Niki's Neverending Adventure

Hey friends! Yes, I am alive! I’ve been busy finishing up my semester and finalizing wedding stuff!! I am officially on summer break until July 6th! Yay, a much needed break for sure!! And only 17 more days until my wedding!! I am so excited! I’m going to be so busy until then too! I am heading to the lake this weekend and then I get back for a few days and then we head to Florida for the wedding week! It’s coming so fast! Can’t wait!!

In other news, I did my first “pre tri training” bike ride today! I rode 11 miles in 50 minutes with an average pace of 13.2 mph. Not too shabby for my first time on a bike in over a year! I will be riding my dad’s road bike from the 1980’s! Haha, it’s really in wonderful condition and it’s free so I will take what I can get! It will be perfect for my first triathlon. I’ve officially decided to do the Annie Oakley Women’s Tri on July 31st, now I just need to sign up! I went and bought some goggles today so I can start swimming! My plan is to officially start my training when I get back from my honeymoon. That will give me 5-6 weeks to train and I think that’s plenty for a sprint tri seeing as I’m in fairly good condition now! I am planning to do some training while I’m in Florida but am not scheduling anything for our honeymoon. I will bring gear in case I feel like going for a run but I’m giving myself that week off if I want it. It’s my honeymoon after all :) But once I get back, training will be on!!

So, I have a few questions for those of you who run, bike, swim, or all 3 :)

1. What’s the best race day outfit to wear so I only have to do minimal wardrobe changes?

2. Biking gloves… Can I use my weight lifting gloves or should I buy actually biking gloves? I already have a blister on my hand from my ride today!

3. Training plans… Any specific ones you really like or that have worked well?

4. What’s important to have in your transition areas?

5. What’s the best way to do your hair? Keep in mind I have really long hair and it will probably be super knotted after the swim even with a cap on. So any headbands you recommend? Obviously it will be in a ponytail, I’m most concerned with the best way to keep it off my face.

I think that’s it! Please help, I feel kinda clueless :)

Well, that’s really all I have for now! Time to relax and watch some TV! Hope you have a fabulous day!!

Oh and PS: The wedding diet is working! I’ve lost 4 pounds in a month, which is right on track with what I wanted! It’s really hard to consume less calories but still enough to fuel me for training! I will be so happy when this wedding diet is over :)

Posted in: on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at at 4:42 PM 7 comments    

Hey y’all! Hope you are having a fabulous weekend! I did :) And I didn’t do one thing for school! I only have one week left before my summer break and I need to get motivated to get my last take home test finished!

Yesterday I went to my friend Jennifer’s Wedding shower. I had a good time! It was nice to meet some of the bridesmaids I didn’t know and to catch up with some old friends! They got tons of nice stuff too! Looking forward to being a part of their wedding!

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I got my Rehearsal Dinner dress today!! I got it at Anthropologie, which is one of my favorite places to get dresses! They always have so many cute ones!!

I love it! I think it looks so beachy! Click here for a larger image of the dress. What do y’all think?! Like it?!

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I also bought some new make-up today that I plan on using for the wedding! I am a new Bare Minerals convert! I had them do a whole makeover on me today and I love how it all looks and feels! Great coverage but so lightweight and not greasy! Perfect for a beach wedding! I got some eye and lip colors too that will be perfect! Any Bare Minerals lovers out there?!?

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On the workout front… I ran 3 miles on the treadmill yesterday. I’ve been sticking to inside runs if I don’t get outside super early because #1 it’s hot and #2 I’m trying to get rid of my sports bra tan for my wedding dress, not make it worse! So I’ve been sucking it up and just running on the treadmill. At least it gives me a chance to catch up on my shows!! I have also been doing a lot of strength training! I am loving my free Exercise TV workouts! I did this 10 minute ab workout yesterday and I am so sore today! Mostly in my obliques, but it hurts to move, walk, even breathe! A good hurt tho!! I’m hoping to get in an outside run tomorrow morning so I hope the weather cooperates! It was raining this morning so no run for me. So I turned to my Exercise TV workouts and did a quick 20 minute total body workout before church! It was another good one!

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I’ve been doing pretty good on my wedding diet, but I have had a few treats! I just can’t deprive myself everyday! But I make sure to work them into my calorie count for the day so it all evens out :)

Well, gotta get back to the Desperate Housewives Finale! Have a great night!!

Posted in: on Sunday, May 16, 2010 at at 8:56 PM 9 comments    

Wow, I just realized it’s been 6 days since I posted last! Yikes, sorry y’all!! I need to get back into my blogging routine :)

I had my final wedding dress fitting this past Monday and it looks FABULOUS!! So glad everything turned out right. For those of you who don’t know, I had a slightly large wedding dress issue when I first got it!! But now, it’s perfect! I have all my jewelry and shoes to go with it too! I think everything is about done and we are just ready to head to Florida and start the wedding festivities!! Only 22 more days until we go to Florida and 28 days until the WEDDING!! I am so pumped :)

I ordered a really fun University of Memphis garter! Click on the link to check it out. Isn’t this the cutest thing?!? I thought it was perfect!

In other news, I have been doing pretty good keeping up with my workouts. I’ve been mixing it up with running and strength training. I am hoping to start adding in swimming and biking soon to get ready for the Sprint Triathlon I’m looking at doing in July!

I’ve also been doing pretty well on my wedding diet! Right now I’m just really trying to eat a clean diet- fruits, veggies, whole grains, low fat dairy, and lean protein. Minimal to no processed foods. It’s really amazing the volume of fruits and veggies you can consume for so little calories! Sadly, I’ve had to restrict my ice cream ingestion. And the worst part about it is I just found the best ice cream EVER! Blue Bell Grooms Cake!

From the Blue Bell site:

**Groom's Cake - Gold Rim 
Say, "I do" to this blissful flavor. Luscious chocolate ice cream with chocolate cake pieces and chocolate coated strawberry hearts, surrounded by swirls of strawberry sauce and chocolate icing.

OMG, so good! I bet Al’s loving the wedding diet because now he doesn’t have to share that ice cream with me! If you can find it, try it! It is seriously the best ice cream I’ve ever put in my mouth! Haha :)

Well friends, that’s all I have for ya right now! I hope you have a fabulous weekend!!

 

Posted in: on Friday, May 14, 2010 at at 6:02 PM 5 comments    

Hey friends! It’s been a little bit since my last post, so I though I would update y’all!! I’ve had a good, yet busy week. Only a few more weeks lefts in this semester, then I will get a break! Thank goodness!!

I spent the majority of the day today studying for my Pharmacology test, although I did find lots of things to distract me! Haha!!

I have done really well with consistency in my running this week. So far I ran:

• 3 miles Monday (Circuit Training)
• 3 miles Tuesday (Outside)
• 2 miles Wednesday (Treadmill + Jillian Michaels)
• 2 miles Friday (Treadmill + Jillian Michaels + 3 miles walking)
• 2 miles Saturday (Treadmill + arm strength training + 4 miles walking)

So I’ve been doing pretty well with my workouts for the amount of time I have! The mileage is low compared to what I’m used to, but my body is just not feeling high mileage right now! I found a new Jillian Michaels workout on Exercise TV that I love! I think it’s called Quick No Trouble Zones. It’s only 25 minutes but it’s pretty tough! Lots of kickboxing moves!! It’s a lot of fun!

The circuit training I did Monday left me so sore for days!! I think today is the first day I wasn’t sore!! I haven’t decided for sure, but I think I’m going to do the Tri in July I talked about in my last post. I don’t want to sign up right now, because I’m not sure if school will conflict yet. But, I’m planning on starting to incorporate some swimming and biking soon! Biking before swimming probably because I have to wait for my parent’s pool to warm up!!

I’m excited for mother’s day tomorrow! Love spending time with my family, plus my dad is cooking out steaks which are his specialty! I only eat my dad’s steaks!!

Well, that’s all for now! Hope y’all have a wonderful Mother’s Day!!

Posted in: on Saturday, May 8, 2010 at at 8:42 PM 3 comments    

Hello friends! How’s this fine Tuesday treating you?! It’s all good here!!

I had a good 3 mile run this morning. It wasn’t great, but it was better than my runs have been, although a lot slower than I was running a few weeks ago. I’m still not sure what was causing me to feel so fatigued and out of breath a few weeks ago, but needless to say I definitely lost some of my running fitness so I feel like I’m starting over. That’s not fun :( Amazing how fast I lose my conditioning, but it’s always kinda been like that for me. I slack of for about 2-3 weeks and it’s much harder to run. I know it could be worse though! So, I am really gonna be consistent from now on and luckily, school is starting to slow down a bit! Almost summer break!! I also have my eye on a tri!! My friend Katie really wants me to do it with her and I think it sounds like a lot of fun! It’s called the Annie Oakley Sprint Triathlon. It’s a sprint, women’s only tri: 400 meter swim, 11 mile bike, 2 mile run. Short and sweet and I think it sounds great for a first tri. What do y’all think??

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I made a really yummy dinner tonight that I wanted to share!! First up, the best salad EVER!!

In the mix:

• Romaine
• Cucs
• Tomatoes
• Olives
• Onion
• Jalapenos
• Feta
• A little Ranch
• A lotta Texas Pete’s hot sauce

Yum, yum, yum! The Ranch-Texas Pete’s Hot Sauce combo really kicked this salad up a notch! It was fab!

I also picked up some awesome looking tortellini!

It was Chicken and Prosciutto Tortellini! They were sooooo yummy! Topped with my favorite Bertolli Marinara sauce.

All together now!!

Sadie says “Mama, whatcha cooking?”

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Well friends, gotta get so I can watch Glee! I also have some ice cream calling my name! I bought some “Groom’s Cake” ice cream today at the store for Al but I’m breaking into it! I saved up my calories today so I can enjoy a nice BIG bowl! Yum!

Do you prefer running, biking, swimming, or all 3?? Swimming makes me so nervous but I better get used to it if I want to try a tri! Ha :)

Posted in: on Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at at 8:11 PM 7 comments    

Hey y’all!! Long time no blog, right?! I have been super busy and just haven’t had time. Sorry guys! I’m gonna try to be better!! I kinda have a lot of mish-mash to talk about because a lot has happened!!

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I’m first gonna start out with a product review!! The nice people of at CheriBundi sent me some of their Cherry juices to try! I’m not a huge juice fan, but the fiancé is, and I was very intrigued by Cherry juice!!

They sent us 4 bottles to try. 2 of the regular Cherry juice, one Skinny Cherry juice, and one with Whey protein!

50 cherries in each bottle! That’s awesome!!

Love that the only ingredients are tart cherry juice, water, and apple juice as a sweetener! The verdict…. we LOVED them!! The fiancé kept saying how great they all were and in fact he drank the majority of the bottles! Haha. It tastes exactly like a cherry. I’m not kidding! I enjoyed the Skinny Cherry juice the best. I definitely recommend trying out some CheriBundi Cherry juice!! The fiancé is already asking me to buy more!!

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Moving on to my next topic, or more like the story of the flood. So, this weekend, my parents and I went to Ohio for my cousin’s wedding. The wedding was great, my cousin looked beautiful, and we had an awesome time!! But, our drive home was not so fun, not at all!! I’m sure y’all have all heard about the flooding in Memphis and Nashville by now. Well, we had to drive through Nashville to get home on Sunday. Yea, didn’t really happen. First of all, there were hurricane like rains almost the entire ride home. It was awful. It got really bad once we got into Nashville, and this is what we saw.

This is kinda hard to see since I took it from a moving car, but this is what all the exits looked like off the interstate. The roads were completely covered in water and it looked like a river.

And this is what it looked like right along the interstate. River anyone?!? The water started spilling over onto I65 at parts but we were able to make it through. Sadly, they I40 got shut down which is like the only straight shot to Memphis. Luckily, in a last minute decision, we stayed on I65 South instead of being stuck on I40 for hours or days!! We took I65 South all the way down to HWY 64, which is at the southern most part of Tennessee. We were going along well for awhile on HWY 64, until the road was completely flooded and the police weren’t letting us through. So where to next?! Alabama of course! Haha. We drove down to Florence, Alabama and were able to catch HWY 72 that we were hoping to take into Memphis. Well, thanks to my friend Brandi, who was coming home from Alabama the same way, we knew that HWY 72 was shut down in Corinth, MS for flooding. Luckily, another friend of mine who lives in Corinth was able to give Brandi directions around the flooded area and we were able to make it home!

It took us 14 hours to get home. Normally it takes around 8. It was a LONG day! Who knew to get home from Ohio we would be going from Ohio to Kentucky to Tennessee to Alabama to Mississippi and back to Tennessee! Crazy, right?! I’m just glad I made it home in one piece! And please keep all the people in Nashville in your prayers!! They are still dealing with floods everywhere.

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My last topic of the night! My workouts!! I was able to workout in Ohio, on Saturday morning. We stayed in a hotel in Cincinnati since that’s where I flew in Friday evening, and they had an awesome workout room!! My mom and I headed down there to get a nice workout in Saturday morning before heading to my Grandma’s house. I ellipticaled for 30 minutes then did some strength training. It was fun to use the elliptical since I don’t have one to use! Could definitely tell it worked some new muscles!!

Today I did a really hardcore circuit training workout for about an hour and 40 minutes. It included running intervals and arm, abs, and legs strength training. I was exhausted by the end. I am hoping to run in the morning before it gets too hot!!

Well friends, that’s all for tonight! I promise to post more regularly!! Have a great night!!

Posted in: on Monday, May 3, 2010 at at 8:39 PM 5 comments