In Loving Memory

Barbara VanTine McGettigan

12/5/1954 - 8/27/2013

Since the moment I found out that my dear aunt has passed, my mind has been busy searching for memories. My fingers have been busy looking for pictures that captured her spirit. My ears have been busy hearing her voice. 

It's nearly impossible for me to imagine a world where she is not of the physical life, she's always been there. I am comforted knowing that she is at peace. I can talk to her whenever I miss her. It's just not the same. 

I've sat here for nearly an hour, typing and deleting, typing and deleting. No matter what words I typed, none seemed to do her or my heart any justice. My memories are all I have; words have escaped me. 

I can hear her pick up the phone and say, "hey kiddo". I'd give anything to hear those 2 little words again. 

Every year on my birthday, she would tell me the story of how she moved back to New Jersey from Arizona because my mom was pregnant with me, her first niece or nephew. She always told me she was here because of me. 

I think about the times I called her after my grandmother (her mother) passed away. I knew I could tell her exactly what I was feeling and I knew she would understand. 

My heart breaks a little more when I think of all the times that she told me how she always loved her nieces and nephews as if they were her own children. 

I remember how free her spirit was. She could be flighty and it added to her charm. 

Her favorite place was always Long Beach Island, NJ. She loved the beach. It spoke to her; it called to her and she happily obliged. The beach calmed and soothed her. It was her happy place. I can only hope that she is enjoying her time now on the world's most beautiful beach. Although, I am pretty sure I know where she is.

My aunt always picked out the best occasion cards. When I "became a woman" she gave me a congratulations card. And birthday cards were always funny ones. She had a great sense of humor and her laugh was infectious. 

Her front tooth was crooked. So is mine. 

I remember when I was young, she wouldn't let me listen to Taylor Dane, because I wasn't old enough. Compared to the music today, that was PG. To this day, whenever I here one of those songs, I still don't understand what was so "adult" about them. 

She was warm and loving. She never complained.

She loved me, she was proud of me. She believed in me. 

She was a daughter, a sister, a wife, an aunt and a friend. She was loved and she loved us in return. She  always loved with her whole heart. 

Her passing is a loss we will feel for a long time. She took a little piece of each of us when she left this world. We will always be connected. 

I love her and I miss her already. 

Fat to Fit - End of Week 4

This week has been my toughest week. After losing 2 days to cramps, which I am convinced were sent directly from Satan himself, I had to back down a bit with an injury. I have been experiencing some pain in my hips. It seems to get worse on a day that I run. I tried a few different pairs of shoes and that didn't seem to change anything. On the advice of a friend, I tried stretching my hamstrings more before and after a run, and still, I had pain. 

So, rather than cause further injury and completely sideline myself, I opted to take it easy. I still managed to get out there for a total of 8 miles and lose an inch and a half total. 

I did notice this week that even with those set backs and challenges, I feel that I have more confidence and I stand a little taller. I feel good about myself for the first time since probably my wedding. That feeling will be what keeps me going. 

On Saturday, a friend invited me over to for yoga. I've never done yoga, but she practices it all the time. We've talked about it for months and I finally decided to try it. And I really enjoyed it. I never realized how tight my muscles really were until I tried yoga. I wasn't sure if  it would be something I would enjoy, but I did. 

This has led me to decide to add yoga, as well as, Pilates to my workouts. I tried Pilates many years ago and at that time, I didn't really like it. Mostly because I was new to it and it felt awkward to me. So, I am going to bust out the DVDs again and give it another go. 

I'm really excited about adding these 2 elements into my workouts. 

Have you ever practiced yoga or Pilates? Do you enjoy it, do you have suggestions or advice?

Oreo and Peanut Butter Brownie Cakes

When it's that time of the month, I want chocolate. I want sweets. But this time i didn't just want cookies, or cakes. I wanted something that I could pack a sweet tooth punch, while keeping the portion size and diet in check. So, I do what I always do when I need inspiration, I take to my Pinterest boards. I opened my baking board cause that's where all the good stuff is, and started scrolling. 

The entire board looked good. But I wanted something that had it all. I finally came across a recipe that I had pinned ages ago - Oreo and Peanut Butter Brownie Cakes. Mmmmm. SOLD!!!

What You'll Need
Creamy peanut butter
1 package original Oreos
1 box brownie mix of your choice (and the ingredients listed on the box)
Muffin tins
Cupcake liners (you won't need these if you use silicone muffin tins)

Yield: 18

How to Make Them

First, I lined all my muffin tins and prepared the brownie mix according to the box directions. Then started putting my Oreo "sandwiches" together. 

Spread some peanut butter on the top of an Oreo and place another Oreo on top. For some extra peanut butter loveliness, spread some peanut butter on top of that too. My husband LOVES peanut butter and greatly appreciated this. This was also how they looked in the original post, but there was no mention of it in the directions. 

Before putting the cake in the cupcake liner, if you are using one, add some brownie mix as a base. I found that the paper liner stuck to the bottom Oreo when I cooked them. 

The original post suggested 2 tablespoons of brownie mix. I didn't measure to be honest. For the first spoonful, I made sure that I coated the entire cake.

For the second spoonful, I left just enough room for the brownie to rise. This seemed to be a pretty accurate measure.

The original recipe called for 18-20 minutes on 350 degrees. I did bake them at 350, but baked them closer to a half an hour. That could just be a variation in my oven, so make sure you check them at around 18 minutes to be sure. I knew they were done when the top was firm. 

Um, can you say yum? 

These were rather easy and quick to make. However, I do think that if I make them again, I will experiment with only one Oreo in the middle. The Oreos didn't get soft, so it made it a little dry, so have a a large glass of milk ready.

Fat to Fit - End of Week 3

Do you believe in signs? I do. I'm not talking the Final Destination kind of signs, but the little gifts that the universe leaves for you to find. Sorta like an Easter egg hunt. I came upon one of those gifts this week. I unwrapped it and it opened a whole new road for this journey I am on. 

Literally....

On Friday, I was spending the day at my parents house and decided I'd head out for a run. There little town is great for walking and running because there are so many varying elevations. Anyway, I turned up the music and I headed out. 

As I walked down the road, I happened to look down and see a white painted arrow pointing straight ahead. Under that arrow it said "5K". Hmm. I decided that I would follow the arrows and see where they went. 

The arrows kept guiding me through town. I would have been really disappointed if at the end of all these arrows, there wasn't a finish line. Then I came to the 1 mile mark. 

I powered through searching for the end. Although I did not find the huge finish line I was looking for, I did find out that the route I was running really was a 5K route that is held in town every year. So, I looked on the town's website and sure enough, the next annual 5K is set to take place September 14, 2013 and I am running it!!! 

I only have 5 weeks, but I am going to push myself to the absolute limits for the next 5 weeks. I don't care if I win or not. I just want to cross the finish line!!! 

So, today, I took to the course. I started at the beginning and completed the entire 5K, by myself. I did it in 43 min. I set a goal for myself that by race day, I want to finish in 35 min. 

Committing to the 5K is just the next step to getting the results that I want. 

After weighing in and doing my measurements last week, I was pretty bummed that neither have moved. I felt better, I was running further and others have noticed the changes. But what gives with the scale and tape measure?

On a whim, I decided to try on a pair of shorts that just 2 weeks ago, zipped, but came no where near fitting. THEY FIT!!! I jumped around the house screaming, "they fit, they fit!" I think my husband and son both thought I had finally lost it. 

I didn't care. It felt so amazing to have a pair of shorts fit that haven't in over a year!! Screw you, scale!! Hello, "new" shorts!! 

Then yesterday, I got brave. We had a family party to go to and I put on an outfit that I haven't worn in about a year. I felt awesome!! I looked awesome!! And I was now even more motivated to continue on.  I was so frustrated, but now see that all my hard work is paying off. I'm also thankful that I took a before picture. I put the before picture side-by-side with the photos I took yesterday. I am so please with the results that I see. 

What are some of the ways you remind yourself to keep going? How do you stay out of the "scale trap"?

Review: Nutra Nail Gel Perfect 5 Minute Gel-Color Manicure

In an effort to save some money to purchase our dream home, I decided to take that money and drop it into savings every month. I am more than capable of painting my own nails. I already did my own pedicure and I was starting to get bored going to get them done. I'd stretch it as long as I could cause I hated sitting there.

The problem with my nails is that I have been blessed with thin nails. If they grow much past the tip of my finger, they break. I knew that there were kits out there that promise to give you the same results as an at-the-salon manicure would do. 

So, I headed over to my local beauty supply store to see what was available to me. They had kits for like $70 that came with the UV lamp. Um, no thanks, next. Then I stumbled across this little gem.

For $11.49, what did I have to lose? Here is a review for those of you that are looking for a gel manicure without the salon prices.

Packaging

The size of the box is very deceiving. The larger box makes the polish bottle look much larger than it is. Honestly, it's like the size of a sample nail polish from Avon. However, included in the box is also the Activator and another bottle to wash the polish brush in between polish coats. The inside plastic packaging also doubles as a nifty little tray to organize your materials while using them.

                                                    

The Process

Here is what I started off with. After peeling away the UV gel for a few days, I filed and buffed my way to this. Some of my nails ended up really thin, but as they grow out, they will get stronger. A good clean base is always best to start with, so I also ran a paper towel soaked with polish remover over them to make sure all the oils were removed. This will help the polish stay longer. I also did not use a base coat. 

                                                           

First you need to brush on the Activator. You need a thick enough coat for the polish to "gel" with the Activator, but not too much where it is like a puddle on your nail or all over your cuticles.

                                                     

Next, you will follow with a thin coat of polish. The instructions suggest doing one hand at a time and definitely do one hand at a time. The Activator starts to dry pretty quickly. 

                                                     

You'll then apply another coat of the Activator and polish and top it off with a layer of Activator. The final coat of Activator must go on while the last coat of polish is still wet, so again, work one hand at a time. This is what your completed manicure will look like. 

                                                     

The polish really does dry rock solid and has an amazing shine to it, but I promise you, this didn't take 5 minutes. They probably meant to say 5 minutes per coat. Yea, I'm sure that's it. Either way, the entire process took maybe 20 minutes. Reasonable amount of time, don't you think?

Staying Power

One of the other reasons I used to get the UV gels done was because regular polish manicures last like a day on my nails. It has always been that way. So, I really wanted to test out the staying power this polish had. After all, saving money wouldn't be so fun if I'm repainting my nails every other day. Ain't nobody got time for that!

Here is what my nails looked like after a week of wear and tear. Not really the results I wanted to see, but to be fair, I put these puppies through heck and back. I typically wear gloves when I do dishes, this week I did not. Another reason, I'm assuming that the polish cracked and chipped is because the nail underneath was very damaged and weak, making it easier for the nail to bend and essentially crack the polish. Once my nails grow out, I will get even better results. 

                                                 

                                                            Left - my primary hand

                                                 

                                                       Right - not so primary hand

The Removal Process

I'll admit, I was most worried about this part of the process. It really did hold up pretty well and I thought it would be a pain to get off. Naively, I busted out the acetone and a cotton ball. I was really hoping it would just "come off". Nope, not even a smear. 

So, out came a cereal bowl. I filled it with acetone and soaked for about 2 minutes. Note to self: next time use clear acetone. Seriously, my finger tips looked like the circulation was cut off. Thankful that went away with a good scrub. 

                                                      

I let them soak for about 2 minutes, as recommended on the instructions. Two minutes was definitely not enough, but it did soften the top layer and I was able to scrap it away. A little messy and sticky though.

                                                 

I dipped them back into the acetone for about another 2 minutes and the majority of it came off with a little scraping. This was the best I could get them .

                                                 

With a little filing and buffing, I was able to get a nice fresh start for next time. I think though that I will go with just a clear coat until they have grown out and are healthier. 

Worth It?

For $11.49 and a little me time, yea, it was totally worth it. I think the application process was relatively easy and took around 20 minutes. I'm sure the more I use it, the better they will look and hold up. As far as the staying power, I was impressed. It certainly held up better than a regular polish even with weakened nails. Removing the polish was a little messy, but nothing so bad as to make me not want to continue using the polish. I do want to mention, though, the colored polish is not sold separately, so for each different color you buy, you will need to buy the entire kit. 

Hopefully, this review was helpful to you. If you have used this product before or are going to give it a try yourself, I'd love to hear about your experience, results and tips!!

   

Fat to Fit - End of Week 2

I noticed this past week that at certain times, my hips (more so my right) and shins would hurt during and after a run. Now, keep in mind, when I say run, I really mean run until I can't breathe, walk until I catch my breath and start running again. So, it's more like interval training. I typically head outside to the road. The scenery is nicer to look at than at the gym and the variations in the road make it more challenging for me. Anyway, I decided to do a little trial and error and took one of my runs to the local high school track. 

No pain!! I wasn't able to run a longer distance, mostly because there's no shade and it was friggin hot out there. My feet and face were on fire!! The point was, though, I experienced less pain when I had the extra cushioning that the track provided. However, I paid the price of not feeling like was working my muscles as hard as I do when I'm running at different elevations. And, well, there wasn't too much to look at. I felt like a NASCAR race. 

I haven't lost again for a second week in a row, but I have noticed that my clothes are fitting different. So, I'm happy. And I received a really nice compliment that I was losing weight, so something is changing and that is enough for me. I'm really trying to not get too hung up on what the scale says. 

One other reason I didn't see the results I wanted to this week was because I ate a lot more than I should have. Why? Well, on August 1st, we quit smoking. I have smoked for a long time so I started replacing the cigarettes with food. Probably not smart to try and quit when you are also trying to get fit and healthy, but, it needed to be done. As my lungs heal, my stamina while running will increase and that is really motivating for me. And seeing the savings account grow with all that money we aren't spending!!  I did buy one of those electronic cigarettes though to help when the craving is too much. It's definitely helping. I can't say that I have been completely cigarette free, I have had a few, but each time I do, I find that the taste isn't as enjoyable as I thought and if I haven't had one for like 12 hours, the smell is nasty. 

For this upcoming cardio week, my goal is to lower my per mile time. I'm trying to 12 minutes or less per mile. 

If you have quit smoking, I'd love to hear your tips and tricks that got you through.