Uneventful

I'm still here. Life has just been uneventful.

I'm not sure if the world of blog readers cares to hear about the monotonous things I do from day to day, especially when they don't really involve anything pertaining to the mission statement of this blog. I could reference back to my blog post entitled, Things I Haven't Done and kinda do a repeat of that. I just haven't done much of anything lately to note.

Running: The last time I have run was at The Anything Is Possible 5K. That was 2 weeks ago. My body is going to SERIOUSLY hate me when I get back to it and I'm going to feel like a total novice again. Actually, speaking of novice, I was considering going back and trying out Hal Higdon's 5K training again. You know, actually do it and do it well. I'd really like to work on endurance. I know that most people want to work on speed after they have run as many races as I have, but I really just want to be able to run non-stop, without walking at all throughout the duration of a 5K. I think I may have to settle for treadmill runs until I get a grasp on the work and school schedules going on in this house!

Weight Loss: I have, yet again, stopped counting my calories. I will say that I have not been putting quite as much trash in my mouth, but that's not saying much. I really think that my weight loss was going better before I decided to become a "runner." I wouldn't take it back. I have really enjoyed the races and the fun that comes with them (except for the half). I am going to get it together, though.

Zumba: I really miss doing Zumba. It goes right up there with a lack of motivation and a serious case of the lazies. It's not like I have to go anywhere other than my own living room to do it. I have the DVD!!!

Plantar Faciitis: My foot still hurts. It hurts a lot. I can reference back to the blog post, Excuses and go on another pity fest. Psychologically, I think that my foot hurting has held me back from doing a lot of the things I am not doing. I'm afraid that I will hurt it more or that it will hurt forever. On the days that I tape it up, it feels worlds better, but after a few days, the constant taping starts to irritate the bottom of my foot and it gets sensitive and itchy. I know, I know...more excuses!!

Reading: I am in a reading funk. I finished up, Arch Enemy by Frank Beddor and just haven't picked anything else up. There are a couple of books out that I have really been anticipating and a few series I have been wanting to start, but I just haven't.

I think it all boils down to some serious "me" time. I have been diligently trying to juggle too many things. The dieting, the running, the work and school schedules, the reading and keeping the house clean, even the blogging. I think I may have tackled too much (I will NEVER admit it again) and I just had a huge burn-out. I think what I really need to do is slow things down a bit and take them on again slowly and gradually. I am too stubborn to give up, so please bear with me. I know that there will be days again when I don't blog, but I am still here and I don't have any plans on going anywhere.

P.S. Thanks for listening to what seems like my never-ending pity party and endless excuses! 

Things I Haven't Done

Here is a list of the things I haven't done lately:

1) I haven't run since the last blog post about it. Partly because of the weather being icky on the days that I could run outside. I really have no excuses for not running indoor, considering that I have a treadmill!

2) I haven't started reading another book yet. Every now and then I just don't read. It's not that I don't feel like reading or I have too much to do, I just don't really get around to it. It's probably a good thing, though. Usually when I feel like reading, I read like my life depends on it!

3) I haven't baked a single thing since those cheesecake brownies I made back in July. I did, however, copy down a recipe for Tres Leches Cupcakes and I will buy the ingredients and make them this weekend!

4) I haven't visited with any of my friends outside of my co-workers. I don't know if it's because we all lead such different lives and/or our schedules don't mesh, or maybe something else entirely. It kinda sucks, too, because I really miss just hanging out sometimes.

Oh, I also haven't uploaded (or really taken) any pictures lately. I promise I will rectify that soon. I would upload one tonight, but the battery on my camera is, as usual, dead.

I feel like my blog posts are usually so full of the mundane stuff I do from day to day that I would shake things up a bit and talk about the things I don't do!!

Internet Down!

I have neither fallen off of the planet, nor neglected my blogging duties. Our DSL has been down since Saturday afternoon. Apparently, the good folks at AT&T are wiring up our neighborhood to go live on U-Verse soon and they just start cutting wires with no regard to which ones they are chopping. So, I have a lot to catch up on in bloggy world!

Let's see. Last Saturday was our last long run before the half. We went almost 8 miles at our best time yet! Problem is, my left shin is starting to act up again. I also ran alone on Monday for 4 miles and it did the same thing. I am hoping that by not running until this Saturday, it will be good as new. I really don't want to think about 13.1 miles with a hurt shin. I also don't want to think about causing a stress-fracture. 

On Sunday, we went to pick up our race packets in Roswell. I have to say, I LOVE the shirt!! It not only feels good, it looks great! Plus, we got really cool, glow in the dark "slap" bracelets. (You know, like the ones from middle school??) LOVE it!! We also drove the course. It doesn't look too bad. It's not as "flat" as they say it is, but it's definitely no hill of death! So, check out the swag:

My bib, the shirt and the bracelet!

Since the internet has been down, I have been passing the time reading a book. I really didn't want to start another book until the race was over, but out of sheer boredom, I did. I am reading, Little Lady, Big Apple by Hester Browne. It's the second book in a trilogy (of course) about The Little Lady Agency. It has been SO long since I read the first book that I feared not being able to follow along at first, but it was surprisingly easy to remember the main points once I settled in. I am currently about halfway finished. I probably won't finish it before Saturday, even though every time I say that, I end up finishing whatever I am reading!

I'm working tonight, all day tomorrow and Thursday and then I am "carb loading" aka, going to the local pizza buffet for the kid's spirit day for school on Friday and then going to work that evening. Don't expect too much from me until after the race is over. It's probably best that way so that you don't have to constantly read about my sudden panic and insecurities on the situation!! I can tell you that I will DEFINITELY breath a sigh of relief and relax once this race is over!

Still Goin

Hey everyone! I am still here. I haven't really had much to write about other than the mundane daily routine of work and home, so I just haven't posted anything. The half is drawing nearer. So near, in fact, I can now do a countdown...exactly 2 weeks (14 days) until the race!

Went for my usual trail run today. We went exactly 7 miles. It was super humid outside, which made it a little unpleasant. I'm starting to really notice the fact that I have been eating like a ravenous fiend and not exercising lately. I was more out of breath and tired than I usually am. I also felt really heavy. I don't know if I can properly explain that one, but trust when I say I did!

The great thing is, my kids start back to school on Monday! We are going to open house tomorrow for the meet and greet and then on Monday morning, I will drop them off and go for the runs I used to go on before summer started! The kids are super excited to be going back, especially E since she will be attending for the first time! I hope they have a great school year. So, I will drop them on Monday morning and then try to go 8 miles. I really don't think it will be an issue. The only thing I don't want to do is over-exert myself or injure myself 2 weeks before the race.

Source

Since my last post, I finished Beastly by Alex Finn and also read Beastly: Lindy's Diary, also by Alex Finn. They were good books. Very easy to read, not too involved and not overly dramatic like so much YA fiction is these days. The characters were well developed and very easy to relate to. When the books were over, I found myself yearning for more of their story! I am actually about to watch the movie adaptation of Beastly when I finish this post. Perhaps I'll mention it tomorrow! For now, I'm going to relax, drink a pouch of Arbor Mist and then take a shower and go to bed!

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).

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! 

7.1 Miles and 106 Degrees in Hotlanta!

I'm so sick of hearing about the heat here! I am tired of seeing Facebook posts of people's car dash thermometers. Yes, it is hot! Yes, it is summer!! That being said, it was 106 degrees outside today.

I spent my morning outside on a long walk with 2 of my co-workers. We ended up walking 7.1 miles before it got REALLY hot. We started at about 10:30 this morning and we walked from a parking lot up to Kennesaw Mountain and then on the trails that go up the mountain. We stopped and turned around at 4-ish miles. There were a LOT of hills, so I was glad that we weren't jogging. When I checked the stats after getting home today, we averaged an 18 minute mile. That's actually HORRIBLE, but I didn't think it was too bad considering over 2/3rds of it was uphill! We made sure to have water with us, of course. We also saw 2 baby deer and (we think) their mother!! They were so cute! (Of course, I didn't have my camera, so I didn't get any pictures...shame on me!) They were also not afraid of us, so they didn't scurry off when we stopped to gawk at them. We were sweaty messes when it was all over and it was starting to get quite warm outside. (It was a little after noon).

After changing shirts and wiping off a bit, we went to a yummy Chinese restaurant in the Marietta Square called House of Lu. I haven't eaten there since before Shane and I were married, so it was quite a treat! I think the waiter was a little unhappy with me because I started with a glass of sweet tea, but it was too sweet, so I switched to Diet Coke (bad girl) and then I needed 3 refills during the course of our meal! I was SO thirsty, though. (And yes, I know that Diet Coke is not really thirst quenching, but actually a diuretic, I needed some flavor!) Then, we stopped by work where we purchased some water (Yay!) and picked up something I forgot the day before. (It was also where I had parked my car to meet them)

I stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up a few things we were out of and was leaving to come home when Shane called to tell me we didn't have any power at home. Right after that, a fire/rescue truck passed me and I can only assume that there was an accident which knocked out the power. I noticed that a few businesses along the way were also out of power and other houses in our neighborhood seemed to be out. Shane and I took the liberty of filling up the kids' swimming pool so that they wouldn't be bored and hot. I think they had a lot of fun!

The power was out for about 3 hours and the kids managed to enjoy playing with their imaginations/toys, so I'll call that a win! About the time that I was going to start working on our "family binder", the electricity came back on. (bummer) I have still refused to turn the TV on. We are having a "TV-free evening." I'm making pizza for dinner and when the kids go to bed, I am planning to load some books onto Jessica's Kindle and maybe shower and go to bed early. I have a sneaking suspicion that I will sleep really well tonight!

I finished Under A Vampire Moon the night before last. I was a great read. It was a little lighter than most of the other Argeanue novels. I'm still trying to decide what my next read will be, but I'm sure I'll pick something soon enough!

Today It's About Baking and Reading

Aside from this sentence, I am not going to talk about running today.


We had my son's 5th birthday party yesterday and I baked him a cake and cupcakes. It's something I like to do for my kids and I'll keep doing it as long as they let me :) . That being said, he wanted to have an Angry Birds party, so I baked an Angry Birds cake. I decided not to get too complicated with it, so I just did a simple background and used some pencil toppers that I bought on clearance at Wal-Mart.

Add caption

 I also made some cupcakes to match the cake (since it was only a round, 1-layer) and I topped them with Angry Bird fruit snacks from the Dollar Store.

The cake was Devil's Food and the cupcakes were a plain, white cake. They both had vanilla buttercream frosting. I didn't have any complaints on the flavor and I'll just have to go with that because I didn't actually have any cake or a cupcake. The left-over cupcakes actually went flying around in the back of the car on the way home and ended up flipped over and a serious hot mess destroyed.

I was a little bummed out by the turnout of his party. I had sent invitations home with his classmates at school the last week of school. Then, I sent e-vites to all of the friends of his that I had email addresses for. I even sent a Facebook message to one of his teachers (who has children his age and go to the same school) and, out of all of that, I only had 1 RSVP. One kid (who isn't even attending the same school next year) messaged to say they were coming. I did know that one of his other friends couldn't come because of the parents being out of town, but really? At least say, "no." So, of course, I felt compelled to spend extra time talking to the parents of the one kid because everyone else there was family or has been in my "family" for so long that they knew each other (more or less). If you don't take anything else from this rant, please take this: RSVP to parties even if you aren't going!!!!!!!

And.....breathe!!!!

Moving on to books. I think I have picked out my next read. It's Under A Vampire Moon by Lynsay Sands. It is the 16th book in a semi-series. I say semi-series because the books do reference each other in a way, i.e. characters and a bit of background, but they can each be read stand-alone. I have read the previous 15 of them, however, and they are quick, sultry reads. You all know how I like my vampire hunkies!! I don't anticipate it being a long read, but it will fill the gap until I find something else that suits me. (I am still refusing to give in and read Fifty Shades of Gray. I just won't be that trendy). 

Falling Off The Wagon

Vacations always screw my world up. They are much needed, but bad for me at the same time. Every time I go on a vacation, I come back with a serious lack of motivation. I still haven't run since coming back from Florida. I was going to get up this morning and get on the treadmill when Shane got home from work, but I went to sleep at 2am. (I downloaded a new book to read and I had to start it) So, my new plan is, I am going to wake Shane up in a few minutes so that I can run before I take a shower and go to work. I really don't have the luxury of time before the half and I MUST finish that race!!!

I finally mowed the lawn yesterday. It rained the 2 available days I had before vacation, so our yard looked like a jungle! We have baby bunnies in our yard and one of them played cat and mouse with me on the mower yesterday. It was SO cute!! (I probably would have taken a picture of it if I carried my mini camera with me everywhere I went like I should.) We also took Gabriel out to dinner and for froyo for his 5th birthday!! His actual party will be on Saturday, so there will be pictures then.

As I said before, I started a new book this morning last night. It's the latest book in the Fallen series by Lauren Kate called Rapture. It is the final book in a series of 4 about Fallen Angels and the relationship between one of them, Daniel, and a human girl named Lucinda (Luce). I only read 2 chapters last night before falling asleep, but they were good. I was glad that I could remember most of what happened in the previous books and the 2 short stories that go with the series. It should be a pretty fast read. It will be a toss-up to find what I will read after this. I really hate to be "trendy" and read Fifty Shades of Gray. I was also considering Divergence, since I have known several people who loved it. We'll see...

As for now, I am about to go and run. I AM....

The Run That Just Didn't Happen

I haven't posted in a couple of days. This is mostly due to lack of things to say, but also because I have been dealing with quite a load of family drama. I'm not going to go into it, but it has consumed more of my time than I would have liked recently.

On Thursday, I ran 3 miles on the treadmill. It was a pretty good run. I ditched the MP3 player and just brought my tablet downstairs and turned on Pandora to the Pop Fitness channel. I have never listened to that station before, but it was pretty good. I skipped songs a lot less frequently on it than I do on my regular player!

Today was supposed to be my 6 mile long run for the week. I didn't get much sleep last night, but we still woke up early. I was planning to run early in the day because we had a lunch date with some friends and their kids and I wanted a chance to shower before leaving for the restaurant (an hour away). We ended up running so many errands before getting to the park to run that there just wasn't time for what I knew was going to end up being an at least hour and a half run, let alone time to get home and shower to leave again.  I was a little unhappy, but I figured we'd just fit it in later. I generally have an ongoing agenda/itinerary in my mind on my days off.

We went to Papi's, a great Cuban/Caribbean grill in Kennesaw. The food is SO good!! It was fun, too because the restaurant hostess set us up so that the kids sat in a booth and we sat at a table across the way from them. The kids seemed to enjoy being at their own table and there were 5 of them to keep each other company, so it left time for the adults to joke around and eat and talk. We stayed for a couple of hours!

There were some things on the way home we needed to stop and get before we head out of town on Tuesday morning, so we got that out of the way. My plans were to come home and mow the lawn before it got dark or rained or both, but I was so full and "run out" that I decided to wait until tomorrow. Hopefully, the rain will hold out and I will be able to, not only run my 6 miles, but mow the lawn and get the house cleaned up and our stuff packed.

I'm about to head off the bathe, read and catch up on sleep. I'm sure I'll have plenty to say tomorrow!!

Feel the Burn!

I really didn't think I was going to get a post in tonight due to the internet being down all day. When I called AT&T, they said, "your area is experiencing difficulties. The estimated time for repair is 11:20am on June 1, 2012." Are you freakin kidding me?? Noon tomorrow??? I was mad!! The good thing that came from it was that I didn't have the internet as a distraction before my run and instead of checking FB while I iced and rested, I read a few more chapters of A Discovery of Witches. I am still thoroughly enjoying it. It really is a lot like Twilight without all of the tension and teen angst.

Tonight was my third training workout in a row. Yep, 9 miles in 3 days. My hamstrings still seem to be holding up. My left calf/shin are giving me some grief, but tonight, I was really feeling it in my thighs! While I am currently hobbling around the house, even after icing them, I am pleased because that means I am finally working those muscles and toning my upper legs. Yay!! (happy dance). I'll be taking tomorrow off to rest and then 5 miles on Saturday. That will make 14 miles in a week!

Sorry this isn't longer and that I don't have a picture to share, but I am tired and going to soak in the tub, read for a bit and then fall into bed and sleep. Goodnight!!

City of Lost Souls and A Discovery of Witches

I finished City of Lost Souls the night before last. I really started getting into it about halfway through and I read at a pretty steady pace up until the end. In fact, it was one of those nights that I went to bed at 2am even though I shouldn't have, just because I wanted to see how it ended. Well, I can tell you that it ended in a very YA fiction fashion. Frustratingly. I realize that YA novels can't really be full of the hot and heavy, but come on!!! These YA authors are like giant teases!! Now, I have to wait another year or so before I can get the ending!!

So, without further delay, I moved right on to my next read. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. It has managed to peak my curiosity and hold my attention right from the start. That's a definite plus. I just now found out (and I mean literally, just now when I was pulling up the synopsis and image to post here) that it is, in fact, a trilogy. Here is the description, compliments of Shelfari:

"A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together. Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unknowingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell. Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism."


It's over 500 pages long, so it will take a little while for me to finish up and then, I guess, I'll have to read the sequels. That kinda bums me out a little since I was reading this to fill in the gap until Rapture by Lauren Kate comes out on June 12th. I suppose I should shut up about it and just be grateful that there are so many things I want to read lined up. I used to have such a hard time finding books I wanted to read. 


I should have run 3 miles on the treadmill tonight, but I ended up staying late at work and not getting home until 10pm, so I will have to run tomorrow and Thursday before the long run on Saturday. I have also decided to sign up for another 5K before the half. It will be at the end of June and (hopefully) it will be easier than the last one.