Thursday, July 28, 2011

The Big Guns

Sometimes I feel like I need to pull out my planner to remember what I did the day before.  Then I have to open up my blog to see what I said in my previous post so I don't talk about it again.  I then wonder if I'm acting like such an old person now, what the heck will I do when I actually am old?

I ended up really enjoying my day yesterday.  I got my endorphins fix bright and early, no grumpiness to speak of.  Well okay, I was a little grumpy when we got to the stadium and there were a ton of people there.  There are 6 sets of stairs on each side of the stadium but the best side to run on is the one where the steps go all the way up to the top.  Most of the other people think the same thing though so everyone crowds on one side.  I'm not very pushy and I end up having to wait around for people to come down the steps or go up. 

Neither Rachel or I felt like dealing with a ton of people in our way so we moved to the other side.  The other side isn't great because there is only one full set of stairs and I can never keep count of how many times I've gone up the steps.  It all worked out though and it felt good to be moving again so early in the morning.

When I got home I went for a walk with my mom.  I am very sure all my neighbors think I'm crazy but just one more thing to add to everything else I do... we go for a walk everyday but never at the same time.  We try to go early in the morning or in the evening so it's cooler out but if I'm not around for either of those then we'll go other times too.  We almost always see the same neighbors outside when we walk so I'm pretty sure they just think we walk everyday, all day.  I love getting the walk in early though.  At the end of the day I keep thinking there's still something I need to do but I get to keep telling myself "Nope, you've already walked today, just relax."  It's a good feeling.

Then I subbed for a pre-ballet class and that was nice and easy.  And fun... although to be completely honest I'm getting a little ballet teacher burnout.  This is not good.  Our official classes for the year start on August 8th.  I need to remember this feeling next year and maybe only teach one summer session.  On the other hand, the money has been nice.

The best and worst part of my day was my babysitting job for the evening.  From 6-11, baby asleep the whole time.  I read, I watched So You Think You Can Dance (best show ever), slept, used the computer... and got really bored.  I don't know why cause those are pretty much the same things I do at my own house but I don't get bored quite as easily.  Then I have to drive home while I'm half asleep and when I get home I hop right in bed and take forever to fall asleep which means in the morning pulling myself out of bed is difficult. 

Which it was...

Alarm was set for 4:15.  I woke up at 5:30.  Is it weird that 5:30 is sleeping in?

I like to  get out to run by 5:45.  It's great, dark most of the time and then I'm rewarded with a sunrise at the end of it. 

So I went back and forth about whether to run or not and finally pulled out the big guns


I got out at 8:45 and did 6 miles.  I can't say they were the best miles I've ever run but you know what, I did it.  I made the choice not to quit, to get out there and do what I know I love.  



Up next: Babysitting, more ballet subbing, dog/housesitting

I'll be housesitting this weekend and may or may not have internet access.  I live 5 minutes away and will be stopping at home frequently but knowing me, there's a good chance I won't be posting again until next week.  If that's the case, have a great weekend! 

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The Occasional Blogger

If you've been reading for awhile you're probably aware that I'm not the most regular of posters.  Well, I apologize.  I'm not going to feel bad about it though and I'm going to try not to apologize for it anymore.  I know my readership will never grow huge if I continue with my sporadic posting but that's okay.  I enjoy blogging, I enjoy reading blogs so I'm going to continue doing what I've been doing for as long as I'm enjoying it.  Just don't expect anything like 7 posts in a week - that will never happen! ;)

I'm not really sure what to do with all the pictures I've taken while not posting though.  Since I didn't post when I was supposed to they just end up being a bunch of random pictures.  Tacky?  Oh well.  My life in photos since the last time I posted:





















I had a great week last week teaching every day at dance camp.  I taught several ballet classes, did devotions a few days a week and "ballet story time" for the younger girls where I read them some of the classical ballet stories.  I also taught two fitness classes which was soo much fun!  At some point I would like to become certified to be a personal trainer or possibly to teach fitness classes at the gym.  This was a great way to sort of experience what that might be like.  Ever since I became serious about my fitness I've noticed a huge difference in my dancing.  I think it's important for these girls to begin to incorporate some cross training if they're really serious about improving as dancers.  They all seemed to have a great time too!  I kind of doubt that they'll suddenly start doing fitness on their own but at least a seed was planted.

The best news I have is that this Saturday I ran 10 miles for the first time since April 20th.  I didn't run it anywhere near as fast as I had been running but I only stopped at the stoplights and I felt really good.  I'm so excited and I can't wait to start signing up for races!

Every Sunday I open up my planner and look at the week I have ahead of me.  Usually it's pretty blank with maybe one or two babysitting jobs on the calendar. I always tell myself that this week is going to be easy and I'll probably even get bored.  I'm not really sure how it happens but usually by Tuesday or Wednesday my whole week is filled, often with multiple babysitting jobs a day, teaching, etc.  I like being busy so I'm not complaining, but sometimes I think it would be nice to have everything planned out.  As much as I'd like to think I'm spontaneous and adventurous I'm really not at all.  I like plans, I like routine.  Fun routine and plans, but no switching things up last minute!

I'm sorry, I'm too tired to think of good segues so this is not going to flow at all!

Yesterday I woke up grumpy

I'm usually really cheerful so I had no idea what to do with myself

I had planned to run but woke up with shin pain.  I'm not really sure what it was from since I ran on Saturday and felt great and then woke up Tuesday with pain like I'd just done the 10 miles on Monday.  I'm being careful though so I didn't run.  It kind of set the tone for the whole day though and I just couldn't get my grumpy mood to lift.

I stepped on my retainer and felt so dumb for leaving it on the floor in the first place, really, what was I thinking. 

Then when I was babysitting the baby projectile vomited all over me and the kitchen and I tried (keyword - tried) to stop/catch some of it with towels.  On the positive side, at least I didn't have the urge to gag at all.  I know vomit is gross but I actually wasn't really grossed out at all.  Just cleaned it up, changed the baby and moved on. 

On my way home I realized I didn't have my camera with me which meant I had probably left it at the pool... and it was starting to rain.  Oh, and the best part is that the camera isn't even mine, it's my moms.  So ruined/lost camera that isn't even mine.  By the time I realized I was about 5 minutes away from home so I just continued on my way.

The day started to get better, I went to the gym to try to work out some of my frustrations.  Some days I like to think of exercise less as a workout and more as a quick energy exchange or mood transfusion. I’m not heading out to log miles but to shake out the tension, stress, and anger and to breath in a fresh attitude.

It helped me make it through the rest of the day. 

After teaching my pre-ballet class I went to see if I could find the lost camera at the pool and I found it within two minutes.  I'm pretty sure I put it back in my bag but the random pictures of the garbage can, the picnic table and the water fountain make me think that one of the boys took it out of my bag while they were sulking about not wanting to swim and took several pictures and then just never put it back in my bag.  I'm not mad because I found the camera, but it was certainly one more thing in my day of grumpy to make me a little more grumpy.

After dinner I was back to my usual cheerful self.

And good news: my shins are feeling much better today!  Back to running tomorrow!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Foiled again

Today has been a long day.  I can't express how good it feels to be sitting down and to be done for the day. 

Yesterday I made it to the gym and then headed home to quickly change and eat (and shower, don't worry) and then went back out for 8:30 drama practice.


Drama is really not my thing, I just got roped into it because they needed more people.  It's fun and I'm enjoying getting to know new people but since it's not really something I'm passionate about... when you tell me practice goes from 8:30-10:30 and then not actually start til 9:20 and then keep us there til 11:30... I am not a happy camper.

We got a "lecture" at the beginning of practice about how the drama team at church is a ministry and we need to be willing to make some sacrifices.. which I agree with, but I just feel that keeping us so late is taking advantage of us.  Scheduling extra practices if we need them - okay, but stick to your schedule.  Be responsible and let us go when you said you would let us go or at least tell us that practice is open ended and will probably go late. 

Granted, most of the starting late part is the fault of the drama team members which is really frustrating.  I'm always on time, usually early for things and people being late is one of my big pet peeves.  It's rude to make someone else wait on you.

Anyways, all that to say that I wasn't in bed until 12:00 and then I woke up once at 1:00.  When my alarm went off this morning I turned it off and turned over.  I was supposed to go running today but I was just too tired.  I'm glad I got the extra sleep but I just really wish I had been able to run because there's not time tonight and there won't be time tomorrow... I just know I won't be able to make it up.  Pre injury missing a day wasn't a problem cause I could run further to make up for the missed day but now 6 miles is pretty much my limit.

I did have a really great day babysitting though





I love ALL of the kids I watch but these are by far my favorites.  I'm allowed to have favorites since I'm not a mom ;)

I've been watching them for 4 or 5 years.  I watched stayed over for a few nights with the boys (there's three) when S was born and then again with the boys and S when A was born and got to see both the girls in the hospital. 



Look how big S has gotten.  :) (this is her about 2 years ago?)

After babysitting I came home and got ready to go to the gym.  I was planning to be at the gym for about an hour and then go straight from the gym for a run. 

When I got to the gym I realized that I was supposed to teach ballet today.  It's a long story but the basics go something like there was a miscommunication and I thought I wasn't working this week and had a week off but on my way to the gym I stopped in at the dance studio to double check on the dates... and realized I was working today.  Unfortunately I had no makeup, no ballet shoes, no clothes other than gym clothes... oops. 

Thankfully I had a decent amount of time.  I did 3 miles on the elliptical and then headed home to get all my stuff.  Once home I quickly changed and headed out again.  I meant to bring my gym clothes with me so I could finish my workout after ballet but I left them at home.

Of course, the clothes I teach in are pretty much yoga clothes and I can certainly move in them, they're just sooo hot.  I did end up finishing my workout but it ended up being too late to run and I didn't have the appropriate clothes anyways.  Foiled again!

So much driving today, too many activities, and preparing to pretty much repeat today tomorrow.  As a matter of fact, my main task for tonight is packing up for all of my activities for tomorrow so that I don't go crazy tomorrow morning and end up forgetting crucial pieces, usually clothes/makeup/shoes get left behind and I have to "make do" which is hard when you forget your shirt.


Monday, July 11, 2011

Aloe Vera and a Case of the Mondays

I'm probably crazy, but I just love Mondays

A few of the reasons why I love Mondays:
  • It's the beginning of the week and there's so much excitement about what's to come during the week.  The week never quite lives up to my expectations but I'm always excited about the week on Monday.
  • I've done nothing but sit around all weekend and I'm ready to DO something which means Mondays are usually pretty productive days
  • I have no real job - I get to play with kids all day, take naps when they take naps and then teach ballet so Monday doesn't mean returning to a stressful or boring job
  • Because everyone else dislikes Monday and I like to be different
So far today I did stadiums:



I always look so happy when I pose for stadiums versus other times I pose.  Is it that I'm still mostly asleep and don't realize the pain I'm about to experience?  Or possibly my eyes just don't open that much in the morning and it gives the false impression that I'm extremely excited


I'm going to go with the still half asleep theory since the other pose that pops up a lot for stadiums is the muscles pose... it's so totally unfitting considering I don't use my arms at all.

After stadiums I stopped in at the store on the way home to pick up some almond milk.  I'm pretty sure MOST of the times I stop at the grocery store is after stadiums or the gym and I'm soaked in sweat.  It's a good thing I don't see anyone I know there.  One day I'm sure I will regret this though...

I like going to the grocery stores in the morning.  There's all these cute older people working and they always brighten my day. 

I ended up picking up some Orange Carrot juice to add to my smoothies and right next to the Orange Carrot juice I saw some Aloe Vera juice.  I carried one of the jars under my arm and the other two one in each hand.  Then I told the bagger to skip the bag.  He was a sweet older gentlemen who I guess didn't speak English very well... or maybe couldn't hear very well?  Or maybe he just thought I was crazy.  Anyways, the check out lady had to explain to him that I didn't want a bag.  Then he asked me how I was going to carry it all out to the car - I'm pretty sure I told him "magic" - thankfully they laughed because now that I type that out it seems really rude.

This seems to happen to me frequently:  I've never heard about something and then I learn about it and suddenly I'm hearing about it everywhere.  Aloe Vera is one of those things that I had never heard about until Friday and since Friday I've read about it several times.  Did you know you could ingest Aloe Vera?  I had no idea. 

I first heard about Aloe Vera from www.thefitnessdish.com (sorry Laury if you read this and see that I didn't link directly to the Friday Five!)

Some benefits of Aloe Vera:
  • Helps to detoxify the body and cleanse the colon.
  • Detoxifies the blood stream.
  • Can benefit a person with intestinal or stomach problems.
  • Could aid in the healing of ulcers and help the digestive tract to work smoothly. 
  •  Can improve circulation.
  • Helps dilate the capillaries and aid in cell growth
  •  It acts as an antibacterial, antiviral and anti fungal agent, preventing illness
I tried it plain and wasn't that impressed.  So I did what I always do with things I don't really like by themselves - added it to my smoothie!  As usual, my smoothie was still delicious so I'll continue to add it in.

After breakfast I walked with my mom for a few miles.  It feels so good to have that out of the way as we often do it right before bed and I'm usually just ready to go to bed and have to fight to make myself walk.

I washed, folded and put away all of my laundry.

And did P90X Legs and Back

If you ever wanted to learn how to spice up your annoying self portrait posing abilities... just take pictures while you do jumping jacks





Attractive, no?

I'm going to continue my awesome productive day by cleaning my room (!!!) and making my bed and cleaning my car!  ...maybe ;)
 

 

Music Monday 07/11

Hey everyone!

Are you excited for Music Monday?  I have some really great songs to share with you today (I say that, but at this moment I actually do not know exactly what all the songs will be).

This first one is a song that I've only heard a few times but it came on my ipod yesterday while I was running on the treadmill and it really struck a chord.  It will definitely be on any and all marathon playlists from now on.  The lyrics inspire me (and you hopefully) to dig deep even when it's rough and to not give up "my body tells me no but I won't quit, cause I want more."  As a side note, I am not encouraging you to push your body past the point that it's able to handle.  Injuries are bad.  I'm talking about pushing past that mental block that tells you that you should stop before you really need to stop.

Young and Giant - My Body



This second song is by one of my favorite bands.  The best part about this song is that it and the whole album are for sale on amazon for digital download for only 5 dollars.  Aaaamazing.  These mp3s work the same way as any mp3 you get from itunes.  You just upload them to itunes and then sinc your ipod.  Unfortunately since my regular itunes is on my broken computer I can't sinc my ipod.  I've been just listening to my songs while I do p90x videos just skipping from scene to scene on pause.

Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work


And last but not least, this is a fun one that is actually FREE on amazon.com.  Hmm... cheap and then free.  Sometimes I wonder if maybe my music taste is so bad that all the music I like is so discounted.  Nahhhh.
Friendly Fires - Blue Cassette



Enjoy!!!

Are there any free/cheap songs that you're aware of (that are pretty good)?  Please let me know, I love to add more music to my list!


Sunday, July 10, 2011

Stumble Upon

Hey Everyone


Well, Sunday is quickly turning into what it always does: “I want to nap all day” day. I laid down at 1:00, planned to sleep til 1:20. At 1:20 I reset my alarm for 1:40 and at 1:40 I set my alarm for 2:00. By that time I gave up on resetting the alarm and just slept. I got up at 2:15. Obviously I should have given up on the resetting bit a long time ago. Unfortunately now I feel like a zombie and it’s started pouring again which just makes me want to go back to sleep. Or sit around eating all day. Where do these thoughts come from?

I got in late last night, I think it was around 12:15 and then I was up this morning by 6. It’s funny, that doesn’t sound like much to me but for those of you that can’t count, that’s 5 hours and 45 minutes. Obviously not ideal but more than I thought it was before I actually counted which makes me think I don’t really need this sleep.

However, I had an usual amount of trouble while getting ready for church this morning.  Perhaps this is due to lack of sleep?

Mascara on and...
"Achoo"... lovely

And then there was the problem of what to wear




Cute, right?

Yeah... no, not so much




I have no idea what this is.  I've had it before several months back when I was training for the marathon.  It's sort of like a bunch of pimples but  you can't pop them and they're really itchy - oh, and it's only under one arm.  Gross, right?  I don't know what really solved the problem but I tried to wash my underarm with facial cleanser and then when I ran I put glide on my underarm.  I guess I know what I'll be doing again...

Since that was out of the question I ended up with this


And ended up being super hot.  Jeans and summer in Florida just don't mix.  Even inside...

This morning I found this wonderful and magical website. Have you ever heard of “Stumbleupon.com?” It’s pretty magical. You input several of your interests and then the website comes up with articles and websites and videos according to your interests. One of the interests I selected with Holistic Health and I’ve seen several websites now about natural household remedies and one on herbal remedies. I don’t know how I feel about herbal remedies because I’ve never tried them but just based on head knowledge and how I base many of my other eating decisions, I would much rather use something that occurs in nature than something that chemists create in a lab.

One website on natural remedies provided a caveat that I really appreciated:

“Know when you need something more conventional. Alternative medicine can be a fantastic way to prevent illness or treat more common ailments, but there’s no shame in going to the pharmacy if the alternatives aren’t working for you.”

Stumble Upon lets you give a thumbs up or a thumbs down to each website that it shows you and the more you rate the more tailored the articles will be to your interests. I don’t know if there is any way to revisit the sites you like though. There probably is a “favorite” button somewhere but I can’t find it so I feel like I’m just breezing through these articles and won’t remember much of what I read.

A few times I’ve been directed to very decadent recipes – Hello, twix mini cheesecake muffins? I’m not sure what interest I selected that led Stumble Upon to select these recipes for me. Sure, they look good but there is absolutely nothing redeeming about these recipes. Also they definitely not vegan. However, I feel bad giving them the thumbs down. They’re good recipes I’m sure… just not for me. At all.

And then there are videos like this:


I mean, common, who doesn’t love a dancing walrus? It’s just that’s not what I want stumble upon to show me. I’m sorry for giving you the thumbs down walrus :(

After watching random videos like the dancing walrus, I decided to stop by the gym… hey, I gotta get my moneys worth outta that thing. Besides, it’s like 100 degrees outside.




It was sooo crowded. My gym has three different centers around town. We have the main facility which is huge, one on the west side of town and then a women’s center. I usually go to the women’s center because it’s so convenient. It’s 15 minutes away from my house and literally 2 minutes away (walking) from the dance studio where I work.

On Sunday only the main facility is open and I just happened to pick the time when they were having a zumba class in the open basketball courts. That meant lots of loud music and lots of yelling and clapping. I’m glad they were having fun, and honestly it wasn’t that bad but wish I had picked a different time.

I did a mile on the elliptical but for some reason the ellipticals at the main center seem really hard to me and I can’t make myself do more than a few miles. One time I did 8 there… not sure how that happened since I can’t seem to do two at a time anymore.

So then I ran 4 miles on the treadmill. After the treadmill I was going to ride the stationary bike for about 30 minutes but they were all taken or broken. There are so many there I don’t even know how that’s possible but by the time I got to the third one and it was missing a pedal I just gave up. I regret that decision now just a bit but there’s always tomorrow ;).

Speaking of tomorrow, and this whole week, I have a very open schedule. This all could change and it probably will but I’m a little unsure of what to do with myself. Productive productive productive, that’s my wish for this week.

Well, I could probably go on talking about nothing really but before I bore you to death I’m going to quit now. Don’t forget to stop in tomorrow for Music Monday! I’ve got some fun songs to show you! :)

Saturday, July 9, 2011

I should go to title making school

Happy Saturday!


I’ve had a very full week and it’s nice to have most of the day to relax. I originally planned to wake up early and go for an early morning run but when my alarm went off and it was pouring outside I turned over and went back to sleep. I had been expecting the rain and was going to run in the rain anyways but my half unconscious, groggy, just awakened self is not very good at coming up with reasons to do things I don’t exactly want to do. It’s only my fully awake self that is good at pushing myself to do hard things.

So I slept in until 7:30… and I feel lazy. What is wrong with me? I guess I got my morning mojo back if 7:30 feels late to me. I slept for about 10 hours last night which was heaven, but I certainly don’t feel refreshed. It’s like I got too much sleep and now I’m just groggy. Also, my stomach is feeling unsettled. That probably means I had too much chocolate hazelnut butter last night (true story) but it’s making all of the plans I had seem pretty impossible. Clean? Do P90X? Go to the gym? Yeah… how about lay in bed all day? Of course whenever I do that I just feel awful by the end of the day.

This evening I’m going to be babysitting for a family I’ve never babysat for before. I’m always nervous the first time around. Of course I want to make a good impression and I’m not the most outgoing person so I always struggle to find things to say to the parents. I’m watching 1 year old twins tonight; that is a first for me. I probably won’t be there long before it’s time for their bedtime but I’m sure everything is more complicated with twins. You can’t feed them both at once… well, okay, you probably can but I don’t know if I can and then you have to change one and then change the other and then put one down and then put the other one down. It just seems so complicated, although, I guess technically I do it all the time just with siblings of different ages.

If nothing else, it will be an experience. Hopefully a good one :)

Even though I didn’t feel like it I did P90X arms and shoulders. I kept it on pause the whole time and just skipped scenes to see the titles of the exercises and then did them without the DVD playing along. I like P90X but sometimes I just don’t feel like listening to Tony Horton’s voice. My music is better.

Then I forced myself to go to the gym.



I’m always (mostly) happy once I’m there. It’s so quiet on Saturdays… I guess cause all these other people have lives, but anyways, I like it. I can jump from machine to machine and there’s hardly anyone to bother. Note: By jump from machine to machine I do not literally jump from elliptical to treadmill, although I might have to add that to one of my workouts. Some days it’s just easier for me mentally to do a mile on the elliptical, 10 minutes on the treadmill, a mile on the elliptical, 30 minutes on the bike, mile on the elliptical – yes, that was my workout for today.

Some days I’m able to completely focus on my workout and really enjoy it. Today was not one of those days. I thought about chips for a good portion of the workout, no lie. So of course I had to stop at the store and buy some chips. I try to stay away from chips because I could eat a whole bag in one sitting. I sometimes have chips when I babysit but I rarely buy them. I think I’ve bought chips on all of 3 occasions. Well anyways, after the gym I stopped at Publix and bought… you guessed it, chips. I got other things that I needed too but I ended up with Stacy’s Multigrain Pita Chips because they’re sooo good and then I bought veggie sticks. I know there are really not any redeeming qualities about either of these choices but I could have bought worse. Here’s hoping I don’t inhale both bags in one day.

I have about an hour until I have to leave to go babysit so I’m going to go and try to make myself look presentable, time to make a good impression!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Rainy Day Dilemma

It’s been raining a lot here and apparently it’s supposed to be rainy all weekend. That means… my first real run in the rain! I’ve only done it once before and that was only like a mile. I’m ready to suck in up and go for it!

In the meantime, I’m feeling like snuggling up in bed and reading for the rest of the day. My only problem is that I have so many good books I want to read and I can’t decide. If only I knew how to read multiple books at once – and I don’t mean switching back and forth, I’ve got that one down.  No, I mean literally read more than one book at a time. That would be a cool super power. Just imagine how handy that would have been during college.

One of my favorite authors ever is Madeline L’Engle. I don’t care that most of her books are technically children's books, they're so good and I’m obsessed. I haven’t read the Wrinkle in Time series recently so I’ve decided to read through them again. Then I “liked” Free Books for Kindle on facebook and everyday they post a ton of free books. Very tempting. I could easily add 10 books a day to my kindle but then I would just get depressed cause I wasn’t reading them.

Before the rain hit Rachel and I did stadiums.


 You would think by this time that I would get the hang of these self timer photos


A little better, other than the "I'm still mostly asleep" look on my face
Today was so much better than Wednesday. I’m not sure if it was mental, physical or both but I rocked it today. Wednesday I was dying and skipped my last two but today I did it all with time to spare.

Then I headed out to watch C


For 5 hours…


He’s really fussy and will only play with a toy for about 2 minutes before he starts fussing again. He doesn’t like to be held and he doesn’t like to sit and he doesn’t like to be put down… it’s difficult. I wasn’t sure how 5 hours with him would go but everything went really well. He started fussing as soon as his mom got home which made me feel really bad because overall he was pretty happy with me.

I had originally planned to hit the gym on the way home but my desire for caffeinated coffee won out. I have to have my last cup of caffeinated coffee before 3 or I won’t be able to sleep at night. Well, the coffee was great and I’m mostly glad I stopped at home but now I don’t want to go back out again. It’s rainy, I’m sleepy and my bed is just so comfy.

I read a quote… somewhere this week. It’s specifically about running but really you can apply it to anytime you don’t really feel like working out:

We rarely regret the runs we finish, only the ones we skip

Okay, so I totally botched it… but that’s the gist of it.

After repeating that quote several times to myself I finally pulled myself out of bed and hit the gym


All I felt like doing today was cardio so I walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill and read A Wrinkle in Time

30 minutes and 3 miles on the elliptical – watched The Real Housewives of Orange County reunion… part 2. Part of me hates all those shows and then part of me loves them because there’s always drama. It doesn’t matter when you tune in, if you’ve never watched any episodes before or watch them out of order – there’s just always going to be drama and I guess train wrecks are entertaining to watch? Because I am a horrible human being…

20 minutes on the bike while reading

I was actually really enjoying myself on the bike and I would have stayed for a lot longer but Rachel told my dad she wanted to use the car and that if he brought it to her at the gym that I would give him a ride home. So nice of her to volunteer my services. I agreed and said I would text him when I had about 20 minutes left to go. Then he texted me when I wasn’t even half way through and told me he was 10 minutes away. I did the bike anyways and then picked him up and brought him home. I think he said “well, I didn’t want you to have to wait for me”… as if I couldn’t find something to do at the gym ;)

I stopped at The Fresh Market on the way home and picked myself up some Kombucha! They were buy one get one free so of course I bought 6 of them. If I wasn’t so tired I would go and look up the link to the place where I read that you should only have a small serving of Kombucha a day, not a whole bottle. It’s going to be really hard to limit myself I think.

For dinner I made myself some roasted brussel sprouts. I had a bunch that were about to go bad so I cooked them all up. I’m probably the only person who does this but I usually eat my brussel sprouts with mustard. Today I decided to try them with guacamole but there wasn’t enough to cover all of them… so I added in some mustard. That sounds really crazy but it tasted so good! If you don’t like brussel sprouts you should totally try them with guac and mustard.

One of my favorite things about blogging and reading other healthy living blogs is that it makes me feel much more normal. I am telling you, I can count the friends I have on one hand that have a similar lifestyle to the one I’m trying to lead and who wouldn’t think I was completely out of my mind for coming up with a meal like that.

That being said… I still sometimes worry about things like pregnancy cravings. Are they real? If I’m eating stuff like brussel sprouts with guac and mustard NOW what the heck will I be eating when I’m pregnant? Disclaimer: I am not, nor do I plan to become pregnant anytime soon.

Is there any foods or combinations of food that you have and love that other people think are really weird?

Thursday, July 7, 2011

You are getting very sleeeeepy

I’ve had a whirlwind of a week. My body is letting me know that sleep is a top priority tonight. I intend to fully indulge… well, at least until 5 am tomorrow morning. The indulging part involves going to sleep around 8:30. Ah, seriously, one of my most favoritest things to do.

On Tuesday I was really productive during the morning and then I headed out to the gym for a bit before teaching 2 dance classes.



After teaching I headed over to The Fresh Market that is right behind the dance studio. The Fresh Market is kind of our lame version of Whole Foods. I guess you would call it a gourmet grocery store. They do have a lot of healthy choices but not necessarily in the same way that Whole Foods does. I don’t really know how to explain that… one thing I really like about Whole Foods is their hot bar. I don’t think that’s what it’s called but hopefully you know what I mean by that…

There are so many delicious, healthy, vegan and vegetarian dishes. Fresh Market has a deli counter… maybe that’s what it’s called… but they only offer your usual fare, just fancied up a bit. A lot of potato salad, pasta salad, fried chicken, etc… basically nothing I can have.

I was stopping by to pick up something to carry me over until dinnertime. I ended up with a Naked… Gold Machine rings a bell. I also got a banana and then I found…




This wonderful thing.

This is only my second time trying Kombucha but I really enjoy it. I’ve looked online before and to brew my own Kombucha tea all I need is a starter… which is all of $5 or so online. Obviously this would be the smart money saving way to go. Now that I’m typing this I’m realizing that I really should do that. Buying the bottled Kombucha is really a waste of my time and money. However, there’s a good chance I will be back.

I somehow got roped into participating in a drama for church. This particular drama is about 10 minutes long. It was performed on Easter and the team was asked to do it again last night (Wednesday). So… I had a practice last Wednesday and then on Tuesday we had another practice and then we performed it last night.

On Tuesday night I learned a whole dance (well, okay, it wasn’t a very long dance) and then I ended up being a part of a double cartwheel too that I had to learn.

Even though it was really crazy that I learned the whole thing so fast I ended up having a really great time and I’m glad I was asked to participate.

Yesterday I woke up early and packed up for the day. Right before I walked out of the door I got a text from Rachel letting me know that she couldn’t do stadiums. Since I was already dressed I forced myself to go. Of course my natural reaction is “oh, I’ll just stay at home. I have a crazy day, I should just relax before the chaos starts” but I sucked it up and did stadiums by myself. Yeah, I’m a beast.



I’ve described this workout before but if you missed it…
I run up and down the stadium steps 7 times – each set of steps has 180 steps
Then I run up the bleachers 3 times
Then I jog out to the car
It’s killer!

I drove home, showered and headed right out again

I had a great day with C. He was the fussiest baby when he was younger but now that he’s able to sit up on his own and is starting to scoot around he doesn’t mind not being held.



He especially enjoyed my necklace



Oh, and my banana case… (basically everything that was not actually a toy)




After babysitting I had to stop in at several stores. I stopped at Target to return some bathingsuit tops that I bought that ended up being too long… and in the meantime bought myself more workout gear – this is a serious addiction and I may have to find myself some help soon ;)

I was going for the “I run at dawn and dusk” look




I tried them on together to show my mom when I got home and she was like “oooh, sooo cute!” – I’m not so sure I’m going to continue taking fashion advise from this woman. She always tells me things look good when I wasn’t intending them to look good: like when I throw up my hair so it’s out of my eyes when I wash my face. For the record, unless I was very worried about being seen I would never wear these blindingly neon clothes together. One at a time only!

I also stopped in at Walmart and Michael’s to pick up last minute items for the performance last night. When I got home I relaxed for a few minutes, choreographed a solo for the performance and then headed out again. We had a last minute rehearsal and then the performance. It all went really well… well, except for the part where I stumbled when I was supposed to be dancing but I don’t even care. For the short time we had putting it together I was pleased.

This morning I soooo did not want to run. I told myself to not think about it and just do it and that’s what I did – I got out by 6! I didn’t go fast by any means but you know what, I didn’t take any breaks either. I can’t wait to get back to where I was pre injury, but for now, I’m happy.

But so tired! I think this was supposed to be a “phew” face


And the dangggg it’s hot out there face!



I got to babysit this cutie for the first time. I’ve watched her brother before but I haven’t been over there in a long time – since before she was born! S is such a little sweetie. She just giggles and laughs at you.



After watching S I hit the gym and then headed over to play with C and W. These boys are so much fun. W is scooting himself all over the floor and he is so pleased with himself. I’m not so pleased, you have to watch him soooo closely now.


All in all... a good day :)

I hear my bed calling my name...