Howdy Doody!

Hello all!

Alright, so maybe its only one or two people, but I can at least pretend that I've got "groupies".

To start, I'll explain my moniker. Running On Fumes is a play on words that encompasses many aspects of my life:

1) Over the past few years, I have found myself slowly joining the "Running World". What's ironic about that is that my memories of High School include my volleyball coach screaming at me to "pick up the pace!" during our timed miles which naturally made me hate running. However, in college I was introduced to running the correct way (read: slowly) and have loved it ever since. I run local 5k races and am currently flirting with the idea of running a half-marathon next April. Oh boy.

2) I've always been "plus sized". However, when my boyfriend (now husband) asked me to marry him, I decided that I didn't want to be a "fat bride". That started my journey in December 2006 to shed those pounds. My ultimate goal was to lose 50 pounds from my starting weight. At my lowest I had dropped 45 pounds but now am holding steady at 40 - which is thoroughly annoying. I've been looking for a new way to get myself motivated to keep on trucking with my weight loss and since I spend most of my day at a computer, doing a blog seemed to be the most convenient venue. Let's hope I don't procrastinate too much at work in the process as I live in the boonies and we're in the (slow) process of getting Internet but it's still not working. argh.

So, this aspect applies to the "on Fumes" part of my blog title as it seems as though I've been hungry ever since December 2006. Now try running while you're hungry - not fun. Another metaphor.

3) As a result of the fabulous economy that we're in right now, I've spent most of 2009 at reduced hours at work. While I know I'm one of the lucky ones (thankfully my husband was working during that time), I've also been WAY too stressed out about money lately. Ironically, this past summer, a friend of mine (that's you Ashleigh!!) introduced me to Dave Ramsey and his Total Money Makeover. Well let me tell you, this man is a genius! Therefore, our journey to becoming debt-free and living within our means has become our new mantra. I can't wait until the day that we scream 'WE'RE DEBT FREE'. Until then, its a monthly battle trying to balance the budget to make sure everything is paid for without having to take out more debt which is the third hidden meaning behind "Running on Fumes". I'm never borrowing money again!

So, basically I'm going to be using this site to keep myself accountable, at least to an imaginary friend, for my workouts and losing that last 10 stupid, stubborn pounds and also tracking our TMMO journey and successes. I hope somebody at least gets a few laughs along the way or maybe finds something/someone they can relate to.

Hope you'll join me on my journey! Enjoy!!

Lacey