Random Rambling 006 - Fitness Editions

01::  So, I have these diamond studs that I wear during my runs.  It's my little way of trying to look cute while running {Trust me, I am not cute when I run, I'm a hot mess}.  Somehow, I have managed to loose them this week, and I'm so sad. {I'll be headed to Charming Charlie to buy another pair - and maybe a few more things - soon!!}

02::  On Wednesday, hubs practically dragged me out the door to go for our run.  Seriously, I did NOT want to go and had all of my excuses lined up.  I'm tired.  The house is messy.  I just want to be home - we haven't been home all week.  Ten minutes into the run, I was so thankful that man made me do it.  It was one of the best runs we've had recently - even with the speed work.

03:: Success really is just doing it. It doesn't matter if it's only for ten minutes, or if it's slow, or if you look like a hot mess.  I'm thankful for the small successes.

 

04:: Last week when we ran our intervals, this man cheered us on from his front porch.  His encouragement surprised me at first, and I wondered if he was making fun of me.  But, he wasn't.  It was exactly what I needed to keep sprinting through that first set.

05::  I am so humbled and honored by friends who have recently said my ridiculous instagram pictures have inspired them.  Your words keep me motivated and mean the world to me.  Thank you!

{P.S. Don't forget about the make-up offer my friend Laura Sue is offering us!}

Random Ramblings 005

01::  Hubs and I have been staying up way too late every night watching the Olympics, and we're pretty sad that it's over.  I loved watching the games with him and being amazed at how fast and skilled these athletes are.  It's been inspiring to watch Mo Farah, Missy Franklin, the Fab 5 and Kirani James {first medal for Granada!} win the gold. It kills me when they show the athletes' parents cheering for their kids.  And has anyone else noticed how good the commercials are?

02:: Apparently the Olympics inspired Mike and me to start running again.  Tuesdays, Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays we run 2-3 miles after work {in the hot, hot sun}. Glad to have exercise in our lives again.  Hubs gave me a Timex sports watch for our anniversary so that I can keep track of my running times - it totally motivates me to push myself on our runs.   

03::  I am loving this new basecoat called "Sticky" from CND.  My friend Paige suggested I get some after complaining that my nails were chipping the day after I painted them.  Seriously, this stuff works.  It keeps nail polish on my nails for a week plus!

04::  I've been thinking about taking a break from facebook or completely disabling my account. What do you think? I think it's more of a time-waster for me these days than anything else.  At the same time, it would be hard since we are far away from so many friends and family, and I love being able to see their pictures and updates.

05::  We bought a new dresser {well, new to us} last Sunday night.  I was so proud of hubs.  He was spontaneous with me and jumped in the car after seeing a post on Craig's List.  Now, I'm itching to redecorate our bedroom.  I'm sure I'll post more details about it soon.  :)

What was your favorite Olympic event?  I loved watching the runners, but diving was my favorite.  Since we don't have cable, Hubs was bummed because he couldn't watch the less popular sports {table tennis, kayaking, basketball}.

Random Ramblings 004

Source: imgfave.com via LeAnne on Pinterest

Hello! It's been a while, huh? How have you been? Me? I'm fine...good, even. It's hard to think of where to start since I've been absent for so long. Hope you can enjoy my crazy rambles and a quick update.

01: It's National Volunteer Recognition Week - the biggest week of the year for my department. I mentioned in a previous post that I work with volunteers at a hospital. Every day this week, I {along with my incredible colleagues} have hosted a lunch for 200+ volunteers and hospital staff, nurses, doctors, and executives to thank them for their service. It's been an amazing time {and quite exhausting} to interact with our volunteers who really are changing lives.

02: This week, right before one of our Volunteer Appreciation lunches started, the heel on my pump broke. This is the second pair of heels in the last week that I've managed to break. It's a bummer. Thank goodness I brought a pair of flats to work with me. I mean, who can stand in heels all day long? Not this girl. I've always been rough on my shoes - even as a little girl. Hubs asked me this weekend {before this week's shoe disaster} if there were such a thing as shoe insurance. This is why we have more than one pair of black pumps, right ladies? At least I get to go shoe shopping soon {if I could only get the pumps in the picture}!

03: Mike's parents came to visit earlier this month during my MIL's Spring Break. It was really great spending the week together! While they were here we went to the Los Angeles Zoo {our first visit}, ate at the Oinkster, introduced the fam to Porto's {a local restaurant and bakery with the best pastries ever}, and planned our Wild West Family vacation {more on this later}.

04: We took a trip to Ikea on Saturday to buy a much needed bookcase {plus a few other things}. This week has been so crazy for us that we haven't had a chance to put the thing together. Once it's up, I'm sure I'll share pictures {I have lots of homey things to update y'all on}.

05: Have I already talked about how much I love our Life Group? Earlier this year our group had to split in half because there were just too many of us in one group. We now are part of a group of 5 couples {including us} - plus 6 kiddos - who meet for dinner and Bible study every Friday night. It's been a really great experience, and I've loved figuring out how to do life together {it's still a work in progress}.

What have you been up to lately? Do you have any shoe disaster stories?

Random Ramblings 03

{My niece showing me a picture of a dog in Real Simple. She loved looking at all the pictures in that magazine. It's a sign that it's every girl's favorite!}

01:: We got to Skype with my parents on Thanksgiving day. It was the first time in months we’ve talked on Skype, and it was good to see them {even if it was through a computer screen}.

02:: I make these pumpkin cookies a couple of times to help me get in the Fall/Thanksgiving spirit. They were pretty good and much, much easier than the homemade version I made last Fall.

03:: Over Thanksgiving our sweet niece, Grace, started doing these double fist pumps when she really likes something. It’s completely amazing to see this little person with so much enthusiasm for life.

04:: I finished watching Brothers & Sisters this week. I started watching the show in July – shortly after we moved. It was my escape on particularly hard job-search days. {A cable line has never been installed in our apartment building and Fuller housing doesn’t allow you to install a dish so we have Netflix, hulu & an antenna to get by. It works for us – although I sure miss HGTV and hubs misses ESPN.}

05:: For the past four or five years, I have hosted an ornament exchange brunch over the Christmas holiday with my friends in Athens. I haven’t been able to decide whether or not to have one this year – new friends, new schedule….just not sure it would be the same. What do you think I should do?

06:: My most amazing husband went grocery shopping with me tonight. I HATE going to the grocery store by myself {or at all, for that matter}. It’s these little ways he loves me that makes him the best.

07:: I still haven’t switched over my summer clothes yet. It is finally getting chilly here, and my closet needs my warm clothes and some major reorganization.

08:: I bought myself a Coach purse on Saturday {from the outlet store at a deeply discounted price}. This summer I told myself that once I got a job my reward would be a new Coach purse. This is my first Coach bag, and I really like it. I have to admit that I’m feeling a bit of guilt about spending more money than usual on said gift {no time to go into all those thoughts right now}.

09:: I recently posted pictures to Facebook and realized how much K&G have been part of the past 6 months! What a blessing they are to us. We’re so thankful that we’ve gotten to grow our friendship with them, which is part of why we chose to move here.

10:: Hubs and I started a new running routine last Monday. We hit the road on Mondays and Wednesdays as soon as I get home from work for a quick run. I’m excited that we’re finally fitting exercise into our regular schedule. Since it’s getting a bit cooler outside, I’m definitely going to need some warmer running clothes {hint, hint}. :)

11:: To help with my commute to work, I’ve started listening to audio books. Last Monday I started Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and am enjoying it so far. Yesterday I finished loading all of the CDs onto my computer to sync with my iphone and realized that I completely skipped disc 3 – over 10% of the book! Only I would do something like this…

Random Ramblings 02

01:: On Friday, we went to the Gymdogs meet with the newly wedded Price's. Thanks for the invite, friends! It's been super fun hanging out with them recently. It was hubs' first time at a Gymdogs meet {they're a big deal at UGA}, and it was fun to get to go with him. The Gymdogs hosted a "Pink-Out" {hence, our pink shirts} to raise awareness for breast cancer month.

02:: I made Broccoli soup for the first time today {thinking about posting the recipe later this week}. When I started the roux, I noticed it was WAY too thick, but I couldn't figure out what the problem was. The recipe is one of Mike's from the year he worked at Bear Trap Ranch. I decided to half it since it was intended to make 12 servings....but, I didn't half the flour for the roux. Oopsy. We now have A LOT of leftover soup.

03:: If you're a follower of this blog, you've probably already read that hubs and I are keeping to a cash budget. The most difficult envelope to maintain is our grocery envelope. BUT, I feel beyond successful because we kept to our allocated amount this month!!

04:: Hubs and I both got new running shoes from a new Running store in Athens last weekend. We went to Athens Running Company and loved it because they evaluate the way you run and fit your foot to the best kind of shoe. {Hooray for more motivation to run!} We spent a little more than what we would have normally done on athletic shoes, but we had some leftover Christmas money. If you're in the area, you should check them out.

05:: We have the most fashionable college ladies at our church. It's fun to keep up with see the newest fashions each season. I have to keep myself in check that I don't have to have the coolest clothes to go to church.

06:: I got to catch up with 3 of my closest friends on the phone last week, which was super fab. It was especially great to talk to Paige in Savannah. She is a newly licensed esthetician, and I'm MONDO excited for her new business. She's going to be great, friends.

Why, oh why, are the weekends never long enough? I am learning that I can't fit in everything I want/need to do, especially if I want to be sane by Monday. Now back to the Oscar's...

Random Ramblings 01

01: I got this fantastic new watch last week, which I totally love - it's white (!!), but I keep forgetting that I'm wearing it and keep looking at the wall clock for the time. Hopefully I'll get used to it soon.

02: Over Christmas I watched The Godfather for the first time with hubs, my father-in-law, and Greg, my brother-in-law. Greg got the trilogy for Christmas. Loved it.

03: I'm absolutely in love with The Feist station on Pandora.

04. Another fav is an OPI nail polish my mom traded with me, You don't know Jacques. Thanks again, Mom! I wore it for two weeks straight...thinking about putting it back on. :)

05. I'm trying really, really hard to stay ahead on my house-work, but it's just SO hard...and it's just the two of us! {UGH!!} I think I need some better strategies for keeping the house clean or to stay ahead of it. It sounds ridiculous, but I've been making a conscientious effort to put things away, right away.
06. We went to Willy's yesterday for lunch...it's been months and months since I've been there. Oh green salsa, how I have missed you! And, they have this super cool Coke machine with a touch screen. There are 106 possible drink options.