Lehmann Laughter

Training Tuesday 6.18.13

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:24:00 +0000

My Training

6/12 – 3 miles. I don’t know what got into me but this was a beast of a run for me. I did interval training where I actually got up to a 9 minute pace (hey, it was only for a minute, but it counts!) I never would have even attempted that this time last year. I have high hopes for maybe one day actually being able to run a single digit mile. Oh, the dreams of a runner.

6/13 – 2 workouts in one day! I woke up early and did Jillian Michaels Killer Abs DVD at home. Killer abs is definitely an appropriate name. At lunch I created my own circuit training with 50 seconds on, 10 seconds off. Push-ups, Rope Pull, Burpees, Bicep Curls, Sit-ups, Dips, Plank, High Knees and then a Freebie where I chose a machine at random in the gym. I kind of felt like a badass.

6/14 through 6/16 – I was off in the boonies riding four wheelers, so technically I didn’t work out. HOWEVER, I was still stupid sore from it. Probably because we created our own mud run & beat the crap out of each other for fun. Totally worth it.

6/17 – 1.1 miles on the treadmill followed by 1.5 miles on the recumbent bike. I wanted to run longer but I have a nice, fancy gash on my toe from our ‘mud run’ over the weekend and it was throbbing like a mofo, so it was cut short.

I have a 5k this weekend. I’m excited to test out my chub rub loophole outside in the open air, but I am not excited that it’s going to be 80 degrees by the time we start to run. I’d love to PR again (I’m on a roll with the 5k!) but if I don’t, I’m okay with it. Considering I’ll be sweating before we even take off, I’m just going to go into it with my normal hopes – not pooping myself & not being last.

I’m a high-achiever.

Other things going on with me.

I’ve joined Meg from You’re Meaghan Me Crazy (seriously LOVE this girl) for the 7 Day Slim Down challenge from the Tone it Up girls. We started yesterday…it’s going, eh okay. It gives you exactly what to eat for 7 days (where are the freaking Oreos on this damn thing!) and with my increase in activity I’m hoping it will just be at the very least a nice jumpstart into working on my portion sizes again.

I talked about starting a challenge with DietBet last week and after a few conversations here & there, I set one up!

Starting July 1st through July 28th with a bet of $25 you need to lose 4% of your starting body weight to win. If there are multiple winners the pot will be split and monies will be sent to your account. At that point you can either use that money to credit and play another game OR you can cash out and get the money in pocket.

To join our group, Fluff-Be-Gone, please click here - http://diet.bt/14yPq5I

How it will work: 48 hours before the beginning of the game, you will be notified of a ‘code word’. This word will need to be written on an index card and placed in a picture with you and the scale to verify your beginning weight. That photo will be sent to DietBet but will NOT be posted (unless you want to post it yourself). Once DietBet can verify you’re legitimately a sexy beast, you’re IN.

The only other time you will need to send a photo in is at the end of the game. Once everyone submits their photos DietBet declares a winner and money is distributed. There is a game board for us all to communicate and cheer each other on. You’re weight will NOT be posted unless you want it too. The only thing we will see is your percentage lost and where we (other members) stand against you.

If I sent you an email invite, it wasn’t because I think you need to lose weight (let’s be honest, I’d totally tap dat ass) but because the more people involved the higher the potential pot. And the higher the possibility that I actually lose weight.

Please feel free to invite as many people as you’d like, this is an open invitation. If it goes well, I’ll set up another challenge in August for those of you who may not be able to compete this month for whatever reason.

If you have any questions, you can contact me through my email, twitter or facebook.

Chub Rub Loophole

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 21:45:00 +0000

Does the title of this post sound like a really cheesy 70s porn to you guys?

Yeah, me too.

Anyway, a while back I wrote to you about how I get the dreaded “chub-rub” which is basically my thighs making out with each other when I try to run in shorts. It can actually be pretty painful. But mostly it’s just wonderfully embarrassing to get all excited when you hear someone is doing the slow clap for you as you run only to realize it’s actually just your thighs cheering you on.

Instead of using it as an excuse, I just run in capris. Not really a big deal except for the fact that I get incredibly jealous whenever I see someone running in shorts. I mean, it’s Texas. It’s hot (hello 96 degrees today!) and shorts come in all sorts of adorable colors. Capris are charcoal, black & slightly more black with maybe a side stitch of pink. I have a hard time bringing myself to buy another pair of black capris for $50+ dollars. Just, no.

One of my unspoken goals has been to get to the point that I can run in shorts comfortably. I don’t know if that will ever happen, I do have some lovely baby-making hips on me and it doesn’t help that my body likes to store the Oreos in my thighs & hips. I’m assuming because they look like cookie canisters.

I’ve seen running skirts on a few of the blogs I frequent and on National Running Day with a coupon in hand (or in email), I made the plunge. I bought a running skirt (or skort, whatever) that has shorts attached to it. This is the Pearl Izumi Infinity Run Skort. I ended up getting it on close-out from Sierra Trading Post with an extra 35% off, about $25. It’s a great site for a lot of things outdoors related. I’ve found some great workout gear for reasonable prices on there during sales. Hint – sign up for their emails, they send coupons out all the time.

I received it at the beginning of this week and immediately tried it on to see if it fit. It did. But Lillie kept telling me to take it off that it was Dada’s. Not sure what that was about but you don’t argue with a 2 year old. You just take off the skort, say yes sweetie and make a mental note to talk to Dada about what he does when I’m not home.

Yesterday I ran 3 miles on the ol’ treadmill. I have to say I was really nervous about it. One, because I don’t know if I’m necessarily a skirt girl and two, I didn’t want to cry when they didn’t work out since I had really high hopes about them.

But friends, THEY DID! THEY DID! I ran 3 miles without a rash one and I felt pretty adorable while doing it.

The shorts underneath had little grippies on them so they didn’t roll up at all on me where I had to keep pulling them down. They did however make my thighs resemble stuffed sausage.

Mmm. Stuffed sausage.

It wasn’t uncomfortable for the wear though. Just a reminder that I have a lot of Oreos still left in my cookie canisters.

So, it looks like I’ve found myself a loophole in the chub rub department (at least with this particular skort) and I couldn’t be happier. I can’t wait to wear it in my next race!

Have you ever wore a running skirt?
Do you suffer from Chub Rub?
Are you still thinking of sausage?

Training Tuesday 6.11.13

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:11:00 +0000

As I was writing this post for Tuesday, my computer went stupid and then I went stupid and forgot to post. So, we have a Training Wednesday, or Work-Out Wednesday if we want to be all alliterate. Bloggers always appreciate an awesome alliteration, amirite?

My Training

I’ve been down in the dumps for the past couple of weeks because of this but I’m happy to say I think I’m out of the slump! I’ve started increasing my running this past week and refocusing my efforts on feeling good rather than only trying to look good (as in focusing on the scale).

Notable workout: I ran 3 miles on Monday doing the run/walk method. Ran 2:30 seconds at an 11:20 pace (5.3 mph) and then walked a minute at 15 minute pace (4.0 mph) until I hit 3 miles (this was on the treadmill). For some reason as I increased the pace for that first 2:30 run I was reminded that a little over a year ago I could barely get the treadmill up to 4.0 without feeling like I was running a full-out sprint and now, I’m speed walking that.

Kind of cool. Wanted to share.

Anyway, have you guys heard of DietBet?

It’s a social dieting game that is designed to help you lose weight with the incentive of getting some moolah at the end of it. A game is created with a bet and lasts for a full month. During this month you must lose 4% of your starting weight.

If you lose the weight, you will win money which you can use for credits by joining another game (there are plenty of games to choose from or you can create your own) OR you can Pay Pal it out to your account. There can be multiple winners as the ‘pot’ is divided up between those.

If you don’t lose the weight, you forfeit that money and curse the gods for making such delicious chocolate chip cookies.

You’re held accountable by posting a picture of you on the scale with a code word written on an index card (they will give you the word to use) and then that picture is approved through DietBet at the beginning. You will post a picture at the end to determine who the winner(s) is. Your weight is never published in a public setting, you’ll only see how much percentage of weight is lost compared to others in the group so you know where you’re sitting without knowing everyone’s magic number.

The more people we get to play, the bigger the pot.

Would you guys be interested in doing this?

We can have the bets be as low as $10 or high as $500 (uh, no), I think the highest I’d be willing to go would be $25. Throw some input my way concerning the amount of cash you’d be willing to bet on yourself and I’ll start a team.

I am wanting do this for the month of July, so that would be our beginning date.

And for those of you who are not bloggers, this absolutely is open to any and all participants.

Thank You

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:29:00 +0000

On Friday, I posted a blog detailing a lovely incident I had with uh, not-so-nice person. It felt really good as I writing it out as if every word I typed was allowing me to let go of all the crappy thoughts/feelings I was having about myself from it. I wasn’t expecting much from it – mostly, I just needed to get that negativity away from me. I am a positive person. I like to smile. I love to laugh. I think high-fives & hugs make the world a much better place.

Don’t doubt me. They do.

And you know what else I think makes the better place?

You.

I received so many wonderful comments & emails about this. People that have “overheard” comments directed at them, people that have made those comments, but that the underlying theme seems to come to one thing – it’s nothing to do with you, and something to do with them.

Perhaps that girl was just incredibly insecure with her appearance (I never made a comment about what she looked like, but she was no model herself) and needed to say something of that nature to make herself feel better.

Maybe she caught her man eyeing my goods (I could be considered busty, especially in the top I was wearing, and add on the lovely tattoo I have on my rack that was on display it’s possible) and was reminding him to keep his eyes to himself.

(Or maybe she’s just a bitch. There’s always that.)

I really hate that I allowed her comment to break me down so much, to get into my mind, to make me think I wasn’t good enough – when I know I am. I’ve worked really hard to feel good about myself and you all reminded me that I am.

So, thank you.

Thank you for being the type of person who brings someone up. Who cheers them on when they’re feeling down. Who internet high-fives the amazon girl from Texas whenever she rolls through another finish line.

YOU are the type of person that makes the world a better place (in addition to the hugs & high-fives, of course) and you should be proud of that. You are the person that Lillie will come across years from now when I tell her “Oh yeah, I was a blogger” that will help remind her wonderful, beautiful people are out there in the world – they are everywhere, and one negative person doesn’t define a damn thing.

Just Be Nice

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 21:03:00 +0000

One of the things I appreciate the most about the relationship I have with my husband is our honesty. That we have the ability (for the most part) to have conversations with each other under the pretense that we are speaking the truth from our heart, not to hurt, but to help. These conversations are never planned, they just sneak in. Sometimes it’s 3 hours longs, others as short as 5 minutes. Instead of being mad about something he (or I) may have said, we think about it, take it in and then improve in whatever area it is we’re referring too.

For example, a few years ago before I had Lillie, I was whining about my weight for the umpteenth time. I had already cried the day before because nothing fit me right and we had plans to go out. Alfred turned to me and said, “I love you. All of you. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. So, please for the love of God, shut up. If you don’t like how you look, do something about it. I’m tired of hearing it. Your looks do not affect how I love you.”

After my initial reaction of “THIS MOTHER.BEEPER IS SO INSENSITIVE” I took a step back (and fine, I cried) and thought, he’s right. When it comes down to it, he’s right. There’s no point in my talking shit about myself to the man I love. Why point out what I see as flaws to him? It doesn’t do anything but bring his attention to whatever I think is my problem areas. We talked a little longer after that. It hurt to hear him say that but I knew it wasn’t coming from a place of hate. He just wanted me to be happy. Once I came to that conclusion, I stopped whining and started doing. Result: I lost 30 lbs.

Another example, he was complaining about something for (again) the umpteenth time. He usually (while complaining) will realize he is doing just that about 1/2 way through the conversation. Mostly I just listen. It helps whenever you can talk things out loud, but his judgment was clouded so I said, “It sounds like to me, you’re bitching over nothing. It’s your job. Shit or get off the pot.” His reaction? He agreed and he worked on what the problem was. Result: Happier.

We had another one of those moments show up this past weekend. Lillie was fast asleep and we were sitting outside enjoying the cool Texas air. We had a lull in the conversation, so it was quiet. Peaceful. And then out of the blue he said, “You’ve been acting really grumpy lately. Is it because you haven’t been working out? I feel like it’s that girls fault.”

Back-story: A couple weekends ago, we were at Wal-Mart, we had just been on the boat and were looking to grab something to throw on the grill when we got home. I was wearing my bikini top with a tank top (it was fitted) over it and some boo-tay shorts to cover my bottoms. I’m not even close to a size 2 but didn’t care, I mean, we had just come off the boat clearly. Lillie had a little cover-up over her swimsuit and swim-shoes on as I was carrying her into the store. She was way exhausted. Alfred & Justin had already booked it in to the store (we were splitting up to get in and out as quick as we could).

I was walking in and I saw a little family that looked much like ours walking out (little girl included). The wife/girlfriend looked me up & down as she walked past me and said (not so quietly) to her boyfriend/husband, “Please tell me I don’t look like that.”

I thought, surely, SURELY, she’s talking about someone else. I must have just jumped in at the wrong part of the conversation or something. No one is that damn rude to a complete stranger. But then, I turned around to look at them and I caught eyes with the guy who had turned around to look at me and he uttered with disgust, “No way, baby.” He turned back to his wife, put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her into him.

I, on the other hand, squeezed Lillie a little closer and held the tears at bay.

That moment was when I started losing motivation. I hadn’t realized it until Alfred had pointed it out. I have been working so hard for the past year and a half without a care of what other people thought of me. I mean, I could run further (not really faster) than most people I associated with on a daily basis. I’m 15 lbs lighter and I have a family who supports & loves me. I have all of you that read the stuff I post on her. I am surrounded by positivity.

But it only took 20 seconds to tear that all down – and by a complete stranger. She didn’t know me or how hard I’ve worked for the past year. Where I came from. What I’ve been through.

What she did know? That I had a slight muffin top, I wasn’t wearing any make up and my hair was a giant ass frizz ball. She knew my appearance and she judged me for that.

I’ve been pulling myself out of this slump for the past week, thanks to my husband, but wanted to write about it.

To write about it as a reminder to keep your damn mouth shut if you don’t have anything nice to say. We don’t know the struggles people have been through to get to where they are, we don’t know what kind of day they’re having or if we’re about to ruin it, we.don’t.know. I just want you to think about that the next time you make an off-hand comment on someone’s appearance. Or even hear someone say something like that. Don’t encourage it.

Just be nice.

For the love of all things holy it’s not hard.

Just.
Be.
Nice.

National Running Day 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 21:21:00 +0000

In honor of National Running Day I thought I’d give you a few of my “best” race photos over the past year. Here’s proof you don’t have to be no beauty queen to get the job done! All you need is a pair of shoes, a race, and ~~not-so~~ perfect timing.

I like to think that running with a double chin makes you faster.Remember when I chafed my ass? Yeah, me too.

I swear I have eyebrows. Just not on race day apparently.

Hosing off after my first mud run. I seriously have no idea how we have only one kid.
I am the epitome of sexy.

And, for the finale, my absolute “best” racing picture to date.

Happy National Running Day friends! Now get out there & move!

Training Tuesday 6.4.13

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:20:00 +0000

My Training

Uh. Non-existent with the exception of working out pyramid style with Moj yesterday. We did an exercise – 50 seconds on, 10 seconds off – then went to the next one. There were 10 in total. But the thing was we’d do exercise 1 & 2. Then you go back and start at 1, then 2, then 3 THEN go all the way back to one. Until you made it through all 10 exercises.

The first & third exercises on the list were push-ups & burpees. Basically, I hate my life today.

I have a couple of races lined up for the end of the month, one of them is a Color Run – woohoo! If you’re near Temple, TX and want to participate here’s the link, we chose the 9:15 heat. We’d love to have you. I have a couple of girls I graduated HS with doing it too (Hi Lori & Sara!) – actually it was their idea.

Class of ‘02’ in da houuusee.

The other one is the Polish Pickle Run. You guys, I like big races, but I LOVE small ones. Firstly, it has pickle in its name – you can’t beat that shit - and the top prize is your choice of a heifer calf or $500. According to their website, people have actually taken the calf before – I’m not surprised because uh, I live in Texas and that seems normal, but for any of you that aren’t from around here – it’s legit. We like cows and also hay, since 2nd prize is either 30 bales of hay or $100.

Like I said, I love small races.

I don’t really have anything else to add to this. I’m boring in that way.

Tomorrow is National Running Day, so of course, I’ll be running. Will you?

Jelly of my Jams Swap Reveal!

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Fri, 31 May 2013 18:20:00 +0000

Holly & I, we just wanted to do something fun, something wonderful, something marvelous – and you know what? I think we did. #JellyofmyJams CD Swap had about twice as many participants as I expected (I thought it’d just be me & Holly, honestly) and I simply can.not.wait. to see all the songs people shared with their partners. I received mine last night (got it out of the mailbox this morning) and I shit you not – I love every song.

So, if you participated feel free to link a post telling us why we should be Jelly of your Jams! Don’t worry if you’ve worked something out and don’t have a post ready yet, you can link up later. Whatever works best for you.

We had an uneven amount of participants so I was put into a Trifecta of Awesome (yes, we named ourselves, no shame). Basically, I would swap songs (so tempted to write spit, ha!) with someone but they wouldn’t swap with me.

I sent a CD to Genna (Freed At Last), Genna sent one to Abbey (Finding My Forever), & Abbey to me.

You guys. Abbey did not disappoint.

Firstly, she sent me some headbands (even though I don’t have any head-back, I’m still going to use them) and cute little note cards that say Hey You on the front. Also, a lovely note where she tells me all the songs (Uh, there’s 23!) and some of her favorites. She was also nice enough to warn me that a few of them may not be Lillie-appropriate.

It always means a lot whenever people take my daughter into consideration. Just another reason why Abs is my favorite.

I’ll put a few videos up, but mostly I’ll just link to the YouTube so it doesn’t take forever for this post to load.

1. Just Keep Swimming – Finding Nemo.
She conveniently left #1 off her list on my note (I didn’t catch it when I was skimming the songs) so this was an hilarious start to my day. I’ve had the shittiest week, and seriously this made it all worthwhile. Best way to start a CD.

2. I Love – Tom T. Hall
I remember hearing this song years ago on the radio but had no clue who sung it (when I say years, I mean like I was 6 or 7) and had completely forgot about it. You guys. I was so freaking giddy on my way to work this morning as I listened. I’ve also officially changed the last lyric of the song from “I love you, too” to “I love you, Abs.”

3. Scar – Missy Higgins
I had never heard this song before. I absolutely love the lyrics. I actually listened to it twice on my way into work. In fact, I’m listening to it as I type this right now. I’m fancy in that way. Please, please, please check it out. You will not be disappointed.

4. Get U Home – Shwayze
Proof that Abbey wants in my pants are in the lyrics : “Take me in the bathroom, take my clothes off, make love to me up against a dirty wall, Cause I can’t wait to get you home”

It’s already been added to my running playlist and every time I hear it, I will think of you & a dirty bathroom Abbey but in the cleanest way possible, I swear..

5. Summertime – Brianna Taylor
This song seriously just rolls off your tongue. I found myself singing along even though I clearly did not know the words. Thank the sweet baby Jesus for tinted truck windows.

6. I Feel Home – O.A.R.
Another new song to me. This is definitely a sitting on my back porch, drinking a cold one, hanging with my friends kind of song – just mellow & chill. They do a great song of describing their ‘home’ and it’s an awful lot like mine.

7. Rodeo – Chris Ledoux
I started laughing like a mad woman when this came on. Now, if you’re a redneck then you KNOW this song – mostly because any man you’ve ever come across has started singing it loudly when they get drunk at some point in their life. WARNING: This is NOT a safe for work song. A few of the lyrics:
“Well, it’s 40 below and I don’t give a fuck, got a heater in my truck and I’m off to the rodeo”
”Well, here comes Johnny with his pecker in his hand, he’s a one ball man and he’s off to the rodeo”
”piss me off, fuckin’ jerk, get on my nerves”

8. Waka Waka – Shakira
Great running/workout song. Also, I am in love with Shakira. Especially after seeing her on The Voice this season. Her voice is so unique and beautiful. Also, she’s easy on the eyes. Hmm…maybe I should sing her Get U Home…

9. Storm Warning – Hunter Hayes
I’ve heard this song (and love it) and I’m familiar with Hunter Hayes. Just not familiar with how he looks. I googled and it says he’s 21, but dude, he can’t be more than 15. He’s got the sweetest little baby face, but dude he’s got a voice of a grown ass man. My loins are very disturbed by this.

10. Taste – Josh Abbott Band
Another country artist (Abbey you’ve nailed this) that I’m a fan off. Although, again, Abbey, I get it. You want me. I’m married. To be fair though, I’m sure my husband wouldn’t mind. Men. Sheesh.
Lyrics: “ I wanna taste your skin; I wanna be let in. I wanna hold you and feel you like you’ve never been.”

11. Ferris Wheel – Jason Jones
Country for the win again! I added the video below because it’s adorable. And also because I now want to go to a fair. Are there any fairs going on anywhere? I want to go to there.

12. Touch the Sky – Julie Fowlis
This is from the movie Brave and yep, another great running song. I just watched this movie for the first time a few weeks ago, so great. If you haven’t checked it out yet, I advise you do.

13. Love Letter – Shwayze
I am really liking this Shwayze, Abs. You can’t help but move your shoulders to it.

14. Our Last Night – Better Than Ezra
This song makes me want to grab a glass of wine, go sit on my back porch swing and just look out into the sunset. Okay, fine, by glass I meant bottle. You guys know me too well.

15. If I could Do It Again – Corey Smith
I love it when songs just tell stories – like no metaphors, no deeper meanings, just stories you can relate too and love. That’s what this is.

16. Gone, Gone, Gone – Philip Phillips
Did anyone watch the American Idol season with Philip Phillips on it? I don’t typically get caught up in AI anymore but because of Philip I caught most of that particular season and am so grateful – I love, love, love his voice. It’s so raspy & genuine.

17. Do You Remember – Jack Johnson
Dude. It’s Jack Johnson. You have to love him. Just listen.

18. Bang Bang – Dispatch
I song so good you don’t even care that it’s 6 minutes long.

19. White Trash Story – Casey Donahew Band
This is a great background song for casual get-togethers. Like it has a great beat to it and then when a lull in conversation comes up you hear some of the lyrics and you’re like “What the…?” And everyone laughs and it’s a grand ol’ time for all.

20. The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow
This sounds very folksy, blue grass, rock-like. I’ve never heard this song either, but it’s definitely going in my iTunes.

21. You Can Call Me Al – Paul Simon
Abs tells me this is her favorite song and that when people hear it, they think of her. I’m ashamed to say I’ve never heard this before. I’m so glad though that you added it! It’s an older song (80s) and has Chevy Chase in the video, I love it. Also, Betty (stepmom) & Al are the husband’s parents name – it made me laugh.

22. Motorcycle Drive By – Third Eye Blind
I ask you, who doesn’t like Third Eye Blind? WHO?

23. You rock, dude.
No video for this it’s only 6 seconds long and it’s a little kid that says YOU ROCK, DUDE.

No, Abbey YOU ROCK.

Thank you so much for the wonderful CD of these amazing songs!

5 Fun Facts About Me

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Thu, 30 May 2013 21:35:00 +0000

I haven’t linked up for Random Thursday in a while, so I thought, “Why Not?!” and here I am. Today’s prompt (if you didn’t read the title) is 5 Fun Facts about Me. I don’t know if they’re fun, but they are facts. So, half-win at the very least – not bad, right?

1. On occasion, I have been known to do community theatre. I love it but haven’t been able to (or willing too) give up my time for rehearsals. Now that the kid is a little older, I can feel the acting bug creeping back up in me.

2. To save some money when decorating Lillie’s room, Alfred & I just went through some old furniture we had and painted it. Like new, baby or like new baby. Because she was a new ba…oh, never mind.

3. In case you’ve ever doubted my redneck status – I’ve actually been to a Corn Festival. Yeah, a Corn Festival. Just let that sink in.

4. In the 4th grade, I rocked the shit out of a perm. Well, only after I went home crying because when I walked into class everyone started laughing at my new do that I was so proud of (my mom had a perm, so I thought I was so adult with it.) Seriously though, they had to call my mom to come pick me up because I refused to go inside.

5. During our wedding reception, we didn’t toast with fancy champagne flutes – nope, beer mugs all the way for this couple.

Don’t forgot for those of you who are participating in the #JellyoftheJams CD swap to come back here tomorrow to link-up all your great songs you’ve received! If you haven’t gotten your CD yet from your partner, no worries, the link will stay open so you can link up at your convenience!

Training Tuesday 5.28.13

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Tue, 28 May 2013 21:20:00 +0000

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!)

Abbey wasn’t here last week, but thank the sweet baby Jesus she is back! I’ve missed her. But a huge shout-out to all of you who linked up last week with me. (Jaime, Kate, Meg, & Amanda : You guys make me a better blogger. You really do.) I was seriously worried it would just be me by my lonesome.

My Training:

I started Insanity (I’ve done it 3 times this past week – which I’m considering fantastic since it was a 3 day weekend). I had hoped the husband would join me but instead he just comments on how much more sweaty I get with this than I ever did with Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.

Thanks Captain Obvious.

I took measurements to start out with Insanity and compared those with what I took when I started the 30 Day Shred. It looks like I’ve lost 1.5 inches from my hips and 1 inch from my waist. That was only doing 20 out of the 30 days. I’ll take it!

So, if you’re in the market for a workout DVD – I would totally recommend it (it’s also much, much cheaper than purchasing Insanity). If I would have done those days consecutively and then, you know, actually make it to the 30 I have no doubt that I would have seen even better results. Maybe I’ll try again in a few months. We shall see.

Lately I’ve felt kind of burnt out with exercise but then I did something awesome this weekend and now I know what the real issue is. For the past couple months I’ve tried branching out to other forms of exercise and in the process I’ve stopped running (with the exception of a couple races). I wanted a break from the constant training I had been doing since August of last year and I was excited about it. It’s been a nice change but I’m over it.

I miss running. Something about it soothes me.

Anyway, this weekend I participated in a mud run (race recap soon!) and it was hard. Not only did we have mud holes, belly crawls, and obstacles of all sorts to go through – we chose to run the entire time (when possible. I mean, running on mud isn’t the easiest thing to do my friends). It wasn’t a timed event and a lot of people were walking from one point to the next, but we didn’t, and I’m glad. My legs felt happy. It’s weird to explain but I’m sure there’s someone out there that understands.

Why yes, that IS Sar from Life of Love on the left, me in the middle (duh) and my friend Christine on the right (who also did this with me last year!)

So what does this mean?

It means I need to start running again. I don’t want to wait for August (my initial plan was to start up again for the fall running schedule I have planned). I’m not giving up Insanity – I just think I’ll cut back to 3-4 days a week for that (the program calls for 6 days a week) and add 1-2 days of running – a happy medium.

A happy medium indeed.

Training Tuesday 5.21.13

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:53:00 +0000

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!)

Abbey’s out for this week, so it’s just little ol’ me today. She’s much better about getting this up sooner than me. She is my better Training Tuesday half and I am not ashamed to say it.

Last week, I talked about how how the scale is the devil and I’ve avoided it since then. Except for this morning. I stepped on it, held my breath (and then quickly let it out for fear it was going to add an extra ounce or two) and well, same as last week. I had every intention of avoiding it like the plague for the remainder of the year but then I decided to start doing Insanity. Like, tonight.

For those that aren’t familiar, Insanity is a 60 day workout program that is, well, nicely put intense.

Last year I made it through a month then stopped to start training for all my fall races. I lost 7 inches in like 2 weeks and finally managed to make into some pre-Lillie jeans. It really is a wonderful workout (although it is expensive). There are a few days that you are required to do a ‘fit test’ where you weigh and measure, those will be the only days that I step on the scale – roughly every two weeks. There are 10 (I think) different DVDs that you work through based on a schedule you’re given. It’s 6 days a week. I highly, highly doubt I’ll do it every day but I’ll give it a try.

But Tamara, weren’t you doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred?

Why yes. Yes I was. I made it 20/30 days and have lost some inches but I forgot those measurements at home – oops. I’ll update next Training Tuesday on that success. I know it could have been better if I would have stuck with it every day instead of bailing out on it during the weekends. I let a friend borrow it, and I imagine I’ll end up doing it again. My plan had always been do the 30 Day Shred as prep for Insanity, so I feel prepped and I’m ready for it.

Once Insanity is over, fall will be here and that means – more running & more races. Yippee!

I’ve already registered for a 5k/Half Marathon in January 2014 already and am seriously considering another half in November. Also, there’s that time I talked about a full-marathon in April. So yeah. In the meantime, Insanity and smaller races.

One of those smaller races is a mud run this Saturday with Sar from Life of Love and I can’t wait. If you’re in the Waco area and need something to do at 9am this Saturday, join us!

www.mudquestrun.com

We aren’t running to compete, we’re just going for the fun of it. I imagine it will be similar to the way I ran last year – we run for a bit, we stop & talk while waiting to cross an obstacle, we wade through mud, we laugh a lot, then maybe we run some more. Good strategy, no?

Alright, don’t let me be the lone ranger for this week since Abbey’s out – link up & tell me about your training!

That Just Happened - ViewSport

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:03:00 +0000

A few weeks (or more) ago, I was catching up on some blog reading when I was pleasantly surprised to learn I had actually won a giveaway. Say whaaat?

Megan from #runmeganrun (who, by the way, is a great read for those of you in love with running) hosted a giveaway for ViewSport and I won that hell out of that mother. I was incredibly excited since I had seen their products floating around on Pinterest and it seemed like the perfect culmination of fun & fitness. (Two things I strongly believe belong together if you want to be successful.)

Oh, I guess I should explain to you what exactly their product is before we go any further.

It’s athletic apparel. But, get this - it’s sweat activated athletic apparel. Yeah, you read that right. Sweat activated.

Sign.me.up. Am I right?

A little more information per their company:

“When you exercise and begin to sweat, an invisible image appears. We call it ViewSPORT Sweat Activated Technology - and the more you sweat, the clearer the image becomes. ViewSPORT reveals messages and images as you workout. Hence our tag line motivation revealed. When training, sweat activates the ViewSPORT technology in which words and graphic designs appear where sweat comes in contact with the fabric.”

After winning, I chose “That Just Happened” shirt and I received it in like 4 days. Incredibly fast, incredibly pleased.

I chose this particular shirt for a couple of reasons:

1. Because I say “That Just Happened” on the regular.
2. I also wanted something that looked like normal every day wear and not fitness apparel.

Don’t get me wrong, I love fitness apparel, but I’m not the girl who wears it unless I’m in the process of using it.

Anyway, I really wanted to see if this ‘sweat activated technology’ worked, so I opted to wear the shirt during one of my stair workouts. You know, where I run up & down four flights of stairs for 45 minutes? Yep, definitely going have the sweat going on during that.

But Tam, I don’t see any sweat? What is activating? And for the love of baby Jesus, why are your eyes so big?

Calm down, grasshopper. I got the sweat. It’s activating on my lower back. And my eyes are big so that I can see you better, my dear.

BOOM!

It worked like a boss during my workout. Awesome, right?

Typically I’m between a large & x-large when it comes to my shirts. This is a slim-fit and I went with the large. It fit as expected (uh, slim) but because I have the torso of an Olympic swimmer I was a little worried about the length. I have this problem where shirts want to bare my mid-riff and ain’t nobody wanna see that, but not a problem with this. It was long enough and didn’t ride up as I was huffing the stairs.

So, as a workout shirt. Yes. Definitely yes.

But what about for an everyday out-and-about shirt?Yep, it’s great for that too. I wore it for my husband's surprise birthday party (we had a gladiator ring & I was about to get down with it, thus the helmet) It was comfortable & totally appropriate for when I went after Sunny, because uh, That Just Happened. No judging. There was sangria involved.

Overall, I really liked this product. Even though I didn’t pay for it, I will definitely be buying something from them in the future. They’re cute (they also have men’s products) and to be honest, I felt like I tried harder to sweat during my workout to get the "Boom” to show up.

Interested?
You can find ViewSport on the following media:

www.viewsport.us
www.facebook.com/viewsport
www.twitter.com/viewsport (For simply being a follower I recently received 15% off!)www.pinterest.com/viewsport
www.instagram.com/viewsport

This shirt was provided free to me because, I, uh won a giveaway but all opinions expressed within are my own.

Training Tuesday 5.14.13

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:12:00 +0000

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!)

Usually I go through day-by-day training but I don’t really want to do that today. I worked out last week. I know I did. I just…felt like I was going through the motions. I’ve really had a hard time lately finding motivation. I even cried at the gym last week. I couldn’t pinpoint what the issue was and it was really frustrating.

Then, I had a conversation with Sara from Maurer Power (she’s wonderful, check her out if you haven’t already!) that led us into talking about the scale. (Mostly with us saying it’s the devil. It is.)

Last year I stopped weighing myself and just focused on being healthier. I was happy and felt ready when this year for a New Year’s Resolution I put out there that I wanted to lose 30 lbs. I wrote in my Weight Hate post at the beginning of this year “…my weight does not define me…” and when I wrote that I felt that. Everything I wrote in that post is true. I was happy because I was healthy. Running was a huge part of that.

And because of that I assumed I was in a healthy place mentally & emotionally to be okay with the scale. To be friends with the scale even.

I am not.

It started out innocent enough, I wanted to see where I was starting so I’d weigh myself every 3-4 days and gauge how I was doing based on that. Then it was every 1-2 days and eventually, at minimum twice a day.

Every time I saw a gain, even by .2 lbs, I felt sad like I failed myself for some reason. At the same time the logical part of me knew this was normal, weight fluctuates daily based on the time of day, what you ate, how much water you are carrying, etc but the emotional part of me said, “FUCK THAT. YOU’RE FAT.”

It’s ridiculously exhausting to be in a constant battle against yourself. And it makes you want to give up.

I caught Lillie ‘weighing’ herself this weekend. It pissed me off. Not that she was doing something wrong, because she was just standing on a piece of metal watching the numbers move, but because it felt like I was failing her. That instead of associating me with running (she tells me to go faster which is adorable) it was like she was associating me with a number. And, like I said earlier, that shouldn’t define me for me and it damn sure shouldn’t define me for her.

Simply put I can’t be friends with the scale. I can’t have her telling me whether or not I’m going to be in a good mood today because I weigh .5 lbs less today than I did yesterday.

So, I’m getting rid of that 30 lb resolution.

Which also means, the scale is going too. Holler bitch.

If I lose weight, so be it. I’ll continue working out & trying to eat better but I just can’t have that scale toxin near me. It does not make me a person I am proud of. And ultimately, that’s what I want. Not to weigh less, not to skinny, but to be happy & to make the people around me happy.

Here’s to being happy.

Sometimes it sucks

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Wed, 08 May 2013 22:13:00 +0000

I’m an optimist. The glass is generally half-full for me (usually with wine) and I’m convinced I have chipmunk cheeks because my muscles are so strong from the smiling gene my mother blessed me with.

Obviously this is my chipmunk face.

So, naturally, the cheeriness comes across in my blog and how I handle the motivation I need/use to continue feeling like I’m becoming the type of person I’m proud of. The kind of person who works out not to be the thinnest, but to be healthier & happier for my God, myself, my kid, & my husband.

And with all that said, sometimes it just sucks.

Some days I just feel like I have nothing to give. Like, I’ve used up my “happy”quota for the week. Things from work, from life, being a mom, financial situations, anything just pile up & I have an off day (or week). It’s life, it happens, I’m an adult so I deal.

At one point in my life, I dealt with these things with Oreos. (Fine, there are still some times that I still do this. Don’t judge me. They are made of Unicorn Farts & puffs of amazingness, I can’t always help myself.)

But now, at this point in my life, I try to deal by working it out. Whether that’s going for a run, or doing an at home workout DVD, or going to the gym. Generally, if I make myself do something I’m happier within 10 minutes and I kind of forget about what’s been ailing me.

However, last week that did not happen.

I don’t know what it was – just a culmination of worry/anxiety/work – is what I’m going with. I’ve talked about Mojgan, she’s my amazing friend who I run stairs with or follow along for evil Tabata workouts, she had asked me to join her for another workout. I wanted to say no, but I didn’t. I figured I’d go and in 10 minutes I’d be calling her “the spawn of Satan” and “the workout Nazi” to forget about the pain.

She laughs when I call her these things because she knows it comes from a place of love. And of looking pretty damn fly in a pair of skinny jeans these days.

But 10 minutes into our 45 minute workout and I was struggling. We were doing things I had done plenty of times before but my head & heart were just not into it. I was in a funk and even she noticed when she called me, Grumpy butt.

At least it wasn’t Lumpy butt, I guess. (See, positivity, that bitch)

I wanted to quit. I really did. I’ve never walked out from workout but I was on the verge. I wanted to give up. It was horrible.

At one point, I was attempting push-up/plank combination and with my face facing the floor. I just started crying. I didn’t look up & I hoped if people noticed they’d just assume it was sweat hitting the floor (common in our workouts).

I hated it because it felt like my body could keep going, but my head wouldn’t allow it. I was frustrated and annoyed that I had to work out so hard just to maintain. To everyone else in the gym it looked like they were breezing along.

I’m not looking for any kind of sympathy. I just wanted to share with you guys that even though it may look like I have it all together – that well, sometimes I don’t. I struggle, I curse, I smell like man-sweat more than I don’t.

We all have hard days we have to push through and well, that was one of mine.

Changing your lifestyle, no matter how amazing it can feel – well, sometimes it sucks. It really just does.

Training Tuesday 5.7.13

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Tue, 07 May 2013 21:30:00 +0000

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

4/30 – 30 Day Shred Level 2
5/1 – 30 Day Shred Level 2. I also committed to a couple of challenges for May. A squat challenge (which weirdly enough the husband is participating in as well. My plan to slowly get him into exercise and then into running must be working. Muwahaha.) And an ab Challenge with Meg. If you’ll recall I did a Thigh Challenge for April – I’d say I completed about 25/30 days. So a success. Even on days when I didn’t do a typical workout I still found time to complete it. Seriously, less than 10 minutes a day. I feel good about both of my May challenges.
5/2 – Workout with Moj. She didn’t write anything down since she wanted to keep it as a “surprise”. I don’t know what was going on with me, but it was an off day. Like off in a “Oh my gawd, I am crying. In the gym. For no reason.” It was odd and I have more to say about this in a future post.
5/3 – 30 Day Shred Level 2.
5/4 – Getting Muddy.
5/5 – Recovering from muddiness.
5/6 – Now I’m just being plain lazy. Also, my forehead is burned from the mud & is peeling. I am sexy.

Other things:

A friend of mine who is a personal trainer, Terri DeVore, is the owner of Fit Chick Fitness here in the Waco area. She’s received a few requests for some kind of walking group. This would be a great kick starter for anyone who may want to try a 5k in the future but wants to start out a little tamer than just jumping right in.

If you’re interested or know someone who is – send them to www.fcbootcampwaco.com. She is so knowledgeable and genuinely loves to help people get involved into a healthy lifestyle. Also, I wasn’t compensated in any way for this. I just really believe in Terri and what she’s trying to do.

I now have a Facebook page for the ol’ blog – go check it out & like it if that’s your kind of thing.

https://www.facebook.com/LehmannLaughter

I’ll probably be a little more free there than I am on my personal FB page, since this will be a direct extension of my blog and let’s face it – I’m pretty open with the info you find here. I actually prefer Twitter but I know a lot of my readers are on FB, so I figure this will be a great avenue for any questions/post ideas or bragging about running/fitness for those readers. We’ll see if it flops or not.

Also, tomorrow is the last day to sign up for our Jelly of My Jams CD Swap! You don’t have to have a blog to register – just a valid mailing address and the ability to make/send a kickass CD to your swap partner. Holly & I will send out partners by Friday.

Also, in sincere hopes that you won’t read this far down just in case I change my mind. I’m taking the dive. I’m jumping from the highest cliff. I’m going to fall into an ocean of sweat & self-hate.

What’s that mean?

It means, I’m going to do a full marathon.

26.2 miles. Yep, it’s going to happen. I can’t not do it. I’ve ran this far, I have to know if I can do it. I’ve ignored it for long enough.

So, here’s me telling you – it’ll happen. Right now, I think the plan/hope is Oklahoma City next April-ish (Abbey? Anita? Anyone else who is completely off their rocker and wants to join me? Can you hear me?) You have plenty of time to train! Please be crazy with me. Please.

So yeah.

Pray for me. But mostly, pray for my husband because I can feel him rolling his eyes as I type this. Poor guy.

How I feel after researching marathon training plans.

This Weekend, I [5.6.13]

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Mon, 06 May 2013 21:51:00 +0000

Linking up with Sar & Syn to cover my weekend shenanigans.

This Weekend, I got a little muddy. We went to Mudd Jam 4 and had a blast! For those who aren’t familiar, this was an event at an ATV park. You can go camp, ride trails, get in mud & basically just get yo’ redneck on. Don’t knock it till you try it. :)

Our friends, Chris & Kayla (they’re the ones below who are pulling me out of a nice little hole I found), joined us in our redneckery as well as our friend Kevin.

Alfred showed Kevin a real nice time (as evidenced by this picture below) for his Bachelor party weekend. Kevin is getting married this Saturday & seriously couldn’t stop talking about his fiancé. Twas adorables.

This Weekend, I rehydrated with oranges to counteract my dehydration of Bud Light. The husband laughed at me for throwing them in my cooler, but they were a hit. And sweet baby Jesus they were tasty.

This Weekend, I watched this happen. I didn’t participate because the water was colder than a mug & I had limited amount of clean clothing at this point. But, we have plans to go back in the summer months & you can bet your ass that’s the way I’m rolling. I mean, seriously, how can I not?

But mostly This Weekend, I missed the hell out of this little toot. (she’s so ready for summer!)

Donkey Dash 5k

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Thu, 02 May 2013 22:22:00 +0000

Dudes. Dudes. I motherbeeping killed it last Saturday!

So, if you’ll recall I asked the twitter-verse for some song suggestions on Friday and it exploded with awesomeness. My playlist ended up looking like this:

And then (in case you hadn’t heard) Holly & I teamed up for a CD Swap that’s going on right now. So if you’re interested in swapping great music (you know you are) sign up!

Also, you totally should because the awesome suggestions KNOCKED OFF 2:48 OFF MY LAST 5K TIME!

My official time was 36:11.

I officially am an average runner with an 11:44 average pace for the race. If you’ll recall one of my resolutions for 2013 was to be at 12 minute miles. Dude, I am there.

Much like every other race when I was finished I forgot to cut off my Garmin. Oops.

I had only ran twice since March 23rd (my emotional Bearathon half) and was just counting on the cross-training I had been doing, but definitely wasn’t expecting anything grand. My previous 5k time in February was 38:59 and I was thrilled at that because I finally got below 40. I joked once that I may just actually beat my real PR time (34:14) for the 5k I set in 2010 (before I became serious about running) by the end of the year, but now that seems less of a joke and more of a reality. Cray-cray.

I’m also pretty sure I was still hung-over from Friday night shenanigans with the husband. I am attractive.

One beer before a race is fine, two is okay, but beyond that I do not recommend (even though I do have a steel stomach like my friend Karri and our love of Fiber One bars. Don’t judge us.)

My friend, Sunny, ran the race with me (or in front of me, whatever) and she placed 2nd in her age division and 3rd overall. Girl is fast.

This particular race benefitted the American Cancer Society and with it being called Donkey Dash, they made sure to include donkeys for us. In true redneck fashion, we did not hesitate to take as many pictures as possible. I’d also be lying if I didn’t say I secretly hoped they’d gloriously throw their ropes off and join us in our run but alas, they did not.

I feel like I should also mention it was 70 degrees out when we started and humid than a motherfucker. We still killed it (this was a PR for Sunny too).

Despite nearly throwing up half-way through (see twitter picture above) I just kept moving. I kept telling myself that if I can 13.1 miles at a 13 minute pace then I surely can 3.1 faster than that, I just had to push myself. And I did. Totally felt amazing.

So, yep. I’m amazeballs.

Until we run again!

Jelly of my Jams CD Swap

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:17:00 +0000

Last week, I was working on a playlist for an upcoming 5k and I just was not feeling any of my songs. So, I did what anyone would do – I hit up my online friends for some musical suggestions. During this, Holly from Faith, Hope, and Baseball (she also has a fitness blog at My Own Kind of Beautiful) suggested a CD swap of our favorite workout music.

Since she’s simply amazing, I couldn’t ignore this wonderful idea and I immediately emailed her about hosting a swap – and so here we are.

Doing the damn thing like a motherbeeping boss.

This swap is open to all (even those of you without a blog), just as long as you have a valid mailing address you’re golden.

Swap Details:

·Registration open from May 1st through May 8th.
·Everyone will be notified of their swap partners by May 10th.
·Send your CD of amazing songs to your partner by May 17th.
·Feel free to send a note to your partner explaining your song choices if you’d like.
·On May 31st link up and tell us why we should be Jelly of your Jams!

You’re not required to follow Holly or myself, but if you don’t already – you’re missing out. We’re kind of a big deal ~~in our heads~~. You can also grab the button above to post if you’d like. If you’re on Twitter and want to hash it out - #JellyofmyJams is the way to go.

Keep in mind – this is a way to add some new music to our life. Your partner can either take your suggestions into account, or completely ignore them all together and give you songs you’ve never even heard of. We only ask that you keep an open mind.

So, click the button below and let’s get our jam on!

Training Tuesday 4.30.13

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:09:00 +0000

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. If 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. 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.

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

A Self-Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:09:00 +0000

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.

Can’t Hold Us

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:49:00 +0000

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. She’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. 4. My daughter wanted to take a picture of our cat, Smokey, yesterday. So, uh, here you go.

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.

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

Training Tuesday 4.23.13

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:19:00 +0000

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?

Random Thursday: Holy Grail Cosmetics

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:47:00 +0000

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.

Training Tuesday [4.16.13]

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:47:00 +0000

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

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.

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

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.

Simply Sad

noreply@blogger.com (Tamara) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:26:00 +0000

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