UPDATE: 227 Miles To Go!

I feel like I've been doing better with getting at least 3 workouts each week. I finally got a gym membership at golds gym and have been going with my friend Camille.  Even though we havent gone much the last few weeks, its been nice to have someone I can talk to about how well or bad I've been doing.  

Here is a funny commercial for planet fitness I saw the other day.  It reminded me of myself... 

It reminds me of myself because I'm totally the "hot blonde"... just incase you were wondering why ;)

I'm slowly chipping away at my 300 mile goal!  Slowly but surely.  My friend Aubree reminded me that I don't have to achieve the goal in a year.  Even though admitting that seems like I am planning on failing,  I think it's refreshing to not feel like I've completely failed and lost hope if I don't hit it on time.  Don't get me wrong, that's still the goal, but I've decided I'm not going to be disappointed in myself if it doesn't happen because I've been working out more now than I have in years, and that was the ultimate goal!  So shout out to Aubree! What, What!! And thanks to everyone else for your support!  It really keeps me motivated to know that people read my blog and know what I am (or not) up to.

Our Dream Yard

Cim and I recently dug up our parking strip and put some gravel and plants down. It was a lot of back breaking labor.  Especially since we did it in the middle of the hottest day last week :/ I don't remember the last time I worked that hard. Im sure that there will be more days like that to come but I will just count those days as my workout!

I dont have any real pictures of our yard on my tablet but here is a doodle of what we would like the finished product to look like!  We can dream can't we?

As Rihanna would sing... SOS Please, someone help me.

I've REALLY sucked it up for the last... I donno... MONTH?   I'm about ready to give up on my 300 mile goal because I fee so far behind.  I thought of how embarrassing it was going to be because I've blogged about it.  I don't know how I feel about the fact that I started this goal or that I've made it public.  Sometimes I think things through too much, and other times I just jump in and am really passionate and dedicated for a while and then I either fizzle out or just stop altogether.   Right now, I'm feeling my dedication slip away and I don't really care if people know that I'm a quitter or not.

But it sucks to start something and do so well and then stop.  It makes me feel like I can't be dedicated to what I set my mind to.  Now, I need to find the motivation to start again. Bleh.  I'm thinking a gym membership might help mix things up a little.  But I don't want to pay for something that might not work. SEE?  I'm doing it again.  THINKING about it too, much.

I'm sharing this because I want people to know I'm human, and I'm not perfect (far from).  All I see on facebook are success posts about how far they ran, but I never see the story of how they got there.  Do they even struggle?  I just want everyone to know that isn't real life.  It's scary to be the example, but maybe other people will start sharing their true stories and encourage and empower all of us instead of making us feel less than because our fastest mile is 12 minutes and theirs is 8.

Jus sayin.

Shout out to my baby gurl!

Our little bug turned 9 months today!! I can't believe it.  It feels like we just brought her home yesterday, but then I think of each time I've woken up in the middle of the night. Yeah, 9 months feels just about right!  She has brought so much happiness into our lives.  She is the beginning, middle, and end to my days and I wouldn't want it any other way.  We can't wait to watch and help her continue to grow!

{Favorites}
Heater vents
Chords to anything
Finding itty bitty things in the carpet
Bouncing piggy
Oatmeal cereal
Carrots
Pears
Bath time
When daddy comes home AND talking to him on the phone
Mom's cell phone
Mom's hair
Raspberries on belly
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Justin Timberlake
Peek-a-boo
Patty Cake

{Dislikes}
Peas
Meat flavored baby food
Getting her face wiped
Waking up "hungry" at 2 am
More than 1 nap
Getting dressed

{Skills}

Crawling

Sitting up

Rolling

Shaking head back and forth

Circling hands and feet simultaneously 

I can say mamama, dadadada, and nanana

WE LOVE YOU ELLA FAE!

When "you're just standing there ... all fat."

I can be so negative about my body.  It's upsetting to think about how much time I waste thinking about  what I look like.

Being negative in my head is one thing, but being negative out loud in front of others is something else.     I've seen some comments from other women on Facebook who call themselves "fat."  I don't know if these people even think of those who may be "fatter" than them and how it makes them feel.

We blame the media for making us feel uncomfortable in our own skin because they send the message that thin is beautiful.  It's easy to blame them because "the media" is such a broad term to remove any responsibility from ourselves.

I'm going to make an effort to be kind to myself and love my body for what it is.   It's a place where my spirit dwells :)  It's time that I start learning to be happy about where I am now instead of thinking "I'd be happier if I were 20 pounds lighter." I wouldn't want Ella to ever think about herself in this way and that's why I'm also going to try not to put myself down in front of her OR anyone else.

So far,  I've been doing well with being consistently physically active, now I'm just trying to re-train my brain.

Walka, Walka, Walka

I didn't know what to call this post.... it's just a boring log.

Wednesday, Feb 13 - 2 mi - Total: 8.5
Thursday, Feb 14 - 0 mi - We are all entitled to laziness on holidays. - Total: 8.5
Friday, Feb 15,  - 0 mi - Instead, I watched other people work out at the state wrestling tournament - Total: 8.5
Saturday, Feb 16 - 3 mi - Cim came with me :)  Total : 11.5
Monday, Feb 18 - 3 mi - Went to the city building and grocery store. Total: 14.5

but I did.

I did it! 

I bounced on the trampoline and did some sit ups and stuff after I put Ella to bed.  To make sure I was getting my mile in I put on my pedometer :)

I took a picture of myself on the rebounder (what the pro-bouncers call their tramps) for your viewing pleasure.

source: http://walkwellstaywell.wordpress.com/tag/plantar-aponeurosis/

And I've decided to add jumping to my list of things I can do to obtain my goal (thanks to the comments).


6.5/300

I don't want to...

I didn't go on a walk today.  I don't have a GOOD excuse.  It's still difficult for me to practice self-control when it comes to what I eat.  I guess I feel like whatever good I do for myself when I exercise is erased by what I eat.  Honestly, I'm doubting  if I can do this.  Will it really make a difference in the way I look?  Will I feel better about myself?

If I quit, I'll throw everything good I have done away...

Not only that, but I'll probably look back on this moment a couple months from now and think, "If I would've kept going, I would probably be in shape by now."

So... I guess I will lace up my shoes and get a workout in after Ella is in bed.

Walk #3

The weekend was nice.  It snowed pretty heavy on Saturday morning so I didn't think it would be very reasonable to go for my walk.  So, I jumped on my trampoline and did some other things to get a workout.  I made Cimaron promise that he wouldn't come downstairs while I was working out... I have a phobia of people seeing me be out of shape.  Ok, it probably isn't a phobia, I just get embarrassed when I'm breathing like a fat kid after 5 minutes of doing something anyone else would consider easy.  Anywho.  It was nice to get some type of workout but I can't count it toward my 300.... unless I add jump to my list.  Is that legit?  I'll hold off on adding it to my total until someone tells me it is.

Today's walk was annoying.  The sidewalks aren't shoveled wide enough for the stroller so most of the time I walked on the street.  If the sidewalk was wide enough for us to fit, the end of the street wasn't shoveled so it was difficult to get out.  I'm sick of the snow.  I'm usually one who doesn't complain.  I like having an excuse to hide in layers of clothes.  Maybe someday I won't need to hide anymore and Summer can be my new favorite time of year!

My total:  4.5/300 

If I count jumping... 5.5/300

1% down...

Today was nothing special.  I'm starting to think that I probably will only update weekly unless anything super weird happens on my wogs.  Since I don't live in South Salt Lake anymore, I'm wondering if that will happen.

I did slip on some black ice... but caught my fall.  I looked like the burglars on Home Alone.  haha.  I was hoping nobody saw but there was a guy stopped at a stop sign.  I hope it made his day.

Anywho.  1.5 miles again.  I was thinking it would be more like 2 but it wasn't.

That means I'm at 3/300.

I've thought about setting a route before I leave home but I  like the randomness and not knowing how far I've gone. It seems easier to just think "to the corner" instead of "to the corner will be one mile, then I still have 1 to go! Shiz!"  (lets be honest, I have a potty brain and as hard as I try not to, I think the real thing ESPECIALLY when I'm working out.)

1.5/300

Today I walked/jogged 1.5 of the 300 miles.  It's almost laughable to think how many more I have to go but I'm determined to do it.

On my walk, I listened to some old music on my ipod shuffle that I haven't listened to in years.  It was nice to hear those songs and think about who I was when I uploaded them.  One of them was "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse.  I thought it was kind of weird that she sang about people telling her to go to rehab and how she was fine and then she ended up overdosing on drugs.  Silly Amy.

Other things that happened??  I waved to two old guys as they drove by and tried to go as fast as I could as I walked through the apartment complex.

The only thing that saw my butt jiggle up close was a dog off it's leash that decided to sniff me.  YIKES! (for the dog).

Ella seemed to enjoy the ride.  She was a little angel... no complaints there.  Until next time....

300 Miles

I gained about 50 pounds when I was pregnant with Ella.  Yeah.  That's what I thought.  8 of it was her, and a lot of it was water weight, and the rest of it came off by nursing.  I'm back to what I was before I got pregnant but I DEFINITELY don't have my body back.  I want to feel comfortable in my own skin again.  Anyway, I think about the way I look too much and it's about time I do something about it.  I've thought about so many different ways I could do it...

-weight watchers
-fitness pal
-starving myself... hahaha me... starving.  I love cookies too much to do this.

Then BAM it hit me.  Exercise.  Exercise?  Me?  Yes.  It's happening people.  The girl with the booty is putting on the tight pants and wogging around a neighborhood near you.    I've always been self conscious about my butt jiggling when I run and I've finally decided that if it bugs anyone they can look away, and try to find someone's who doesn't bounce cause I bet their's does, too!  In other words,  I'm embracing it.  And maybe if I embrace it like Beyonce does hers, it will become famous or something.

So what's the plan, Stan? (Sometimes my friends call me Stan.  Ok, ok, they never do.)

I saw a group of Facebook that had a goal to reach 300 something miles by next year.  This would mean walking, running, swimming at least 1 mile every day (except sunday) until 2014.  Since they started in January and I only know two of them,  I'm going to start by myself and blog about it.  I'm going to post my experiences about my "adventures" here. Down to the old people waving as they drive by or the sketchy guy who hocks (spells) a loogie and throws his arms up at me like, "wanna go?"

So here it is.

{I, Carli Neugebauer, am going to run, walk, jog, wog, bike, rollerblade, or swim 300 miles by January 2014. }

Ugh. Is it just me or did anyone else get a knot in their stomach when they read that? I almost added drive in there but I guess that would be cheating.

Cimaron has encouraged me to use my blog to hold myself accountable before, and I said "but... nobody reads it."  I'll be honest, that is part of the reason why I'm using it.  Another, is that I don't want to post it on Facebook.  I have 10 more friends on there... compared to 2 or 3 readers on here.  I'll take the latter.  So,  blog readers, whoever you are,  this is my goal.  And if I don't do it you can comment on this in a year and say "so car, I see your butt bounces even more now" and I'll be like "yep.... AND my arms have taken on flapping!"

Butt really.  This IS happening.

Photo Card

Monogram Memories Christmas

Custom Christmas cards are always available at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Ella's Blessing Day

Ella's blessing day was more stressful than I ever thought it would be.  I am a worrier though.  

In the end everything turned out to be fine.  Ella was nice and quiet during her blessing and everyone got enough to eat.  Most importantly, Cimaron gave her a beautiful blessing.  Cimaron also blessed Ella's cousin Ambrose.  It was a great day that we will never forget. 

 Here are some pictures from the day!

{Ella's blessing dress that her Great Aunt Dixie made from my wedding dress}

{Grandma, Great Grandpa, Great Great Grandma Ella, Me, and Baby Ella! 5 Generations}

{My Besties}

{Trying to get a family pic...}

{Cim's tie is tucked in and Ella looks like she smelled a fart... I'll take it.}

{Smiling at Grandpa!}

{Silly Cim}

When we got home Ella was a little cranky.  When we changed her diaper she was super happy.  So we took her clothes off and let her hang out for a while.  She looked so cute we had to take some pictures!!

1 month!

Hospital Stay #2?

The day after we came home, we were called by the pediatrician that saw Ella at the hospital. He told us that a blood culture that was taken when Ella's temperature dropped in the Hospital had came back positive.   He asked me if she had been fussy the night before.  Considering I was a new mom, I didn't have anything to compare the night to so I said she was.  He said that considering the results of the culture, that she was fussy, and that I was positive for strep B, we needed to go to primary children's immediately.  So we did.

We were in the ER for quite a while.  In order to make sure her blood wasn't contaminated they had to do a spinal tap.  Before they did that they hooked her up to oxygen and a heart monitor.  Everything happened so fast.  They told me and Cimaron that we would need to be there for 36 hours so they could observe her until the results of their culture came back.  After a loooong night (it's VERY difficult to nurse a baby hooked up to monitors) they told us the culture from St. Marks was most likely contaminated and that their culture was negative.  We were good to go home!   This post is probably confusing because I can't really describe exactly what happened.  One second she was home and fine, the next she was at the hospital again and we were worried about what could be wrong, and then, we were back home again and she was just as healthy as when we left the hospital the first time.  I guess you can say it was a bad joke.

Anyway, we are so grateful that everything worked out and that Ella is healthy.  Even though it's better to be safe than sorry, we wish it never happened in the first place.

Hospital Stay...

{Ella's first bath.  She really liked getting her hair washed. }

{New grandma and grandpa... and aunts and uncle!}

{Opa and Oma! We were so happy they were able to take a break from the MTC to come and meet Ella!}

{Cim changing Ella's first diaper...} 

{nap time!}

{Ella and Dadda}

{The Circle of Life!}

{Time to go home... we were all a little nervous}

{Wearing the cute sandals Aunt Kendra made!}

{Cim wanted to protect her face from her hands - all we had were his socks.}

{Loaded up and ready to go!}

{First night at home!}

Newborn Photo Shoot

Getting everything together for Ella's newborn photo shoot was more stressful than I thought it would be.  I wanted to have her fed so she would be content during the shooting, and that worked out but there were so many other things out of my control that did happen.  Starting with Ella peeing on the sheet as soon as we started taking pictures.  Then she decided she needed to eat again.  While I was feeding her she pooped on me (I wanted to put her in a diaper but Cimaron insisted she wouldn't go again).  Lastly, she spit up.  It was not as glamorous as I pictured it would be from looking at other baby pictures, but they turned out fantastic!  It was definitely worth the stress and chaos!

Here are a few of my favorite pics!

Photography by Lindsey Fronk: 

http://photographybylinds.com/

Ella's Birth Story

The month of May was filled with anticipation. Ella was due to arrive on May 21. I was hoping she would come a couple days before then and I thought that she just might decide to come early especially since  there were days that I would have a lot of contractions. Unfortunately, those days were followed by several days when I didn't feel like I had any! This made me wonder if what I was experiencing were even contractions.


The last month of work was difficult physically and emotionally.  It was challenging not to think "I'm going to be leaving in a month anyway...so why should I care?" And I was getting lazier and lazier as the days went by because it hurt to move.  My whole body was swollen because I was  retaining so much water and the only shoes I could wear were flip flops.   I was nervous for labor and the pain that would come with it.  Mostly, I was anxious for what my situation would be.  Would my water break? Would I KNOW I'm having contractions or would I not feel them until it was too late? (btw - people said that I would KNOW when I was having contractions... I didn't "KNOW" until I had been having them for 3 hours.)  Would I go to the hospital and get sent home because I wasn't really in labor? Would I get my epidural too early and have it wear off?  Would I not get it soon enough? To add to all of my questions about what was/would happen to me, I worried about Ella.  If I noticed she hadn't moved within the hour I would start to panic and think that something was wrong. The bottom line is that I was getting sick of being pregnant.


Anyway, at one of my appointments my doctor talked to me about being induced.  She said that typically she doesn't induce her patients until 10 days after their due date.  So we originally set my induction (is that what you call it?) to be on May 29 (the day AFTER my in-laws would be flying out for their mission in Germany).  My last day of work was Friday, May 18th and Monday was  my due date. Well... My due date came a went and I sat around our apartment for 4 days. I was going crazy. It could happen at any time, and I was by myself worrying about all the worst case scenarios.  I was planning on asking Cimaron to stay at home from work the day before I was induced so I wouldn't be alone with my thoughts... but when I woke up to a contraction at 6:30 in the morning on May 25. They weren't very strong so I started timing them and they were about 5 minutes apart and lasted for a minute for an hour.  This is when you're told to go into labor and delivery but my contractions were so puny.  I woke up Cimaron and we decided to wait until they got worse to go in.  They got a little worse, but they still weren't bad, so we decided to wait until noon to go in.  We finally went in to labor and delivery and I was admitted! :)

After they hooked me up to the IV and got settled in the nurse suggested that we walk around to make things move along quicker. So we did.  When we came back the nurse said that my doctor wanted me to get my epidural so when she came in they could break my water and give me some petocin. Woah. That's when it hit me that I was really having a baby! I got nervous and told Cim I didn't want to do it anymore.  He kept me distracted while they put it in.


We were set to go! It seemed like it took forever for things to move along from this point.  I was told that I would feel some pressure as the contractions went on but eventually I was starting to feel more than I thought I should.  My epidural ran out and they gave me more.  I was still feeling a lot of pain.    After several hours they checked me and told me I was dilated to a 10 and that I would push in an hour after we did some rest and descend time.  During this time, a lady came in who was pretty far along in her labor who was screaming at the top of her lungs.  It literally sounded like she was dying.  This did NOT ease my fears of pushing but the time finally came for me to start.  Pushing was harder than I thought it would be.  I didn't know if I was doing it right and with the epidural I couldn't really feel what was happening.  I would push and the nurse would tell me I was doing such a great job! The more she said this the more I got frustrated because I felt like nothing was happening and she wasn't moving.  After about 2 1/2 hours of pushing Cimaron said he could see her head! So I thought she would be out soon -- but then she wasn't moving and I was getting more tired with each contraction.  Finally after 3 hours of pushing my Doctor gave me the option of trying the forceps or getting a c-section.  I opted for the forceps.  They did the trick!  Ella was born at 2:14 am on May 26, 2012.  She weighed 7lbs 12 ounces and was 19.5 inches long!

I was so happy to finally have our baby here and I felt like I could finally breath.  I got her here safely and now it was time to enjoy her (after I got put back together again).  We are so glad to have her with us and have enjoyed her sweet spirit in our home! 

Visiting Teaching

I'm 39 weeks along now.  Baby Neugebauer is due next Monday, but who knows when she will decide to come.  Last Wednesday I had some pretty consistent contractions... so I started packing my hospital bag.  Then they stopped. Since then, I have had contractions, but not nearly as consistent as that day. It's been a roller coaster to say the least.

Anyway, I think I set a timeline for her to arrive before my in-laws left on their mission to Germany today.  But, she is still inside.  I'm starting to get impatient.  I want to meet her and have her here. I want her to be safe in my arms.  The last couple of weeks had been taking its toll on me emotionally.

My visiting teachers came over last Saturday and helped me scrub my doors and walls.  I wasn't expecting to receive a message from them because it was more of a service visit but one of my teachers shared a scripture:

Proverbs 3:5-6

5) Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding

6) In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.

She told me to remember that Heavenly Father loves me and he will be with me throughout the next couple of weeks as I get ready for her arrival.  It was amazing to hear something that I didn't realize I needed.  I'd like to bear my testimony of the importance of visiting teaching.  Sometimes, it might not seem like you are doing much for those that you serve, but you never know when your words or deeds will lift someone and make them stronger (for example: I will be thinking of this scripture for the next couple of weeks every time I feel scared or discouraged).  I believe that we are each other's angels and we are to help the Lord bless the lives of those who are in need.  When we don't serve our sisters, we not only deprive our sisters of blessings, but we miss out on blessings ourselves.