Minneapolis-Star-Tribune-runningkellometers

Last year I invested in some nice sports bras. I got some sturdy Moving Comfort and supportive Nike ones. Now, however, I'm having some issues. I went along and got pregnant :) and the boobs are now getting larger. Even though I'm only 14 weeks along, things are already ticking upward. I'm popping out of my normal bras and all those nice bras I bought last year are just barely fitting. When I went for my run today, things were moving more than I normally like.

So now, I'm stuck on what to do. Do I continue to invest in nice bras as I continue to get larger? Or is there another, less expensive option? Mamas out there, I need your help! What do you do to keep the girls in place when you're continuing to grow... I've also thought about getting some cheaper bras and doubling up with a shelf bra tank? Any help or ideas would be appreciated!?

A few Fridays ago, Kim and I had a dinner date planned. Since we hadn't been able to connect for a lunch at NFC, we decided to give a weekend dinner a try. Since we live so far from one another, Kim found a nice restaurant halfway between our two houses, Seasons 52. Despite the local traffic being an absolute nightmare, we arrived on time for our reservations and were seated right away.

Our waiter came by and was very friendly. I had a lot of questions about ingredients in the items on the menu (Is the cheese pasteurized? Does this sauce contain raw egg?) He wasn't at all a jerk about it, he was very accommodating. (which I greatly, greatly appreciated). They even had a special vegan menu just for Kim! They also had a gluten-free and dairy-free menu for other various food allergies. I thought that was a nice touch to a fancier restaurant.

As everything on the menu is under 450 calories, the portions were within reason and they didn't come with fried sides that are usually my downfall. Although it wasn't on the traditional dinner menu, they were able to make me the cheeseburger that I saw on the lunch menu. It wasn't just any burger, it was a bison burger. As bison meat is leaner and another good source of protein, I opted for it. (Yet another reason why our waiter was awesome.)

Delicious bison burger

Our waiter was attentive yet let us chat when we were chatting (which was a lot and often). Kim and I chatted about so many things. Even though we've only known each other for a short period of time, I feel like she is so easy to talk to and relatable. If you don't read her blog, I highly recommend you do so. One of the things I always try to be on my blog is genuine. What you see/read is what you get. I feel Kim is the same way too, which I think is always welcoming in the blogging world!

After dinner I didn't leave feeling I over ate or was too stuffed, which is a nice feeling. That is, until the dessert tray came by. Everything looked so delicious I just had to try one. As I'm not a huge chocolate person and I haven't been digging coffee during the pregnancy, I went with key lime pie while Kim went for the delicious, tropical looking vegan option. The desserts really were a perfect individual size!

When the bill came, they were accommodating once again and were able to split up our credit cards. That is always a nice plus for any restaurant! Of course since we are bloggers, we had to have the waiter take our photo. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Kim and I dressed alike without even realizing it.

We are just awesome like that

I hope you guys aren't creeped out by ultrasound photos because you're about to get another one! Kim brought me a delightful gift that made me (and my husband) smile. It is currently in our transforming guest room/nursery and is also the background of my phone.
I couldn't think of anything more perfect. Thanks Kim and Seasons 52 for a wonderful dinner! I hope we can meet up again more often because I always have so much fun when we do. :)

As a disclaimer, I have never been contacted by Season 52 and I was not compensated in any way for this review. I just thought I would post about my great experience.

Wednesday-Friday: Walk to and from the train. 4.8 miles total.
0.8 miles each way. 2x per day, 3 days a week. I took a business trip and was gone on Monday and Tuesday hence the smaller mileage this week

Hers and Hers Sunday ice cream treats.

Sunday: 3 mile walk with Pepper.
I really am loving this Sunday tradition. This week I even let Pepper cheat on her diet a little bit and get a baby come. Shh, don't tell anyone. :) I even took a video to commemorate the event. Lol.

Saturday: Rowing 15 minutes
Toph and I had wedding to go to Saturday night downtown and we were leaving for vacation soon after. That led to lots of errands but since I hadn't run all week, I wanted to be sure to get in some sort of workout before vacation.

Just after getting off the rowing machine, I went to check the mail. A wonderful surprise arrived! Amanda (aka Too Tall Fritz) had bought me a ForTwoFitness shirt that we had talked about online last week. It brought a smile to my face (and perhaps a tear to my eye) as the shirt is so cute and Amanda is so thoughtful! I can't wait to be wearing this one all around town once the weather warms up enough to wear a t-shirt!

Thanks Amanda! This shirt is definitely motivation to get out there and sweat!

With the business trip this week, I was really thrown off. I didn't properly plan my workouts to account for the extra time I'd need to spend in the office, closing up loose ends before being out for a week. Now that I'm on vacation, I know we'll be doing a lot of walking. I also brought a prenatal pilates DVD that a friend gave to me. I'm very much looking forward to lots of relaxing and some delicious food!

I went to a college that didn't have a lot of popular sports teams. We didn't/don't have a football team so there was never any tailgating. It was mainly a commuter school so there wasn't much camaraderie on campus.

However, when I got my first office job back in 2007, I fell deeply and madly in love with March Madness. Why? I have no idea. It's not like my college team consistently participates in the tournament (they did make it to the tournament when I was attending college there but they were eliminated in the first round). I can't really explain my love of the tournament, but it is something I always look forward to in spring. I have shirts for some of my favorite college teams (as a result of the tournament). I always pick Butler to go one round too far. I oust my least favorite teams too early (a 7 seed doesn't often beat a 2 seed in the second round).. But it is March Madness. Anything is possible!!

One year, I chose my bracket solely based on who's mascot would win in a fight (that didn't work out so well but it was still a fun tactic). It doesn't matter how well you know or don't know about college basketball, it is always fun to watch the fast paced games. In fact, in the first few days of the tournament (which actually started yesterday), there are multiple games going on at once so you can switch back and forth.

Do you partake in these lovely festivities? If not, I recommend it for a fun time, even if you aren't a huge basketball fan. Although, by the time this post goes up, the tournament will have already started. However, here are some handy dandy tips to use for next year:

1) In the first round, always chose the 1-4 seeds to win in each of the four conferences. It is rare that a 4 seed will be upset.
2) Pick teams you're familiar with. Have a friend that lives in Nashville, close to Vanderbuilt? Why not pick them?! Vacationed in Colorado and had a great experience, pick them! A school that one of your favorite runners attended? Go ahead! The sky is the limit to the reasons you can come up with to chose a team!
3) In the second and third rounds, go ahead and take some risks on the suggested upsets (a high# seed beating a low# seed). If you're right, the payoff will be huge. If you're wrong, let's hope you're not wrong too many times. :)
4) If you're unsure on which team to pick, chose which mascot will win in a fight.

I have yet to win a bracket and I've been participating in March Madness pools since that first lowly office pool back in 2007. So my tips are definitely not foolproof, but the do lead to a fun time during the tournament. Who do you have winning this year? I picked Louisville. Why? We always drive through there on our way to Nashville. Everyone always seems so friendly and the restaurants are delicious. Go Cardinals!

If you're following this blog for nothing but healthy recipes, you've come to the wrong place. I like to live a lifestyle that balances the healthy and unhealthy delicious things in life.

I always love having avocados at home. They are always delicious and I could have them with every meal at any time. The other day I had one that was at the perfect ripeness and I needed to use it ASAP. But it was breakfast time! What to do? Make some breakfast nachos, of course! I've made these a couple times before but I thought I would share the idea/recipe with you. The recipe is super complicated so be sure to keep up.


Ingredients:
2 eggs
vegetables of your choosing (I chose mushrooms and tomatoes)
1 avocado
1/8-1/4 cup of shredded cheese (pepper jack works wonderful)
Spices for seasoning (my favorite trifecta: Lawry's, garlic salt, pepper to taste)
tortilla chips (El Ranchero, only the best)

First, I sauteed the mushrooms and tomatoes together with a little salt and pepper.

I then added the eggs and the spice trifecta (Lawry's seasoning salt, pepper, garlic salt).

After the eggs started cooking a smidge, I added the cheese. I continued to stir the eggs until they were cooked all the way through (no raw eggs allowed). When the eggs were ready, I cut up the avocado and topped the eggs with 1/2 of an avocado. Then, instead of using a fork, I used tortilla chips. Voila! Breakfast nachos!

It sounds simple enough, but why have I never had this at a restaurant? I feel like it would be super duper popular. I mean, I'd order it!

It is recommended to do at least 30 minutes of cardio a day when you are pregnant. I know a few of my fellow friends keep track of their weekly workouts and I think it is a great thing for me to start doing too! I think it will help me when that pregnancy brain kicks in and I can't remember what I did earlier today, let along last week.

Everyday: Walk to and from the train. 8 miles total.
0.8 miles each way. 2x per day, 5 days a week. I love my brisk walk from the train station to work every day. I used to hate it, but now I'm really starting to enjoy it.


Sunday: Rowing machine for 15 minutes
I haven't used the machine in awhile and it totally showed. I really enjoy the rowing machine because it works your arms and legs with very low impact. I watched the preview for the new season of Game of Thrones and I couldn't be more exited! New episodes start March 31!

She was so happy to be on that walk! Until I got ice cream and she couldn't have any.

Sunday: 3 mile walk with Pepper
As I mentioned before, our pup needs to loose a few pounds so I've been taking her on a nice long walk every weekend. So far we're 2/2 and I hope to make it out this weekend too!


Wednesday: Running 1.5 miles on the treadmill
I am not going to post the pace of my workouts because to me, that is not important. I don't want to compare myself to other pregnant people or have other pregnant ladies compare themselves to me. I was just happy to run a few miles to get those endorphins going! Is my outfit obnoxious enough? I didn't think so either ;)

So, now that my secret is out, here are some of the real reasons I haven't been running all that much lately.

I found out I was pregnant the day after a 10 mile run and right before leaving to go on our Wisconsin Dells trip. I took it easy that week, before the F3 half marathon, not really knowing what was in store. I kept the mileage low during the week and headed to the starting line, thinking that I could complete it, no problem. Some where along the route, things just didn't feel right. My heat was beating super duper fast and as soon as I felt a cramp in my side, I called it quits. This was around mile 5ish. I felt defeated, scared, and didn't know what to do or think. However, being so early along in the pregnancy, I had to put on my game face for the rest of the day.

Enjoying an ice cold water after the "race."

I ran another time soon after the race, and I felt some cramping in my stomach again and started freaking out... Again. I had a long talk with my husband about how all this freaking out isn't good for the baby and I just need to listen to my body. If I feel pain, stop. Easy as that. And, cramping is totally normal. The uterus is expanding and that can cause slight pain or discomfort.

Then, once I got past the early, early stage, the nausea and exhaustion started. I was nauseous from when I got up in the morning until I went to sleep. The books suggest to eat smaller meals throughout the day to help keep the nausea at bay. This helped out mildly, but I still felt miserable. (Have you ever thrown up on a Metra train? Let me tell you, it is not a pleasant experience.) Also while I'm nauseous all the time, I'm physically exhausted. My body and mind were more tired than they've ever been before. It is one thing to read about it or hear about it, but to actually feel it was something so surreal. I've had 24 hour days, ran a marathon, stayed up way past my bedtime... and I had never felt as tired as I did during those few weeks.  All of this was also going on while I was working 50 hours a week. Bed time quickly became 1+ hours earlier than normal. So, when it came to choose sleeping or running, I chose sleeping.

I always swore I would be one of those women who  ran throughout her pregnancy. I saw women complete marathons in their first trimester and run half marathons in the second and/or third trimesters. But when it actually happened to me, my perspective was totally different. It just didn't work for me and I have accepted that is okay. I'm into the whole "listen to your body" thing. If I don't feel like running, I don't. If I want to sleep instead, I do. And if baby craves a cheeseburger, baby gets a cheeseburger. :) I never thought I would say these things, but when it happens to you, you have to make adjustments and roll with it! No more half marathons for me until after Baby Wilson is born.

My baby bump is slowly growing!

If you've gone through this process, how did you feel in first trimester? I know my symptoms were pretty common but I know everyone's body is different!!

And if anyone has any recommendations for delicious specialty sodas, please let me know. My favorite right now is Sprecher's low cal root beer. Yummmmmm. I'm going to start enjoying craft sodas since I have to take a break from enjoying craft beers.