Back in the Saddle Again

In case you don't know, I spent the long weekend away from the blog as well as away from my home - in Georgia.

I also spent the long weekend enjoying the luxuries of delicious food and a semi-sedentary lifestyle.

Literally.

I went for 1 run while I was there, and it was so hot/humid that I crapped out at 2.5 miles. I was going for 3, but when I checked runkeeper at 2.32 miles, I accidently hit the stop button and decided that was a sign. I ran the rest of the way back to the house, which I am assuming was at least 1/4 mi. so I rounded it off at 2.5 and I'm pretty sure I wasn't running any faster than my 9:59 pace in that last 1/4 mile, so my pace would have been about a 10 minute pace the whole time.

Boy, am I losing ground or what?

A disgusting amount of sweat was pouring from my supposedly in-shape body. I was literally dripping. Gross, I know.

But so is this heat and humidity.
And I am really just a fair weather runner.

I have yet to weigh myself since I got home because I can only assume that I am back in the 40's again. 

Heck, with the way I ate this weekend, I could be back in the 50's!

And that's just depressing considering the fact that I was already playing the part of the chubby friend all weekend long.

But it would be hard not to, when this is who you are hanging out with.

I love Kathy, and if it weren't for the fact that I have worked so hard to look this way and Kathy has seen me at about 30 lbs. worse, I would have hid in my room all weekend long.

Luckily, she loves me for my personality and not my skinny thighs.

And I love her because she loves food and Housewives of New Jersey almost as much as I do.

So yes, despite my role as the chubby friend, I did allow myself to be swayed by the temptation of edible delights multiple times over the long weekend.
And it all started because of this guy....

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You should know, if you don't already, that I am a huge Richard Blais fan.

And when I realized that I was going to be within an hour of one of his restaurants (actually 2 of them), I begged Techy to take me.

So he did.

Flip Burger...Here we come!

And here's how it started...

The turkey burger with onion rings. (I know.  What's the point of a turkey burger if you are going to have onion rings.  BUT.  I happened to really want everything this burger had to offer.  Turkey included.  And it was so delish that I didn't even notice the distinct lack of red meat.)

What they say is true.

The onion rings really do melt in your mouth.

But then came dessert.

And seriously, nothing captures sandwich shop (other than a sandwich) like a milkshake.

All made with liquid nitrogen, I'm sure.

Techy had the ever famous Cap'n Crunch shake. 

I know.  I thought the same thing.

Then I tried it.

And died from pure enjoyment.

But not before devouring my burnt marshmallow and nutella shake (Taryn, I totally thought about you and your love for all things nutella.  Also, did you know this is my first experience with Nutella ever?  Won't be my last, that's for sure!)

As if that wasn't enough, the next day Techy and I headed out to the Original Pancake House in Atlanta.

Their pancakes are monstrous and their omelettes are approximately the size of a smart car. 

No.  Seriously.

There had to be about 40 eggs in my omelette.

Techy had their peach pancakes.

MASSIVE.

But, of course, I have no pictures of them.

Then there was cookout # 1 and cookout # 2.

One involved healthy food, which I ate too much of.

One involved unhealthy food, which I ate too much of.

Follow all that up with only one workout and poor sleeping habits and you have one useless, lazy, jelly-belly me on your hands.

Techy is such a lucky boy.

At the end of the day, though, I came home more resolved than ever to whip myself back into shape as soon as possible. 

Because I am tired of being the chubby friend who has totally crapped out over the last few weeks and is totally using the heat as my excuse.  I am even considering doing something that I actually DESPISE the thought of - those wretched Insanity workouts.  But only because Ceej has had such amazing results from them.

Therefore, if any of you are just looking for an excuse to toss your vomit inducing Insanity dvd's - email me and I will totally give you my credit card number to ship them to me.

Cause I'm tired of being the fat girl.

Did I say that already?

Cause I really mean it.

Really, really.

But I don't wanna quit eating. 

Obviously.

Which is why I have chosen the Insanity workouts. 

I figure it will help me learn to choose what food I actually want to keep down versus what food I just wanna taste before I workout and it all comes back up.

My Honest Opinion: iPad edition

I've had my iPad for more than a year now.

Techy, randomly, got it for me for my birthday last year.

And my life has never been the same.

Here's the deets of the model I got.

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It's the original iPad.

It's 16 GB.

It's wi-fi only - not 3G.

Alot of concerns that I have heard are relative to the on-screen keyboard.

And here's the deal.

If you want to blog full time via your tablet...

The iPad is not for you.

If you want to cruise around the internet, poking people here and tweeting there...

It's so for you.

If you want to check your email on the go.

It's for you.

If you want to carry around a portable movie player to entertain your child on long car rides or flights...

The iPad is for you.

If you want to stream Netflix movies where ever you may be...

You'll enjoy an iPad.

If you are planning to write a novel on your iPad...

Think again.

If you want to log your workouts.

You'll appreciate the iPad.

If you want to download something called a "Fart Piano" and use it to scare your in-flight seat partners...

The iPad just MADE your flight.

If you want to play Words With Friends like a super beast all the time.

The iPad is really gonna make you smile.

If you wanna download free Kindle books...

Guess what?

The iPad is great for that.

If you want to download Nook books.

You can do that too.

If you want to make your kid jump, turn around in circles and stand on his hind legs...

The iPad could probably make that happen.

So recap.

I love my iPad.

I use it all the time.

I don't necessarily enjoy typing on it, but they make a solution for that....

And here's where it gets real honest:  I HAVE NOTHING TO COMPARE IT TO.

So I can't say that it's the end all, be all of modern technology.

Techy insists that the Android platform is about to take over the world.

But for now, I am totally happy with my iPad.

Helpful How-To: Kissing Balls

Get your mind of the gutter....

I happen to be talking about the cutest little decorations ever.

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And the flowers are just one example.

I've seen them made out of everything from moss

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To sea shells

Be Still My Little Heart!!!

And since I have nothing but endless weddings in my future this summer....

And wedding decor happens to be on my mind.

And I may have, at one time, offered to help decorate for someone's wedding....

I decided to try my hand at them.

Only my take is a little different.

And a little more "green" than some of the other options out there.

Let's just go with it, k?

Let me think I am being green by ripping the pages from an old book and punching round shapes out of them, k?

Here's the result of that effort.

A pile of eco-friendly old book pages....

And yes, I needed one of these. 

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But at least I am not using plastic flowers AND a styrofoam ball, right?

And then my hot glue gun.

Next thing you know, I had this.

And since this is a helpful how to...

Let me tell you HOW TO....

Step one, pinch - DO NOT FOLD - your paper circle in half.

Step 2, pinch - DO NOT FOLD - your half circle in half. 

(Folding makes the paper lay flat.  And the one thing you want the paper to do is NOT BE FLAT.  Think of it like Dolly Parton's hair. Fluff is where it's at.)

Now you have a fluffy quarter circle. 

Add some glue to the pointy end of your "fluffy quarter circles" (don't you love how I create new names for this stuff?) to hold it together and then glue the pointy end of your "fluffy quarter circles" to the styrofoam ball.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

Until your ball is covered.

Glue a little ribbon in the top.

And hang.

(I added a couple dabs of color here and there by adding in a little fabric, but it wasn't necessary.)

And ta-da!

You're Done!

When the Lights Go Off

It's hard for me to believe that we are quickly approaching the end of another month.

Where has the time gone!? 

So much has happened over the last month.

Not the least of which were my races. 

My last one having been a week ago on Sunday.

Meaning last week was largely a rest week as far as running goes.

(Is that a lame excuse or what?!)

I only ran once last week.

And it was nothing spectacular.

Well, I mean, for a 2 mile run...not so incredible. 

But other than that, I stuck to my elliptical last week.

(No wonder I am not losing weight, right?)

But on the upside, the pictures came back from our race.

Exciting huh?

Just nod your head and say yes...

You wanna see them right?

Again, a head nod works....

So here goes.

Me.  Starting the race.

Note: I am not texting in this picture.

Nor was I in this picture (yellow circle, people)...

Credit: thankyouverymuch, AMBER!!

Despite what the lady (in the red circle) with the microphone thought. 

It's called RUNKEEPER, lady.  RUNKEEPER....

And now...

Me.  During the race.

Lovely, Just LOVELY. 

That's what I get for striking a pose, huh?

Now.  Let's take a look at my Teammates shall we?

Just to see what kind of horrificness the camera captured for them...

Here's Katie...

What?  No horribleness?! 

Only adorableness? 

Totally not fair!

And Dave....

Intense. 

Distinctly-not-goofy intense, though.

And, I mean, his eyes are open....

I think these photographers are plotting against me....

There's always hope though...

My last teammate may have looked in some way bizarre as well...

Kearstin...

Nope. 

No scary-face here.

Just more intensity.

And yes, open eyes.

Not in any way bizarre, scary, or reminiscent of a sleep-walking-and-possibly-drunk-Aunt-Myrtle like other people we know....

I hate photographers....

But just as a little redemptive notation...

Here are some of the pics from my half...

Both are finish line shots.

And sure, the headphones don't help anything, but at least my eyes were open...

The Romance is Dead. I killed it with my fire-breath.

I love my husband.

As a general rule, my husband is the most good-natured, complimentary (when you ask him), loving soul you've ever met.

However, he is also ruthlessly honest at times.

It is my objective plea that when the honest seasons hit, he should really be wearing a "Brutally Honest" button at all times.

Yes, this is leading somewhere.

So we all know that last week, I joined "Team Peeta"*, right? 

After my slow descent back into reality from Hunger Games, I realized how lucky I am to be married to such a loving, romantic dude.

So Peeta-like, this one.

When he wants to be....

Saturday night, I snuggled up to him and asked him if he wanted to kiss me.

He may or may not have responded with something about how I had bad breath.

Undaunted, I went upstairs and rinsed my mouth out with Listerine.

Because my loving, romantic husband would surely not be able to resist me now.

After all, Peeta kissed Katniss goodness knows how many times while they were out in the wilderness without a toothbrush to their names. 

And when I came downstairs and asked for a kiss he said, "Um, now you have fire breath."

When I asked what that meant he said, "You know...bad breath WITH Listerine.  Fire.  Eww..."

But he kissed me anyway.

Because there is no other way to recover from telling your wife that she has fire breath.

Especially if you want to have more children.

*Just read the Hunger Games, already.  Duh.

A Quick Breath

It's Monday morning.

After an extremely busy weekend.

And one heck of a tough week last week.

And I probably should be rested after the "weekend"...

But I'm not.

Even worse?

I'm gearing up for the week ahead.

That is already filled before I even have time to think about it.

The things I have to do this week go a little something like this:

Monday PM: Dinner, Bathe Little Man, Workout, Prep for Yard Sale
Tuesday PM: Dinner, Running, Prep for Yardsale
Wednesday PM: Dinner, Bathe Little Man, Workout, Laundry, Pack
Thursday PM: Travel
Friday All Day: Techy works while Little Man and I hang with our Georgia Peeps
Saturday All Day: Techy works while Little Man and I hang with our Georgia Peeps
Sunday All Day: Techy works while Little Man and I hang with our Georgia Peeps
Monday All Day: Travel, Unpack, do Laundry, Cry-beg-pitch-a-temper-tantrum-because-I've-yet-to-have-a-nap-and-I'm-so-stressed-from-travelling-with-a-toddler-I-need-either-a-2-year-nap-or-a-gallon-of-xanax.

And at some point during all that jazz, I have to squeeze in time to wax my whatchamacallit since there's a good chance I'll be in a bathing suit at our Georgia peep's house....

I think I may be slipping over the edge...

Last night, I drew a warm bath and snuggled down under the suds hoping to wash away the stress in those last few moments of my weekend.

It didn't work.

It may have helped - I am not in a full on panic attack now, but...

It's so hard to get down to any real living between the working hours and the sleeping hours.

Or in the case of this week, it's going to be all but impossible, since the work won't quit until my head hits the pillow.

Not that I don't enjoy all of these things.... (well, except maybe laundry.  and packing.  and travelling with a toddler...but the rest are totally enjoyable, right?  Especially waxing a whatchamacallit...)

So in the meantime, here's to taking a deep breath and just getting through.....

Breathe in, breathe out...

This, most certainly, leads me to my next post so stay tuned....

Weekly Weigh-In #26: Stale Mate

I know, I know.

It's been 2 weeks since I posted anything about my weight...

So much for the whole "weekly" thing, right?

But 2 weeks ago, I was sitting at 138.4.

Which is of course, 1.4 up from my goal weight.

And 2.2 up from my lowest weight to date, which was a whole month and 1/2 ago....

And truthfully, with all my running you would think I would be dropping weight like crazy.

However,  this is where we are at....

In the last 2 weeks, I haven't lost anything. 

But on the flip side, I haven't gained anything (or what I gained, I've lost...).

Am I happy?

Eh.

Not thrilled.

Am I upset?

Eh.

Not really.

I am eating healthy.

I am maintaining a somewhat consistent weight.

I am obviously in overall good health.

There are some glitches with the thyroid going on.

But obviously, it isn't blowing anything completely out of proportion yet.

So overall, I am ok with where I am.

I just wish that I could get rid of some of the extra skin/cellulite/jiggle.

But that's probably just a direct result of catching up on all the Housewives after finally finishing Hunger Games.

Everyone is having work done. 

But I digress....

Synopsis:  I weigh 138.4.

I want to weigh less.

But I am still smaller than I was, so I am ok with it.

Or at least ok enough that my desire for food wins over emaciation 99% of the time.

And with the bigger picture, I am FAR smaller than I was a year ago.

AND I can keep a decent pace for 6.55 miles in a race.

Even if I do have a jiggly belly.

Old Mother Hubbard

Remember this kid?

Who turned into this kid?

And then this one...

Then this one.

And yes, even this kid...

And let's never forget this one...

Or this one...

Or this one...

And more recently, he's been morphing into something completely different.

Like this.

   And this...

And finally, this...

I can't say the kid hasn't stolen my heart.

He has.

All of it.

But he's also stealing my food.

Not quite as endearing.

And to be honest, I don't know how I am ever going to survive the "bottomless pit days" (as my mom fondly termed my brother's teen years) if this is our starting point.

My Honest Opinion: The Hunger Games

"Why would I waste my time blogging when I could be reading?"

The words that have been going through my head repeatedly for the last week.

Actually more like "Why would I waste my time eating, sleeping, running, cooking, showering, watching Real Housewives of New Jersey...when I could be reading?"

After a week of reading, I finished the last book of the series last night at 11:30.

We all know I have a problem when it comes to good books, right???

These are more amazing than anyone could have even come close to telling me.

Although, I would have to say that I have not been breathing normally since last Thursday.

And I have started doing things very uncharacteristic of me.

Like snuggling.

I am not a snuggler.

Techy is.

I have been snuggling.

He is confused but very, very happy.

And despite my crazed obsession, is not complaining when I said I will definitely be reading through them again.

So yeah. 

Hunger Games?

Worth your time.

May cause panic attacks.

And may make you want to do things extremely out of character for you, like kiss your spouse with no naughty intentions, or snuggle for no apparent reason. 

Or call your sister at midnight just to say you love her. 

Or hug your toddler extra tight.

Or make your husband leave at least one section of your yard full of dandelions.

But yes.

Well worth your time. 

And that's my honest opinion!

On Strike

In case you aren't my biggest fan on Facebook and don't stalk me like crazy...

I started the Hunger Games series this past weekend.

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And life as I know it is drastically changed.

I am too busy worrying about Katniss and Peeta and Haymitch and Gale to be able to see straight. 

Yesterday, my sister texted me to ask me why in the world I had stopped playing Words with Friends with her.

And why I wasn't answering my emails.

Um, yeah. 

A little absorbed.

Shocking, right?

Me getting sucked into a book?

Never.

Not the girl who wrote this in protest to Stephanie Meyers having not yet completed Midnight Sun.

Yeah.

Oops!

Wanna know how bad it is?

So bad that I totally skipped the season kick-off of Housewives of New Jersey...pretty much my entertainment lifeline of the summer.

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And I skipped it without even a twinge of regret.

Of course, I had to get up early this morning and watch it while I was getting ready.

Just so I can be prepared for all the water cooler conversations that are sure to ensue.

And for the record, a little torn on the new girls.

Not sure if I love them or hate them.

But one thing will always be sure.

Albie...makes a girl smile.

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And the Hunger Games? 

Pretty much worth your time.

Just beware of the black hole that you will most definitely be sucked into once you start.

Don't say I didn't warn you!

Delaware Marathon Relay - "Catching" the Competition

I am so bad with titles.

I am also bad with blogging.

Don't let that keep you from reading, k?

This weekend I ran in the Delaware Marathon Festival.

I ran the relay portion and I ran with some pretty awesome people. 

Ever heard of Dealcatcher.com?

Oddly enough, we had never met before Saturday, but I knew I would like them.

And I did.

You know, except for the fact that no one sent me the memo about wearing a hat.

Nice.

I'm trying not to bitter.

JK.  OBVIOUSLY.

They were awesome! 

And we totally looked legit with our awesome shirts.

Race day started out like any other.  EARLY.

I was up at 5 am. 

So was Little Man.

Who NEVER wakes up that early.

Except for the one day that I don't have time to do anything about it.

Oh well.  It didn't take long for him to figure out that he likes sleeping a whole lot more than crying.

I was out the door by 6 AM, after reassuring myself that I did, in fact, know where I was going. 

By 6:30 I was parked and standing in the longest portapotty line I have seen since my days with the travelling circus.

Oh.  Wait.  That wasn't me.

Ok, so since my days Civil War Reenacting.

That's legit.

There had to be 200 people in line for the john's.

But I ran into this girl...

(ugh. I have to remind myself that my face is too round for this do!)

So it's all good. 

And by the time I was done with my business, it was time to head over to the starting line.

I was running the first leg of the relay for our team.

And start time was 7:05 a.m. 

Being the dutiful runner that I am, I was at the start line at 7:03 ready to go....

Yes.

It was a lovely day.

No sunshine.

Perfect for a run.

If you ask me, anyway.

And then we were off!

Not, of course, without me getting yelled at by the announcer for "texting" while I was trying to get across the starting line.

Obviously, she doesn't know what Runkeeper is.  And technically, I probably shouldn't try to tell her since that can be frowned upon in these types of situations.

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It was easily one of the wettest runs of my life.

Oh, wait, did I mention that we were running through some of the thickest fog we've had in months?

Or the fact that it rained buckets and buckets the night before?

Which means nothing until I tell you that I jumped right into a puddle within the first quarter of a mile.

Again, this means nothing to you until you have to run 6.3 miles in soaking wet sneakers and socks.

But really, I can't complain...

I mean, it didn't rain on me.

And our course was spectacular.

Before long city streets gave way to the Brandywine Park, which is gorgeous. 

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I have to say, though, in the fog and with the smells coming from the Brandywine Zoo, there were moments were I started looking for this guy behind me.

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(Truthfully, between the fog and my sweat, I probably looked a little like her at this point, too.)

But before I could get too serious about my concerns we were past the zoo.

And then the hills....

Oh the hills. 

The last 2 miles of the race was all uphill, downhill, up another giant hill, down, up a MOUNTAIN then down.

But then it was over.

Or my part was over. 

And my goal of staying at a 9:30 or less was accomplished.

This is a total PR for this distance.

Not bad, all things considered.

Success is sweet.

But not as sweet as getting to hang around watching your team mates finish while you eat free food and do nothing.

But what's next? 

I have no races on my horizon right now and I feel a little weird about that.

Like lost.

Kinda like Kermit and the Muppet Babies must feel these days.

Like "It was a good run, but now what?"

Maybe more like Alf....

But you get it.

Lost.

So many unknowns keep me from being able to plan for "next".

So for now, I will probably be spending my summer running for the fun of it.

And I guess I am ok with that.

Overall, I am most definitely ok with finishing on this high note.

(that's what she said)

My Honest Opinion: Pack Rat Portable Storage

In my little pea brained mind, it's extremely difficult for me to comprehend the fact that this will be the 3rd summer we have spent in this house.


Seriously?

Where does the time go?

But I counted and sure enough...

There was Summer #1...

Summer of the firepit...


Also known to other members of our household (i.e., ME) as "the summer I grew a shelf for my arms"...

And then there was Summer #2

 
Summer of CUTENESS...


Look at that adorable baby!

Ugh.

I think my uterus just skipped a beat....

Is that possible?

And now Summer #3

The summer of Pop-pop's Pool....

But before any of that...there was this summer.

The summer where Techy and I sold our house (for sale by owner) in 14 days.


Which also meant the summer of dealing with mortgage companies, attorneys, real estate agents (for the purchase of our current home), and yes...packing for a big move.

Even though this house was a tiny house, Techy and I still had plenty to pack.

And because the house we were buying was a short sale, there was a very good chance that we would not have a home to move into for several weeks after we closed on the sale of our little place.

Ah, the joys of real estate.

But what this meant to us was that we would be in major need of storage.

We threw around our options.

There was always the idea of going with a month to month rental unit....

And renting a truck.

But have I mentioned how I enjoy being lazy?

If I am going to pay an extra $60/$70 a month for storage, why pay the extra moolah plus gas to drive it there!?

My first idea was PODS.


But the price was astronomical.*

I think it was well over $120/month.

We would rather have saved the extra $ and put our stuff in a storage unit in Albuquerque a with my truck than cash out that much on storage per month.

And then one day, I was driving home from work and passed this guy...

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Within a few hours, we called their number, got a quote, and an arrival date for our Pack Rat.


That's right.

We like spur of the moment, under pressure decisions.

But only because Pack Rat offered monthly storage that was comparable with our local storage unit, only they included delivery, pick-up, and final destination delivery for no extra fee.

I think all in all, a local storage unit would have been somewhere in the ball park of $70/month and Pack-Rat was $80.

Um, where do I sign?!?!?!

We literally had it sitting here by the weekend.

Right in Techy's parking spot...


And we started packing. at leisure.

It was delivered about a month before our settlement date and we literally would come home and pack when we had free time.

Then, on settlement day, while the house was still ours, they trekked over to pick it up and take it to their warehouse.

Where it was stored, indoors.

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You know, where everything stays clean and dry?


Plus, you provide your own lock, so that no one else has access to your stuff.

However, if you should need something out of your compartment, a quick call and visit to their warehouse, and they will bring your container to a holding area in their warehouse so you can get what you need out.

Then on delivery day, all we had to do was make a quick phone call and they were sitting in our new driveway with the container for us to unpack as time allowed.

Again, all of this was included in our month to month fee.

And it was worth every penny.

Considering there was an overlap of about 4 weeks that we were "homeless" or "between homes", this was the best option available to us.

And looking back, we would definitely consider 1-800-Packrat for any future moves.


Although, Techy insists we are never moving.

Ever.

Remember that firepit?

Apparently, to the Techmeister, that was the same as putting a wedding band on our house.

It was the "till death to us part" that he gave our home.

Go figure.

*Obviously, astronomical is an extremely relative term around here....