I worked up to a 5K over a 6 month time period. I started with treadmill intervals, 2 min. walk/3 min. run at 5.5 mph. My first 5K took me 35 min. So just under a 12 min/mile pace which was my goal at that time. After that I continued to work on faster intervals and shorter runs and in June could run 2 miles in 19 or so minutes. But then it got hot...and I got lazy...and now I have to work up to it again. I'm 5'6 (.5!) and have a muscular build and was still carrying 30-40 extra lbs of weight. What I think helped my speed improve was 1) sprints from time to time, really pushed my lungs and my lower body muscles and 2) squats and lunges to build my leg muscles. Now just to get back to it now that it's under 80 degrees most mornings. At least I know it's possible this time! I used to cry every fall and spring in high school when it was time to run the Presidential fitness mile.

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/08/spoilers-dont-spoil-anything.ars I thought this study was worth sharing. I can see enjoying some books more if I know what I'm looking for or expecting, but I rarely read the endings first just to find out.

A different perspective... My MIL was a gift giver. It was just deeply a part of how she expressed love for people. The neighborhood kids, nieces, nephews, her children, and most certainly her grandchildren. She also showered time and attention on them, so the gifts weren't just buying affection. But she loved giving gifts. We got a box on all the major and minor holidays and a few "just for fun" days in between. I cringed a lot at first, made lists and requests, and culled before Christmas. My MIL passed away in March of 2010, suddenly, at the age of 60. And I would take all those cluttery, sometimes tacky, excessive gifts back in a heartbeat if it meant she was with us again.

Thanks for that link, Karen. I really enjoyed the article and the author repeats so much of what Charlotte Mason said almost 100 years ago about the teacher needing to get out of the way so the learner can directly interact with the ideas. And then, he is more likely to care, make connections, love learning.

This is about how I eat. Though maybe fewer grains, sometimes a sprouted grain product or oats. I found the "Eat Clean" diet and Jillian Michaels "Mastering Your Metabolism" along with some of the paleo/primal information to be the most helpful for me. I exercise intensely (lifting weights, running sprints, some longer runs) and struggle if I don't eat enough carbs to fuel those workouts. It is a slower rate of loss, but it's all fat losses--no muscle loss because of the weight training and high protein.

It's accurate for me for the current size, which is several sizes smaller than the standard catalog size given for the 1980s. I'm currently a size 14 in most things, a 12 in a few. And that matches the waist size given for the Misses chart and at my height. Though I weigh 20 lbs more than they estimate, yay muscle! But that would have been a size 18 before the vanity sizing started, the wiki article mentions 1980 as the date for the standard sizes they used for comparison.

Here's a helpful chart of sizes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_standard_clothing_size

I have a trainer. I get overwhelmed with how many plans and books are out there and worry that I'll miss something. She understands that I want short, intense, and I'm not afraid to lift heavy weights. And builds programs for me that work with my home gym, so I have no excuses. ;-) I've also done C25K and think interval running is awesome. Are your goals overall fitness? Endurance? Fat burning? Metabolic? Some things, like lots and lots of steady cardio, are less efficient for burning fat and stoking metabolism, but intervals and intense short workouts can have a bigger calorie burn overall because your body is stoked for hours afterwards. Weight training provides the same benefits. Body for Life is an excellent general program--intense cardio and heavy weight lifting. The eating is too low fat for my tastes, but for building a general workout system--3 days cardio, 3 days weight training, that's where I'd start. (There's no such thing as "toning" muscles are already tone. If you want to see the muscles you need to build them and burn fat off them. Lift big weights and eat protein. :))

Here's our current line up: DS (10) and DD (9) Math Rod and Staff Math 5 LOF Fractions and Decimals Writing CW Aesop B/Homer A/CW Poetry WWE/WWS skills applied to our history and science reading Charlotte Mason style narrations 2xs a week Dictation 2x a week Copybooks to practice cursive and keep worthy quotes or passages Grammar Grammar is still undecided--ALL when it comes out, Mary Daly's Diagramming and Aesop grammar work until then. Unless I decide we love Harvey's with Homer. Latin First Form for most of the year, then start Second Form later in the spring Lingua Latine for some reading exercises History Early Modern Period (1600-1850): VP cards, Guerber American history combined volume from MP, Ambleside biography and lit selections that fit the period Geography MP States and Capitals, US Geography workbooks, North America, Ambleside selections Ambleside Year 4 Literature, poetry, Shakespeare, nature study, artist, composer, hymns Science Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry, then possibly The Elements and Carbon Chemistry from Ellen McHenry DD (7) Math Rod and Staff 2, Singapore 2 Language Arts WWE 1/2 skills CW Primers Spelling Workout B and C Explode the Code 5 and 6 FLL 2 and start 3 next spring Latin Prima Latina Ambleside Year 1 History, literature, geography, poetry, artist, composer, nature study, hymns I think that covers everything. I'm going to look over Elemental History for my 7 year old since the older two are doing American history this year.

A few things really quickly before I'm out the door for church-- 40 lbs seems overwhelming, I know. But don't wait until it's 80 lbs, or more. I've lost 60+ lbs over the past 14 months and still have 20-30 to go. Starting out with 80 to lose was truly daunting, I wish I'd gotten serious when it was 40-50. Build muscle. Women gain weight as they age even if they don't eat more calories because they lose muscle. Build muscle. Speed up your metabolism. Hours and hours of cardio won't keep the fat off the way more muscle will. Eat for nutrient density. You crave more and need more food when your food choices lack the nutrients your body desperately needs and wants. Most women try to eat too low fat, or eat too many fake/engineered foods like soy crap added to everything. Better to eat full fat, dense calories in smaller portions, your body will feel more satisfied and you're less likely to just eat and eat and eat trying to feel full and content. Also, I've had to learn to eat with fueling in mind, rather than entertaining. Food is a tricky thing. We have memories and emotions surrounding certain foods, or we seek them out for comfort. But if you can see the foods you eat as having a purpose for fueling your life--motherhood, homecare, workouts, etc. and less as a way to be entertained or comforted, then it's not so hard to walk away from the treats or comfort foods. Find other ways to be soothed or escape--music, hot bath, books, prayer, meditation... I also found the book "Love to Eat, Hate to Eat" by Elyse Fitzpatrick helpful at the start of my journey.

I have a scary smart one too, it can be hard to know what to expect or how much to challenge her. She'll be in 8th grade when her brother is in 9th, but I think she could handle Omnibus earlier than that. But I don't want to split them up, it's too convenient to have them in the same grade/level. I like the 4 year high school progression for Great Books, I just don't want to skip too many books! (My poor children) I like the idea of doing some of the easier, secondary books earlier, I think I've seen a few people here mention doing that. Narnia, for example. Thanks for your input. :)

If you were starting with a 7th grader, Angela, would you do all 6 books in order rather than the 4 year progression?

I don't like St. Louis-style pizza, but our favorite pizza place was/is Fortel's Pizza Den off Gravois in Affton. It's very near Ted Drewes if you want to combine your pizza and custard outing.

The zoo is very nice and free. But it's a standard zoo. For your kids ages and with American history in mind, I'd go to the Arch and see the Westward Expansion museum. Then to City Museum probably. http://www.citymuseum.org/home.asp

"The Napoleon of Notting Hill" by Chesterton? C. S. Lewis Space Trilogy or Till We Have Faces or Screwtape Letters? I think most of the great Christian novelists of the 20th century would be the Southern greats--O'Conner, Faulkner, Percy--but these aren't necessarily optimistic. And I think many were published post-1950. "Gone with the Wind" would be earlier.

LCII has pretty much been dropped from MP's publishing queue and scope and sequence. First Form Latin covers all the information in LCII and does it in a more clear fashion. So after LCI go into FF. If LC I doesn't take as long as one year, just move to FF mid school year. :)

We love many Memoria Press materials. We've used Prima, LC I, now we're on First Form. We've worked through Copybooks I-III, New American Cursive and the Latin Cursive book. My 1st grader did most of Storytime Favorites and More Storytime Favorites this year (though those are too much writing I think, we enjoyed the book selections and doing the questions). We have several Famous Men books, though we haven't used the workbooks. We're using the Guerber combined history volume this year. I do have a couple of the literature guides, but didn't really care for those.

My just-turned 9 year old is doing really well with FFL. She's done PL and LCI and a bit of LCII and is a verbally bright kiddo. She loves Latin. But my more "average" 10 year old son is doing just fine with it too. I see now that you said no previous Latin study. Sorry. That's not us. But MP says FFL is the starting point for a 5th grader with no previous Latin. And if you have a bright 4th grader, I'd think he'd be fine. :-)

:iagree: I think they're completely revolting, idiotic ads, but I read them as you did Garga. Two separate versions of the same scenario; not related to one another.

My aunt is a secretary for a PC(USA) church and does not attend the church. So yes. But she was certainly not the person who answered the phone. ;)

I can't help with the hair thing. I just wash mine daily, but I don't have hair that's nicer if I skip a day. But, I did want to join in on cheering you on, Julie! Abbey was so sweet to mention that I've inspired her this year (she has been motivating for me as well), so I thought I'd add my support for your exercising! It's hard to change these habits and see yourself as someone who enjoys being active and fit. I've had to change my whole view of myself as someone who'd rather sit and eat to an athlete (far from it!) who fuels her body so it can push harder, be stronger, go faster. I started my journey (65 lbs ago) working through my addictions to foods (sugar mostly, but most carbs in general) and my emotional reasons for eating. Once I felt like I had some momentum in my food choices, I wanted to move more. I wanted to know that I could keep the weight off because I'm a person who eats to build and fuel a body, not just a person afraid of certain food groups or regaining weight. Exercise has helped me make the better food choices. I started out barely able to walk 30 minutes @ 3.5 mph. And with the help of a friend putting workouts together for me and other C25K cheerleaders, I've steadily worked up to running that 5k. I ran my first race in April. Now I just run 2-3 miles a few times a week and work on my speed. I'm no distance runner like Abbey. I also LOVE weight training and how powerful that makes me feel. I've been focused on making these changes for over a year. I never thought I'd be able to keep doing something *hard* that long, but I have. And you will be able to too! I'm so impressed with how you found solutions for all the frustrations you had with your walking routine. That shows some awesome dedication. Keep it up, Julie! Jami

:party: You know how proud I am of you! You've been such an inspiration to me this past year. I'm happy with my 5K distance, but I love cheering you on with the crazier stuff.

I find Tosca Reno's "Eat Clean Diet Recharged" a very good guide to lifelong healthy eating. The only thing I disagree with is some of the lower fat recommendations, i.e. egg whites instead of whole eggs. But it's very whole foods, recommends keeping track of portions rather than calories, and encourages weight lifting to help metabolism.

:iagree: Charles Kingsley's "The Heroes" is another excellent older telling of some of the main Greek stories.

If you'll be south, Fortel's Pizza Den in Affton is wonderful. Old Spaghetti factory near the Arch is a good choice too. Most of the places I think of as particularly great in St. Louis are less kid friendly--Pho Grand on Grand for Vietnamese, King and I for Thai (also on S. Grand), Blueberry Hill on the Delmar Loop in University City. If you're in Old St. Charles there are some neat restaurants, but again, not really *kid* places.