Being an Adult

Last night my legs were tired from running the night before, so I didn't run. I don't know how you people can run every day b/c my legs just can't take it! Since I knew I wasn't running, I went ahead and made myself dinner when I got home. I made a grilled chicken & cheese on Ezekiel bread with muenster and that fancy French cheese that starts with a G that I can't seem to spell right.

Mmm! Grill marks!

After dinner, I went to the WallyWorld to get my contribution to the party tonight. There is a going away party for John b/c he's leaving for a few months to do research elsewhere. We are having Sangria among other things, so I bought a gallon of the cheapo white stuff and a bottle of lemon-lime pop to mix with it. There will be fruit and fruit juice added to make it refreshing! :)

NOTE: I will not be drinking anywhere near as much as was consumed a few weeks ago... because I am going to try and "be an adult" and not go overboard. Also, I'm going to go to the Farmers' Market tomorrow if I have to drag my sorry self out of bed! I didn't go last week and am having withdrawls! Walmart produce just isn't the same!!!

Getting back to the title, I have been working on overhauling my CV all blessed day long at work today! I am hopefully less than a year out from graduating with this thing they call a PhD and need to find something to do after this. In order to apply for anything, you need a CV, like a nerdy resume, to give to people so they know your history/experience with things. I hope I get some nibbles with this thing!

On a happier note, I emailed one of the profs that I did summer research while I was an undergrad asking her if she would be comfortable being one of my references and she said she had a position available if I was interested! Super cool! It's probly not for me but is only an hour from home and is an offer!!! :D

I'm gonna go home and continue being an adult and eat a good dinner before imbibing but I'm sure you can expect some fun pictures from the festivities.

I'm planning on getting in at least 10 miles on Sunday! If anyone wants to call/ email/ tweet and harass nag at  encourage me to make sure I'm going to do it, let me know! All kicks in the butt are welcome b/c I've been needing to get my long run in and it hasn't happened!

57 days until my Half Marathon in Akron, OH!!!!

What fun things are you doing this weekend? Since it seems to have cooled down in the east compared to what it was, we are getting it this weekend with temps nearing 90. I will have to be up at 4:30 to run before it gets sweltering. 

Thank you Rob Zombie

Rob Zombie might seem like a weird person to thank for anything but he got me through my wall last night!

I set out to do the big loop with my lovely handheld and felt good through the first 2 miles and then it seemed like I was dragging a dead body behind me on each leg! It was not good! I picked up a bit through mile 3 but when I hit 3.6, I had a sloshing my my tummy and wasn't sure if I was gonna barf or have it go the other way. I slowed my roll to a walk and that's how I finished the rest of the .5 mile home. And to boot, someone honked at me while I was walking and felt looked like death. Thanks Honker. You made my night but I was very confused.

I came home to eat my leftover Naan pizza that I got the idea from Jess and modified it to what I had. I used pasta sauce, bagged romaine lettuce (that's seriously what I had!), Jenny-o turkey sausage link chopped up, freshly picked basil, sliced tomatoes and topped with Mexican 3 cheese blend! It was quite delish even as leftovers!

Tuesday I finished my butternut squash but last night I had asparagus that came in a microwaveable pouch. I love me some asparagus but I HATE HATE HATE the smell of 'stinky asparagus pee' after I eat it! Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it or not. 

Yes it is!!!

After dinner, I was pretty much exhausted and made myself one of these lovelies and went and sat in bed and read the July Runner's World. I told you I was behind on my magazine reading!!!

Heaven in a cup!

Yes it's true! All you have to do is give me a cup of tea and I'll be happy! :)

Not sure if I'm feeling like running tonight b/c I'm super hungry b/c I didn't get around to having my 3pm snack  b/c I was working very hard and forgot about it! Crazy! I know! So, I think I'll go home and make something amazing with my leftover baked chicken. Any ideas?

Do you get 'stinky asparagus pee'? Not everyone does. The nerd in me had to research this topic! No Joke! I even had a chemistry Prof describe the product of a reaction having that smell in a talk. It had pictures and everything! Maybe I'm not the only weirdo out there?! :)

Now have some kitty love!

Immy staring at her 'kitt weed' plate she just demolished

Sleepy Jack is just sooo cute!

Back on the Wagon

After splurging on food and having fun this weekend, I decided that I needed to get back on track with my eating. It's been about 2 months that I've just been eyeballing it and not actually tracking my food. I picked Monday to be the day to start. First, I checked the planner that I had tracked my food in before and since it was free, it ran out of pages in July. With this, I needed a new planner and headed to the grand ole Wallmarche where I picked up this lovely!

It has plenty of space to write my food for the day and has monthly tabs on the side and a monthly calendar on each tab! It seemed perfect! And it's an 18 month planner!! Woo!

Since yesterday started Operation Healthy, I had a good dinner. I had two shreaded chicken and cheese with bbq sauce tortillas.

#2 b/c #1 was gone in seconds

I had butternut squash that I got at Walmart in a steamable package with butter and pepper.

For dessert while watching the B, I had a chopped apple, sliced banana with cinnamon and a cup of tea, of course!

Do these look like potatoes to you too?

Monday Night TV: I was excited to sit down to watch tv last night b/c I hadn't seen much over the weekend. I continue to watch the train wreck that is the B and can't help myself. I'm starting to feel bad for the girl that people keep leaving and creepers keep showing back up! If Ryan is the next Bachelor I am NOT watching that show! I hope the producers have more sense than that! I think I was bored with all of it by the time the Rose Ceremony rolled around. Can we drag reality tv out anymore?! GEESH!

When 10pm hit I was excited and ready for EMWLE!!! I was definitely sad that this was the season finale! I have come to love this show and it has filled the hole that not watching BL has left. I think the Bachelor Pad will continue to fill the hole as far as I can tell from the previews of Jake and Vienna! Oh the horror!! Muahahaha!!!

I'm planning on a run tonight but am not totally sure b/c my tummy has been angry at me from all of the delicious crap that I ate this weekend. Hello body cleanse with fresh fruits and veggies! :D

I think that the very least I'm going to get to work on reading all of the running magazines that I've been collecting. No tv tonight?! Maybe!

What do you think of Monday night tv? Is it as much of a train wreck for you or are you enjoying it?

Fun Filled Weekend

Happy Monday everyone! I think I was actually kind of excited to get back to work b/c I had such a crazy weekend! So, let's get to it! (This is kind of a long post, so if you get bored with my words, just enjoy the pictures.) :)


Friday: I left work and took care of Heif and then headed out b/c Erin and I were getting pedis at 7pm. I had some stuff to do before I met her, like looking after this guy!

Meet Sampson. He's a Main Coon kitty.

I hung out with him for a while b/c he's so large and just fun to play with! Then I stopped by Laura's house and dropped off some parsley and basil seeds that I had forgotten to give her the night before and then headed to Moscow. I got there at 6:45 and the sign said they closed at 7. Crap! I walked in the door and they said they would take me. Sweet! I waited a while and Erin came and we got our toes done! Erin went with an electric blue/ purple and I went with my usual hooker red toes.

 Please excuse the Hobbit feet.

 

It just happened that Jamms the froyo place was just 2 doors down, so we HAD to go! This is what I had.

Cake batter with brownie and cookie dough bits, choco chips, waffle cone, capn crunch, strawberries, mango and marshmallow cream! YUM!

We decided that the froyo was going to be dinner but I was still hungry, so we went to Wendy's. I don't know if I could tell you the last time I had fast food! This is a good thing, but made it taste that much better! I hit the $1 menu with a jr cheeseburger, caesar chicken wrap and fries. We then hit up the gas station for some Dews. If we were going to be bad, might as well have some Dew as well! ;) It was only 8:20, so we headed to the mall to check out if a rumor was true or not. Still not sure after scoping out the situation. I left Moscow at 9pm which is when I had hoped to be in bed and I still had to pack! Ugg!


I ended up getting home packed my clothes, laid out my race clothes, made my overnight oats and got into bed by just after 10. Then, I wasn't tired! I think I dozed off at about 10:30...


Saturday: My alarm was set for 4am but some idiot friended me on facebook at 3:40 and my phone dinged and woke me up then! I think I laid in bed til 4:10 and then got up. I was all packed and in the car with my oats and a cup of tea with enough time to get to Jessie's house by about 5am. This is disgustingly early but I didn't feel too bad. 


We transferred stuff into Jessie's car and were on the road by 5:30 and were parked in Spokane by 7. We thought the race started at 8 but it turns out the Kiddie stuff started at 8 and the adult race didn't start til 8:30. We got out packets and shirts and walked back to the car to get ready.


I wore my compression socks in hopes to not cramp (as bad) and they kind of worked but I'm glad I had them or it would have been worse. I put on the stick form on the chub rub (it looks like greasy deodorant) and then we went to warm up/ stretch before the race. Then I ran into this guy.

Otto the Spokane Indians mascot

And we took some self portraits with my phone b/c we didn't want to ask anyone to take out picture.

Jessie, me, Desiree

repeat

The race started right on time as far as I could tell. It was essentially the same course as the 10K I had done in October but without going around the river once. It took me 1:06 to finish and my GPS on my phone said it was 5.12 miles and not the 4.8 (8K) that it was advertised as being. Needless to say when my ipod told me the end was near and it wasn't, I felt like I was going to die. I even walked a little up this hill to find the finish was at the bottom. Still not bad b/c it was 3 mins faster than my 5 mile time in March. I'll take it!


We went back to the car and then wandered to Runners Soul, the running shop in Spokane. I looked at the handheld bottles but decided I liked my rig as it was. Then I went to the fuel wall. I bought some GU's, shot blocks and chomps all to try out different flavors on my up coming long runs while training for my half in Sept. I also got some Tropical flavored Nuun tabs to try. I had wished that they had a combo pack so I could try different flavors without having to buy a whole thing. No dice. I will let you know how I like them as I try them. I've only tried strawberry shot blocks so far and they were good.


We went to Jessie's friend's, Heidi, apartment and showered and changed and went to Olive Garden for lunch. The funny thing is that Olive Garden is me and my sister's "GO TO" place when I'm home. I texted her a picture of my peach tea asking her where I was and she texted me one back of her b/c she was at one in Pittsburgh with her boyfriend at the same time! It was crazy! Here's what I had:

The best peach tea on the planet!

One of many bread sticks and 2 bowls of salad

Cappelini Pomodoro. Nice and light!

Don't you worry b/c I finished it all! I was hungry and working on eating myself into a food coma so I would ensure a nap when we got back to the apartment. We left downtown and headed to the Northtown mall. I scored some good deals. First, I went to Kohl's and got some plain tshirts, a "flyaway" shirt to go over my camis and look dressy and a pair of Adidas shoes that I got on super sale! They were reg. $70 and the sign said $22!!! So, I jumped on that deal!

Supposed trail running shoes. Probly gonna be everyday shoes.

I also went to Victoria's Secret and finally snagged some undies that either didn't have words on them or didn't say anything like "I'm Easy" or "Do Me" on the butt! I did get a pair that were white with apples on them and they say "Bite Me" on the butt but I thought they were cute and not dirty/whorish. I finished off the mall with a black tea bubble tea! YUMMMM!! Living in the west has spoiled me on these. If I move somewhere that doesn't have them, I will have to order the goods to make my own!


We went back to the apartment and took a nap til 5:30 and then got ready to go to the Spokane Indians baseball game. We didn't have great seats, far away on the 3rd base line, but it wasn't so big that you couldn't see. Well, you couldn't really see til the sun went down a ways but it was fun. I got a Mountainy Dew in a take home cup and a frozen lemonade for $4 each and was happy. We were losing by 3 when we left at the bottom of the 8th inning but we got our money's worth!

 

Sunday: I met up with Erin at the water park in Moscow and was more prepared this time and put spf 85 on me at home and allowed it to soak in before I got there. This resulted in me getting burned less than last time! :) I was apparently lacking in my application on the back of my legs b/c I got burned on the backs of my knees and my thutt (word stolen from SR that means where you thigh meets your butt). I didn't realize this until I put my jammies on last night. Ouch! I'm am sparing you a picture of my thutt b/c I'm sure no one wants to see that. :)

Does this look red to you?

So, I had a busy weekend and the race went well. The one thing that I have to report is that my chub rub failed me! My poor legs were still chaffed after then run and when I woke up on Sunday it looked like I had a brushburn! Ouch! I think I will try the cream next time and be sure to limit wearing the shorts that I did on Saturday. 


Have you tried any kind of chub rub? Did it work for you or did it fail too? If you are one of those blessed people that your thighs don't touch, please just don't tell me or I might hate you! Kidding. ;)


Was your weekend as crazy as mine?


Where do you like to go out to eat? Do you have a fave sibling spot too?

Baby Delicious

That's what Erin calls it when you have a food baby! And I totally had one last night after steak night! I was sure to document the awesomeness accordingly, so here it is...

The appetizer...

It was all I was hoping it to be!!

The salad... an amazing green salad with extra cukes courtesy of Erin.

The Winner Winner Chicken Dinner... but Steak!

Tonight's dinner came with green beans and carrots, a piece of texas toast, a baked potato with butter, sour cream and *real* bacon bits! The steak was a 10oz. sirloin that was smothered in shrooms, onions and their pepper sauce. Can we say A-MAZ-ING!!!?

Along with this food, the owner of the Silver Saddle was walking around with freshly baked cookies of 3 different kinds. I may or may not have had three of them. I may have also stopped counting at three. :) I think the one chocolate chip one was so warm and melty that the chocolate burned my finger a little! It was THAT good!

I surprisingly made it awake to Pullman and then motored myself home b/c I felt a food coma coming on. I ended up hanging out with Heif for a bit and then the food coma took over at about 10:30. I was dead to the world until my alarm went off at 7am.

I LOVE STEAK NIGHT!!! But it's a good thing it doesn't happen very often or I would be a blimp!

Tomorrow, I have an 8K race in Spokane and have to be at my friend's house in Albion (on the way) at 5am!!! I don't think I function that early but I can predict that there will need to be some tea action going on b/c I don't think even Starbucks is open that early!!! Geesh!

Then I get to go to a Spokane Indians game with fireworks after and then have fun dancing my booty off at the bars in Spokane. It will be nice to have a change of scenery. And I can make a fool of myself dancing b/c I won't know anyone! Woohoo!

What fun things do you have going on this weekend? I'm sad b/c I'm missing the Farmers' Market and a Jackson Blue show tomorrow. GOOOOOO Laura!!!

Steak Night!

Yes my friends... Steak Night is happening again tonight! I think we might be celebrating the fact that Laura doesn't have band practice tonight, so we can actually go to Steak Night! :) I will take pictures with my phone since my camera charger is in MN somewhere... but it's shipped! Woo!

Last night I was good and actually went for a run! I did the small loop, which is 4 miles and went in the opposite direction than I usually do. This was the same route I did with my early morning run and did it 8 minutes faster than last time! It's amazing what not coughing up a lung while running can do for you! I also started out pretty speedy with a 10:30 min/mile pace for my first mile. Then, I encountered the lovely hills that Pullman has to offer and my speedy pace went down the crapper! I did keep up a faster overall pace than I usually run at, so I was happy with that. I was under a 13 min/mile for the whole 4 mile run. I'll take that!

Also, I got 2 presents in the mail yesterday! I got the tickets to the Hinder/Adelita's Way/ Egypt Central show on August 7 in Lewiston

The lead singer in the middle used to be a Chippendale's dancer! Oh Yea!!

                                       
and I got my box from Mission Skincare a day early than expected!! Since I was going out on a run, I was hoping to get to use the chub rub. It turns out that my shorter shorts were all dirty so I work a pair of my longer shorts. I did try the sweet vanilla lip balm and didn't need to reapply the whole time I was on the run. That's good news and it has spf 15 in it!

2 chub rubs, face cream, sun screen, and lots of lip protection

And since I can't help myself...here's Heif!

Mom. Why are you doing this to me?!

But I love you!

What are your plans tonight? I'm glad I got my run in last night now! Bring on Steak Night and all the fixins! :D

Tomorrow I get to pack to wake up at the crack of the morning to go to Spokane for my 8K and then a fun filled day! I still don't know how you people are able to function that early in the morning! I'm still struggling!

My phone eats my posts

Last night, I spent a fair amount of time "typing" up a post for you all and my phone freaked out and ate it while I was posting a picture. So, I'm going to try and reiterate what I had eloquently *cough cough* wrote last night.

Last night's post was titled "No sleep = no motivation". This was due to the fact that my box fan motor had burned up Monday night and that lead to a hot night of little sleep. The last time I looked at the clock was 2am. This resulted in me being a walking zombie at work yesterday but that was good b/c I was parked in front of my computer yesterday designing a poster of my research to present next Wednesday for a "Senior Grad Student Expo" for the department. We're supposed to present work that we've done this summer but I pretty much put a general recap of this year, so far. No one will ever know! I had thought about recycling a poster but didn't think I could actually pull that off since I'm not doing anything close to what I was this time last year. Oh well. Now, I have a pretty poster with my pretty crystal structures and other bits of nerd on it. When I finally get this stupid paper written and it's published, you bet your bottom that I will put a link on here to brag! :)


Monday night, I went to dinner with a prospective graduate student, which means free dinner from the department!! I chose to go to Sangria in Moscow, which is one of my favorite places. I've even gone there for my birthday a few times. I know the menu so well that I should work there! I ordered the Sangria Saltado with chicken which was a stirfry of peppers, onions, cilantro and french fries over a bed of rice. I had this with a raspberry lemonade. Then we decided to skip restaurant dessert and opted for froyo instead! Trip #4 for me in the less than 2 weeks it's been open. I tried a new flavor combo of vanilla and mango tango with granola, strawberries and marshmallow sauce. It was quite good but the cake batter/pb swirl was the best so far.

Also, on Monday I went to charge my camera since the battery died at the party on Saturday and couldn't find it. After 2 hours of looking around the house and even in my car I gave up.

If you were a camera charger, where would you hide?

Last night, I had all intentions of running while I was at work but when I got home the congestion had set in and the weather was trying to be stormy. I decided to be a blob on the couch and take a nap instead of running. I also went to Walmart and got a new box fan, some frozen blocks of food to lunches and some fresh scented garbage bags b/c the monster box I got from Cost-co about 2 years ago had finally run out. :)
When I got home, I made a grilled cheese on Ezekiel bread with muenster and Gruyere cheeses and a salad. The salad had romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, feta, mexican cheese blend, ff italian dressing and a grilled Jenny-O turkey sausage. It was very delish and filling. I had to do two rounds with the salad to finish it off.

 While I was laying in bed, I broke down and was looking for a new camera charger on amazon. I found one with shipping for $4 and couldn't pass it up. I'm sure once I get the replacement the old one will magically reappear.

I have to present at group meeting tonight. Right now, I'm hoping to get some kind of a run in b/c I was notified by FedEx that my Mission Skincare products that I ordered had arrived. I'm excited to try the chub rub stuff and their lip balms. I will let you know what I think after I try them.


Do you use chub rub stuff when you run in shorts? I'm am not one of the blessed people to not have their thighs touch so I have had to buy shorts long enough so they don't get irritated.

Do you lose things, replace them and find the originals? I once lost a bottle of Pepto for the longest time that I give Heif when he has an upset tummy. I didn't replace it b/c I won't touch the stuff (blech) but ended up finding it in a really weird place. Crazy me!

Alcohol is the Devil

Could someone please tell my body that it is no longer 21 and can't recover from drinking like it used to?! Thanks!

On that note, here is what I did this weekend...

Friday: I went to lunch with Erin to Jimmy John's! It is waaaaay better than Subway, if you ask me. And they have GIANT pickles!

#12 with pickle!!!

I came home from work with a little headache, which turned into a lovely hormonal migraine. This translates to I spent the night on the couch smashing my head into a pillow so it would stop hurting. I could have taken one of my migraine pills but then would have to deal with not being able to feel my face from the muscle relaxer in it. I just don't like that feeling unless I'm dying, so I opted out. I did enjoy Friday Night Lights. I think it was the series finale which makes me sad b/c I don't know what else I can watch on Fridays at 8 when I'm being lame at home on the couch.

Saturday: I woke up early and still had a headache and decided on some Advil. Laura and I went to the Farmers' Market, where I bought apricots, cherries (bing and ranier), a scone and my lovely breakfast sandwich with egg, bacon and sausage. I walked around with Laura and her bandmate and hung posters for their show this Saturday that I won't be able to go to b/c I have a race and a baseball game in Spokane. :(  Then we went and wandered around Winco and got some goodies. I went home, put my food away and crashed on the couch.

I got up, showered and got ready for the party that the Frenchies were throwing as a Bastille Day party. I was taking baked brie and put it in the oven while I was  getting ready. I baked it with blackberry jam. It was melty delicious. We has all sorts of good food! Beef and chicken kebabs with peppers and onions, homemade pizza, watermelon, pineapple and cupcakes!!! On top of that, there was white and red sangria! I think I ate too much of the fruit but it was good!!

Kebabs to be grilled

Mel rocking out to my awesome DJ'ing tunes

Having fun!

I ended up having too much fun and instead of getting up and running off the calories as I had planned, ended up barfing them out instead! I don't care who you are...barfing is not fun. Whether you are sick from drinking of sick from the flu...NO FUN!!! I ended up sleeping on the bathroom floor for a while.

Sunday: I slept in my clothes for a while... I barfed some more. I changed into shorts and a tshirt. I slept on the couch for a while. I went and saw HP7.2 and felt better. I came home and actually ate 2 pieces of buttered toast. I was feeling good, so I ate 2 more and some greek yogurt to get some good bacteria back into my system. I watered the garden and then watched '4 weddings and a funeral'. I LOVE British movies! Maybe it's just b/c I like how they talk? Most likely. Then I got ready for bed and was out by 10:30.

Needless to say, I have learned my lesson for a while. I am not as young as I used to be. Barfing is not fun. Hangovers are not fun.

How was your weekend?

When was the last time you imbibed too much of the drink and it bit you back? Hopefully I'm not alone in this! :)

Fro yo's Anonymous

My name is Cortney and I am addicted to fro yo! Yes! I went again last night! This would make it the 3rd time this week! I tried a new combo and it was delicious! I had vanilla and strawberry lemonade yogurt with granola, strawberries, raspberries and marshmallow cream!!

This was my reward for completing my suck-tastic 4 mile run! I felt like I was pushing extra hard but was only really going my regular pace. I think I had a case of the "cement block legs". But I got it done and then ate my feelings in fro yo with Erin!

Then, I actually went home and had some dinner. I made a shredded bbq chicken wrap with a Laughing Cow blue cheese wedge spread on the tortilla and some peas and carrots! It was quite yummy. I sat and watched about a half hour of tv and then decided I was done for the night. I was in bed by 10:30. Wow! I'm getting old!

Tonight, I don't have anything fun planned but am hoping for a new episode of Friday Night Lights and maybe a new Dateline. I'll be up early tomorrow morning to go to the Farmers' Market with Laura and then I have a late Bastille Day BBQ with the Frenchies. I think I'm going to make baked brie to be all festive. 

Oh! I updated the "concerts" and "races" tabs b/c I have bought tickets or paid race entries or will pay race entries for these races. If you are in the Eastern WA area and plan on going to any of them, let me know! I'd love to meet up with you!

What fun plans do you have this weekend?

Here are some pictures of Heif with his new toy that I bought him! Hilarious!

I like to shake, shake it!!

Play with me!

Happy boy!

I'm so cute!!

Happy Anniversary/ Bastille Day!

First of all, I would like to wish a Happy 32nd Wedding Anniversary to my parents! Aren't they cute?!

 

Mom & Dad

Next, I would like to wish all of you Frenchies out there a Happy Bastille Day! Vive la revolution!
                                                 

Since I was MIA yesterday, here's what I've been up to...

Tuesday night I ended up going for my run. I decided on running to Laura's house and back b/c it's pretty flat and lessens my chance of inducing the loss of a lung. I made it to Laura's in 3 minutes less than I had last time! I sat and chatted and hydrated with her a while and decided to head back b/c it was threatening to rain. On my way back, I had just passed the 5 mile mark and I saw my Japanese Post-Doc walking home and decided that 5 miles was enough and walked with her b/c we live pretty close. I ended up walking about a mile home and only lost some partial lung along the way. I really am feeling better but sound like I've been smoking since I was 2. It's not good.

Last night after I left group meeting, I felt that I NEEDED some froyo! I didn't care if I had to go by myself but I was gonna get me some! Laura ended up being able to go with me. I decided on a cake batter/peanut butter swirl with chocolate chips, granola, strawberries, mango, raspberries and marshmallow sauce! It was even better than the first cup!!! When we were licking finishing our bowls, a hoard of children came in. I think some kind of summer camp was unleashed on the froyo shop b/c there were at least 30 kids in the not so big shop. Laura and I swiftly exited.

Then, I was on a mission to find a new handheld water bottle b/c the handle on my old one broke on my run Tuesday night. We started at the outdoorsy store, Tri-State, that I know carries Camelbak bottles. No luck but I did pick up a Race Rag to find out what's going on in the local racing world.

Then, we moved on the to mall b/c it was only 8, so we had an hour to exercise cruise around the mall. I ended up finding some cute clogs with cushy fuzz in the bottom for $20 and Laura got a pair of sneaks for $5. We next went to Ross b/c you never know what you're going to find in there. I didn't have any luck, but Laura found a few things.

On our way back to Pullman, I asked Laura if she needed anything at the Super Wallmarche and she did, so we went there before I took her home. And what did I find? But the handheld water bottle contraption that my Mom and Julia had told me that they had found. I was skeptical but was more than elated when I found it! I of course went with blue! I'm excited to try it tonight!!!

After wandering around for a while, we took our goods and I took Laura home. I didn't get home til 10:30 and technically didn't have any dinner but my froyo. I had a few bites of potato and macaroni salad and went to bed b/c I was pooped!

Then I woke up to it teeming down rain, so I had to take the bus to school. :( I really wanted to stay home and cuddle in bed with the Jack kitty b/c that's what he was doing when I left.

What is the weather like where you live? It's currently 59 and cloudy here this afternoon. I hope it keeps up b/c that sounds like awesome running weather to me!!

Any fun plans for tonight? I told my mom that she and dad have to do something fun for their anniversary tonight and I think she laughed at me! :) I'm going running! That's fun, right?!

It's gonna happen

I am running tonight!!! I was planning on running last night but was knocked down on the couch with a headache. So, instead of running I slept it off and then made dinner. I recreated this lovely dish b/c I was hungry for eggs. I wanted to do something fancier but ended up too lazy/tired to do fancy.

It did the trick and then I was fueled enough to watch my Monday night tv. I think I'm starting to hate this season of the B, but it's just like that train wreck that you can't walk away from! I know she's going to cry and the guys are going to get all huffy but I just can't help myself! I think I am looking forward to the Home Town dates to just new some new faces up in here!! I'm secretly hoping for some super scary jacked up family to go with a seemingly normal guy! Is that aweful?!

EMWLE just blew me away! It was all sorts of sad to watch Wally's struggle with food! I was all happy for him and rotting him on when he made his 3 month goal and got to go to Disney World b/c that is such a fun/awesome place!! As the show went on, I just felt sad and wanted to help the guy out! Then I was sad/mad at his wife for not being on his case all the time about where he was and what he was eating! You bet your rear if this was an addiction to drugs or alcohol that people would be all over him, but we will just sit back and watch him eat himself to death! CRAZY!!! I was glad when Chris stepped in at the end and took him to rehab b/c it was obvious that Wally needed more help than Chris or his wife could give him to beat these demons. 

Tonight, I'm planning on running to Laura's house and back, which is just under 6 miles. I think that is a good start to getting back on track b/c I feel better and am coughing less (it just sounds worse!). I will keep you posted! As far as I can tell, my girly bits aren't effecting me b/c it's that time. I'm hoping it doesn't since I only gett that time every 3 months. If you are super jelly and want to know how one pulls this feat off, email me and I will tell you what my Dr. told me. It's quite fascinating stuff!

What did you think about EMWLE? 

How is the weather where you are? It's only 76 here but feels super humid for here. I hope it doesn't aggravate my tummy while I'm running!

P.S. For all of your rock music lovers out there... I bought the new Theory of a Deadman album on iTunes today and am totally in love with it!!! They are my favorite all time band, so I am a little biased, but it's still really good! And the special edition version has 18 songs!!! Who does that?! :)

Fun was had by ALL!

Hello Everyone! I had a fun weekend and was sad to see it end when I woke up this morning and had an 8:00am appointment at the dentist. Boo! Let's get to the fun!

Friday: I was pretty lame tired from my early morning run experience and came home from work and chilled on the couch, watered my garden and sipped on honey/lemon tea all night to help soothe my cough. Friday Night Lights was pretty good! I just LOVE high school football games! And yet, I've never been to one in the 5 years I've lived in Pullman. Weird.

Saturday: This is where all of the fun began! It started with picking Laura up and going to the Farmer's Market and getting some apricots, cucumbers, and my lovely carbs! I ran into a few friends at the market too! I dropped Laura off and went home. I hung out my clothes to dry and then took a nap. I love the trees that are around my house b/c it's always so cool inside! I even had a blanket on for a little while!

I got motivated and took the clothes down, fed the dog, and went to get ready for the big show!! Laura's band, Jackson Blue, was playing their first bar gig! It was super exciting!! I even went all out as to curl my hair AND put hairspray in it! If you know me, you know I HATE hairspray. But the stuff I used smelled good and didn't make me feel like I should jump into the 80s. Here are a few pictures from the night.

It was a bit dark in there, so not the best pictures.

I had a great time and the band was as good as last time and even had some new songs!! I was tired but didn't get home til after 2am! I'm getting too old for this crap! But it was fun!

Sunday: I was a vegetable in my pjs on the couch til about 2 when I decided to put real clothes on and then I met Erin for some fro-yo at the new place in Moscow that just opened up that I have been waiting for months to do so!!

The Mothership has landed!!

There were about 12 different flavors to choose from and it was all self-serve and you paid by weight. There were little cups that you could taste the flavors before you decided on many one. I ended up with vanilla, peach and cake batter froyo with coconut, kiwi, mangoes and raspberries. All topped with marshmallow cream syrup! YUM!! I will be going back and can now join in the obsession with my fellow bloggers to the south!

3 froyo flavors topped with goodness!

Do you have a froyo place where you live? I think they are fairly new but I'm totally in love with the idea! I will be back!!

Congrats to all of those who raced this weekend. I was still coughy/congested and didn't feel like doing my 10 miles yesterday, so I rested on the couch instead and feel better today. I think it was a good choice!

I Don't Do Mornings!!!

Well, I did it!! I was up at 5:30 this morning to make an attempt at my first ever SUPER EARLY morning run. I was out on the road by 5:50 and ended up doing the little loop but thought I'd mix things up and go the opposite direction. I was good until about mile 2 and then a lung giggled loose and I was a coughing machine and slowed to a walk. It wasn't very good after that so I slowed it to a speedy walk the rest of the way home. I think the loop in this direction is harder but I was taking a hill in a different direction. Maybe it was just different.

Regardless, I have felt tired and sluggish all day. Maybe this will mean that I will fall asleep early and sleep like a rock? I can only hope!

Last night, I was planning on running when I got home but the skies looked like rain and then I fell asleep on the couch. When I woke up, I convinced myself that I was destined to have to get up in the morning and do it then. When I got off the couch, I made my delicious chicken and vegetable medley that I made before but this time I added red potatoes and zucchini from the Farmers' Market that I needed to use up and fresh Rosemary from my garden!! It ended up being a whole lot of food and took 45 min at 400 degrees to cook! But now I have eats for the weekend and a good thing too since Payday isn't til Monday (::insert poor Grad student comment here::)

The Goods with added ingredients.

Heif drooling over my dinner -- the flash went all weird

Thursday has turned into a pretty lame night as far as tv watching goes. I might have to start renting from the RedBox to amuse myself or just go to bed at 9 when SYTYCD is over. I do only have 20 channels, so it's not like I can watch any of the cool shows like Hoarders or Extreme Couponing at home! :)

What do you watch on Thursday Nights?

Rented anything good from the RedBox lately?

What are your plans for the weekend? I'm going to the Farmers' Market with Laura and then watching her band perform in a local bar *WEEEEEEE* on Saturday. On Sunday, I'm hoping to get 10 miles in depending on how my coughing situation is going. Someone suggested it might be allergies since it's been going on for 10 days now. So, I might try allergy meds and see if that does anything. If not, I think I'm headed to the University Clinic on Monday. Run or no run, I'm planning on "Bake Attempt #2" for Sunday afternoon. I will be more stealthy with my sunscreen application this time!

If anyone likes Mission Skincare products, Schwaggle from Active.com is having a deal for $25 for $50 worth of products and then you qualify for free shipping! You can find the deal HERE. If you take up on it too, let me know! If the link doesn't work, I can fwd you the email.

Have you ever used Mission Skincare products before? Skinnyrunner had recommended them to me, so they can't be bad! ;)

Surprise!!!

Yesterday was pretty boring and normal as far as Wednesdays go. I had group meeting until about 6:30 and then had to hurry home, let Heif out, change my shoes and grab some munchies and out the door.

I was on my way to my boss' daughter's house because she was throwing him a surprise birthday party!

We all got there before he did and parked around the corner so he couldn't see the cars. She called him and told her that she had locked herself out of the car and he came right over to help!

We were all hiding when he came in the house and then SURPRISE!!!

We definitely got him because no one said anything at school. It was a good surprise!

It was a potluck event and I was lazy and took a bag of Doritos than never got opened. There was salad, 2 types of pasta salad, meatloaf, stuffed peppers and cherry pie and ice cream for dessert.

Here's the birthday boy wearing his gift. Just to note: his mustache is older than me and is quite famous in our little part of the nerd world.

I got home about 9:30, fed Heif and was exhausted by 10. I asked Heif if he was ready for bed and he jumped up, so off to bed it was! I was in bed by 10:30 and then of course I couldn't fall asleep!! I'm thinking if this running in the morning this is going to happen, I'm definitely going to have to go to bed earlier which means saying goodbye to my 10pm tv shows. Except the EMWLE!!! I won't give that up!! I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Also, I would like to wish my Aunt/Fairy Godmother Bev a very Happy Birthday today!!! :D