Lunch Dates

One thing that the big girls and I used to do when they were younger, before preschool and school got in the way, was meet Greg for lunch.  At the time he worked in sales for a local Pepsi bottler and would be all over the place within about an hour radius.  It really did not matter how far he was, we would just go meet because we could.  Sometimes it would be fast food, other times a pizza place or Greg's favorite, a mom & pop type diner. 
Over time, school started getting in the way, his job changed and he had a much wider area and then a complete change of career.  From that point on our lunches stopped completely but were replaced with a few overnight getaways to meet up with Daddy.  We both severely underestimated the effect a job requiring travel would have on our family.  It was the longest year of our married life and although it caused hardships for him to lose that job, I am so glad to have my husband back home every night!!
His job now has him in an office in Effingham and Claire and I have been meeting him for lunch at least once every week or two.  I LOVE it!  It is usually at Subway since his lunch break is short and McDonald's and Subway are the only food choices on that end of town.  When Claire stays awake for it, she loves getting to go see Daddy before heading home from Effingham.  It's such a great way to break up the week, I don't know that he will always have a job that allows for this so I will soak it in for now.  I'm not sure what this summer will bring with a new baby coming and big kids home from school but I'm sure we will make some family lunch dates work, even if they are at a park!

I workout because......

 

 

If you are like me, this is a loaded question.  My reasons have changed 10,000 times and will probably change again.  When I first started exercising, and I mean really exercising, it was to lose weight.  I had gained 30+ pounds my freshman year of college.  When I decided to get serious about taking off weight, the way I spent time in the gym changed.  I tried most group exercise classes the college rec center offered, I would run on the track and I would spend time in the weight room even though I didn't know what I was doing.  My eating habits changed along with it which was a challenge.  I lived in dorms and ate cafeteria food, drank too much on the weekends and enjoyed the finest delivery pizza, subs and bagel cart sandwiches you could imagine.  With alot of hard work, I was able to lose most of the weight in just 4 months.

After my weight loss and lifestyle change I transferred from SIUC to EIU.  Within a few weeks of my first semester there I changed my major from English education to Exercise Science (or Kinesiology).  My reasons for exercise changed, I needed to exercise.  It had become such a huge part of my life and without it I didn't even feel like myself.  I also had to take tons of exercise classes to go along with my degree and I loved them all.  I truly believe that the benefits of exercise and a healthy lifestyle far outweigh any barriers you may face.


In June of 2005 I was still a college student as well as a newlywed.  Just a little over a month later we had a bun in the oven and my body has been on a rollercoaster since!  I have gained, lost, gained, lost so many times over the last 7.5 years and I am so thankful that my body still continues to forgive me!  When I became pregnant with baby #4, early on I began showing signs of pelvic pain.  This is more than sciatic nerve pain which is painful in itself.  Symphysis Pubic Dysfunction or Symphysis Pubic Dysfunction is a condition in which the ligaments supporting your pelvic area relax too much.  Without boring you with detail, it just hurts, ALL....THE....TIME!  By the end of the pregnancy, I could hardly get up and down, by the end of the day walking was torture, sleeping was torture and it felt like every female organ could come falling out of my vagina.

Now that I am pregnant with baby #5, I exercise because A.  I love it and B.  So I won't hurt.  I am doing absolutely everything in my power to only gain the appropriate amount of weight and keep my body strong.  I have already began showing signs of pelvic pain.  This weekend I did not get exercise for 2 days and Sunday night I had no sleep, my hips and pelvic ached so bad.  I am terrified of feeling the way I felt at the end of my pregnancy with Claire!  I decided that a busy schedule was no reason to not find time to exercise.  I may not be able to push to my normal limits but I can, and I WILL, exercise.  I have great programs that I can modify and it's really enjoyable too.  I look forward to that time each day that I can just work on me and I love the way I feel when I get done. 

Now that I have overdetailed you with why I exercise, why do you exercise?  Or what's holding you back?