Weekend with Ella

I've been watching Ella since Thursday night because her parents and brothers went to DC for a start-of-summer trip. They come home tonight and, while I'm ready to get back to my own personal routine, I will certainly miss having a little partner with me. I just love that little peanut. She is so freaking hilarious! I am so thankful I get to spend so much time with her. I know I've talked about it before but I just feel very fortunate for how close my family is and that my brother and sister-in-law trust me enough to watch their daughter over extended periods of time.

Her mullet is out in full force here. I love it.

Last time I watched Ella for a long weekend was last Memorial Day when Jamie and Tiff went out of town for his friend's wedding. My dad would come over every day; he even bought Ella a blow up pool to play in. He sat out in the back yard and filled it with air using a bicycle pump! He also told me I would make a great single mother. I told him that wasn't exactly my goal but I appreciated the vote of confidence. Good ole' Dupe. I miss him.

As far as workouts went, I rode Jamie's bike to the park Saturday and Sunday and I was able to use their elliptical while Ella napped. Let me tell you something: I hate the elliptical. I don't know why, maybe because I can't go the pace I want? At any rate, it's pretty much the worst. But what doesn't challenge you, doesn't change you, so I was glad I did it when the workouts were over. But make no mistake: the whole time I was cursing that stupid machine. I did 30 minutes of PBF's elliptical workout which is all I could take. It was like walking through hills of sand. Awful.

I went off the paleo thing just a smidge this weekend. I stayed away from carbs for the most part and didn't go overboard on the food by any means. I decided I needed a little more sustenance to keep up with Ella. I'm not feeling guilty about it though; it was good weekend all around!

I don't weigh in for The Biggest Loser challenge until next week and I'm kind of anxious to see how I've done so far. I'm really trying not to focus on the number on the scale so much and focus more on how I look/feel in my clothes. I really don't think the weight on the scale is an accurate depiction of one's overall health so I'm glad measurements are included in this challenge, at least locally. Also, I don't think my scale at home is accurate (that's what they all say, right?) Honestly though, when I had my first weigh-in last Monday, I was at a pretty surprisingly high number. But when I weighed myself at home four days later (in the morning sans clothing) I was 9 pounds lighter. Granted, the weigh-in at Brickhouse was at the end of the day in my sweaty clothes after a workout but 9 pounds is a pretty outrageous change for 4 days. I like to weigh myself at home first-thing in the morning, without having eaten anything yet as well. Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to seeing my weight at the gym to see how much I've actually lost so far.

Guess what, y'all??! I signed up for my first race since 2011 (just typing that makes me sad.) I am more than ready to hit the pavement with some fellow running enthusiasts. I registered for the Jazz & Rib Fest 5 miler on Friday, July 19 and I am totally jazzed about it! I've never done an evening race so I'm interested to see how I do. This will be my first race without having my dad at the finish line too; mixed emotions for sure.