Francis…

I’m beat!  This rainy weather is getting the best of me and making me want to crawl up into a ball and never leave my bed.  April showers are supposed to bring May flowers but it only looks as if April showers only bring May showers…. I need some sunshine in ma’ life!

The one hour of sunshine we did get today I took advantage of and mowed our front yard and pulled weeds out of my garden.  I can’t wait to start planting again I have high hopes for an amazing vegetable garden again this year!

Deciding I need to incorporate more cross training into my workouts and training for my half marathon, I signed up for a spinning class at the local YMCA.  It’s only Wednesday nights and its 45 minutes of spinning followed by 15 minutes of abs.  Tonight was my first class and it was… ok.  I tend to be a bit of a critic when I take spin classes since I used to teach spin.  The instructor was super nice but there was just to much chit chatting and more water breaks than what I would like.  I really pushed myself though and was a sweat pile by the end so I guess that’s all that matters!  I can’t expect every instructor to be as brutal as say Jillian Michaels…

Tomorrow I have an early morning brutal workout planned, 5 mile run and then 30 minutes of strength training.  Then I’m off to a screening in Akron for work and THEN tomorrow night I am meeting up with two of my girlfriends to see…

I’m SOOO excited:)!  I finished the book last week and loved it, it was a fast easy read and just a very good story overall.

I forgot to share with all of you my beloved Easter gift my mom got me this past weekend.  Meet Francis…

Yes I got a stuffed duck for Easter and I’m 28 years old and yes I named him Francis (no reason behind the name)… Growing up I had a stuffed duck that I HAD to sleep with every night and sadly my friends in high school kidnapped him and he was beheaded… I still get choked up thinking about it… bitches!  My mom thought it would be funny to get me another one since I received my first duck many years ago for Easter like when I was 11 or 12 years old… (his name was “Duckie”, creative I know).  So Jill if your reading this steer clear because this duck is here to stay!!!

On that note I am hitting the hay snuggled up to Francis:) Hope everyone had a good Wednesday!

Happy dance time…

So my morning has started off GREAT!  Even though it took me an hour and a half to get downtown for work this morning once I did I got a phone call and….

I got a raise:)!!!

Once I found out I immediately got out of my chair and did one of these…

I feel very blessed to have a job I LOVE and get paid well to do!  God is GOOD:)!!!  So even though its suppose to rain the next four days and I will be stuck training on my “dreadmill” life is good! 

Another exciting thing on the work front is I have a meeting with the Clevelands Indians today.  They’re looking to recruit me to be this guy…

No I’m kidding but we may have an opportunity to work with them so I’m excited to see there corporate office and get to know a bit more about them.  Our good friend Eric is in grad school right now and as a part time job is wither the ketchup or mustard mascot (depends which game) and LOVES it!  This is his 2nd season there so I have to get to a game to harass him:)!

Hope everyone is having a great day SO far!!!

Happy Easter!!!

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend! Enjoy the pictures:)!!!

Decorating Easter eggs….

My Easter egg designed after my grandma:)…

Easter flag…

My cousin Katie and her boyfriend Rob with their name eggs…

My name egg…

My grand parents with their great grandkids…

My cousin Ryker… how cute is he?!?!?

My cousin Lacy’s searching for Easter eggs…

Avery posing during the egg hunt…

Ryker was sad I had to leave:(!!!

Hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Easter!!!

Rain… rain go AWAY!

It’s been raining non-stop here the last two days and I frankly am SICK of it!  My runs need to be taken back outdoors because running on the treadmill again today made me feel like a robot or a…

I read a great article on Yahoo today called “6 Snacks You Should Eat Every Day“.  I was pretty happy because I currently have 4 of these “snacks” in my pantry and fridge.  For the full list go here, but below is a preview of the snacks I have on hand.

1.  Best Yogurt- Fage Total 2% Plain Greek Yogurt

I really like using Greek yogurt in smoothies, as a substitute as sour cream or it’s yummy just plain.

2.) Best finger food- Almonds

My favorite brand is Emerald’s 100 calorie almond packs.  I love almonds so its easy to indulge but the snack pack makes it a no brainer!

3.) Best Dip Snack- Sabra Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I have the original flavor in my fridge right not and I am obsessed with this stuff.  I use it as a dressing on sandwiches, on my salads and to dip veggies in.  It’s delicious!

4.) Best Drink- Lowfat Chocolate Milk

I switched over to lite soy milk a couple years ago so I currently have Silk LightChocolate Milk in my fridge.  This is a great snack after a long run (right Katie)!

Other great snacks I like to keep on hand but weren’t on the list include:

SantaFe Tortilla Company- Whole wheat tortillas

Breakstone’s Lowfat Cottage Cheese

Cleaned & sliced fresh veggies and fruits

What are some of your “must have” healthy snacks you keep on hand?

Well hello Monday:)…

Although its only 5:30pm and Monday isn’t technically over I think its safe to say it has been a pretty fantastic day:)!!!

I woke up this morning well rested and ready to conquer my to do list:

1.)   WORK

2.)   Pay bills:-(

3.)   Run 8 miles….

Work has FINALLY slowed down a little bit with the holiday this week so I was able to work ahead (which I love to do).  Being ahead in work (life) is what helps me sleep at night.

In between work I was able to pay some bills and I still have some $$$ left over so that’s always a plus:-)!  On my lunch break I jumped on the treadmill and busted out an 8 mile run!!! I ran for 40 minutes stopped refueled with some G2 and a GU and I hopped right back on and ran for 40 more!  My run today was that farthest I ever ran all at once so I was (still am) pretty damn proud of myself.  Runs like today’s don’t make the upcoming half marathon seem so unreachable!

 After my run my ankle’s and calves were pretty tight and sore so I decided to try my first ice bath!!! Here’s a video to describe the torture I endured….

I didn’t use near as much ice as this chick did… but I probably did make some of the funny noises:-)!  My ice bath was interesting… as soon as I got in I felt like I was having a heart attack… how do those polar bears do it?!?!

However once my body got used to the freezing sensation I was actually able to sit back and “relax” and read some of the new Rolling Stone magazine my hubby got in the mail today.  Look who’s on the cover;-)!!!

 Doesn’t she look beautiful… the article was really good as well and it reminded me that next month I get to see her AGAIN in concert, SO excited!  Anyways the best part about the ice bath was when it was over… my legs felt refreshed and actually really good!  I’m not going to make it an every run occurrence but for those days I really push myself and do a lot of mileage like today I think it will become a must!

Once my ice bath was over I got right back to work and I immediately tuned into the Boston Marathon results since it was today…

“Kenya’s Geoffrey Mutai won the Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 2 seconds – the fastest anyone has ever run the 26.2-mile distance.”

Can you imagine!!! My goal is to finish the HALF-MARATHON in 2:20.  Some people were just born to run!  This week is gonna be a long one so I’m happy it got started off on the right foot!  I’m going to try to resist the temptation of reality TV tonight so I can hit the hay early and read a few more chapers of “Water for Elephants”.

I’m only 30 pages in but it is already SOOO good!  I made a promise to myself that I am going to finish the book before seeing the movie.  Hope you guys had a great day!!!

How sweet it is to be loved by you:)…

Yesterday when I got home from my run I walked into this little treat…

My hubby got me an early “Easter Basket” (my words not his), he called it a “little treat”! We had a discussion awhile ago that little cards and “treats” are nice just because sometimes.  I always tend to pick Mike up a bag of his favorite chocolate covered pretzels and will get him cute cards to just say I’m thinking of him and love him.  So when I saw this when I walked in the door it meant a lot to me that he was actually listening when we had that conversation.  However I was NOT expecting this bag of awesomeness!!!  My bag-o-goodies included:

-A new coffee mug (I am a coffee cup collector)

-Water For Elephants (a book I almost bought this past weekend but decided not too)

-Green tea, Lavender tea (I drink tea every night before bed)

-Reeses peanut butter eggs (YUMO), Gum

-A very cute card:)

What I loved most about my gift bag was that he really put a lot of thought into what he got me, it didn’t cost a ton of $$$ or wasn’t something like flowers that just die (although they are nice to get occasionally as well), they were things that he knew were “me” and that I would use and like.  It’s nice to be loved by someone that cares and takes time to tell and show you so!  This really did make my night last night:)!  It’s easy to get caught up in the everyday bullshit of life and I’m so happy I married a wonderful man that makes me take time to stop and smell the roses!  I love you cutes:)!!!

What’s something special that you do for your partner, children, friends to show them you love them???

I’m sore

My body hurtssssssssss! I was extra sore Monday from my long run on Sunday so I decided to do a 30 minute Yoga Sculpt program on the exercise on demand channel on Monday.

The workout I did was by Maura Barclay and was TOUGH!  But…. I loved it, I forget how much I like yoga so it was a nice change of pace. 

I woke up extra early for work yesterday (5am…yuck) and my calves were still sore from my run and my core hurt like whoa! Waking up so sore reminded me why I need to do more core training because right now my belly is like jelly:-P! 

                (Note: Not my jelly belly… you couldn’t pay me enough to take a picture like this)

After working all day I found myself driving home yesterday and talking myself out of working out.  I told myself, “Just take a rest day, and you can do extra the rest of the week.”  Once I got home I made myself change into my workout clothes and I sucked it up!  I jumped on the treadmill and ran 4 miles in exactly 40 minutes.  My runs are getting better and faster and that gave me the motivation I needed to tackle that run yesterday.  After my run I decided to do another workout off of the exercise on demand channel. 

I did a 30 minute upper body and core workout and honestly I hated every minute of it.  I really loathe strength training but I know I need to do it to get my body looking how I want it too but OMG its SOOOO boring and hard…  Can someone please give me suggestions on how I can try to enjoy it more!?!?! 

Today I have a 50 minute run planned along with a 15 more core workout.  It’s BEAUTIFUL out so I’m excited to get outside and get moving.  So just a few more hours of work left and hanging out with this guy…

Question: Again can someone please give me suggestions on how I can try to enjoy strength training more!?!?! 

Why I blog?

If you are a fellow blogger I’m sure you have been asked the question, “Why do you blog?”.  So I thought I would share why I blog with all of you:

1.) I like meeting new people.

I have meant some awesome people through blogging such as:

Heather

Which lead me to Team Challenge, where I got to meet this great group of people who I spend every Sunday morning with and will soon be running my first half-marathon with:

Through Heather and Team Challenge I also got to meet another fellow blogger Katie, who I spent a 5 mile run chatting with:)

It also has lead me to read some other amazing blogs and even though I haven’t meant them (yet) I look forward to reading there blog daily and am happy when they leave uplifting comments on mine….. Stephanie I’m talking about you:)!

2.)  Freedom.

I love laying in bed at night to blog. Most nights I have no idea where I’m headed. I love that freedom. Blog writing is like going for a run with no set route, it ends when and where ever I choose it too.  My best writing comes when I am not thinking, just writing.

3.) Getting a reaction.

Every comment left reminds me that there are people out there that actually care what I have to say!  I know how pathetic that may sound but I’m hopeful I’m not the only person that feels this way:)

4.) Because I want too:)

Blogging has made me step outside my comfort zone, its made me more accountable to myself, its been a great therapy tool to write (type) my feelings and thoughts down to make them seem not so BIG and overall it’s just something I really enjoy doing.  It’s not a top priority but its definitely become a priority.  My blog is a expression of myself:)

If you are a fellow blogger reading this, why do YOU blog:)???

M.I.A.

Sorry I went M.I.A. this week friends but it was a BUSY week… I don’t want to bore you with all the details but here’s run down of this past week:

Monday: The day from hell with work… I am SO busy and summer is usually when I my work load slows down:(

Tuesday: I woke up ran 3 miles and did some strength training, took a shower and then felt like crap so I spent the remainder of the day sick in bed:(!

Wednesday: I felt better but took the day off from working out.  I ended up driving to Tiffin for work (which worked out great because that’s where my parents live).  But I managed to make a pit stop on the way to see my beautiful granny:)

Thursday: I worked all day and then went to a Jazzercise step class with my mommasita!

Friday: Drove home, worked, ran 5 miles and then went out for karaoke again:)

Saturday: Mike and I ran 3.10 miles and hung out around the house most of the day and then made the mistake of watching Kicking & Screaming last night… Will Farrell’s worst movie ever….

And then today: Today was friends and family day for Team Challenge so the hubby woke up bright and early to go run with me this morning (how awesome is he)!  We had to do an 80 minute run today so I ended up running 7.5 miles!!! That is the farthest I have EVER ran so I was pretty damn proud of myself.  I was also SOOO proud of my hubby who also set a PR in distance and ran 5 miles!

After we got back home we did a few things around the house, then showered up and headed out to enjoy this beautiful 80 degree sunny day!  Is it safe to say spring has arrived?!?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t believe its back to work already tomorrow but tis’ life!  Have a great week everyone!!!!

YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!

I had an AWESOME 6.5 mile run this morning!  My “Operation 48hrs.” paid off!  The weather was beautiful this morning and there were alot of people on the towpath so the run actually went by quite quickly!  Since I feel great, the hubby and I are off to catch a flick.  We are going to see Insidious it looks scary and brutal… so basically right up our alley:)!!!

Since this post is a quickie here is a video our good friends made of Mike and I for our engagement last summer that I never shared with my blogging friends… Enjoy:)

Can you tell I shed some pounds???  Please lie:)!!! Happy Sunday!