You Are More Than You Know

I feel like I am cheating you with this, but at the same time I really want to get this out quickly so I can watch Game of Thrones (I know it airs Monday; we watch it the day after).

Finally, my review of the Alton Brown Protein Bar Recipe (<  this is a link to it).

I must say, these are delicious and very filling. They are full of healthy protein and fiber sources along with a nice helping of dried fruit to add some sweetness.

At first, when dividing them up, I thought they would be on the small side. I was pleasantly surprised when I had one.

I made them for the second time this weekend and the only thing I changed was replacing the flour with coconut flour. I don't think it made a bit of difference, except by adding the slightest hint of coconut. My biggest tip is to use gloved hands to spread the batter/dough out evenly. I always have nitrile gloves on hand for various uses.

This weekend was a busy one. Well at least Saturday was. First thing in the morning we had the honor of watching one of the future nurses of the world graduate and receive her pin. From there we had just enough time to run home and grab a quick bite before it was off to the salon for our hair appointments.

The little handled all this activity like a trooper taking naps as we went from one place to the next half the time.

While at the salon, she did one of those amazing things; the kind that just blows you away as a parent. Collin was almost done getting his hair trimmed and I was under the dryer with the solvent in my hair to strip all the color. The little angel had been sitting on my lap but was getting restless and was done with that. So after I failed to convince her to stay on my lap she went and grabbed a hair magazine and sat on the couch. She did this for about five minutes... Which in toddler world is an eternity... I was impressed, baffled and amazed.

 On the way home, literally less than a quarter of a mile from the house, she woke up screaming from a bad dream. Nothing we did at first could console her. So I did what any mother would do; I grabbed her giant stuffed kangaroo, a blanket and sat on the floor with her balled up in my lap rubbing her back and saying soothing things. This is actually one of those rare moments where I was able to get a picture with her.

She eventually calmed down and I was able to snap an after photo for a side by side of pre- and post-hair appointment. 

A MAJOR change from my normal. Blonde on top and dark red brown (almost a purpley color) underneath. I love it. Collin loves it. Even the little wasn't phased by it so I take that as acceptance and love from her. Hahaha!

Another major thing to come from the hair appointment was my commitment to completing a 5k at the end of June. It's for a sad yet amazing cause, which I figure you can read about on your own by clicking the link that follows. The race is the inaugural Love Rocks Run and it happens to fall in eight weeks which coincides with my next hair appointment. The plan is to run the 5k, get my grub on (nothing crazy as it is only a 5k) and then get beautified by my wonderful hair stylist. 

That said, I thought I would check out the Couch 2 5k app from the Google Play store. The goal of the app is to take a person from couch to jogging/running a complete 5k (3.2 miles) in, wouldn't you know it, eight weeks. Well hot diggity damn if that ain't perfect, right? 

Last night I completed Week 1 Day 1 (it's broken into three times per week). I amazed myself, which is getting harder and harder to do. Day one I thought said 30 seconds running and then 90 seconds walking.... Nope. First command after the warm up whispered in my ear, "Run for one minute." The shock of it almost tripped me. I can't run/jog for a full minute... That's crazy.

But here's the thing. I did it. I was cautious and careful for the sake of recent injuries, but I did it. And after that first one, I did it SEVEN more times. Only once did I cut it short and even then it was only by 10-15 seconds. Holy fucking hell. Excuse the language, but wow. I never would have thought to even TRY to run for a minute straight. Even before all this when we did our half marathon we only ever got up to about 30 seconds of jogging... 

You know what this told me? I will do it. I can do it. I am going to own this and make it mine. 

In honor of today, I must quote the wise Yoda, "Do or do not, there is no try."

May the Fourth be with you.

You are more than you can ever imagine. 

I'll keep you posted on my progress with C25K, and everything else this crazy life throws my way.