I = sick

Today I woke up with a sinus headache, stuffy nose and a sore throat. I was planning on going to work after lunch but I took a shower and got ready to go in and still felt a little woozy so I have spent the afternoon sleeping on the couch. I am feeling better but it still feels like my head is in a bubble. Summer colds are the worst!!

So I'm making an attempt to blog from my phone again so hopefully it works this time.

Last night my back was sore so I haven't gotten my 1.2 miles in yet to get me to 150 since march. I did make some awesome turkey sloppy joes and had edamame as my veggie with it.

Then when I was at the Wallmarche I found this awesome latest and greatest in the world of marshmallows!!!

Flat marshmallows!!! Why didn't I think of this before?! So of course I had to make s'mores for dessert.

After enjoying these, I made my first attempt at overnight nobake oats. I used 1/2 c. Oats, 1/2 c. Milk, 2 tbsp. Chocolate pb2, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 tbsp splenda and 1/2 scoop of chocolate protein powder. This stuff looks super gross but was amazingly yummy and will be made again.

So since I'm feeling like poo on a stuck the mileage isn't going to happen tonight but I'm hoping that all the sleeping today will allow me to know it out if the park tomorrow.

Anyone else experiencing the stupid summer cold? :(

I've got a Golden Ticket!!

Ok. I don't really have a golden ticket, but that song from the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory came on as I was finishing my run last night. I'm not even sure why/how it got onto my ipod/phone but it was a welcomed surprise! That is one of my favorite movies from my childhood. I ended up running to my friend Laura's house, which is on the other side of town (~2.75 miles), and back because I had to take her some Avon catalogs. It was surprisingly hard to run with something other than your handheld water bottle in your hands. They made it but were a bit sweaty and folded. I stayed and chatted/ hydrated for a bit and then had to leave about 7 b/c I had to be home by 8 to watch The Bachelorette. I ended up making the round trip in 1:19. I wasn't very speedy but it's amazing at how much warmer weather will slow you down. But I did have an 11:18 mile for the first mile and then I ran out of gas a little. 

While the show was starting, I made some dinner.

                   

                                    Ezekial bread, munster cheese, egg and salsa!

Hydration helper!

I had waited a week for this drama to go down and then was thoroughly disappointed. Did she really think he wouldn't take a free trip half way around the world just b/c it was a free trip?! I think she finally got a little glimpse of what a real douche waffle this dude really is! HELLO! 

Then I felt bad for the guy when she dropped the bomb but understood where they were coming from. I think I was most sad to see Mickey leave. Does any one have any contacts with ABC so they can hook a sister up? :) He is from my homeland after all!

I think by the end of the 2 hours I had seen enough of Ashley crying and wanted to punch her in the throat. I'm not usually a violent person but I can only take so much sniveling and 'Whoa is me. I'm just trying to do the best I can.' crap. Honey, if you're not cut out for this show, why are you waiting our time? B/c you are a natural born train wreck and you know that most of America just can't look away! That's why! UGG!

I enjoyed the latest episode of EMWLE! LaRhonda had an amazing transformation. I had hoped that she would have lost more weight from having her skin removal surgery but I'm sure there was a LOT of healing time and she's probly just getting back to her groove. She did an amazing job in a year and I hope they do a follow up show of how the people are doing later on. 

As of last night, I have 1.2 miles to go until I reach the GREEN level on my Nike+ account! I think I might try to knock that out tonight but we will see. I think my back is a little sore today so I might just do abs and push ups or something. But I HAVE to get that mileage in before the end of the month!!!

What is your favorite movie from childhood? Are there any songs that go with it? I of course love 'The Sound of Music' and any other Disney movie I can get my hands on. I think I have all of the soundtracks! Yes I'm a nerd! :)

Weekend Happenings

Happy Monday everyone! I'm not quite sure why I feel so chipper today but I'm going to accept it and just go with it! :)

Friday: After work, I rode the motorcycle home, let the dog out, changed into flip flops and then met up with my friend Erin at the mall for some End of Week Retail therapy. I got 2 pair of shorts at Maurice's for $24.50 each and saved over $13. One was a size 11/12 and the other pair was a size 7/8!!! Not sure how that happens but they were different brands and that's all I can think of to explain it. Then, we went to Old Navy and they were having a deal for in store card carriers for $2 tanks. I got 6 or 7 tank in different colors, a running tank top, an orange bathing suit cover up, and a pair of cotton shorts for $43. I saved $56 at Old Navy! WOOO savings!!

Saturday: It started early and was a pretty busy morning. I was up, showered and out the door before 8am. I picked up Laura to go to the Farmer's Market and did a little detour to check on a friend's kitty. We stopped at Starbucks on the way and I got my tea fix for the morning. Then I spent all of my $13 in my pocket. $12 on carbs from Wheatberries bakery and $1 on 2 little zucchinis. Then we stopped at Winco for greek yogurt and I ended up with some corn, tomatoes, a coconut and some chicken boobs. 

I dropped Laura off at home and went home and got busy doing stuff around the house. I got an adaptor to hook up my garden hose to my kitchen sink and filled up Heif's baby pool to play in since the weather is finally getting nice.

And then I hung out the load of clothes that I put in the washer before I left that morning. You might think that hanging your clothes is a bit Hillbilly-ish but I like to think that I'm being eco-friendly b/c I'm using my solar dryer and you CAN'T beat the smell of clothes from on the line! AMAZING!!!

While I was at ACE Hardware getting my hose attachments, I also got 2 new tomato plants to replace the pepper plants that died on me. I also got some herbs too; chive, rosemary and thyme.

New tomato plant = big green stick

Rosemary, chives, thyme

Then, I saw my old boss and he gave me my present from watching his house/animals a few weeks ago. I got some sweets from South Carolina! I guess they are famous for their pralines down there. I had to have a bite of each and they were amazing! I tried having another bite after I had put them back into the freezer and I think I'm lucky that I still have my front teeth attached! Oops!

Cute praline box

Yummy treats! Watch your teeth!

The coconut that I bought. Not sure what I'm going to do with it. Suggestions?

my PB goodness that an Ohio friend mailed me. Had the regular with my oatmeal.

Sunday: I had all intentions of getting up early and running and then decided that since I was up early on Saturday that I needed a "sleep in" day. That turned out to me being a vegetable all day. I did put on my suit and tried to change my color from blinding white to not-so-blinding white but that didn't work so well b/c after a half hour on each side I was sweating buckets and relocated to the couch. I was so lazy that I had Fiber One cereal and greek yogurt with blueberries for dinner. I did cut up half of my giant watermelon to have in my lunch today! And I did water the garden and took out the garbage/ recycling. I guess I wasn't totally worthless yesterday.

Yay watermelon!

How was your weekend?

Do you have any idea of how I can prepare my coconut?

**Just so you know, I am extremely humored by some of the things that people have used to find my blog. Some examples are: "big mom breasts" and "miss usa nerd". I'm not sure about the first one b/c I'm not a real life human mom but I am a fur-mom. I guess people search for some crazy things! Yipes!

50th Post!!

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who has read any of my previous 49 posts and hope to but don't expect to wow you with the 50th!

I had previously written up a post on my phone using the what I thought was lovely free blog app, but found out why it was free b/c it wouldn't post my blog! ARG!!! So now I get to re-type it so you folks have something to read! Yay!

Last night I was attempting at a "tempo run" to and around the track near my house. I started off from my house and ran the .67 miles uphill to the middle school where the track is located. On my way there, I passed a whole lotta old people that were having a 50 year reunion of their Vet School class. There were a bunch of cars so I figured they were all for that. Nope! When I got to the track, it was swimming with lots of little bitty kids playing/ trying to play baseball and their parents watching them. I wasn't sure if I could do my workout but I started and figured if it was a problem, someone would say something.

I did 800 x 4 with a 400 rest in between each 800. I was pretty crampy after running up the hill to get to the track and after my first 800 but after I did my first rest lap I was able to stretch out my legs a bit. I didn't pay attention to how fast I was running on the 800s but I ended up averaging a 13:02 pace for the whole workout and I walked my rest laps! Maybe I was going faster than I thought! It was kind of awkward running around the track with all of these people watching you! I was happy to get my work in and get out of there. I grabbed my water bottle and headed down the hill. I ended up doing ~4.75 miles in just over an hour. It's a far cry from my 53 min 5 mile I did during my 10 miler a few weeks ago, but I'll take it!

After my run, my Nike+ congratulated me b/c I had run more times this week than the week before. I guess I never look at thinks like that and enjoyed the encouragement that the voice in my ears had given me!

I am only 6.8 miles away from reaching the next level on my Nike+ account, which means that I will have ran 150+ miles since March 1 when I started using the system!!!! I'm planning on knocking out that distance on Sunday with my 'long run' but will not try and kill myself again this time. You definitely live & learn when living in the world of running!!

I'm planning on going to the Farmer's Market tomorrow and maybe do some playing in the garden. I have 2 pepper plants that have given up the fight, so I think I'm going to replace them with tomato plants. I will take some pictures and show you how my little garden is coming along.

What fun things do you have planned this weekend?

Are you doing anything active?
I'm going to be with all of the Seattle RnR people in spirit b/c I'm sure they will all be having a great time!

Has anyone ever done a mud run besides BDD?
I'm debating doing the Dirty Dash in Spokane in August but don't know if I'd want to get my running stuff all muddy and possibly ruined. I would LOVE some advice/opinions about doing this type of race. Thanks!!

Chicken boobs for dinner

So I'm trying my first blog from my iPhone and possibly might be creating a monster!

Today was pretty boring and same old at work except fir the fact that it was over 80 degrees in my lab today! Needless to say that made me sweaty/ sleepy/ uncomfortable all day but I dud get some work done. I finished working up a reaction and started 2 more. Woo!

I went to group meeting tonight and managed to not fall asleep like I did last week. I got home about 7 and went to work on chopping up my thawed chicken boobs, asparagus, tomatoes and basil. I put all of this goodness on a cookie sheet, sprinkled Rosemary, salt and pepper and sprayed olive oil all over it and baked at 400 for a half hour. This is the deliciousness that was the result.

I also had a few bites if cookie dough and a roll. Then I went to the Wallmarche and got bananas for my oatmeal in the morning.

How was ur day? Did u have anything good fir dinner?

Can u tell a difference from me posting on a computer vs. My phone? Please let me know what u think!

Saved by the Denny's

I would never think of Denny's as being an establishment that would save someone, but in my case last night that's what happened. I think Mother Nature was all out to get me last night on my run. Since it has been over a week since I've run, I can understand her point.

Last night, things started out well. I used my new 'Tuneband' arm thing to attach my iPhone to my arm instead of carrying it around with me so I can use the Nike+GPS app. I love this app b/c it tells you your pace, a map of where you ran and how fast you went along the way! Soooo much better than the little shoe bean thing that I used with my nano. I had on my Nike workout shirt and my new Ironman running shorts that are from my TJ MAXX shopping trip a few weeks ago. These were amazing b/c they have a little band around the bottom on the leg that doesn't let the shorts ride up! Yay! No chub rub with these babies!

I started out my run just fine and felt great. At about mile 1, I decided that running in 55 degree weather is MUCH different than running in 70 degree weather. Those 15 extra degrees kick your butt! Good thing I brought my little handheld guy and put purple Powerade Zero in it. (I think it tastes like children's grape cough syrup.) I took a drink was was feeling good. Then the wrath of Mother Nature began! I got a BUG IN MY EYE! That little turd got up under my sun glasses and stuck itself in my eye! I tried getting it out. I even stopped and was rubbing my eye in a circular motion to try and get the stupid thing out! No luck! Just a few steps after I had finished messing with my eye (hoping that the bug was out), I felt like I got punched in the stomach!

I needed a bathroom STAT!

Where I was, there happened to be public places up the hill behind me or a ways down the hill in front of me. I opted for downhill. I jogged a few steps but decided that wasn't a good idea! Then I transitioned into the hobble-y walk really fast and squeeze your butt cheeks together with all your might motion. The next public establishment that was on my path was Denny's. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it and was think of the list of people who I could call that would pick me up from Denny's if I had crapped my pants! This was a very short list btw! Needless to say, I made it to the Denny's and bolted to the bathroom. Safe at last!

When I was washing my hands, I looked in the mirror and what did I see? That freaking bug was still in my eye! EWWWW!!!! So I fished it out and thought that anything that could have gone wrong on this run had and that the second half of the small loop would be easy. WRONG! I made it past mile 2 and felt like I was going to die. I slowed it down to a hopp-y walk and then totally slowed down to a quick walk. I had a giant stitch in my side and just wanted this workout to be over! I finally got my 4+ miles done is just over an hour! HOLY SLOW BALLS! Just the week before I had done 5 miles in 53 mins!!

Oh well. At least I got out there this week and gave it a good effort! I went home and had some more of my rotisserie chicken, macaroni salad, cookie dough and 2 stuffed twizzlers while I watched the evening festivities on the tube.

I think I got bored with the B last night and can't say there was anything memorable except her 'wanting closure from Bentley'. Dude! He left you! Isn't that closure enough?!
Then EMWLE was good b/c the guy lost over 300 lbs but he just didn't seem to have a good attitude and didn't seem amazingly grateful for the opportunity that was bestowed on him. I guess I wanted him to seem happier than he was at his reveling and he seemed indifferent to me! Losing over 300 lbs is a MAJOR accomplishment! BE AMAZINGLY HAPPY! Geesh!

Ok. I'm off to lunch with my friend Laura!

What did you think of the shows last night?

Beating the Blahs

So, I think that I am officially out of my 10 mile funk that I was in pretty much all of last week. Kind of makes me wary of running 10 miles again but I know I have to do it to get to 13. I had such high hopes of doing 11 miles yesterday on the Latah trail and it would have been a beautiful day for it. Instead, I hibernated on my couch. I listened to baseball in and out of consciousness pretty much the whole day til about 5pm. I snapped out of it and made a Walmart run b/c I didn't feel like cooking. I ended up with a lemon pepper rotisserie chicken, macaroni salad, stuffed twizzlers, a tub of cookie dough and the gallon of milk that I originally needed to go to the store for. I had some of all of the above for dinner and it was great!

I spent the rest of the night watching Miss USA. I am glad that Miss Cali won b/c I think she had the best responses and was the one that stood out. I can't say that I loved her evening gown but it did really complement her red hair. *See that Mom! Blondes can go red! Haha!*

I am currently having a lapse of motivation at work, so I thought I blog post was needed. Also, here are some of the eats from last week that I took pictures with my phone and just never got around to posting! Enjoy!

Adult Mac n cheese in a pita

Band at the Farmer's Market

Stand where I got the kale

Baby pants for sale

Goods from the Farmer's Market

Goods from the Co-op

Strawberry tuna salad

Pita pizza with laughing cow cheese, tomato and fresh basil. YUM!

Did you do anything fun this weekend? Or did you make a cocoon on the couch like me?

Friday Night Out

Last night was super fun b/c I got to watch my friend Laura's band, Jackson Blue, perform all night long and it was their first performance with this line-up of the band. It was so much fun watching her strut her stuff and sing her little heart out! They did a nice mix of country, rock and original songs. I'm looking forward to their next show, but it's not until July 9. That just seems really far away!

I didn't get to see the rest of the Moscow Artwalk festival, but that was totally fine b/c I enjoyed watching my friend do her thing and I was glad to be there to support her.

Here are a few pictures from last night. I was the official paparazzi on hand.

It started off nice at sunny about 7pm

Laura and guitarist. I'm still learning everyone's names.

Hot lady at the mic.

Rocking it out til the end!

How was your Friday night? Did you do anything fun?

Anything else planned for this weekend?
I'm going home from work now and working on cleaning the rest of the explosion that is inside my house. I made a good dent on the kitchen Thursday night. Now it's time to tackle the rest of the house!

Week of Blah

Ever since I've come down from my runner's high on Sunday from PRing my 10 mile distance, I have felt like a big giant pile of blah. It seems like I've been super tired and unmotivated to really do anything. This is not good b/c my house looks like there was an explosion inside of it and I need to get on that ASAP!

Last night, I fell asleep during my Research Group meeting, had a very nutritious dinner of chips and salsa and strawberry pie and whipped cream. Then I spent the rest of the night in and out of sleep with the tv on and ended up relocating to my bed about 10:30 and then slept through the night. I woke up and was dragging my butt all morning at school. I don't know if I'm catching a "summer" cold or my body is on strike from the long run?

Has anything like this ever happened to you after a long run? Suggestions as to how to snap out of this blahness?

I'm hoping to get a run in tonight depending on how I'm feeling and the weather but I think if I hit the small loop it might perk me back up to normal. I will keep you posted.

I'm super excited about Friday night b/c my friend Laura's band is having their debut performance at the Moscow Artwalk. I'm excited to see her and "the band" that that I've been hearing so much about! I have finally ejected my memory card for my camera out of my computer, so I promise to post pictures after the big night!

Mission Anti-blah has now commenced!

10 mile PR!

Let's start out with the exciting news! Yesterday I set out on the second time attempting to run 10 miles. The first time I ran it about a month ago, I did it in 2:32 and I felt like I was going to die!!! This was probly b/c I was dumb and didn't bring any water with me. B/c 10 miles isn't really much longer than 5 miles and I don't really feel like I need a drink when I run 5. WRONG!!!! Couldn't have been more wrong if I tried! This first attempt was definitely a trial run and one that I learned from. So yesterday, I set out with my new handheld (10 oz.) and my water belt with 2 - 8oz. bottles. I took some Chomps with me to try out since I bought them at Target last weekend.

I was doing ok on the run. I started out feeling like I was gonna die the first 2 miles and then felt like I was getting into my groove. I usually run at a 13:15/mile pace and when I was in my stride I looked down at my phone to see a 10:21/mile pace! I didn't know I could do that!!! I was super excited and didn't feel like I was pushing myself, just going as fast as I felt like going.

At mile 5, I turned around and paused my clock. I finished my handheld and put it on the belt so I wouldn't have to carry it anymore and ate 3 chomps. I was feeling good at this point. I started at 9am and it was sunny/cloudy. I hit my 5 mile mark at 53 mins and by then there were fewer clouds and more sun and it was getting warmer.

I started running back and felt all sorts of thirsty between miles 6-7 and then I ran out of fluids at about 7.5. Not long after this I hit my wall. I was hot and sweaty and out of fluids but I only had about a 5k left. I think that felt like the longest 5k ever! I ended up walking some and that made me feel better. When I got back to my starting point, my phone said that I still had a mile to go! How does that happen when I turned around at mile 5?! Oh well. I continued a half mile down the trail and back to finish this 10 mile run in 2:02!!!

That would be a 30 min PR!!!!! 

I was amazed, shocked, tired and thirsty when I got back to the car. I first grabbed the rest of the powerade I had in the car and walked around the parking lot with it to cool down and then did some stretching while I finished off the water that was in my water bottle. I got in the car and stopped to get dog food on the way home. When I got home, I was good and had a strawberry GoTein shake (it was delicious btw. I haven't tried this flavor yet.), the rest of my whole wheat berry scone that was me pre-run fuel and took a shower. I fell into a running coma on the couch for about an hour and woke up ravenously hungry!

I ate a bowl of grapes, 2 hard boiled eggs, some ChipIns which are like Popchips but made from popcorn (I actually like the CHipIns better - from Walmart.), a PB egg from leftover Easter candy and a Reese's pieces carrot, also from leftover Easter candy. I think at this point, I would have considered chewing on the dog I was so hungry! It was not good but then it passed as I watched fuzzy ESPN baseball and chilled in the couch in my jams b/c I couldn't be bothered to put real clothes on after my shower.

When I decided to rejoin the world, I got dressed and went to Safeway b/c they had Strawberry pie for $5! So I HAD to have one! And I needed whipped cream to put on it b/c I was out. I ended up not feeling like having a slice last night, but you can bet your bottom that I have some in my lunch today!

As promised, I did take some pictures this weekend of my eats and the Farmer's Market in Moscow and I'm working on that post now b/c I have to get the pictures off my phone. I'm still not 100% good at using this thing yet but I love it!

Did you have any running awesomeness this weekend? I know some lovely ladies in Utah kicked some butt in their marathon!! Congrats ladies! :)

Yay for Nice Weather!

Last night, I followed through on my promise to myself that I would run the big loop around P-town. I ended up wearing a pair of my new shorts from TJ MAXX and my shopping extravaganza from last weekend. I also tried out the little handheld water bottle that was a TJ deal as well. I enjoyed having the hydration on my run and it was a good amount (10oz.) for the 5.75 miles that I did. I will definitely need the belt for anything longer than that. I didn't take a picture, in part to spare you from the whiteness, but will get one of the hydro stuff. It was nice to run in shorts but I'm fairly sure that I blinded a few people driving past me from my WHITE legs. Oh well.  I was proud of myself that I did it, even if it was at a snail's pace. I guess my legs took more of a beating from those stupid hills than I realized. I went about 15 secs slower per mile than I usually run, but I got out there. RIGHT?!

After I got home from my running adventure, I chilled on the couch for a bit and put some pants on and headed to Wallymart b/c I've been living out of my pantry/freezer until Payday, which is finally today!! :)
I bought lots of goodies: grapes, peaches, spinach, hummus, pita, frozen blocks of food, bananas, tomatoes, turkey bacon, colesalw, potato salad, pork n beans, green chilies, broccoli slaw, mushrooms, cukes and a Reese's BIG CUP! It sounded like the right way to round off all the fruits and veggies I had. :)

On my way out of Wallymart, I passed the Subway that is in there and was lured. Not lured by the fluffy bread and veggies but by their Big Gourmet pretzels! That's right! I got a Cinnamon Sugar one and that ended up being my dinner! :) Not the healthiest or most rounded of dinners but I wasn't very hungry after my run and it was GOOOOOOD!

Tomorrow, I'm planning on getting up bright and early and going to the Farmer's Market in Moscow with my friend Laura. This is the first time I've gone all year, but it didn't start til the first weekend in May. It runs til Oct. so I should score some good produce over the season. I will work on taking some pictures!

Have you ever had a Subway pretzel? If so, what did you think?

Have you been to a Farmer's Market in your area yet? What are your favorite finds?

Happy Weekend!

Getting Creative

Yesterday was my long day at work b/c we had group meeting. Luckily, it was a short group meeting at about an hour. I was excited to get out of there but then I decided that I wanted to put some music on my phone. I REALLY wanted the "workout rock" playlist that I have on my nano to go on my phone but it wasn't in my iTunes and I guess it's a big deal to move it back to itunes. So I went through my itunes and added the music I wanted to my phone. This took about an hour b/c I only have about 50 gigs of music to go through! I ended up with ~5-6 gigs of music on my phone and not all of it is my screaming/crazy rock music. :)

When I got home, I decided that I was hungry and hadn't taken anything out of the freezer for dinner in the morning. I found some Mac n cheese in the pantry and made 2 boxes of it. I didn't think that would be enough, so I dug around the pantry to look for something to snazz it up. I found a can of green chilis and a can of generic rotel! SCORE!! I mixed that in with the noodles and tada! Then I remembered that I had a pita left in the fridge, even better! I assembled the pita and then sprinkled some seasoned bread crumbs on them. I was very proud of my "Adult Mac n Cheese." It was quite yummy. I finished it off for lunch this morning by itself, no pita.

Tonight, is the night that I will get my run on again! I think the weather is going to be nice. It's only 55 right now, so you people that are roasting in the East can be jealous. But can I get a 70?! It's June and I'm still worried about my plants being outside. Crazy!

I think I'm gonna try the big loop around town b/c my rear has finally recovered from running the hill on Saturday. I will let you know how it goes.

Have you ever made a grown up Mac n Cheese? What do you add to yours?

Are you one of the people roasting on the East Coast? How hot is it getting where you are?

You can keep it, but I'm sure you'd be interested in my chilly temps. No trades please! :)

Gone Fishing

Yep! That's what I did last night! It was totally fun and I even caught 2 fish. They were both itty bitty trout but I caught them and my friend Ryan didn't catch anything. Girls win!!!! Here is a picture of me and the first itty bitty fish.

Me: It's so little!
Ryan: That's what she said! Haha!

I'm not sure why Blogger put in it upsidedown, but I can't fix it. So that was my evening. I had an awesome sandwich from Subway for dinner and then was covered in fish and worm guts and dirt from digging in the worm container to sacrifice the litter buggars! I did see some huge fish just chilling where I was fishing but they weren't interested in my worm. I think they were either carp or catfish but I really wanted to catch a big fish! Next time, Ryan is taking me to some lake where he said that he knew the fishing would be better. I'm looking forward to it!

Let's rewind a bit to Monday night's TV action...
The Bachelorette or The B: I am sadly totally sucked into this show and I'm not really sure why. I can't say that I loved Ashley last season, but I'm always hopefully for these people to find love. Or at least seem like they've found it. I'm glad that Bentley is gone. He was a total turd on a stick! And then he made her feel aweful for leaving! I don't know why or how he thought he was so cool and in it just for the game. Puh-lease! And why is he so obsessed with his hair? It's not that great anyway. He's no Bradley Cooper! :) Ok. I'm done with him. But maybe he kind of does look like him... Still, I don't care.
 
Another thing... I'm glad that The Mask came off and then thought it was funny that he ended up being older than she thought he was and sent his sorry self packing. You are too nice Ashley! You sent home some cuter boys than him before that. Silly girl!

EMWLE: I think I have fallen in love with this show and it is totally filling my BL void for the summer. I was sooo proud of Alex and how far he had come in his journey. I like that this show helps people tackle their emotions as well as losing the weight without someone always screaming in their face. I'm sure they have LOTS of help along the way but it seems like once the first 3 months are over and the Trainer guy moves out, you are on your own to do it for yourself. I will definitely continue watching this show!
     
How about you? Thoughts on The B or EMWLE?

Do you like to fish?
I'm no SR and don't have a fancy fishing boat but I totally enjoy just sitting out there with my pole in the water! Maybe one day I'll actually get to keep one! :)

Weekend in Solitude...It was a Long One!

Happy Monday friends!

Let's just start out by saying this was a crazy weekend and I'm glad it's over! Here's how it all went down...

Friday: Left work about 3, took the bus home b/c there's still crazy amounts of gravel at the bottom of my hill and I'm terrified of riding the motorcycle anywhere near gravel, packed and checked everything off my list and was on the road before 5. I didn't think that was bad, so I caught some of the 5pm Pullman traffic but that was a waaay better plan than having to catch the 5pm Spokane traffic. We got the the house a little after 6 and I introduced Heif to Meaka. She was afraid of him at first. Probly b/c he's a big goof and was super excited and she'd never seen a dog bigger than her before. She took some time to warm up to him but by the end of the weekend they were great friends.

I tied Heif to a tree and worked on finding my way around the house and settling and unpacking my stuff. By about 8:30, I think I was bored already from the NO INTERNET/NO TV situation. I don't know how people lived before the 1950s b/c just having a radio is super boring! I ended up watching 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' the Swedish version with English subtitles and went to bed about 10 b/c I was tired and knew I had to be up early for my 8am race start.

Saturday: Heif had me up at 2, 4 and finally at 6am I decided it was time to get up. Since I didn't bring his crate with him, I kept him in the downstairs bathroom b/c I figured there wasn't much he could destroy in there, there was tiled floor that would be cool and not damaged if he got his water everywhere. It worked out well.

I got my running stuff on, had a Special K Protein bar for breakfast and was out the door by about 6:40. On the way to the race, I found a Starbucks b/c I needed my tea fix even before a race and it was delish!! I got to the race site and got my number.

I was about 25 mins early so I hung out by my car, drank my tea and sunscreened myself. This ended up being a very good plan!

Before the race, there were some fitness instructors that did some warm up exercises with us. I think this was a good thing and I enjoyed them. The race started and I stayed at my pace, and then the hills started...

The hills begin!

They kept going up, up , up and up.

Up...

Up...

...and more up!

I finally got to the point that my legs were soooo tired and crampy that I had to walk! I ended up meeting a girl named Amy that ran the same pace as me and we trudged up the rest of the hill and were happy to hit the turn around. Then it was finally time to go downhill! YAY!!!

Downhill! Yay!

I thought the rest of the race would be all downhill until we made a turn and there was another hill!

Another stupid hill!

I think I was angry at this point b/c I was ready for the hills to be over! We went through some pretty country roads

 and then wound back around to the Middle school where everything started. I had a burst at the end and ended up leaving Amy and finished in 1:36:28. Then my freaking ipod froze and I lost the whole workout! So it will never post to fb or twitter that I PR'ed by 3 mins on my 10K distance and this one was half uphill! :( I'm still kinda sad about the stupid ipod but will get over it. Amy and I exchanged info and now I have a running buddy in Spokane for when I do races up there. Yay!

After the race was over, they were giving away door prizes and I won a $20 gift card to a local restaurant called Laguna Cafe on the South Hill of Spokane. I was super excited b/c I rarely win anything! After the prizes were all done, I went back to the house, showered and decided that I needed to go shopping! And shopping I did...

I started heading towards the North part of Spokane and went to the TJ Maxx. While I was there, I found some major deals on running stuff! Here's the loot:
1. Reebok RunTone for $50, compared to $100
2. 3 pairs of running shorts for $9.99, $12.99, and $12.99 one pair was even from the Ironman brand!
3. Water belt with 2 bottles and a pocket for $7.99, compared to $20+
4. Handheld water bottle for $3.99, compared to $12
5. Adidas sports socks for $5.99, compared to $12
6. Running tank top for $7.99, compared to $20

For a total of ~$120 spent and savings of ~$125!! SCORE!!!

The next stop was Target! My beloved Mother Ship!!!
I was better in here but my first stop was the Heath food isle for Special K Protein bars. They were even more on sale for $4.90/box!!! So I got 8 boxes thinking that would last me hopefully until my next trip to Spokane. I still have 2 boxes left from my last trip! Then I moved to the entertainment isle and got some movies. Persuasion for $4.75, Fried Green Tomatoes for $4.75, Lipstick Jungle Season 1 for $5, and The Blind Side for $10.

Now I didn't have an excuse for being bored and not having tv/internet b/c I had all this cool stuff to watch! I ended up spending about $80 at Target and decided that was enough shopping for the day but I needed to refuel.

I went to good old Red Robbin and had a Blue Ribbon Burger with sweet potato fries and read my Fitness magazine! It was a great lunch! I headed home with a full trunk and a full belly! I fed the farm animals, let the goats out to graze on the grass for a bit and then hung out with the dogs and watched movies the rest of the night.

Sunday: I got up and fed the animals and then was a bum and layed in the sun for a bit.

The farm...goat, sheep and chickens

the view from the porch

Then, I got ready for my 3pm meet up with fellow runner/blogger Nicole from Geek Turned Athlete. After about 20mins, I left our scheduled meet up place b/c it closed at 3 and went to a Starbucks to steal their internet. I had an email from Nicole that she had a follow up interview and asked to meet at 4. This worked out perfectly! I sat and ready my email/blogs til she got there and then we chatted for about 2 hours! It was just great! Talking to a fellow nerd and runner was a lot of fun!

After I left Starbucks, I was on the side of town where the restaurant that I won the $20 gift card, Laguna Cafe,  and decided to have free dinner there! It ended up being this quaint little bistro type place and I had the Mushroom & Brie soup, the Salade Nicoise with tuna, potatoes, green beans, capers, grape tomatoes and kalamata olives with a vinegraite dressing and I splurged and got the Red Velvet Cake to go. My bill ended up being $27, so not a bad dinner for $7+ tip!

I went home, watched my movies/ tv shows and hung out with the dogs and fed the animals, gathered up my stuff and went to bed.

Heif chillin

Heif after a long day

Monday: I was up at 2, 4 and 6 with Heif and finally decided to roll out of bed at 7:15 to go feed the animals, shower, ate breakfast and had a cup of tea. I packed up my things and Heif in the car and it was about 9:30 and time to leave to go to the Apple store, which didn't open til 10. I thought today was the big day that I could get a new phone and it was!!! HELLO iPHONE4!!!! I'm very excited and now can be in contact with the outside world while I'm at home with no internet. I'm loving my phone so far. I'm now at work, not working b/c you can't really start anything when you get there at 2 and have to catch the 5:30 bus b/c it's raining and still a gravel death in your driveway.

Sorry for such a looong blog but I wanted to get this all out before I forgot anything. Thanks for reading, if you made it all the way through! <3

Do you have an iPhone and do you love it?

Do you have any favorite apps? I hear there is a blogging one. What is it called so I can find it.

How did you survive the weekend?