Post 13.1

We finished! 2:21:46. And I can honestly say that I never really thought I was going to run it. But I did. We did. Mike was by my side the whole time. Love him. Have I suddenly become a race junkie? Ask me on a day that my hips aren't screaming at me.

 

And we had an awesome support team that cheered us on throughout the course. Thank you guys, you rock!

13.1

This is the mix I will be listening to tomorrow while I run my first ever half marathon. I guess I'm hoping the inspirational words are going to will my knees to keep going? (Mix downloaded from rockmyrun.com) Anyway, I'm super pumped. So pumped I barely slept last night, which means tonight is going to be completely restless. I'll be lucky to have Mike right by my side, because why would he need to run fast when he could run with me and enjoy the journey. Thank you, President Uchtdorf. Mike's sister will be running with us too, which makes this full on family fun! If you call running fun.

A New Set of Knees If You Please

Yesterday I ran 10.19 miles {every inch counts} with my best friend. Which is Mike if you were confused. That is the farthest I have ever run. And it was wonderful. Oh so mentally proud. And oh so physically drained. And sore. So if you feel like you want to donate a new set of hips and knees and the arch from your right foot, me and my half marathon will be more than willing to accept.
But just look at that sunrise shining off the temple. Quite the run.


Yesterday, they changed the missionary age for missionaries in my church. Young men can now leave when they are 18. What a piece of history this is! Yesterday I asked my 15 year old brother what he thought of the announcement. He is so excited! My poor parents on the other hand. When boys leave on their missions, they come home as grown men. All mature and stuff. Which means my parents just lost an entire year of my baby brothers childhood. My dad was putting up baseboards yesterday and was so upset about the announcement, he cut them wrong. Had to replace every last one of them. Grateful he's making good choices, just hard to see the baby grow up.

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies taste like fall. I would know. I think I've had like 12 today.

Mike got his diploma.
 
Happiness.

Six Things. To Be Exact.

Being sick is a gosh, darn shame. They stuff you so full of immunizations that you think it would take something equal to the plague to infect you. But then they throw you in a miniature cubicle with a sickly and no wonder. Yep. No wonder. By the way, I'm immune to NyQuil. Which is another gosh, darn shame.

I found Downton Abbey season three online! Waiting for the Sir to get home from his run so we can watch episode one. Season Three! And no, I didn't go for a run. Currently, breathing while sitting is enough of a task.

Speaking of, Mike is grocery shopping during his run. That man took a backpack and is picking up a few things. If I didn't marry the greatest man in the world, then that man doesn't exist.

Fighting through the depression of once again being employed is quite the task. All household chores have fallen to the wayside. Wait...I did clean the toilet yesterday. Point for me. My laziness seems to have gotten the best of me. Pathetic. However, I have yet to run out of clean underwear. Thanks to my always energetic husband. Let's just say he's making up for the chores he missed while he was in school. And then my groove will come back and all will be well again.

Hummus is awesome. Long live The Beatles. Peace.

Cinnamon Rolls and Such

Today, an old lady asked me where I got my shirt and I lied and told her I couldn't remember because I got it at Forever 21.

This household is now fully employed. Mike got himself a job as a real life attorney. And the fun begins.

Yesterday we celebrated the birth of Mike. 27 years old, he is. And just as cute as ever.

And that right there is a white chocolate, funfetti cinnamon roll made by yours truly for the birthday bash. In the beginning, it was touch and go, but they turned out pretty tasty.

This past weekend we added to our little family. 2012 Honda Civic.

Sean is the next bachelor. I told Mike I needed to get my audition tape ready. Umm....

Jokes, people. Jokes.

In the middle of season 2 of Lost. How did we miss this bandwagon when it was on TV? But I tell ya, not having to wait for the commercials or the next season to come around is pretty awesome. It's a borderline addiction.

Still trying to talk myself into the half marathon I've been training for. Blah. Blah. Blah. I'd rather eat cinnamon rolls and watch Lost.

Hate this blogger layout.

How I Exercise: {Run}

Today I went for a run. Many would say this is insignificant. I work out regularly. How is this any different?
It is different. This was my first real run in four months. Yes, you read that correctly. I have done several short 15 minute runs. Several long walkruns with the emphasis on the walk portion.
But today. I ran. In Washington D.C. All by myself. Over the brick laid sidewalks. Through the brownstone neighborhoods. I ran to Mike's work. And I waved to him through his fourth floor window and blew him a kiss. And then I kept running, through the tourist congested sidewalks. Past the man that sits outside on his bench and everyday says as you pass "have a great day" without making eye contact making you wonder if he was talking to you or the person in his head. Because talking to yourself is just that common here. I ran past the cafe that Mike and I are convinced you must be member of the hipster club to enter. Sitting outside sipping their cappuccino's reading the latest and greatest novel or looking busy on their Apple device. Come on, who wears scarves when its 100 degrees outside?
Speaking of hipsters.

No I did not take this picture. Saw it on Pinterest. Super funny borderline inappropriate. I accept that.

But after all my mockery, I still love that little cafe on the corner. I would never go inside. But I enjoy walking past it. Or in today's case, running. 

Running.

I wish I could say I banked a six or seven miler the way I could four months ago. 

But that is the unfortunate thing about running. Taking a hiatus only means losing everything that you have worked for. All that endurance and strength. I had my reasons for taking those four months off. And I'm glad I did. 

Who would have ever thought that I would be a runner? In high school I was on the lacrosse team. I joined because my best friend joined. And then she ended up getting injured for two straight seasons. So I spent much of the time making new friends. But what lacrosse actually brought me was the mental strength and power that I needed to be fit. And I will be the first to tell you that I spent most of my time on the sidelines, cheering on the starters. The girls who played lacrosse as a side sport to running track and cross country. And at the time, it was frustrating. But I look back and think, who really cares? They were better and faster. They should be the ones on the field. I didn't need to be a starter to still be a part of the team. The value came from the exercise. And it transformed me. 30 pounds melted away and I've been a runner {on and off} ever since. One day my knees and low-arched feet are going to throw in the towel and tell me no more. But I'm going to keep going until I reach that point. Because even though running is hard, it makes me feel oh so good. 

What Today Is: {FridayFreeForAll - A Little Inspiration For Us Regular People}

Happy Friday friends!
Have you seen this commercial yet?



Thank you Nike, for finally showing the world that not all of us are Olympic athletes and we're just trying to take it day by day.

I love this so so much.

If You Really Knew Me: {1st Edition}

You would know that I love to read. But I don't get to do it very often. Not too mention it usually puts me to sleep.

You would know that Diet Coke is a daily ritual for me. And you would know that I am ashamed of it.

You would know that my sole purpose of exercise is so that I can eat good food. Yes, the sole purpose.

You would know that I have an obsession with sweats. I can rarely make it the entire day in real clothes.

You would know that I was overweight in my early teenage years. It was an extremely difficult on me. My friends became insulting and rude and the summer before high school I lost all but one of my friends. Starting high school with no friends sucked.

You would know that I shy away from social situations. You would know that I never go to "girls night" and that if I am around friends, I prefer it to be just the two of us. I have not always been this way. But girls are too dramatic and it stresses me out.

You would know that I love to sing.

You would know that I would rather hang out with Mike than anyone in the world. Every.single.time.

What Today Is: {Friday! and FridayFreeForAll}

Well gosh. It's finally Friday. {10 points if your now singing "Finally Friday" by George Jones. If you're not, well you will be.}

I spent the entire day yesterday moving boxes out of our storage unit into my inlaws basement. Currently the story of my life.

Every part of my body is sore. I think I went up and down those stairs approximately 4,000 times. And only about a third of my storage unit is cleaned out. But we'll get there. Yes, we certainly will.

Between that and Grandma's and Grandpa's house at the beginning of the week,

lunch dates with dear friends,

....oh and Mike finally joining me in Utah.....I've been crazy busy.

Oh and this stupid sudoku that I'm determined to finish. It's gonna happen.

So now, as promised, I leave you with today's FridayFreeForAll.

Finally Friday

George Jones

What Our Weekend Looked Like: {DC Sites with a Sundae on Top}

Our weekend was filled with sunshine, each other, and walking. And walking. And walking. 

And we were able to cross a bunch more DC to do's off the list!

Above pictures: Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and new bacon sundae from Burger King

Included sites were: Arlington Cemetery, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, and Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial. 

I love seeing all these wonderful sites around me. And its even more fun to get to see them with Mike. Oh how I cherish those few hours on Saturday of attention!

Aaaaaannd since I know you are wondering, the bacon sundae from Burger King is....okay. I, myself, enjoy a little salty twist to my sweet treats, but I would have much rather preferred a nice sprinkling of peanuts on top than chunks of bacon mixed throughout. However, the fudge and caramel swirled through this soft serve ice cream was so delicious, it made it all worth it. Oh and we shared it. So only half the guilt.

And I told Mike I want a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee for my birthday, so we'll see if he delivers. 

I leave for Girls Camp tomorrow. I still can't believe I got wrangled into this, but even though I haven't memorized a single girls name, I'm weirdly excited. I can assure you that none of that excitement stems from getting to sleep in cabins and take regular showers.

What We Ate: {Sweet Potato-Cheddar Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies}

Well if that isn't quite the name for a cookie, I don't know what is.

But first things first.

The fun part of March Madness starts today!

Just a little about me, I hate watching basketball on TV {those squeaky shoes just drive me into madness}. If I'm going to watch it, I want to be in the arena. And even then, there are several other sports I would prefer over basketball. But there is a little thing called March Madness. There is also this boy that I live with. Therefore, whether I like it or not, every March, Mike's mind is nearly completely consumed by college basketball. And instead of fighting a battle that I will never win, I get involved. Because when there is a chance that I could beat Mike at something, I'm in full force. So the brackets have been filled out and so far, I'm winning by 1. Thank you BYU for coming back. You saved me.

Today is my shareadelicioussweetrecipe day. But unfortunately, I haven't made anything in the past week. Last night I started a cake, but it's not quite finished therefore it will have to wait until next week. So I had to dig into my archives. Yes, I have been taking pictures of the food I make for years now. So I give you a cookie and a post on my {private} blog from June of 2010.

June 27, 2010 {side note: living in Utah for the Summer for Mike's internship}

Last night I made Sweet Potato-Cheddar and Oat Cookies. Interesting idea, right? I know, that's why I just had to make them. (Side note: thanks to mom and mominlaw for letting me invade their kitchens and use their baking ingredients....you keep my hobby alive!) I have never ever in my life bought a sweet potato. We don't eat many potatoes in our house. Did you know that their are white sweet potatoes? Yeah I didn't either. And that is all that Smith's had so that is what I used. After the boiling the sweet potato and Mike's super awesome mashing skills, oh and Mike's super awesome cheese grating skills, the hardest part was over. (It sounds like I didn't do anything. I helped...I promise!) I try to always use mini chocolate chips because they seem to make everything more chocolaty. All in all, these cookies are fantastic. Super moist and soft. I had fun testing my family as to what they thought the two secret ingredients in these cookies are. You can't taste the cheese or the potatoes. Really, I am sure the potato just makes it softer and the cheese gives it a slightly more savory flavor but really it just tastes like a really good chocolate chip oatmeal cookie. If I made these again, I would probably just omit the cheese because you can't really taste it and it just adds a bunch of extra, unnecessary calories. Who knows though, maybe without the cheese, these cookies would taste awful. Either way, its fun to make a recipe with strange ingredients in it. It makes the outcome so much more exciting!



Sweet Potato-Cheddar Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

The Stuff:

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup + 2 TB cooked & mashed sweet potato
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup quick oats
2 cups chocolate chips

The Doing:

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and set aside.
In a big bowl, cream the butter and sugars together. Add eggs, sweet potatoes, and cheddar cheese, combine. Fold in the dry ingredients; then chocolate chips and oats.
Place on a greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

What He Did: {LittleBro}

See this guy?

{Hands down, one of my favorite candids from my wedding}

He just made the high school tennis team.
And I'd like to say that it had nothing to do with my once-a-summer trip to the courts with him to swing around a racket.
Let's be honest, I'm a terrible tennis player.
Congratulations bud!
Can't wait to see you play!

What We Did: {Bowling}

We went bowling when we were in Utah with Mike's family. Mike loves to bowl. I haven't been bowling in years. Its just never been that fun to me. That is, until this particular bowling adventure. When we played two games. And I beat Mike. Both times. Me, competitive? No....

But apparently we were having so much fun we couldn't even hold our phone steady while snapping a couple pics...

Third times the charm.

What I Caught: {More Sickness}

Yep. Again. I'm sick. Again! This, my friends, is the 3rd time in less than a month that I'm under the weather. And mind you, I did get my flu shot this year. Of course, this time its the nose/throat/feel like I've been hit by a train sickness. Other than its an easy excuse to get out of going to the gym, getting sick is the pits. I asked Mike yesterday if we could have popcorn and hot chocolate for dinner. Luckily, I regained my self control before dinner time and I even cooked a fabulous dinner. But, its a new day, and once again, all I can think about is popcorn and hot chocolate. We should probably throw some peanut M&M's in for good measure. Look what being sick does to me! Good thing I don't set New Year's resolutions or they would be blown.

{Oh, and sneezing. Isn't that like the best thing ever? It's like a quarterofasecond of pure relief when your sick. And I have an overly dusty office, so it works out really well for me.}

Luckily, we have been having some fairly awesome weather here in the Midwest.

Yep, see that temperature? That's what our weather has been hanging around. So even if I can't shake this season's sickness, I guess if I can walk outside in January and have the warm sun shine on my face, it's still a pretty good day.

What We Did: {Target Practice}

For Christmas, Mike got a Nerf gun. Yes, I do realize by getting him a Nerf gun, I am practically volunteering to be a target. Which is why I bought two Nerf guns, therefore giving me the opportunity to defend myself. So what happens on a quiet Sunday night at home with the Once Upon A Time marathon running in the background? Well, with a dry erase marker, a piece of glass {ours pulled out from the center of our coffee table}, and a couple of Nerf guns, you can have hours of fun. Evidence that this really happened...

Yes, I do realize I got my butt kicked. But leave it to the loser to say that it's not about who wins, it's about how you play the game.

What I Caught: {Stomach Flu}

What's the best way to lose those few pounds possibly gained over the holidays?

Catch the stomach flu. Like I did. Three hours before I was supposed to leave for the airport.

Yep, I caught the lucky streak.

So Mike hopped on the plane without me. And 12 hours {and $150} later, I was catching my flight back to OKC.

Pros? Getting to spend 12 extra hours with my mama. Oh, and laying on the couch. All. Day.

Cons? Missing my flight. Travelling alone. Functioning on only a few hours of sleep. And the list goes on...

Either way, I'm back. Back to work. Back to reality. And feeling much, much better.

What We Attempted: {Bench Press}

So anybody else watch The Biggest Loser this week? If you did, then you saw Antone {my favorite!} bench press his children. Which then led to me asking Mike if he could bench press me. Which then led to Mike attempting to bench press me. {Unsuccessful, hand placement was difficult :)} Which then led to me sitting in Mike's hands and him attempting tricep extensions. {Once again, unsuccessful, he was a little fearful of my rear end landing on his face} Which then led to this:

Hooray, success! {Please overlook several things: the attractive angle of the camera, the faces I'm pulling, the black leggings tucked into white socks, the messy house}

Look at Mike working those legs and me engaging that core.

Oh hush, we have fun together, and that's all that really matters.

What to Do: {Hair}

Yep. This is the kind of day that it is. At least that's what my hair tells me. I need a new do. Keep it long? Cut it short? Middle length? More bangs? More layers? Shave it and start over?

I'm just bored with it. And I need low maintenance. Which makes it harder. Early morning hair doing and getting to work on time is a challenge for me. Its one or the other, people. 4 out 5 times my hair ends up in a bun anyway. One of these days things are going to get drastic, and something irreversible might happen.

Figure it out soon. Okay, done with my rant for the day.

What I Bought: {Running Shoes}

So who really cares if Christmas is only a measley 20 days away. I still bought myself something. And, no I didn't call it a Christmas gift to myself. I bought them because a) they were a good deal, b) because I needed them, c) because, dad gummit, I just wanted them.

Look at my new running shoes.....

Sexy, right?

Who doesn't love an extremely bright colored pair of running shoes? They seem to give me the little push of energy to finish my workout each day.

Which by the way, successfully made it to the gym 5 days last week. {Normally, I can't get past 4}

So pretty sure I deserved a new pair of shoes to show off, after a week like that.

What We Did: {The Gravity Table}

Ever seen one of these? Its called a gravity table. Its supposed to help with back pain. Separates all the vertebrae in your back. Mike's brother has one so over Thanksgiving break we gave it a go. Its all controlled by your arms. The higher you lift your arms, the farther back you go. Eventually flipping you 180 degrees. Pain. Now when using the gravity table, you are supposed to tip a little bit and then stop, wait for your body to get used to it. Over time, you work your way to going completely upside down. Well we didn't have time for our bodies to get used to it. Mike just went for it. {Mind you, Mike feels no pain. Hercules or something} So when it was my turn, how could I not?  Um. Pain. The whole, blood rushing to your head, suspended by your feet feeling. Pain. As quickly as I was down, I screamed at Mike, "Hurry, take a picture." He quickly snapped one and I was back up. Pain. Funny though, I couldn't even post the picture of me being upside. It looked gross. My face was BRIGHT red, and my feet were like a sickly yellow color. Pain. I had such a headache the rest of the night. Definitely one of those never-do-it-again-and-if-you-do-make-sure-you-follow-the-instructions type things.