Busy days

So I cant even remember when the last time I wrote was but it sure must have been a while back. So on Sunday Roni, Stephen, Grandma, Tony, and Charity came in for Christmas dinner. They all were there when I got in from work. Daniel was frying a turkey and the kitchen was busy with other food being prepared. We all ate and had a good time and then opened presents. After that we watched survior finale! It was of course awesome but it sure was late at night. Some people were falling asleep during the show.
On to Monday... I quit my job. Well... gave 2 weeks notice is more like it. I also did P90X at home since my calf was still sore... I cant remember if I said but my calf was pulled, turned wrong, something! And it has been bothering me since Thursday I think.
Tuesday wasnt anything special. I went to the gym... did some of the upper body machines. I heart running and couldnt. :( better taking time off now than putting it off and further injuring myself. Alex's sister Katie went in for open back surgery. I dont hear much about medical things from Alex but Katie is fine now and will leave the hospital maybe today.
So Wednesday was filled with a lot of gym time. I have been feeling better and wanted to test drive everything but take things slow too. I did spin class with alex twice and bootcamp. I felt great! No sore leg here!!
So here I am now about to get back to the gym and meet Alex and maybe Val there to torture them in upper body weights. :) (that is how Alex would put it) She says I make a face when I lift so ill take her word for it. When I get back today I have to make cranberry sauce and a cheese dish for my parents house tomorrow!! I love this cheese dish that my friend Kathy brought to my house last week. Its SO delish!

best homemaker ever

So since Its like a winter wonderland outside AND Daniel told me not to go drive, Im being the best homemaker ever! I could serously enjoy this job... if only it paid. So far today I have helped prepare the turkey for tomorrow, done dishes, taken out the trash and recycle, vacumed, done laundry, showered, cleaned the bathroom, made cookies, eatten breakfast and lunch, and played with the cats. For the rest of today I plan to finish wrapping gifts, organize the towels in the bathroom closets, clean the master bath, maybe play in the snow a bit, take a nap, bake a pie, and who knows what else. Country Biscuit is truly a scardicat. He is so nervous about all the snow outside that he keeps meowing to get into the master bedroom. He needs a chil pill for sure! A great thing that someone did for us was plow the street. Since we live outside the city limits that was the last thing I expected... especially before 10am!

Party!

So last night I had a party at my house with some workout buddies. We had a great time. Mary, Kathy, Alex, Valerie, and Courtney came. Courtney isnt in the workout group but she was great company. She is Alex's sister and I hadnt seen her in forever since she has moved halfway across the country to Arizona. Kathy made the very best cheese pie. I loved it and cant stop talking about it. I got the recipe so Im going to make it on sunday and friday.... mmmmm. We also had butterfinger cake, and of course the healthy stuff like salad, veggies, and potroast. Yum!!

On another note, I totally did something to my right leg. I was doing weights yesterday afternoon and it just got this pain and I pulled a muscle or a few. SO.... another week of almost no working out. I can only do upper body stuff for about 4 days. So it looks like the arm bike thing is going to be my best friend along with upper body weights. Also i can pull in the pool maybe. But I dont think Im going ANYWHERE at least for tomorrow because its dumping buckets of snow outside now. I was at work and came home early by just an hour and im glad i did becuase i slid twice. I almost didnt get into my neighborhood becuase my tires turned by my car didnt! EK! Any yes i was going at a snails pace. So going down my road i made sure i was going about 2 miles an hour because if i missed my driveway i would have been in a ditch. I did get home safe.

So now I am sitting home with the fire going and doing laundry and getting some food for dinner.

back to square one

Well... today was my official full first day back on track and getting ready for the marathon. Of course it was crosstraining day so no running for me. In the morning I only had a few minutes so i did weights and abs. In the evening I met Alex. I did the stairmaster for 20 minutes, swam about a 2200, and biked for over 12 miles along with finishing the weights from the morning. I was set to do more swimming but my foot cramped up on me and wouldnt go away! it was the worst. I finally said bag it and just swam without kicking my right foot. Also my goggles were all filling up with water. O well, you win some, you loose some.
Tomorrow I hope to get back on the treadmill for just a few miles and then off to work of course. OR Ill do lower body weights...... Im just not sure yet!

before during and after the race

Well last night I picked up Alex and we headed down to Charlotte to see my parents before my race and crash at thier place. Thank goodness it worked out that way because Im not sure I would have woken up in Greensboro to drive down so early in the mornining AND race the same day. So I picked her up and we started going and her husband Ron called. He had some bad news but wanted her to go anyways, His mother had passed away. Super sad! He insisted on Alex supporting me at the race and was very selfless.
So we got down to my parents and I had an orange while everyone else had pizza and beer. :( O well... I got my share later. We chatted with my parents until 10 and then called it a night. It was so much fun having a sleep over at my parents house!
That night I had this dream, Of course I would too.. I had a dream that this big black lady stole my mp3 player at the gym when i set it down. I went to get it from her and she got in such a tiff over it and then managment came over and took it away from both of us. They told me that I couldnt prove it was mine! So I ended up missing my race, and I was upset because of that and I didnt have my phone on me so about 30 missed calls were on it and people were wondering where I was. Thankfully none of that really happened....
So I did wake up before my alarm clock. I heard my Dad's shoes hit the staircase and BING i was up. That sort of thing would happen when I was in highschool. So i was up before 545 and downstairs eatting a light breakfast of english muffin, (no pb), banana, and then got a powerbar for closer to the race. I have learned that peanutbutter gives me the WORST side stitches in the world when running. They are so unberarable. I went to get Alex up at 6 and we got our act together and then left for the race.
I brought my old swim bag with me that I used to take to races and filled it with all the stuff that might be important to me while going. When we got downtown, my dad sort of let us out to get to the convention center to pick up all my race stuff. He went to find a parking spot and then meet us there later. It was still dark and we didnt see the signs to get into the center but eventuntually found our way there. After countless amount of stairs and escalators we got to the bottom of the center and found where I was to get my race number and shirt. We then met up with my Dad who wanted to walk around and look at all the stuff that people were trying to sell others for a crazy expensive price.
We all went back up stairs and then just relaxed on the carpet until race time.
Off to the race track we went... it was 32 degrees when I started running.... yes very very cold! I think it took forever for them to start. There was an annoucer guy who was saying something but no one could understand him at all and also there was about 8000 runners there. The last race I did and only other one, there was 2000 people. SO this was much much larger. People were packed like sardines everywhere. I found my way finally to the startline and started about 5 minutes after the official time started. There was a santa that ran the whole half in his suit and I kept up with him for the good part of the race. At first when I started i didnt think i was going too fast but then i looked at the Garmin that Alex let me borrow and it said something crazy like 8:30! I was like hmmm I feel like im going a 10! Anyways, the race was pretty straight forward. My father told me that I would be running near some really pretty houses. I didnt pay any attention to the homes around me because I was focusing on me and how my body felt and making sure that no one ran into me or vis versa. Alex and my Dad met me at the 5 mile mark where I shed my gloves and jacket. I felt better after that. My poor dad was looking so hard for me that he missed me! I saw him looking and I ran so close to him i could have touched him! Alex saw me and was shooting a video.. hopefully I dont look too horrible in the video.
After seeing them, I was off again and got out my first gu. (its like liquid candy) I nursed that thing for a bit and also drank up my gatorade for a bit. At all the stations all they had was water so I got that at 4 out of the 6 stations. They were there every 2 miles. The other two stations i didnt stop because i felt pretty ok. On mile 10.7, i got the biggest side stich ever and knew I couldnt run it out so i had to walk for about 15 seconds or so. Thankfully it went away and i was off again. I had a few sayings for when things seemed tough or there was a big hill or things like that. My first thought was.. If Alex can swim 1.2 miles, then bike 56 miles and THEN run this far, I can surly just run the length that she did. Another thing I was thinking is not appropriate for the blog. It had something to do with people moving out of the way.
About a mile away from the finish line, the marathoners went one way and I went another way to the finish. I felt bad for them because I have been in thier shoes, BUT they did chose to do it. I also saw a lot of people who were running in memory of others and to support others. That was pretty cool! So back to the race.... about mile 12.4 or so I started seeing signs for beer. I was so excited because of course a nice ice cold beer is delish after a long hard run. So Im getting really close to the finish line and then they have everything very narrow. It was hard to pass others and just go all out near the end. I did finish and was like THANK GOODNESS! I then went to go find something to eat or drink or something. They had water! and GREEN bananas and marathon bars. I gave back my clip and took a metal and got a space blanket and went on my search for my beer. As I was passing the vendors, who had nothing good... Bread and crakers I was getting a bit discouraged. Thes was nothing like my marathon day when they had pizza and subway and massages, etc. I had to stop to streatch because I was tight and then went to find my welcome party. I couldnt find them anywhere. Alex goes and talkes to the person on the stage and asks them to announce my name to find me. And they did! And of course I was right there all this time. HA! So we started talking and I was saying how disapointed I was that there really wasnt anything good and about the beer and there it was! A small table away from everyone. I went there and got my cup and was so happy and ready to head back to the car.
Once we got into the car my left foot cramped up so i had to take off my shoe. O well. We made it home and got ready to go to qdoba for lunch.
We met my grandparents, aunt, mom and of course dad and alex there and had lunch. On my way over there, i wasnt feeling too good and rolled down the window. I got my food and halfway through i had to leave. (nothing happened) but I came back and felt better. I think my body was in shock or something. We had a good time at lunch and ended up making our way back to my parents to pick up Vals dogs and head up to Greensboro again. We stopped a little over halfway for gas and a diet coke. I was thursty and the first diet coke i had was not tasty... something was wrong with it. We did make it home and I dropped off Alex, and the dogs. I then got a long nap in and here I am now waiting on Daniel for dinner... Im about to eat my arm im so hungry!
The cats are all looking for my attention and craving to be pet... they sure did miss me!

I looovvveee sleep

So since I cant workout, I have had extra time to do stuff... like sleep. Daniel came in sometime tonight and was like, what time do you want me to wake you up. I told him 8 and he came in at 9! I though I had slept for longer and I was right. AND he had breakfast for dinner all ready for me. YEAH! He cooks the best bacon. Its so straight and crispy and delish.
Tomorrow is going to be a long day with getting packed for Charlotte and then going to work, then to charlotte.

not working out is hard to do....

So this is my week of tapering in order to get ready for my race on Saturday. I have been so tierd this week. I think im going to go to bed very soon. The good news is that earlier today the weather said that it was going to rain on Saturday and now it says it isnt!! Thank goodness. I have already started packing for the big day. I took Jean's advice and went and got some of those cheap gloves, ear warmers, and a long sleeve shirt from goodwill. If I get hot, I wont feel bad just leaving it on the road because I didnt pay that much for it. ( if you have never run a race, people leave all sorts of trash all over the road) Anyways, today was very productive and hopefully tomorrow will be too. I got almost all my errands done. Alex and I did do a spin class today and swam for just a little bit, plus weights. Tomorrow I have just a 2 mile run and thats it til race day. I almost never take a day off ever, so this is big for me.

o yes

And officially... I have the weirest cat ever. CB stole my clementine last night and ATE it! Im just happy he didnt get the carpet dirty but he sure did chow that thing down.

celebrate

I have a lot to celebrate over. Today the celebration is of Daniel and me. We met 7 years ago today and have loved eachother ever since. Its amazing that it has been that long. It doesnt seem like it but it is what it is. The best part is that tomorrow it may snow. We of course met in the snow when Alex asked her friends to walk me to her apartment to pick her up one mile each way.
On another note... I am officially tapering now for my half marathon. Tonight is the last night that im going to eat junk food til my race. We are having bojangles.... so fitting. Considering our babies are all named after that place.
Tomorrow morning all the girls are getting up and heading to ihop for breakfast. Im surprised that Alex will actually be up and moving at 730am tomorrow. We all havnt gotten together in about a month because Kathy broke her thumb off her hand (pretty gross) and has had one infection and now has a bone infection. So Ellen and I havnt seen her in like FOREVER! It should be fun!

evil things

So... since the weather has been getting colder and the sun goes down sooner I have been faced with no other option but to hang on the treadmill (otherwise known as the dreadmill). I would compair it to this..... the treadmill is like having to spend time with someone who is boring when you could spend the same time with say... your best friend. So I would consider the treadmill the boring person and the outdoors the bestfriend. So I am faced with spending oodles of time with a boring person but at least I have some music to drownd out the time.
On another note... Alex and I have found this group ex instructor who is awesome. Her name is mason and she teaches spin and bootcamp type classes. She just has the best music and really pushes you. I think it also helps that she is our age. We took her class earlier today will go next week too. Tomorrow we are running outside (yeah) and then im going to finish up on my own since Alex is still tapering and tomorow is my last long run til race day.

#3

This is my crazy youngest child 8 piece. (#3) Daniel was throwing the ball up to him on the loft for him to catch, which you can see he did and then he would mess with it and throw it back down to him. They played for about 10 minutes. Both really had fun. Apparently he thinks he is a dog and plays catch.

wow

Today was a much better day running. I did above pace all day and no shin splints or leg cramps. I will say that my quads are sore from weights yesterday but that didnt stop me from going pretty fast for all 8 miles. I was super stoked about it. The only unfortunate thing is that tomorrow its supposed to rain all day. :( I guess it has to rain sometime. I wish it would just snow....

gearing up to get going

So it is t minus less than 2 weeks til race day and I am gearing up for my last long run until race day. Today was an eventful day but halfway frustrating. I did end up doing 8 miles but had shin splints for some reason and i pulled the stop plug on myself not on purpose. And i know there was something else that happened too. O yes, i needed body glide desparately. Anyways I did it and then also did weights and the gazell with Alex. My last long run will be on Thursday because its supposed to rain all day on wednesday. I was a lucky winner today at Kholes and found some workout attire for 80% off! Go me! Anyways, the other night Roni, Stephen, Grandma, Tony, and Charity came in and we went out to Shanes for dinner. It was really good food as always and good company too.
Its hard to believe that November is over and tomorrow is December! It sure will feel like it on Friday morning when its 27 outside! EKK.

Sleep.... What sleep?

Ok so it has become a thing to do since last year to stay up til 12 and then hit CVS and now Walgreens for all the free deals. So yesterday evening, I called up CVS and Walgreens to make sure that everything was cool and that the deals were to start at 1201. Walgreens said yes and CVS was being kind of funny about things and said to check back after 12. So we ( Charity, Jean and myself) went to Walgreens first. Lets just say that things didnt go as planned. We all got all of the stuff we wanted and then went to checkout. I was first to go and the prices were not correct and i got no money back on my order. So after Jean did her order, the same thing happend. We ended up spending almost an hour in there trying to figure it out with the store clerk. We decided to come back later after she reset everything to then try again.
So... we headed out to CVS to get all of our free stuff there. Things went a lot more smooth there. Not a soul had been in to get anything free. I mean Im not going to use half the stuff that I got (just for men product) but Im sure I know someone who will. So I did my order and Valerie's order too.
We left there in no time and went back to Walgreens and they said that everything was ringing up correct price. Well the money back didnt really happen again for most products so we were out of luck again. We ended up getting back at 2am! and then up at 720 for a run that ended short due to my music dying on me. :( O well... at least I did 5 miles and not nothing.

Sometimes growing up is hard to do

So this past week was a tense one for me. I was a big girl and went to two doctors all by myself. I first went to the eye doc where I was hoping and truly thought that my eyes were still just like they had been for the past 10 years and they were. No contact change. Yippie!! But the doc had a surprise for me.... a not so great one. They discontinued my contacts! How could they??! We found another great type so it ended up not being so bad.
The following day I went to the dermo. This was the appt that I was really nervous about. I came prepared with siera mist and skittles. I ended up not needing thankfully because no skin had to be removed. Phew! What a relief. Everyone and I mean everyone in my family (blood) has had skin removed from skin cancer and funny looking moles. I guess I am not in that catagory yet. I did however meet the nicest doctor ever. If anyone asks me I have a great dermo doc now.
Tomorrow my mom is coming into town to visit... I however will be at work :( I hope to see her for a bit but if not for too long, I will see her on my race day in a few weeks.

Rain go AWAY!

by no means do i want a drought here or anything... just a sunny day to go running outside! Today I had planned to go on an outdoor run that was hilly with Val's dog. Lets just day none of that happened. Instead I ended up on the treadmill again! I think I am finally getting the hang of it considering I did 11.5 miles on it today along with weights. Give me some good tunes and a towel and water and Im good to go. I also went out to lunch with Daniel to a mexcian resturant. It was of course so good. Then it was a nap due to the still wet and cold weather out and then some tv and dinner and calling it a night.

part 2

Ok.. so im back again for part 2. Everyone went thier ways to get ready for dinner and so we met up at Fat Tony's about an hour later. We all had a great time there chatting and the time when by so fast. Of course we were all exhaused from doing our thing that day and couldnt believe it was only 8ish when we called it a night at the resturant. Everyone said goodbye and Diane and I went to our room to call it a night. I was about asleep when Diane's sister called. Well Diane's sister is almost due. She called saying that she wasn't feeling right. From the last time Diane's sister had a child it took all of less than 40 minutes to deliver. Luckly nothing happend and she did not miss anything back home. Diane was talking to me and I just fell asleep. I couldnt help it and I felt bad. The following day I woke up at 7am! I wanted to sleep longer but I kept coughing and stuff and just decided I might as well get up. So I went out to do some deals at the stores and on my way got totally lost. Of course I got lost again but corrected myself only after about 10 minutes. Alex then called while I was out to see if we wanted to come over for breakfast. Of course we did so I got Diane and then we drove to Alex's for breakfast. Or so we thought! We went to the wrong place and it wasnt after about 10 minutes that we decided we were at the wrong place and then corrected ourselves. That pretty much was the theme of the weekend. Always lost and always correcting ourselves. So we had breakfast with Alex and said our final goodbyes. Diane and I then proceded to HT to get some grocerys. There were triple coupons that week and we had to get the free stuff! We then had to race back to the hotel to grab our stuff and head out. We stopped at the local strip mall on our way out but didnt get anything. Nothing was really eye catching. So we got on the road about 2 hours earlier than what I had thought when we went down to wilmington. That was ok because we did see quite a few accidents and were thankful that we were not a part of them. We stopped at two places on our way back. First we stopped at Duplin winery but they were closed. I have always wanted to go there but go figure that no one was there. Then we stopped at smithfields for some lunch. I LOVE thier bbq! Its the best!!!! I just kept saying mmmm mmmmm. We did make it home in time for the sun to still be up so we went on a walk and then I took a nap.
It was a great trip and I miss Alex.... She is in california then Arizona! I wont see her for another couple weeks.
Tonight I did my very best to make homemade pizza. It was my first time ever making it by myself. When I was a child my mother used to make it all the time. It reminded me of the past and the good family times we had. I hope its good.... its stuffed crust.

to wilmington and back

So the weekend started off very very early to say the least. I got up at 4:15 to get ready to leave and get Diane by 5am. I had the car packed for the most part. I was pretty awake for being so early but did get an energy drink anyways. So when I went out to leave I turned on the lights and there she was again in the front yard chomping away.. a doe. She is soooo pretty but when there is a doe there is a buck somewhere and I have no interest in getting hurt by one. So 8 piece and I watched for a few seconds until I had to leave. The first part the the trip was not too eventful. We had a good time chatting and got there in a good amount of time. We got to wilmington in good time BUT just happened to miss our turn so we got lost and asked someone where to go and they told us to go back. Then we got the brilant idea to use the gps that we brought! O it was too early to think. So we got it out but ended up putting in wilminton instead of wrightsville beach and the thing was giving us wrong directions. Thankfully I had called Ron who told me where to go so I just followed what he said. We got parked and started walking but thankfully again we stoped and asked someone because we totally would have gone the wrong way. Diane and I met Ron at the transition area for the swim to bike part. Alex did fantastic in her swim! She was right on pace for what she wanted her best time to be. She got fifth overall! We cheered for her and took pictures and were a very supportive fan group. I had made two signs for Alex. One said Go Alex and the other said " think fat tony's" ... thats her fav place to eat here and thats where we went for dinner.. more on that later.
From the swim to bike we had about 3 hours to kill. Ron decided to go to Port city java while Diane and I did a little touring the town (getting lost again) and window shopping. We ended up meeting Ron at the coffee place and brought food with us. :) From there we had to take a ferry over to the second transition area. We waited around for a good while and finally saw Alex again. We of course cheered her on and I yelled.. " see you at mile 3!" So from there we got her bike and bike stuff and went over to meet her at mile 3.
Once we got back over to the other side from the ferry, my friend Matt was there. He lives close by and had the day off work. We havnt seen eachother in about 2 years and that was way too long. I have known him since I was 17. Anyways we picked him up and went to see Alex run at mile 3. She looked very good and relaxed and had a smile on her face. She was going pretty good. Of course she passed us so we had a bit of time until we saw her at mile 10 which was the same place as mile 3. We went and got some more snacks from the car, put up her bike and got some coffee at port city java again. We all had a good time talking and everything. From there we went back outside to meet Alex for one last time at mile 10. She was still running and still looked good. I yelled to her "your my hero!!" And she ran past. We all went straight to the ferry to get over to see her finish at the line. The ferry line was longer than ever! I kept looking at my watch every 2 seconds. Me and my being on time was making me panic. All I could think was what if we fail to meet her at the finish. She needs that support for sure there! I was sooooo upset but trying to hold it together.
Finally we got to the other side and i just started running through the crowd to find her. All I was doing was looking for a yellow visor. I didnt see one so I just stood at the finish. Everyone followed behind me and then.... THERE SHE WAS going over the finish line! Phew! She just stopped at the finish and then she was crying (i could totally relate from the marathon) and she just said... " i didnt think i was going to finish" But she DID! Everyone was so proud of her for sure. She then made a beline for the beer stand. I took some pictures then all of her stuff and then had to find a restroom. I then went and got all of the other 2 transistion bags that where hers and Matt and Diane stood in the ferry line to get back becuase it was extreemly long. I went back for Ron and Alex and we all got in line and she just chatted about everything. The ferry line must have taken about 45 minutes or so. We made it back to the mainland and went to get the cars to pick Alex up. But when we were halfway there we realized we wouldnt be able to because of the runners still on the road. So we had to go back and break the bad news. I think she figured it out after she saw us walking back. We all got back to the cars and went to get ready to go to fat tony's. ....................
More to come later... its late and im hungry. (11:08pm) still need some dinner :)

Last week

Last week I failed to say that I actually carved my pumpkin that I was so proud of.

Packing and such...

So I have to get packing for the beach to battleship ironman and half. I'm only partly packed and its thursday night tv! Tomorrow will be a very very busy and packed day. I have the gym at 6 then work til 515 then a work function til 10 then taking care of someones cats and finally home! Then off at 5am to drive to wilmington to watch and cheer Alex on for her half. It has been quite a road to accomplish this tast. I dont know what Im going to do over the next 2 weeks when Alex is gone on her road trip. I think ill borrow somones dog and go running or something since I lack an animal in that department.

quiet weekend

So this weekend has been pretty quiet. Of course last night Daniel got the idea to watch scary movies........ and yes I did watch one but not another. Daniel and Philip watched another one once the first was over and I had no intention of going through another. The first one was from Rob Zombie. It was halfway of a comedy but the other half very scary and gross. I plugged my ears a couple times and looked away. Tomorrow is my first day of a early schedule during the week due to the time change and it being dark earlier so that means more time at time to do stuff. Tomorrow I plan on a walk with the girls. O yeah and clipping coups! Its going to be triples at ht on wednesday!

What a workout!

Today was pretty good. I went to a closing at 10,then went to lunch with Daniel at a mexican place. We then made our way to the farmers market where I acted like a child due to the fact that I got a pumpkin that I can carve. Yeah!! I had the biggest smile on my face and the best part is that im going to bake the pumpkin seeds! What a great healthy snack. We got home and I took a nice afternoon nap which I now really appreciate. I got up and went to the gym. I ended up staying way longer than I expected but o well. I did some weights then met Alex for an amazing spin class and after that I was supposed to meet Daniel to do intervals on the dreadmill. I couldnt find him so I got on and just ran for a bit. After I had decided to go I got off and there Daniel was. Soo.... we ended up doing intervals and leaving late. Tomorrow I have so many errands to run since its my day off and im meeting Alex for a 6 mile run. I am going to get a few miles in before I meet her so I can get my miles up for the week.

O and the reason I didnt see Daniel at the gym is because he got there late. He cooked homemade maranara sauce and we just had fish, chicken, veggies, brown rice, and biscuits for dinner... mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

My friday on a tuesday

So today was not too productive at work. I had an appt but it didnt keep because of the weather. It rained all day! Yuck! Anyways after work I went to this girls night in type thing at a running store. It was fun. I saw Val, Caitlyn and Alex there. We all hung out together for the most part. It definitly was not as busy as last time but o well. We all got these really nice waterbottles and I won this juice stuff that tastes like flinstone vitamins! So after the event, I went and got Daniel some collards and milk at the store and went home. So Daniel cooked some collards earlier in the week and heated up the "pot liquor" and Country Biscuit DRANK it!! GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyways now off to watch the biggest looser!

week one back

This past week was the first full week of being back in gboro. It has been really hard to get back into the groove of things at the gym. I had a slow week away and now my body is like.. noooo! I know i have had enough rest and im back on my a game with not eatting junk food 24/7. Today was a double at the gym. I went early and then again in the evening with Daniel. I ended up spinning by myself because it was packed everywhere. I think solo spinning has become one of my new favorite things. Its a whole big room that is super chilly and your own fan and my own music. Call me a loaner or whatnot but it has been fun. Today was the third that I have done this recently. I went for about 40 min this evening.
I am also on the hunt for some good winter running gear. Jean has been very helpful in giving me advice and Im on the lookout for some gloves so my hands dont freeze off. I think I have decided to do a half marathon in December by myself. I have to get back on the bandwagon and start training longer now. Thursday is a 6 mile run and that will be the last sort of halfway long run with Alex until her half in less than 2 weeks. From here on out its all on me to get my training in and the hours logged.

Back to reality

So after the not so wonderful end to the last night in SXM, I woke up that following morning determined to make it to the gym for just a bit due to the inactivity of the day ahead of us. I made it all of 20 minutes on the treadmill walking slower than slow when I called it quits. My body was so achy. Anyways I got back up took so advil and then we headed to the beach for one last time. We only stayed for about 2 hours but it was nice and I was able to finish my book there on the beach and get in the water one last time. Of course afterwards we had to pack it all up and head on out. We dropped off the rental car and got to the airport to check in. The people said to be there early and we were just waiting around twittling our thumbs. I decided to nap for the last little bit until our flight boarded. Sandi and Pete met up with us for one last picture and then they had to leave for thier flight. Our flight boarded 15 minutes late but we ended up getting to Miami on time. I of course slept most of the way there. Daniel watched a movie on the plane. After we landed it was like going through military opperation. We were checked about 5 times before we could go to our gate. Customs, passport, security, etc. We ended up getting Nathan's hotdogs for dinner... with NO YELLOW mustard! WHAT??! I dont understand how a hotdog stand can opperate without yellow mustard! Anyways we hung out til our flight was ready to board there to Charlotte. Daniel and I ended up being split up for this flight. I was the lucky winner who got to sit next to the lady who gets sick in almost every flight. The first thing she did when we sat down was take out the barf bag! All I could think was please o please dont do anything... Thankfully she didnt.. phew it was close. Also when we were boarding, titanic music was playing. I was thinking to myself.. we are flying over the water and they are playing titanic music? Wouldn't there be a better choice? Anything! Even Kenny G would do! But Titanic? I was able to catch another hour of sleep on that plane trip thankfully. My parents picked us up at the airport in Charlotte with our car so we just were able to drive home fast. By the time we got it it was about 2am and the cats were very curious as to where we had been. It took me about an hour to actually fall asleep at 330 because A. cats were meowing for me to come out and play. B. it was crazy crazy cold in the house compaired to SXM C. Still didnt feel good at all. Finally I was able to catch some sleep only to wake up a bit early of my alarm (thankfully) because I came to realize that the breaker busted and there was no light anywhere. I had to wake Daniel for him to help me fix it because with no power means no water... means I would have had to go to vals for everything! We got that all situated and I headed to Val's for the garage sale. It was a smash hit again. I had to go to work at 10 but they stayed open til 12. (Val and Caitlyn) So today I still havn't been myself... I am thinking it is one of a few things... A. dehydration , B. travelers sickness, C. just a body achy, etc cold that im trying to fight off. So Im about to go out to Riteaid for a few deals that I am about to miss and then off to bed for me. Im not tierd but my body is for sure.

dinner.... not what I expected

So we just got back from dinner and all I have to say is that it was a bust. I got sick at dinner! YES SICK! I was totally light headed and had to go lay down twice. I was so embarrased and on top of that there was no reason for me to feel that way. I have never been so light headed when eatting. Its aways when I get a shot, see blood, etc. But this was something new. Maybe I got way too much sun for the day and didnt realize it at all or maybe it was from Daniel cracking the duck in front of me. Anyways, my body achs... maybe its swine flu! EK! Hopefully not though. Im headed to bed in just a few and hope to feel better tomorrow. Besides being sick we did have fun at Sandi's and Pete's place and we talked to them at the resturant for a bit too. We should see them tomorrow at the airport since thier flight is just before ours. Anyways for dinner we had cucumber soup, then duck with potatos, carrots, olives, garlic, and some fried stuffing. For dinner was teramasu... we didnt like it at all. I guess we are jello people. (from my best friends wedding movie) Tomorrow will be an adventure for sure so we will see how much posting, if any I get done.

second day at oriant bay

Today started off pretty junky. It was raining and the thunder and lightning woke me up at about 7 or so. I tossed and turned then went to the gym an hour later just for a bit. I didnt do much, just like all the other days here but it still felt good to feel like I accomplished something besides sunbathing all day long. We got ready to go and just headed out even though it was still raining. We took a bunch of pictures once we got to the beach and no one was there because of the weather. We were the second people out there. We even got video of the beach. Its our fav! After being there for a while, our friends from the other day came by too. Sandi and Pete hung out with us for the whole day. We chatted and had a good time. We then got stuck in a traffic jam on our way back from the beach. We were there til 515. Now we are getting ready to go to our friends room to hang out for a bit unitl we all go out to dinner. Our dinner tonight is at Mary's Boon. We are really really excited about it.. more to come later... I have to get ready to go.

marigot

Hmmm the last time I wrote Im trying to remeber what we did or were doing. O yes.. we went to Sopranos for dinner yesterday and Daniel got the tomato pizza and I had meatballs. MMM it was good. We then went over to thier piano bar which there was not a piano playing so we left after a few minutes... plus we were the only ones there. O well... it was worth checking it out. We then headed to a casino to see what it was like. I never had been in a big casino before and was wondering what it was like.... I really wasnt that impressed. It smelled like cigar smoke and people were trying to get Daniel to play. We won but not spending any money so we didnt loose any. :) After that we came back and called it a night. Today we were woken up by some construction at like 7am or something crazy like that. I couldnt really sleep so I got up and headed to the gym. I was there by myself until this couple came in and changed my tv channel and the volume. I was super mad but I told myself as long as the ac isnt changed, I didnt care. So I stayed on the treadmill until I knew it was time to get upstairs to get ready for the market. We did some research on how to get there and then drove to the market. It wasn't as big as I had expected it to be but thats ok. The view was of course spectacular since it was right on the water. I really wanted to get a pastry at a french place so we had lemon cheesecake and an apricot danish for breakfast... how healthy! Daniel got himself a ring and I got nothing... I didnt see anything worth spending $ on so I just didn't. We then went to Fort Louis. It was up a huge hill... i mean HUGE! I was hating myself for doing lower body yesterday considering I was sore. Once we got up there it was worth it. We took a lot of pictures and a video. In the video Daniel is describing a battle with of course machine guns. Some really nice couple took our picture together. We then went back down to find this place called Lolo's for lunch. By that time it was past 1pm and we were hungry. We found it pretty easy considering it was a hole in the wall in a small town called Grand Case. The food there was the best we have had on the island and we might just go back again tomorrow on our way back to the beach. We left after a while and drove back to simpson bay where we are staying. We stopped by Mary's Boon and made a reservation for tomorrow night.... We are both so excited about it. We might see our friends there that we made yesterday at the beach at dinner. They were just so nice! So duck is on the menu for tomorrows dinner. mmmmm. Daniels is relaxing and watching Aladin the movie and Im about to go to the beach to relax with a book and the sun. Yippie!

Orient Bay

Today was by far the most beautiful day here. I got up and headed to the gym for a quite bit and got back and got ready for the day. We went and ate at Zee best Resturant for breakfast/lunch. We then headed to Orient Bay. We were told yesterday that it was the best/most beautiful beach ever. These people who we went on the Rhino ride with said that they have been to St Maarten for the past 25 years and love that beach. Lets just say it didnt disapoint at all! The ride there was great. We saw a lot of goats and cows everywhere. And on the way back I got a pic of some goats crossing the road. The water is the most beautiful blue and there are fish everywhere in the water. We saw this man with a bag full of bread walking through the water and the fish were following him. If course he was feeding them his bread. There were these fish that were big and clear and had cool fins and others that were black and white striped. We met this really nice couple there who are from up north. They have been coming for the past 10 years and are staying close to us. We chatted about what we plan to do and go eat etc. We might see them tomorrow at the open air market or the following night at this resturant that serves just one dish each night. Thursday night is the duck. Tonight is shirmp.. (bleck) So tonight we plan to go to Sopranos piano bar for dinner.
On another note.. I havnt talked about the butterflies that are here.... I think its the land of the butterflies. They are everywhere! Sometimes its like its snowing butterflies outside.

what a time!!thin

First off... this is our car................ CAN YOU SEE HOW SMALL IT IS?!!?!! Can you imagin us getting lost in the middle of nowhere and driving like crazy people last night? Crazy!! to say the least!

So I cant remember what I last talked about in my blog.... I think it was dinner last night.. we went to espn sports bar thing.. espn standed for something different and we had some appitizers and saw the water. After that we went to a local market and walk around and then came back and watched greys annatamy from this past week and from years ago. Today we went to this thing called the rhino rides... it was sooo much fun!!!!!!!!!!!! We went to the doc where the espn place was and got on the rhino with 2 other couples and our tour guide. We drov in our rhino which is like a jet ski/ bumber car up SXM and to this chrole rock and went snorkeling... yes I was terrified out of my mind and got sea sick but thats beside the point. We had so much fun and the view was undescribible. The water was the most perfect blue color I have ever seen. Its not quite a teal but close to it. Just amazing!! We saw a lot of fish everywhere and some sea urchents too. There was some coral as well. So after about 40 min of snorkeling I totally felt lik I was going to loose it... told Daniel and we swam back to the Rhino thing. Got in the boat and just about lost it... the closest I have been in i cant tell you how long. I got my act together and we chatted with the tour guide for a while before we went back to our starting point. We learned a lot about the Island and are sure to go to this one beach... hopefully tomorrow if the weather is good. So we got back and went to Philipsburg which was an adventure for sure. There are like 10 jewlery shops per every block! How does one know when a good deal is around?? And the clothing is soooo expensive here!! There are no clearence racks anywhere... which means i didnt get any clothing.. I want a deal people! Daniel found a shirt there for 5 bucks which looks good. We went to this food place called Barefoots which serves local food. I had saltfish with rebeans and rice and veggies and daniel had some jerk chicken and ribs with rice and slaw. We then went to a homemade icecream place where I could totally get fat over because thier swiss chocolate icecream was AMAZING!! Daniel got Mango which was also soooo good. We took a lot of pictures and a video which is so funny of us driving. Daniel described the driving like on starwars eps one with the pod racing.... so true. We got back and ended up going to another local place for dinner and then got back a while ago and went to the pool.... currently the football game is on.

rainy day

So today at the beach it rained... pretty much the whole time. I went into the water one time and it was a lot more murkey than the day before. We stayed out until about 2 and then came in. Daniel went out to the sports bar to watch all the games while I took a nice sunday nap.... that hasnt happened in I cant tell you how long. Then I headed to the gym. Currently Daniel is downstairs trying to jimmy the lock of the car because he locked the keys in the car.. I am waiting on him to get back so we can go eat some dinner somewhere.

Recap from last night.... Ok, so I talked a little about the roads last night. Here is more of a recap. So the roads are not that wide at all and if there are any dividers (white lines) they are faint. Then you are hugging the side of the cliff all the time and you dont even know what is on the other side because its so dark. I think I got some gray hairs from it all to say the least. The island is so flat on the outskirts but on the insided there are nothing but mountains everywhere. Daniel said that he was glad that we drove at night but wouldnt do it again and get lost. Also there are crazy drivers out here. IF they dont like how you are driving then they will totally pass you very very fast and just hope that there are no cars on the other side coming at you!! AH!

from yesterday to now

So the trip from Charlotte to SXM was not too bad. I slept the whole way (go figure) and Daniel did some reading about the island while I took a 3 plus hour nap. So when we landed on the ground it was a very short runway which I had been warned about... thank goodness. Daniel said when we landed with his head turned sort of side ways.... "how you doin" I was like fine.....
We found our rental car people easy and got our bags too. We headed out to the hotel and were able to check in early. We then had to go get something to eat because if not, I would have been super cranky... no food means upset Shannon.... especially because I hadnt really had anything since 630am and it was 3pm! I had a granola bar but thats not lunch. We found this place right on the beach very close to where we are staying and had some ribs and a sandwich. Now... the food down here can be hit or miss. The ribs were sooo good but tiny compaired to what we get in the states. But then when we at late last night i got a meal and it was HUGE! So we have leftovers from that. I really wanted to go and see how clear the water was so after eatting we went to the water. I was really nervous at first because when you have the ocean there are things like sharks and big fish, and jelly fish, etc. We only saw some tiny fish that were clear and of course the scariest thing was a starfish which was really really pretty. (and cool) We got back at around sunset to go and figure out what to do for the night/rest of the week. We decided to go out and look around at night last night which could have been bad. We didnt take the map with us(I dont think it would have done us any good anyways) and got lost on the dutch side somewhere. The dutch side of the island doesnt have the best roads at all and if you just saw our car you would think "scary situation" if getting stuck somewhere. Anyways we did go into the french side by accident twice and let me tell you... thier road are so soft and smooth. So back onthe dutch side we went to the grocery to get a few things like pb, bread, WATER, and pringles... you know all the essentials. :) After getting lost again for quite some time we got some grub at this local place that was really good. We got chicken kabobs and a lamb sandwich. We did go check out this sports bar/ casino thing that Daniel wants to go to later today for the games.. I dont think I will.... anyways we finally made it home (being the hotel) but not before our car didnt want to crank 2 times! So that is where Daniel is now exchanging for a new one because I dont want to have to call a cab in the middle of no where but I wouldnt be able to because cell phone minutes cost 3 bucks a minute. The nap I took yesterday didnt help because I slept for 11 hours last night! Anyways .... im off to the sunny beach now.... until next time

t minus less than 14 hours

We will be in sunny St Martin in less than a day!! Yippie! I will have plenty of pics to come!

productive in a different way

So today started off with a swim then a run. After I got home I recieved a phone call to have me come into work. My assistant was in a really bad car accident on her way to the office. So after taking my sister to the airport, I went to work. On my way there I got a call from some people wanting to look around. I felt like I couldnt catch a break and grab a bite to eat. Anyways, they want to buy a house!! So we are meeting tomorrow to do so. I also happened to lock myself out of my office because I gave my key to the appraisor and didnt put the key back on my ring! O me! So to end the day I went for a little run (2 miles) and cooked some fish and french fries. Now a little L&O and off to bed! Ill be dreaming of white sandy beaches and lots of sun. :)

change of plans

So Alex and I went on a long run today. We were to meet Jo to go with us. We had planned to go 12 miles but when Jo didnt show we just were like.. ok lets just go 5. Well Jo drove to us and started bolting to get to us. We told her after about a minute of running that we decided to just do 5. You could feel the disapointment in the air. We were getting close to where Alex and I were to turn around and we were giving Jo directions for the remainder and we just decided to go a bit more to make sure she knew where she was going. When we got there we were feeling good so we just decided to go to 12. After stopping a little over half way to get more water at Alex's house, we booked it back. Once we got back to where we started, Jo had to get back to her car so we ran her back and then went a bit more.... whats the point in not doing a half marathon when you are so close! I will have to say that my legs are feeling it today. Over the past 8 days I have run 53.5 miles. Im ready for a good night sleep!

long run

Today Alex and I went for a 10 miler. It was good to get out and go again for a long while. It was kind of brisk today but it was nice weather to run.. no rain! So a few funny things that happend on the run was that alex lost her hat... well it flew off when a huge gust of wind came by from a car or truck or something like that. They we were running in the country so we saw a lot of wildlife. There were these horses that kept staring at us. Alex just kept saying nehhhh. I think they were a bit confussed. Also the drivers today were totally inconsiderate. One guy yelled at us.. i have no comment for what alex did. :) Anyways another person asked us if we were the girls running. This was after we had finished. We went to a coffee place and everyone was super friendly there. Also there is a mexican resturant that is there that I think i will check out one day. (if i have a coupon) Later today we went to Alex's parents house which is always sooo much fun. You just cant have a bad time there ever. Alex's aunt was there too and she cooked and ate and just chatted about life. Now im home for must see tv and going to call it a sort of early night to get up and swim at 630 then weights then work................

Need help

So today I went to yet another funeral. The owner of the company's father passed away after just a week of knowing he had cancer. Over the past 2 years Daniel and I have lost a lot. This evening I was given the news that my Grandma Beth is sick. I ask for your prayers for her. She will need them over the course of this situation. Im not saying much because I have not been told personally. Val told me.
Tomorrow morning I need a good run so Val and i are going on the dreadmill at 6am. I am then meeting Kathy for weights. Im looking forward to venting my frustration and anger out.

what a week

So I cant believe its been a week since I last said anything here. It has been super crazy emotional at work. There were such highs and such lows. I am not going to say much because... well its work. I will say that everything turned out fantastic though. I learned a lot about myself and others this week and am better for it. I am t minus less than 2 weeks til St Martin so its time to get my game face on at the gym and nutition wise so I can relax while we are gone. This week (today and yesterday) i have already accumulated 12 miles and plan for many more later in the week. We had an ice cream party at work yesterday and my sweet tooth just cant get enough of that ice cream. Thank goodness i left it at work :) We had a lot of extras.

Best Chef

Daniel is the best chef ever!! Thank goodness or else we would starve.. anyways he grilled veal burgers, fish, and steak for dinner... mmm mmm mmmmm. It was a good end to my super long day of work. I just couldnt keep my eyes open today. On top of it being a monday at work, my storm door at work locked me out so I had to go to a neighbor to call my coworker for her to then call my super to get me into work. Never again will i leave that office without my phone! I was so lost! And then later in the day another homeowner's daughter forgot her key at home so she was locked out. She stayed with me until a parent could come by. Tomorrow is another super long day starting with bootcamp at 515am then a morning meeting at 9am and then off to work til 615. Afterwards I think ill run since I will go to bed early that night I might as well just give it all I have tomorrow night. But then again, who knows what could happen between now and then.

Not much in the peanut gallery

Not too much going on here. Just getting back into the swing of things. I think the most exciting thing has been harris teeter tripples this week. I have gotten quite a few good free deals of stuff that i love to eat but there havnt been any coupons recently kind of thing so i dont get it. Anyways, I have a 6 day work week, im on day 2 and the worst part is that its raining so most people dont come out at all. Anyways.. off to get a few things done before work and get some food in my belly.

yesterday and today....

Well yesterday was a total bust on fishing! We saw plenty of fish jumping out of the water but none were hungry apparently. We started the day at the beach (I ran to Val's place 3.4 miles away and met her there and we ran back to my place 3.4) then laid on the beach and decided to go to bengamins in the afternoon. Well.... of course we ate our heart out and felt miserable afterwards. I was like.. if i see any more food im going to bust! Our waiter was super awesome, prob the best that we have had in a long long time. Afterwards we headed to the outlet malls where i ended up getting some exercise apparel for a super good price. We then went back to the condo and watched Pure Country (super super good movie) and called it an early night (11pm).
Today I started off my day like I do most at the beach by running on the beach. I ran to Val's again and when I was almost there I saw all these people on the beach and I was like what the heck is going on! Well it turns out that there was a triathalon today! (i wish I would have known... i may have participated) Anyways, She was talking to this lady when I was running to her and all i thought was that they were not going to let her by. The lady ended up being a spectator so there was no hold up. We ran back totaling my milage for the week at over 30!! YEAH! I dropped val off at her place and came back to then help Daniel take his fishing stuff up from the beach. He ended up catching 3 whiting and then some really big thing that broke his line (and was totally upset about because it was so big) He said it made him feel like quitting. We went to the flea market where we got a belt each and then came back to head to the beach again until 4ish. I got ready to go out and hit up walgreens, cvs, dollar store, foodlion, and riteaid. Apparently in SC all the sales adds for Sunday start on Sat night after 6 so I did all my sunday shopping early, which now gives me more time to sleep in tomorrow.
Tomorrow I am getting up and doing some more running. I read in this magazine how this lady just really loves running and cant understand yoga. Running makes her calm and relax and puts her body insync and yoga only makes her mind wander... I read that to Daniel and told him thats how I felt about running and yoga. Anyways after my run tomorrow Randy and Jean should be here so we can go and fish with them. (I will be comical relief as I will not fish because it would cost me over 11 bucks for one day. ) Later tomorrow I will head home by myself to then work on Monday from 9am til 615, then a work meeting/get together til at least 10pm... it will be a long day.
Until next time............

beach again

So we are back at the beach for a long weekend or short week... however you want to look at it. Nothing too exciting except that we saw some dolphin super close to the coast today. It was amazing. It reminded me of the time I went to Edisto Island with my family like at least 10 years ago and we saw some super close.. it may have been 12 years plus. I guess time flies when you become an adult and have resposibility. Anyways... i think im a bit toasty but no sure knowledge yet. We have no plans for tonight but surly we will go do something... maybe get a cheeseburger!!!!!!! My fav! Daniel caught one Whiting today but that is it. The wind was so strong. I hope the next few days are better for him. We plan to go to the flea market on Saturday.

side note... it must have been a slow night at Kings Pizza or something because I swear I have never been hit on so obvious in my life before by 3 guys in a row. I mean I just looked like i got back from a day at the beach.... who knows

beach beach beach

So off to the beach tomorrow til Sunday. I am really hoping it goes better than the July trip. I was totally sick then. So I am super excited. I have so much to do tomorrow. First off I have the gym in the morning til about 7. Then I have to get home to pack to then get to the library, to the main office, then cvs to pick up some stuff, then to my office. In between there are more things I have to do too. Such is life... o yeah like get gas! Anyways, today was super crazy busy at work and tomorrow should be about the same. Im not complaining... Im very pleased and happy about it. Tonight Daniel's friend Lee is coming over for a movie so im going to bed eary!!

so much fun!

Yesterday was a very crazy busy day. It started off with a run and then a contract at work. After work I went over to Alex's parents house for dinner and cards. Alex's mom ended up making these cosmo's which were way too strong. We had to dilute it to make it drinkable. There must have been a misprint on the bottle. After eatting pizza we started playing cards. I have never been a big card player so I had to be taught how to play the game of spoons.
Well HOLY COW! Those Zolot's sure are brutal. Im surprised I have no battle scars. While trying to grab the spoons we torn the table cloth. Oppps.
Today was an ordinary Sunday. Nothing special except Daniel cooked dinner that was of course amazing! We had chicken, steak, and veggies...mmmmmmm. Thank goodness he knows what he is doing in the kitchen.

fingers crossed

So today was my "monday" but it was a very very busy day and went by super fast. I had a showing at 12 and by 1, I had an appt to do a contract on a home for the following day. So with it being my first purchase agreement with my new job, I had a lot to learn and the process took all day to get together. Normally it would be a sinch but the first one is always a doosie. Im excited to make a happy homeowner. Its is a joy I have missed for several months since I was laid off. The buyer is super nice and will be moving in by the end of the month! Yippie! Also at work we just started buildig 8 more homes that should be done by the end of November.

What a day!

So Alex and I have been meaning to get a longer run in for a while but with the weather so stinkin hot and work and it getting darker sooner... nothing has seemed to go our way... until today! It was such a great brisk morning and we ran 11.5 miles. Last time we ran that course we were just starting out training for our marathon and needless to say did not run ANY of the hills. Today we ran ALL of the hills and in a good time too. We did take a super quick snack break at mile 6 and then had to stop for water at mile 9 but besides that we were just trucking along. The best part is that my legs do not hurt one bit, not even my knees. I feel like I could go for another run but I think im going to pass on it today. I did however mow the grass, sell a washer and dryer, lay at the pool, go to olive garden with Alex's mom and grandad and do some housework. Im debating on taking an abs class at the gym today but I think I will just go on a walk with Valerie and Diane if they are avalible. I know that Daniel will be a the gym and wont be home til about 8 or so.
Sweet tea is currently begging for my affection... so I shall go.

new plan of attack

Tonight was a long run with Alex and we decided to meet at the park where the half marathon is going to be in Oct. I asked the forrest preserve lady how this one running area was... her comment was that it was paved. So Alex and I set out to explore the unknown and see how part of the half marathon course would be. Im not sure if this lady even knew about the trail because there was not a single part that was paved! We started out in this field that had this really thin area where people have walked, run, and biked on. All around us were trees, shrubs, and green stuff. I felt like we were in an episode of Lost. After just a bit we ended up in the woods. There were roots to all the big trees everywhere, leaves on the ground and we picked up a dog for most of the run. At first I was like.... I have mace and im not afraid to use it but the dog was super nice (looked like lassie) Well about halfway down the trail Alex took a dive into the ground. Thank goodness she was not hurt. All I could think was that she had a torn acl or something horrible like that but as always I had my cell phone with me and my mace, along with water so I felt pretty prepared for anything that could go wrong. Thankfully she was fine! Just a bit dirty. She tore her shirt but that was the extent of injury. We decided that after we saw this really steep hill to turn back. The whole trail was 3 miles but we did about half. We then found paved ground and ran a little over 5 miles until deciding to go back to reality and run the roads.
We made our way to the gym and parked our cars and set out again for the remainder of the run. We were almost halfway done with the road course when Alex fell again. I was like I think our bodies are trying to tell us something. We turned back. All in all we ran just over 8.5 miles. Not the 9 we wanted but o well.
I really needed that run due to eatting out with Roni, Grandma, and Daniel for lunch at Red Robin. Before we went there I gave them a crash course at Harris Teeter. They said that thier heads were spinning and didnt understand how I could calculate and do everything so fast. I guess it is just one of the gifts I have. We did get some good deals.
Off to bed and for another start of the work week. Tomorrow is my monday. It shall start off at the gym and ht to get a few select things, such as reeses cups...mmmmm

figured it out

So after about a week or more of not feeling good when running and getting this horrible stitch in my sideI finally figured out what it was..... no no kids... but eatting these slim fast bars! Who would have thought! They were super tasty and I was eatting them every morning for over a week. That is the only diet thing that changed and I stopped and felt way better tonight on my run. Today was an extra hard day for me. I woke up earlier than what I wanted to but figured there was no point in going back to sleep so there I was at the gym before 5am doing upper body weights. Then bootcamp for an hour and swimming til 7ish. Afterwards was a full day at work. I ended up staying way late with a customer and felt rushed to meet Alex back at the gym for a 5 mile outdoor run. Completed that and now its a night for relaxation!! Yeah 2 days off work. O and big news... the O'Donnell clan is growing. My cousin Brendan and Erin are expecting thier second child in February!! Super excited for them. They will have thier hands full with 2 kids in diapers.
Another good note is that the Cash for Clunkers program is over!!!!!!!!!!! Daniel actually went into work later than 9am today. He is a totally different person (back to normal really) YEAH!
O and tomorrow is the start of super doubles at ht... im going there after swimming and weights to pick up just a few things. Nothing too good this time.

crazy everything

Crazy tierd, crazy busy, just plain crazy! That is how I felt today. I was asked to rearange my schedule yesterday for today to work because we have new pricing and 8 new homes that are going up very soon. I had to do color selections for all the homes along with all the other stuff that goes on every day at work. It took 5 hours to complete the task with the help of Natasha (great coworker) but its done and Im ready for a day off (tomorrow). Yeah!! I do love my job and am very excited to get some homes built and sold soon! Also yesterday we finalized our vaca in October.... going south to a tropical island! And today I signed us both up for a gym membership. I have been going with Alex under her membership but it is super nice to also have my own. :)

day one again

I am totally wiped out from my first day on the job... so much to do.. so little time. I already have an appt set up for Friday and I dont know ANYTHING! Anyways, it was super cool working with people that I have known for a while back in the Portrait Homes days. Such positive energy and everything. Im excited about tomorrow but I have so much to do....

hoping

So I seriously hope that today gets better. Lets start off by saying that I was up at 430 and at the gym by 5 on my own will. That was fine, didnt mind it at all. I didnt sleep too good but o well. Anyways I did bootcamp with Kathy and Ellen and near the end someone stole my water bottle. I of course just gave up on that because it was one of the throw away kinds but still. There is no way im driking after somone I dont know. Life is just too iffy. Anyways, after that I went to get ready at the gym and realized that I forgot my shampoo and conditioner at home. So no shower there. Then when I was leaving I went to get my keys and I locked myself out of my own house! UGGG!! I knew that Val was up so I drove around to hunt her down. I knew she was on a walk/run. Thank goodness it didnt take very long to find her but I just hope there are no more hickups for the rest of the day... considering it is my first day back to work.

end to the begining

So today is my official last day of an extended paid vacation... ie being laid off. I am both sad and happy and scared at the same time. I hope that I do well in my new job and that I like the people I have yet to meet. We made it back from the beach in one piece but it was super hot there and the traffic was super crazy. We were both irrtated, hot, gross, and tierd so both a bit testy on the ride home. Of course when it was my turn to drive it started raining like freeken cats and dogs all over the place! I hate driving in the rain. The only thing worse is driving when its dark and raining! Anyways while we were gone, the mop that was in the laundry room fell down and shut the door there so the cats had no where to use the restroom except not in the litter box. So we came home to a mess. Val did her best to clean up the mess but it still stunk. Accidents happen, what can you say. Anyways Im just finishing up last touches on the bathroom, laundry, and cleaning up around the house. Tomorrow will definilty be a crazy day for me and I have no idea what to expect. Im super super nevous!!!

some good things and some bad...

So we are at the beach now for the weekend and all is fine and well. We found our hotel just fine and have gotten around just fine. Yesterday afternoon we had time to kill so Daniel and I first went to the gym The hotel gave us a free pass to Golds which I was SO excited about. I ran 4 miles on the dreadmill which wasn't too bad but I still had that side stitch that wont go away. I did push through it and just got it done. Then I did a few pull ups while Daniel was talking to his mom about plans for the night. After leaving the gym we went to a few different places. First we stopped in at this used video/game store where Daniel got a game for 2 bucks! Then we went to tj maxx where I got a pair of shoes that retail for 120 bucks for just 25. Daniel was so cute looking through all the guy stuff where he found 2 pairs of shorts and 2 shirts. It ended up that only one pair of shorts worked for him but still he really likes them a lot. We went to the rehearsal dinner and afterwards headed to Days Inn where all the other family was staying. They ended up playing Apples to Apples while I slept. I was just so tired.
Day two.... Woke up bright and early at 6:08 and headed to the gym again. I was going to get up at 6:15 but couldn't sleep. So I decided to log another 5 miles on the dreadmill. I just made a goal to make it to 5 miles. Again had a side stitch but it was way better than before. I also did some heavy weights and feel it already. After getting back and getting ready for the beach Daniel and I left for Dunkin Donuts!!!! Our FAV! Got some coffee and donuts there and went to pick up mom at her hotel room. We got to the beach and parking is expensive! Anyways we put our things down and were chatting on the beach when low and behold a bird POOPS on MY HEAD! Ahhhh the chances! Daniel washed my hair in the ocean for me while Roni is on the beach taking embarrassing pictures of the event. I think she was showing people the pics because at the wedding people were asking about it. Anyways a bit after we got to the beach Stephen, Tony, and Charity joined us for a bit. We took some pictures and everyone went into the ocean but Charity and myself. We just chatted and read on the beach.
We got back to get ready for the wedding while Daniel went to get some chickfila real quick. The wedding was really pretty and everyone had a good time. We did get a lot of pics but I cant post them til later. Daniel and I were going to go out for dinner tonight but by the time we woke up from an afternoon nap it was already 8 and we just we not feeling it. So off to the good old HT for some hot pockets. They were super cheap b/c of ht triples. We did get some other free stuff there too. I don't think anyone in Wilmington uses coupons or even cares that its free food week there with the correct coupons. O well... free gum, tea, and some other stuff for us.
Tomorrow I plan to get up and head to cvs for some free products and then pack up and head to Fort Fisher. Daniel's mom said that it was so pretty there and that they have public places to change and some showers. It will be nice to just rinse off before heading home. Until next time....

what the mess??

So the other night Alex and I went running and as from reading the previous post, we had cramps. So last night i went on a walk with val and the same thing. I think I may have found out why... I changed my multi 4 days ago. I think im going to go back to the old kind that I had. O yes... and get a banana so our 9 mile run tonight wont be a doozie.

my body hated me...

So today was a split long run day for me. I did 5.6 plus a bit more in the morning and then 5 at night. Alex and I met for weights at the gym followed by what was supposed to be a one mile warm up followed by 2 miles fast run, then 2 miles slower. Well.. we did good until .75 miles then I had this crazy cramp that went from my left side to both sides and wouldnt go away. I finally got that taken care of and we started our 2 mile fast run. As you can tell from the title of the story, we didnt make it too far going fast. Both our bodies were like... "we quit" So both of us had cramps and they just wouldnt go away. We were not dehydrated, hungry, tierd, ANYTHING! We just couldnt figure it out. So we did finish our 5 miles, just not like we had intended. I got home and was determined to see how my body would treat me there. I ran up a big hill, down, around the corner, no cramp! Who knows.....

Almost done

So the bathroom has taken up my whole week but its just about done. I have a few touchups and then it will look super sharp.

Also country biscuit likes tomatos... daniel was feeding them to him earlier.

One more for the record book

I can officially say that Alex and I are crazy... not like we didnt know it before with the whole chicken coop idea and marathon idea and stuff. But earlier in the week we had decided to do our long run (well sort of short in marathon terms) on Wednesday night. So of course today is wednesday and we met at a local park for a trail run. I would say that it was the hardest shortest run ever. I know 8 miles sure seems like a long run for most but when you can run over 20 miles, 8 is short. So of course me and my weather thinking about going outside I had been watching the forcast since about 2pm today. I had seen a pretty bad line of storms but they were in the mountains and didnt really think that they would affect us as we set out. Well you could say I was dead wrong because for the record I have officially run in freezing weather, pooring cold rain, hot heat, mild temps, and now a total downpoor thunderstorm. Take that half marathon training!!
I really am so thankful everyday that I have the best running partner who is also my best friend. It is so awesome and special. I am not sure there is anyone else who I know who would run that crazy hilly course in a thunderstorm.
My body is officially pooped and on top of the whole crazy run this evening, I wanted some alone time today and ran 2.6 miles at high noon. Better drink up!!
Tomorrow I am going to the zoo with Val and her kids that she takes care of... it should be interesting, educational, and fun. Those kids are sooo happy and excited to go!

slowest fast run ever

So Alex and I ran tonight 3 miles and they were supposed to be slow because we have our 8 miles tomorrow night. Well Alex has this garmin watch that tracks everything including mph and distance and we went 3 miles in 33 minutes... too fast for our slow run! We just cant help it, as Alex puts it "we have one pace, GO!" So We should have run much slower so our legs wouldnt be a bit sore for tomorrow night. So tomorrow is a morning swim and night run. Daniel and I are going to go to Shanes one of these days to eat some ribs. It is his birthday next week and we always try to have extra special days leading up to it.
Also today I painted some outside and inside. The inside bath is now merlot color... it needs another coat but it looks loads better than before! Now after that project I have to do other ones. If only remodeling was easier!

what a way to spend saturday

Today I stripped wallpaper for just about 7 hours. Not my idea of a great day but it had to get done. I really cant wait to get the new paint color up. Its called merlot. Other than that, im wiped and getting ready for tomorrows good deals at cvs and walgreen... get there early because there will be a lot of free stuff. O and good news... daniel didnt have to work another crazy long day like days previous.

The past little bit

So I must say that my very first tomato was absolutly wonderful. It was not super big but I was so proud of myself. The fruits of my labor paid off for sure. This past week I have been pushing hard in the workout zone. I have already gotten into the double digets for running, swam two days, did weights, and the week isnt over. Today I have finally pulled down the deer heads that have been a subject of talk ever since we moved in last year. I feel like the past few weeks, I have definitly seen a change in our house and its only taken a year. The wallpaper is coming down, I got a new shower curtain for the downstairs bathroom since Im going to tear down that wallpaper too. (its black) also have black towels in there. The walls will be maroon and I will get new faucets eventually. Also we are having our exterior of our house renovated. The wood part of the house (not log part) is being painted along with the front porch, and the trim.
Today has also been a very big day for Daniel and myself. We got renters for the house and they moved in. Also I had a job interview which went great. I am going back next friday to do some paperwork and a personality test. The chicken coop is almost done and it will need to be painted soon. I cleared the land for the coop and the run today long with steam cleaned the carpet, vacumed, and put up some shoemolding that has been missing ever since we have lived here. That lack of molding has driven me crazy for a very long time. So that is all for now but the day isnt over yet! I hear some thunderstorms are brewing!!!!

And it all has to come down sometime

So... after living in the log house for just shy of a year my mind has gotten the best of me. Today was my official first day of taking down the wallpaper in the bathrooms. I tell you that stuff is hard work. I am very very excited because I felt like I really knocked out a lot of it today even though I have been feeling less than perfect.
My day started with my alarm clock never even going off! Both Daniel and myself slept right through it. So I got up after 8am which is very unusual for me. I then preceded to take a nap on the couch til 12. After being totally unproductive for the better part of the day, Daniel asked me to do YARDWORK! I told him I had no interest and that I was going to go and strip wallpaper instead. My thoughts of yardwork are just like his thoughts of cleaning a bathroom or stripping wallpaper. So it was a win win situation. My whole lower body has been sore for a couple days so I guess it was ok that I took today off of the gym. Tomorrow Im back on the bandwagon and going to run in the morning.

Not what I expected

Ok... so I was driving to the gym at 5 this morning and Alex called to tell me that there was no power there. Apparently the transformer busted from the lightning in last nights storm. So instead of swimming for over an hour then running 4 miles, Alex and I ran 8.95 miles in the dark. There were street lights but still all I could think about was some animal coming out to get us. So I said a little prayer and we ended up all right. Anyways, when I run long distance, I have totally different "gear" that I wear. Different socks, shirt, shorts, everything! I was not prepared and therefore have blisters on my toes. :( I guess that is just part of life you know?! Alex and I were very excited about our run because it has been so long since we have gone that far. I know we could have gone longer, but Alex had to get to work and my toes hurt pretty bad. O well, by the end of August we will have a couple more big runs.

The first 3!

So for those who are not quite sure about me you would think that I should have a green thumb. I like to take care of things and love things but my thumb is anything but green. But I have for some great reason managed to grow 8 tomato's so far. I picked my first 3 today... well Daniel did because I didn't know how to but he showed me. So I have 5 more left but there are a lot more flowers that are popping up! Daniel and I LOVE eating fresh tomato's. We had 1 each for dinner tonight. mmmmmmmm. Also today Alex, Val and me ran 4.2 miles. The first two were fast... the last two at just a 10 min mile. Tomorrow is a long workout day with a start at 515am in the pool for about 1.5 hours then a 4 mile run. Tuesday will be my super hard run on a hilly course that will be 8 miles. So this week will be a killer week of working out. Alex has her aquathon so the first part of the week will be harder than the latter.

hmmmm

So after living out in the woods for almost a year I am now really seeing a lot of new animals. Today was no exception. I thought what i saw was a spider at first but after looking closer it didnt seem quite right so I called Daniel over to take a look at it. So... it was a scorpian! Super tiny but still!
Anyways earlier today was weights and swimming... a lot of swimming and a lot of weights. Im sure ill be a bit sore tomorrow when I ride for 75 min spin class and then on Sunday Im running 4 miles with Alex before we work on our casa de pollo.

rocky mountain fever

So.... today I got my first tick! I noticed it at around noon today and was finally actually unpacking some of the last boxes from when we moved 11 months ago and I just thought it was a piece of dirt so I brushed off my foot and didn't think anything of it. Well about an hour after that I looked again at my foot and that piece of dirt was still there. Then I looked closer and totally freaked out. Found my phone, called Daniel and asked what I should do. He told me what to do and I was totally grossed out. All I could think of was that I was going to get rocky mountain fever and be really sick! Of course there was no way I was going to pull that thing out of my foot by myself to I started thinking of all the people who were close to my house. Val and Daniel were out of the question because they were both at work, Caitlyn was too. I called Diane but she didn't pick up so then I called Phillip. He picked up and just happened to be headed home at the time. So I went to his house and he got the thing off my foot. It all came out in one piece... thank goodness. I guess today was my lucky day. It hadn't put its head in my skin yet....... GROSS!!!!
Anyways, later today Roni, Stephen, and Grandma are going to be here delivering furniture from Stephen's fathers house. So that is why I was unpacking the remaining boxes from the house.

my crazy children

So yesterday Daniel and I went to the farmers market since he was off of work all day. We just roamed around and he really wanted a german johnson tomato. So we picked one up on our way out of the market. Last night we had some for desert (mostly daniel) and Country Biscuit was looking with those loving eyes of his and Daniel thought he might want some. Country Biscuit ate that tomato so fast.. it was as though he was a starving cat! So he officially likes all the fruits that we have had in the house. Bananas and Tomatos are his fav but he still likes all berries, apples, grapes, etc.
On another note 8 piece is really weird. I think he is a dog half the time. The other day I caught him with his head in the toilet! Its not like his water bowl was empty either.... o children.

something smells

So a couple weeks ago the gym decided to change from salt water to chlorine water and lets just say that my cats think something strange of me now. When I get home they look at me and sniff my skin and wonder where I have been. And that is even after showering! So They think its funny I guess. Also I got out an older toy that 8 Piece has never seen before. Its a little fuzz ball that is black and orange. He LOVES that thing. He runs around like he is playing soccer or something. His newest thing to do is to be upstairs and push the ball off the edge into the living room downstairs. So I have to throw that thing all the way back up for him to then just push it off again. But the catch is that I have to wait and not be looking when he pushes it down. He just pops his head around the banaster and then I know he has dropped it.
Big news... Wednesday is super doubles at ht. Some free things that I have found are as follows: Hefty bags, mayfield icecream, playtex gloves, and possibly sprite. Cheap things that i found are yoplay yogurt, some asprin, toothpaste, and some other things. Happy shopping!!

Back

So after a short trip to the beach Im back home. I wouldnt say it was a super eventful trip but these are the highlights....
We took a few wrong turns but knew immediatly, we tried to check in at the wrong counter.. our counter was out the door and across the way... If I wanted to use the gym it would have cost 15 bucks!... went to the outlet mall and got a popcorn maker... got up early on Sunday to get the free deals at CVS but had to go to a different one because the first one we went to wasnt open yet at 7am, lots of pool and beach time... and NO SUNBURN!
Back to the grind of things... swim practice and weights tomorrow morning followed by the library, searching for a job, and laundry.

surprise, excited, and tierd

So first off I was super surprised when Roni called me today to say they were passing through and thought of stopping in for lunch in Greensboro. We had a great time at Shanes Rib Shack and of course it is always wonderful food there. You just cant mess with thier pulled pork sandwich. mmmmmmmmmmm. I have been up really early the whole week except for Monday and have just had no time for any naps. I have gotten up anywhere between 430 and 6 and gone to bed at 12 or 1. So Im quite tierd right now but that is ok because I can catch up on my sleep when Im lying at the beach over the weekend with Val. Ill make sure to set my phone alarm just incase. No need for a sunburn. We are packed and ready to go. We are leaving really early tomorrow so we can get there for two full days of sun and relaxation. Alex calls me the queen snack packer and I sure outdid myself this time. So if anyone wants to join us in Myrtle Beach come on over!

Just wiped out... and blueberries!

So... I have been going going going since 430am... you read right... yes I am crazy. I did bootcamp with Kathy and then we both swam for about 30 minutes. I got ready and ran around like crazy doing stuff all over town. I had to get my prescription, go to the library, meet val to go blueberrie picking with her kids, rental house for hours, back home for a second, back out to walk 3 miles, and finially finished. Im sure I left some stuff out of there. My best find today was at Riteaid.. they have clearence advil, motrin, excedrine, tylonol, and some other stuff there for next to nothing. With coupons I was paying about 12 cents per box! So I picked up a bunch for Val and me! :)

back into the swing of things

So today was my first official day back at the gym and boy did I feel it as I was working out. Kathy and I did bootcamp as always on Tuesdays and my legs! They were all swaying and stuff. My body was like... wait.... aren't we still on vaca? After the gym I went to the rental house to finish up everything that was on loose ends. Not too much else has gone on today.. a little nap and a short walk with Valerie and Diane. Val and I plan on taking a girls trip to the beach this weekend. Now when I'm sitting there on the beach reading a book I wont have tissues with me and people wont be wondering why I'm reading such a sad book (I really just had a cold last time but I'm sure people thought otherwise).
The Cat's diet is going real good. They are much more needy but that is just the way it has to be right now. I'm too good of a parent to allow them to get fat and die early and have health problems. People have to be responsible!
O and it looks as though Daniel now has my cold... he is miserable for sure. :(

the last of the beach trip

So we are back from vacation and not burnt hardly... thank goodness. Well I got up early today and went to CVS to get my deals and I was super excited about them. When I got back Daniel went fishing and I joined him a bit later after packing a bit. He caught a lot of pin fish today and yesterday he caught a ladies bathing suit top! How embarrassing! We ended up leaving a little early which was fine because all I wanted to do was lay on my couch at home and be sick at home. So we got back and to our great surprise we have gutters on our house now. They are brown and look really good. We also came home to find out that Country Biscuit is a chow hound and GAINED 2lbs in 5 days! I am sure he ate all his food along with most of Sweet Tea's and some of 8 Pieces. The other two did not gain any weight. So he is on a diet until further notice. We unpacked pretty fast and just ate around the house. We got a few anniversary cards and also the taxes for two of our houses :(.... o well. So how about city taxes are a rip off! But the joy of having a roof over your head makes it all worth it. :)
Tomorrow I normally go and do lower body weights but considering my nose is like a faucet, im going to spare everyone from catching my bug and ill sleep in. I may just do a P90X video at home and call it a day.. also I have to send out my resume to some new home builders and try to get myself a job!

beach trip part 3

So I guess today was a better health day then before. I still am not 100% but I am very excited about tomorrow because CVS is having some good deals and more coupons come in the paper!! Tomorrow is the last day at the beach but I have had plenty of sun so its not soo sad. I just cant wait to go back when I feel better. Today Daniel and I went to Barefoot Landing and ate at River City Cafe. We both agree that they have decided to use a different chef or different food producer because it was so not as good at previous times, which was sad. Anyways we walked around and I found a pair of flip flops for 3 bucks! Im very excited about that beacuse I seriously needed some new ones. The ones I have are three years old and look it too. After that we saw a squirl that was standing outside a store eatting peanuts from the ground so we sat on the bench and watched it for a while. Then Daniel took a picture of me and the squirl. He was very friendly and I got very close to him. We walked around some more but then decided to go take a nap. When we got up it was about 6 or so and I realized I had no more tissues left. I just got a box less than 2 days ago! So I went back to the store, which was not fun because everyone and thier brother was there buying food for the week. It was crazy there. So I got back and helped Daniel fish out in the sea. He caught a big pin fish today but that was it. Hopefully tomorrow he will catch something bigger. So after a while, we decided to head to the pool, which was very warm and then up for a late dinner. Yes Daniel is eatting sandwiches and grapefruit and its almost 10pm. O well. We have a lot of packing left to do and cleaning before we head back tomorrow. I cant wait to see my kids! Im sure Country Biscuit will have a big hug to give me when I get home.

beach trip part 2

So... since I last was on here alot has happened. First off we went to Rioz the first night were were here and thank goodness because ever since then i have felt like junk! I have such a bad head cold and i just feel like crying because Daniel and I were supposed to go and do stuff on our vacation and I feel like i have a tissue box attached to my hip. All I want to do is sleep but i cant because I cant breath! UGGGGGGGGGG. Daniel is fishing again now. Yesterday he caught 7 or 8 fish. Today... nothing so far. Im headed out with my tissue box and sunscrean.