I'm Back!!

Hello all, it's been a while since I've seen you! Last February I learned I was pregnant and it wasn't long before queasiness, fatigue, and cravings pushed my nutritional good intentions to the back burner. I know that is the worst possible time to let health and nutrition slip - when I'm completely in charge of another person's physical well-being - but as any woman who has ever been pregnant will tell you, sometimes you just can't help yourself. I did not let my research go by the wayside though and now I'm ready to pick back up!

To fill you in on what's been happening with me:

• In November I gave birth to an adorable little boy! :)
• In January I was accepted to a graduate nursing program where I will be studying maternity nursing. The program starts in June so don't expect frequent posts after that time!
• A few of my Goals for the New Year (I prefer this to saying 'New Year's Resolutions') included:
• No fast food, including Subway and ordering pizza, for 2013 - the more I learn about fast food, the easier this one is to keep. It's been almost 4 months since I've had any fast food of any kind and I don't miss it at all. 
• No buying new clothes for 2013 - this has been rather easy to keep. I hope to be 2-3 sizes smaller by the end of the year so I don't see much point in buying new clothes. Plus I have a stash of 'for when I lose weight' clothes hidden in the back of the closet that are slowly beginning to reemerge so that's kind of like shopping. 
• Start practicing yoga - this one was tough at first. I've never been a huge fan of yoga because it's always seemed too slow-paced. Through a friend I discovered www.blackswanyoga.tv. Black Swan Yoga is a yoga studio from right here in Austin but they have their instructors upload videos to the website so you can do them from home. This is ideal for me because 1) I don't have time or a babysitter to go to the studio, and 2) I feel self conscious when I do any kind of workout but especially when I do yoga so I prefer to workout alone. For $8 a month I subscribed to one instructor's channel and slowly began practicing yoga. While it's still not my favorite form of workout, I am beginning to appreciate its slower pace. I look forward to increased flexibility and core strength and decreased back pain (among other things) that should result from regular practice.  
• Run a half marathon - After not running for most of my pregnancy, I had to start over with my Couch to 5K app. I'm now 6 weeks through the 8 week program and am almost able to run a 5K without stopping. My first 5K adventure race, the Diva Dash, is in April. My plan is to work my way up and run a half marathon sometime this fall. 

So that's where I've been the past year. When you last heard from me I had taken a more educational approach to the blog. This time around I hope to take a more journalistic approach. I'm going to be trying a few different things, starting with something pretty big, and will be sharing about my experiences here. I hope you'll stick around!