Niki's Neverending Adventure

Almost the weekend! Yay!! I start my anesthesia class this morning, I’m a little nervous!! I got up at 5am to run this morning. I had originally planned a tempo run, however that’s not what I did. Apparently it is still pitch black at 5am. I thought the sun was usually up by then but guess I’m wrong!! I contemplated my run because I am really nervous to run in the dark and theres no way I am doing a 5 mile tempo run on the treadmill. NO WAY. So I decided to be brave and head outside. Well I didn’t even make it to the end of my street before I decided this wasn’t a good idea. I was so freaked out, I couldn’t even turn my music on because I was afraid someone was going to come up behind me!! Now, I live in a very safe town and this would probably NEVER happen, but I’ve seen way too many CSI and Law and Order TV shows!! So, yes, I am a scardy cat:)

So ,I came back in and decided to do a shorter run on the treadmill. I would be happy with doing 3 good, fast miles on the treadmill but even that is a stretch! I usually last about 15 mins before I am SO BORED I give up! Well today I did do 3 miles! I warmed up for 1 mile than played a game for the last 2. I would go up on the speed by 0.1 increment every minute to a certain speed then come back down and do it again! It was tough but made it more exciting than running the same pace! Plus I got to push myself super hard! I was so hot and sweaty when I finished!! It felt great. I was able to take Sadie on a quick 20 minute walk since I finished my run earlier than I planned and she really liked that!!

We had some awful storms yesterday while I was in class. I got to class and it was sprinkling, and the next thing I know the tornado sirens were going off in the middle of class!! We all just sat there and continued on like it was nothing! Ha!! Luckily the tornado wasn’t by school. Unfortunately, it did hit right where my car was parked since I rode with a classmate to class! But my car was fine! It did take us FOREVER to get to my car because they had all the roads closed! Ugh. When I finally made it home, I was very sad to see that one of my crepe myrtles had cracked and fell over:( So sad, lost a tree.

Well I gotta get to class!! Hope everyone has a Fab Friday!!

Posted in: on Friday, July 31, 2009 at at 7:42 AM 7 comments    

I think it’s supposed to rain all day again here. Boo. It’s not currently raining but the skies sure are dark!! I decided to push my tempo run to tomorrow instead of today because it’s not supposed to rain tomorrow and I don’t want to chance getting stuck out in a storm! So, I got to sleep in a little this morning:) My stomach was GROWLING around 7:15 so that’s when I got up and got some cereal, fruit, and coffee! YUM!

I am hoping to venture out after this post to take Sadie for a quick walk before the storms get here! And then I may do some more walking on my treadmill for cross training. I would do The Shred or another Jillian workout but she always makes my legs so sore from the squats and lunges and I want my legs to feel good tomorrow for my tempo run! So that’s out! I am limited to cross training since I don’t belong to a gym. I would love to have a gym to go to that has a pool so I could swim as cross training! Maybe I will look into that, has to be cheap though! I’m on a school budget! Ha:)

So I really hope today is better than yesterday. I got into a fight with one of my best friends yesterday and my feelings are really hurt. I hate fighting with friends and RARELY do, so this sucks. I’m not going into detail because it’s between us but I just wanted to get it out because I am still upset about it and writing about it helps me feel a little better. I’m not sure where our friendship stands after this, which is very upsetting. I didn’t even know anything was wrong until we talked yesterday. I am just going to keep praying about it and I know whatever God’s plan is will happen. I just hate feeling this way.

Ok, onto more brighter things!! I have 3 wedding venues I am trying to decide between! Price is the MAIN factor because I love them all and need to stay on budget!! So, I am going to post links to all 3 and ya’ll tell me which one you like best!! Just pretend they are all the same price, because at this point I don’t know which one is cheapest (haven’t calculated it out yet!!)

1. The Santa Rosa Golf and Beach Club I would do my ceremony on the beach and the reception on the terrace. Make sure to click on their shutterfly page to see all the pics!!

2. The Hilton Sandestin I would do my ceremony on the beach and reception outside on one of the decks by the pool overlooking the ocean. Make sure to click on the picture gallery to see the pics here!! This is where my family stays every time we go to Destin! It’s beautiful and would be great because we know where everything is!!

3. Emerald Coast Beach Weddings This would be just my ceremony and I would have to find a reception site. The good thing about this is I could pick the beach I wanted to do it at (any beach around the Destin area), so it could be a more private area and the package includes so many things!! My best friend Jaime used this company for her wedding about 4 years ago and they did a really great job. The downside is I would have to find somewhere else for a reception site but I remember they helped her pick one out.

So let me here your opinions!!! And,I guess Sadie and I won’t be taking our walk… it is currently pouring:( Hope everyone has GREAT day!!

Posted in: on Thursday, July 30, 2009 at at 8:38 AM 12 comments    

Happy Happy Hump Day! Can’t wait for the weekend!! I type this as I am scarfing down my coffee and cereal to get to class on time! Ha! I have TONS of reading to do this week! Ahh! I hope I can get it all done by Friday! So after class today I will be reading for my Anesthesia class and Anatomy all day!

I got up this morning at 6am so I could do a mini workout before I had to get ready for class. I did a 20 minute strength/dance party!! This is how it went:

Dance to 1 song(about 3-4 minutes)

Strength-arms 1 song

Don’t know what these moves are called but I did shoulders with 5 lbs 2X15

Bench press- ?? Not sure how much my bar weighs but I had 10lbs on each side 2X10

Abs- 1 song

50 bicycle crunches

15 V crunches each leg

25 reverse crunches

Strength- arms 1 song

Tricep extensions- 5lbs 2X20

Front shoulder raises- 5 lbs 2X15

Abs- 1 song

15 V sits with 3 lb weights

Side calf touches- works oblique's- 2X20

Plank with knee ins- 20

Dance to 1 song

It was super fun and energizing! Great way to start the morning! Well that’s all I have for now! Hope ya’ll have a wonderful day!!

Posted in: on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at at 7:23 AM 8 comments    

The rain sucks! I had to switch my runs around due to this stupid rain! Haha it’s not THAT big of an incontinence but I had my heart set on a 6 miler today and not speed work…but gotta be flexible!!

I had my alarm set for 5:30 and for some reason I woke up at 4:30 and heard the pounding rain. I quickly decided that the rain cancels my long run and I will do speed work today on the treadmill. The only good thing about this is I can sleep in longer because I’m doing it inside! So I set my alarm for 6:30 and went right back to sleep!!

My workout went GREAT! I tried to do a speed workout similar to the ones I will be doing in my training program and this is how it went:

Warm-up

6 X 400 with 90 sec RI

Cool down

According to my FIRST plan, my 400’s should be done in 2:12. So it took a few tries on the treadmill to figure out what speed would give me that time and I figured out it’s 6.7mph. So I will remember that from now on in case I have to do indoor speed work again!! It ended up being a total of 4 miles with the warm-up and cool down.

I love speed work, makes you feel like you worked so hard!! While I was doing this speed work, I had Saved By The Bell on! LOVE that show! I watched half an episode where Jesse was taking the caffeine pills and going crazy and the girls were making a music video! Is it sad that I could sing the whole song they were making the video to? “I’m so excited, I’m so excited…” haha. I could watch that show over and over and could probably recite the lines from all the episodes!! What shows are you like that with?? For me it’s Saved By The Bell and the old 90210!

The cadaver lab last night was just how I thought it would be… AWFUL! It’s so weird seeing freshly dead bodies. Gross. Apparently they don’t embalm them at this place so it didn’t smell at first. But when my teacher started cutting and pulling out the lungs and heart, that smelled awful!! Sorry for the nasty details:) I stayed so far away and didn’t want to touch anything the whole time! The techs in there were laughing at my face because I constantly had a disgusted look on it! Haha, I couldn’t help it! Don’t worry, I wasn’t the only one making these faces! I’m just glad I will be up by the head behind the curtain once I become a CRNA! Ha!

I will be studying for the rest of the day…fun fun… Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!

Posted in: on Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at at 10:06 AM 5 comments    

Man my title’s are so creative… ha! Hope everyone is having a fabulous Monday! Mine has been rather tedious. I feel like I’ve been doing a lot but really haven’t got much accomplished! I hate that feeling!!

I had a blast yesterday at Al’s sister’s house. The niece’s are precious!! One is going into 3rd grade and is beautiful and the other is 8 weeks old and tiny!! She has the reddest hair, just like Al and his sister!! Beautiful girls! So excited they will be my nieces also in less than a year!! His brother in law grilled the biggest pork chops and steaks I’ve ever seen! All the food was fabulous!! Can’t wait to go hang out with them again soon!!

My tummy has been feeling icky for the past 2 days. I think I know the culprit. I ate one of those Yoplait digestive yogurts yesterday for lunch and I think that’s what did it! My stomach is VERY sensitive to anything with added fiber or digestive stuff. Ugh. Should have known!! So I decided to change my long run from today to tomorrow due to yucky tummy and am glad I did!! It’s been feeling a lot better throughout the day! Looking forward to my 6 miler in the morning!

I did some strength training and took Sadie for a nice walk today. I also went grocery shopping and was surprised how much food I got for $130! I know that seems like a lot for just 2 of us but normally it is almost $200! I think buying mostly fruits, veggies, meats, and less packaged foods cuts down the price a lot!! I have some yummy meals to cook this week! I am thinking that these groceries will probably last a little longer than a week. I always run out of fruit first because I am a fruitaholic! Ha! Which items do you go through first? How much is your usual weekly grocery bill? (if you would like to share).

Going to cadaver lab tonight! YIKES! Makes me kinda nervous! This is our first one so I will let ya’ll know how it goes!! I am not to fond of dead bodies…

Posted in: on Monday, July 27, 2009 at at 3:21 PM 5 comments    

Happy Sunday everyone!! How is everyone’s morning so far?? Mine has been great! I woke up this morning to thunder and lightning, which made me decide to skip church. Bad Niki, I know, I just hate getting out in storms. It finally cleared up about an hour ago, so Sadie and I headed out for a nice, long walk. We walked to the neighborhood across the street from ours and down to the lake. I think Sadie loved all the new smells!! It was probably a little over 2 miles round trip and now she is passed out on the carpet by my feet!!

This afternoon, Al and I are heading over to his sister’s house to see his nieces (my soon to be nieces!!). I imagine there will be some swimming and cooking out going on as long as the weather cooperates! I am so excited! I’ve never been over to their house! They live about an hour or so away so we have never made the trip out there together. So I am super pumped to go!!

I think I finally decided on a training plan for the half marathon. I bought the book, Run Less Run Faster, that goes along with the FIRST training plan and really think it would work out best for me. The plan is 18 weeks long but I am going to cut it down to 16 weeks. I am doing this mostly because I need a few extra weeks to increase my long run to 8 miles, which is where the plan starts. I think the speed work and tempo runs are going to be killer!! I am going to start trying to do some similar tempo and speed work this week and see how it goes!! As for cross training, I’m still not sure what I will do. I would love to bike but the bike I use is my dad’s and kept at my parent’s house. I could maybe persuade him to let me have it for training! We’ll see! I don’t have any access to a pool for swimming( besides my parents house) or any gym equipment so I am kinda out of luck there. The book says weight training isn’t considered cross training and didn’t say anything about walking. So not sure what I’m gonna do about that!!

What is everyone doing today? Hope ya’ll have a fabulous Sunday!!

Posted in: on Sunday, July 26, 2009 at at 10:57 AM 5 comments    

Good morning friends!!! It’s finally the weekend! Yay!! Last night Al and I just popped in a pizza, I ate a salad too, and tried to watch a movie. We rented some scary movie from the Red Box, can’t even remember the name right now!! Oh yea, think it’s called The Haunting in Connecticut. Well for some reason, we have issues concentrating on movies at home if they don’t grab our attention from the beginning! And this one didn’t. We always just end up talking away through the whole movie and have no idea what’s going on in it! Ha! So we obviously didn’t watch this one at all. Oh well, at least it was only $1!!

No run today, after class this morning I am going to my parents house to layout and do some swimming for cross training! Yay! I do have some studying I need to get accomplished out by the pool also!!

What does everyone else have planned for today??

I will leave you with this awesome wedding video. If you haven’t seen it already, it’s hilarious!! I told Al this is what we need to do at our wedding! Looks so fun!!

Posted in: on Saturday, July 25, 2009 at at 7:05 AM 3 comments    

I had a REALLY awful run this morning. It’s so depressing when you have bad runs, but usually the good run days make up for the bad run days! I had planned on doing a long run of 6-7 miles today. Well I started my run around 6:30 this morning, had my route all planned out and everything. Once I started running, my legs felt awful. TRASHED was the word that kept coming to mind. I knew I shouldn’t have done a hard, fast 3 miler the day before a long run! Especially since I’ve been running less the past week or so to give my tendonitis time to heal. Well anyway, I was hoping once I got warmed up my legs would feel better. That didn’t happen. They just got worse and worse. I was literally ready to stop and walk by the 1 mile mark but I made a deal with myself that I needed to push it to 4 miles and then I could take tomorrow and Sunday off! It was a torturous 4 miler and I was running super slow! Ugh. At least I made it! So NOTE TO SELF: Take the day before a long run off or only run easy!!

Since I will start actually training for the December 5th St. Jude Half (anyone else running this race??) in about a month or so, I have really been thinking about training plans. I think the best thing for me, since school will definitely be taking up most of my time, is to do a 3 day plan like the FIRST plan where you have 3 solid runs and cross train or take off the other days. Not only will it fit good into my schedule, but I think it will help keep off injuries. So, I have been looking at the FIRST plan and then the Runner’s World First plan that I am also considering. Also, you can have Runner’s World Smart Coach form a plan for you very similar to these 2 plans also. So right now I’m trying to figure out which is best!! Anyone ever used any of these plans??

The rest of my day is studying for my Pharmacology exam next week (yikes!!) and making a Pound Cake for Al. He is requesting I make him this using his Grandma’s recipe! Hope it turns out good! I will post pics later after I make it!! Anyone else doing anything fun today?? I am hoping the weather is nice tomorrow so I can layout after class!!

Posted in: on Friday, July 24, 2009 at at 11:19 AM 7 comments    

I’ve failed as a food blogger. I couldn’t even do it for 2 days! It takes a lot of dedication that I just don’t have right now!! So hats off to ya’ll that do it, it’s hard work!! So I guess I will just go back to my normal ramblings about life, weddings, and running and post random food items!! Ha!

I had a great run this morning!! I haven’t run in 4 days (bad Niki!) due to weather and pure laziness so I knew I needed to today. I just did a fast 3 miler because I plan on doing a longer run tomorrow. But this 3 miler was tough! I was really pushing myself faster than normal for all 3 miles!

Avg. Pace- 9:30

Mile 1: 10:02

Mile 2: 9:25

Mile 3: 9:02

I was SUPER tired and sweaty after this run but felt great!! I took Sadie on a 1 mile walk after my run so she could get her exercise too!! On to Sadie…

So we went to here yearly appt a week ago so she could get her shots, heartworm test, etc. And my poor little pup is overweight! She weighs 27 lbs and needs to weigh 22-23ish lbs. So needless to say the vet told me to put her on low fat dog food. I have been feeding her this pretty expensive food from a place called Hollywood Pet, it doesn’t have any fillers and is high in protein. But it was like $17 for a small bag! Yes, she’s spoiled. Well the vet recommended Purina brand low fat food so that’s what I bought her! So much cheaper! And I am transitioning her to her new food now, 1 scoop each, and wouldn’t you know, this crazy beagle likes the cheap, low fat food better than the full fat expensive food! Ha! She keeps trying to get into the low fat food and gobbles it up first when I feed her! Ha! Crazy pup!! Here’s some pics of the chunker.

She always sits under my chair when I’m on the computer.

This is her usual post. She guards the house from here and scouts the kitties out! Notice I have the blinds pulled up so she can see out:) Spoiled!

On another note… I tried this really good juice/tea this morning that I got on sale at the store this week! It’s the POM brand but it’s a mix of tea and juice. This one is really yummy!!

Pomegranate Peach Passion White Tea. If you see it, definitely try it! Super Yummy!!

Anyone doing anything fun today?? I have to read Anatomy and then go to class this afternoon:( But a girl in my class and I discovered we live kinda close so we are going to carpool to school from now on!! YAY for saving gas!!

Posted in: on Thursday, July 23, 2009 at at 8:32 AM 7 comments    

Yep, that’s right…still raining. Hopefully it will clear up later. However, that means that I didn’t get a run in this morning either:( I was feeling super lazy so I didn’t really mind staying in bed! I have got to get back into the running groove!!

This mornings eats:

Green Monster and Black coffee!! Yummers!!

I tired some new things in my Green Monster this morning. It included:

1/2 cup skim milk

2 handfuls spinach

1 TBSP Naturally More PB

1/4 cup oats, uncooked- new addition!!

1 frozen banana- new addition

handful of ice

It is definitely EXTRA creamy goodness this morning!! I think the frozen banana makes it super creamy! Plus I love the taste the oats bring to it!! This breakfast is 370 calories. Hopefully it will hold me over until lunch time after class!!

Today includes class and studying:( Doesn’t sound that fun! I’m sure I will wind up looking at more wedding stuff though!! I hope everyone has a good day!!

Posted in: on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at at 7:35 AM 7 comments    

This afternoon’s snack was 1 cup Kashi Heart to Heart cereal.

150 calories

For dinner I had leftover spaghetti my mom sent home with me from the lake, with 2 pieces of garlic bread and some sliced cucumbers! It was very yummy but I wasn’t that full after eating it! I knew dessert was in my future!!

For dessert I made something new that I have seen on a few different food blogs. It’s home made frozen banana custard. And the only ingredient is a banana!! I just froze 1 sliced banana, threw it in the food processor for a few minutes and viola! A creamy, yummy, frozen banana custard! It really is life changing! Ya’ll must try this!!

It was so smooth and creamy!!

And of course I had to put some Naturally More PB on it since I am addicted. Plus I love the combination of PB and bananas! Double YUM!!

Now I’m super full!! My dinner plus dessert ran me a total of 800 calories. That puts me at a total of 1690 calories for the day. Sounds good to me!!

Not sure what the weather is supposed to do tomorrow. All I know is that I need to get a run in but there is NO WAY I am running on the treadmill! I just can’t make myself do it! Way too boring!! Back to class in the morning…

I’ve been doing a lot of wedding research today, kinda stressful, but fun!! I need to work on my guest list so I can call about pricing and wedding planners for the specific locations (I have a few in mind)! Did any of ya’ll have wedding planners?? Were they super helpful?? I think with a destination wedding it is very important to have a planner there who knows the vendors and venues to use!! If anyone has any suggestions for good venues in the Florida panhandle area, please let me know!!

Posted in: on Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at at 9:10 PM 1 comments    

I love leftovers! My mom sent me home some leftovers from the lake so I incorporated that into my lunch today!! First, I had a smaller summer salad.

1 cup Spinach

1 Roma tomato

5 slices cucumber

5 black olives

3 strawberries

1 TBSP gorgonzola cheese

1TBSP Balsamic Vinaigrette

Very good salad! I made sure to eat this first so I could get all my greens in before I got full!! Onto my leftover portion of lunch…

I had about a 1 cup serving of Cheesy Hash browns that my mom made Sunday night. They were still just as yummy leftover! I only ate about 3/4 of this before getting too full. This plate looks huge but it is actually a salad plate size.

And of course, no meal(well except for breakfast) is complete without dessert!!

I had 1 mini Dark Chocolate Mr. Good bar and 1 mini Dark Chocolate crunch! Perfect size!!

So it was hard to really know the calories in my Cheesy Hash browns so I am estimating 200 for the 3/4 I ate. Ya’ll think that sounds about right?? And my salad was 130 calories along with my dessert at 75 calories, totaling me up to 405 calories for lunch. Sounds good to me!!

I did do some strength training and got out in between the rain to take Sadie for a quick 1 mile walk. I am just not in the mood to run today. Do ya’ll ever get like that??

Posted in: on at at 1:44 PM 2 comments    

Good Morning friends!! Unfortunately it’s a rather stormy looking day here. It was raining when I got up so I guess that means no outside run this morning! I’m hoping it will be nicer outside later on so I can get my run in! It has been nice though enjoying my relaxing morning. I really didn’t want to get out of bed but I knew I have a lot of school stuff to do so I made myself get up around 7:30.

Ok all ya’ll food bloggers, I have a question for you. What made you want to start a food blog and do you still enjoy it?? I am asking this because I am considering adding this to my blog. Mainly because I want to be able to keep track of what and how much I’m eating, and also to hold myself accountable which I think will make me not snack as much! I am planning on trying it out this week to make sure it’s not too time consuming for me. I also want to eat healthier and maybe lose a few lbs before the wedding!! So what do ya’ll think? Should I try it out??

Well here’s my morning eats!

Banana Oatmeal

1/3 cup oats

1/3 cup organic milk

1/3 cup water

1 banana, sliced and placed in liquids while boiling

5 strawberries

1TBSP Naturally More PB- my current addiction!

Total Calories: 335

And of course some black coffee in my Special Nurse cup my nana bought me for my nursing school graduation! Yum! I am still working on my Spring Blend coffee from Fresh Market! It’s taking me forever to use up the whole pound!!

I am going to try to total up my calories for a few days to get an idea of how many I’ve been eating a day!!

Gotta get to school work now! Hope ya’ll have a GREAT day!!

Posted in: on at at 8:42 AM 5 comments    

I am back to reality, unfortunately! I had a great time at the lake for the last couple days!! I got to see lots of family members and show off my engagement ring too!! Ha ha. I got to wakeboard some on Sunday before the lake got too busy. The weather is crazy!! It was actually kind of chilly until mid day when the sun came out! Definitely didn’t feel like the middle of July! More like October!! But the chilliness is a nice break from the scorching heat and humidity!

I did get a run in, I knew I would that’s why I brought my clothes “just in case”!! I did an all hilly 3 miler! Literally all hills! I love that though! Sure kills your legs and butt!! I had to keep telling myself, “come on legs, just get up that hill and then you can go down it!!” Ha! My foot feels much better. I made sure to stretch and ice after my run.

Other than playing on the lake and running, I did a lot of eating great food and chatting with the family! So sad I had to come home today:( And what really sucks is that the class I was coming home for tonight got cancelled!! And they didn’t tell us until I was just about home. I could have stayed another day at the lake… Bummer. I was so pissed. Oh well, I got a lot of cleaning done and some school work. I also did my grocery shopping and mowing my yard for the week! I was very productive after my drive home today!!

How was everyone’s weekend? Do anything fun??

Posted in: on Monday, July 20, 2009 at at 7:15 PM 7 comments    

Good morning ya’ll!! How many are glad it’s the weekend?? I know I am! This is going to be short and sweet because I have to get going to class pretty soon! I am SUPER excited to go to the lake today!! Yay for wakeboarding, great Grandma cooking, and spending time with all my family!! So glad I am able to make it to Family Week for a bit!! I just have to make it through Anatomy class this morning then off to the lake!!

No running this morning, the foot was a little more sore after my run yesterday so I am currently icing it!! Still undecided about a hilly run at the lake tomorrow. Just gonna wait to see how I feel!! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Posted in: on Saturday, July 18, 2009 at at 6:52 AM 3 comments    

I am so excited it’s Friday!! Being the good student I am, I finished all my school work for the week so I can go to the lake this weekend!! I am heading up Saturday after Anatomy class and then coming home Monday before my Anatomy Lab!! Way to fit a vacation in right?!? Next week is our FAMILY WEEK at the lake when all of my extended family gets together down there and I was SO upset I was going to miss it this year. But at least now I can go see everyone for a few days!!

My foot was feeling much better this morning so I decided to go for a short 2 miler just to see how it felt. Much better. Instead of a sharp pain while running it was more of a slight, dull pain. I think I still need a little more time to rest it before I pick up the bigger mileage again. And this weekend is perfect time for rest since tomorrow I have a early morning class and then driving to the lake, Sunday we will be out on the lake all day wakeboarding, and Monday I will be driving home and then class. I will take my running stuff with me just in case I decide to run Sunday before we go out on the lake but I probably won’t since it’s all hills and hill running is supposed to aggravate my tendonitis. So I probably should just not run until Tuesday but sometimes I do things I probably shouldn’t! Ha! After my short run I took Sadie for a 1 mile walk, did a Jillian Michaels ab workout, stretched, and iced my foot really well!

Today I am finishing up some school work, mowing my yard, and packing for this weekend. Looking forward to seeing my fiancé tonight!! Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday! Any big weekend plans?

Posted in: on Friday, July 17, 2009 at at 9:58 AM 4 comments    

Good morning friends!! It is storming here this morning. And I am loving it! Makes for a relaxing, lazy day!! Since I have been resting my tendonitis foot, there was no need to stress about when to run today since I am taking it easy!! It feels a little better today so I think taking a short break from running is doing it some good!! I am planning on taking tomorrow and possibly Saturday off, depending how my foot feels, and then hopefully back into the running swing of things by Sunday!! I am missing it more and more each day!!!

I am SUPER sore from the Jillian Michaels workout I did yesterday! Wow! My arms, legs, butt, and abs!! She worked them all!! So, I thought I might try out some yoga from Exercise TV this morning! I am totally LOVING the Exercise TV and all the free workouts!! So I chose to do The Biggest Loser Fat Burning Yoga. It was tough, especially since I have NO flexibility and am sore!! I was shaking during a lot of the moves!! Since that was only about a 30 minute workout, I decided to choose something else too. My second workout was Cardioke!! It was so awesome!! It is a workout by Billy Blanks Jr. (you know, the tae bo guy, it’s his son.) And it’s basically a dance party with karaoke!! They put the words up on the screen and everything for you! A couple of the songs you just follow him along and dance, and then you learn a whole routine and do the Cardioke Slide!! I can’t tell you how much fun I had and I was sweating like crazy and out of breath! It was a wonderful cardio workout! So ya’ll definitely should check this out!! Sadie thought I was nuts dancing and jumping all around my living room! Ha!

So since I am engaged now (YAY!!) I will probably be posting some wedding stuff too!! I do NOT enjoy planning anything! Ha! I am probably the least creative person ever! So I will need all the advice/ideas I can get!! One of the reasons I chose a destination wedding is because I will get to have a wedding planner who carries out all the decisions I make! Sounds wonderful to me!! Even though I hate planning stuff, I am totally looking forward to planning my wedding and I know I am going to have a blast!! So question time…

Does anyone have any creative ways to ask your friends to be bridesmaids/ maid of honor?? I want to do something cute but as I said before, I am NOT creative!! The only thing is, all the girls, except 1, that I plan on asking live in other states!! So I can’t just get them all together and ask them or anything like that. And I just wanted to do something more fun than a phone call! So please help me with some fun ideas!!!

And second question…

Did anyone have a maid and matron of honor?? I am not really up on the wedding etiquette so I’m not sure if this is something other people do! But I am planning on doing it anyway!! And if you did have both, did one have more responsibilities than the other?? Like showers, bachelorette parties, wedding day stuff, etc. Or how did they split the responsibilities?? Just some things I’ve been thinking about!! Hope ya’ll have a fabulous THURSDAY!!

Posted in: on Thursday, July 16, 2009 at at 11:37 AM 8 comments    

Good morning!! First off, I want to say thank you for all the sweet comments about my engagement!! Al and I are both super excited and so ready to finally be husband and wife!!

So I think I figured out what this foot pain I’ve been having is and I’m not too happy about it. I have been googling my symptoms and been looking through my anatomy book and all signs point to it being Tendonitis of the Extensor Hallicus Longus tendon. This is the tendon that runs from my big toe up to my ankle passing directly over that bone that sticks out. Symptoms include:

1. Pain at the top of foot- check
2. Swelling at the top of foot- check
3. Pain on top of foot when running- check
4. Redness on top of foot- check
5. Pain when passively stretched- check

Causes include:

1. Overuse
2. Running on hills- Just started running on more hills around my house
3. Chronically tight calf muscles- I have always had this problem
4. Badly fitting shoes or shoes laced too tight- I badly need new shoes

Treatment for mild tendonitis:

1. Rest until there is no more pain
2. Ice
3. Anti inflammatory meds
4. Strengthen and stretch calf muscles
5. New shoes!!

So this is definitely what I think it is. Blah. I have been pretty good about icing it and it wasn't as sore or tight this morning, so hopefully with a few more days of rest and stretching I will be back to running again!! It’s so hard to NOT run! I’m trying to be a good girl and rest but it’s just so hard! I hate injuries. Just when I thought I was getting back to normal from my ankle injury, this happens. It is the same foot though, probably has something to do with my previous ankle injury.Ahh!! I got up this morning and did Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones workout on Exercise TV! Man she’s tough!! I also took time to really stretch out my calves!

I am about to be off to class, then studying this afternoon. I have dinner plans with work friends tonight! I am super excited!!! Hope everyone has a great day!! What injuries have ya’ll had that has sidelined your running?

Posted in: on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at at 7:51 AM 4 comments    

Ok here it is…

I’m ENGAGED!!!!

I am SUPER excited!!! Finally after 7 years, Al and I are getting married!! Here’s how it went… He got to my house yesterday afternoon and had a beautiful bouquet of flowers! I thought that was very sweet and thoughtful. As I was examining this bouquet and about to go get a vase to put them in, I turn around and Al get’s down on one knee!! I was really shocked!! I knew it would be happening sometime soon but didn’t expect it right then! He gave his sweet speech, which included that I am the best thing that’s ever happened to him, and asked me to be his wife!! Of course I said YES!! I am so proud of myself for not crying! I did get a little teary eyed but no actual tears!! Then we had a nice romantic dinner at home and just spent time really talking about our future and the wedding! I can’t wait!! It’s so neat how this totally changes the aspect and feel of our relationship. It’s almost like it starts a whole new beginning! It’s such an amazing feeling and I feel so lucky!!

On to my ring! I absolutely love it! It’s perfect and EXACTLY what I wanted. I will post some pics below but due to my camera sucking the quality isn’t that wonderful. I’m hoping to take some pics with my mom’s camera sometime this week and I will post them!

It’s super sparkly which makes it hard to get a clear pic with my camera! Basically it’s a round cut diamond in the center with 22 smaller diamonds making up the band!! I am in LOVE with it!!

Here are some more pics from last night.

Right after he proposed

So happy!!

Pretty flowers he got me!

I also found out he had been to my parents house right before the proposal and talked to my mom and dad and asked their blessing! How sweet! They are really excited about it too! Especially my mom because she gets to help me plan!!

We are planning on getting married next June, since I have that month off from school, in Seaside Florida!! Yay for beach weddings!! Can’t wait to start planning!! Any tips from you married girl’s would be GREAT because I have no clue what I’m doing!! Ha! Hope ya’ll have a wonderful day! I can’t take the smile off my face!

Posted in: on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at at 11:55 AM 33 comments    

I got up late this morning, around 6:45. Should have stayed up when Sadie got me up at 5:30. So it all started out wrong. It was hot and super humid when I started out. YUCK. I can’t wait until fall weather and NO humidity! Ya’ll just remind me of how much I hate the heat when I am complaining of the freezing cold winter temps! Ha! I had planned just an easy 4 miler but of course this just wasn’t in the cards for me today!

My foot started hurting the moment my feet touched the ground this morning. Not more than usual though so I thought my run would still be possible. Well, once I started running, it hurt, and it normally doesn’t. So about a half mile into my run, when the pain usually subsides and it wasn’t at all, I turned around and headed home. I noticed I was changing my form because of my foot pain and that’s not good! I also would rather rest it today and be able to do my long run later this week because that run is more important to me than my smaller mileage runs. So that being said, I finished 1 mile and am now currently icing and elevating as I type. The funny thing is though, at the 1 mile marker, the pain was a lot less than when I started. Figures. I plan on taking Sadie for a walk in a bit but the rest of the day will be devoted to studying and resting my foot!! Megan suggested looking at runners world to find different ways to tie my shoe laces and that might help. I hope this is what it is and I am off to search runners world!!

Be ready for some EXCITING news later on in the day!!

Posted in: on at at 7:49 AM 4 comments    

Hello friends!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday morning! Unfortunately it is rainy and stormy here… blah. But luckily I can stay inside all day and study. Wohoo… Ha!

I actually did go and play my soccer game last night and was really happy I did! I miss my soccer friends!! We won and I had a lot of fun!

Today was supposed to be another 3 miler for me. Unfortunately there are 2 things working against me.

1. The weather. If it was just raining I would go for it. But it is lightning and thundering. And the skies stay black even when it’s not thundering and lightning so I just know if I headed out for my run it would start storming when I was far away from home! And, I would rather rearrange my schedule so I can run outside another day than run on the treadmill today! Ha!
2. The pain in the top of my foot. I have been having this weird pain on the top of my foot for about 2 weeks now. It hurts mainly right on top of that bone that sticks out. Not sure what the bone is called, we haven’t got to the skeletal system in anatomy yet! Ha! Anyway, it hurts mainly in the morning when I first get up, when I walk, and after runs. Not during runs though which is why I haven’t cut my running back! Well, soccer makes it hurt worse too, I’m sure from all the stopping and starting while I run. I don’t remember doing anything to it that would make it sore. I wasn’t even able to wear my ankle brace during my soccer game yesterday because the brace falls right on that bone and made it hurt! So needless to say it’s hurting a little this morning. But I’m sure I would head out for a run if it wasn’t storming! So it doesn’t hurt THAT bad. But, I’m not sure if continuing to run on it is the smartest thing! But I don’t think it’s to the point where I need to go to the Dr. to get it checked out. I am currently icing it. I googled it and there really wasn’t anything that fit my symptoms exactly. I don’t think it’s tendonitis because that would hurt with running. It could be a bone spur possibly but my bone on the top of my foot has always been that prominent! Maybe my shoes are tied too tight?? Don’t think so but I will make sure that they are looser from now on. So who really knows what’s going on… Like I said, it hasn’t really limited my running ability yet.

That being said, has anyone ever experienced this type of pain before on the top of their foot?? I feel like such a slacker taking today off from running especially since it was scheduled as a running day. That’s what get’s me when I train. I get really down if I have to miss a day of running and it’s really hard for me to take days off! Not sure why I’m like that! I am going to keep icing it and probably do a strength training workout later. If the skies ever clear I may take Sadie for a walk too. I have lots of studying to do also! I am currently working on Pharmacology. Learning about drugs and alcohol poisoning! How is everyone else's day going??

Posted in: on Monday, July 13, 2009 at at 10:40 AM 5 comments    

It stormed early this morning which now makes for a super humid day!! I stepped outside about 6:15 to do a quick 3 miler and it was instant hotness! Yuck! I think my ponytail got poofy instantly from the awful humidity! Needless to say I was so sweaty when I got home!!

I had a good, pretty hard 3 mile run. I was so hot and ready to be finished I kept pushing myself faster and faster which makes for a nice negative split run!!

3 Miles: 29:09

1st mile: 10:35

2nd mile: 9:48

3rd mile: 8:44!!

Avg. pace: 9:42

I was VERY happy about this run!! Now if this pace could only be my long run pace… Hopefully some day sooner rather than later if I keep on like I am now!

On the schedule for today:

• Church with the family
• Possible lunch or ice cream date with my BFF before she goes back home to St. Louis
• Possible lay out time by the pool if the sun comes out
• Soccer tonight at 5- I may skip depending on how I am feeling/what my plans are… I know, bad Niki!
• Hopefully spending some time with my love:)

Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday! I am really enjoying my weekend with no school work!! What are ya’ll doing today?

Posted in: on Sunday, July 12, 2009 at at 8:17 AM 5 comments    

Hey ya’ll! Hope everyone is having a good weekend! I am exhausted! Guess this busy and hectic first week of school has finally caught up with me! So here is a quick update of my day!!

• First Anatomy class this morning went really well! I love all my classmates!!
• Since I am caught up on all my reading I had the rest of today (and tomorrow) off from school work! Yea!!
• Went over to my parents house and hung out with them and my brother and his girlfriend.
• His crazy puppy, Lexie, likes to harass Sadie! I feel so bad for my pup! She runs for dear life when this puppy is around! Hopefully they will get used to each other soon!

This is Lexie. She is super cute but wild and crazy!!

• Made home made chocolate cookies from scratch and ate way to much cookie dough! That’s my favorite part. And I may or may not have just eaten 2 cookies! Ha!
• Went and ate Japanese with my parents. Tomorrow is their 29th wedding anniversary!!
• Fixin to go to bed. I am super tired!!

No running was on the schedule for today. Back at it tomorrow!! Goodnight!

Posted in: on Saturday, July 11, 2009 at at 8:34 PM 1 comments    

I was tagged by Stacey to list 7 traits about myself. Ya'll check out her blog, she is awesome!!Hmm... here it goes!!

1.I love my dog Sadie like she's my life. Seriously, I wonder if I will ever love my child as much as my dog! Ha!
2. The one thing in life that I really wish I could do is sing! I would give anything for a great voice!
3. I met Al, my BF, when I was 17 on prom night after my date decided he didn't want to go to prom the day of! Jerk! Guess it was fate:)
4. The phone I am currently carrying is a pink razor phone that I bedazzled many years ago when pink razor phones first came out. I am carrying this because my other phone broke and I can't upgrade yet. And I am embarrassed of it every time I pull it out!
5. I spend way too much time at my parents house, life would be much cheaper if I still lived there! Don't think Al would be too fond of that idea though...
6. My birthday is on Christmas Day and I love it! I hate when people immediately say "that must suck" after I tell them my birthday. It's awesome to be born on Christmas!
7. I am a nurse and love it. Spent 2 years working in the Pediatric ICU and am now in CRNA school!

I tag whoever wants to do this! It's actually a lot of fun!!

Posted in: on Friday, July 10, 2009 at at 7:26 PM 2 comments    

I had a melt down today. Why you may ask? Because the financial aid people at my school decided to cancel my student loan and not tell me until I called today to see when I was getting it. I freaked out! How was I supposed to live on no income?? Well after a lot of tears and conversations with my parents and more financial aid people, I got it all worked out! Whew! I don't need anymore stress in my life right now! School is enough! Moving on to better topics...

I had a GREAT run this morning! I had 4 miles on the plan and I set my alarm for 5:30 am so I could do it before class and to beat the heat! It was one of those days that I really just wanted to turn my alarm off and lay in bed another hour. I felt so tired! I rarely have these days, I normally just jump out of bed when my alarm goes off, so I seriously considered listening to my body and staying in bed. But, I talked myself into getting up and I'm sure glad I did!! I did 4 miles on mostly hills at a 10:22min/mile pace which I am pretty happy with! It felt comfortable. Not too hard, but not as easy as my long run pace. I also had negative splits! Yay! I don't have my Garmin with me at the moment so I can't post mile splits but I promise it was a negative split run! I love how I always feel so great after my runs! That's why I love running so much!

Tonight I am going out to dinner with my BFF McKenleigh who surprised me by coming in town tonight! Yay! We are going to Sushi too which I love!! Anyone have any fun weekend plans?? Tomorrow I have a class in the morning, Anatomy, and then will probably spend the rest of the day studying. But Sunday is the day I decided to take completely off from school so I imagine I will go to church, lay by the pool, and then go to soccer that evening! Sounds perfect to me!!

Posted in: on at at 5:48 PM 2 comments    

Hope everyone is having a GREAT day! It’s almost Friday!! I have spent the majority of my day reading Pharmacology, fun fun. I have Journal Club in a bit so I gotta hurry this post up!!

This morning I did a strength routine for arms, legs, and abs and took Sadie on a 1 mile walk. It was my off day from running and I woke up all on my own at 6:45. Wish I would have slept a little longer but my body was ready to get up!!

My brother came over and mowed my yard for me today since I have so much reading and school work to do for school. I really don’t have time to do it at all this week and Al has been busy working a ton of hours too! But my brother was happy to do it, after a little cash incentive! Ha!

My tummy has been kinda off for the last 2 days, just not feeling well and I think it’s due to stress. So today I was just trying to relax a bit and tell myself you can only get done what you can!

For some reason I have totally been in a breakfast mood today and I had cereal for breakfast and oats for lunch!! Here’s my creative idea for my oats that I got from Kath's blog!

Yep, that’s right! I am eating my oats out of my PB jar!! It was just about empty so I decided to eat straight out of it! And it was so yummy! All the melted PB was delish!

I promise there is oats under those nectarines!

I also picked some blueberries off of my blueberry bush today! Unfortunately I haven’t got to eat many this year because Sadie has taken a liking to all the ripe blueberries!!

Can’t wait to try them out!!

Yesterday I discovered that my tomato plant was destroyed. By what you may ask?? Well there were these huge, green caterpillar slug looking things on my plan and had demolished all the leaves and all the tomatoes. My mom told me they are called Tomato Worms. I couldn’t even take a picture I was so disgusted! Apparently they like jalapenos too because they ate my WHOLE jalapeño plant. Literally. Oh well, so much for having a green thumb! I just know that I never want to encounter those nasty creatures again!! Al was debating whether or not to keep them for fishing bait or not! Ha!

I am super excited for Big Brother to start tonight! Anyone else love this show?? Hope ya’ll have a good rest of the day:)

Posted in: on Thursday, July 9, 2009 at at 2:30 PM 4 comments    

I have been going since 6 am this morning!! I feel like I have a million things to do and not enough time to do them! It’s stressing me out because most of it has to do with school!! I had to read 70 pages of Anatomy today. That’s what I’ve been doing ALL DAY! Now, that may not sounds like a lot but remember its a huge textbook and I actually have to learn what I’m reading! Whew! Glad I got it all finished today. Tomorrow I will have to work on Pharmacology before I go to Journal Club. Not sure exactly what kind of class Journal Club will be except we are with the 2nd and 3rd year students too. I think it’s presentations and speakers and that sort of thing.

Anyway, on to my run. I plan on keeping up my running even though I am going to be SUPER busy. I just have to do it! I got up at 6am, because I wanted to sleep in a little since I’ve been up at 5am the past 2 days! I didn’t have time to drive out to my parents house so I could run the trails so I sucked it up and ran by my house. It was basically all hills! But I felt great the whole time! I was going a bit slower than usual but I’m sure it was because of the hills. I found another new route that I really enjoyed. The hills are exceptionally long, and I wasn’t sure about a whole mile being uphill but I just kept thinking, you will be going down this on your way back! So I was super stoked that I actually did the 6 miles I had planned. Tomorrow is a strength/lifting day because I need to get some rest and sleep in a little later! After my run I took Sadie for a little walk and then came back and started reading! Ha!

I’m can usually tell that I am much more hungry on days I do my longer run but not so much today! Wonder what the difference is? I also made sure to really hydrate yesterday and I felt awesome without water the whole run!! Normally all I can think about is the water fountain! Ha!

So after going to class and orientation these last 2 days and seeing how much work I’m going to have and how much time it will take up, I decided to not work at all. I just realized if I want to have a life outside of school then I won’t have time to work. I have too many other priorities like running, soccer, family time, time with Al that I would miss if I was working on my days off. No one else in my class was working and my instructor told us we SHOULD NOT be working so that convinced me! When I emailed my director this morning he was totally fine with it and said he thinks I am making the right decision and wished he had tried to talk me out trying to work while in school to begin with! So everything worked out:)

Hope everyone had a good Wednesday! I am going to try to relax tonight with Al and some enchiladas and home made salsa! Yum! I also rented a movie called PUSH. Anyone ever see it? Think it just came out recently. I will let ya’ll know how it was tomorrow!

Posted in: on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at at 5:46 PM 4 comments    

Thanks for all the well wishes on my first day of CRNA school! Ya’ll are awesome! Well, it went pretty good! Love my classmates! There are 19 of us so I know we will all be really close by the end of 2 1/2 years!! It was a long day filled with TONS of info and my brain is overloaded right now! I also found out I have real classes this week on Thurs, Fri, and Sat. Bummer. Didn’t think my actual classes started until next week, just thought this week was orientation. Oh well, better get to reading all those textbooks ASAP!

We also had a dinner/get together with the 2nd year and 3rd year students so we could ask them questions and find out more stuff about the program, clinicals, etc. That was great too! It’s such a close knit group! I am definitely excited and a little scared to actually start reading and learning all this! Tomorrow is another day of orientation and I think I have Wednesday off, hopefully!! Hope everyone had a GREAT Monday! Off to bed, I have to get up super early again!

Posted in: on Monday, July 6, 2009 at at 9:12 PM 7 comments    

Good morning friends! Today is my first day of nurse anesthesia school (I will be referring to this from now on as CRNA school because it’s much easier to type! CRNA stands for Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist which is what I will be when I graduate and pass boards!) Anyway, I am super excited and nervous! I can’t wait to meet everyone!

I got up at 5:30 this morning so I could get a run in before my long day at orientation. I did a speed workout which included a 1 mile warm up, 4X400 at 7.0 mph(no clue what pace that is but it felt right for speed work) and about a 0.7 mile cool down to equal 3 miles. I did it on my treadmill mostly because I have no flat area around my house to do speed work on! There are hills everywhere! But it wasn’t so bad on the treadmill, this is probably the only workout I can tolerate on the treadmill because you are constantly changing something up and I don’t get too bored! Unfortunately there was nothing on TV but the news this early and I didn’t have any shows DVR’d that I needed to watch so the news it was! I love getting workouts in before long days!! Last week I totaled 17 miles and was happy about that! I haven’t logged that many weekly miles in a long time!

Well, I better get going so I’m not late! I am excited to wear a cute new dress today that I bought recently!! Hope everyone has a great Monday!

Posted in: on at at 7:01 AM 11 comments    

Me and my board

Close up!!

And here is a pretty waterfall we found!

I hope everyone has a great rest of the day and a good start to the work week!!

Posted in: on Sunday, July 5, 2009 at at 3:46 PM 3 comments    

Hey ya'll! Hope everyone is having a great 4th! I know I am! My day started out early. We got up at 6:45 and headed out to the dock by 8am! The reason we were out so early is because I am a serious wakeboarder and I need flat water! Ha! But seriously, we knew the lake would get crazy with people today so we set out early so I could get some good wakeboarding runs in. And I definitely did! We were like the only boat out there for a few hours! It was perfect! I have some cute pics of me and my pink board to share with ya'll when I get home! I had one nasty crash where the tip of my board went into the water while I was coming across the wake and I flipped and face planted in the water. Didn't feel to great! Ha! But I kept on!

We are having a fun cookout tonight at my Grandma's next door with a bunch of my extended family! Lots of food and drinks! Can't wait! And we come back home tomorrow because I have soccer tomorrow afternoon and I start back to school Monday! Yikes! Have a great day!

Posted in: on Saturday, July 4, 2009 at at 2:10 PM 2 comments    

Good morning ya’ll!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful morning so far!! Mine has started off GREAT already!!

I set out at 5:45 to do some hill repeats. There is a hill exactly one mile from my house that is about 0.25 of a mile long one way. Perfect for some hill repeats!! I ran a warm up mile there, did 4 hill repeats, and then a mile cool down home. It was a total of 4 miles and went by super fast! I love hills! When I used to do hill repeats a long time ago, I would always have to walk down the hill for recovery but this time I ran the entire thing! Yay! I get such a feeling of accomplishment when I get up super early and do my runs before most people even wake up!!

So I am off to the lake for the 4th! Hope everyone has a GREAT Friday! Looking forward to some wakeboarding tomorrow!! What plans do you have for the 4th of July??

Posted in: on Friday, July 3, 2009 at at 7:38 AM 3 comments    

Those we Al’s words to me on the phone today! It sure doesn’t feel like it should be our 7 year Anniversary! Wow, time flies! I scanned some pics of us from back in the day so sorry about the quality!!

This is us at my Winterfest dance my senior year of High School!

This is us going to my Senior Prom!

This is us in Destin at one of my BFF’s weddings! Love the water in the background!

This is Christmas 2005 at my parents house

This is us on Valentine’s Day this past year! This is the most recent photo I have!!

Aren’t we so cute! I think we look the same as we did 7 years ago! Guess we will age well! Ha!

Still not sure what we will do tonight, Al is still at work:( I’m hoping he will get off early and we can go eat somewhere good!! Hope ya’ll enjoyed this!

Posted in: on Thursday, July 2, 2009 at at 2:26 PM 11 comments    

I had a wonderful 4 mile run this morning! I usually do my runs of longer than 3 miles out by my parents house because there are more options of where to run! But, I decided I need to start doing longer runs by my house  since I am fixin to start school and will have less time to drive out there and run. Anyway, I discovered some new neighborhoods today. I think it’s so fun to run and discover new areas of town!!  I was proud of myself for doing negative splits again!!

Avg Pace- 10:20

Mile 1- 10:44

Mile 2- 10:28

Mile 3- 10:16

Mile 4- 9:50

So the pre-training plan I made last week has worked out really good for me this week! I did all the workouts I had planned so far. I am moving my hill run to tomorrow instead of Saturday so I can relax at the lake and go wakeboarding super early Saturday morning! We are leaving after my run in the morning to head back up to the lake for the 4TH! Yay!!

Question Time: When you do hill repeats, do you count your recovery on the down hills into your total mileage for the run? I have a great hill to do some hill repeats on tomorrow!!

I will be back later on to post pics of Al and I through the years! Happy 7 year Anniversary babe!! I love you:)

Posted in: on at at 12:13 PM 2 comments    

No running for me today! It’s all arm, leg, and ab work! Woohoo! The best part about this, in my opinion, is I can get up and be lazy for a little while, eat some breakfast, and just relax not needing to worry about how hot it is outside since I do my strength routine inside! That being said, Sadie woke me up at 5:30 and then again at 7:30. Geez, the dog does not know how to sleep in! So I got up, lazed around, ate brekkie, and headed out to take her for a mile walk. When I got back I did my strength workout. Think it was about 25-30 mins and I just did random stuff, no specific plan. My arms are really feeling it now though!

Unfortunately, yesterday after I posted that I was going shopping, the AC company I had called decided they were going to come and check out my AC that day. I was planning on them coming today but whatever. It wasn’t anything major, just my AC wasn’t cooling my house during the day as much as it should have been and needed a little freon. Good thing for that home warranty! So I ended up going shopping late afternoon and wasn’t really into it so I found nothing. The laptop bag I was specifically going for was too small. I have an issue finding one I like. My laptop is the widescreen one, 17 inches I think, and I really wanted the Vera Bradley laptop case but it’s too small. So I was just going to buy a Vera Bradley bag but the one I thought would work was too small and the others are huge! So I am still currently trying to decided what I am going to do about that! And there were no school clothes to be found:( Maybe I will try again later today.

Plans for today mostly include laying by the pool! Yea! And maybe a little shopping:)

I got an email from my manager at work today that said he was able to FINALLY get the PRN position approved for me!! This means I will be able to work twice a month or more if school allows for some extra cash! Yay!! I have been hoping that this would work out!

And lastly, tomorrow is Al and I’s 7 years anniversary! Yay!! Not sure what we will be doing, nothing too exciting because I am going out of town the next day and he has to work tomorrow. But 7 years! Wow, time sure does fly!! I will put up some fun pics of us through the years tomorrow!

For those of you who are married, how long were you with your significant other before you got married? For those of you not married, how long have you been with your significant other?? I think 7 years is unusually long without getting married but we were in high school when we met! Ha! Hopefully that ring will be coming VERY soon!!

Posted in: on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at at 10:28 AM 8 comments