We are a bike riding family.  Shaun bikes to work almost every day-even when it’s 15 flipping degrees out!  I’ve been riding my bike to work twice a week lately and we ride as a family every weekend.  Heck, we have 9 bikes between the 3 of us and Shaun wants another one.

The idea of touring a country or an area on bike is incredibly intriguing to me.  Whether it be Italy, France, the United States (or just part of the United States), Thailand, where ever, I’d like to do a bike tour.  I think that it would be awesome to do as a family but at the very least, I’d like to do it with Shaun before we die.  I think it would be an amazing way to see certain locals and I hope that I’ll be able to make this dream a reality someday.

Bucket List:

1. Write a book
2. Own an actual house with a yard (NOT a condo!)
3. Get to 20% body fat
4. Bike Tour

~~

I pushed it really hard in bootcamp today and I can feel it tonight! At the end of every bootcamp we all gather in a circle and “break it down”.  The trainer calls out someone for doing a kick ass job and that person gets to lead the group by saying “Own it on 3. 1-2-3!” and then everyone says “OWN IT!”  It’s very sports team like not cult like (which is the way it sounds).  Anyway, I have NEVER gotten called out to “break it down” which is something that I was quite bitter about.  TODAY that all changed! I got to break it down-YAY!

Oh and check out what Lu insisted on wearing to school today:

She didn’t take it off once.

Day 3 of the Bucket List and I have all sorts of ideas floating around in my head.

The one I chose is one that may sound vain or may sound like more of a goal but it is definitely on my bucket list and one that I am currently working on.  During our move, I let my goal get a little buried but I think by putting it out there it will motivate me again.

Before I started training for the Ironman in 2007 my body fat was 22%, according to the Bod Pod.  I’m sure that I gained body fat while training for the Ironman to help me sustain the 140 miles I did in 13 hours.  After the Ironman we pretty quickly started trying to get pregnant and my body fat just went up from there. The after Lucy body fat is basically chronicled in this blog .  According to the scale at the gym (the kind where you stand on the metal sensors and hold onto sensors-which I know is not very accurate) my body fat is sitting at 27% right now.  My goal is to get down to 20%. Twenty percent is where you see muscle definition without flexing. That’s where I’d like to be and that’s where I’d like to maintain.

So even though it’s sort of vain, that’s #3.

Bucket List:

1. Write a book
2. Own an actual house with a yard (NOT a condo!)
3. Get to 20% body fat

~~

Today started with a great 10 mile mountain bike ride with Shaun.  He said that today was, by far, my best mountain biking day. Exciting stuff!

Here’s some pictures near the top of where we rode to:

 

This afternoon Megan, Luke, Porter, and Tessa (we’re baby sitting) came over for dinner.  We hung out in the backyard in the shade.  It was a hot one today but in the shade it was just right.  All the kids played so well together-it couldn’t have been a more perfect night. Lu and Tessa got in our gargantuan bath tub which Tessa insisted on calling a “pool”.  She did her kicker and strokers and even decided to pee-HA!

One more week of school!

~~

I took an iPhone video tour of our house.  I don’t feel comfortable just putting it out there for the whole interweb to see, but if you’d like to see them (there are 3 for the 3 levels), email me and I’ll send you the links.

Bucket List:

1. Write a book
2. Own an actual house with a yard (NOT a condo!)

~~

Today felt like summer! It was so nice and we packed a bunch of fun stuff in.  Lucy and I went to the Farmer’s Market where I loaded up on a few weeks worth of meat.  I LOVE being able to get local, grass fed, and humanly raised meat.

I consigned some clothes and shoes that I know I’ll never wear.  I’m shocked at how cheaply things get priced.  I know I should do my shopping in consignment stores but I’m afraid that I’ll come out of there looking worse than I already do.  I’m desperately trying to develop a style but I just don’t know how. If anyone has some tips, I’m all ears!

This afternoon we went to a 2 year old’s birthday party.  There was a jump house and Lu LOVED it.  She didn’t want to come home.  I guess we know what her next birthday will look like!

Megan inspired me to create a bucket list! I was just lamenting that I had let this thing die but didn’t know how to jump back in. So I’m going to try!

Some things I’ve already marked off the ‘ol bucket list:

-married my best friend
-gave birth to one wonderful little girl
-therefore I’m a Mom! (and a good one, I think)
-moved across the country (twice!) and ultimately tossed everything I knew out the window for a better, simpler, more family oriented life in Boise.
-completed an Ironman (almost 5 years ago!!!)
-became a teacher
-finished a Bikram 60 in 60
-bought and completely updated a house
-this is a silly one to put on a bucket list but I’m proud of it-we’re debt free except for my student loan (and working on that one)

I’ll follow Megan’s criteria for this bucket list:

My criteria for adding items to the list are simple.
-Each item must be something that can be solidly accomplished and documented, no touchy-feely goals for this list.
-A new item must be added every single day and posted on this blog. (caveat-I may not be able to update everyday while in Yellowstone-but I’ll still create them and update the blog at the end of the week.)
-Ideas can be crazy and far fetched, but must have the potential to be accomplished in this lifetime.

Bucket List
1. Write a book

~~
On the “me” front, things are going really well. I’ve got 1 week left of school and then we’re on vacation in Yellowstone (don’t try to break into my house, I have a very loud and effective alarm-my husband “tests” it quite frequently)! At the end of vacation Shaun, my brother, SIL, 17 year old nephew, and I will be doing a 50 mile mountain bike ride from Boise to Idaho City.

I’ve been training for that by mountain biking with my hubby on the weekends and pulling Lucy in the trailer to school twice a week (14 miles a day, 28 miles a week plus whatever Shaun and I do). I’m still doing my bootcamp MWF. After I’ve completed the ride, I plan to join a cheap gym to get access to weights to continue the hardcore lifting I was doing (and loving). I’ll probably try to ride my bike to school one day a week still because Lu absolutely loves it. Oh and I officially fit in most of my Pre-Lucy clothing. Yippee!

After my vacation, summer school starts. I found out today that I’ll be teaching Kindergarten this summer! For the summer, I’ll no longer be “Miss Chelsea” but will be “Mrs. Titus”. I’m really excited for the new challenge.

On the Lucy front. She’s awesome and gets more awesome everyday. There’s no more baby in her -except maybe her totally kissable cheeks. She’s a full on KID, like woah! She has a great sense of humor, she’s reading one vowel words, she’s working on mastering the monkey bars, and she’s counting to 100! She is loving the new house. She plays independently for large chunks of time outside on her “playground” or upstairs in her playroom. She LOVES to play school and is constantly drilling us or practicing her writing on her “magna noodle” or white board. Since her third birthday, she’s gone from a shy little girl to a girl who has no problem talking to people, asking their names, and being inquisitive (while hopefully still being polite!). I fully attribute this to Challenger. I knew when I went to observe the program that she would thrive. I’m glad I was right!

I’ve written this whole post on my phone. Let’s see if I can include some pictures.

In the mix is Lucy’s big girl room, Lucy before her Spring Performance, Lucy in the bath, Shaun and me on my Mother’s Day ride, Shaun and Lu cuddling on the couch <3.

Since February 1st I’ve been doing a body transformation competition.  If I win, I get $1,000.  I’ve been working my ass off.  I go to the gym M-F and I’ve been eating a VERY clean diet.  Here’re the results so far-I find out if I actually win later this week-I think I have a real chance of winning!

February 1, 2012                         April 1, 2012

February 1, 2012                         April 1, 2012

Weight lost: 12 pounds
Inches lost: 10
Body Fat Percentage lost: 5.2
Clothing Size Change: down 2 sizes

Even if I don’t win, I feel so much better about myself and my pre-Lucy clothes are finally starting to fit again! So in reality, I already won.

So….we’re moving!!! We’re staying in Boise but in 2 months we will be upgrading-BIG TIME. We’re moving about 4 miles away from our current house-we’ll be less than a mile away from Megan, Luke, and Porter!

My Aunt and Uncle are planning on retiring here in 2014.  They were here to visit at the beginning of January and found a house that they LOVED.  They put an offer in, it was accepted, and it closed today!Now they needed tenants!  The house is amazing-absolutely amazing.  One of the things that Shaun and I had to discuss was the fact that it might be hard to move out when the time comes because our future home probably won’t be this nice.  We ultimately decided that we could do it and the fact that the house is not in the neighborhood that we ultimately want to end up in would help us move out . Plus when we move, that means my Aunt and Uncle are here to stay!

We are very excited and a little freaked out.  I’m freaked out that I have to pack this house up-our last move was so massive-1,000 miles!!!! So I’m a little moving gun shy.  Shaun is freaked out about keeping the new place clean and the yard maintained.  The new house is TWICE as big as our current place (and almost 3 times as big as our condo in San Mateo).

I took screenshots of the virtual tour so I could show you our new abode (for the next 2 years!).

Front of the house:

Entry/Formal Living Room:

Formal Dining Room:

Eating Area/Kitchen:

Kitchen (See the counter space? The cupboards? The double ovens?):

Family Room:

Laundry Room (with heated floors!!!)

A bad picture of the downstairs powder room:

Office/Entry to Master Bedroom:

Master Bedroom:

Master Closet:

Master Bath (with heated floors!!):

Lucy’s Bedroom:

 

Lucy’s Playroom:

Guest Bedroom:

A bad picture of Lucy’s bathroom/guest bathroom:

Backyard:

Lucy’s play structure and play house (fully carpeted, working windows, and electric):

BBQ/Fireplace/Storage shed:

So yeah-we’re excited.  It’s going to be nice.  And even better?  My Aunt and Uncle will live here when it’s all over!!!

Yesterday, I said what my resolutions are, now I’ll say why.

1. Stick with boot camp.

I’m really ready to feel in shape.  I haven’t felt that way since before I had Lucy.  I have felt that my body is powerful and able but I haven’t felt like I’m in shape.  I want to feel that way again. 

I hope I have the same determination to get this done that Lucy has to ride a 2-wheel bike:

2. Buy clothes that make me feel good.

According to Susannah and Trinny, I have the body shape of a bowling pin (Skittle):

Average Boobs,
Slim waist,
OK tummy,
Big thighs,
Chunky Calves
[source]

According to Body Shape Style, here’s what I should do:

Dressing The Skittle

The biggest problem with a Skittle is the lack of balance between top and bottom. The bottom is bigger than the top and that highlights how much bigger the bottom half is. So the solution is to get balance back. This is done be adding volume to the top half and minimizing the lower half.

Don’t – wear short trousers or capris. You have short legs so if you cut them half way down the calves you’re simply making them shorter again which makes your thighs look wider. Yay, I don’t do this!

Do – get some interest happening in your top half with eye catching jewelry and eye popping tops. I need to do this more.

Don’t – wear stretch pants of any type as they will cling to your thighs. Thank god I listened to my intuition here!

Do – wear fitting clothes on your upper half as baggy on top will just highlight the lower half. I do this already most of the time.

Clothing – what shapes to avoid

Skinny leg jeans – assuming you can get them in your size (something I struggle with) they highlight your thighs and make your ass look huge. Yeah, they look horrible on me.

Pencil skirts – this works the same as skinny leg jeans in that it catches your lower half and highlights although it can be made to work if you have something extra special. I used to wear pencil skirts all the time…

Cropped pants – short pants cuts your leg off and makes your look shorter and your legs wider. I don’t think you can find cropped pants for me!

Ankle straps – your legs are short and an ankle strap on a shoe has the effect of making them look shorter, and again, wider. No ankle straps in my closet.

Clothes – what shapes to look for

Shirt with detail – use added embellishments and details on your blouses to add bulk and volume to your top half. The idea being that your lower half is contained and simple so bring the drama to your top half. It will draw attention directly to your face which is the ideal place for it! I need to get more of these types of shirts.

Panelled skirt – look for a firmer fabric with some shape to it. The paneling will give you firm support whilst the slightly flared shape will give a hint of femininity. Any vertical lines on your thighs and bottom will have a slimming effect. All of my skirts are on on their last leg.

Dress with flared skirt – a dress that is fitted through the top half of your body before flaring out over your thighs is the best choice. The fitted top hugs your curves and emphasized your slenderness on top, the detail at your waist highlights your waist and then the skirt flares over your thighs and discretely disguises their width. All of my dresses are on on their last leg.

Body hugging top – wearing colour on your top half attracts attention, more aptly it draws attention away from your lower half. A body hugging top shows your slender torso and ruched sleeves make your body look wider. The draping neckline of this top adds volume to your top half making your seem more balanced.

Fitted knit – the goal for a Skittle is always to make the upper half of their body broader to offset the width of your thighs whilst at the same time showing off your slender waist. A fitted knit vest over a feminine blouse will show your shape beautifully whilst making your shoulders look wider.

Wide leg trousers – wide leg pants fall from the hips and bottom and will skim over your thighs. Because they stay the same width all the way down they disguise your calves and make your legs look longer. Get them hemmed to your heel. If you prefer to wear heels have them hemmed even longer and you will look taller and leaner again.

Waist hugging jacket – make use of your tiny waist with your jackets by finding one that hugs it lovingly. The wide open neck of this jacket broadens your shoulders and makes your seem wider, offsetting the width of your lower half. I need to invest in some of these!

High chunky heel – wearing a slender heel will simply highlight the width of your thighs and calves, particularly if you wear them with wide leg pants. Select a chunky heel that offers good stability. A higher heel is good as it adds height which again gives the illusion of more slender legs. Yeah, this is never happening.  Heels and I don’t get along.

Here’s the thing-if I stick with bootcamp, my body is going to change.  When I hit a hip measurement of ~38, I’m going to go shopping more seriously.  In the short term, I need some pants for work that fit.  Thankfully Walmart has some black pants that fit the bill (amazingly enough!)

3. Save for a down payment on a house.

We want to buy and we want to have 20% down before we even consider it.

4. Stop being so snarky and judgmental.

I struggle with this and I’d really like to stop it.  I saw a quote on Facebook the other day (that I can’t find now) that said something like, “What I think about you, says nothing about you and everything about me.” How true.

1. Stick with boot camp.

2. Buy clothes that make me feel good.

3. Save for a down payment on a house.

4. Stop being so snarky and judgmental.

I’m on Christmas break so I have some time to catch up.  I really should make it a priority to post about Lucy more often because I don’t want to forget all the sweet things that she is doing.  My very favorite thing right now is that she says “Super, duper, bery” (for “very") all the time.  For example, “Mommy, I am super, duper, bery hungry!”  It makes me melt every time.

Last you heard from me about Lu, it was her birthday. Look at my 3 year old!

A Jeep!

At Flat Bread Community Oven watching her pizza getting cooked.

Happy Birthday little one!

There was a zoo birthday party!

With big balls:

And more candles to blow out:

Porter was there!

Mommy was too!

Papa too!

Isabelle, Vanessa, Kaitlyn, Lucy, Tessa, and Claudia at the zoo with popcorn!

On the carousel.

Then it was Lucy’s first day of school!!!

And then the Harvest Festival at the Botanical Gardens:

And then we went pumpkin picking with Jack and Tessa:

And then Lu got a haircut!

Halloween!

Which Lu LOVED! She totally got the concept and we told her that if a light was on, it meant the people had candy.  She would yell, “Their light is on! CANDY!!!!” And then totally said, “Trick or Treat!”  She told me later that it was her favorite holiday and that she couldn’t wait an entire year to go again.

We took a Girl’s Trip to Portlland and Lu got to see her friend Madeline:

Her Challenger school picture.  We’ve titled it “I Pity The Fool.”

Lucy’s art skills since starting at Challenger have taken off!

Thanksgiving at school:

Turkey day at our house:

Our annual Thanksgiving hike:

Lucy’s favorite friend!

(we’ve seen Santa 4 times this year-she LOVES him)

The next pictures I have are of Christmas tree hunting.

And sledding!

Our tree:

Decorated:

Lucy also got her Alphabet crown this month!

That means that she went up to the Director’s office and knew all the letters and what sound they make.  Lu is the youngest at the school to have her crown.  As she would say, it’s a “super duper” big deal!

She got ice cream for that accomplishment!

And just this morning, frosting cookies with Mommy:

Now we’re off to her very first dentist appointment!

 

Merry Christmas all!

I really wanted to make Christmas cookies with Lu and she requested Gingerbread because she, “Super duper loves gingerbread cookies bery much Mama!” Said with her hands on her hips and that very knowing look in her eye. So I googled and I hit the jackpot! And then I googled again and found roll out sugar cookies. The internet is a beautiful thing.

First, I mixed some gluten free flour I’ve found when working with gluten free flours, that using my kitchen scale is the way to go:

-3 cups white rice flour (450 grams)
-2 cups potato starch (310 grams)
-1/2 cup tapioca starch (62.5 grams)

That amount of flour was exactly what I needed for these two recipes, plus some extra for rolling out.  I did use some extra rice flour when I ran out of the mixture for rolling out.

Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies (adapted from here)
-2 cups gluten free flour mix
-1/2 teaspoon ginger
-1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
-1/8 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
-1/8 heaping teaspoon ground cloves
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
-1/2 cup cold butter
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/3 cup molasses (make sure it’s Gluten Free)
-1 cold egg

Combine the first 8 ingredients (flour mix-cinnamon) and mix well. Cut in the butter until the mixture is in crumbs the size of small peas.

In another bowl beat the sugar, molasses, and egg. Combine with the dry ingredients and mix until the flour is completely incorporated and the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Refrigerate for at least an hour (I make a ball and cover it in saran wrap and then flatten it out).

Preheat oven to 350*. Roll out on a heavily gluten free floured surface.  I put sugar in my flour when I roll the dough.  Roll to 1/4 inch thickness, cut, and place on a cookie sheet (preferable with a silpat). Bake for 12-14 minutes or until edges just start to brown. Let cool on a wire rack. Cool, then frost and decorate as desired.

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies (copied from here)

-1 cup shortening (I used Crisco Butter Flavored because I had it in my pantry)
-1 cup sugar
-2 eggs
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
-3 cups flour blend
-1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
-2 teaspoons baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream shortening and sugar, add eggs and vanilla. When combined, add dry ingredients (I didn’t even bother using 2 bowls for this recipe). Wrap dough (like above) and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350*. Roll out on a heavily gluten free floured surface.  I put sugar in my flour when I roll the dough.  Roll to 1/4 inch thickness, cut, and place on a cookie sheet (preferable with a silpat). Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges just start to brown. Let cool on a wire rack. Cool, then frost and decorate as desired.

Both of these recipes DO NOT taste like they are gluten free.  They are awesome.  Lucy agreed!