desk eater

i'm a desk eater

i bring my lunch (or am trying to be better about it)

but i always stay at my desk and eat

and i always get angry when people come by and ask work questions when i have a mouth full of food.

i guess i should try facing another direction

or....gulp...go to the lunch room

the lunch room is just so intimidating, though. 

much like high school, everyone has their spot.

and i'd rather hide behind my computer monitor

tell me i'm not alone.

my breakfast this morning, eaten at my desk...

pumpkin flax cereal mixed with vanilla greek yogurt...and a side of paperwork

delicious

and lunch yesterday looked like

a salad with the chicken i cooked up in bulk (very tasty) with my most favorite dressing in the world




raspberry and walnut - this stuff tastes great on lettuce or mixed in a pasta salad - i really like it with a bit of feta or goat cheese to balance out the sweet

i ate the same salad last night for dinner it was so good.

but not after a little sweat

sweat and pictures or the workout didn't happen, right?

i'm pretty tired this morning - after my work out last night i had to run to the grocery - bringing breakfast and lunches from home means the groceries are depleting at a faster rate.

so i did my grocery shopping in smelly clothes and hurried back home to put everything away so i could enjoy abc's wednesday night line up.

and i fell asleep soon after suburgatory went off

and here we are...back at my desk...eating cereal and drinking copious amounts of coffee

are you a desk eater?  do you get creative with the lunches you bring from home?

lunch prepping

goooood morning!

i've had two cups of coffee and i accidentally dropped a lot of brown sugar in my oatmeal this morning

i fished some of it out

but it was still a lot

and when i got to work it was a syrupy mess

i tried to eat some of it

but...it was icky

now i'm still hungry and on a slight sugar/caffeine high

i'm trying to get back to prepping my breakfasts and lunches again

i had completely forgot how to cook my oats in my rice cooker - it had been so long!

and i tried to keep it healthy at lunch time by running to subway

but running out every day for lunch was getting old

so last night i cooked up about 8 HUGE chicken boobs

and let them cool - bill and i had chicken, zucchini, and corn for dinner- but

with the leftovers i shredded to use for salads

i portioned out a tupperware of salad and added some chicken

hard boiled a few eggs - and packed two last night

i was out the door at my usual time AND i had breakfast (which was a fail) and lunch packed - i'll take this one as a win

before the cooking began last night i got my run on - just a mile - but i shaved about 20 seconds off my last mile

woo!

i feel like my running spirit is back

i have the urge to push harder to get back to my faster (for me) miles

i also have to credit starting the couch to 5k program

i downloaded the app on my phone

i felt the earlier weeks were too slow for where i'm already at - so i started with week 4

monday was the first day i did the program - and the first day i added more distance

it was tough - i had decided to treat it like a speed workout

but i hadn't been used to running for the total distance, and i burnt out pretty early

my last couple of jogging reps were pretty slow

but i stayed with it and completed it

i could probably mess with my garmin to set up something similiar

but this app is just so easy - i highly recommend it - even if you just want to use it for a sprint/fartlek workout- the intervals are based on time and there is a voiceover when it's time to walk - or slow down if you're using it for fartleks

today will be my second day of the program - i plan to follow it through - while working on speedier 1 mile runs on the "off" days.

i knew going in to this "40 days of running" that it probably wouldn't take me long to set another goal

the past year i was setting goals that were achievable, but my heart wasn't in it - and i was setting myself up for failure - and i knew it

having a chance to start from the bottom again and work my way back up has rekindled a fire - working on the basics and building my endurance slowly makes me want to work harder and enjoy the small hurdles

instead of muddling through a training plan and feeling defeated instead of proud of the accomplishments i have made

i'm not ready to schedule any late spring or fall races just yet...

i just want to solidify my base and see how i feel after a couple of months.

but...i know how this running bug goes

give me about a month and i bet i get race fever and sign up for something  :)

happy trails!

feathering the nest

am i allowed to revisit my weekend again?

there are no rules, you say?

well then here goes

saturday was my sister in law's twins! baby shower.

my name was on the invites as co-hoster

but i felt like quite the fraud

my other sister in law had an idea and ran with it

i merely showed up and tried not to get in the way

she came up with cute matching games - like match the celebrity with their twin

and we also played guess the candybar

any guesses?

which clearly has not affected my sweet tooth (i had oatmeal with 2 samoas cookies mixed in this morning)

abbey also came up with quite a spread of food

i don't think we had many leftovers

oh, and of course, our guest of honor, kayla, who, bless her heart, was battling some nasty sinus/cold/cough - i can't even imagine that on top of being pregnant with twins

such beautiful gifts for such a deserving family

uncle bill and uncle paul wrapped the gifts from us - and they did a great job for such large boxes!

cut to - the night before -

they ran out of paper (my fault for not buying enough)

but they made it work

and were probably slightly more interested in playing video games...

but, anyways

the mother-to-be was beautiful - and a bit overwhelmed of where two of everything was about to fit

it still doesn't feel real that in about 2 months there will be 2 little ones to hold

i calmed my baby fever on sunday

this guy is soooo not ready to share the attention - look at those eyes!  such a concerned look - anxiously awaiting the anticipated trip.

we drove out to bernheim forest - which is a short trip for us since we live pretty close to I-65

and there were so many new smells to be smelled

and views to be seen - way up in the trees

you can see the walkout where we were standing through the trees in these pictures

we hiked briefly down...but i swear the rest of the 1.5 miles was up, up, and up

beautiful green lined parts of the path

and interesting fungi was showing off as well

we tried our best to wear woodford out on the hike - but it seemed the further we went - the harder he would pull to go faster.

he just didn't know he was tired.

he was more than happy to lay on the couch when we got home - which was good

because we had a baseball game to attend

baseball = food and beer, right?

right.

and a hot dog/brat never tastes as good as it does while sitting in the stands

or out in left field

the weekends pass so quickly when you're trying to squeeze the most out of them

i skipped my run on sunday, but i probably more than made up for it with the hike

oh - and a quick ride to the liquor store on bike counts too

i feel like i'm in a good place right now

balancing self imposed priorities with actual priorities

 and holding myself accountable for the work i put in

last night's run felt really good too - more on that later!

partial weekend

i remembered my coffee this morning

and my water bottle

and a couple of girl scout cookies for breakfast

i forgot to put my lid on tight on my water bottle

and had a stream of water running down my leg on the way to my car

i forgot the hot coffee is hot

and it melted the bottom of my samoas cookies.

i now have a messy coffee mug lid.

i completely forgot my camera usb this morning.

i actually busted out the camera for this weekend's activities

and took lots of pictures

and was supposed to email them this morning to others as well as post a few here

but i forgot.

here's to hoping i find time to do so tonight

i had such a beautiful weekend

 spent with my favorite person and dog baby

trying to squeeze a little sunshine into this winter

simultaneously relishing in the fact that long sleeves are still required

and longer days are just around the corner

i hope you got to enjoy every second of this past weekend

i hope i remember to upload pictures tonight.

and i hope i find time to share more of my weekend.

it was special.

hair did

you remember that time i got my hair chopped off 2 weeks before my wedding?

well that's the last time i got my hair cut

over 4 months ago...

well on my way to work this morning - after wearing my hair in buns, and messy pull-backs

i decided it was time

i was tired of not looking pulled together

so i called my salon

and the lady who did my hair in october wasn't working today

so i spun the wheel

and it would be heather cutting my hair

heather has never cut my hair.

i'm so fearless.

when i arrived heather had tattoos of scissors and a blow dryer on one arm

fearless.

this chick had fabulous short hair - so i knew she was my people.

i told her what i wanted and she completely understood

WONDERFUL.

she is really a great stylist - and moonlights as a bartender at phoenix hill and jim porters

she just KNEW how to cut my hair - i have a lot of hair and it can get pretty bulky and she automatically knew to thin it out and "shatter" it around my face.

whoa my eyes look wonky

i also like the way she styled it.

i usually always like my short hair cuts - but there's been a time or two a stylist wants to give me a bouffant blowout - i don't like big hair- and am forced to go home with teased hair - hate that

probably because i have to deal with a puff ball when the humidity hits - i like my hair to have a low profile.

when i went to pay with my debit card there was a sign posted that tips could no longer be added to debit/credit cards.

i felt horrible.  i only had a debit card and about $3 in cash.

you could tell heather was slightly upset - not really at me, but i knew she was probably upset with the new rules about tipping and she would potentially be missing out on one because of it.

i felt so irresponsible - but i hadn't been there since october and no one told me when i made the appointment :(

she told me not to worry about it and just get her next time i come in

well it's pretty obvious how often i get my hair cut

i had to make it right - so i left and drove down the road to a walgreens and picked up some gum and got cash back.

unfortunately when i got back to the salon, heather was on break and i had to leave the tip with the receptionist who told me it would go in an envelope in the desk.

heather - i hope you got your tip!  i LOVE my hair - and maybe i'll see you at phoenix hill sometime!

the one where nothing really happens

i tried to push myself to run a little harder last night

shaved about 15 seconds off my average time!

even in the bitter cold

still managed to get a little brow sweat going

boy do i need a haircut - i'm tired of needing hair ties to pull it back :\

when i made it back in the house i had a crazy sweets craving

that was satisfied by this new find at kroger

delicious!  tasted like vanilla yogurt with chocolate rice crispies mixed in

i spent my night on the couch after that watching ABC's wednesday night line up

how boring, huh?

just a little more than 2 weeks until we spring forward

and woodford and i can spend a little more time in the daylight walking

but as of now, there's supposed to be freezing rain tonight :\

shiny happy sneakers

good morning!

my morning started off with coffee and a chocolate chip cookie on my ride in to work

that means it's going to be a good day, right?

right.

when i got home last night, i practically jumped for joy

they finally arrived!

sidebar - bill picked up a shoe and smelled the inside of it - saying "i love the smell of new shoes."  weirdo.

i couldn't wait to lace them up!

i went out solo without woodford, and completed a mile.

i wanted to do more - but it was so windy - i couldn't get my breathing down while running and by the end i felt really winded and my side was actually hurting from my poor breathing.

it's still cold today, but the wind isn't as bad - so maybe tonight i'll venture a bit further out.

the best part of the run -

grippy shoes!  seriously, i had forgot how nice new shoes grabbing the pavement felt.

annnnd - no shin pain!  none at all!  which could also mean i've built my endurance back up - but let's pretend it's the pretty shoes.

i also think i kept a slightly faster pace for most of the run - i forgot to plug in my garmin, so i'm not sure - but it was probably because i didn't have a doggy stopping to pee on every bush.

my motivation to run today:

 "Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'"
- Peter Maher, Canadian marathon runner

doggy runs

so excited ya'll

my shoes are out for delivery!

last night my run felt so good. 

it was warmer and windy out

unfortunately it's cold and windy today.

but i'm not going to use that as an excuse not to meet my daily goal!

on our bike ride sunday, i was telling bill that i was pretty proud of myself for trying to get back in to running and that this time of year is the best time to set new fitness goals.

1.  if you're working out in a gym - the crowds have begun to die down.  you're less likely to get frustrated with crowded machines

2.  if you're a pavement warrior, at least in these parts, the weather has begun to change slightly.  the days are slightly longer, and even if it's still freezing out - you're building your base - you don't have to spend an hour or 2 in the cold - just 15-30 minutes and it's over!

3.  by the time the warmer months have rolled around, you're already in a habit of working out and are in better shape because of it - meaning you are better equipped to handle the humidity and heat.

and lately, my number one motivator has been this guy

he pulls me to go faster, and he trots beside me when  momma needs to slow down

when i'm not quite feeling it, i'm suckered in to a run because how could i tell him no?

dogs - the best motivator/guilt trip

bourbon weekend

anyone off today?

back to work for me!

and wouldn't you know it - it's supposed to be in the 50's today

all weekend  it was in the 20's and 30's

but that didn't stop me from getting my runs in

the pain is starting to ease in my shins - i feel like i've worked through some of the initial pain, and when my new shoes are delivered tomorrow i'm going to be more than ready to take them on a longer run!  and by longer...i mean like 2 miles instead of 1

and even though the temps were freezing this weekend, bill and i couldn't help ourselves

we didn't travel too far - just a big loop through two neighborhoods

the weather, originally, was supposed to be warmer - and i had big plans for us to bike it to the donut shop

but it was FREEZING riding downhill

and we have yet to get helmets - which is next on our list of items to purchase along with locks.

i can't wait for spring...

the rest of our weekend looked like this

 blankey +laptop = HEAT!

mario cart and batman legos game

woodford thinking deep thoughts

woodford taking a stand

actually, just demanding belly rubs

oh, and, we celebrated maker's mark's decision NOT to dilute it's bourbon

we're obviously woodford fans - but love maker's price point and value :)

what's your favorite bourbon?  and if maker's mark did dilute their bourbon just a tiny bit, would you have still bought it?

if you have today off - please take a nap for me - this coffee isn't working this morning.