Baby… baby… baby NO!

Word press is not cooperating tonight so I am going to bed and will post my weekend update tomorrow!

Snow blows…

Today was a scheduled rest day on my half marathon training schedule so I planned to do a 60 minute strength routine.  Instead mother nature took a dump on us so I did this…

My favorite part of shoveling was when someone showed up at my neighbors next door and snow blowed her entire drive way in about 15 minutes while I was breaking my back shoveling the heaviest wettest snow of my life.  Sure, I probably could of offered him $20 to do our driveway as well but my pride wouldn’t let me.  And our neighbor Mrs. Personality probably wouldn’t of let him.

Mom remember you promised me one of these for next winter…

I beg of you keep your word!  It took me almost two hours to shovel half of our driveway, clear a path in our backyard for Scooby to do his business and a path out front for our mailman.  All two hours of shoveling blew and the only cure to my aching back and arms now are to enjoy some ice cold beverages tonight!  TGIF!!!

Revelations while running…

I don’t what my problem has been this week but my motivation to workout has pretty much been non-existent!  I’ve still done it but not with much enthusiasm.  Today I had an easy three mile run planned to tackle, however, the thought of getting on the treadmill was just not an option!  So since the sun was out I bundled up and headed to Sand Run jogging trail.

Usually in the winter they plow the trail for the run/walkers but not today:(… It was ok though I just ran on the road and watched for cars.  Since the trail is through a metro park cars tend to actually drive slow and watch for people!

I had a lot on my mind when I started my run today…. nothing big mostly white noise aka negative things that don’t matter.  However once I began to focus on my breathing and draw in the beautiful snowy forest around me, I realized this is why I run.  Running has the power to take your mind off the shitty negative things most people tend to dwell on, and nine times out of ten when that run is over whatever shitty negative things you WERE thinking about are now pointless to you.

Another thing that came into my head on my run was how ridiculous it was that I felt I “had” to run today.  Do you know how many people wish they could go for a run… be outside… find a positive stress reliever…

So the next time you don’t feel like running… going to work…. or working at anything please remember

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

There are three kinds of people in the world, the wills, the won’ts and the can’ts. The first accomplish everything; the second oppose everything; the third fail in everything.
Eclectic Magazine

When one door closes another opens. But often we look so long so regretfully upon the closed door that we fail to see the one that has opened for us.
Helen Keller

ABC’s of Constantly Unwinding

First off I would like to say “thank you” to everyone for the well wishes.  I think they worked because I am feeling SO much better and back to myself:)

I have seen a lot of my fellow bloggers doing the “Alphabet” blog and since I am having writers block I figured I would as well!

A.   Age:

B.    Bed size:

C.   Chore you hate:

D.   Dogs:

E.    Essential start to your day:

F.  Favorite color:

G.  Gold or silver:

H.  Height: 5’9

I.   Instruments you play:

J.   Job title:

K.  Kids:

L.  Live:

M. Mom’s name:

N.  Nicknames:

O.  Overnight hospital stays:

P.  Pet peeve:

Q.  Quote from a movie:

R.  Righty or Lefty:

S.   Siblings:

T.   Time you wake up:

U.   Underwear:

V.    Vegetables you dislike:

W.   What makes you run late:

X.    X-rays you’ve had:

Y.    Yummy food you make:

Z.     Zoo animal favorite:

Hope you enjoyed:)!!!

 

Sleepy Sunday

Even though my Sunday started by meeting my team for Team Challenge with a bright and early 8:30am run…

The rest of my day has been quite lazy… I haven’t felt like myself really for the last week.  I’ve had REALLY bad stomach aches, nausea and the other not-so-nice side effects that point to the stomach flu.  I know its not food poisoning because it’s been going on a week, I’m definitely NOT pregnant that was ruled out ASAP, and I haven’t been around anyone who is sick…. I think.  So who knows, if I’m not feeling back to myself completely by tomorrow I’m heading to the doctor.

SO even though my run went well this morning I have been taking it extremely easy the rest of today!

Fingers crossed my tummy is back to normal by tomorrow.  I hate going to the doctor:(!

I love my wiener….

The best part of working from home most days is getting to spend time with this guy…

Maybe its was watching the Westminster dog show for two hours the other night, but I can’t get enough of this stinky little guy.  I even considered buying a few things for Mike and I to confess our love to Scooby….

For me:

For Mike:

Just kidding of course… Scooby doesn’t weigh 20 pounds:)!!!

Tonight I am off to a fundraiser meeting for Team Challenge.  If you didn’t get a chance to read my post yesterday about this amazing endeavor I have taken on PLEASE go back and do so:)!  I have already raised…… $625.00 in week one!!!  How amazing is that!!!  I am SO excited… SO pumped… and SO thankful!

Question Time:

What has you SO excited… SO pumped… and SO thankful lately?

Team Challenge!

I am so excited to share with you all that I have signed up for Team Challenge, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America’s (CCFA) half marathon training program.  Over the next 16 weeks, I will be putting my body to the test and training for the Virginia Wine Country half marathon to benefit Crohn’s & colitis research. The race takes place in Loudoun County, VA on June 4th.

For those of you who don’t know what Crohn’s or colitis are, they are both extremely painful, seldom discussed and often isolating digestive diseases that often lead to a ridiculous amount of doctors visits, extended hospitalizations, and surgery.  The psychological effects that these diseases have on patients is sometimes worse than the physical pains (which are excruciating).  As of right now, there is no cure.  In fact there is still very little known about these diseases.  20% of Crohn’s & colitis patients have a genetic component that caused the disease.  The other 80% have no clue where it came from.  The worst part is, you can be diagnosed at any time.  Although most patients are diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 35, a baby was diagnosed at 3 months, and a woman was diagnosed in her 50′s.  Imagine trying to eat and not know how your body is going to react to what you’re consuming.  Imagine trying to plan your life around the nearest restroom.  Imagine having to be bed ridden for days missing class, or work because every move you makes you scream in agony.  Unfortunately, this is what over 1.4 Million American’s have to live through over and over and over again.

Like I said before, running a half-marathon and donating to a good cause will be life changing for me.  However the fundraising for this endeavor will be just as big of an accomplishment as will be crossing the finish line.  I cannot express how important this is to me however if I don’t raise at least a good portion of the $3,500 I need to by mid April I will have no choice but to back out and not be able to participate in the race.  However all of the money that I did raise would still of course go directly to CCFA.  So I sincerely thank you for your support as I take on this challenge!

All of your donations are 100% tax deductible.  With the amount of funds the CCFA contributes to research, every dollar has the chance to be the dollar that finds a cure, or at least the next medical treatment!  No donation is too small (or large, haha!).

For your convenience, you may donate using your credit card on this secure website:

http://www.active.com/donate/virginia11neohio/OHIOASocrat

Thank you so much! With your help we WILL find a cure for all Crohn’s & colitis patients!

What does Valentine’s Day mean to you?

Happy Valentine’s Day to all my readers out there!  I have to say this year has been one of my best.  For many reasons but let me list a few:

1. Everyone I love (friends and family) are healthy and happy.
2. It’s my first Valentine’s as a married women:)
3. My husband got me an AMAZING gift…

I got tickets to see Adele in May !!!!

Adele is one of my FAVORITE singers and holds a very special place in my heart.  In March of 2009 Mike got me tickets to see Adele and ended up planning the whole day with her tour manager to get us in on an acoustic set Adele was playing before her concert so I could meet her and when I meant her Mike asked me to marry him!

Mike asking me to marry him, while sitting next to Adele:)

Me freaking out…. and so is Adele!  She even cried:)

I’m in disbelief that I just got engaged and Adele is crying while signing a picture for me:)

Me trying to smile while looking like a HOT mess:)

Mike is going to write her tour manager again to see if we can say “hi”, to Adele again. We’re not getting our hopes up but it would be awesome… again!

A lot of people get bummed about Valentine’s Day because their single or their significant other, “doesn’t do anything”.  However I believe that Valentine’s Day is really about letting the people in your life know that there special and they make your life a better place.  So I challenge all of you before the end of this day (if you haven’t done so already), tell someone anyone that you LOVE them and how much they mean to you.  Why, because life is too damn short and kind words can do more than you know!

So THANK YOU to all my blog readers for making me feel special every day by reading and supporting, “Constantly Unwinding”.  I hope each and every one of you had a fabulous Valentine’s Day and know that you are loved <3!

P.S.- Clean Eating: Recaps will now be done weekly instead of daily.

Busy bee…

Since I have been MIA the last 4 days… I will show you what I have been up to through pictures:)

Last Thursday I went to my first Team Challenge meeting (I will share more deals ASAP on this).  The meeting was AWESOME and the best part was meeting my new running coach

On Saturday we took off and headed west to stay with my parents and see my family.  I was extremely excited because I got to FINALLY meet this guy:

This is my new cousin Ryker:)

Saturday night we went out for our “Valentine’s Dinner” with my parents to an awesome Greek restaurant.

I got the gyro dinner and it was YUMO:

We got home after lunch time yesterday and chiseled ice off of our driveway for a good two hours so we wouldn’t have a giant mess on our hands when it all melted this week (YEA)! And then we straight up chilled the rest of the day!  Check back in later today for a clean eating and Valentine day update!

The heat is on…

Everyday I like to browse the Internet and catch up up on my celebrity gossip…

However sometimes I do actually read the news and today the wonderful city of Cleveland, OH debuted on Yahoo’s website.  The article talked about how cold it is here in Cleveland and how much colder it’s going to get the next couple days.

The article explained 22 tips that were found online to help keep you warm and save on your heating costs.  I decided to share which were my favorites:

• Dress in layers- I am always layered my hubby however NEVER is and is always the first to complain “it’s cold” in our house)
• Wear thicker socks or slippers- Never underestimate a good pair of house slippers
• Eat soup and other warm meals- My crock pot has been on cooking all sorts of delicious hearty meals since November.
• Open curtains and blinds during the day to let the sun in- It’s rare that we get sunny days so when it is sunny out, I open every curtain in the house.  My house plants thank me for it!
• Snuggle up in a blanket whenever you’re sitting down- I’m snuggled up in a blanket as I type this blog!
• Do something active (clean the house, exercise, etc.)- No brainer here…
• Don’t run the bathroom fan after you shower; the humidity will make the house feel warmer- I’ve never done this but I’m going to try it!
• Use rugs on bare floors-  We have hard wood floors so this is a must!

My favorite part of the article though was reading through the comments people left…

We already do all that stuff silly. If you really want to warm yourself up though, try som old overholt rye whiskey or some carvas brothers’ scotch… mmmm <—- I kind of want a glass of wine now:)

Number one should have been……..Move out of Ohio. <—– Thanks captain obvious!

Clean Eating Day #10

Breakfast: 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 1/2 cup of blueberries, 2 egg whites, 8oz. of water, Coffee

Snack: 1 whole grain wrap with one slice of low-fat deli ham.

Lunch: Salad with 2 cups of spinach, 2.5 oz. of turkey breast, 1/3 cup of cranrasins,  10 almonds, small sprinkle of reduced fat feta cheese, orange slices,  balsamic vinaigrette.

Snack: 1 apple, 1 Tsp. natural peanut butter

Dinner: Roast w/ red skinned potatoes, onions and carrots.  <— I cooked this in the crock pot for dinner.

Snack: Smart Ones dessert cup…. def NOT clean!

Challenges: Today was the toughest day I have had in awhile.  Around 2pm I started craving something sweet…. peanut butter and chocolate!  I had an apple with some peanut butter thinking that would sway the craving but it honestly only made it worse.  Finally after dinner I gave in and had a Smart Ones dessert… I was still in my daily points for WW today so I said screw it.  I ran four miles today so I’ll live…