Better Than Expected

Posted: March 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm

I didn’t go to bed until 2 am Monday night. Tuesday morning? Whatever it was, it was a time way too late for me. I had to pick up Peter from the airport and due to some inclement weather…

twitter

…his flight got in 3 hours late.Then, just as I was climbing into bed at 1 am, Braedon woke up to eat. Ain’t that just dandy? I should have been a very, very sleepy girl all day Tuesday. Yet, somehow, the day turned out better than expected. I got through quite the workout and a fun play date.

Yesterday morning I hit up the gym for some upper body weights and a run. I did the following upper body workout:

Machine Wide Row Back 3x10
Cable Crossovers Chest 3x10
Assisted Pull-ups on Machine Back 3x8
Machine Overhead Shoulder Press Shoulders 3x8
Incline Dumbbell Chest Press Chest 1x12,1x10,1x8
Incline Dumbbell Bicep Curls Biceps 3x10
Overhead Triceps Extension Triceps 3x10

[how I create my strength training plans]

I felt okay but dragged butt the entire time. Soooo slooooow. I figured I wouldn’t have enough energy to do much with my run. Couch to 5K called for alternating 5 minutes of running with 3 minutes of walking. I started off slowly but then kept managing to increase my speed over the course of the workout. I still banged out 2.8 miles in 30 minutes, which makes this beginner runner very happy. I love when a workout turns out better than expected. Such a fabulous feeling!

After my workout and a short stopover at home, we visited a park with some friends for a walk and lunch. We walked for about 40 minutes, then settled in for a picnic. I love picnics. Fresh air. Fresh food. Totally works with my beliefs on making life better.

 picnic lunch

I had to make due with what we had for transportable food, so I went with a Morningstar Farms Garden Veggie Burger on a sandwich thing with some roasted pine nut hummus, spinach, and tomato.

 veggie burger   hummus

It turned out better than expected! I coupled it with some snackage in the form of baby carrots, grape tomatoes, and sliced strawberries.

 lunch snacks

My friend & I had some cutesy dates.

m   r picnic 1

Aren’t they adorable?! Perhaps even cuter…

 feed the ducks 1 feed the ducks 3

Every time we come to this park and feed the ducks, I always get a flashback to doing the same with my mom at our local park when I was growing up. I love my mom! For those of you wondering, she is doing very well. The diagnosis seems better than expected as the doctors believe they diagnosed her very early. She feels great, remains positive, and continues to learn as much as she can to face her MS head-on. If I can be even half the woman and mother she is, I will have grown into someone better than I ever expected.

Question of the Day – What has turned out better than expected for you lately?

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55 Comments to “Better Than Expected”
  1. Great news about your mom! I hope you all stay strong and keep praying!

    Your running is looking great – you are going to kill that 5K!

  2. I hate stormy nights like that. Glad you guys are ok and that Tuesday turned out good for you. My Tuesday ended on a high note too with blog giveaway package, fantastic run, and a new (used) car.

  3. The girls are so so cute playing together! I love feeding the ducks even as an adult!

  4. Tina says:

    So happy to hear your mom is doing well!! Those pictures are adorable! It’s a baby date!

  5. Great sunshine you guys are having, and glad the prognosis is positive!

  6. awww I love seeing the pics of you and the kiddos! Oh so cute!

  7. Rach says:

    Such great news about your mom!

    Your kiddos are so precious! And you are beautiful! 🙂

  8. Dorry says:

    Cute kiddos. I took a Spin class last night and thought my legs were going to be tired from my run on Monday, but it turned out to be a great, challenging class and my legs kept up. 🙂

  9. That storm was crazy, wasn’t it?! I am glad you had such a great time with some friends and fresh air! That definitely makes things better! I am so glad to hear your mom is doing well. I hope you have a great day Tina!

  10. So happy to hear about your mother! I’m continuing to send my thoughts and prayers her way and for your whole family.

  11. Thanks for the update about your mom, Tina. Just want you to know that she is in my prayers, as is your family.

    Picnics at the park are such a fun way to take in nature and the beauty of our surroundings. I forget how much I love relaxing at them until I’m there! Can’t wait for warmer weather so I can really enjoy them 🙂

  12. Really not a whole lot right now…except for maybe just realizing the depth and strength of the love of God.

    • Tina says:

      I cannot say it enough – love you, I’m here for you, I’m praying, and keep trusting. ((((HUG))))

  13. Such a great picnic shot! You’re a very lovely-looking trio.

  14. My husband is from Ohio and tells me about tornado sirens, which we don’t have here in NY but they sound just like our fire whistles, so he still gets a little nervous when he hears the fire whistle blow, lol.

    That veggie burger looks YUMMMMMMMMMY!!

    Unfortunately, not many things have gone better than expected lately. Just the opposite, actually. 🙁 But, I know that things will get better and life will balance out. It always does. 🙂

  15. Glad to hear your mom is doing well!

  16. I am terrified of tornados! And of course I live somewhere now that gets them every spring. That is the only thing I don’t like about spring….if I had a basement to rush too, I probably wouldn’t be as scared…but Texas soil doesn’t allow for basements:(. So I just pray really hard the tornado misses me!

    I love going outdoors!! soo fun! 🙂

  17. Heather says:

    What a cute family pic – you look so happy! And those girls eating lunch? I DIE.
    Glad to hear about your mom! **hugs to all of you**

  18. So glad to hear about your mom!

  19. Mandy says:

    Oh they are so cute. Sorry about your late night .. but sounds like you still had a great day! Great job on your workout too 🙂

  20. lindsay says:

    what?! Oh my, that is some crazy weather. I would have been a walking zombie all day. Where do you get your second wind? I need that.
    😉

  21. My day turned out better than expected yesterday because I actually didn’t have school. There was a gas leak at my building and we don’t have to make it up at the end of the year – SCORE!!

    M is too cute!

  22. ” If I can be even half the woman and mother she is, I will have grown into someone better than I ever expected.”

    Ohmigosh! this totally made me cry!!! heehee!! I am so glad your Mom is doing well.

    I LOVE park dates and picnics and feeding ducks!! I cannot wait for the weather to get warmer so that Hailey and I can go to the park. She’s actually been asking to go.

    Isnt if funny how some of our best workouts are either when we didnt want to w/o or when it started off bad? Im glad your’s ended well. 🙂

  23. Jess says:

    I’m so glad the workout turned out to be better than your sleep-deprived self expected. Love that! And totally LOVE the picnic, such fun! I can’t wait for spring to “spring” around here so I can partake in outdoor activities again!

  24. Great post, Tina. I love your positive attitude 🙂

  25. I love picnics in the park! Unfortunately we still have snow so it will be a while before we will get to do that!

    Glad to know another beginner runner – one of my goals for 2011 was to run a 5K. I haven’t started training for it yet but the local YMCA has a running clinic starting in the spring that I am planning to sign up for!

    Hope you got some better sleep last night 🙂

  26. Well that is the cutest picnic ever. My sister and I used to LOVE to feed the ducks at the park. Aw, good memories.

    The job search is finallly turning out better than expected!

  27. Angela says:

    Wow that sounds like quite the series of events! One thing that turned out better than expected for me recently was this morning – I’ve been much more productive than I thought I’d be!

  28. reading about your better than expected day made me so happy! 🙂 i had a much better day yesterday than i originally expected too – lots of good work done and some really encouraging news! i’m still carrying around my lingering happy feelings!

  29. Sarah R says:

    So nice to hear a good update from your mom! And I’m jealous of you picnic lunch. Can’t wait for spring!

  30. Picnics in the park truly are good for the soul!! I need more picnics in my life 🙂

  31. Ela says:

    Sounds like you’re having some dramatic weather! We’ve had some crazy wind up here too–the tp wouldn’t even go down the hole in the outhouse a few days ago!

    Sounds like you’re kicking ass with your workout, not dragging butt–especially after no sleep. Was it too much for your body? I hope you got a really good nap and caught that sleep back up. Hope Peter’s also ok.

    I had my bday a couple days ago and my friends insisted on a potluck focused on things I can eat (blogged about it last night)–that went way better than I expected!
    love
    Ela

  32. Heather says:

    so cute! looks like the same beautiful weather we have been having.
    This week had turned out better than expected. being put off ANOTHER week of not being in our new home, I thought I would be miserable, but it has been ok so far!

  33. That sandwich looks sooo good!!!

    This past weekend our engagement party went ALOT smoother than I anticipated. I was nervous about how I was going to spend enough time socializing and mingling with 80 people, but it worked out perfectly! The fiance and I parked ourselves at the beginning of the buffet line and talked to everyone as they filed past!

    We will definitely be doing the same thing for the wedding 🙂

    • Tina says:

      What a great idea with standing at the start of the food line. That way you definitely get a quick moment with everyone!

  34. Oh wow, what a night! We had some pretty rough storms here too! Te tornado sirens were going off for half the night! My poor kitty didn’t know what to make of it and kept running around the house scared to death!

    I love picnics! There’s just nothing like enjoying fresh food and basking in the sunshine!

  35. I love it when days go better than expected! A good workout, time with friends, nice weather and a picnic definitely sound like a great day to me 🙂 Hope you catch up on your sleep tonight!

  36. Glad to hear that your mom is doing well.

    Seeing you and your kids at the park takes me back in time. I once had a little bitty girl and baby boy. 🙂 They are 8 and almost 6 now. Sigh.

    Enjoy that beautiful weather!

    • Tina says:

      Don’t remind me that mine will grow that big! Gah!

      • Melissa says:

        Sorry. I’ve heard these early parenting years described as long days, short years. I think there’s truth in that. I get nostalgic about the earlier years, but these ages are good too. 🙂

        • Tina says:

          No need to be sorry. I was just kidding. 😉 And long days, short years is a PERFECT way to describe it.

  37. Lauren says:

    I love when runs end up being better than expected! Some days, I just do not wanna workout, and it’s always those days that I end up having great workouts.

  38. Stephanie says:

    What an amazing woman your mom must be! So glad she’s been diagnosed early and can see the positives. hehe Maybe she could write a blog about her journey!

  39. Allie says:

    Awesome news that your run went good and that your mom got diagnosed early! The pictures are adorable 🙂

  40. We experienced those saaaame storms here in Charlotte! Talk about *crazy* winds! I’m so glad to hear your mom is doing well with her diagnosis… I had a close family friend growing up battle MS so I saw how hard it can be. My thoughts are with you and your family!!

  41. I am laughing out loud that you said your veggie burger was on a “sandwich thing”. 🙂

  42. Melie says:

    this is so cute! i hope that the weather here gets better too and I feel better soon, so that I can spend more time outside too! 🙂

  43. Amy Lauren says:

    Aww, that veggie burger looks totally yummy to me! Love those MorningStar patties :). It looks like you guys had a great picnic and sounds like you had a great workout running that fast after doing all those weights :).

    I’m glad things are looking up for your mom too.

  44. Errign says:

    I ended up having an awesome, awesome, awesome time shopping today for some business clothes and I bought two skirts that make me feel faaaaaabulous, so that was cool. The skinny margarita at lunch might have helped too 😉

    When you mentioned feeding ducks, all I could think of was the scene in the movie About a Boy when Marcus is feeding the ducks (I just wrote drunks?!) and he throws in a whole loaf and kills a duck. I am laughing now…okay, ramble over… 🙂

  45. Love the pics! So cute! Glad your day turned out better than expected 🙂 I love when that happens!

    Good to hear your mom is in good spirits…my thoughts are still with you during this challenging time.

  46. I’m so glad your mom is doing well! love the pictures of the kiddies 🙂

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