Changing Last Names and Andrew’s Garmin Review!

First, I’ve had a few people ask about the whole name change thing and Brookers.  I haven’t switched over my name legally to Baron yet but that is next on my to-do list.  Changing my name was something that I thought a whole lot about before I ever even met Andrew and I never felt I had an answer.  I decided to just make the decision once that time came around (and if it ever came around… before Andrew I really wasn’t thinking getting married again was going to happen).

Once Andrew and I started talking about marriage I automatically felt like changing my last name was the right thing for us to do in our situation.  I don’t think it will ever be a major problem with Brooke when I think about it logically and remove from the equation my emotional side of —> oh my goodness, WE DON’T HAVE THE SAME LAST NAME.  Brooke adores her dad and will love having that tie to him with her last name.  If anything I think she thinks of it as something special that she just shares with her dad at this point.  Like a part of their special bond or something.  As far as I go, she feels very secure with me because I am pretty much always with her and so having a different last name doesn’t mean a lot because she knows I’m always there.  Andrew treats Brooke like a princess so there are zero feelings of being left out.  I don’t think having a different last name will make her feel any differently.

With all of the many different factors/obstacles that go into blending a family we’ve decided that we just gotta love our kiddos like crazy and be kind.  I’m learning to let go of worrying about things obsessively (thank you Andrew for helping me with this:) and to deal with any problems when they arise rather than not sleeping at night because I’m so stressed over something.  Another factor going into my decision—>  I saw how smoothly things worked for my sister and her family once she switched her name to her husband’s last name and so I wasn’t as fearful doing the same thing.

Anyone in this situation please share your experience because I would love to know what you chose to do, how it worked for your kids, any problems that came up etc!  Each family is different and I love hearing all of the different points of view and seeing what works best for you!

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Okay, let’s get talking about our day yesterday.

Things started with 8 treadmill miles at an 8:10 average pace and then Brooke went over to my Dad’s office to hang out with my parents while I hit up the dentist for a bit.  Remember how I was supposed to get a tooth implant… well, after they looked at it again yesterday they said it still needs to heal up some more and so I’ll get it in a few more months.  Fun stuff.

I’m sure you’ve been on the edge of your seat waiting to hear that.

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After that we went and cleaned out our car (one of the many things that drives me nuts so Brooke sees me vacuum my car quite often).

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We then took the car to get the oil changed and they told me it was going to take 1.5 hours.  Brooke and I then set off on foot.  Well, I set off on foot and Brooke rode on my back.

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We walked clear over to Old Navy and did some school clothes shopping for Knox and Brooke. It’s strange how happy this green jacket makes me… and Brooke too obviously.

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By the time we finished that up lunch was needed badly before the rest of our errands.  We stopped at Aubergine for a salad with apples, chicken, quinoa, grape tomatoes, spinach, avocado and cucumbers with their spicy and sweet dressing.  Plus their cheesy bread.  I think this place is a tad overpriced but it always tastes amazing.

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We then went home and did some bubble playing while Beretta ate and I drank this goodness… Remember last year when I had to drop out of the St. George Marathon because my gut was killing me off.  Not going to happen this year, I’m taking extra precautions.

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This below masterpiece was created by Andrew——>  Turkey burger with a fried egg, grilled zucchini, cheese, avocado and greens.

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We finally have a kitchen table (and baseboards wahoo).

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We made sure to get in some playing with Brooke’s bday presents.

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And I sure loved this little view while watching Home.

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So, this showed up in my inbox… I can’t wait to hang out with 71 strangers on a bus at 4:00 a.m. soon:)   Josse and I are off to get in a workout today—>  she just sent me a text that it will look a little something like 2 mile w/u, 2 x 2 miles fast, 2 mile c/d.  Time to get these legs MOVING.

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Oh and a reader sent me the best idea for Brooke’s Halloween costume this year:)  Talk about perfect.

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A few people have asked Andrew for a review on his Garmin vívoactive (affiliate link) so I’ll let him take the stage:

Hey everyone!  I think Janae has been asking me for a week or two to write a mini-review about my vivoactive because a few people have been asking about it.

First things first I have always loved my garmin watches.  I remember my first forerunner, I think it was the 405 and it was a game changer for me.  I wore it all the time when I ran and I still have it.  My complaint about that one was that it was too bulky and I couldn’t wear it all the time, battery life and mostly it wasn’t water-resistant.

Well…  I changed jobs back in December and a few of my colleagues had the vivoactive and I saw them leaving during lunch and coming back all sweaty, despite the shower they took.  So right off the bat I knew they were runners and I had to ask them if it was worth it and what they liked and didn’t like about it.  Because of that I pulled the trigger and bought a vivoactive.

Let’s hit the things I love about that watch.  I think the watch is sleek and slim.  It is nowhere near the bulky 405 and I wear it all the time.  I hate wearing watches but I wear this one wherever I go.  I even wore it on my wedding day.

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The battery life is awesome and I don’t find myself charging it very often and when I do it charges very fast.  I love how I don’t have to have my phone or anything else for it to have gps and it is very accurate.  It is also considered a smart watch.  I didn’t think that I would really care to have those features but I think it is nice to get notifications on my watch and not have to pull my phone out of my pocket.  Especially for meetings and times when I don’t have a second to pull my phone out, like when I am riding my bike or running.

Things I don’t like.  This version doesn’t have the HR monitor in the wrist (The newer one does, but personally I don’t like the new design of the vivoactive,so I’ll just keep mine)  It can still connect to chest or bicep hr monitors.  Many people comment about the screen’s visibility.  It’s not a super bright screen but I don’t mind it.  One complaint that I have when I am running, I can’t get it to switch back to the time unless I stop and finish my workout. (maybe there is way, I just haven’t found it out)

I think it is a great watch, I found myself liking it more and more.  You can personalize it and sync it with myfitnesspal and other apps.  It was definitely worth the money I spent on it.  I usually have it on unless I take it off and misplace it. :)

Janae back:  I’ve worn his Garmin vívoactive a few times too and second everything Andrew said:)

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On Thursday evening Andrew and I will be streaming via Facebook Live!! I’ll give you all the details on Thursday but we will be having a Q&A while we cook up something delicious w/Blue Apron in our kitchen (and I’m sure Brooke and Knox will be joining in too:)

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What are the things you look for in a running watch that you NEED?  What are some of the cons of any of the watches you have tried over the years?

Last names—>  what are your thoughts on all of this?  What has your situation been?

What is your run today?  Have a speed workout or tempo run this week?  PLEASE SHARE what it is!

What was your dinner last night?

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105 comments

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That turkey burger Andrew made looks SO good, especially with the grilled veggies. I made chicken and veggies last night (and brought the leftovers for lunch today), but I really want that burger.

By the way, I know you’re always looking for good music, and I have a great song you need to hear if you haven’t already: “Comeback Kid” by The Band Perry. Seriously. It’s greatness. :)

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Like you, I found changing my last name the right thing to do. I understand why some people don’t but for me it was the right choice.

I didn’t know a lot about the Vivo until now. I appreciate him sharing!

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2 mile repeats are one of my favorite workouts! Today my run is 8 x 1 minute hill repeats.
Dinner last night was a current favorite: roasted chicken and avocado over spinach and oven baked potato wedges.

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My run today will be involving about an hour of slowish miles while studying for my nursing boards.

I love your dining room set up!! Do you mind sharing where your table & chairs are from? Your house looks lovely :) :) :)

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Hi Sarah! We got the dining room set at RC Willeys. Thanks for reading! Have a great day!

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Quick question- can the vivoactive have intervals prorammed in?

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Hi Cheryl. I hope you day is going well. It has a run/walk feature on it, I don’t know what specific interval training you are looking for but here is a youtube video that demonstrates how to do it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvSqbIUPnGg

Hope this helps! have a great day.

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I just got married but don’t have kids so not sure if my advice matters, but I didn’t change my name. I don’t really see it as a big deal and it’s just a lot of paper work and confusion! If we have kids I’ll just give them his name. No big deal to me :)

I also have the vivoactive and I love it! I want to do a triathlon next year so I needed a watch that worked for all three sports. I have no complaints about it at all!

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I’m in the same place Gretchen. I’m also a teacher so I’m used to using my last name professionally and really didn’t want to give that up. We both have short last names so we’ve considered hyphenating for kids but who knows?! We decided to just leave all that until the time comes as there was so much going on with the wedding.

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Glad to hear I’m not alone! Another reason I didn’t change it is that my husband’s last name is Karrasch…Gretchen Karrasch is just too much German for one name!

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I did not change my last name either. Our first daughter has my husband’s last name and babe #2 will have mine. We will see how *alarmed* that makes people, haha.

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I love seeing all this healthy food on your blog! If you haven’t picked it up already, you need Shalane Flanagan’s new cookbook! I’m obsessed. I’ve been using my iwatch for the past few months and it’s grown on me. Really, I just need mileage and time, I don’t get too fancy with watches. I like my Garmin too but I ALWAYS forget to charge it.
I’m hoping to get in a night run tonight–5 or 6 miles and maybe a little pick-up pregnancy speed work. I really like easy 2 min off 2 min on workouts right now, I feel like my legs are moving but I also don’t feel like I’m pushing it too far.
I LOVE YOUR DINING ROOM CHAIRS! Where are those from?? HOW DO YOU KEEP THEM CLEAN WITH KIDS???????????
If you haven’t already, the Strawberry Acai Kevita is the BEST.

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Hi Mollie! We got the dining room set at RC Willeys. It’s brand new so no cleaning yet but hopefully not too hard. Have a great day!

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I am not divorced/re-married but I did choose to keep my last name and hyphenate with my husbands so our daughter has a slightly different name than mine. Nowadays, with blended families so common, I dont think most people think twice about it. I’m still taking the month off of running after my marathon at the end of July so its been all about the cross training for me. Today will be an hour long barre workout and yesterday was a tough 40 minutes of weights/strength training and a brisk 30 minute walk. Last night’s dinner was a white bean, tomato, bacon and arugula salad. Have a great day!

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So I struggled about changing my last name when I got married too. I liked my maiden name and why should I change my name and not him. We could blend names. That didn’t happen and I did change my name. And it’s fine. (8 years later tho I still look for my mother in law when someone says mrs Tessler)

Not running today. On vacation at myrtle beach. And we were up way too late last night playing with the kiddos. Tomorrow I’m setting an alarm and am running in the beach.

Warning about the bench seating. It seems like such a good idea. I referre full contact meals not because the kids have no defined space. Scotch gaurd those other chairs ASAP

Have a great day!!!

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Per the table: What Mary said. :)

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I really struggled with dropping my maiden name when I got married, too! Like, you, I love my maiden name. After thinking over lots of options, in the end I was traditional enough to take my husband’s last name, but hyphenated my middle name with my maiden name. So it is still a part of me!

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Run today was 8 easy miles! I took the last two days off running because of knee pain … Slightly better but still not 100% yet!

Monday night dinner – Ended up going on a last minute dinner date with my mom at 9pm! Grabbed some chicken noodle soup, bread rolls, and ate part of her spinach and feta flatbread :)

I’m not even close to needing to change my last name but I don’t think I’d ever want to. That said … Do guys get offended if their wife doesn’t want to take their last name?

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Any guy who would get offended that you don’t change your name because you want to keep your name isn’t a man you’d want to marry :)

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Hah very valid point!

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100% true!

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We posted last Friday with pictures about our typical day of eating, so dinner last night was the same. Lots of veggies – fresh and cooked and beans for me and soup for Todd.

We had an easy run today and tempo tomorrow.

I like your new dining room table. We recently sold ours so now we need to get a new one. We have been eating at our bar as of late.

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I think everyone has to do what works for them. That being said, it’s been important for me to have the same last name as my son since my divorce. Will that change if I remarry? I don’t think so but who knows!

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I just recently purchased the TomTom Cardio Spark +Music, and am in love with it! I wear it constantly since it tracks steps through the day as well. I wanted a watch that tracked all my activities, and the music is an additional perk that is amazing! The wireless earbuds you can order with it are the best ones I have had yet!

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I have the Garmin Forerunner 10, and i love its simplicity and small size. It tells me the distance, time, and pace, which is about all I need in a running watch:)

6 miles total, with 4 at tempo are on my schedule today!

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While I haven’t gone through this, two of my GF’s who have each gone through divorces said it was important for them to have part of the same last name as their children, so they each hyphenated their last names with that of their new husband’s last name. I think that is pretty cool and gives them and the child that name-link in common.

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I agree with this advice. I personally would want to keep the same last name as my kids if I got divorced and remarried, or at the very least hyphenate it. My husband is 36 years old and his parents got divorced when he was a year old. His mother kept (and still has) his father’s last name. She remarried once and still kept her son’s last name. Still to this day I think my husband appreciates that and it has made his life much easier since he hasn’t had to explain why his mom has a different last name (think school, emergencies, legal documents, invitations, etc). He is her only child and it was important to her to keep that link to her son. We have young kids and I think it gives them comfort and a better understanding to know that “grammy” has the same last name as daddy. So what might be the best solution today, may not be the best solution for the distant future. Just something to think about. I know you’ve thought about this a lot, but hearing other people’s stories may help with you decision.

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I love Kevita! My facvorite is the Lemon Ginger. Great stuff!

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Andrew, on the vivoactive you can have time of day when you run. Click on the blue run guy then the 3 lines on the right side of the watch, you will see “back to start” swipe the screen and it will say ” data screen”. Tap there and you can add time of day to the screen when you run. When it’s in run mode, there are 6 different types of data you can have. You have 3 shown when you run, swipe down and there’s 3 more. Hope this helps. I love my vivo active for my triathlon training!!

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Diane!! Thank you so much. That is going to help me so much!

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I have the Vivoactive and I set up the time to show as one the fields. Not knowing the time was driving me crazy! I set mine as the third field on screen 2.

The only downside to the Vivo- I haven’t figured out how to set intervals on it the way I can on my Forerunner 305.

Today’s run was 3 very easy miles in 1000% humidity.

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Ha. Well that’s just a lot of humidity right there. Glad you survived. :)

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Things I need in a watch: super bright light since I run in the dark often and water proof. I wish that the Apple Watch were waterproof and had a better battery life, until then I will use that and my Garmin 220 on my other wrist while I run. I really like the 220, but I also like the function of a smart watch bc I don’t use my phone while teaching.

My run this morning was on the treadmill. I get bored easy so it’s 2 min fast then 3 min recovery until I hit my mileage :)

Dinner was pulled chicken burritos/tostadas and quinoa rice. Yummo! I usually make extra crock pot meat on Mondays to reuse during the week. This week it’ll be used again for nachos and taco salads! Ah, the joy of teaching and coaching season!

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I did not take my husband’s name when we were married – I have a very unique last name and wanted to keep it. Many of my cousins have done the same. Max has his Dad’s last name. Since we live in Ottawa/next to Quebec – it is very common for couples to have different last names as it is actually quite hard to change your last name.

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Same here! My mom kept her name (Franco ontarien) and I have my dad’s last name. I never thought this was weird at all. I’ll also be doing the same thing with my own family (keeping my name and the kids will have their dad’s)- my fiance is cool with it!

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Thanks for answering my question about last names, Janae! I’m probably silly to worry about such things, but I think in general I feel guilty for not being able to make things work with my kids’ dad. (Which, quite frankly, is also ridiculous considering everything.) I just don’t want to screw up my kids or scar them for life, you know? As a single parent, you’ve been an inspiration to me, so I appreciate hearing your opinions.

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Last night I went out for dinner with my dad. We ended up at a pub. He got a tex mex burger and I ordered pasta with veggies and sausage in it. Both meals were delicious.

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I love how you are with both kiddos! Love is all that matters! :)

My mom kept her last name (which in the late 70s was taboo – I like to think she was ahead of the game). My parents are still married. It never affected me or my brother growing up. All that mattered was that we were loved and taken care of. I just recently got married and have decided to also keep my last name. I plan on keeping it if we ever have kids and give our kids his last name (but also incorporate my side of the family names into their middle names). I can understand why people want to change it and have the same last name as their kids and I respect that, but I also don’t see what the big deal is keeping your last name. :)

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Your supper last night looked AMAZING!! I had an egg + avocado wrap which is a fav of mine!

I bought the bf a Vivoactive last Christmas and he is OBSESSED with it! I’ve worn it a few times and highly recommend!

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I still don’t own a running watch. I basically do all my running measures with my Nike+ App. But I’m on the looks to get a new one soon. What I want is something sleek, lightweight and that can give me all the numbers my Nike+ app gives me. I guess I’ll make the decision whenever I am ready to purchase it.

I’m planning on doing a speed run today. Let’s see how it goes!

I had fish and avocado salad for dinner last night. So yummy!

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I have the Garmin 235 w/ the built-in HR and I love it! I have a hill repeat workout to do this evening (eek) and a brisk pace run Thursday (a little bit slower than marathon pace).

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It really is a personal decision so I’m just giving you my experience and not judging either way! :) My mom has a double-barrelled surname (her maiden name and my dad’s surname) and after my parents got divorced she kept that name because it was important to her as a way of showing that we were still all one family. And to be honest I’d (maybe irrationally so since I was already basically an adult) have felt “betrayed” had she dropped my dad’s name. It’s important to me that we have the same surname (or part of it at least!) But that’s just my personal opinion/experience. Fun fact: When my younger brother was in elementary school my mom was surprised to see he wrote his first name followed by my mom’s double-barrelled surname (me and my brothers only have my dad’s surname). When she asked him why he wrote that he said he thought that was his name. :D He just assumed he had the exact same surname as my mom.

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That’s awesome. :)

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I also have the Vicoactive and love it, so lightweight and slim. Andrew’s turkey burger concoction looks amazing! Today was an easy 7-miler, but yesterday was my coach’s killer speed workout…warmup mile, 15-min at 7:10, 5-min recovery, 10-min at 6:50, 5-min recovery, 5 minutes as fast as you can, cool down mile. Uffda! I can’t believe how quick St. George is coming up, hoping for my BQ there!

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Someone might have mentioned this in the comments already, but you can set the “Time of Day” as a data field in the Vivoactive! I have the same watch and I have that set on one screen so that I can keep an eye on the time during my morning runs. You can also download custom fields from the Connect IQ store, so I have “cookies earned” as a data field too :)

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Regarding last names: I don’t have any kids, so that makes my situation somewhat simpler to navigate, but I am divorced (I got married at 23, separated at 24, divorced at 25) and now remarried. With my first marriage, I had a really hard time with changing my name. I was really emotional about it and didn’t want to change it at all. My now-ex said that he wouldn’t marry me if I didn’t change it, which was just one of the signs of how controlling he would be once we were married. I changed it to keep the peace but never felt like myself. With my new husband, I wanted to change my name. I wanted to forge a new family with him and have the same name. It caught him off guard – he didn’t expect me to change my name – but it was the right choice for us and I’m so grateful that I did. It has been a little bit strange at work, but definitely worth it, and I’m glad for us that we and any future kids will all have the same last name. Just my two cents.

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My mother-in-law changed her last name when she got remarried. Her kids were older but since my husband was still in high school at the time, she wanted some association with him so she made her previous-married last name her middle name and took her new husband’s last name. For example, you would be Janae Jacobs Baron. That way you’d still match Brooke with your middle name. BUT I can totally understand if you wouldn’t want any association with your ex-husband.

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I was just getting ready to say this but mine is a little different.

One marriage, still married. But when I had my son in Germany (military) I had to get him a passport. I needed two pieces of ID that matched. MT made you have your middle name be on your drivers licence (legal name please) So my name was first-middle-last. But my passport said first-maiden-last. I had to legally change it to one or the other so I could get my son a passport. I love my maiden name so I changed it to that. Now my legal name is first-maiden-last. No hyphen. My sister used our maiden name as her kids middle names. It’s a good name. We like the connection.

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I also have a Vivoactive and LOVE it! If you don’t want to change the data fields you can see the current time by pressing on the screen while it is in the activity mode and it will go back to the home screen and you can scroll through to the other screens. After 30 seconds or so it will go back to the activity screen.

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I think the whole name change this is a very personal decision and I know people (ok, women) who don’t ever wanna give up their name. I did change my name when I got married, because a) I had a very common maiden namen and traded for a unique married name and b) I do the thought of sharing the same name with my husband. But I can also see a scenario where I maybe would have kept my maiden name. It all depends. I think it’s great that you’re taking Andrew’s name and don’t think it will be a problem that Brooke has a different last name.

I just invested into a Garmin Forerunner 235 and I can’t wait to get it and try it out :)

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Thank you, thank you, thank you; this review came at the perfect time! I’ve had a Garmin Forerunner 205 for years; I call it my dinosaur watch. I told my husband I want a new watch for my birthday (in September) and have been doing a lot of reading on all the different watches. I was pretty much settled on the Garmin Vivoactive, but there’s always that little bit of doubt with a larger purchase that you know you’re going to be using for a while. But, reading this post made me feel that much more confident in my decision. Thanks again!

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I got married last September and I have yet to change my name. I always thought I would, but a part of me just doesn’t want to let go of my last name. I will probably end up changing it before we have children, but we will see. Off for a treadmill run. Have a great day!

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I really struggled with this- I love my maiden name and my daughter has my maiden name and her dad’s last name hyphenated as her last name. So when I got remarried, I knew I wanted to keep my maiden name, but I also really wanted my husband’s last name. So, like another commenter, I moved my maiden name to my middle name. I usually sign just my middle name for anything to do with my daughter’s school so it matches. I am in a doctoral program and always use all of my names for that. I sometimes feel it is a little pretentious, but I went 32 years with my maiden name, and it is a big part of who I am- I didn’t want to lose that.

I enjoy reading your journey, Janae, because for many years I have been able to relate to your situation (except for the super fast marathon times ;). I was a single mom with a little girl and would end up in tears after reading your posts because I could REALLY understand your feelings, emotions, etc. I know that blending a family is hard work- but I’m so glad to see your happiness. :)

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My run today: 1.3ish miles…so small, but at 39 weeks pregnant, I don’t feel too bad about that distance. ;) I am just happy I can keep running.

Dinner last night? Quinoa zuchinni pizza casserole! Mm..so good :)

Love love love your dining room set- so gorgeous!

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Is the vivoactive waterproof? I currently have the Fit Bit Surge and wish it was waterproof. Also, there have been multiple articles about how the HR monitor on the surges are not accurate which is why I’m looking for a new watch!

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It’s waterproof! And not like splash proof. It’s also meant for tracking swimming so it can be totally submerged. Love it!

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I’ve often wondered if I ever got married if I would change my last name at all. It is so much work and costly to change it, I don’t really see a huge value in doing it and then of a divorce were to happen you’re left with a last name as a constant reminder.

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Is the vivoactive good for switching between outdoor runs and treadmill runs? I’m just starting to get serious about running a half marathon and haven’t found the perfect tracker yet! I need something that stores all my workout data, not an app for outdoor runs and something else for treadmill days when it’s 115 degrees and a million% humidity because this is FL! Today was 3 easy miles on the treadmill to work on my form :)

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I have found that the indoor tracker works pretty good. It may be a few steps behind but gets the job done. The biggest difference in distance between what the watch and the treadmill display for me was .1 mi. I learned that using proper form will give me the best results (I’m a terrible huncher and eventually my workout distance show it when I don’t swing my arms as I should)

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Oh my goodness, the Garmin vivoactive watch is AMAZING!!! I have a Forerunner that I used for the past year, but once I got into biking, I needed a multisport watch. I found this one and put it on my to-buy list immediately, then next week came, and next month..so finally my little sister got for my B-Day two months ago and I have not taken it off!! I have to echo Andrew’s disappointment that I’m unable to toggle between my run feature and the time…which reminds to Google this…

One hour later: I have the answer!! This is how Andrew can see the time during a run, bike, etc. The time is one of the data fields that you can customize and set. I believe you have to do it separately for each workout feature.

1. turn on the ‘run’ app
2. bottom right, select the settings tab
3. select data screens and tap edit screen.
4. it will pop up with the data fields of the run feature (distance, lap distance, lap time, etc.) that you typically see on the run.
5. tap on any of the fields and it will take you to the different data fields available.
6. swipe all the way to ‘other fields’
7. swipe until you find ‘time of day’ and tap on it.
8. that will automatically select it and show up on the screen.
9. then you just hit the back button over and over until you are out of the feature!

VIOLA!!

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I am divorced but never changed my name back from my married name. I now regret not changing it back and will probably end up going to my maiden name shortly. Ha. If the day comes that I get married again I do plan on changing it to whatever my husband’s name is. I am old fashioned and enjoy matching. Lol.

I have a Garmin Forerunner 620 and love it. 6 miles is on schedule today with 4 at tempo.

Happy running!

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My new dinner obsession is black beans, spinach, brown rice and a fried egg on top. I really like seeing all the stuff you eat! Haha!! Is that weird? I love seeing other people’s food.

I did a speed workout yesterday – Yasso 800s never get old. I really like them because it is easy to finish the workout on a round mile number (8 miles instead of 7.5 or 7.75 ect).

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As someone who grew up not remembering my parents ever being married, I wanted to throw in my two cents for what it’s worth. My parents divorced when I was so young that I seriously have no memory; my mom told me I was about 4 when it was all said and done and you know what, I LOVED my childhood! Seeing my dad every other weekend (and other siblings) was just what I did and to me, that was normal all my life. It was awesome; like I always had special time with my mom AND my dad (and step-parents & siblings). When my mom re-married, she took my step-dad’s last name and I remained with my last name being the same as my dad’s and it was never weird at all. Like you said, in a way it gives a connection to the dad, whom often the child does not see as much as they see mom. That is how I felt; it was like I was still closely connected to my dad and to me, it would have been more strange if my mom had not taken my step-dad’s last name! Anyway, when I got married three years ago it was actually hard to give up my maiden name because I always felt it was so special to me for those reasons stated above…sooo I kept it as my middle name. :) All of that to say, I never once felt disconnected from my mom or like I wasn’t a part of the new family she created. I hope that helps some! :)

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We don’t have kids, but when my husband and I got married we made up a new last name for ourselves. We wanted to have the same last name, but I didn’t want to take his and he didn’t want to take mine (and hyphenation was a non-starter because of all those syllables!). Highly recommend this approach to anyone if it works for you!

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My cousin did the same thing! They combined their last names into one and now their adopted kids have it too.

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Hi Janae, hope you’re doing well. I’ll chime in with the name change. When I got divorced my daughter was 6 (she’s now 20!!), I actually immediately changed my name back to my maiden name. I had a horrible divorce and didn’t want any tie to this man, so getting rid of his name was a no-brainer for me. My daughter obviously kept his name and I never had any issues with it. When I later got remarried, I thought about keeping my maiden name mostly cause it’s such a hassle having to change everything!! In the end I did change AGAIN to my now husbands name. I think it’s such a personal decision, you gotta just do what feels right for you. I honestly have never met a kid that felt weird if their parent had a different last name.

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I’m glad you commented on last names because I was wondering this myself.

Here’s my story. When I got pregnant, I knew I probably wouldn’t end up marrying my son’s dad. I was very stubborn about the fact that I didn’t want my son to have a different last name than me, but his dad was very set on our son taking his last name. I ended up hyphenating it, which did not make his dad happy with me at all. Now, my son is turning four and I kind of regret hyphenating, since it’s still not the same as my last name, and it especially won’t be if I get married someday. I thought about just changing it and dropping my last name but I’m not sure if I should or not. I think I will leave it and let him make the choice for himself when he’s old enough.

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Love your honest take on the last name dilemma. I think that the choice that is right for you is always the best choice!

My workout today was 16 km with 6 x 1 KM repeats. I slept 10 hours last night so it felt AMAZING.

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Andrew – when your phone us in GPS mode, hold your finger on the screen and it will change to watch mode. Then you can access music controls also by swiping sideways. You return to your GPS screen using your back button.

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THANK YOU!! So glad to know this!

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I just got remarried in March and am going through the name change process – with everything you have / own when you are in your 40s, this is not an overnight experience. My daughter is 14, so old enough to understand and not as much a hassle anymore if we don’t have the same last name. If I had still had my maiden name, I probably wouldn’t have changed it at this stage in my life, but keeping my ex-husbands last name didn’t feel respectful to my new husband. But that’s just me – I totally understand why some ladies don’t.

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My brother’s ex took our very-uncommon family name when they got married. She left him for another man and in a nasty divorce that left my brother heart-broken and angry. When she remarried, she kept our family name for the kids, I assume. It actually comes up from time to time when people meet my brother and assume that he’s her husband all these years later. It’s a very personal decision for a woman, but the feelings of an ex are often disregarded. I know my parents aren’t thrilled with the idea of her still being associated with our family.

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I changed by name… and actually got a “fix it ticket” to get it changed on my license! I had changed my name through social security, but hadn’t gotten a new drivers licence yet and got pulled over for something silly. The patrolman couldn’t find a SS # to match my license, so he gave me a fix it ticket to get it changed as soon as possible! Oops!

I am in the market for my very first running watch! There are too many choices, so it’s overwhelming!

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Oh my, that burger! Perfection!

And thanks for the Vivofit review. My forerunner 305 is on it’s last legs so I’ve been debating my next watch. I have small wrists, and it looks like the Vivofit gets good reviews there.

Dinners lately have all included some form of tomatoes – caprese salads, tabouleh, sliced heirlooms with a sprinkle of salt. I’m obsessed! Summer, please don’t end!

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Last names changes are personal preference. I had a pretty generic last name, Brown. But I had lots of friends that either called me KB, KathyBrown, or DTKB, and my new last name, which sounds exactly the way it’s spelled, is more complicated. However, I wanted to be a team and Brown really wasn’t a unique family name, so I just dropped it.
Personal opinion, but I think that it’s good that you changed your last name. Brooke will always know that you are her mom and when you guys have kids in the future, then you will share a name with them.
I actually have a friend who recently got married and HE changed his last name to her name… Even though all his friends call him by his last name, Fockler, he isn’t a big fan of it… especially since he’s a high school teacher.

I have the garmin 220 and now wish i would’ve gotten the 225. My husband wants the vivo, but he’s on the fence about getting the new one with the heart rate monitor or the older version. With the exception of the HRM feature, are there any other differences?

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As a guy (perhaps one of the only one’s who comments here frequently) my wife decided to hyphenate her name when we first got married. I think that lasted less than a year before she dropped her maiden name. Our last names were just so different they didn’t roll together well. Never bothered me in the slightest, either way. I do recall it was a bit of a pain to change her name after the fact.

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That’s got to be tricky deciding on name change, and very personal to each family! I remember being SO confused growing up because one of my friend’s moms had a different last name than my friend and her dad, but they WERE still married. She was my first example of a woman who didn’t change her name when she got married and I just didn’t get that as a kid! Haha I think it took so long to wrap my head around it because no one explained it to me!

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I have the Garmin Forerunner (it’s my first and only one so far) and I absolutely love it. Even the size ‘small’ is a bit bulky, but I love it so much, I deal with it ok. My fitness group all has one, we are all synced up with myfitness pal and it works great for all of us. I’m a beginner runner, so my goal for this mornings run, was just simply not to die. I didn’t, so I’ll try again tomorrow. As a beginner, I love the Run/Walk feature on the watch too. We’ve been through the divorce/remarriage thing too. Mine went ok and respectful, my husband’s was not respectful, lot’s of fighting and nasty words exchanged between him and his ex. The child always suffered. Always. So regardless of what anyone’s last name is, it means nothing when it’s all so hateful. All adults getting along, showing each other respect (even if it’s forced) in front of the kids, and loving those kiddos from every angle is the most important. Feeling the love is more important than a last name. Things can get so ugly, and words can do so much damage to kids when it’s said about their Mom or Dad. Love, love and more love. Lotsa hugs. My daughter refers to me as Danny from Full House because of all the hugs. :-) Best of luck to your wonderful new family.

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When I got married I knew I wasn’t going to change my last name. My hubs didn’t mind one bit. Then I got pregnant and thought I would but it was complicated b/c there was an order of where to go first and having all the right documents. After several hours at the SS office and getting nowhere I blew it off. My 3yo and I were just talking about last names on the drive home last night. She practically burst into tears when I told her my last name was different from hers. #parentfail. She’s just a mamma’s girl and just wants to match me. Maybe one day when I’m brave and have the time and patience I’ll hit the SS office and DMV again. HA!

I just got the Garmin Fenix 3 not too long ago and love it! I love that I can view 4 fields on a screen again, tracks steps (no more fitbit!) and that it’s waterproof! It has the option of tracking a load of different activities and gives you phone notifications. The only thing I wished it had was the built in HRM. I chose the white band with rose gold and unfortunately for the same price as the ones with HRM this one does not. #vanity

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Now that I’m divorced I really want to change my name back to my “real” name. It seems complicated though plus I work in a school and change is hard for people but it’s my plan,

When I saw that pic of the marathon count down I had to go the bathroom for you! Yikes! 40 days!! So exciting.
Dinner last night was steamed sweet potatoe, zucchini, sliced avocado, sautéed kale on top of lettuce.
I barely wear a watch-mostly just to check what time it is ;) now that cross country has started I use it more to time the kids……

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I have had the garmin forerunner 210 forever! Its the only watch I’ve ever had or really even used. It does everything I need and when I got it it was small relative to the others available (over 4 years ago :) ) But, I do think when I move back to the United States and get a job I’ll consider buying a nicer watch that I can wear all-day and tracks steps, etc.

I have never been married, but I don’t imagine I would ever change my name. I like my name and its part of my identity. I also think it depends on your career though, because I’m a scientist in research so when you search my name you’ll find all my publications and with a name change that would get messed up. I totally respect that people like the tradition of sharing the same last name, but to ME it feels like a woman changing to the man’s paternal name is a preserving remnants from a time when father’s basically sold their daughters to men and women had very few rights. I think hyphenating is a good compromise, or making up a new name together.

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I still wear the Garmin 220 and I love it. I can’t really justify replacing it yet, but my next one will probably be the 235 with the HR monitor.
I just finished 10 x 800s this AM after attempting to talk myself out of it like 5 times while laying in bed this AM. Turns out it wasn’t that bad. Speedwork is such a necessary evil!
The name change game is crazy. I was married before and changed my name, then got divorced and, it took me awhile, but I finally changed it back to my maiden name. I did not think I would ever get remarried and therefore would never have to change my name again, but it turned out that I did ? only a few years later. This time around I hyphenated ny name and his. I will admit, the hyphen is a bit of a pain, but I like having both!
Btw, thank you for mentioning a few posts back about being so tired! I always, always, forget how draining marathon training is and I always think something is wrong with me! ALL I want to do is SLEEP! I can’t wait for taper (and I am certain that will last for about 2 days ;) )

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I actually came to the vivoactive through asking for recommendations through my own blog, and have come to also love it. I love its versatility. With the right band, it looks like a normal watch, so I can wear it all the time. Love it!

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My parents divorced when I was young, so I never shared a last name with my mom growing up. You know what’s funny? I never really even thought about it until reading your post. My mom was always my mom and it didn’t matter what our last names were. I love both my parents and I’m grown and married now, so I actually don’t share a last name with either of them. I always knew both my parents loved me and we were (are) connected, whether we shared a last name or not. :) I don’t think changing your name will negatively impact Brooke at all!

And I did 5 miles on the treadmill today at an 8:15 pace. I’m trying to convince my husband to sign up for a half marathon with me in November because I’m itching for some long runs during the fall months! :)

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I kicked off marathon training this week and today was my first set of intervals. 6x400m with 200m rests. Unfortunately I forgot how to set up intervals on my Suunto Ambit2 and it was still on 800 repeats. I improvised and put in manual laps as I went. My goal was 2:00 per 400 and I ended up between 2:01 and 2:15 with 7 repeats instead of 6 because I lost track. Considering I have done zero speed work since last November I was pretty happy with it. Now to just need figure out how to get it set up correctly on my watch for next week.

Dinner last night was my homemade spaghetti. It’s always a hit!

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It’s so good to hear other womens’ thoughts on name changing after marriage! I don’t have any kids, but I got married in June and still don’t know whether I want to keep my maiden name or not. Also, glad to hear I’m not the only one who waited until after the wedding to make the change official!

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Back in 1969, when my parents divorced, my mother immediately remarried and it was a BIG deal not to have the same last name as my mother. However, today it isn’t as important. Schools are prepared for families to have different names. They don’t look at you like you are a leper. Don’t stress over these small things. Everything will be okay.

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My parents divorced when I was two years old, and few years later, when I was in third grade, my mom decided to change her name back to her maiden name. I don’t remember much of how she explained it to me (it was 30 or so years ago!), but it basically boiled down to the fact that she wasn’t married to my dad anymore, so it was odd to have the same last name as him. This made sense to me. Even though it meant she didn’t have the same last name as me, I knew she loved me like crazy, so it didn’t really bother me. Like at all. Her name was her name. I guess I considered her last name just an extension of her first name. We don’t have the same first names, and that is fine, so why would having different last names be a problem?

That is just my experience and my perspective.

You should do what is best for you, and it may be the same as what others do, and it may not. That is absolutely okay. :)

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We had Hawaiian haystacks for dinner last night. We will be having a lot of quick easy dinners until we adjust to new schedules. Not anything too exciting though.

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Okay. So now I need Brooke’s jacket AND the dress she was wearing today in her IG post. Dressing kids is so fun….until they start dressing themselves :( That day happened waaaaay early for Annabelle so I am soaking it up with Felicity all that I can.

I agree about Aubergine. Ross hasn’t been and needs to check it off on his ‘tour of Lehi excel spreadsheet’ (seriously) and wants to go. AND he wants me to go with him. I’m like, there goes $40 on lunch.

I haven’t read through all the comments about people giving you last name advice. All that matters is whatever you feel is best for your family. I can see that everyone else has done different things and they are either happy with their mom keeping her name or not or mad about it, which goes to show, there is definitely not a ‘right’ way or a one thing fits for everyone type of situation.

It has been 12 years and I still respond if people yell out just my maiden last name (what most people called me in high school and college.,…once again, because there are a billion Megans). I have a few people that call me solely by my married last name and it throws me off every.time. Still. I have no idea why.

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I was excited to change my name when I got married the first time, and was surprised at how difficult it was. I never identified with it, and even though there were reasons it was a “better” name (easier to spell, but still fairly uncommon) than my maiden name, I didn’t take to it. I changed it officially back to my maiden name before we even separated, and immediately felt better.

I’m now remarried to a wonderful man who has an AWESOME last name that I love so much (I mean, I love him, too :) ). I was tempted to change my name again just to have this cool last name, and to match, but I still haven’t. We are definitely giving any future kids his name because it’s so much better than mine, but I think I will wait to make my final decision. I’m definitely keeping my maiden name professionally, though.

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In my country, El Salvador ( and in many other hispanic countries) we use both parents’ last names, (primer apellido and segundo apellido or surnames) especially with legal documents or in formal settings, diplomas, school, wedding invitations… Dad’s surname goes first and mom’s surname goes second. When getting married, the husband’s name stays the same and the wife usually uses her first surname and the second surname changes to that of her husband’s. Between the two surnames, women usually use ‘de’ to indicate that the second surname is her husband’s and that she is married. For example:
Dad: Perez García
Mom: López de Perez
Kids: Perez López
Kids do not have the exact apellidos as their parents but their own combination.

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I have the same watch and I had the same complaint about not being able to see time mid run. You can actually configure it. After playing with it some I figured out how to add the time to one of the display screens.

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I changed my name with my first marriage (reluctantly), and then when I got divorced I never changed it back. I had gone to medical school in the interim and it just seemed too overwhelming to try and change my diplomas, medical license etc. Plus I had a son (who has my ex’s last name). THEN I got re-married…but i STILL didn’t want to change my last name, for the same reasons as before. Luckily for me, my current husband doesn’t make an issue out of the name thing. Despite the fact that I am technically using my ex- husband’s name, not my maiden name. I got married so young the first time and was married for 11 years to my first husband so his name feels as much like my name now as my maiden name did. I do use my current husband’s name socially.

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When my mom remarried she took my step-father’s name, my brother and I kept our dad’s name. We all knew who we were and where we belonged. I don’t remember any issues.

Dinner was roasted clams, mako shark, roasted corn, cauliflower and zucchini.

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HUGE thank you about the garmin! I found your blog through a friend and I’ve read it for a while but have never been very into running. Now I love it and I realllyyyyy want a gps watch that also is a fitness tracker (but I’m nervous about making the purchase)! Very happy to read the review! Thank you!!!

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that jacket makes me happy too-i just bought an army jacket and i’m in love with it!!

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My daughter was 2 when I married my husband. He loves to travel! In 4 years we’ve visited 15 different countries. Anyways, international travel became SOOO difficult with my daughter having a different last name. Sometimes I was questioned about who she was and belonged to like I was trying to smuggle a child across international boarders….hahaha! It’s actually only funny now. I had to start carrying my old passport, marriage license and her birth certificate everywhere. I hated it. I finally just submitted the paperwork and did a legal name change that took all of 2 minutes and $20. Best decision ever.

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Firstly, welcome Andrew!! I have been following Janae from Australia for over 3 years and just love how great you are together. After a divorce myself then meetin my absolute best friend I can relate to the great adventure and journey you’re enjoying together.
I struggled with the name change thing….. Before I met my husband then I just wanted to change it. That was even after changing it from my first husband, then back to my maiden name and now my new married name which I know I will have forever!

I’m a huge Garmin fan even though my husband loves Sunto’s but he’s more into rowing than my running.

Loved seeing Australia on your bucket list and would love even more to show you guys some amazing places and trail runs.

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I have never found a watch that makes me want to wear a watch. Normally if I’m running outside, my running partner will keep track.

Last names – I actually was a little sad about changing mine after we got married, just because I’m the only girl in my family and it felt like disconnecting to have a different name than my dad and brother.

Run today -I’m hoping to work on speed on the treadmill, but I’m sleepy so we’ll see what happens.

I had a chicken spinach salad from Blimpie. I get them to mix lettuce with the spinach because I like crunch, then there’s grilled chicken, bacon, craisins, and feta cheese on it. Simple and yummy.

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Happy Wednesday (reading this a day late)!

First, I have the Vivoactive and love it! It never comes off my wrist. Literally. I was trying on wedding dresses and my bridesmaids made me take it off because they said it was throwing off the entire look.

As for last names, I actually come from a different perspective. I don’t have the same last name as my mom or my little sister, but it doesn’t make me feel left our or any less part of the family. It is just a name and eventually, if you choose, it will change. I don’t think Brooke will mind one bit. As long as you and Andrew both show her and Knox that you love them both.

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I’ve loved reading your blog for years and it’s cool to see Andrew being so active on it. i also really love my Vivoactive! I’m not sure if somebody on here had already commented on it (I’m too lazy to read them all…) but while you’re on a run or bike or swim or whatever, you can tap right in the middle of the screen and hold it for a second, and it will flash to the time of day for a minute before flashing back to the run screen. This way you don’t have to change any of your data fields on your run screen!

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Just catching up on your past couple posts and saw what Andrew said about the time of day on his vivoactive. Someone may have commented–I didn’t have time to read all 100+ comments today, but you can make the time of day be one of your displays when you run. There are 2 pages of displays–I use pace, distance, activity time, lap pace, calories and time of day. check it out! :)

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My mother remarried and changed her name, leaving me as the only person in our family of 4 with a different last name. To be honest, I didn’t like it. I often felt excluded. It made it hard when we traveled. When people sent Christmas Cards and greeting cards to “The X Family”, I felt like I wasn’t included. It continued to be difficult when I was a teenager and couldn’t use anything with my mom’s name on it because it didn’t match – from debit cards, to discount cards, to membership cards, etc.

If you’re going to change your name, consider hyphenating so that Brooke will still have some official connecting from a legal name standpoint. And good luck with the process regardless – I recently got married and changed my name and it takes a while!

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My mother did not change her last name when she married my father. My siblings and I have his last name, and it never mattered and I never gave it a second thought growing up.His name is his name, her name is her name, my name is my name, etc. They are “mom” and “dad” anyway. I only noticed it as perhaps not traditional when I became an adult and heard comments such as “Won’t the child get confused?” Which surprised me. Growing up, I was well aware the two adults raising me were my parents.

When I get married, I can see myself taking either route (I’ll probably take his, but honestly, it would depend on how well his last name works with my first…) Regardless, and I can only speak from personal experience, children don’t care.

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