gym junkie

the roosting hour

2011-09-08T05:13:00.000-07:00

So it seems my new habit is waking up at three every morning. or what some people call the "witching hour". (midnight is also called this in some cases.. who knows, i don't make the rules.) all i know is that i spring awake at this time every morning all "emily rose-esque" and cant seem to go back to sleep. what is one to do when they are the only one conscious on the entire planet? this morning I did laundry and watched Gypsy on TCM. After I finished pretending I was a burlesque dancer while folding my delicates, I googled "waking up at 3 am" and was disturbed with my findings. And I'm still completely clueless unless you count spirits trying to contact me and my wooden liver (are you kidding me?!)

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about Chinese medicine and holistic healing, but I'm going to need some education on that one. So in the meantime I am very thankful for my dogs waking up to hang out with me. It seems whatever wakes me up is waking them up too.
During Duke's belly rub yesterday I noticed he was starting to acquire dog/man/boobs of a sort.

(who would've ever guessed such an active individual could acquire belly fat?)

So I've decided to start running in the mornings again. (since it is finally a tolerable temperature outside *haaaaaaallelujaaaah!*) I haven't been in the habit of running in the morning since high school. Now that I'm thru with late night study sessions and paper writing, I expect it should be a a little easier to keep a schedule.
So early Duke and I set off this morning around 5:30. If we leave at this time we get to watch the sunrise on our way back, which makes being up that early totally worth it. While trotting thru one of the surrounding neighborhoods a ROOSTER CROWED. Let me let you in on a little secret about me: I am terrified, TERRIFIED of birds. I won't get into this now, but just understand.. if it came between touching a bird or spider, I might actually hug the spider. So mid stride I have a slight panic attack and Duke may or may have not shadoopied in his pupperoos. I have to ask myself.. WHO in their right mind has a rooster in the middle of an extremely condensed neighborhood? Poor neighbors. My heart goes out to them. If any of my neighbors decide to invest in poultry of any type, we will be having a lovely chat. So I leave you this morning, thankful for my dogs to keep my company thru my insomnia and that my neighbors don't have any mcnuggets running around their back yards.. what are you thankful for today?

business ventures

2011-08-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

Now that I have signed the papers, written the checks and acquired the keys it is time to share with the entire world (or the two people that visit this blog) that I am opening a yoga studio! My intentions with this blog were to write daily, but now it seems I will be sharing when my job and renovation tasks allow me to do so. The location is a 2350 square foot store carcass that I am hacking, without much grace i might add, into what will hopefully become a serene oasis.. or at least a building with pretty wood floors. Today after contracting tetnus and mesothelioma it occured to me that I could apply yoga even in this process of the studio. Im sure I didnt look like the cover of yoga journal with my protective eyewear and crowbar in hand, but hey ill take what I can get. The point is, I enjoyed the work because I knew it was for such a great purpose. Also, it doesnt matter if youre in an adandoned closet in north east arkansas or an ashram in india.. you can always be in the moment. And be thankful for what you have. Two months ago if someone had told me that I would be opening my own business at twenty four I would have laughed in their face. Now when I tell people that is exactly what Im doing they laugh in my face, but that only makes my competetive butt work even harder. At least if I'm going to mess up my credit Im doing it while I'm young enough to fix it, right? ... I digress...
Today was my first demo project and I have to say... HOW LIBERATING. If i had the oportunity to rip apart a bunch of built in furniture every day I doubt I would have any stress related tension and some awesome triceps! Lord knows my arm balances could use the help, HA!
Its a little intimidating not working by the hour or knowing I'll be recieving a set yearly salary. I definitely take my work home with me and work long crazy hours for now. There is a long road ahead but so far things are still falling into place. Im surrounded by so many supportive friends and family members. As long as they all decide to become dedicated yoga students I think Ill be in the clear. Lol!
Most of all I am so thankful to be given this opportunity. After graduating college I was beginning to slide into freak out mode thinking I didnt have a purpose and wasnt ever going to find a job. I clearly had no idea what was in store for me. But so far this seems to be perfect for my personality. My happiness depends so much on my ability to have a purpose. As long as I have something to work on and a to do list in hand I find it almost impossible to seriously complain about anything. I now have to do lists coming out of my ears and projects I havent even thought up yet, so it seems I will be content for a while :)
I will be posting before and after pictures soon. The contractors begin in two days and after that the floor will be put down. Better believe I'll be there camera in hand! For now I'm going to ~~look at pinterest until i fall asleep drooling on my keyboard~~ bed, but as I promised I have a question for you:

What are the things in your life that give you purpose? Your faith? Your friends and family? Your job? Remeber to appreciate these things and be thankful!

Renovation: Endings & Beginnings: In That Order

2011-08-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

The time has come, as I have promised to the few friends that come here, for me to reclaim my place in the blogging world. I fell away from blogging while finishing my degree because, well lets face it: studying and eating only microwaveables and takeout just doesn't make for a very inspirational blog. So here I am, degree in hand and nothing but plans for the future. To catch up the few of you that I don't text on a secondly basis, lets review the past few months:

-In August I graduated from Arkansas State with my bachelors in Exercise Science.

-I enrolled in Yoga Teacher Training through the Yoga Circle Shala and am just starting to learn what yoga is really all about.That will be a whole post - or series of posts- of its own. I'm 50 hours into my 200 hour certification.

-Thanks to a good but unexpected friend (that's where the best ones come from anyways huh?) I started ~~tumbling over mildly bumpy terrain and feeling like a boss for it~~ mountain biking.

- Traveled to the Bahamas twice. Swam with sharks (wild ones, at night, at Treasure Cay. No amount of Shark Week will prepare you for that...).

- Went snowboarding a few times and can now confidently board a blue run. By myself, because my entire family refuses to get off the green and bunny slopes.

-Worked an internship in cardiac rehab and non invasive cardiology, which further proved to me that I need not bother applying for a clinical job. *Faints*

-Joined Pinterest. you might not think that qualifies as a big enough event to make the list, but if I'm honest about how much time i spend looking at all the random pretties, then yeah... i have to include it..

I'm sure there are many many things I'm forgetting but I'm not exactly a picture taker so my scrapbooking consists of me saying "hey remember that time we...?"

Which brings me to why I am here. A lot of things are going to be changing in my life with my completion of college and leap into the real world. I want to keep my closest friends, who now live farther away from me than anyone, up to date. Also this will be a place for me to ask questions, rhetorical and to my readers, and coming back here will be a nice way to look back on the lessons we've learned. One of biggest ways yoga has changed my life is by teaching me to always live with inquiry, especially with an unbiased view point. Since I am so random I've decided to keep one occurring trend with this blog. With every entry I will ask a question, because as long as we keep asking we'll never stop learning. So keeping in fashion with today's thoughts, let me ask you: Why is it we do the the things we do? Is it because they make us happy? Are we mindful of our actions and do we perform them with purpose? Imagine how productive we can be if we can always act with purpose.

Snow Day (again!) & White Chili

2010-02-08T09:20:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning, before my alarm even went off, to a magnificent snow covered back yard... again! School and work are canceled and we're expecting to get up to a foot of snow, IN ARKANSAS!

Brr! Doesn't it even look cold?!

I decided I would still go to work this morning, just because with the snow and sickness last week, I hadn't been since wednesday. I wanted to make sure everything was still intact. Its quite fascinating, all the things that can go awry in a gym with no attendant.

On the way home I decided I would go by the grocery store and get some goodies just in case everything freezes over, cause we all know it would be so unlike me to be prepared. haha.

Upset that I had left my entire pile of "recipes to try" on the kitchen table, I started looking through a pile of magazines I had in my car to take to to work for the cardio section. I found a very simple White Chili recipe in the February issue of All You.

Step one:

Heat one tbsp of oil in skillet and cook chicken breast (I used 3)

Step two:

Chop and Saute 2 onions and 4 cloves of garlic :

chop:

saute:

Step three:

Add all ingredients to slow cooker (*mine is too small so im cooking it in a big pasta pot on the stove)

2, 4 oz. cans of roasted green chilies

1 tbsp of Cumin, which i think smells like mexican restaurant dumpsters and arm pits.. but i wont argue with a recipe.. (for some reason this picture just WONT rotate.. sorry!)

also add:

-1 c water

- 2, 14 oz cans white beans

-4 c chicken broth (preferably low sodium)

Step four..

put the lid on, turn stove on low and wait...

for SIX hours..

(oh and stir twice during this time)

in the meantime, I am going to be making something all crafty and cool. Also, I bought the dogs busy bones and havent seen them in well over 30 minutes, so im off to investigate what they've gotten themselves into. Pictures later, along with the chili review! Hope everyone enjoys their snow day!

surgery and cereal extravaganza!

2010-02-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

Due to the fact that I have been asleep, pretty much consistently for the past two days, I am just now having the chance to update you on the recent happenings. Wednesday afternoon (3ish) I started feeling not so good. For those of you who don't follow me on twitter, I will copy and paste my posts as a timeline. Haha! As the afternoon went on, I started feeling worse and worse. Around 6 I went to go eat with my aunt.

Tweet 1:

does not feel good :(

7:28 PM Feb 3rd from mobile web
After this I had just enough time to go home before things got ugly:
Tweet 2:

yes the fetal position on a dog bed in the bathroom floor is the most comfortable option right now. its clear that death has come for me.

8:42 PM Feb 3rd from mobile web
Soon after that, I attempted to take a nap, and woke up crying like a two year old. From about 9:30-10:30 I did my best to talk myself out of it. I kept telling myself things like "you're just being a baby" and "it doesnt really hurt that bad" ...by 10:45 the sick part of me was cussing at the tough part and trying to come up with some options. After a long discussion with google search, my mom, a nurse, and my cousin I finally gave in and went to the ER. Thank goodness I did, because I have a gallstone...yay...Finally made it home thursday morning around.. 5 maybe? im not really sure at this point. Slept all day yesterday, all night last night and today until noon. Anything I've eaten has almost immediately come back up. Already, I've lost 8 pounds, but i'm quite positive thats water weight because I feel like a camel lost in the desert with a hangover from too much jagermeister. So at this point, im pretty much ready to get my surgery scheduled and get this thing outta me. Then once I have recovered I plan to visit every buffet in the tri-state area, because I'm stinking hungry!!!I will be spending the next 3 days on the couch, so I wont have anything amusing to talk about aside from cable television and the newest issues of cosmo, womens health and marie claire, so I will leave you with an amusing video of my dogs. In my mind, I think this was their way of cheering me up.. or helping me cross that line into a suicidal mind set.. haha jk! i love myself way too much for that!Enjoy!P.s. I bet if you leave me comments, it will make me feel better : )

its only tuesday???

2010-02-02T16:34:00.000-08:00

Todays Workout:

5 m run

arm day

Finally went to ASU's new fitness center. Here is my review.

Parking: it would've been wise to have considered this when they built it. All of the parking i've found so far is either resident or faculty parking. Thanks to my blatant disrespect for ASU parking services I just parked in the dorm parking lot. If anyone knows where we are SUPPOSED to park, im taking suggestions, cause im starting to rack up the parking tickets this semester...oops

OK, Im going to rant for a minute. When I went in today the lady working at the desk (who barely spoke english) told me that I had to have a towel to go in, and so in seeing that I didn't have one she offered that i could use one of theirs for $2. TWO DOLLARS to rent a stinkin' towel?! Anyways, since my goal of the day was to get at least past the front desk I complied and told her to put it on my student account. Which she didn't know how to do. So i offered to go to my car and get two dollars cash to pay her. Apparently, they don't accept cash, so I would've had to walk to the union and pay someone in the offices. RIDICULOUS!

After giving her the STANKIEST stank eye I could muster up, I walked back to my car and drove back to my house, you know the place where I have my own treadmill, and got a towel, so that I could turn around and drive all the way back.

...

Finally I was back and allowed entry (ASU you're really not as special as you think you are, I promise.) and made my way to the fancy smancy treadmills I had been obsessing over since I first laid eyes on them.

Of course, the only one not occupied was not only in, but directly facing the sun. But I was determined!

It was completely worth it. This treadmill is THE treadmill of all treadmills. I had died and gone to ADHD runners heaven. I could push buttons the entire time and not get bored.

Here is a screenshot I took from the website:

Sadly, I felt like a 3rd grader in graduate school trying to use this thing. I made a user account and logged in, by the way, my "password picture" is of a rabbit, in case I forget. I ended up doing three different "workouts" according to the log. All i know is if i pay thousands of dollars for a treadmill i better be able to listen to my ipod AND watch tv on it at the same time. But, sadly this isnt an option. However, I did get to charge my ipod and watch espn at the same time, so I was appeased for a short amount of time. I was under the impression it was going to send my workout to my email, which didnt happen, soo thats a battle for another day.

The past few days north Arkansas has had a plethora of snow, and of course same as last year, everyone was completely under-prepared which means SNOW DAYS! I got off school and work Friday and Monday . My house is seriously cleaner than it was when i moved in. And all of my homework is done. Its very weird not having a never-ending to do list. So I think tonight I'm going to give the dogs a bath and maybe stare at the wall for a bit. Wee!

my pilgrimage... or something like that

2010-01-24T14:40:00.000-08:00

This morning I went "rucksacking" for my first time with my friends Jason and Zach. What an experience. Thank you Jason for truly verifying the fact that I am indeed not cut out for the military.

Anyone that picks up rocks (like the size of your head) and puts them in a backpack to go for a run is obviously a masochist. However, I know I am made for running because I had an awesome time and can't wait to go again. We went to the park here and did the trails that go thru the woods.

I attempted to take a picture of my watch, its a little blurry tho. For you non-garmin users, we went 4.13 miles in 1 hr 30 min. Seems so slow, but when you've got an extra 30 pounds on your back it really makes a difference.

To say that I chose the wrong type of shoes, would quite possibly be the understatement of the century. It has rained stormed here for the past few nights and the trails are pretty muddy, to say the least..

I also could've used a different pair of pants..

but im absolutely not complaining!

(jeez, someone could benefit from some self tanner, or SOMETHING)

That was by far the best full body workout I've had since high school. So now I'm on a quest for new shoes. Would I be looking for hiking shoes? Trail shoes? I have no idea..

But I know this is my new favorite workout. For sure.

Oh and just for kicks and giggles, some of the quotes from the trip:

"Forty pounds doesn't seem that heavy"

3 miles later:

"I think Satan is riding in my backpack"

"My only choices here are the ice capades or thorn bushes"

"woah slip 'n slide!" followed by..

"haha crocodile mile!"

"I thought I was gonna get yelled at by a beaver back there"

"Busted out my ninja warrior skills just then"

"Thats not gay, its teamwork"

"dang i left my snorkel at home.."

Anyways, just wanted to share that experience. Im off to "do homework" (play guitar). Ive decided I want a new one for my birthday. Needy little thing, arent I?

I've had my eye on this one for a while.

Ovation Elite T 2078

and for anyone who cares, you can see/hear it being played here:

Ovation Video

want to buy it for me? ill love you forever!!!

wee weekend!

2010-01-23T13:25:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad its the weekend and I am staying home! I love to travel, but these past few months have worn me out completely! School is really starting to pick up lately and I have to study all the time also, which makes me a boring blogger. Im taking two online classes and I HATE it. I thought we paid teachers to teach us, not sit at home and upload tests onto a website. Call me weird, but I would much rather actually go to class than have to read the entire chapter, cause lets face it, all those books I spend sooo much money on every semester never actually get used. I should get to sell mine back for full price.

Yesterday I had some free time and decided to cook. I realize I said this blog would involve cooking in the beginning, and then it was like i forgot how to use a kitchen, making only sandwiches and cereal for two months straight. But a few hours after running, hunger hit me harder than one of Ronnies fist pumps

so I went to my lonely little kitchen and had NO FOOD. With no other option, I began hybrid cooking. I really think I should copyright that phrase.. maybe they'd give me my own show on The Food Network

Hybrid Cooking with Hillary

"Making a halfway decent tasting meal out of absolutely nothing"

...nevermind.. i don't think i would even watch that show, and I watch Jersey Shore if that tells you anything about my tv viewing standards.

Armed with my cookie monster deflector and silly string shooting bazooka, I traveled to the depths of my cabinets and found enough essentials to make quiche

and

Are you ready?

...i dont think you're ready..

prepare yourself...

The worlds largest PIZAA ROLL

...ok that picture looks kinda gross..

but I PROMISE it was good.

If I would've had any fillers like cheese or pepperoni it might've been my new favorite

"Jiffy Pizza Crust Mix" recipe.. but so far Madaline's stromboli still holds the record. I'm very upset because no matter how many times I try I just cant replicate hers. Mine is still good, but its just not the same. I don't understand. But anyways, since I have spent all of my recent income on heartworm pills, school books, gas money and other boring but necessary expenses, I will be living on these two things and special K until thursday.

yay.

Speaking of expenses, my dogs have a new hobby I like to call synchronized sleeping. They started doing this when I picked them up from boarding when I went to Colorado.

(look at all those toys in the floor, its like having toddlers living with me...at least they didnt one of my bras this time..)

and again.. in case you weren't impressed with the first one, they did a formation change for you.

why do they do this? so peculiar...

Ok, its time to talk about the thing I've been putting off. You're going to be so disappointed in me. I am sooo behind on my new years resolution. I mean soo ooo oo behind. Once I got my Garmin I became a snotty little running brat. I decided i was too good to run on a treadmill, but it was WAY to cold to run outside.. well maybe not WAY to cold, but I dont really have the right clothes to run in sub freezing weather. So I chose the WORST option ever and just didn't run at all.

I know.

I'm so ashamed.

So at this point I'm at 15.02/1000.

And seven of that was done on thursday. That puts me 48.23 miles behind schedule. OMG. I'm so not happy about this. But I still have 11 more months so I have plenty of time to catch up. And the past three days I have been doing really well, so i just need to keep it up. Im trying to get motivation from anywhere I can. Today I was supposed to go "ruck?" with a couple of my guy friends. I think we were going to do six miles, but decided not to because its going to rain. But i looked at the weather and we're under a wind advisory with 21-26 mph gusts of wind. JEEZ! I would rather run under just about any condition except wind. For me, it makes it soo much harder. I ran at the park here the other day and it was pretty windy and I remembered how much i hated it. I should've sold tickets for that run. I bet it wouldve been very entertaining to watch because it had rained the night before and the trail is a gravel/dirt/concrete mix. I ended up skipping around like the dang Nike fairy jumping over streams and mud puddles. Im still bleaching out the mud spots up the back of my shirt. Lesson learned.

But I'm planning on getting in at least 5 miles today and catching up as soon as I can. Wish me luck!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Breck, in pictures!

2010-01-14T09:38:00.000-08:00

We flew out of the Memphis Airport into Denver and from there drove the two hours to Breckenridge. I had just driven this in March, but its still so exciting when you're first entering all the mountains. It was pretty sunny the whole time we were there, so I got some decent pics of the scenery.

Mom and Sara at Coppetop, a resturaunt/bar, where we spent the majority of our time when not on the mountain.

Waiting in line for the lift. This was the first year we've ever gone the week after christmas, and it will probably be the last. I had never seen lines this long in my life! And Sara's hat. It was too adorable and if I could get away with wearing bunny ears on any day aside from halloween, i'd wear them every single day of my life.

This was the view from our room. We were on the inside, facing town instead of the mountain, but it wasnt too bad, because there was always something going on pretty much anywhere you looked.

They had this in the cafe one morning and I HAD to get a picture. Now thats my kinda coffee pot. This poor man didnt speak english and thought we wanted to take his picture and smiled so big.

Mom and I on New Years Eve. I hung out with the oldies for a bit, and then went upstairs to the more "dancy" party and made some friends a little closer to my age.

But met these guys on my way up:

My new years shirt adds about 70 pounds in every picture, so naturally, i burned it when i got home. But this picture was just way too good to delete. The dj at the downstairs party set off the fire alarms with his fog machine (um yeah, he was that cool..not), so the fire department came. And by fire department, i mean every greek adonis known to man kind. The girls in the bar were actually screaming "take it off!" .. which the fire marshall didnt find very funny. And i don't know why i wore that hat in the picture. Poor assessment on my part.

Anyways, this was a really awesome trip. I was so excited because I snowboarded my first black. I had skiied one before (ski: slide down the mountain on your butt with entirely too many accessories awkwardly hanging from your body, causing you to jam, twist or sprain something every 10 feet), but I enjoy snowboarding alot more, so I'll more than likely never touch a ski again.

Headed to the gym. Next blog:

-new years resolution

-school

-possible surprise trip this weekend?

I'm Back!

2010-01-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness. Did you think I forgot you? I most certainly did not! Everytime I check my email I look at that little shortcut up at the top that says "blog" and think "Oh, I'll do it later"... not anymore! It has snowed here for the past two days and I have done... you guessed it.. absolutely nothing. So now I'm in the "antiprocastination/don't waste time/get stuff done kinda mood".
I've decided, instead of writing a novel, I will share the past three weeks with you in pictures. Beginning with...
Christmas! We went to my cousin's house a few days early because her parents were going to florida. Me & my sister:

I'm very proud that I got her to actually smile in some pictures because she usually makes all of these ridiculous "scene kid" faces and I tell her to visit

antiduckface.com

haha but i love her anyways.

Before opening presents:

After opening presents:

Yes, it really was exhausting work, but someone's got to do it. I'm just glad we could help.

I really racked up in the present department this year. I don't know why, but I guess everyone thought I was extra good! My grandmother got me a crockpot (yay!), a cast iron skillet (im afraid of it, but that will be a blog all on its own) , new dish towels, and a red sweatsuit that I picked out when I went shopping with her ( I mean that IS the best way to get presents. No surprise there!) My aunt bought me a new coffee pot with a clock on it. I wanted this to help me get out of bed in the morning, I assumed it would be easier if there was already a pot of coffee calling my name. The first day I set it, I got a steaming hot pot of coffee at 7 p.m. sharp. Lovely. And the second day, I got none at all. But the battle rages on and I will continue trying. I shall keep my faith in the epic morning I wake up to my coffeepot servant, waiting on me, hand-in-hand with the sugar free vanilla caramel creamer. I shall keep the faith.

For christmas eve I went to my parents house. That night we each got to open one present.

Guess what mine was?!

I finally got my Garmin! Soooo excited! And so I spent the entirety of christmas eve staring at my wrist. I even got up and ran on christmas morning just so I could use it! And returned home with windburnt fingers. But it was totally worth it!

Every year my mom makes my sister and I get together to take a picture before we open our presents. These pictures are ALWAYS horrible. There is no reason anyone should have a camera within a 50 mile radius of me before a shower and a cup of coffee. But in light of the Christmas spirit, I begrudgingly let her take this one picture ever year.

This year's tops the chart, by far.

There ya go mom. There's your christmas pic. Cell phones in hand. Not even looking at the camera. Practically a Normal Rockwell moment, if i do say so myself. After we opened presents, we went back to Jonesboro and visited the grandparents. By this point I was pretty pictured out. Next blog: snowboarding trip and new years resolution. But school starts monday and I've got lots to do today!

Counting Down!

2009-12-17T20:56:00.000-08:00

3 Days until family Christmas at my cousins house!

4 Days until I get to see my best friend Laura who is coming back to Arkansas to visit!

8 Days until Christmas!

10 DAYS UNTIL I LEAVE FOR BRECKENRIDGE!

(can you tell which one im the most excited about? No offense Laura, haha)

Here i am in Aspen last year in my "murdered out" ski outfit. White Girl Thug Life 4eva!.. ok sorry..

i wont do that anymore..

I am beyond ready to hit the slopes again. I have been working out so hard this year and I am anxious to see how much easier snowboarding will be with these buns of steel (and by steel, i mean sugar encrusted marshmallows). So my goals until then are :

run as much as possible and pray this helps acclimate me to the altitude change
not ruin my diet by eating everything in the 50 mile radius on christmas day
come up with the most awesome snowboarding playlist EVER
go on a quest to find my ski clothes that are more than likely being inhabited by hobbits in the underworld of my closet
begin anabolic steroids in order to be able to pick up my suitcase while en route
acquire the perfect airline outfit (i think its very important to be that highly fashionable, mysterious girl on the plane that everyone secretly hopes to sit by. i know i put entirely too much thought into this, and I'm okay with that. )

But in the meantime, I'm attempting to get my entire house completely organized and clean, so that when i return home on the 1st I can start the year off right. The only problem with this is I've had this entire week by myself while my roommate was on her honeymoon and so far all i've done is put up a shelf. What happened to the time?! So now I have tomorrow afternoon to do the entire thing. Typical me. At least I'll get some good cardio out of the whole ordeal! But while I spent an entire week doing nothing, I ordered these prints to put on the shelf above my bed (so HA! there's one project finished):

My New Years Resolution:

I don't usually do the whole "resolution thing", but this year I have a real concrete goal that I am going to complete. I've talked to several runners lately and tried to come up with a good distance to run in one year. It seems the most popular is 1000 miles. When i first heard this I was absolutely ready to run.. in the opposite direction. But I started doing the math, and its just over two miles a day. Considering I usually do at least 3 during each run, I really think I can do this. I had my evaluation with my boss this morning and he was an excellent motivator. He's part of the Ridge Rider Athletic Club and has lots of experience. He also works over cardiac rehab, so I will have someone to crawl to when I am at my wits end. I'm going to tell all of my students, friends, and family in an effort to gain motivation from anywhere possible. And of course my biggest motivators are my dogs, because they will more than likely tear my house apart without their daily exercise! And of course once I get my garmin watch I will want to put it to good use, so I'm really excited about that!

But right now i'm really excited about going to sleep!

Goodnight!

pics and plans!

2009-12-16T21:43:00.000-08:00

What a terrible blogger! Its been 8 days! But so much has gone on in the past week, so I'm just going to show you through pictures! This is my sister and I on the way to the lake for Thanksgiving.

I'm kind of deer in headlights in this picture which I've decided is not a good look for me:

And here are the dogs in the car. They are cuddling for pretty much the first time ever. In reality they are probably holding on to each other and praying for dear life due to my driving skills:

Between Thanksgiving and now I somehow managed to make it through finals without having a meltdown. And then we started hardcore planning for my roommates wedding, which was last weekend. I was super busy the whole time and didn't take many pics, but here are madaline (bride, on the right) and dani (bridesmaid) at the rehersal dinner:

I also put up my christmas decorations while I was procrastinating during finals week.

Here is my Christmas tree! It has raffia, gold and turquiose balls, gold stars, brown and blue wicker balls, gold reindeer, brown jingle bells hung on twine, gold spiral stick things and a big gold shiny star topper!

I made my tree skirt out of some lazy boy fabric furniture that I have no idea where came from. Its been behind the door in my guest bedroom for a looong time and i keep trying to come up with projects to use it all. The other day i discovered that its machine washable, so I might make a dog bed cover out of it!

I put a little garland and christmas lights across the fireplace mantle and put up my stockings. I suppose this year they will be dedicated to each dog. Otherwise they would just be for decorative purposes. (how ugly are those tv cords running down the wall?! its my pet peeve that i dont know how to fix! drives me insane.)

And i also set out the decorations that my dad gave me for as a christmas present last year. I absolutely love them. They are "Jim Shore" and they are so colorful and have so much personality!

Santa and reindeer:

Snowman and snowman snow globe (i award this one the repetitive redundant name award):

Now that I'm on christmas break and my roommate is moving out (on Saturday) I'm living by myself again, so I'm planning lots of projects. I started cleaning out the guest bedroom this week, and I'm going to redo the office and my bedroom. I'm also thinking of painting my bathroom, but I've been too afraid to do that for the entire two years I've lived here, so we'll see what happens!

The weather here has gotten drastically colder, so I haven't been running outside and I can REALLY tell. I have been cross training on the elliptical (only two hours a week tho!), but I've just got to go buy some outdoor running clothes so i can get back out there. For my new years resolution next year I'm trying to come up with a mileage goal for the whole year, but I'll talk more about that next time!!!

Finally finals are over!

2009-12-08T20:40:00.000-08:00

Finished my last final exam today! Will blog again soon, have lots of updates to share! Until then, I'll leave you with a quote:

“Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.”

za's and goodies!

2009-12-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

So its been a really long time since I've had time to cook anything, and I really didn't have time tonight, but I've been craving pizza so bad. With the wedding coming up and my workout kicked into high gear, my conscience just wouldn't be able to make it so I decided to make a veggie pizza:

Usually I make it on a big flat pizza pan but this time I did it in a small round pan and made a deep dish. It was sooo good. One of my favorite things to do when I make pizza is to put cornmeal on the bottom of the crust. I don't know why you do this, but I think its fantastic. I put so many veggies (mushrooms, black olives, onions, green red and yellow bell peppers) on it that just one slice filled me up. But i also had some roasted garlic hummus on wasa crackers while i was making it.

I also received the most thoughtful gift yesterday for absolutely no reason from the sweetest boy! He got me a new coffee cup and a HUGE candy bar!

Yes, its a little contradictory because I drink the coffee to help me work out and the chocolate will completely undo my workout.. but thats kind of how I do things anyways. I love getting presents for no reason! I think they're better than getting them on your birthday or Christmas.

Awww... look at how sweet my boys we're being while they were waiting on their dinner tonight:

Duke was using Apollo's rear as a pillow. This is so amazing because this is the first time they've ever looked like they purposely wanted to be close to each other. Please pay no attention to the upside down light plugged into the wall behind them. I'm sure it got turned around during a game of "Duck Duck jump on the couch, run in circles, lets Goose Hillary in the butt while shes not looking".

I have to take a moment to do a bit of advertising. I've been giving Duke antibiotics for the past few weeks in an attempt to clear up a skin condition he came home from the the kennel with. I started out giving him half a piece of cheese, with the pills rolled up inside, but he kept picking the pills out and just eating the cheese. When I went to an equine/pet supply store in Mountain Home over the thanksgiving holiday I found these:

They're moldable dog treats with a hole in the center to put the pills in. I think this is just too cool. And a lot nicer than prying open their mouth and shoving the pill down the hatch and praying it makes it. I think the bag was about $7 dollars and comes with 30.

Ok I'm going to study for my next to last final.

(which probably means watching the shows I missed last week on Hulu until I fall asleep).

procrastination at its best..

2009-12-03T10:25:00.000-08:00

I absolutely don't have time to be blogging right now. I am exactly halfway between finals and have to be at work in 45 minutes, but I would much rather do this than anything else on my list. We have nine days until my roomies wedding so I have kicked my work out up a notch. Along with my running schedule I'm trying soo hard to stay faithful to, I've been cross training and doing free weights at work. I just don't feel like the elliptical is equivalent to a good long run though. And we are also doing boot camp. I actually thought I might die in class last tuesday after cross training right before. And I decided its time for new workout clothes, since the shirt I wore was literally falling apart. I almost considered putting my sweater back on, but I would've had a heat stroke, and I'm still trying not to sweat in my new north face fleece. :) If anyone knows where to get cute workout clothes online, I'm totally up for suggestions. I'm also curious about how to transform my running attire from 70 degree to 40 degree weather. It is absolutely freezing outside when the sun goes down! ONLY 22 MORE DAYS UNTIL I GET MY GARMIN! I am absolutely ecstatic about it. I feel like running just isn't good enough until I get it. Haha. Anyways, I'm off to work. Hope everyone has a lovely thursday!

SHOES

2009-12-01T10:43:00.000-08:00

Hello! I hope everyone had a happy turkey day! I didn't have internet at the lake house and completely forgot to even bring my computer, so I have been totally out of the loop. However, yesterday I bought new running shoes! (No, I did not go shopping on black friday. After working one at Old Navy a few years back, I vowed to never again take part in that tradition. I also don't believe in saving money, by spending money. So just count me out.) Anyways back to the NEW SHOES! I finally found some all black ones that I liked, and so I took the plunge:

They are Nike Reax Run IV and Im hoping they give me super powers! I've never actually ran in real "running shoes" so I'm excited to try these out. I have a good feeling I'll probably be eating pavement for lunch...

While I was at the store they announced they were having a buy one, get one half off sale, so of course I had to buy another pair. (I know I previously stated I didn't believe in "saving money by spending money", but my goal here really wasn't to save money, I just needed a legitimate excuse to leave the store with more than one pair of shoes. So it all works out, right?) Anyways, thats when I found these guys:

O. M. G.

I know. I don't skateboard anymore. I'm justifying these by saying that I will be in the X games in my next life. Also, I wakeboard and snowboard (26 days til Breckenridge!!!) so that makes it not so bad, right? No? Well, I'm considering busting out the skateboard (yes, its still in my garage) and showing up the little punks down the street. And by showing up I mean attempting to ollie and just praying I land in someone's yard when i fall.

I'm off to work

*In my COOL NEW SHOES*

Todays workout:

(still doing this whole PR program, just counting the days til its over)

1.75 m run

30 min XT

free weights- arms

medicine ball core

boot camp w/ the bride

2009-11-21T14:50:00.000-08:00

Today's Run = Complete Embarassment

No Really.

I don't know why i even tried.

Can someone please explain to me how i managed to get sunburnt in the middle of November?

I completely blame Al Gore and his global warming.

Also the wind was blowing pretty hard and that always adds a few degrees of difficulty anyways.

I cut today's workout short to three miles because I beautifully ran 5 miles at the gym the other day and then rolled my ankle walking across the parking lot to my car. (?!) I thought it was alright, but started giving me a little trouble, so due to that and the melanoma kicking in, I decided to just call it quits. But I've decided to start working on some PR's and hopefully if i get my Garmin Forerunner 405 for Christmas:

I can actually put it to good use. So I got online and found myself a generic 8-week 5k running schedule and am going to start working on my times as well as my distance. Sounds redundantly challenging.

Along with that I will be studying like a mad scientist for the next two weeks, because fall break started friday and finals begin (for me) the day we go back. I bought 600 index cards yesterday! So while I go copy the entire dictionary onto 3x5 cards, I'll leave you with a quote:

*Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.*

-Oprah Winfrey

self degradation

2009-11-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

Ok so yesterday while i was running on the treadmill at work i had an epiphany. My ipod died on my way to work and since I'd rather run barefoot down a gravel road than watch The View i just turned the tv off and let my mind wander. THATS RIGHT. I was thinking while I was running. Someone probably should have taken a picture because I'm sure it will never happen again. Anyways, so while on the treadmill with no alternate sound blaring in my hears i realized just how LOUD I was. And then i started thinking...

While I'm listening to Beyonce, Brittney, and Shakira

I feel like this:

But in reality, I probably actually look..

like this:

and so I've come up with

Gym Rule #23:

no matter how motivated or sexy you feel, please consider your appearance, if not for your own dignity, at least out of politeness for others.

and under no circumstances is it okay to breathe like actual swine that have acquired the flu.

pooches, parties, and showers. oh my!

2009-11-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

Yay! I'm finally back from my blogging sabbatical and have much to report! Last weekend we went to Little Rock for the long awaited bachelorette party and had an amazing time! Thanks so much to all the girls that went and celebrated this exciting time with Madaline!

That night we saw Dane Cook at the Verizon Arena in Little Rock, and then went out to a couple of places on River Market.

Madaline primping in her vail and sash:

We got a suite at our hotel which actually turned out really nice, considering we had so many girls there before we went out.

The next day we went to Novah Natural Therapy Clinic which was absolutely fantastic. I got my first facial and the lady did miracles. I woke up that morning with FIVE pimples (i assume this is due to a night out and then falling asleep on my H1N1 infested bar hand) and she got rid of all of them. Not to mention, I fell asleep three times in the hour and fifteen minutes i was there. The other girls got massages and I do believe they were pretty impressed as well.

Dani and I, spa bound!

(it is unclear to me why my head appears so large in this picture)

On Sunday we went to our hometown for a Holiday Gift Wedding Shower for Mad. The lady that did the cake was very creative, considering the theme was hard to contain with one design. I thought it turned out pretty cute:

Mad and I at the shower:

She got alot of really cute gifts including a prelit chrismas tree! I am so excited for her!

On Tuesday night Apollo ran (and by ran i mean attempted to sniff the tail of the lady dog two feet in front of him while paralyzing his esophagus for an extended period of time and breathing like an asthmatic pug) his very first race. He wore an elf had that had little ears on it. I KNOW. I'm becoming one of THOSE dog owners.. you dont have to tell me. I promise not to put anymore clothes on him at least until his birthday.... If i can resist. I didn't break any records for myself in this race, it actually felt more like a warm up for me, but I think he really had a good time. Except for the elf hat:

I also got my hair cut, but I refuse to post any pictures until I wash it. So you've still got a good three days of anticipation. Just kidding! ... not really tho..

OH! And yesterday I went and got our new doggie! Duke traveled long and far across the swampy marshlands of northeast arkansas to finally arrive at his forever home. Despite him marking EVERYTHING

in the back yard, I think things are going pretty good. Aside from Apollo's sexual orientation. Don't get me wrong, I had my expectations when I got a dog that required more hair products than me, and I will love and support him no matter what he decides to mount, but at this point Duke probably thinks he's been sent to a doggie casting for GLEE!

But I decided I'm going to let them battle that one out on their own.

I'll post new pics soon, as for now I'm off to work.

Todays workout:

-3 m treadmill

-2 m ellitical

-medicine ball core workout

-6:30 bootcamp

Bachelorette Weekend!

2009-11-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

We're going to Little Rock this weekend for my roomie's bachelorette weekend. Tonight we're seeing Dane Cook:

Yumm...

I find him moderately funny, but I don't suppose that matters because when I look at him i'm so in awe I tend to lose all other senses anyways. Then tomorrow is SPA DAY!! So excited! I will post pics when we get back! Happy Friday the 13th!

tonight's epic fail

2009-11-12T18:18:00.000-08:00

3m treadmill run: good

5m run in nature: great

20 min full out sprint to catch runaway dog and carry his 54 lbs over 1/4m home: priceless

forgetting to close the gate and letting him out to pee so that i can do it all over again:

i'm a complete idiot!

however, heres a short clip of my house on a typical night. and the reason I don't buy breakable things anymore:

Click Here!

oh my dog!

2009-11-11T17:39:00.000-08:00

Today Apollo and I went to pick out our new addition! Since my roomie (stalk her here) is getting married in one month and one day and taking her sweet boxer with her when she moves, I decided we needed another mess maker in the house. Here is the dog we decided on:

His name is Duke and he is a 2 year old greyhound. His original racing name was "Big Bad Monday" but he retired early due to a broken tarsal (foot bone). I wanted to adopt a retired greyhound for many reasons:

1. I wanted another dog to run with since Apollo always poops out on me after only a mile or so of me dragging him down the street

2. I (am completely obsessed with) love the body shape of a sight hound. When a creature so naturally skinny is sitting next to me as I devour a bag of cheetos, I cant help but be motivated to put down the bag and slowly back away.

3. I've done my good deed for the year. Seriously, don't ask for any more favors, im finished.

4. I enjoy spending $40+ dollars a month on food I would never even consider eating eating.

5. I never actually wanted to sleep in my own bed anyways. The couch works fine for me.

6. I enjoy waking up to whines and beady eyes at 5 in the morning so someone can "go potty outside".

(just for the record, I got up 3 different times while typing this, to let Apollo in as he so eloquently requested by scratching on my window and whining in a fashion similar to a hyena, so that he could change his mind each time i opened the door and stare at me like he didnt know why in God's green earth I would get up in the middle of a post... Oh the joys of being owned by your pet.)

So anyways I will return to the dog track for the last time next Wednesday (7 days and counting..)

to bring home my new 71 lb. bundle of love and vet bills and could not be more excited! In the mean time I have some very important decisions to make.

Red?

Black??

New couch cover?

New dog kennel?

Guess I'll just take it one squeaky toy at a time...

People often say motivation doesn't last, well neither does bathing. Thats why its recommended daily.

2009-11-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

I'm beginning yet ANOTHER blog, in an attempt to motivate myself and actually become the "Gym Junkie" that I claim to be. I usually try to come up with at least 3 different ways of working out a week, so why not record it? Then in 2 months from now, instead of forcing myself back on the treadmill i can look back and say, hey that was fun lets do it again.

Along with working out, I also love to cook and find new recipes. (Now you understand my obsession with the workouts, eh?) So to go along with my calorie expenditure, I will also be sharing the reason I allow my dog to drag me around the neighborhood and wrap me around every mailbox on our block.

He only looks cute, don't be deceived.

But be warned, my recipes are usually the "low fat, low salt, low flavor" version and I tend to throw in random things in a fashion my roommate once referred to as "hybrid" cooking. So get excited, because I will be sharing with you the good, the burnt and the healthy.

My "healthy" attempt at Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing and cinnamon twist: