Niki's Neverending Adventure

So I was supposed to work today BUT I got cancelled! Yay!! Not enough patients= less nurses and it was my turn! So that was an awesome phone call to get this morning even if it was at 5am:) So now I am off for 4 days!!

I slept in until about 8:30 then got up and decided to go for a quick run. I only did 2 miles because I am planning to do a long run again tomorrow so I didn't want my legs to be sore. However, I am obviously getting bored with 2 miles because I decided to go really fast!! My first mile split was 9:48 min/mile and my 2nd one was 8:31min/mile! I was running hard on mile 2! It felt GREAT when I got home. Wish I could run the whole time at 8:31 min/mile pace! Someday...:)

After I got home from my run I did some ab work and took Sadie for a walk. Then mowed my front yard. Got a little color on my shoulders too!!

Italian Fest was SOOO fun Friday night! I took some fun pics and left my camera in my friend's purse:( Hopefully I will get is back soon! I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Posted in: on Sunday, May 31, 2009 at at 3:17 PM 7 comments    

My run went awesome!! Although it was HOT AND SUNNY!! We ended up doing 5 miles with a 10:57min/mile pace! Her pace is not to shabby!! I felt sore afterwards but a good sore. We went and got Panera for lunch after the run.

Tonight I am going with Katie to Italian Fest!! I have never been before but my brother always goes and has the best time! I can't wait!!

Posted in: on Friday, May 29, 2009 at at 4:17 PM 2 comments    

Had a VERY busy day at work!! Something about me being in charge means admitting a gazillion patients! Ahhh! Anyway, I am super excited about today!! Well mostly just my long run with my friend Katie!! She is a newer runner and has only ever done 4 miles. I had planned on doing 5 today so when she asked me to run with her I told her sure and we are gonna try to do 5 today! Ha! I think she's a little nervous about it but I reassured her that she will set that pace! I think she's a little slower then me but that's fine with me seeing as I haven't ran 5 miles in forever!! It's so fun running with friends!! I think we are planning to do lunch after too which is awesome:)

On Susan's blog, I read about the One Hundred Push Up Challenge!! Sounds fun to me because I know I can only do maybe 10 push ups! How fun to be able to eventually do 100?!? Think I will start this Monday seeing as I am still incredibly sore from doing that Jillian workout on Wednesday!! So ya'll check out the Push Up Challenge and if anyone wants to join me let me know!! Also, if ya'll don't read Susan's blog check it out! She is an awesome runner and just qualified for Boston in her last marathon!! Plus she's a fellow nurse:)

I also want to send a SHOUT OUT to all the people running San Diego this weekend!! Good luck to Bobbi, Meghann, Danika, Jocelyn, and all the other runners!! Ya'll are gonna do awesome and can't wait to read your race reports!!

Hope everyone has a FABULOUS FRIDAY and I will be back later to let ya'll know how my 5 miler went!!

Posted in: on at at 9:21 AM 5 comments    

After I took Sadie for a walk and tried a little to run, which hurt too bad to even think about continuing on, I decided to try out the exercise TV programs that I've heard about. I am completely in awe how awesome this on demand Exercise TV thing is! It is free and has all kind of cool workouts including THE SHRED, for free!! Wohoo! Especially since I cancelled my Netflix last week and had to send my copy of The Shred back! Anyway, I decided to try Jillians No More Trouble Zones. It's a 60 min workout and is even harder than The Shred! I only made it halfway through! Haha, I was dying!! I tried to run again and my ankle was feeling much better but my legs were so weak and jello-y feeling that I could barely keep one foot in front of the other! Note to self: Do not attempt to run AFTER doing a Jillian video!! So I took Sadie for another walk and decided to walk on my treadmill while I did some reading for school. I walked 40 mins at 3.0mph alternating between 2.0-6.o incline. I did it again later in the evening and did the same for 20 mins. So all in all I feel really good about all the exercise I got in today even if I wasn't able to get a run in. I am planning to get up at 4am and run before work tomorrow!!

Posted in: on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at at 7:51 PM 6 comments    

So we won our soccer game again last night, 1-0!! Yes!! So this means next Tuesday we are in the finals of the tournament! I love soccer!! I hurt my ankle a bit last night, probably just strained. But I woke up this morning and it was so stiff and sore. I iced it and it feels better after I start walking. This sucks because I wanted to get a run in today but not sure if I will get to now. I am planning on trying to take Sadie for a walk in a bit and see how that feels and if it's ok may attempt a run. What do ya'll think?? I don't want to strain it even more! I know I SHOULD probably rest it but I feel like I need to get a run in. Ahh, I hate trying to rest! And this is NOT the ankle I injured this past winter, it's the other one. Go figure. I should probably start wearing braces on both ankles when I play!

I just finished watching the new Jon and Kate Plus 8 episode and it really breaks my heart. They just don't act like they love eachother anymore and that really makes me sad. I think it's wonderful that they say they are there for the kids and they come first, but I think it's also SO important to keep your relationship strong with your spouse. Because that is what keeps your family strong and together. I'm just hoping they can put aside everything and love eachother again. That's just my two cents! Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday!!

Posted in: on at at 9:35 AM 6 comments    

My day has been pretty boring so far but very productive. I cleaned the house, bathrooms included, did a bunch of laundry, took Sadie for a run/walk, applied for another student loan, completed my technology orientation packet for school(which took forever!!) and caught up on some blogs and DVR. I am now waiting until 8:30 so I can go to soccer and get out of the house!

Last night Al and I had a very relaxing evening. We had "make your own pizza night" and watched Valkerie. The movie wasn't that great but the pizzas were fabulous! I made a veggie one and he made a bbq chicken and veggie one. Should have taken some pics but I forgot. Don't worry, we will be doing this again! Does anyone have anything interesting going on? I feel bored!

Posted in: on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at at 5:42 PM 1 comments    

Hey ya'll! Happy Memorial Day! Hope everyone is having a fun time so far! I am in the car on my way back home from the lake. It's so fun to be able to blog in the car! Technology is awesome:) Not sure what my plans are today, gotta see what Al has planned!! Hopefully it is something fun, like dinner or a movie! I think the weather is supposed to be kinda yucky so probably no outside activities today:(

What does everyone have planned for today??

Posted in: on Monday, May 25, 2009 at at 10:46 AM 2 comments    

Happy Sunday to everyone!! Hope everyone is having a good Holiday Weekend!! Unfortunately it's raining here this morning:( But it's just a light drizzle so far but forecast says rain on and off today. Oh well, guess it doesn't matter too much to me since we don't have a boat to go out on at the moment! My pup let me sleep in until 9am this morning! This is unheard of in our house! She's usually up at 5:30, eats and goes outside and then we go back to bed. But here at the lake house, I let her sleep in my bed so she lets me sleep in! Haha a fair trade in my opinion!! Although she totally hogs the bed and squeezes on me all night!!

Even though it was raining, I decided to head out for a short run this morning because I can't get enough of the hills! Haha, weird I know. It's just fun to run in a different location. I just did 2 miles on the hills at a 10:29 pace. I really picked it up the last 1/2 mile and it felt GREAT!! My IPOD died halfway through my run which sucked but oh well. I just hate listening to my self huff and puff up those hills! I got back and did some ab exercises, lunges, and squats before my mom made us a yummy breakfast of biscuits, scrambled eggs, and fruit! YUM! Love some breakfast!!

I love coming here especially for my grandma's cooking! I have eaten so much this weekend! But I have been really active too so I;m not worried about it one bit! Not sure what else I'm going to do today. Would love to go to the apple farm so I might do that. I have a book I'm supposed to read before I start school. I think it's called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Not interesting so far but I'm trying to get through it as fast as I can!! Hope everyone else has fun plans for the day!

Posted in: on Sunday, May 24, 2009 at at 10:17 AM 1 comments    

Except for maybe my run this morning so I will start with that. Like I said yesterday, there is only one kind of terrain here: HILLS. You are either going up or down, there are no flat surfaces LITERALLY. So this makes for an interesting a hard run! I decided I would try to do 3 miles and I sure enough did it!! My pace was pretty good at 10:26 for all the hills I was running up. And there are some crazy steep hills too! To the point where my legs are SCREAMING as I'm running up and it's so steep going down I have to try hard not to kill myself! But it was great scenery and overall an awesome run! Now onto the rest of my day...

We got to out dock about 11am to head out on the boat. Everything was going good, got the boat started and we were cruising along. I was trying to decided if I wanted to venture into the cold water to wake board or not and then out boat suddenly stops. Uh oh. My dad started it right back up and we decided we should head back towards our dock. Then it shuts off again. And this time won't start. So we get the boat towing service to come but that take about an hour and a half which is fine by me cause I wanted to get some sun!! Well as the towing boat starts to pass us my parents decided to use the fog horn we randomly have to flag this guy down. TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT! Haha so we finally get towed in for a crazy price. So unfortunately no wake boarding and no more boating this weekend:(

So then I proceed to make some brownies for dessert tonight. Now for those of you who don't know me, I am an awesome baker (and I'm not trying to brag, it's just something I love and am really good at!!) Now I was going the easy way and just using a box mix which is still very yummy!! And one of my favorite things about making brownies is licking the batter out of the bowl (I know, what am I 5 years old??) So as I go to do my tasting, I notice something isn't right. And since I am a brownie batter connoisseur I followed my gut and didn't put them in the oven. After I investigated I found out that the oil I was using expired in 2007! YUCK!! Luckily I had a brand new bottle of oil on hand and another brownie mix so crisis averted!!

But it's just been one of those days!! At least I got some sun and get to spend a couple more days with my parents and extended family! Hope everyone else's weekend is chaos free!!

Posted in: on Saturday, May 23, 2009 at at 4:32 PM 4 comments    

I am finally at the Lake!! Yay! And what's the first thing I wanted to do? Get on the computer and check out ya'll blogs! Haha. Don't know what I would do without technology. I will make sure and take lots of pics of the beautiful view we have but probably won't be able to post them until I get back home. Not sure how to upload pics on my dad's computer!!

I plan on running here tomorrow and Sunday. I am going to check online to see if there are any 5k's but if not I will just run on my own. And it's a whole new running element here. There are HUGE hills. I am talking no flat terrain ANYWHERE!! So it's a nice change to run here but it is killer! I will let ya'll know how it goes tomorrow:)

One more thing. If ya'll don't read Kellys Korner, ya'll definitely should! She is awesome! And secondly check out her post from today. She has a video up of Kris Allen singing at his church in Little Rock and it is awesome!! I LOVE Adam but it's so awesome that the winner is so devoted to sharing the word of God!! Check it out!! Talk to ya'll tomorrow!!

Posted in: on Friday, May 22, 2009 at at 5:06 PM 1 comments    

I just realized I haven't posted any of my points this week for TSL Challenge! So here they are:

Saturday: 3 points for meals made at home
1 point for making my own coffee
1 point for bringing my reusable water bottle to work

Sunday: 3 points for all meals made at home
1 point for making my own coffee
1 point for bringing my reusable water bottle to work

Monday: 3 points for all meals at home
1 point for taking a shower without the lights on
1 point for recycling a wine bottle
1 point for making my own coffee

Tuesday: 3 points for all meals made at home
1 point for making my own coffee
1 point for carpooling to and from work

Wednesday: 2 points for meals at home, -5 for dinner out with my soccer team:(
1 point for recycling a bottle
1 point for taking a shower without the lights on

Thursday: 3 points for all meals at home
1 point for taking a shower without the lights on

So the total so far is 24!! I still have tomorrows points to count before we turn them in!! Not sure how much we will be eating out this weekend while I'm at the lake so it could be a low point week next week. Oh well, gotta love eating at the marinas while I'm there!!

Posted in: on Thursday, May 21, 2009 at at 3:54 PM 2 comments    

So we won our first game in the first round of the tournament! Yay! We won 3-0:) I played almost the whole game so needless to say I am SOOO sore today! Everything is sore, legs, back, abs!! That's why I love soccer:) Can't wait for our game next week! I tried to run this morning and could barely move so I decided to skip my run and take Sadie for a nice long, slow walk! I think that was a good decision.

Don't have much going on today, just gotta get some things ready and packed before I head to the lake tomorrow!! I can't wait to lay out and soak up the sun! I would live at the lake if I could during the summer. I tell my dad every year that I wish I could be a professional wake boarder so I can stay at the lake all summer and wake board every day! That would be the life! Plus, I would be in amazing shape! It's takes a lot to hold onto that rope and fly from one side to the other!!

We don't have internet there but my dad has this special internet air card for work that lets him connect to the internet anywhere there is a phone signal so I should be able to post and stay updated on ya'lls posts this weekend! Yay:)

Posted in: on at at 9:55 AM 4 comments    

I don't have too much to write about today. I took Sadie on a run this morning and we ran for 11 minutes straight!! That was so goo for her! She was very tired after 11 mins so we stopped and did one more walking lap around the neighborhood. Needless to say, she has been lounging around the house all day!! I didn't do anymore running this morning because I have a soccer game tonight. Tonight starts our tournament so hopefully we win so we can play again next week!! I already know some of the other girls can't come so it looks like I will be playing most of the game, and that means I will be exhausted!! But I am ready to play!! I mowed my yard and weeded my flowerbeds today and that's about it! Any other American Idol fans out there? I'm hoping Adam wins! I think he's amazing!! Who do ya'll want to win?

Posted in: on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at at 5:56 PM 3 comments    

We had awesome weather here today! It was 72 and sunny! The only downfall was it was pretty breezy. I decided that I should do a longer run today since I have plans all week long! I tried to talk myself into a short run since it was so windy but then I decided to stop being a baby and do my long run!! I did 4 miles like I had planned but it was a killer. Mostly because I went out too fast! I started off feeling great, running about a 9:30 min/mile for the 1st 2 miles. I kept thinking I probably should slow down but I was feeling so good so I didn't! Well after my halfway point, I started feeling very winded and tired. I kept pushing myself and finished the 4 miles without having to stop! Don't remember my exact time and I can't check my Garmin since I left it at my mom's house, but I do remember the final pace ended up being 10:14 min/mile! My last 4 miler last week was 10:45 min/ mile so that's quite a bit faster! And I was much more tired today than I was last week! I'm glad I went ahead and did it though!!

I can't wait for this weekend because I get to go to my lake house!! Yay! We have a lake house in Kentucky on Lake Cumberland and it is just beautiful!! Not sure if I will get to wake board or not, the water is still kinda cold in May. But I will definitely be working on my tan! Does anyone else have any fun plans for Memorial Day weekend??



PS: Who is excited about The Bachelorette tonight?!? I am!!

Posted in: on Monday, May 18, 2009 at at 5:54 PM 7 comments    

Well not that I really care that it's Friday because my work week starts tomorrow!! Anyway, I want ya'll to meet my running partner for the day....

SADIE!!

I decided that today was the day she was going to start running with me!! I went and did a mile by myself because I didn't want to start her off for too long. I came back and got her and we did 1/2 a mile, then walked for a bit, then did another 1/2 mile and walked the rest of the way! So my baby ran a whole mile and walked another 1.6 miles!! And it wasn't cool today!! It was hot and sunny!! But I am proud of her. This is her after our run.

She has been passed out for the majority of the day!! But she seemed to really enjoy our run! She was going so fast the first 1/2 mile and was dragging a bit the 2nd 1/2 mile but she made it! I am going to try to take her on at least one run with me every week and slowly increase her mileage. I won't ever bring her too far because she is a smaller dog but I think she could do just fine for 3 miles once properly conditioned!! I'm surprised too at how much less she tried to sniff during our running parts!! She is such a good girl:) I also did some ab work after our run!

TSL week 2 update!! So the 2nd week of the TSL challenge is finished. Here are my points:

Thursday: 3 points for all meals at home
1 point for making my own coffee
1 point for carpooling to work and back
1 point for bringing my reusable water bottle to work
Friday: 3 points for all meals at home( I am assuming we are having dinner at home but if not I will deduct it from tomorrow's points)
1 point for making my own coffee
1 point for showering with the lights off
So the total for this week is 35 points!! That's so much better than last week's measly 20 points! Yay!! Anyone have any fun plans for tonight? Not sure what I will be doing yet!!

PS: Lauren Kelly- I sent out your Shred DVD today! Sorry it took all week but it should be to you shortly!! :)

Posted in: on Friday, May 15, 2009 at at 3:04 PM 5 comments    

I got up this morning to a very windy and humid day. So I decided an inside circuit training workout was in order. This is where I sprint for 2 mins and then do some strength exercises for a couple mins such as lunges, squats, arm, and ab work. I ended up doing the circuit for a total of 45 mins and ran 2 miles. I was trying to concentrate more on the strength workout than the running one. But man, those sprints really get your heart rate up and make you tired! I did a total of 2 miles in 18:15 so I was going pretty fast for me!!

My BFF is in town this week so we decided to go see Obsessed today. It was really good! Definitely go see it if you haven't. Beyonce was awesome! And it had me cringing at some parts too! Definitely suspenseful!!

TSL challenge update for today:
Wednesday: 3 points for all meals at home
1 point for doing my own pedicure
1 point for recycling some newspapers
1 point for taking a shower with no lights on
1 point for bringing my own movie snack- grapes and pretzels!
So that's 7 points total! Yay! Today was a good day! So the total for the week is now up to 24 points! Woohoo! Doing much better this week!!

Does anyone have any good safety tips about running in the dark? I decided since the weather has gotten warmer, that on the days I work out before work I am going to run outside. And that's at 4 am so it's definitely still dark! I live in a safe area and all my running will be done on sidewalks. There aren't street lights in the neighborhoods but on the main street there is. So I feel like I will be safe but just looking for anymore tips anyone has! Oh and have ya'll gotten your new Runner's World yet? I think my subscription may have ended and I just forgot to renew it because I haven't got mine in the mail yet. Hope everyone is having a GREAT day! Looking forward to watching American Idol tonight!

Posted in: on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at at 4:33 PM 5 comments    

Not sure if I've said it before or not, but I am going back to school in July to become a nurse anesthetist, otherwise known as a CRNA. It is a 2 1/2 year program of full time school and it's very intense. And by that I mean no working allowed! So basically I have to pay for school and have living expenses all from loans. And that is what I am stressing about. I was lucky enough to never have to take out loans for undergrad so this is all COMPLETELY new to me. I got my federal award letter today and it is about half of what I need for the year for everything. Now I wasn't expecting that much from federal but I thought it would be a little more. And I have no idea how much private loans will give you, etc. And the financial aid office was NOT helpful. All they said was go apply for a Grad Plus loan if you need more money. So I guess that's what I'm gonna do but I hope I get enough! I am not budgeting for anything but bills and the necessities so it's not like I am asking for a fortune! Anyone have any knowledge on this subject??

Moving on to my run today. Since I did my longer run yesterday, I decided a short, fast 2 miler would be appropriate. I did 2 miles in 18:34, a 9:16 min/mile pace!! Woohoo! And my mile splits are:

Mile 1- 9:55
Mile 2- 8:40!!
Wow! I was really moving on that 2nd mile! I brought my soccer ball and cleats along with me because I was running at a park and decided to so some sprints and practice while I was there. I probably did that for about 30 minutes and I was tired and ready to go!!

TSL Challenge update!! I haven't posted this in a couple days so here it goes:
Saturday- 3 points for all meals at home
1 point for bringing a reusable water bottle to work
1 point for making my own coffee
Sunday- 3 points for all meals at home
1 point for bringing my reusable water bottle to work
1 point for making my own coffee
1 point for recycling a can
Monday- 3 points for all meals at home
1 point for using my reusable water bottle
1 point for making my own coffee
1 point for showering with no lights on
Tuesday- 2 points for meals at home( -5 for dinner out with another out of town friend)
1 point for making my own coffee
1 point for using my reusable water bottle
1 point for showering with no lights on

So that gives me a total of 17 points for this week so far! Yay! Now I need to not eat out anymore this week!!

Posted in: on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at at 4:10 PM 10 comments    

I decided today, spur of the moment, that I was going to run 4 miles today. I have only been up to 3 at this point and decided today was the day to start incorporating a longer run once a week. I knew the weather was only supposed to get to 69 degrees today so I opted to sleep in, eat breakfast, and head out for my run about 1pm. I drove out to Collierville, where my parents live, because they have so much more running trails than I do by my house. I chose one with some hills, but no major ones that would kill me! I started out trying to go at a slower pace and felt really good the whole run! I ran on some paved trails that lead from one park to another and I have always had this fear that a snake was going to fall out of a tree, on top of me! Haha. I absolutely HATE snakes, they are my biggest fear. And now that the weather is warm, I know their out! So for most of the run, all I could think about was watching the trees and everything in front of me that looked like a snake! Needless to say, that part of the run went by fast!! Nothing to tell about how I felt because I felt really good the whole run. I did see lots of squirrels and a bunny hopping along the trail too!! So here are my stats:

4 miles in 43:08
10:46 min/ mile pace

I did speed it up the last mile and especially the last half mile. I love finishing a run strong! Not too bad of a pace considering what my pace for my shorter runs have been! Not the 38 min 4 miler I used to run but hey, that will take time to get back to! Overall, I am really happy with myself that I decided to try a 4 miler today and actually succeeded!!

Posted in: on Monday, May 11, 2009 at at 4:36 PM 1 comments    

Here are all the names in a bowl. I had 56 entries!

Posted in: on at at 11:58 AM 3 comments    

Hey ya'll! I am up VERY early this morning to do The Shred before I go into work:) Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day! And don't forget today is the last day to enter my 100th post giveaway!!! You have until midnight tonight, CST!! Hope everyone has a lovely Sunday!!

Posted in: on Sunday, May 10, 2009 at at 5:26 AM 0 comments    

Here is my TSL challenge update and total for week 1:

Wednesday: 2 points for making meals at home
-5 for eating lunch out with an out of town friend:(
1 point for taking a shower with the lights off (I'm not in the dark, I have a window in my bathroom that provides plenty of light!)

Thursday: 3 points for making all meals at home
1 point for recycling a water bottle
1 point for not straightening my hair
1 point for showering with the lights off

Friday: 2 points for making meals at home
-5 for eating dinner out with the fam for Mother's Day
1 point for recycling some bottles
1 point for showering with the lights off

That's a total of 20 points for the week. Unfortunately I had a lot of meals outside the home going on this week, going away dinner, lunch with an out of town friend, and dinner for my mom's bday and Mother's Day. Couldn't really get out of any of them. Hopefully next week I can eat more meals at home! I did discover I could shower during daylight times with no lights on! And I have been very diligent about recycling! Overall I am doing a lot more frugal/ green things than I was before the challenge so that's really neat! Hope to get more points next week! Any ideas on being green or frugal would be greatly appreciated!!

Posted in: on Friday, May 8, 2009 at at 5:23 PM 1 comments    

I set my alarm on my phone last night to go off at 7am so I could get up and run before it got too hot. Well unfortunately, I set my alarm but didn't turn it on. So I woke up about 7:45 and got out the door at 8. Now I know it's just a 1 hour difference, but it is hotter at 8am than at 7am! Anyway, I just decided to do a 2 miler since my hamstrings were still sore. I ran hard though and finished 2 miles in 19:28, a 9:43 min/mile pace! That is good for me! That is about the pace I ran my half in about 3 years ago! Can't believe I could run 13.1 miles at that pace and am now really winded after 2. Sad story:( At least it gives me hope and makes me want to work harder!! I've decided that instead of trying really hard to increase my mileage, I am going to do it more slowly. For my running, it is incredibly important for me to have a solid base before I start upping the mileage. And I don't feel like I have gotten there yet. So I am going to keep on, adding more days of running until I feel more "comfortable". That way I will have a really solid base before I start training for any 1/2 or full marathons. I think for me, running more days is key in building my base. I know that alot of experts say just 3 days a week is the best and you can train for anything on just 3 days a week of running, but honestly I do better with about 5 days a week of running. Don't know why, that's just how it is! How about ya'll? How many days of running do you do?? And what works best??

After my run I took my sweet Sadie on a walk and then mowed my front and back yard. I don't have a small yard either! Took me about 2 hours! And man, that's a workout! It looks so much better now:) Tonight, I am going to eat with my family to celebrate my mom's birthday and an early Mother's day! We are going to one of my favorite restaurants, Cafe Piazza! Best desserts EVER! I can't wait!

Last night Al and I cooked out for the first time! We have this mini grill his dad made us and we decided to cook burgers and veggies! Actually, Al did all the cooking:) The burgers turned out AMAZING and so did the veggies! I am so proud of my BF!!

I will be back to post later with my TSL Challenge updates from the last couple days!

Posted in: on at at 12:00 PM 2 comments    

That's right! No more sleeping in on my days off. Why? Because the heat and humidity is officially here and if I want to get a run in then it must be before 7am! I went out for a 3 miler this morning at about 8:45. It was so hot and sticky, it was awful! Plus my hamstrings were so sore from all the lunges I did in Level 2 of The Shred yesterday! However, I ended up running 3 miles at a 9:55 min/mile pace which is faster than normal! Who would have thought!! But I'm gonna try to get up by 7am to run on my days off so I don't pass out from 100+ degree temps!! After my run I took Sadie for a walk and she loved it!! She especially loves her walks on trash days so she can sniff everyone's trash cans! Ha! This is why I could never run with my pup. She is led by her nose!!



After my run I decided to make a Green Monster! It actually turned out to be more of a Brown Monster but was really good!!

I have a big day planned tomorrow that includes a run, mowing my yard (front and back), laying out at my parents house, going to kick the soccer ball around with my brother, and then going out to eat with my parents to celebrate Mother's Day! Whew! I am exhausted already!!

Yesterday, all of a sudden, the buttons on my phone decided not to work:( Luckily I had my pink razor phone, that I bedazzled myself many years ago, that I could slip my Sim card into and use. Now let me say, this pink razor phone is pretty ghetto but I am really liking buttons that work! I am not up for a new phone until August so I guess this will have to do!! What kind of phones do ya'll have and would you recommend it??

Hope everyone is having a great day and beautiful weather!! And don't for get to enter my 100th post giveaway before Sunday at midnight!!

Posted in: on Thursday, May 7, 2009 at at 2:16 PM 4 comments    

Hello my bloggy friends!! I've been MIA for a couple days due to work and activities after work. So I am still trying to catch up on all of ya'lls wonderful blogs!! First things first... TSL challenge updates for Monday and Tuesday.

Monday- 2 points for making meals at home, 1 for making my own coffee, and unfortunately -5 for eating dinner out:( I had a going away dinner I had to go to at Bosco's for a friend at work. It was a GREAT time though!!

Tuesday- 3 points for making meals at home, 1 for making my own coffee, 1 for recycling my junk mail magazines!!

So that is a total of only 3 points since I got the -5 for eating out. Oh well:) I think that puts me at a total of 17 points for the week. I have a lunch to go to with an out of town friend today so that will knock me down another 5 points! Yikes! But I will say, I am eating out less than I have been (surprising I know!) I will post today's points tonight or tomorrow morning.

Next thing I want to talk about is my workouts. Monday I got up before work and did Level 2 of The Shred! I can definitely tell this is harder than level 1 but I really liked how intense it was! The moves are definitely harder!! Can't wait to see what Level 3 has in store for me! Then last night I had a soccer game after work. We won 3-0! Yay! That was our last league game putting us in 2nd place! Last season we were in 3rd so maybe next season we can get first!?! Anyway, our tournament starts in 2 weeks so I will not have a game next week:( Today is a yucky, rainy day and my legs are tired from my game last night so I decided to do Level 2 of The Shred again and do some ab work. Anyone have any good ab moves they really like and work? I need to mix up my routine!!

And lastly, I am having a ... 100th post giveaway!!
I decided that since I love The Shred and Jillian Michaels so much I would give away one of her workout DVD's!! So you can choose from The 30 Day Shred, No More Trouble Zones, or Banish Fat Boost Metabolism. I've only tried the Shred but I can only imagine what she has in store in the other workout DVD's!! So here's how to enter:

1 entry: Leave a comment telling me which DVD you would like to have if you won.
2 entries: Become a follower or tell me if you already are a follower
3 entries: Post about it on your blog

The giveaway will end Sunday, May 10th at midnight, CST!! And I will post the winner sometime on Monday!! Good luck ya'll!!

Please leave me one comment will the total of all your entries in it!! Hope everyone has a GREAT Wednesday!!

Posted in: on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at at 12:00 PM 28 comments    

One more quick update before I turn in for the night! I added 1 more point to today's total for TSL challenge for doing my own manicure and pedicure!! What do ya'll think??

Hot pink fingernails


Coral colored toenails!! I think I did a pretty good job!

So that's 14 points total for the weekend! Unfortunately I have a dinner to go to tomorrow night and eating out is negative 5 points:( Guess I will just have to make those up!!

I also wanted to show ya'll the yummy coffee I got at Fresh Market today. It's called Spring Blend and is a mix of butterscotch and caramel flavor! Sounds delicious!! I saw this on Kath's blog and had to try it!!

Gotta finish reading all ya'lls blogs and get to bed since I have a 4am wake up time! Goodnight!

Posted in: on Sunday, May 3, 2009 at at 9:01 PM 2 comments    

Somehow I managed to get today, a Sunday, off from work! Yay!! I worked Friday and Saturday and it was crazy! Barely sat down both days so I was extra happy to be off today! Round 2 at work starts tomorrow!!

It has been rainy here all weekend so I wasn't sure last night when I went to bed what time I would be able to run today. So I just decided to play it by ear. When you have nothing planned, it's nice to be able to sleep!! I slept until about 8:30 and it was still drizzly so I decided to make some breakfast. I made some yummy oats with a banana, blackberries, pumpkin butter, Naturally More PB (the best I have found yet!), cinnamon, and vanilla. It was delicious!! I then decided to catch up on some TV and blogs. I headed out for my run at noon. It was about 67 degrees, cloudy, with a very light breeze. PERFECT! I ran a 3 miler on my very hilly route but I felt really good the entire run! I picked up my pace the last 1/2 mile or so and still felt really good when I got home! I am hoping to increase up to 4 miles this coming week. Here are the stats I can remember from my Garmin since I am typing this from my parents house.

3 miles 30:39- 10:10min/mile pace- Pretty good since there was a lot of hills

I need to get back into doing The Shred. I plan to start back up tomorrow at 4am before work! Think I might go on to level 2 and see how that is!

The Simple Life Challenge- Here is how I've been doing so far on the challenge:
Friday: 3 points for making all my meals
1 point for carpooling to work
1 point for making my coffee at home
1 point for starting to recycle- Where I live we don't have anywhere to recycle so I decided to collect all my recyclables and take them to my parents house where their recyclables are picked up weekly.
Saturday: 3 points for making all my meals
1 point for making coffee at home
Sunday: 3 points for making all my meals
So that's 13 points so far for the weekend! I had planned to walk to Walmart today to get some stuff I needed for 1 more point but it started to rain right when I was walking out the door:(

I need some more ideas for a simple, green lifestyle!!

I am eating at my parents house tonight, chili and cornbread! YUM! Just got back from my favorite store ever!! THE FRESH MARKET!! Got some great stuff!! Spring Blend coffee, cereal, bourbon pecans(think I will add these to my oats one morning) Indian Summer mix, and some organic fruit roll ups! I can't wait to try that coffee in the morning! Hope everyone is having a GOOD weekend!!

Posted in: on at at 4:53 PM 2 comments