I FORGOT My Shoes!

We have been as busy as ever here getting ready for school to start back. We went to Target and bought all of G's school needs. I still need to get shoes and dance supplies for E.

On Thursday, we went to Stone Mountain again to catch the laser show before the end of summer break.      I am happy to report that it did not rain and we also rode the train! We met up with one of my co-workers and her family there and made an evening of it. I think the kids had a great time! Unfortunately, my camera battery is still dead from vacation (shame on me), so there are no pictures. In fact, that's why there have been no pictures in my posts lately. I'll get back to it, I promise!!

Today, after work, we went for our usually Saturday walk/jog. We cut our time so close last time with the time that Shane had to be at work that today, I wasn't concerned with going a certain distance, just going for X amount of time. Well, that would be a whole lot easier if I hadn't left my running shoes at home (an hour away)!!! My life has been so scattered these past couple of weeks that I just left my shoes at home. I wasn't going to let it stop me, though. I was actually willing to go in my work Mary-Janes. Lucky for me, my running buddies had just gone to buy new shoes and there were some old shoes in the car that fit me!!! (LOVE MY FRIENDS) So, despite the fact that they were old and worn out, it beat trying to go 6 and a half miles in MJs! I can tell you that my feet DO hurt, but I'm grateful to get the training time in since training hasn't been going as steady as it should be.

Source

I have actually started and finished an entire book since my last post. The name of the book is Beastly by Alex Finn. It is (yet another) YA book. I really liked it! It's a modern re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, but not the Disney version! I thought it was well-written and not too angsty. It has several sequels, so I imagine they will be my future reads for a little while.

I Don't Have Time For a Cold

I think all of the stress of the past weekend has caught up with my immune system. I am rocking a fairly irritating cold. (I know, who really enjoys a cold?) I'm sneezing and my nose is runny/stopped up all at the same time and I just feel like crap!

I can't really let it get in the way of my run this Saturday. If I don't keep training, I'll suck at 13.1, and that just won't do. I've tried everything (granted, it's been just one day). I'm drinking OJ, eating honey and cinnamon, drinking water, taking Claritin and Sudafed. My nose is so stopped up that my Netti Pot wouldn't even work on it! I think I may try some Vapor Rub tonight before bed.

Today, Shane forwent sleep when he got home and we all went to the local movie theater. On Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer, they play a free kid's movie at 10am. He took them last week to see Madagascar 2 and today we saw Bee Movie. If you bring canned goods, you get a free popcorn and drinks are just a dollar, so it's a steal of a deal! The kids were really good for the most part. E just doesn't have the attention span to sit still that long yet, but she did OK.

After that, we went to the grocery store to stock up on food for the next two weeks. I always plan a menu out ahead of time for two weeks and we buy groceries accordingly.

Speaking of groceries, I have been thinking lately that I really need to settle on a few really good and perfected cupcake recipes. I usually try things that I see on Pinterest, but I haven't really loved one yet. I think I will keep trying a few at a time, pick out a couple or three favorites and then work on making them the most awesome tasting cupcakes EVER!

On the reading front, I just downloaded a ton of books and I will be loading them on to my Nook later this evening. Perhaps then I will pick out a new read!

Work day tomorrow. Should be weird since I've been gone for the past five days.  

The End of Summer

We arrived home from the "mini vacation" last night around 9:30. I am happy to report that I managed not to get painfully sun-burned!! I'm glad that the kids had a chance to spend some time on the beach one last time before school started, but I am more than happy to be home. I won't go into details, but it is really difficult to enjoy yourself when you are constantly undermined and disregarded. Oh, and apparently I "don't know how to have fun" and I'm "too serious all of the time." Wow. Seems like someone doesn't really know me at all. Hmmm....wonder why? Sorry to be ambiguous there, but I just needed to anonymously vent for a minute.

There are two weeks before school starts, four weeks before dance starts for E, and three weeks before the half. I am REALLY looking forward to the start of school because it means that I can drop both kids off at school on Mondays and/or Tuesdays and go for a run. It also means that I will have Monday mornings all to myself since Shane will be sleeping and the kids will be at school. Sounds like a recipe for trouble (or a whole lot of Facebook and Pinterest)!!

This is also my last week of vacation time. I am barely working at all this week!! Instead, I will be focusing on getting everything ready for back to school and re-stocking the house with groceries. Hopefully, we'll also be able to squeeze in a play-date along the way!

I actually forgot to pack my Nook for the trip, so I haven't started a new book yet. I'll post when I do. I should be back to regular-type posting soon (hopefully with pictures).

In the Club

I am, I think, now officially in the club. I think I can now consider myself a "runner" without being unsure. My feet have stopped hurting from last week's 10 miler. Today, however, I was putting on my socks while getting dressed and noticed that the toe that hurt the most that day is now sporting an ugly, black toenail. (actually, just half of it) I can only imagine what it will look like in a few weeks! At this point, I'm just hoping I still have a toenail by the time I run the half!
My friend, Jenni, asked me if I have picked out which "13.1" sticker I want for my car (cause of course I'm getting one). I still remain indecisive, though. I may put some of my face choices up on a post and take a vote!
I'm going to cut this post short here because I still need to pack our things for our "weekend getaway." I am bringing my Nook, I just don't know a) if I'll have time to read anything and b) what I want to start reading. I won't be posting again until we are back in town and settled in, maybe Monday at the latest.

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One Month Away

The Are 13.1 Half Marathon is officially one month away. It is also SOLD OUT, meaning that I'll be running among 2000 other people. Honestly, I couldn't BE more ready for it to be here. It seems to be in the back of my mind constantly, and I'm either really confident about it or really worried about it. I mean, I'm 95% certain that it will go just fine, especially after last Saturday's training, but what if it doesn't go well? What if I eat the wrong thing the day of or I get blisters on my feet halfway through?
Probably me just being paranoid.
I still want it to get here and get it behind me!

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Finished The Graveyard Book

As the title of this blog suggests, I finished reading The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman today. It was a pretty quick read, 166 pages. In case you missed my earlier synopsis of the book, I will re-cap.

The book is about a 2 year old boy who escapes the same fate as the rest of his family when they are all murdered by a man. He wanders into the local graveyard, where he is protected by the spirits living there. The ghosts and such take care of him as he grows up and he finds mischief along the way, as children always do. I won't go into too much more detail (I wouldn't want to spoil anything for any potential readers), but Neil Gaiman, so far, never upsets with his writing.

I have several books on my "to read list" and I'm really not sure what to read next. I am always up for suggestions, though!

I imagine this will be my last post for a little while unless I start a new book or something interesting happens. I work for the next 3 days and then I am going on my last "mini vacation" before the start of the school year. Just a long weekend in South Carolina with the kids and my mother. Should make for interesting tales! 

10-Plus Miles and Cheesecake Brownies

My boss's birthday was this past Thursday and I usually bake whatever the people I work with want for their birthday. She picked cheesecake brownies. I have never made them before, but I looked up a recipe and (finally) whipped up a batch to take today, since I knew I would be going by work when she was there.

I think the next time I make them, I will make the brownies more fudgy and less cake-like. They were quite tasty, though.

So, I dropped the brownies off at work and waited for the shift to end so my co-worker(s) could join me for a 9 or 10 mile walk/jog in preparation for the half. We went in the right direction starting out this time!! I also brought along some Gatorade in a bottle because I only drank water last week and I was concerned when I started to sweat actual salt on the way home in the car. Therefore, I wanted to make certain that my electrolytes were balanced. 

I bought a hydration camel pack, but I've never used it and I was considering returning it to the store because I just don't think I can run with 2 liters of liquid on my back. I decided today that I just can't run with a bottle in my hand. It's awkward and irritating and it gets hot really quickly! By mile 5, I had the drink finished just because I wanted to throw the bottle away in the trash can as we passed it. What does that mean? Yep, no drink for the 5 miles back!! I was amazed that we held out as well as we did at that distance (which was new to all of us) and I think we would have been even more OK if we had had a beverage to hydrate with on the way back. I'm considering a hydration belt. I won't really worry about it for the half, because there will be ample drink/aid stands to satisfy my needs.

I think that today proved that finishing the half is going to be completely do-able. In fact, we should finish it with a (fairly) decent time! **fingers crossed**

Well, I'm about to go crawl into a warm bath and try to read a little more of The Graveyard Book before I go to bed for the evening. I'll leave you with a picture of my friend, Paula at one of the bridges we crossed this evening.

Friendly Lunch and a Monsoon

I've been pretty busy lately. Not with anything in particular, just busy days cram-packed full of either work or home stuff to do. I will be a more consistent blogger, I swear!!

Thursday, I had lunch at a brand new Olive Garden with my bestie. I had a great time chatting and catching up and it was nice to finally have some "girl time." We hardly ever see each other anymore and that kinda bums me out. The food was pretty tasty, too! We had an appetizer of spinach artichoke dip (which came out as an entree) and the all-you-can-eat soup, salad and breadsticks (which came out as the appetizer). I learned that the gnocchi soup is pretty tasty (like a very thin chicken and dumplings), but I still like the pasta y fagiolli the best!

That evening, we had plans to meet some friends at Stone Mountain Park to take in the laser show. The weather as of late has been fairly rainy torrential in the evenings, so we were hoping for the best. Once we arrived, everything looked promising.

We brought a tent to set up on the lawn because there are usually a ton of bees swarming the grass in front of the carving. That ended up being the best idea EVER!! The afternoon went splendidly. The kids played with bubbles and we threw frisbees and played and danced. The laser show doesn't start until 9:30pm (to guarantee darkness). At 8:50pm, it started to sprinkle. Then, it started to pour. Everyone was running off the lawn to get to shelter. A few people brought tarps and were standing under those on the lawn. But WE had a tent!!! Ohhhh yeah! All 8 of us piled in, hoping it would soon pass. It let up long enough to enjoy about 5 minutes of fireworks, but the laser show was cancelled.

See? No rain. It lasted about 5 minutes before it started up again.

Of course, by the time we got confirmation that the show was cancelled, it started to pour again. The guys had to pack up the tent in the pouring rain while the kids and us ladies went to guest services to obtain rain checks. Despite the weather and the lack of lasers, we actually had a lot of fun! 

I'm still reading The Graveyard Book. I haven't really had time to dig in to it. (Haha! Unintentional Pun). Maybe this weekend.

Tomorrow's agenda? I'm baking cheesecake brownies for my boss's birthday and I am going to go for a 9 or 10 mile run (assuming the weather agrees). Not too much longer before the half!!

Play Date!

The kids and I went on a play date with one of Gabriel's friends from school, her sister and her grandmother. This was the first play date we have ever been on. Shane was, of course, sleeping from working the night before and from the lack of sleep he got on Sunday with me having to work and all. We met them at Chick-fil-A at 10am for breakfast. Apparently, CFA just changed their breakfast menu, because now all of the combos come with the fruit cup instead of hashbrowns. If you want the hashbrowns instead, it's a $1.30 upcharge. Oh yeah, you read that correctly, they charge more for substituting hashbrowns for fruit!!! Now, I kinda get it. You (CFA) are now forcing me to eat healthy and penalizing me for making an unhealthy choice. That's actually pretty cool, since it's usually the other way around, but in the grand scheme of things, the hashbrowns cost at TON less than fresh fruit. It's a good thing I usually only get the biscuit and a drink. (I really wanted those hashbrowns this morning, though) Anyway, they screwed up and gave us fruit cups anyway, so we had to have them bring us hashbrowns and we kept the fruit cups and the kids ate them! (Bonus!!)

We ate our food and then let the kids go outside on the playground while we sat and chatted about how our summer had gone so far. I think the kids played for a little over an hour before they started to get cranky from the heat and the running around. Plus, by that time it was lunch and there were lots of kids showing up with their "stay at home mommies." We decided it was in our best interest to call it a day. They are going out of town for a week and we will be out of town next weekend, so we plan to get together again before school starts.

After the play date, I decided to let the kids have a treat since they were cranky and hot. We stopped at the local froyo place and I bought us all a cup of tastiness! The kids really liked it. Then, we came home for a few hours before we had to leave again.

I learned today that I am dependent upon Shane to get Gabriel ready for Martial Arts class. I didn't know that his gee had a button on the side for a strap and, although I looked it up on YouTube, I could NOT tie his belt correctly to save my life!! I ended up bringing it untied with me and letting one of the employees do it for me. I have now made it my goal to learn the proper way to tie it!! Speaking of Martial Arts, our free trial ends this week and I officially registered him for ongoing classes! I hope it really helps him with his focus and self esteem. They are having a belt test in a couple of weeks, but I don't think Gabriel will be ready for it, but he should be by September. We'll see...

Oh, lastly, I am now reading, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. It's a pretty short read and it's kinda strange. It's just interesting enough to keep me wondering, but it's not SO interesting that I cease to function due to the inability to put it down. I think I'm about a third of the way through it. It's about a baby that manages to escape being murdered like the rest of his family by leaving the house and going to the graveyard up the hill. The mother's ghost asks the ghosts of the graveyard to look after him and keep him safe, so they do. So, this kid is growing up in a graveyard. Weird, right?

It's Been A Minute

It's been a few days since I last posted. There hasn't been too much going on. I have been truly horrible at dedicating my time to training for the half. I'm sure that will come back to bite me on race day. I'm really going to try harder for the last next 5 weeks.

We spent the 4th of July at a friend's house. We actually spent the entire day there! There was a full food spread of slider burgers and hot dogs with all the fixins and sides. They had put tarps over the back deck, so the sun wasn't shining directly down on us and later (when it rained) the rain didn't fall on us or anything else. We also got the pleasure of watching them tell everyone their exciting news!! They're having a baby on around January 8th of next year!! (I've known about it the whole time, so it was fun to watch everyone else get excited). We ended the evening with, of course, fireworks!! The kids got to have fun with sparklers while the boys men detonated the bigger show. By the time we left, the kids were super sleepy and they slept late the next day!! (They usually get up at 7-7:30am)

Despite the fact that I haven't trained at all this week (and most of last), I made plans to go jogging with a couple of coworkers after I got off from work this evening and before Shane had to leave for work. We went to the very start of the trail and walked in the wrong direction for about a mile before figuring it out and turning around. We jogged at some parts. When it was all done, we had gone almost 7 miles. I wasn't wearing my expensive Experia socks today and my feet told me as much when I got out of the car at home to walk up to the house. I guess I know now that I MUST wear the Experias during the half if I expect my feet to stick it out with me!

I'm still working on using up the last of my vacation time before it rolls over again, so I'm not working much next week. I hope that means I can fit in some training runs! We are planning to go to Stone Mountain one day and I am having lunch with a friend on Thursday.

Too Much Time At Home

I hate not posting anything. It makes me feel like an irresponsible blogger. Therefore, although I have nothing to say, I shall blog. Be it short or rambly...here it is!

I've been cooped up in the house with the kids since Saturday and it drives me INSANE!!! I've actually had a headache the past couple of days and all I've done is snack on food when I shouldn't. Bad idea. It's been so hot outside that I can't really go out and do anything and I get frustrated at the kiddie pool because a) water costs money and b) there is not a level spot in our entire yard! It makes me wish we had a downstairs deck so that it would be on level ground. Either way, we haven't done anything and it's been taking it's toll on us.

If you look above it, you can catch a glimpse of the Abby cat!

I did get crafty yesterday and made the kids a "race track" out of masking tape stuck to the carpet in the living room. Gabriel really enjoyed it for a while. I can't take the credit for being that resourceful, it was an idea I snagged off of Pinterest a while back. I have been meaning to do it for forever, but kept forgetting until desperation pulled it up to the surface of my mind!

It's not hard-backed like my last one, but it's cute!

                                                                            I also made an impulse buy at Wal-Mart. I had to stop and get some dishwasher detergent and some white vinegar. (I use it to make my own cleaning agents) Everyone should know that July is when new planners come out in the stores. I have a serious planner obsession and I have yet to make it all the way through a planner without purchasing a new one. This year is apparently no different. I saw it and knew I had to have it! So, I spent some time today filling it out when the kids had pushed me to my mental limits. It's a love/hate kinda thing, though. I almost ALWAYS need to look back at something that happened months ago and when I change planners, that makes life difficult.

I go back to work tomorrow afternoon (yay)! I really need the time out of the house. What I really, really need to do is get my butt on that treadmill and run 3 miles. Maybe I can get that in tomorrow. Crunch time is upon me. A little over a month and a half until the half marathon.