What does 2012 have for me?

I'm not big into making resolutions because they usually just seem like a waste. Everyone gets bored after a few months and get the 'Oh well, we tried" attitude.

I'm not making any resolutions per se, but I am making a few goals/ plans for the new year.

1. Graduate with my PhD in Chemistry and find a job. Anyone hiring? :)
2. Run my 3rd Half Marathon and PR.
3. Complete the Food Journal Challenge for January.
4. Go to more concerts.
5. Enjoy my birthday. January 18 everyone!

I think those are enough goals to start with. I would love to lose more weight/ tone up and I will work on that by sticking to my running and taking my 2 core/ abs classes at the rec center. I need to be more mindful of the food I put in my body and explore more recipes/ food for healthier cooking.

What goals have you set for 2012?


I hope everyone has a very safe and Happy New Year!!

2011 Recap

I have had a great 2011 when I think about it. I did things I never thought I would do and had a lot of fun doing them.

• I PRed my Bloomsday time by 15 mins!
• I signed up for and completed 2 half marathons: Akron and Spokane
• I ran a bunch of new races and varied distances.
• I learned where I like to run around the Palouse.
• I learned that my worst distance is the 5K but really like the 10K.
• I learned that running is the best form of therapy b/c it makes you sweat and is free.
• I participated in my first blog swaps for Christmas.
• I won 2 blog giveaways: an Etsy ring from Natasha @Cautiously Audacious and the Good2Go bars from Rachelle @ Running for Trevor. 
• I participated in my first virtual race!

2011 had it's ups and downs but overall was a good year. I'm looking forward to what 2012 has to bring!

Thinking of the New Year

I'm not ready to make any lists or assessments of 2011, but I am ready to start thinking about making said lists and goals. I have already taken some steps towards healthy living in 2012.

I have signed up for the January Food Journal and I have signed up for 2 classes at the Rec Center, starting Jan. 16. I signed up for my usual BOSU Abs Blast class on Tues/ Thurs and I signed up for a new to me Tabata Core class on Saturday mornings. I figured this would get my butt out of bed, get my workout in, then I could go to work for a bit and then do my usual weekend stuff. Good thing the Farmers Market doesn't start back up til May b/c that will mess my whole schedule up!

So yesterday, I picked up my "project" from Walmart on my way home...

I've been searching online for calendars to hang at work. I currently have a Twilight themed one but it's kinda lame (just pictures of the characters not scenes from the movie). I looked at Breaking Dawn, Sherlock Holmes and even Spartacus: Blood & Sand ones. They were either too boring or showed too much of almost naked women for work (Spartacus). I ran out of ideas and decided to make my own. I have a bazillion concert pictures, so why not?!

I decided that a recap of the 'Men of the 48 Hours Festival' was appropriate and didn't get all of the men b/c M.Shadows had to be in there at least for Jan and Feb for mine and Erin's birthday months. I wanted to hang it up today but was told that is was bad luck, so I will have to wait until Monday for that. 

I've also been thinking healthy and have been working on going through the WW cookbook that Erin got me for Christmas.

It's got a great intro section for each chapter and is broken into: eggs, milk/ yogurt/ cheese, lean meats, lean poultry, seafood, vegetarian, whole grains, vegetables and fruits. I'm still on the milk chapter but some of the recipes look super tasty and easy to make. I'm in! I will let you know when I make something from this book.

Last night, I finished the first unit of the Hunger Games. I can't say that I'm totally drawn in by the book yet but am not bored either. I'm interested in what happens next. The games are gonna start! Whatever that means. :)

I'm off to the gym tonight and am going to get a full workout in b/c I'll have about 2 hours to play with instead of the barely an hour I had on Tuesday. 

What are you up to tonight? Anything good on tv? Probly not so that means I'll be reading. :) 

Last 2011 Hump Day!

I want to know how it's Wednesday already! I know I didn't work on Monday but still, this week is flying by!! Anyone else think so? Maybe it's b/c WSU is pretty much shut down and I'm still working. Yay for slavery Grad School!

Last night I was good and went to the gym. I was working on a project and hence didn't get out of work til 5:45 and the gym closes at 7 for Holiday hours. I managed to get 2.5 miles in. I warmed up with a mile @ 12:40 pace and then felt saucy and did some speed repeats. I did a 6.5mph or 9:13 pace for 90 sec and then cooled down until my heart rate was below 150. I did this 3 times and probly could have squeaked out #4 but I was tired and it was getting close to closing time. I enjoyed these speedy segments and felt like my form was better than at my regular slow pace.

I went home and was unsure what to make for dinner, so I scoured my pantry and fridge and came up with seafood salad, mac n cheese with green chilis and some yams. Yes, it was a very weird and all over the place dinner but it was quite tasty. I'm not sure why, but I love me some fake crab!

I sat down with my dinner and the BL Thanksgiving special came on. Of course, I got sucked into it for about 15mins and then put it on mute while I read Hunger Games. I missed my tv friends! I don't know if I'm going to make it until next week when the new season starts... I'm SOOO EXCITED!

Do you know of anywhere I can buy all of the BL seasons on dvd? I googled it with no luck and would like to relive some of the old seasons... even back when Caroline Rae was the host! Sheesh!

I'm excited to show you the project I was working on!

Today, I have also been looking into things to do/ see when I'm in San Diego for the last week of March for a Nerd Conference. I did a little searching and guess what's right outside my hotel?!

San Diego Running Routes!!

I also looked into the San Diego Zoo b/c I've always wanted to go, but it's $42!! Good Grief!! But I might have to go just b/c I'm there.

Does anyone have any San Diego Suggestions? I think I'm saying at the Holiday Inn on the Bay.

Before the week is over, I'll do a year since April recap and plans for 2012! :)

One thing I've already signed up for is Amanda's @ Run to the Finish 30 Day Food Journal Challenge, starting Jan. 1. You should sign up if you've never done anything like this before.

                                      

Happy Holidays!

First of all, I would like to thank and welcome my new readers!! I'm up to 30!! Gosh!! :) That means a lot to me!!

I kind of fell off the wired planet starting on Thursday because I went home from work early b/c I didn't feel well. It turns out, by 6pm I had a fever of 101. I promptly went to the bed with the fleece sheets and cranked the heating blanket up. I fell asleep as was back on the mend by 9 and even ate dinner and the last of the cookies that Mom has sent me. I was back in bed by 10:30 and woke up at 8 with some more of the fever (and not the good kind that I guess that Bieber kid is giving away). I took some more pills and went back to sleep and was functional around 1 and feeling better. I spent the rest of Friday on the couch watching movies that I had bought during my Black Friday Madness. I watched Rio and Xmen: Wolverine. I was surprised at how cute Rio was!

And Penny, Heif loved his present too!

Saturday, I woke up feeling better and had decided that today was the day to do the Home 4 the Holidays Virtual 10K. I set out with my festive gear on and even wore my socks from Darlene from the Sock Swap!

Top half/ bathroom photo

Festive socks

I set out for the 10k by running around Pullman. Right when I was about to go I saw that Curie the Garmin was dead, so I charged her for a half hour to 30% and headed out. It was now a lovely mess of rain/ ice balls/ wind. This lasted for the first 2 miles. Then it was sunny and windy the rest of the way. The more I am running, the more I realize how out of running shape I am in and wish for the days of summer when I feel like I rocked it around town. I finished the 10k in a miserable 1:45 b/c I walked most of the last 2/3. I haven't been back to running enough to get my endurance back. This is something I will have to work on. 

After I showered, I was debating dinner options. I was between chinese/ asian food or pizza. the family voted chinese. I called my favorite place in town and they were closed til after the first of the year! Then I called a Thai place and they were closed too! So I slumped myself to the Walmart and got a supreme pizza and an orange chicken meal. Ha! I had both. I ate my dinner while watching a weird little man on PBS go to christmas village markets in Switzerland. I dunno, but tv was slim pickings! I also made some cookies even though I said I wasn't going to. Since I ate all the ones Mom sent, I needed more, so I made more.

apricot/ red raspberry kiffles

I went to bed at regular time to be woken up at 7ish by my mom calling me. We were going to skype while opening presents. I hope my family liked what I got them. I got my pans and baking stuff from mom and dad, a UV nail dryer and a foam roller from my sister, a new scarf for my new coat from mom, an amazon gift card from Mother and Papa and some scrubbies and other little things. I got dressed and went to Erin's house and we exchanged. She gave me some Steelers pj pants, some running socks and the WW Power Foods cookbook! I'm still working on reading through it! I hung out there until the Packers game was over and came home and chilled a bit before bed.

Monday, I slept in and it was lovely. I unstank myself and got dressed and headed out to battle the crazies at the mall. It turns out that there were lots of cars in the parking lot and not a whole lot of crazies. Win for me! I got some new light jeans from Maurice's, a few pj pants from old navy, a box of kcups for work from BBB, and some spicy truffles from Cowgirl Chocolates. I did my grocery shopping and hit Walmart for any deals on my way home. 

When I got home, I had a freezer situation when putting my groceries away so I decided to do some cleaning. I found from frozen fish from 2007!!! Eww!! So I made some room in my freezer and fridge and a garbage bag later, everything fit! 

Continuing on with being ambitious, I sat down and worked on my 'Running Journal' that I had started a few weeks ago. I got all of my clippings in and am ready to find some more. This is what I ended up with.

Front

back

I like the background of the journal itself and enjoy how I have bedazzled it. I even filled in the first 2 pages with my runs so far with Curie. 

While I was at Walmart, I bought The Hunger Games and Julie & Julia. I wasn't sure which to start first and put a feeler out to facebook. I got a resounding 'HUNGER GAMES!!' and went with that. I got to about chapter 6 until my eyes were tired and I like it so far. Now I'm working on tracking down #2 and 3 of the series from the public library. I wonder which 12 year old I'll have to peel it away from! :) I will keep you posted about how it goes/ I like it since everyone in the blogosphere has seemed to love it. 

What series is out there to read next?! First HP, then Twilight, now Hunger Games.... who's next?

Secret Santa

Yesterday in the mail, I received my Secret Santa present. It was from Penny @ http://themiddleofthepackmyrunningjourney.blogspot.com/. It was super cute b/c she sent me goodies for my kids as well as something for me!!

kitty treats, balls for Heif and a headband for me!

I'm excited to try the headband b/c I've never heard of this kind and they have little combs in them to help them stay put!! My kids loved their presents!

Immy want more treats!

Jack is pleasantly full.

Heif was too busy sitting outside in the cold to play with his toys yet.

I was good last night and did my P90X Core Synergistics video and am now sore today from my armpits to my knees. I think my inner thighs are on strike from all of the lunges. They just want to be together!!

During my workout, I stuck some brown rice with chicken bullion in the rice cooker and some shake n bake chicken in the oven. It was a lovely meal, followed by a cup of chai + milk= chai latte as a recovery drink. Yes, I did get that recovery drink in and it was warm and amazing!!

While holding on to my cup of love, I watched the Swedish version of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' so I can be totally up to date on the story when I go see the Hollywood version tonight. I'm excited to see it but not sure how long I can last in the 2h40min movie without having a potty break. It always happens to me in movies. I think I'm going to skip the popcorn and sneak my water bottle in.

What kind of movie contraband do you take to the theaters?

Sock Swap & 1st Virtual Race

Good Hump Day to all!

I have been more productive today at work than I have been, so *high five* to me!!

Last night, I had all intentions of doing the p90x Core Synergistics video. When I got home I was HANGRY, so I ate some rotisserie chicken and a bit of potato salad and sat on the couch for it to digest before sweating. It turns out that my "digesting" turned into a nap b/c I fell asleep on the couch in my workout clothes and woke up about 9pm. At that point, I was over the idea of working out, but tonight it's on! For serious!

I also was a good blogger and took pictures of my goods that I got in the mail. First is the Sock Swap running goods from Darlene @ www.myfirst5k.wordpress.com. She did a good job of blog stalking me and knew of my upcoming half marathon in March and sent me fueling goods. I'm looking forward to trying the GU Brew powder and the Nuun in lemon lime b/c I'm not a big fan of the flavor I have now. And a 'runner girl' magnet for my car!!

The other package I got was from a Schwaggle deal I got from Active.com. It was for 2 pairs of Recovery socks for $42 with free shipping. I went with the pink and lime green ones!

I'm excited to try them out and compare them to the Zoot and old man ones I currently have.

I also got a box from my Aunt Bev/ Fairy Godmother with a Christmas tree in it since I told her I wasn't busting out my 1 footer this year. So, she sent me a LED 4 incher instead!! SUPER CUTE!!

It's totaally on my tv where my 1 footer would have been. I turn it on when I get home at night.

Also being in the festive spirit, I signed up for my first virtual race. It's a 10K and takes place this weekend. It fits perfectly into my plans b/c I was thinking of doing the big loop in Pullman which is about 6 miles and since I have my Garmin now I can run around til I get my mileage! :)

The 1st Annual

 

Home for the Holidays Virtual 10K

source

Go to the link and sign up for yourself!! There are some really great prizes and it's a great way to get the Christmas/ Hanukkah festivities started by working up a sweat so you can eat those Christmas cookies. 

Have you ever fallen asleep in your workout clothes before a workout? I felt like such a dork when I woke up but it's on tonight. Feel free to chirp at me on twitter @vbace18 to make sure I do it!

I might be off to see Sherlock Holmes with coworkers but I REALLY want to see the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Has anyone seen it yet?

Bitter

Yes, I am being a crabbypants and I am still bitter over the extremely poor showing that the Steelers exhibited last night. It was just sad to watch. If Ben was that hurt and threw 2 interceptions in the first two possessions, sit him down and put Batch or Dixon in who at least have 2 good feet!

                                    

Ok I'm sorry that I'm still pouting...

Last night I received a package from Darlene @ My First 5K  from the Secret Santa Sock Swap and it had a whole bunch of racing goodies in it! Did I remember to take a picture of it all? No. So I will be posting about it again tomorrow but wanted Darlene to know that I loved it and Courtney to know I enjoyed the whole experience!!

                              

Tonight I have set the goal that I am going to do the p90x Core Synergistics video and work on my Running journal since I have my first entry to put in from Saturday's run.

What are you up to tonight? I'm not gonna lie, but I'm going to be totally lost without BL being on! What am I going to do with myself?

The Garmin name winner is: Curie because I'm nerdy like that and feel I need to keep the trend going. Thanks Tori for that name suggestion!!

BL Meet n Greet

If you were wondering what I did Friday night, you can see Jess's recap of our Running Journal Inspirational Party. It was a lot of fun and always great to meet new running chicks and have a girl's night in general.

Before I went out to meet the girls, I had 2 boxes waiting at my door!! I LOVE getting mail! It makes me feel like a little kid again b/c that was one of my "jobs" was getting the mail. I got a box of Christmas presents from Mom/ Mother (Dad's Mom) and a box from Aunt Bev via Bravissimo!!! I called and left her a screaming thank you voicemail b/c she didn't answer!! In the box from Mom, there was a $100 gift card to Sears b/c I need new skillets for cooking my eggs in the morning.

Presents from my Fairy Godmother!!

I am totally in LOVE with the black one and like the silver/ white one in the bottom right. I have yet to try on the other ones. The cream colored one is a strapless bra!! I've never had one of those before!! I'm soooo excited!!

Saturday morning, I went to breakfast with Laura and we went to The Breakfast Club in Moscow. I had the greek omlette with hashbrowns and their huckelberry/zucchini bread and 2 cups of tea. Duh! :)

I almost forgot a picture!

I was so hungry that I remembered to take a picture at half omlette status. After breakfast, we went and got a Christmas tree for Laura's parents. It smelled lovely. Kinda made me sad that I'm not bringing out the good ole one footer this year, but then I got home and was ok with it. 

I got home, took a bit of a nap and went out for a run. The Garmin got their first run in!! The name suggestions I've gotten so far are "Zippy" and "Curie" for Marie Curie. I realize that it's quite nerdy but I think I like Curie... 

What is your vote? Write ins are still welcome!

I ended up getting just over 4 miles in. I was going pretty strong until mile 2.5 and my tummy had other plans. I make a quick trip to a local porta potty and was very thankful it was there!! My tummy was "off" after that, so I power walked my butt the rest of the way home. 

I learned a few things from this run. 1.) I am very much out of my running shape that I was in this summer. 2.) I can run outside in the cold. 3.) I LOVE running outside compared to the treadmill. 4.) I need to do more speed/hill work. 5.) I.LOVE.MY.GARMIN!!!!! It was super fun being able to see my pace and not having my phone battery lose all it's juice at the same time. 

Success!!

On Sunday, I woke up and relocated to the couch to watch football. I was deeply saddened when the Green Bay game wasn't on, so I got dressed and headed to Lewiston in search of new skillets and other kitchen-y things that could potentially be replaced in my house with the $100 Sears gift card my mom sent me. 

For my first stop, I went to the "BL12 Courtney meet up" at the froyo place down there!! It was super fun. I actually got in line behind her getting some froyo and didn't even know it was her til I heard her voice!! I'm suck a dork! I went with the usual cake batter with tons of fruit and some coconut. She was just sitting there with her Mom talking to people, so I sat and ate my froyo to not seem like a total creeper. I finished my masterpiece and joined in on the conversation. There weren't many people there, so I got to chat with her and her mom for a good 15 minutes!! It was nice for me b/c not too many people showed up but I was kind of bummer for her for that same reason. I had expected the place to be packed and I wouldn't even be able to get in the door. Courtney was very nice and down to earth and was a great person to relate to!! Everyone should go check out her facebook page. 

Who looks frumpy? Me!!

Then, I went to the Sears in Lewiston and they didn't carry any pots and pans but told me I could use it at the Kmart across the street! Score!! I forgot to take a picture (but I will) but I got 2 stainless steel Gordon Ramsay skillets, a nonstick T-Fal skillet, 2 Wilson cookie sheets (big and small), a Wilson covered cake pan, a bottle brush, 2 knives and a set of plastic cutting boards... all for $100. I went over my gift card b/c I bought laundry soap too. It was a great shopping trip! When I got back to Pullman, I stopped by the Walmart for some dinner (rotisserie chicken) and an actual Running Journal. I wasn't sure what went into one, so I just prepped a bunch of pictures and words to put in mine for later. I also got some fun stickers to put in it.

I think that will be my project tonight while I'm watching the Steelers win against the 49ers on Monday Night Football (MNF). 

How was your weekend? Are you going to watch the game?

Garmin needs a Name

Hi Everyone!

To say that I'm ready to be done working today is very much an understatement!! I had great fun trying all of the foods at the Dept. Holiday Potluck. I made broccoli slaw with olives and bacon bits! It was quite good if I say so myself! We had quite a spread from deep fried turkey, an okra dish, chili and fixins, bbq pulled chicken sandwiches, some asian inspired food and some sweet goodies with red velvet cupcakes as the cherry on top! After sampling the fare, I had to take the stairs back up my 3 flights b/c I was quite full!

Just before lunch, I got my Garmin Forerunner 405 all set up and ready to go! I charged it last night.

charging the Garmin

I watched all of the 'How To' videos on the Garmin website and even got the ANT+ thing to talk to my Garmin, so I'm all ready to go! It's exciting for me b/c I feel like an official/ cool runner now that I have my Garmin! I realize that it was an early birthday present to myself and that day is over a month away, but I couldn't help looking at the box anymore!! :)

Ready to go!!

I think that my Garmin needs a name. Any suggestions? Is it a boy or girl Garmin? I need help!

In other news, I've been doing a good job with keeping up on my 7 fruits and veggies a day for the HBBC!! I took apart a pomegranite and have been working on the seeds since Tuesday. I even had them for my drive to/from Spokane on Wed.

Yum!

But I have also splurged and made the Hungry Girl's Mississippi mug pie recipe. It was a mug full of chocolately gooey amazingness and wasn't all that bad for you!!

Mississippi Mug

Tonight, I'm excited b/c I get to meet up with Jess and her other runner friends in town and we are going to work on Running Journals. This should be an experience b/c I have what equals a -3 when it comes to creativity and imagination. I'm not so bad at crafty things, but I've never done one of these before, so who knows?! I will report about it later!

Tomorrow, It's supposed to be about 40 degrees and sunny during the day, so I'm going to take my Garmin out for it's inaugural spin around Pullman!! Please feel free to honk at me if you see me! :) There were TONS of people running around town on my way into work today and I was amazingly jealous! Tomorrow it will be my turn!

I'm still hoping to make the drive to Lewiston on Sunday and meet Courtney Rainville from this season's BL12!! If I do, you will have pictures on Monday!

What are you up to this weekend?

No Finals = Still Crazy

Hello all!

Sorry I kind of fell off the planet for a few days but Grad School duties took over. I got to have coffee and great conversation with Jess at school on Tuesday!! Tuesday night I had to proctor the Organic Chemistry exam from 7-9pm (barf!). I rushed home from that to watch the BL Finale. I don't know what there was about this season but everyone looked amazing!! I really wanted Antone to win but I think he was a winner b/c he had a body fat percentage of 15%!!! He looked better than any of his football pictures I had seen! Good job Antone!

                                        

source

I was happy for John that he won but I wasn't a big fan of his attitude the whole time. It seemed like he was going to stomp on anyone who got in his way of the BL prize.
                                        

source

I'm not sure I liked the format change of not weighing in everyone but just weighing in the top 3. I like the excitement that that part of the show brings. Jenifer looked great!! I wonder how much time there was between the marathon and the finale. I was also kind of disappointed for Debbie that she had only lost 30 something lbs. Don't get me wrong, that's totally awesome, but not up to par as far as the BL standards have been set in the past even if you get sent home first.

Yesterday was pretty much a whirlwind. I went to school at the regular time and graded Organic exams from 9-10:30. Then I went and picked up Cecile, my French Post Doc, and took her to the airport in Spokane because she's going back to France to a real job after being here for 2 years. She helped me so much! I miss her already!! I drove back from Spokane and came back to finish grading. The boys had even saved me some pizza!! I thought I was done grading about 5 and came to my office and putzed around and payed bills and such and found out I had missed a few exams. I graded them and headed home about 7. I should have gone to the gym but I was completely exhausted from being in the car for almost 4 hours and grading just zaps your eyes!! Sadly, I was a bum and sat on the couch and watched tv last night.

As I'm writing this post, I saw an event that Courtney Rainville who's from Lewiston, ID will be in Lewiston on Sunday at a froyo shop. I'm totally going! Anyone in the area want to go with me?

Oh! I mailed my Secret Santa and Christmas Sock exchange presents this morning! If you're participating, have you sent yours yet? I love getting stuff in the mail!!

Have a great day!
What did you think about the BL Finale?
PS. It's snowing here!! It makes my heart happy!!

Being Girly

Friday night, Erin and I went and had our nails done. She got a mani/pedi since she was graduating and all and I got a new color of Shellac on my nails. We went to a new to us place that is pretty new to the area in Moscow. It's called NiNi's Nails, well because the owners name is NiNi. :) This was funny for me b/c some of my family calls me Cort-a-NiNi.

My stubby man hands...

pinkish and sparkles!!

Then we went to Taco Bell for dinner and I sadly wasn't that hungry but ended up with the $5 box. It was something and made me feel good that I didn't go crazy for once at the Bell! I went home and totally watched Dateline and went to bed. Old!

Saturday, I was a bum in the morning and then got ready for Erin's grad party. It was a nice day for a drive. It was cold but sunny and looked warm which is good enough for me. We had lasagna, salad, garlic bread and cake! It was all super yummy!!

I went home and there wasn't anything on tv, so I gave Jack some kitty weed catnip and watched him be an idiot for a while and finally threw in the towel and went to bed at 10. Old 2 nights in a row!

Jack and his "plate"

This is the after...

Sunday morning, I was good and got up and went to the gym by 10. I was hoping for 5 miles but only got 4 in. I think I figured out my problem though. I went back to my old shoes that I wore for the half when I was at home and had major leg cramping issues.  Now I know what my problem was... kinda. So, I bought some insoles for my current running shoes that give me less crampy issues and will see how this goes. I put my hand in the shoe and could feel a giant footprint from the ball of my foot to my toes. Maybe I'm not much of a heel striker? :)

When I got home from the gym and Walmart to get goodies for the week, I started a pot of beef stew which later turned into beef and barley stew. It cooked all day and smelled amazing!!

steaming stew!

How was your weekend? Anyone else out there being domestic/ girly?

Best Thursday Ever

If you were wondering, I ended up having an amazing day even if I was a prisoner of Fulmer 401 pretty much all day. For starters, it was my last Thursday of being a prisoner of 401 and my last day of the semester to be at school by 8am! And my last day TAing for the semester and hopefully ever!

The morning was pretty normal, helping out students and reading blogs. I also started watching episodes of 'New Girl' with Zoey Deschanel. I just love her! Then I went to Walmart with Erin to look for a new car battery for her during my lunch break hour.

I came back to the prison and had an appointment at 2:45 to give blood. I didn't have any takers for a boob donation from my last blog post but I sure did appreciate the bigger chested girls out there that understand what I'm going through. Thanks for the comments ladies!! I donated blood and it was pretty seamless. They had to poke my fingers twice b/c my blood iron was too low the first time. It needs to be a 12.5 and at first was a 12.3 and when it was redone was a 12.7, so I was a go. I enjoy giving blood, but because it's fun for me but because I'm an O+ blood type which means I can pretty much give to anyone. O- is the actual universal donor if you were wondering. It didn't hurt, except for my fingers. I didn't pass out. SCORE! And I got to eat sugary things to recover! Even better!!

Battle wound

Here's what the damage looks like today. Not too bad if I say so. I've had times where they had to dig around and my arm looked like a bruised stump the next day. Thank you good phlebotomist!

After my snacks, I went back to my office hours to finish out the day. At 4:30 I received an email that my favoritest band ever (Theory of a Deadman) was coming to the Tri-Cities, WA (2.5 hours away)! And. on. my. BIRTHDAY! I was soooo excited that I called Erin and we screamed!! I did a little bit of digging and since my birthday is on a Wed. this year (January 18 if anyone would like to send me anything! :)) driving 2.5 hours wasn't ideal but totally do able. I then found that they would be in Spokane at the Knitting Factory that Saturday! I'll take it! There also happened to be VIP tickets available for only $40 more. MINE!!!

                                            

The VIP tickets include: a GA ticket, access to a Meet n Greet with the band, a 1 year membership to the TOADM fan club, a signed poster, a pick pack and a VIP laminate!!!!! I've never been VIP to a concert before and I'm totally excited! With this news, bring on the 28!!!!

The rest of my night was pretty uneventful b/c I had group meeting. I did get to try the new Reuben sandwich from Arby's for dinner. I decided I deserved a treat from giving blood. And went home and watched tv. I've decided that Thursday night tv is now CRAP b/c CSI isn't on anymore but bring on the holiday specials!

In other happy news, if you're my friend on facebook, you saw that I bought a Garmin Forerunner 405 on Amazon here for $137!!! It's not refurbished, it's brand new. I couldn't pass up that price and dubbed it my Happy Birthday to me present! Now I can run and not drain my phone's battery to nothing while using the Nike+ app (as much as I love it!). Feel free to click on the link if you can't live without one for that price too.  It was even SR approved in her runners Christmas list.  

                          

Anyway, it's waiting on my doorstep, so if you get to my house before me, don't steal it! :)

Tonight, I'm off to get my nails done again with the Shellac stuff b/c I have the old stuff on and it's been 5 weeks! This stuff is amazing!! I'm not sure what color I should go with. The reason so the beautification is that Erin is graduating from WSU tomorrow!!! Yay Erin!!

Erin's fancy cap!

Do you give blood? Know your blood type?

What's your favorite band? Have you seen them live? I've seen Theory 3 times before but only once in the 5 years that I've lived out west. Of course they always hit my home area when I'm not there, but never VIP!!!!

What are your weekend plans? Erin's grad party, sushi with a friend and football. I'd like to get a run in on Sunday. Maybe I will get at least 5 in this weekend. Gotta set the goal somewhere. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Boobs...Free to Good Home

I was thinking about this last night while running on the treadmill... If I lobbed off my boobs, that would be at least a good 10 lbs lost! And if I lost 10 lbs then I could run faster! In reality, even though I have them strapped down, they still get in my way and cause me day to day tramas. Like panic attacks that I forgot to put a bra on on my way to school. Strapping them done when doing any sort of physical activity (Thanks Enell!). Causing me to always be jealous of those ladies that can workout with a bra or even one of those built in kind of ones. That doesn't happen to me.

I'm sorry for complaining b/c the not so chesty ladies are complaining they don't have enough, when I have too much. But here I am willing to donate! It's kind of like donating blood but I don't think you can help as many people this way as what you can with blood and this is more of a vanity thing.

I realize that boobs aren't the end all and be all of my weight issue... I love food, that is the real problem. Good, bad, doesn't matter. Now, if I could only stop eating crap and run more like I was this summer, I would be better off. But it's not even about losing the weight that's a total issue with me... I remember losing 10 lbs in high school from giving up pop and my boobs got bigger! What gives then?!

I'm sorry that this post just kind of turned into a rant, but if you can't rant about your own boobs on your own blog, where can you rant about them?!

If there are any professionals out there that would like to help me in this time of food crisis and the holidays, it would be greatly appreciated.

Does anyone think that the stress of Graduate School has maybe finally gotten to me? :)

I feel like I should add a picture to this post because it's all words but don't want to post a picture of tatas.

But seriously... Do I have any takers?

PS. Sorry to any of the guys that might be reading this out there b/c there was 'boobs' in the title of this post. :)

Recovering from the Weekend

So, I'm still bummed about not being in Vegas this weekend with what seemed like everyone, but I had a busy weekend of my own.

I stayed true to form and chilled at home Friday night and I think I watched 20/20 instead of Dateline. I changed it up! Look out! It was a sad story about how foster kids are being drugged up for acting out or just being a kid. It was really sad. It made me think about maybe adopting some day, if I ever decide to have kids.

I got up bright and early Saturday morning and met Laura for breakfast. I had the traditional goulash with peri peri hot sauce and regular Abelskivers, which are little yummy pancake balls, with a side of tea (of course!).
                                        
                                                                      source
After breakfast, I went to the post office and mailed off my Christmas presents! It was exciting and relieving to get that done and know I won't have to be fighting the crazies anymore this year.

After the post office, I went home and got Heif. I took him to the groomers and was there for an hour and a half. It was a do-it-yourself grooming and was super fun. He was good with everything but climbing the open stairs to get on the table and in the tub. I got to use all of their tools and shampoo. We even sprayed him down with stuff to make him shiny and smell extra nice! After being blow dried, he was all FLUFFY and smelled AMAZING (compared to what he smelled like when we arrived)!

SO FLUFFY!!!

When we got home, I relaxed and watched some football and eventually headed out to Winco to buy some things for all of the events that I have going on this week. I needed a salad and the fixins for the dinner party Saturday night, carrots and dip for a research proposal defense and apple cider to mull for a holiday floor party. I did good with my list, came home, put my salad together and went to the dinner.  It was a nice evening but I called it quits about 8:30 b/c I was tired from the long day.

I went to bed about 11  and set my alarm for 8:30 b/c the gym opens at 9 on Sunday. I unfortunately didn't roll my butt out of bed til 10 and then got ready, turned the tv on and the Steelers were actually on tv out here! I sat and watched til they were up 21-0 and decided that was a good time to go to the gym. I got 4 miles in, which wasn't the 10 I was after for the weekend but it's better than the 1 mile I did without my headphones earlier in the week. 

I'm doing better on my HBBC points but not nearly as good as if it was during the summer. With that in mind, I made a turkey and cabbage soup in the crockpot with carrots and V8 as the liquid. It was quite yummy! While this was cooking, I went to see the Nutcracker with Laura and then had some appetizers with her and some girl friends. 

The program

Not the best seats...

When I got home, this was ready for me and I had a small bowl.

Nice and steamy!

While I was waiting for my soup to cool, I put some apple cider on the stove with a sachet of mulling spices to simmer. It smells amazing and I'm looking forward to trying some!

Mulled cider!

After being domestic and having a crazy weekend, I went to bed but must have been channeling my fellow runners/bloggers because I had a case of the DOIDs!! What is that you ask? Delayed Onset Intestinal Distress! I think my GI track was angry at my for starting back running, so maybe that the 10 miles that didn't happen this weekend was a good thing!

What did you do this weekend? Anything fun? Anyone else sad they weren't in Vegas too?