Niki's Neverending Adventure

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