Goodbye, 2012.

Sometimes I wonder why I keep a blog. I get on a roll of posting regularly and then somehow life gets in the way and I can't seem to crank anything out. It's the last day of 2012 so I thought I'd put up a short one to close out the year.

As I look back over the last 12 months, I realize a lot has happened. I ran my first (and second) half marathon, turned 30, hit my first deer, went back to teaching, and was shocked to realize that it had already been 10 years since my mom passed away. Oh! And the world didn't end. YEAH!!! It's been crazy and overwhelming but I learned a lot about myself and have had some amazing people come into my life. I have a lot to be thankful for. Of course, this would not be a true end-of-the-year post without listing some favorite moments - 10 of them actually - in no particular order.

1. Running the Country Music 1/2 Marathon - my first!
2. Getting an iPhone. Lame, I know but it seriously borders on life-changing.
3. Going back to teaching - dream come true :)
4. Margarita nights on my patio.
5. Spending Christmas at my dad's house. First time ever and it was awesome perfect.
6. Hitting my goal of running 500 miles in a year - couldn't have done it without my partner in crime Molly.
7. Canoeing on the Buffalo!! One of the best days - E-VER
8. Running a 5k (See Spot Run) with Darcy - looking forward to many more.
9. Darcy's 1st Birthday party! So much fun and I still laugh at the pictures.
10. The Color Run! Seriously the happiest 5k on the planet. Something about that sentence seems like an oxy-moron. Whatever.

I'm sure there are many other great moments that I've missed but these were what came to mind while I was sitting here.

Happy New Year!!

What a Difference a Year Makes

Last week on Facebook I saw a link shared by a friend from the RunnersWorld page about The 2012 Holiday Running Streak. The idea is to run at least one mile every day from Thanksgiving to New Years. I love a good challenge....especially when it requires me to stick to something for an extended period of time. I shared it on my page and said "I'm in!" I figure I can always knock out a mile each day no matter how busy, tired, or sick (yeah, I've been sick over Thanksgiving break, wahhh!!) I am.

After a three-week hiatus from running I finally got back out there a week ago for a two-miler with Darcy to loosen the cobwebs. It was painful. I thought I was going to die right there on the greenway. I can't begin to describe how discouraging that is when a mere 30 days before that I had run a half-marathon. Ugh. I took a break for a few days.

Despite the cold that was settling into my chest, I got back out there Thanksgiving morning for a 1.2 mile jog around the neighborhood. If I start getting sick, I find running to be the best medicine....usually. My cold got progressively worse over the weekend but I've kept the streak alive! My cold even seemed a little better today. We'll see how the next month goes - especially with a trip to North Dakota for Christmas. Brrr!!! Better pack the base layers.....and the middle layers...and the outer layers. Ha!

Anway, I'm totally getting off subject. The reason I wanted to post tonight was because I set a goal for myself of 500 miles this year. After tonight's run, I'm 20 miles away which is totally doable with 36 days left in the year. But looking at my stats reminded me of where I was at this time last year. Exactly one year ago (ok, technically one year tomorrow) I posted on here that I was at 229 miles and had a goal of 300. There were 37 days left in the year and I had 71 miles to go. I did meet my goal and even passed it by a few I think but I can't believe how far I've come in a year. I ran 200 more miles this year and did two half-marathons. Wonders never cease.

What should my goal be next year?

Rice Krispy Bars + Animal Crackers = A Delicious Fossil Lesson

This is not a teaching blog. It is not going to turn into a teaching blog. However, I came up with a lesson that I was so excited about that I just had to share it. Seriously. I scare myself sometimes.

This week in Science we are covering extinct animal species and fossils. I searched high and low for a "hands-on" activity to do with my kiddos and had half-heartedly committed to doing a chocolate chip cookie excavation in class. The idea was that the chocolate chips are the fossils and they had to excavate them with toothpicks. This seemed all well and good but I just felt like it wasn't realistic enough. I wanted something that would connect them more to the lesson and still involve materials of the edible kind. Because it's fun. And kids like fun.

I did an internet search and found a cookie bar (Rice Krispies treats) project where they had to dig out raisins and m&m's which seemed kind of cool but it still wasn't what I was looking for. Where is the realism in that? You're right, there isn't. Then it hit me: instead of raisins and m&m's, how about animal crackers?? They could dig through the Rice Krispy bars to find the broken up crackers and have to piece them back together to figure out what the species was - just like a paleontoligist would do. A fossil lesson that is not only (sort of) realistic, but also fun and yummy? Sounds like a winning combination to me. This activity was easy on my wallet and the prep work really wasn't that bad - just took some planning....and a little luck.

Let the "baking" begin! I went with the generic Zoo Cookies because they looked much more realistic than the traditional animal crackers..

 

 

 I mixed up the Rice Krispies treats and pressed half the batter into the pan so I could sandwich the broken pieces between two layers.

 

 

I broke up 20 animal crackers and pressed them into the first layer - I kept each animal confined to 1/20th of the pan so that when I cut them out and distributed them, there would (hopefully) be an entire animal fossil for the student to dig out (hence the aforementioned 'luck' component).

 

 

I pressed the rest of the Rice Krispy mixture on top. After cutting the pan of bars into 20 squares I put each one into a plastic baggie for quick distribution in class. I hate wasting time passing things out!

 

 

Digging away! The students were told that they could only use their hands to stabilize their "fossilized rocks" - no pulling the bar apart! They had two toothpicks to use to excavate the fossils.

 

The fossil pieces were piled to the side until digging was complete. At the end they had to piece together their fossil and identify it. Of course I forgot to take a final picture. Fail. They described and illustrated the whole process including the end result in their science notebooks.

 

My kids went absolutely bananas over this! They really got into their roles as paleontologists and made an effort to use their vocabulary words every chance they got. The bonus at the end was that they got to eat the Rice Krispy bars and I passed out the remaining animal crackers for snack.

 

I'd say this activity was a hit and will definitely use it again!

It's All Fun and Games.....

I had a feeling this would happen. I saw it coming a mile away and unfortunately I did it to myself. For over a year, I took Darcy with me to work every single day. Anytime I could take her somewhere, she came along with me. Now that I'm back to teaching, she doesn't get to go with me. Anywhere. Ever. After only a week and a half, she is putting her extreme distaste for being left home alone on display........and it isn't pretty.

After school I stayed and chatted with my team members for a bit and finally said, "Well, I better get home and see what Darcy chewed up today." I wasn't being completely serious and I was definitely not prepared for what was waiting for me when I got home.

As soon as I got the door unlocked and opened, Darcy bolted out to the back yard. I figured she just really had to go. And then I turned around. My living room floor was dotted with something that I couldn't identify from so far away so I walked through the kitchen (very slowly) to take a closer look. While I was at school today Darcy chewed: Three pairs of flip flops, one pair of heels, a ballpoint pen AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE!!! In my silent fury, I didn't even think to take a picture, although now I'm wishing I had so you could see it. I can only compare it to what it might look like if you put a bomb in the middle of the floor, piled shoes on top of it, and set it off. Shoe confetti! My "puppy-proofing" this morning was obviously an epic fail.

At this point, I still can't even look at her. I'm not mad anymore......just disappointed. But how do you convey that to a dog?? How do you show them the error of their ways?? She obviously knows she is in trouble because she is keeping her distance. It makes me so sad that she's acting out like this and it leaves me with no other option but to crate her when I'm not home. I don't doubt for a second that if I keep leaving her out, my sofa will eventually be strewn about the living room in the not so distant future. Shoes are easily replaced. Bedding is easily replaced. But a whole sofa? I shudder at the thought.

Party's over, Darcy. It's the crate for you :(

I Voted

I haven't been on here in a while. My excuse is totally legit, though. I went back to teaching. I am totally consumed with lesson planning these days and getting back into the swing of being in the classroom. It's exhausting but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am one happy girl.....which is more than I can say for the other Lady of the House. Darcy is none too pleased with the fact that she is left home alone all day and has developed some rather destructive habits in my absence (i.e. chewing on my bedding). I've had several discussions with her regarding this unacceptable behavior but she just isn't getting it. She's upset that she can't go to work with me anymore and feels like she's been given a cruel and unusual punishment for a crime she didn't commit. Despite her dissapointment, she practically tackles me in excitement the minute I walk through the door. Once she's settled down a bit......it's game time.

How can I say no to that??

Now that I've given my excuses for not blogging I'll get back to the real topic of today's post. It's a historic day in America: Election 2012! After our inservice at school, I high-tailed it to my local polling place to cast my ballot. Luckily, I got there just before 4 p.m. so there wasn't much of a line. I literally spent all of 10 minutes there (no joke!). I'm not going to jump on a political soapbox but I do think that as American citizens, we should all take advantage of this amazing freedom and let our voice be heard. So if there's still time and you haven't done so yet.......GO VOTE!

 

The Color Run

I know, I know. I have been seriously neglecting my blogging duties the past few days. I have a good reason, I swear. I just can't tell you about it.......yet. But it has kept me quite busy the last few evenings and robbed me of precious sleep. All I can say is, it's worth it, and I'll hopefully let you in on the secret tomorrow.

I did want to put up a quick post about the 'happiest 5k' I have ever participated in: The Color Run! If you've never heard of this color-wonderful event, you really should look into it and sign up if it ever comes to your area.

Team "Chase the Rainbow" headed downtown bright and early Sunday morning and got to LP Field just as they were getting ready to start the waves. 

Clean and white before the race!

 



We ended up in wave #9 and got to the start line around 9:15ish. The course started just outside LP Field, went over the pedestrian bridge, down Printer's Alley, across the Cumberland River, and back to LP Field. At each kilometer we were doused with a new color of powder.

Kilometer 1: Yellow! Kendra and I just had to stop for a quick photo :)

 

Molly & I outside after km 4 - the blue station

 

The race ended back outside of LP Field. Every ten minutes, they did a big color toss using the packets of powder we had received in our race packets. Runners gathered around the stage and 3....2...1.....

 

Color!!!

 

Molly, me, Sam, & Kendra Post Color Run!

 

This race was a blast! We had so much fun out there and literally laughed from 0 to 3.1! We're already looking at fun options for next year. Foam anyone??



 



 

 



Ring my (kettle) bell!

Halloween is getting closer. Maybe a little too close for comfort. And you know what that means.......

Ugh. The dreaded candy bowl. My daily mantra for the next 13 days is "Just Say No". It might not be so bad if I could limit myself to just one but I generally can't so I am avoiding it altogether.

Work was really slow today and the doctors at the clinic had recently put a bug in my ear about how effective kettlebell workouts are. I've never tried one and I wasn't really sure where to start so consulted one of my most trusted resources: Google. In my search, I stumbled across Jillian Michael's Shred-It With Weights. Like her other DVD's it got some pretty stellar reviews so I decided that was a good place for me to start, especially since I've had so much success with her workouts in the past. Lucky for me, Barnes and Noble had it in stock, and on sale. SOLD!

After making my purchase, my next stop was a few doors down at Dick's Sporting Goods to make a kettlebell selection. Talk about overwhelming. I had no idea what size I should get so I whipped out my cell phone and dialed up Dr. Lane. Can you believe he thought I was calling him from the reception desk at the clinic and was just too lazy to walk up to the break room to talk to him? Unbelievable ;) I told him that, no, I wasn't at work anymore but that I needed some advice on picking out the right weight for a kettlebell. There was some muffled discussion between him and Dr. J but they swiftly determined that I should go for one that was 15-20 pounds. That sounded outrageous (albeit flattering) but I figured they knew more about it than I did.

 

Kettlebell. Check. Shred-It With Weights. Check. Let's get this workout started!

Shred-It With Weights is no joke. It was challenging to the point where I felt like I was working really hard but not so much that I wanted to give up. The time went by fairly quickly and I found it enjoyable despite the fact that I couldn't do all the moves. There was lots of room for improvement - which is kind of exciting. I love struggling with a tough workout in the beginning because I know that if I stick with it I'll get stronger and better at it. So motivating! My entire body feels like jell-o right now and I can only imagine what I will feel like tomorrow. This was everything I wanted in a workout. And more.

Post-workout (and subsequent shower), I sipped on a chocolate protein shake while I cooked up my dinner. I had another Stuffed Chili and Cheese Potato, just like I said I would in yesterday's post (don't say I didn't warn you). I'm so sorry for the terrible picture. I truly am.

Clearly, it does not look as delicious as the stock photo. How many more days until I get my iPhone?

Workin' out, Eatin' in

Well, hellloooo. Sorry about being MIA yesterday but I was still dragging so much from the busy weekend that I just couldn't pull a coherent blog post together.

Now that the half marathon is behind me, I have made a goal to get back into doing regular strength training. I avoided it while I was preparing for the half because I was too afraid of getting sore and it impeding my running. No more excuses. Time to make it a habit so that all muscle fatigue and soreness will be behind me when training kicks in again after Christmas.

On Monday I had to be up extremely early to take my dad to the airport. I didn't have to be to work until 10 so I figured I might as well get my workout done. I opted to do Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown. I was still feeling some stiffness from the race so I thought this would help stretch me out. It did stretch out my muscles but it was definitely a challenging DVD. I was sweatin'! After that, I decided to keep the momentum going and took Darcy for a quick one mile run around the neighborhood. Productive morning!

Yesterday I woke up feeling a little sore in my shoulders from the yoga so I opted against a Jillian repeat. I sifted through the many workouts I've pinned on Pinterest and settled on this one:

It took me about 15 minutes to complete and I felt like I really had worked my whole body without completely exhausting it. Didn't seem too intense......at the time. This morning my glutes and hamstrings did not let me forget this seemingly innocent little gem of a workout. I will definitely be re-visiting this one.

Due to the soreness in my lower body today, I really wasn't feeling like running even though I had a four-miler planned. I procrastinated in the break room while chatting with the doctors for a bit before forcing myself off the futon and heading to the greenway. Darcy and I managed to kick out 4 miles in about 38 minutes. Took a little bit to get warmed up but we found our stride about half way in. As always, I was glad that I had forced myself to get out there. Little buddy wasn't complaining either.

I came home and made a fantastically quick and simple dinner. A stuffed chili and cheese potato. Hard as it may be to believe, I found this recipe on (everybody now!) Pinterest. It may not look like much, but it made a pretty hefty portion. This is the article photo because a) we all know the camera on my phone takes crappy photos, and b) mine didn't look as pretty on the plate so that really left me with nothing to work with.

When I started making it, I was sure that 1/2 cup of chili was not going to be enough but it ended up working out perfectly. I cooked the chili and broccoli mixture on the stove for the entire 12 minutes that it took to prepare the potato. Once the potato was ready I just cut it open, dumped the chili mixture on it and topped with cheese. Voila! This is a recipe I will make again and again. It's just a good 'stick-to-your-ribs' kind of meal that will be perfect for chilly winter evenings......and for dinner again tomorrow night. And maybe even Friday as well. What can I say? I'm a creature of habit.

Hope everyone is having a great week. Happy Hump Day!

Miller's Grocery

It is no secret that I love a good local joint. I will take a quaint, local cafe over a large chain restaurant any day of the week because they just always seem to have a special atmosphere to them that could never be duplicated in a cookie-cutter building with the textbook decor. On Sunday after church we went to this fantastic little cafe in Christiana, TN called Miller's Grocery. It's an old country store that was restored in 1995 into "an antique filled, country cafe featuring home-style Southern cooking and award winning "from scratch" desserts." They kept the name as a way to pay homage to the original owner, Mr. Stanley Miller.

Tuesday through Saturday they serve a standard meat & three cafe menu but on Sunday is when the magic happens and it turns into an all-you-can-eat buffet. I thought my eyes were going to pop right out of my head at the very sight of the massive southern-style spread of food. We all made the executive decision that we were going all in and just attacking the buffet with reckless abandon. The only problem was where to begin?? Logically, we opted to work our way from one end to the other.

Enter my salad plate:

I basically grabbed a bit of everything that looked good. There was coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, broccoli salad, a couple of green salads, the dressed tomatoes, and a couple of fruit salads. I have to mention one fruit salad in particular because it was just so unique. It had crushed pineapple, marshmallows, and shredded cheddar cheese. Sounds like a wretched combination but it was absolutely delightful and I might have gone back for seconds.

Course number two involved the "meat & three" portion of the meal. It included breaded fish (catfish maybe??), meatloaf, and chicken tenders.

I'm a little embarrassed to say that I didn't take any of the plain veggies. I was too distracted by the cheesy squash casserole, homemade macaroni & cheese, mashed potatoes and the cheesy broccoli casserole. Yes, there was a definite cheese theme going on. I also managed to snag a few of these little gems:

Corn nuggets are a revelation. They taste like breaded creamed corn. The outsides were perfectly crisp and the insides had a sweet creamy-ness that I did not know existed. I almost needed someone to check my pulse because I was sure I had died and gone to food heaven.

We had to take a little breather at this point. We were getting pretty stuffed rather full but there was absolutely no way we were going to pass up Miller's "made from scratch" dessert. I'm sure had we skipped it we would have been breaking all sorts of rules in terms of buffet etiquette so we had to take one for the team and press on.

This is the blog-appropriate dessert plate. Basically what that means is that my first one was so full, that I was a teensy bit embarrassed to photograph it and post it online. I'm afraid you might have lost some respect for me. But there was more. Much more. This is actually plate number two.

The dessert buffet was loaded down with pies, brownies, cobblers, and cakes. I, of course, loaded up on anything with cheesecake, chocolate, peanut butter, or a combination of the three. Pictured above is the peach cobbler, chocolate pie, and pecan pie. I only ate a couple of bites of the pecan pie because it just didn't do it for me. I want less filling, more pecans. It wasn't "nutty" enough for me. Make whatever jokes you deem appropraite. I can laugh at myself.

After about an hour an a half of talking, eating, drinking coffee, and eating some more, we finally waddled outside to go our separate ways (my way was in the direction of The Avenue for some boot shopping, but more on that later). I really can't say enough good things about our experience at Miller's Grocery. Everything was absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend it if you're ever in the area - just make sure to call ahead for reservations. That place is hustlin' and bustlin'!

The Middle Half

Race day started bright at early at this house. My alarm was serenading me at 5 a.m. and I was out the door by 5:30 to pick up Molly. The stadium was absolutely buzzing when we got there - I always love the atmosphere at races. Even if it's just a 5k, there's always excitement in the air.

We were off and running shortly after 7 a.m. The route wound through the historical spots of Murfreesboro. My favorite was probably Oaklands Mansion because everyone was in full historic dress out front cheering us on as we ran by.

I finished with a new personal record of 2:19:46. I was really hoping to be faster since this course was basically flat compared with the hilly Nashville terrain that we covered at the Country Music Half back in April but really, my only goal was to get a better time in general. Mission accomplished.

I know I'm going to catch a ton of flack for this but I would not do The Middle Half again. There was so much hype surrounding it that I thought it might become my new favorite but to be honest, I didn't really care for the route. The best sights were at miles 4 & 5 and then the rest really wasn't much to look at so I just got plain bored out there. Unfortunately, I was spoiled with my first 1/2 and now my standards might be too high. I will say that the race was extremely organized which made it a pleasant experience overall. Plus, how much can I really complain when I had my dad cheering me on down the final stretch to the finish line?

Two Days in One Blog Post

What a whirlwind yesterday and today have been! The schedule was fairly light at the clinic yesterday so we spent the day making the reception area look festive by putting up all the Halloween decorations. I jetted out of work around 2:30 to go pick up my dad from the airport. We grabbed some Starbucks on the way home and then went to O'Charleys for dinner. My dad ordered the Prime Rib Pasta and I ordered the Bruschetta Chicken. This dish was fantastic - like, 'last meal' good! The chicken breast was topped with melty mozzerella cheese and the traditional balsamic tomato and onion bruschetta. On the side was steamed broccoli and a grilled tomato. DIE! And by the way.....this entire dish is only 470 calories? Oh. Em. Gee.

Today my dad and I were up and at 'em right away. We ate a light breakfast at home (I had an egg and avocado on toast, he had a bowl of cheerios) before heading out to do a little shopping and then we went to pick up my race packet for tomorrow. A neon pink Brooks tech shirt!? Amazeballs. Neon is the new black people.

The swag bag is always an exciting part of packet pick-up for me. It's fun to see what kind of odd goodies they throw in among all the random candidates for the recycling bin. I'm pretty excited about these two items from Dr. Nate's Naturals:

I'm all about natural products - especially local ones. Turns out Dr. Nate is not only a real person, but a Murfreesboro native. The products are 100% natural and are never tested on animals. The website claims that the Natural Lip Therapy (Retail Price: $4.00) is the "best balm you've ever used!" I put some on a little bit ago and it really reminds me of C.O. Bigelow's Mentha Lip Shine sans the 'over-powering, don't even try to eat or drink' minty taste. Who's a fan? This girl! The toothpaste (Retail Price: $5.00) is fluoride free and my dad is currently being my guinea pig upstairs and giving it a whirl.....so more on that in a hot minute.

This evening Molly came over for our traditional pre-race pasta dinner. Her parents recently moved down here from Chicago so with the three of them, my dad, and me, we had a full table! Thank goodness for neighbors that also have counter-height kitchen tables that can loan me an extra chair. Ha! We had spaghetti with a choice of garden veggie or meat sauce, garlic bread, and a delicious side salad that was loaded with dried cranberries, hard boiled eggs, and grilled chicken. For dessert we had a neopolitan angel food cake. Yeah, it was every bit as good as it sounds. So fluffy and light; not too sweet. Great food and great company.

It's almost 9:30 so I better get to bed before I turn into a pumpkin. I've got an early morning and need to get a good night's sleep if at all possible.

P.S. Final verdict on the toothpaste from my dad: He said it tastes good and his teeth feel clean. However, he noted that "it's not real foamy." So there you have it.

Procrastination

I have one of the most social dogs on the planet, she pretty much loves all people and other animals - even if they don't love her back. Today was a rare day for her, though. She was having a good old time at work playing with her tennis ball......but she was not letting anyone else join in the fun.

While taking a break, she had one paw on the ball and was not letting it out of her sight. I think this is one of the best pictures I've ever snapped of her. She is just so pretty (and not in the inside joke that we have at work kind of way). Seriously. She should be in magazines. I think I still have an old t-shirt from the Victoria's Secret Pink collection that says "My Dog is Cuter than Your Dog". I need to find it....because it's true.

I started having a bit of a meltdown this morning when I thought of everything I had to get done tonight before my dad flies in for the weekend tomorrow. I needed to pick up a few last-minute things at Wal-Mart (ugh!!), do five loads of laundry, get in a two-mile run, and give my bedroom and bathroom a good cleaning since that's where he'll be crashing while he is here. I knew once I just got going it would be fine but the mere thought of it about sent me over the edge. I suppose that's what I get for putting everything off until the last minute. Sigh. I never learn.

In an effort to save my sanity I left work a couple hours early and got started. It is now 6:11 p.m. I did my shopping, cleaned, and have the laundry going. Two loads down, three to go! I'm probably going to wait until later to run........like 8 or 9ish. I haven't gone on a night run in ages and kinda miss it a little. Better break out the reflective gear! You can never be too careful when you live in a neighborhood that is this close to being classified as a retirement community.

Click the link, make the recipe.

After my crappy eating habits yesterday, breakfast did not sound very appealing this morning so no oatmeal for this girl. I knew if I didn't eat something I would be starving not long after I got to work so I settled for something light. Hello down there! Wow, could I have been any farther away for this shot? Apparantly I felt like standing on the counter to take the picture. Just kidding, I didn't really do that.......but there's a visual. Ha!

In case you can't squint enough to see, I had a bowl of cheerios with a banana sliced in and a hot cup of coffee. It was just what I needed. Unfortunately, snapping a pic of lunch was a fail as usual (I swear one of these days I'll snap pictures of all three meals!) but I finished off the leftover pot roast that I made in the crock pot last week and some smashed potatoes from Sunday. Leftovers are always delicious - sometimes even better than the day they were made.

Yesterday I mentioned that I was in full Suzy-Homemaker mode when I got home but I couldn't go into any detail because a certain someone is a faithful reader of my blog these days and I didn't want to spoil the surprise. I managed to find out on Sunday that Ryan is a sucker for chocolate chip cookies so I decided to whip up a batch of these bad boys as a way to thank him for delivering a spare bed to my house that I can sleep on while my dad is visiting this weekend. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that this recipe produces the most delicious cookies on the planet. They are soft and chewy - no chocolate chip potato chips here! Everyone needs to make this recipe. Like, right now yesterday. And then try to eat just one. I dare you.

We had them for dessert and they got two thumbs up from both of us. I passed the chocolate chip cookie test with flying colors. Thank you Pinterest!

Between working, running, and having some special company tonight I got absolutely nothing done besides one load of laundry. My dad is going to be here in less than 48 hours so I've definitely got my work cut out for me. Better get to bed so I'm fresh and ready to tackle tomorrow!

Pop Quiz

True or False? The sound of an alarm clock on a rainy Monday morning is probably the absolute worst sound in the world. If you said true, we're on our way to becoming bff's because it pretty much ruined my blissful sleep this morning.

Last night I watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I cannot even begin to explain how much I loved the book. The movie.....not so much. If I hadn't read the book, it might not have been so bad, but I'm not sure I would've been able to follow it either. I have trouble with movies that try to make me think too much. They make me feel a little.....what's the word.......stupid? Yeah, that's it. Anyway, let's just say that although I'm extremely excited about reading the next two books in the series I will absolutely not watch the movie versions if they choose to film them. Period. The End.

Like I said, this morning was chilly and rainy. What better way to console myself after being rudely awakened by an alarm clock than with a delicious bowl of PB&J Oatmeal and a cup of coffee? I can think of nothing.

I really need to get a camera so I can snap better pictures. I swear my food looks much more appetizing in person than it does in the pictures I've been posting.

It took everything I had to drag myself to work this morning. It was crazy busy when I got there and I could think of several places I would have rather been. There was tons of food in the break room fridge from a get-together at Arrington Vineyards yesterday that I used to fuel me up around lunch time. I ended up grazing on it all afternoon so needless to say, I went home with a very upset stomach tonight.

When I got home, I was in full Suzy Homemaker mode. More on that tomorrow ;)

A Sunday of Surprises!

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be running."

Yep, that quote popped into my head and motivated me to get my behind moving and go for a run this morning. So glad I did because I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to kick out 6 miles without my foot bothering me! My Pandora radio station played some really good tunes today and around mile 2 I found myself rockin' out on the greenway. Luckily, nobody was there to witness but I really wouldn't have cared anyway! I have to add that I really don't recommend singing while running - I got pretty winded from it. Ha! As usual, I hit up Starbucks on my way home and chatted on the phone with my grandma as I drove home.

This afternoon I headed out to Ryan's. He cooked up a pretty delicious lunch - cocktail shrimp, scallops, stuffed clams, steamed asparagus and smashed potatoes. Pretty good for a bachelor. He reminded me about halfway through that I hadn't snapped a picture so maybe I'll try to snag one of a plate of leftovers. For dessert he made a lemonade pie that we chowed down on while we drank coffee later in the afternoon. After that, I got my second surprise of the day:

Ryan gave me a purple hoodie as a "good luck" gift before my half marathon this weekend. I'm gonna be lovin' life when I slip this on after I cross the finish line. This guy must really pay attention because it's going to pair perfectly with my purple shoes that I'm going to be sporting that day.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of driving around the country so Ryan could show me his crops and the land in Milton that he owns with his brother. Darcy was totally in her element and had a blast running around out in the field and riding around in the truck. She was a little worn out after all that excitement.

I had rented The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo for us to watch but we ran out of time since Ryan had to go into work for a bit this evening. Sooooo, I'm going to be watching it alone tonight, in my Under Armour hoodie of course :)

Another Busy Saturday

It's crazy to think that by this time next week, I will have ran my second half marathon. I'm honestly a little nervous about my foot holding up and I still haven't ruled out trying to get into the doctor this week to see if I might be able to get a cortisone injection....just to be on the safe side. My foot feels really good today and tomorrow morning I'm going to hit the greenway for a run. Not sure on the mileage yet because my plan is just to do whatever feels good.

The weather has been on the cool side the past few days so I've ditched my overnight oats and gone back to good old PB & J oatmeal in the morning. I don't know what happened today but my oats were a little soupy so I had to microwave them a little longer and let them sit on the counter for a bit to thicken before digging in.

Work was fairly busy - typical Saturday. I was pretty excited to have leftover McAlister's in the fridge at work. That sandwich was just as good as it was yesterday. After I left work, I made a quick stop at Dick's Sporting Goods to pick up another running tank. Yes, we are heading into winter but I still like to use them for layering and my favorite Nike tank was on clearance in purple. Now I have one to match each pair of shoes :)

If you're ever in the market for a great running tank, The Nike Tight Chill Legend is the way to go. Long and lean with serious moisture-wicking action. It comes in tons of colors, too, which puts it in the same category as happy meal toys - I want to collect them all!

I also hit up the Starbucks in Barnes & Noble on my way home for one of these:

'Tis the season for Pumpkin Spice Latte's! I have to confess that this was not taken today (why I felt the need to admit that, I have no idea). I actually had a tall, non-fat, half-sweet one today. It was nothing short of amazing and paired perfectly with the chilly fall weather!

In preparation for the big race weekend, I've been busy cleaning the house since my dad is going to get here Thursday afternoon. I'm trying to tackle the big stuff like vacuuming the house and cleaning the bathrooms. That way I'll just have a little touch-up to do the night before he gets here. I took a break from cleaning because I worked up quite an appetite. Dinner tonight was........you guessed it. My favorite little salad. In my defense, I don't really have a choice but to have it in blocks of two nights in a row because of the avocado. You gotta use those things up! I did manage to snap my own picture this time.

The rest of the evening is a little up in the air. I will either a) get motivated and clean some more, or b) get lazy and crash on my couch to read. Kendra loaned me Born to Run and I'm pretty excited to get started on it. It's supposed to be very inspiring in terms of running - perfect timing leading up to the race!

Cinco de October...o?

Today was such a gorgeous day I found it mildly depressing to be stuck indoors working. The morning was fairly busy at the clinic since dental month is in full-swing and we're ending up with quite a full surgery schedule every morning. Once it calmed down, I realized I finally had time to work on the reception area display to promote our bi-annual teeth cleaning special. Everytime I have to come up with a display I immediately shift into "teacher mode". I wasn't feeling too creative this time but here is what I managed to come up with:

Nothing fancy but it gets the message across. Plus, I couldn't get too crazy because the doctors don't like anything that could be classified as "cutesy." They think it's unprofessional. I beg to differ but, hey, I just work there.

Once I finished up with that, it was (mercifully) time to go to lunch and I was starving despite the fact I'd had a snack mid-morning. Ryan picked me up from the clinic and took me to McAlister's Deli. That place reminds me of Panera - really delicious and fresh-tasting but I always get a little sticker shock at the bill. Our lunch cost almost $20.....that's madness. We were able to snag a table out on the patio and enjoy the weather while we chatted a bit. I had the Orange Cranberry Turkey Club with a side of fruit and Ryan had the Chicken Salad Croissant with some potato salad. Everything got two thumbs up and I even remembered to grab my to-go box so I'll have half of the sandwich for leftovers tomorrow. Ohhh, yeeaaahhh!!

Since I had such a late lunch, I had my usual light dinner. I think this is the third night in a row for this particular dish but it's so delicious I just can't resist.

This is a pic I pulled off the web from FitSugar because I keep forgetting to take a picture of my own. I like to layer this up in a clear glass like a parfait - it's all in the presentation, right? This comes together in about 5 minutes. It's just 1/2 of an avocado, 1/2 of a cucumber, 12 grape tomatoes, and half a cup of fat free cottage cheese. I really went all out tonight when I sprinkled some chia seeds on it as well for some added health benefits :)

Last night I finally finished reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Such a great book! So many twists, turns, and surprises that kept me guessing page after page. I lost a lot of sleep from staying up to read "just one more chapter." On Sunday we're going to rent the movie so I'm going to hold off on starting the next book until after that.

Tonight I'm going to relax on the couch with my pup and try to get to bed early. I have a busy weekend ahead!

Happy Friday :)

A Pain in the Foot

The past few weeks of my half-marathon training have been pretty steady which I owe in part to my co-worker, Kendra, who has joined me on my weekday runs. It's amazing to me how despite the fact that we don't talk much out there, it is so much more enjoyable having someone out there running next to me. Of course when Kendra's not available, Darcy is aways up for the task!



"How fast do we get to go today?"

Last Thursday I wanted to really push myself and try to run a super-speedy two miles - which I did - but I have a sneaking suspicion it is to blame for the ache in my left arch that I've been plagued with ever since. I have tried to rest it and ice it but it just keeps nagging at me. I'm frustrated to say the least and I might have even shed some tears over it this morning. I decided that in an effort to salvage my race coming up on the 13th I would go to my favorite local running store, Fleet Feet, and see about some insoles to relieve some of the pressure I've obviously put on my tendons.

As always, the staff was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the products the store carried. After trying out a few different types, I settled on the SuperFeet Green insoles because they seemed to feel the best in terms of supporting the arch of my foot. What a difference! Per the advice of the salesperson, I'll gradually ease into wearing the insole over the next few days and I've got the green light (no pun intended) to wear them for the half. Tomorrow I'm going to test them out on a short two-miler with Sam and Kendra after work. Cross your fingers!

Gone Fishing!

This past Sunday was a very unusual one for me. First of all, I skipped my morning run. I do not remember the last time I didn't run on a Sunday morning - probably months ago. I've been putting in a lot of miles training for The Middle Half and last Thursday I started getting a painful ache in my left arch. With only two weeks until the race, I didn't want to push it so I took a few (actually four) days off to hopefully let it heal up.

I got up early, had breakfast, drank my coffee and went through the paper. I love getting the Sunday paper....even if it is only to cut coupons and look at all the sale flyers for the week.

Around 12:00, I headed out and dropped off my trash at the convenience center on my way to Fate Sanders Marina for an afternoon of fishing with Ryan. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the restaurant and then headed out on the boat. It wasn't a stellar outing, but we did catch some crappy and a catfish......all of which we threw back because we really didn't catch enough to make the whole cleaning process worth it. It was fun being out there and snapping pictures with the assortment of fish we reeled in.

Double-Fisting!

Hmm......So that's what a catfish looks like up close.

When I got home, I was exhausted. I don't know how I got so worn out just from being on a boat all day. I couldn't help but laugh when I thought about how I had spent the entire afternoon fishing and was wearing a camouflage hoodie. What next? Hunting?

Slacking Blogger: July Catch-Up

What have I been doing for the past month? I haven't blogged since the 4th of July and I'm sure a lot has actually happened but I've totally forgotten about it now. Slacking blogger. Clearly, this is just a hobby.

I went on my first big canoe trip last weekend. There were 17 of us and we spent the (entire) day floating down the Buffalo River by Waynesboro, TN. We basically floated, drank beer, ate chips and sandwiches, and tipped our canoes. Oh, the boys did a little clif-jumping as well. It was such a fun, exhausting day and I'm hoping for a repeat next year.....sans the random bruises that I ended up with. Still haven't figured a couple of them out.

Due to eating a lot of fast food the last month or so and the extreme bloating effect the canoe trip had on my body, I decided to do another round of the 3-Day Fruit Flush. I did it Wednesday-Friday and although I didn't have the dramatic results that I did the first time around, I'm still down 5 pounds and feeling much less toxic since it's completion. Ha!

Friday night was the perfect evening with friends. The Olympics were about to start and since I don't have cable (lame, I know!) I headed over to Cacey & Caleb's to watch the opening ceremony. London did not disappoint and we ooh'd and ahh'd over the magnitude of the production. The best part of the night for me was actually snuggling with their sweet baby Cadence. How cute is she??

Darcy had a pretty awesome time over there as well. She made a new best friend in Cacey & Caleb's black lab, Baloo. Can you say Double Trouble??

After doing my detox I gave myself a day (Saturday) to refuel before picking up my running again. I was supposed to run with a local running group this morning, but sadly, sleep got the better of me and I didn't make it to the trail head in time. Amazingly, I still motivated myself to go alone and I headed out to the greenway around 5:30 a.m. I kicked out 5 miles with some rests throughout - I guess I wasn't completely recuperated from my detox and had zero energy. Plus, since it was so pretty and peaceful out, I couldn't resist perching on the bank of the Stones River for a photo opp with my new kicks on. In case I didn't mention it on here, I might have purchased another pair of PureFlows in red. Yes. They are that awesome!

When I finished up on the greenway, all I could think about was a cup of coffee but I was having serious trouble deciding where to go (story of my life - those who know me are probably not surprised one bit). I started heading towards McDonalds because their coffee is generally pretty good at 7 a.m. Then, I remembered how much I love Sonic coffee and headed in the other direction. Upon arrival, I found out they were closed. Seriously? Fine, McDonalds it is. I had almost reached the golden arches when I realized Starbucks wasn't much further. Again, I changed direction. Eastward, ho captain! I had the air cranked up in my car and was getting cold so instead of simply turning it down, I decided to practice my reckless driving skills by putting on a hoodie as I was cruising down the frontage road. Just a little tip: Do NOT try to put on a hoodie while wearing your seatbelt - you won't get it past your shoulders and then you have to awkwardly get back out of it. Probably should have pulled over for that one. I managed to make it to Starbucks without any major disasters....although I did almost ramp the curb trying to pull up and order. Apparantly, I was still discombobulated from the hoodie fiasco. It was well worth it and I enjoyed that cup of coffee the whole drive home while chatting it up with my grandma.

The rest of my day is going to consist of cleaning - I need to finish the job I started yesterday and get my pigsty under control. On tap today: my bedroom and bathroom. Happy Sunday??

A Sunday kind of Wednesday

I had originally planned on registering for a 5k of some sort today. I say it all the time: there's no better way to start a paid holiday than by running a race. I wasn't really on the ball with it and couldn't commit to one - which turned out to be a good thing since I am sans car this week - but I didn't let that stop me from kicking out 3.1 miles bright and early with Darcy this morning (and by early, I mean 5:30 a.m. - gotta beat the heat!). It was a perfect little 5k - right in our own neighborhood. We both won our age groups and tied for first overall ;) It was a great way to get the day started!

After our run, I came in and had my breakfast and coffee before doing my Jillian Michaels workout. I haven't mentioned it on here yet, but I started Jillian's 90-Day Body Revolution series a month ago. I'm on the first week of Phase 2 and really enjoying the challenge of these workouts. Phase 1 was fairly basic for me since I was already in decent shape but the intensity is definitely ramping up and I'm feeling the burn!!

I'm also on my second week of training for my next half marathon - The Murfreesboro Middle Half on October 13th. Molly and I decided that we wanted to do a 16-week training program for this one because we felt like the 12-week one we followed this past spring didn't quite prepare us properly mileage-wise. I can't decide what my goal for this race is yet because the course is fast and flat compared to the hilly route of the Country Music 1/2 we just did so they aren't really comparable. I ran the Country Music 1/2 in 2:22ish. Do I want to just shave off a few minutes or really go balls to the wall and try to hit it right at two hours or under? We'll see how training goes, I guess. I've been doing a lot of research on speed-training to incorporate into my runs so it will somewhat depend on what kind of results I get out of that.

Other than that, Darcy and I are having a wonderful relaxing day at home today - feels like a Sunday but better. She's been romping around the house a bit and napping here and there. I've pretty much stuck to the couch with a good book. I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th!!

A DIY Kind of Day

Hi. My name is Laura. I hoard t-shirts. Perhaps you should repeat that phrase as well - because I know you've got a drawer-full, too. What? You have two drawers? Eek. In my defense, I don't go out and buy t-shirts. Not technically, anyway. Whenever I am searching for a 5k, I make sure that I'm at least going to get a shirt out of it (yes, I still need a tangible reward for surviving....I mean, completing.....such a physically demanding task). So I guess that makes my collection very expensive considering each one cost me a minimum of $25. Truth be told, they generally aren't that cute either. My first one (which came from a race that shall remain nameless) is downright ugly. It has a squirrel and an acorn on it if that gives you any idea. They're nice souvenirs, but what can I really do with them? I can't run in them because if you are an athlete of any kind, you know that 100% cotton is not the way to go on a hot summer evening. I figured they would just keep piling up in my closet and drawers until I got sick of them and donated them to Goodwill.

That is until Pinterest came to my rescue.

I woke up this morning feeling pretty crappy. My throat was sore and my lymph nodes on the left side of my face were swollen up like golf balls. Something is clearly wrong and I'm hoping it will just go away on its own. I laid around reading a book for most of the day and napped for a couple hours here and there. This evening I just needed something to do that didn't require a lot of physical or mental effor. I sat and looked at Pinterest for a while and saw this tutorial that I pinned months ago and decided to finally test it out and make a dent in my mountain of t-shirts.

I chose an especially ugly shirt (sorry Jazz Festival!) that I really didn't care about (again, so sorry!) to start with in case I screwed up this seemingly fool-proof project.

Shirt laid out, tutorial up on the laptop. So far, so good!



Cut everything off at the seams. Check!

Finished product!

Obviously, there is a step missing from my pictures (it's hard to take action shots when you're alone and Darcy is not capable of wielding a camera. She's only one for crying out loud!) but this blog post is clearly not a tutorial. I wonder if it's possible to have too many of these? Doubtful, considering I work out six days a week.

Due to my successful first attempt and the fact that it only took a hot minute to complete I decided to go ahead and make another:

My only concern at this point is how well they will hold up in the washing machine. No seams. No sew. Hmm....only time will tell I guess. Good thing I have a vast collection to keep pulling from, right?

I seriously considered doing a third one with said shirt from the unmentionable race but I'm really starting to feel crappy again so I'm going to just mix up some Emergen-C & snuggle up on my couch for the rest of the evening.