A Case of the Runs

Please excuse my latest extended absence, but I am back for now. In January of 2012, I wrote a post about "The Ukrainian" (my husband) was being upgraded . If all goes well, another family member is getting an upgrade soon. Big Brother is watching you. Yes, I am pregnant again .  This news came as a bit of a shock to some of the few we've told, who perhaps thought I was pretty much "one and done," and even myself, who considered selling off all the used baby stuff many times.  I don't really plan on going "public" this time, so if you don't know and just happened to stumble upon this, now you do. ;)  I have had a few complications that make me hesitant to broadcast, but things are far enough along now that regardless of how this goes, it's significant and worth blogging about. This pregnancy is different in that I already know what to expect once the baby comes, moreso than I thought I did the first time around.  For example, I...

I'm not going to put pictures in this post... just because of the subject matter.  If you don't care for bodily functions (though think of the title of this blog!), please skip this post. ------ Part of what has made my transition to motherhood so difficult is my constant worry that I am not doing a good job of parenting my son.  This is because my mother is pretty much the epitome of a great mother.  She raised five children over a span of decades and continues this in her role as a grandparent with less spousal involvement than I currently expect from my own husband.  I realize there are some cultural and generational factors involved, but I do often feel bad that, in addition to holding down a job, I sometimes just want a break from the constant barrage of needs or I don't know how to handle things like fighting naps, not listening to me, etc. The latest item is potty training.  My husband and I had agreed to make an attempt this summer, since it...

It has been a while since I've done a gear review here, but I am excited to write this one.  The reason for my excitement is that I have had terrible luck with wireless Bluetooth headphones, and the product I'm reviewing not only fits that bill... it does so much more! The Jabra Elite Sport headphones have good sound quality, stay in my ear well, and has a heart-rate monitoring function!!  This means carrying one less device when working out. Official description: Jabra Elite Sport  is the most technically advanced true wireless pair of sports earbuds available. The fully sweat proof and waterproof Elite Sport is the ultimate training aid that delivers freedom of movement on any terrain. When paired with the Jabra Sport Life app, the earbuds deliver the most comprehensive range of audio training tools, including an in-ear heart rate monitor, in-ear intelligent coaching, VO2 Max fitness testing, automatic repetition counting, a race-time predictor and a recov...

That's not a typo: this is the second time  that I have voluntarily called it quits on my gym membership.  Before I had my child, I didn't have a membership because I was commuting a lot and had discovered the wonders of home workout videos.  Prior to that, I had access via work, though really, I was running outdoors a lot and didn't really need it, anyway. After I returned to work post-baby, I didn't work out for a while trying to balance everything, and I quickly started a new job.  Once I got comfortable with that and was pumping fewer times at work than when I started, I joined the gym because I could use it during lunch hour -- my only break during those hectic days.  By then, I was about six months postpartum and was only working out randomly at home sometimes.  I think I went to the gym about three times a week after that point, which was gold. As time went on, I started working from home more because I was transferred to a different departm...

Whew. Since I'm all about controlling my blood sugar these days, I spend a lot of my time planning out my food, discovering new foods, and looking at the ways I react to certain foods.  This post is a random list of what I've learned so far. As I mentioned in my last post, although my doctor told me that spot-checking my blood glucose levels wouldn't be useful at the level that I'm at, I have found that it has been a huge help.  So thank you, Amazon, for selling affordable test strips. In my last post, I also said that rice is a no-no.  I did a second test where I had just HALF a cup of brown rice, along with other things in a meal (protein, fat)... unlike last time when I had white rice in isolation.  Yet still, it did seem to raise my levels, so now I'm pretty much avoiding rice altogether.  This is useful information.  I've read that basmati rice might be an option since it's lower glycemic, so that will be the next test I do.  Yes, it suc...

This is NOT a topic I had wanted to come upon again , yet here we are. In a post that I linked above, I talked about my unexpected run (hah) with gestational diabetes and how this is something that is now underlined in my medical history.  Last year, I vaguely mentioned that my yearly follow-up test didn't go in the direction I had wanted, but I figured that this was a function of a lack of sleep and its associated effects on my hormone (and carb consumption) level. Now, I had not been perfect throughout life, leading a high-ish-carb existence as many do.  However, after pregnancy, I got used to eating a modified diet already.  I pretty much quit eating candy because somewhere in my mind had an apprehension of that.  After nursing, I stopped eating oatmeal and fruit in the morning in favor of Greek yogurt, eggs, and protein powders/bars.  In this past year, I've had boba drinks (a cultural staple, ha ha!) maybe twice, and I alw...

The other day, I went with "The Ukrainian" to the LA Marathon Expo and recorded a little mash-up for YouTube. I had not been to that expo in a couple of years, and since neither of us are doing much running these days, expos in general haven't been something I've seen a lot of since 2014 or so.  I didn't go through all of my thoughts in the video.  Yesterday was the race, and since I spent the day with Tuesday (our son ), I had more time to think about what I was missing.  I would have normally said "dwell" rather than "think," but it really was more of a "think" than "dwell." I used to be SO bothered when I couldn't do a race, for any reason.  Standing on the sidelines felt like I was giving up, which seems so, so ridiculous to me now that I'm a month away from turning 32 and feeling like I'm 62.  I wish I didn't spend all those active racing years beating myself up for not finishing races at goal, a...