That Curl can RUN!

Good Monday morning all! I see we are all a little droopy eyed today. Mondays are the worst way to start a week. But look at it this way, we're closer to the weekend! Quick weekend recap: Running: No. I didn't do any exercise. Sleeping in: Yes, I did do some of that. Maybe: there are lots of those, we won't even begin to peel that onion. I was busy with shoe shopping, hair playing, cleaning, gown wearing, laughing, friend making, cuddling, exploring, and generally doing things that make me smile. I was blessed Saturday night (and again Sunday) to finally spend some time getting to know a very wonderful, very kind and loving, very important person. He was integral to my life, before I knew it. God showed me where He had been working long before I came up with my "plan". I'm smiling just thinking about how wonderful this new friendship is. _______________________________________________________________________ Tomorrow morning should be run-fi...

Oh what fun it is....to jump off of a 30ft pole on Khaki Thursday. Yesterday was just a regular ole day, you know, traipsing through the woods, building fake bridges, carrying strangers through pretend spiderwebs, and doing trust falls. What? Just a day at the office. Well, I wish that was my 'office'. I'd do it every day if I could. Our area Leadership team went to a team building day at a local camp, and it was F.U.N. I see why the past members have said that you make life-long friends in this class. I feel like I am. Since I'm not from 'round these parts, I've struggled to make deep connections with people as friends. Yesterday felt like a turning point for me. Runners form bonds on the streets. Church group members form bonds through Scripture. BF/GFs form bonds of the heart. But in professional situations, it's difficult to really connect with people that you may only see once a month, or only communicate across town via phone or email. I...

Ugh.... I should have stayed in bed. I ran 0 miles today, and that trend will continue until tomorrow morning. I've had multiple cups of coffee, and a large Dr. Pepper today. I left the office for a total of 11 minutes. Why, oh why, did Wednesday have to be so cruel? Tomorrow IS khaki Thursday and it's Leadership field trip day! This couldn't have come at a better time. I'll be climbing phone poles and building trust bridges tomorrow, so we'll catch up on Friday. Until then, enjoy these two things that I wanted to share: IT FINALLY HAPPENED! I knew it was going to fall! Mwahahahahaha! I say this with excitement, and a bit of 'I-told-ya-so', both of which are misplaced because this is MY YARD. I am excited that it finally fell. I did tell ya (lots of ya's) so, but the problem is...it's my problem! I hate being right some times. This makes me smile and cringe. English. Thanks. (I may have shared this before. It goes along with the ...

I had a real life Amy Poehler moment. Someone asked me where I got my pants, and I got to say "Old Navy!". And they were all "no way!" and I was all "uh, yeah. I know!" Totally legit convo right there. Ok, that was yesterday, and today is today. Tuesday actually. I'm here, I'm tired, I'm hungry. __________________________________________________________________________ Run report Monday night: 2.5 miles 23:54. Sweaty and miserable Tuesday morning: 2 miles 23:06. Sweaty and miserable. I'm running regularly. Not fast, but on the reg. See, I can stick to my plan...if everyone is watching and holding me accountable. And judging. Judging helps me to do what I say I will. Keep it up! _________________________________________________________________________ Doing these things! You know what? I did a lot over the weekend, but there isn't much photographic evidence of it. You know I like to keep you in the dark. Or ma...

Oh weekend, where did you go? Why do you break up with me every week about this time? I thought we had fun together, I thought we liked each other. Oh, fun abounds, but alas, it comes to an end. Monday is here and no one is happy about it. I had a wonderful weekend filled with food and fun, naps and movies, lots of laughs, and a little shopping. Oh, the things I have in my heart. I did not do any running, stretching, yoga-ing or fitness in the general sense WHAT.SO.EVER. Sorry, I was too busy with fun stuff. Although, I do find running fun. I'll get back to that today. So many hours of awake time. Napping Saturday evening until 9:30pm causes one to be up until 3am. What do you do when you're awake and alone? Braid yo' hair. Friends marathons and cereal at 2am spark this kind of creativity. Adulting...leave it to the grown-ups. I really hope you had an amazing weekend too. It's what gets us through the next 5 days, right? __________________________________...

Gaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We made it! I didn't even get to talk to you until the END of Friday. How crazy, bad, yet totally awesome is that?! Curly hair don't care, I'm breakin' outta this place for 2 days. ________________________________________________________________________ Last night was 0 running because I had ladies group at church, which is why I did the Thursday early a.m. run. I went to the track today for a 45 min walk/jog/gab-fest with neighbor. Then I laid on my heating pad until I absolutely had to get up for work. Blarch. ________________________________________________________________________ I should be running tonight to keep with my streak, but, I don't hafta if I don't wanna. Small steps, right? Picnics, and football, and naps, and (hopefully, but dreadfully...but hopefully) painting this weekend. Oh! My little snowflake flowers bloomed again. yay.  ________________________________________________________________________ What ...

Hideo-ho! I was up at 5am to run 2 miles with my new running friend. She is a veteran marathoner that took some time off and is trying to get back to her old running routine. What this means for me is that I have someone that loves and understands running, AND runs at my pace now! Things I hope to get out of this: 1: Not get killed alone in the pre-dawn hours 2: Increase my pace by running with someone that trains harder than me 3: Decrease the girth of my ankles (maybe not a possibility) 4: Form a new friendship 5: Not get killed alone in the pre-dawn hours (this is very important, and very possible) We met at 5:15 and got in 2 miles. 11:04/pm pace. Very hilly route. This is the only way I'll get hills. I don't volunteer to run hills. Ever. I do run this stretch of road often because it's just part of the route I run, and let me tell ya, IT. IS. HILLY. Up and down for a straight mile. She's a hill runner. I thought I pushed it on hills. This is going to be ...

What can I say? I woke up late, it was cloudy, and I had to go to work. Obviously I'm not in gear today. Chocolate Silk didn't fix it. Iced chai didn't fix it. Coffee didn't fix it. I think I need a nap. I did a little stretching this morning. I'm still trying to get the kink out of my mid-back. We tried popping it last night to no avail. My upper back took the adjustment, but my mid-back may just be tight muscles. Some moist heat, some ice, some stretching...still nothing. It's starting to be a pain...in the back. Last night I headed out for 2 miles. They were difficult. Partially my fault for not running lately, partially my fault for running uphill. I will 100% blame the weather or something else that can't defend itself. You know you're a runner when you dig through the console on your scooter for a stray piece of gum. Found one! Running sunglasses broke in 2 places. Still wore them. I had found a piece of gum so I had to go run. 23:23 fo...

Hello Tuesday people! Tuesday! A day for slacks and heels, and trying to make a fitted tee look fancy. I have my bird scarf on today because it's chilly outside, and, ...it makes my fitted tee look fancy. Dressing for work is hard. I stretched this morning on my mat because I'm sore.....FROM RUNNING! Yay!!!! We did a 2 person running tour of the college campus last night. I've never been all over campus, and I'm amazed at how much is there. It's not OU, but it's a lot bigger, and nicer, than I knew. They have a huge student center with indoor track upstairs, lots of sitting areas in between buildings, nice sidewalks, tons of stairs to climb, and the campus is mainly well-lit. We didn't time ourselves, or track our distance. Just ran. Pushed ourselves on the hills, did some stairs, and just jogged around for a bit. I haven't been running, so I needed to go easy anyway. Plus, I had my custom insoles in, and they really annoy my feet. ____...

Fall is so close! It was mildly cool this weekend, and I made sure to get outside and enjoy. We had breakfast for dinner Friday night. Pancakes and sausage. Sooo good. We have an Amish festival/auction nearby every September, so we went to that Saturday.  We came home with a giant glass dairy jar, 3 pumpkins, and a teaspoon. I made it out for a steak dinner with a long lost friend, and swung by the County Fair after dark. Sunday was church as usual, then BBQ with the dude and a new friend. I mowed the lawn since it was mid-80s, cleaned up, and spent some time with my fave. A little scootin' around town, some browsing at Lowe's, and leftover steak tacos for dinner. Today isn't my favorite day, but it could be much worse. I've spent most of my mental energy sending out good vibes to someone I know that needs it. I believe God gives some of us easy days so that we can help support those that are facing some tough ones. ________________________________________...

Sorry folks! This week has slipped away from me. Due to RAIN there was no running Wednesday morning, and due to CLOUDS I overslept and did no yoga. We did go to the track today and I got a bit of pre 10k training in. I didn't do R4G Wednesday evening because I was stuck at the office. No gym on Thursday due to my overly sensitive right arm. I'm a useless blob. I know. ________________________________________________________________________ Some things! I made a 1/2 chalkboard, 1/2 display thing out of an old window I got from Prell's junk pile a few weeks ago. I'll post a separate post with progress pics soon. This Coke was not shared with me, but the job of throwing it away was. Hey, at least my name is spelled correctly. This is why I've been so busy every evening. Living this series all over again is so wonderful. I hope you laugh as much as I do! In the past week I've been to a car show, toured a new high school, got...

One of the best feelings is waking up on Monday!, saying 'NO!' to getting up,  and meaning it! Hello,  from my bed! As part of the workforce I am very happy to accept this holiday.  In fact,  if I ever own my own business,  I plan to have a 3 day weekend once per month.  This is awesome! I thought I hadn't accomplished much this weekend,  but I don't think that's true.  I've cleaned out some dead plants in the garden, washed a window that I have chosen for a chalkboard project, grocery shopped, did ALL my laundry,  attended a car show,  acquired a leather recliner,  did a little praise and worship,  and got some girl time on the books. While I've not ran or mowed the lawn, I have been busy.  Besides,  those are considered labor,  and,  I don't wanna. What have you been up to? Sometimes,  you just need a day off and a free cookie.  

I am not so into this Friday. How can that be? In 8 out of 9 international polls, it's rated in the top 7 days of the week! I've been trying to get back to my old workout and running schedules, and it's hard on me. I'm sleepy, and sore, and not really grumpy but uncomfortable. Blah, blah, blah. #1stWorldProbs right? Moving on to good things, it IS Friday and we will find fun in that.  _________________________________________________________________________   Packages make me smile Amazon!!!!!!! This will make anyone's day amazing. I went home for lunch with the intention of eating a sad salad and watching Friends (again), and look what the mail fairy brought: I have been on Amazon a little lately, getting things and stuff, and this and that. You know, necessities. 2 things a girl needs:  a good wristlet (truth, I don't even own a real purse unless you count that one I've had since high school) a FlipBelt Ok, maybe those are 2 things I W...

Good day to you. We are here, on Thursday, and it ain't so bad. It's still very warm here, and we've not seen rain in a while. I'm still looking forward to fall, especially since it's football season! BOOMER SOONER!!!! I can't wait for the season to start, I love football. :) __________________________________________________________________________ R4G and deer meat overload Last night I sat on the couch and ate an entire bowl of cold deer meat that I had marinated in red wine vinegar. The plan was to make something asian-inspired this week. I ended up having it as a prerun snack. R4G met for week 10 lesson, and week 11 run. I didn't get the full 5 miles in, but we did over 4 miles. Since it was 8:45pm and dark, plus I was out of water, we called it quits for the night. Super proud of all of us for grinding it out after sunset with our flashlights and glow sticks. We had 46% humidity, and probably over 90 degrees still. Drenched, sore, and tired. I...

At least I know where you are, you're here! Today is just one of those days. Under appreciated + overloaded * rather be sleeping = what's going on?!? It's end of month, on top of first of month, with a dash of payroll. You know how I feel. __________________________________________________________________________ R4G Tonight I meet with Run 4 God to continue our bible study, and train for our 10k. I love how we can use a common hobby to meet new people and learn about Jesus. One of the coolest lessons for me is to see how He works in the lives of others outside of the Facebook posts everyone shares. We all can say '#soblessed', or 'I can do all things...", but that's just saying it online. There is no back story, no emotion, no grit. When we can get together and say 'I hated this week because my body felt like it was failing. I didn't want to run. I didn't want to get off of the couch. The only reason I have is because I know you...

Happy new calendar day! September, we made it! I never thought I'd be glad to see summer come to a close, yet here I am rejoicing in the start of a FALL month. Yeesh. This morning started out in a pretty exciting way. Ears ringing, lights flashing, heart pounding... No, it wasn't a pre-dawn date, I made it to the gym! Let me just put this out there on the line, I am OUT OF SHAPE. Readers, this blogger has gotten lazy fit instead of crazy fit. Things have got to get real. I'm not saying they are going to, just that they should. :) We did our usual mix up of jump lunges, sumo squats, jump rope, box jumps, and of course, burpees. Gag. No really, she almost gagged in the gym. I couldn't help her because I was nearly passed out on the floor under a medicine ball. I call it reverse weighted plank. ________________________________________________________________________   FOODS Dinner last night was a bit of a surprise, even for me. I knew I wanted to make pesto...