want to remember. There were lunges and dead lifts and… a bosu ball? It was a blur of sweat and cursing.
4/6 – I had every intention of waking up to Jillian, but instead I woke up to a wonderful stomach bug. Squatting over & over again over a toilet counts as something though, right?
4/7 – See previous day.
4/8 – I attempted Jillian, but I gave up about 10 minutes into it. I just didn’t have the strength or the will.

Update on Forever Fitness Challenge with Abbey:

I kind of have been sucking at my goal to cook at least 3 healthy meals a week. When I decided to do that I meant it in an INTENTIONAL way. Like, my goal was to cook for both Alfred and I healthy. But the past couple weeks have been crazy and while I’ve still been eating well, it’s mostly because instead of my beloved Velveeta Shells & Cheese that Alfred has been ingesting I’ve been opting to eat a salad instead. I will say that I am finding that more and more I am craving healthier foods rather than junk food. (I can’t lie, when people used to tell me this I thought they were dirty, filthy liars)

I’m actually munching on these bad boys today instead of M&Ms. Weirdness.IMG_1149As far as my goal to lose 10 lbs – I’m on track! When I weighed myself this morning I was down by 6. So, I think mixing it up with Jillian and making an honest effort to eat better is doing the trick. It probably didn’t hurt that I was sick this weekend either…

My plan for the 30 Day Shred is to do each level (there’s 3) for 10 days and at the end of each level do my measurements/weights/etc to see if there’s a difference. Because I’m dorky and love to mark things out/check things off, I made this and then hung it next to my TV as a reminder I need to be shredding.

30 Day Shred If you’re interested, you can download it by clicking here. I’d love to have someone else join me. I think I marked off Day 6 today. I haven’t decided for sure yet, but I may double up one day to get closer to being “finished” at the end of April. Eh, we’ll see.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Easy Peasy Chicken Greasy

Do you guys ever take pictures with every intention of posting them on your blog and then, like, you never do?

I do this all.the.time. Like, I’ll take a photo and think, “Oh that would be a good post about (insert post subject here)” and then by the time I get near a computer I totally brainfart. I then have 25 nearly identical copies of the same photo stuck on my camera/phone for years weeks.

Uh, yeah

I have a problem with deleting apparently. Oops.

So, I thought I’d just do a fun, photo-filled post for Friday of random pictures I’ve taken recently.
Easy peasy chicken greasy.

DSC02516 Easter 2013 loot. Yes, her hand is in a box of candy.

IMG_1013 Church Easter Egg hunt with her cousins. They loaded up.

IMG_1045 What my daughter sees every day. My gawd, she is lucky. (Yes, she took this picture)

IMG_1058Park time! And because my best friend called it – The bigger the bow, the better the mama.

IMG_0955  She looks terrified, but I promise she loved going to Sesame Street Live.
Just not as much as I did apparently.

IMG_0970Monkey see, Monkey do.
Kids are weird, am I right?

Here’s to a great weekend!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Training Tuesday [4.2.13]

It's another Tuesday, so you know what that means!

This link-up is just a way to talk about training [in any way, for anything] to help hold ourselves accountable and possibly brag a bit. I mean, you ran 1 mile without stopping – you totally deserve a chance to brag about it! That shit is hard. You did 10 push-ups in a row, HOLLLEERRR.

And even if you’re not training for anything, you’re just putting yourself out there to be healthier, to get slimmer, to whatever you can share it on Training Tuesday. Let’s say you were sitting at home and instead of eating a carton of Oreos you instead ate 20 baby carrots and just imagined they were chocolate-y crèmey goodness [hypothetical situation, of course] – share it here!

Abbey & I don’t discriminate – we congratulate.
Grab the button up above & link-up down below to let us know what’s going on for your Training Tuesday (or any day really, linking up throughout the week is good too!)



My Training

3/26 – Uhm. Nothing. I was still soaking up my victory with laziness. No shame.
3/27 – WHY GOD WHY Wednesday commenced with our usual torture of stairs. We ran up and walked down 4 flights of stairs until I cried for the sweet baby Jesus to take me away. (approximately 40 minutes)
3/28 – Moj suckered me into another workout. We went to the gym and proceeded to do this:

WOD 3.28I’m pretty sure my heart stopped beating during the planks, luckily I was revived when my own sweat dripped into my mouth causing me to choke and wake up suddenly.

3/29 – Rest day. (We did walk about 2 miles back to the house from church though. Legit?)
3/30 – Raising my hand to my mouth with a beer can counts as curls, right? If so, the whole family participated in this event. I love holidays.
3/31 – Easter! I walked in high heels during church where I carried a 30 lb toddler. Calves and upper arm workout – I’m counting it.
4/1 – Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred.

Since the Bearathon I have not ran. Holiday weeks are always weird for me because my work schedule is usually what keeps me on track because I work out during lunch. (We had Friday and Monday off – what!what!) I have every intention of keeping up some mileage but I think I’m just going to go with the run instead of forcing it. If I feel like one, I’ll do it – otherwise these are my plans for April.

IMG_1079

I’ve attempted the 30 Day Shred (#30DS) before but always end up snuffing out before I get to Level 2. I just stop making it a priority because as I’ve mentioned before, sometimes I’m lazy. Or I get distracted by running races but I don’t have anything on the menu really, so, I shouldn’t have an excuse not to complete it. I took my measurements/weight/before pics yesterday and will update you on Training Tuesday as I see changes (provided that I actually do see changes).

Thanks to this tweet from Kaitlyn, I’m also tacking this on the end of the #30DS. We’re both participating in Abbey’s Forever Fitness Challenge and I couldn’t leave her hanging without a partner. (I seriously have a ‘yes!’ problem sometimes.) 

In case you were wondering, wall-sits are still the fucking worse thing ever.

Here’s to making April my bitch! Tell me how you’re making April yours below (or link up!)