A Family Story

Check one off my bucket list

2011-05-23T07:39:00.003-04:00

This weekend was one of those really good weekends - we didn't have much planned, the weather was great, and we enjoyed good friends and good times all around.

Friday nights Ashley has dance class with a few other girls on our street, so right after dance we all headed to our local watering hole in the downtown part of our town. We were able to get tables outside so we enjoyed relaxing and eating and the kids didn't have to be on their best behavior since we were outside.

Saturday mornings are my long run mornings and I got to run with Carmen and another new-ish neighbor to our street. I was doing 10 and they hung with me for 6 miles which was great. And the new neighbor has twins (a boy and a girl) who are Audrey's age, so we set up a playdate for later that day. After the run and eating lunch at home, Ray headed out with Audrey and I headed out with Ashley. Since Ray had been on two weekend camping trips recently with Ashley, we figured some bonding time with the girls was in order, so he took Audrey to a park and I took Ashley ice skating (I had purchased a groupon months ago that was about to expire for ice skating). We headed back home in time for Audrey to have a playdate, and for Ashley to have a friend from school over as well.

The other local bar/restaurant in our town was having "Rocking at the Crossing", with bands playing, bounce houses and such. After dinner we headed there and Ashley's friend's parents met us there. We hung out until after 9:00 at night. On the way home, Audrey looked like this:

But I have saved the best for last! Ray's company helps with marketing and selling houses in a neighboring golf community in town, and they were having a family festival on Sunday with a 5K race. Ray, myself and Ray's brother Sean were all signed up to run. Sean had been mouthing off for the past month that he was going to beat me and that he was in better shape than me. Ha!

I won 1st place in my age group (35-39), was 4th female overall AND I beat Ray and Sean.

Yes, it was a very small race. I would have never won in my age group otherwise. There was only about 150 registered, and I think less than that finished. It was hot (92 degrees at the 2pm start time) and crazy hilly. I saw one lady taken away on a stretcher. Not good.

But it still counts as an award. And not just any award, $20 to a local running store. Yippee!

Audrey's dance recital

2011-05-20T07:54:00.002-04:00

Conversation with Audrey

2011-05-18T10:26:00.004-04:00

Last night while tucking Audrey into bed:

"Mommy, let's talk about when I'm a teenager."

"Okay, what are we going to be doing when you are a teenager?"

"You might die. And if your hand is bigger than your face, you will get cancer."

I want this shirt....

2011-05-10T07:56:00.002-04:00

Running 5 days a week with my new training plan has been a huge adjustment. You wouldn't think going from 4 to 5 days would be, but it is.

Mother's Day and Birthdays

2011-05-09T09:49:00.006-04:00

Mother's Day weekend started off on Friday at Audrey's preschool where I enjoyed Muffins for Moms for the last time there. I am very happy not to be paying $1,000 a month for preschool and Audrey is ecstatic about not wearing uniforms any more, but it was sad to be the last event like that. She has been at that school since she was 4 months old, and what it really means is she is almost a kindergartner. Very scary.

So anyway, she had to answer some questions about me...see the picture.
And let me just clarify #7. It says my favorite thing to do for fun is to "have a party Friday nights". Which is partly true. Ashley and 3 other girls on our street have dance class Friday nights (which yes in fact that does suck and I will never sign up for a dance class on Friday night again). So while they are in dance, the rest of us get together for a happy hour of sorts. And since Audrey isn't in dance class, she hangs out with us.

In other exciting news, Ray got some new shoes. Specifically these:

Yes, he is going to try vibrams to see if that helps his knee pain. He spent all weekend walking around the house in them.

So I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day and Happy Birthday to my Dad today!

This is the beginning of a crazy month...

2011-05-02T15:47:00.005-04:00

I finally bit the bullet and got a real running coach to do a training plan (it's in plain sight at my desk at work) for me (versus finding random training plans online that weren't customized to my paces). And it is awesome (although running 7 and 8 milers during the week scares me). Go check Tonia out and give her some words of encouragement, she crashed her bike this weekend and is out of commission for a bit.

So running is back full force and for the first time, I am going to try and keep up with strength training as well. We shall see how that goes.

Audrey's dance recital is on May 14th; Ashley's dance and piano recital is on June 4th. Between Mother's day, birthdays, and in general craziness, we have started on a crazy month. I am looking forward to getting away to the beach Memorial Day weekend.

Few minutes...

2011-04-26T09:23:00.002-04:00

I only have a few minutes to post as I have to go pick up Ray at a Starbucks near our office since he took the hard top off his Jeep without putting the soft top back on AND without looking at the weather today. So he is parking it in a parking garage a couple of blocks away and getting Starbucks.

Just an excuse really for me to get a Venti Iced Black Tea.

Easter was good - Ashley fought off a slight stomach bug, but was okay otherwise. It was warm enough on Easter for the girls to enjoy a slip and slide at a neighbor's house. I went all of Lent without drinking one soda, and I still haven't had a soda. And I don't think I will. No more diet cokes at bedtime for me.

The pool opens Mother's Day weekend here...I really need to order a bathing suit. I need to update everyone on my boot camp adventure these last two weeks, next time. Need to go get my Starbucks...

Updates

2011-04-18T14:11:00.004-04:00

Ray's parents are moving near us, and so this past weekend we were moving Ray's brother out of our house into their house about 4 miles from our house. We knew there would be storms in the area, so we were keeping an eye on the weather. We had just returned home from taking a load of stuff when the storm hit.

I have never heard thunder as loud as I did on Saturday. And then it got dark, like middle of the night dark. And silent, which was weird.

But our street was lucky. No damage at all. Two streets away? Houses with trees on them, shopping carts from a Lowes Food store a mile down the road in their yards, insulation from a bank a mile away in trees. All the power lines down the main street in our town were taken down by trees as well. Not sure how well you can see the power lines in the above picture... And trees on cars. The kids weren't scared of the storm, but seeing the damage it did scared them. Ashley's school was closed today due to lack of power. Probably the first time in the school's 15 years it was closed due to a tornado.

Let's hope we don't have any more storms like this again....

2 races in 2 weekends

2011-04-09T10:31:00.003-04:00

That was me last weekend at the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. Great course, sort of great weather (I was really cold because I am a wuss in 30 degree weather) and great company during the race. I went down with Carmen and another neighbor and I ran most of the race with each of them. I actually crossed the finish line with Carmen which was really cool. My official time was 1:40:37 which gives me an 8 minute PR from my last 10 miler almost 2 years ago. The course was pretty crowded for most of the race, but nothing unbearable. I did see a man juggling 4 balls, a blind runner, and 2 girls dressed as the statue of liberty.

And now my ride is waiting for me...off to Kitty Hawk for the Flying Pirate half marathon!

I realize I need to post about the Cherry Blossom 10 miler, but first a picture

2011-04-05T09:19:00.002-04:00

Audrey waiting to go into dance class...

Slightly obsessed with the Instagram app on my iPhone...

2011-03-29T09:19:00.001-04:00

Grandma bought Ashley high top Converse shoes last week....and yesterday Ray bought her pink shoe laces to go with them.

Running and running and running

2011-03-28T10:10:00.002-04:00

I have 2 races the next 2 weekends, this weekend is the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in DC and next weekend is the Flying Pirate half marathon in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. For Saturday's race, I will be driving up with two running buddies in my neighborhood for the race (can't wait to see how well Carmen does!) and the following Saturday with another running buddy and her neighbor. Running has been sort of sporadic since the marathon. Last week I only ran twice, one really crappy run where I thought I was going to die (ran right before dinner so I hadn't eaten in 6 hours and it was in the 80s temperature-wise) and another fabulous run (9 miles in 50 degree weather and it was perfect). I don't know what I will do this week. I am definitely hitting the gym tonight since it is sleeting outside (yes, we had 80s last week, 40 as a high today...where did spring go?). But I have been doing cross training and core work. Ashley is still tracked out of school and after a week at Grandma's house and two sleepovers this past weekend, she was toast last night. Seriously, I thought her head was going to spin around. She crashed hard. She is hanging out with her Dad today and with me tomorrow. The end of the week is questionable as she might be heading to Virginia with Ray to help his parents paint or she might ride up with me on Saturday morning. Who knows. Audrey did enjoy her week without her sister last week. Those two seem to constantly fight lately and it drives me nuts. Here's hoping it warms up later this week for good.

Like how I haven't posted in forever?

2011-03-15T14:32:00.002-04:00

I finally got off my butt and ran last week. It was a measly 11 miles total for the week, but it's a start. I am going to try and hit all my planned runs this week and with the temps in the 80s by Friday, I think that's looking pretty good.

But has anyone else been bulldozed by the time change? I can't go to bed at night and then when the alarm goes off, I can't get up. It's a vicious cycle I am hoping to break up tonight by going to the gym and crashing into bed.

Ashley is tracked out of school right now (year round schools here), and she has 4 weeks off instead of the normal 3. She did a camp at Lifetime Fitness last week (our old camp standby that she loves) and she is at a gymnastics camp this week. If only I could find a running camp for her :). Next week she is going to Camp Grandma and Grandpa Fuzzy (my Dad and Stepmom) and we haven't figured out the last week yet. I think she may just hang with Ray and I at work. She loves camps, but unfortunately they are expensive. Lifetime isn't that bad, but the gymnastics camp is expensive and it's hours are short, but she begged to go with her friends to this one.

Audrey is counting down the days until her last day in Pre-K. Soon I will be finding camps for both of them to do (how scary is that). June 17th is her last day and she starts kindergarten July 11th.

And no, I am not going to discuss Virginia Tech being left out of the NCAA tournament. I assume you all know how I feel about that.

Recap of my marathon experience...

2011-03-07T12:07:00.002-05:00

Melinda Hinson Neely has been a great resource for me while embarking on my first marathon. Not only is her website full of information, but she left me encouraging words on both my blog and facebook.

And I forgive her that she is a Boise State fan...

She wrote a post about my experience here as she is working on a book and collecting stories about first time marathoners.

Wow, is it really Thursday already

2011-03-03T16:12:00.002-05:00

This week has literally flown by. I can't believe it's March already.

Ashley is getting ready to track out of school for 4 weeks. I have her signed up for camp for the first two weeks, nothing yet for the second two. Still trying to figure out if she can go stay with the Grandparents for a few days. It's hard because even though she is out of school, we still have all of our activities. She does Girl Scouts every other Monday, tumbling Tuesdays (to get better at tumbling for cheerleading in the fall), piano practice on Wednesdays and dance on Fridays. She can't miss dance since they are gearing up for their recital on June 4th. Same with piano. I guess tumbling she can miss as well as Girl Scouts (I am the troop leader, I think I could fill her in on what she misses!). And yes, having dance on Friday nights sucks, but it was the only time we could get for the class she wanted.

Oh, and I still haven't run yet. I need to since I have a 10 mile race and half marathon in April!

Shabby Apple - Giveaway

2011-03-03T14:13:00.008-05:00

We are finally getting warmer and warmer (Raleigh had 80 degree weather days earlier this week...). With warm weather come thoughts of wearing dresses instead of jeans and jackets. And I am totally excited about that.

So enter in Shabby Apple - beautiful dresses that are vintage inspired, stylish and affordable for women and little girls. And not only cute dresses to wear, their fitness line is perfect for yoga or running.

Check out this perfect dress, the Azure Coast Dress:

It's the perfect faux-wrap styling that fits all body types. And cute little girls' dresses? Check out this one:

If you want to win the Azure Coast dress, just leave a comment on this post! I will pick a winner on Friday, March 11. Winners must be US residents. And be sure to hop onto Facebook and like Shabby Apple there, click here.

Good luck!

Turbo Tax - Giveaway!

2011-03-01T12:14:00.002-05:00

As most everyone knows, I am accountant by trade. I now work for Ray's company, Dream Living Realty as their accountant and office manager. Best decision ever by the way. As an accountant, most people assume I can do taxes. Um, yea, no. Yes, I took the required tax classes in college, but that's it.

At work, we use a great Intuit product, Quickbooks, to manage all the accounting for Dream Living Realty. Another great Intuit product this time of year? TurboTax.

TurboTax 2010 is the #1-rated, best-selling tax software from Intuit. Below are some highlights of what's new this year:

Greater Ease and Accuracy: Automatically transfer essential tax information from last year's return and from hundreds of thousands of employers and financial institutions. Instantly transfer data and simply confirm it's correct.

Customized Guidance and Recommendations: Unique GPS feature provides additional guidance and recommendations, based on each customer's individual tax situation. TurboTax recommends the deductions and credits that will help customers get their maximum refund.

Better, Faster Answers: Customers have easy ways to get answers to their questions, when and how they need them, including instant answers from other TurboTax users and tax experts online via the TurboTax Live Community.

And I have three (3) TurboTax online codes to file your taxes for free this year. The codes are redeemable at TurboTax.com and good for one free federal + state preparation and e-file with TurboTax Premier Online 2010. The codes are only valid through the 2010 tax season.

So if you want one, leave a comment. I will post the winners on Monday, March 7th. Good luck!

Getting better...

2011-02-25T09:41:00.003-05:00

I ended up at the doctor's on Tuesday. I was sick of hacking up a lung and blowing my nose every 5 seconds. Diagnosis? Ear infection and sinus infection. Good times.

But I finally feel better and my legs finally feel fine. I actually might even try to exercise in the morning. Note I didn't say run (I am giving myself a week off of running). On a much brighter note, today is mix-match day at school for Ashley. She has been planning her outfit for a week!

Austin Marathon 2011 - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

2011-02-23T08:57:00.003-05:00

I really don't know where to start. But I want to preface this whole post with this: my performance at the marathon was no one's doing but my own. What I am trying to say is that I am not about making excuses. I didn't run the race I had trained for, and that sucked. I could sit here a write a post about how the weather was very different than what I trained for, I ate different foods, I traveled, I had a head cold, but in the end, all of those things were still my fault. I chose a race in Texas. I chose to eat food the night before I hadn't eaten before. But at least now I know my mistakes, and I won't make them next time! And yes, there will be another marathon (just don't tell my husband...).

So, onto the race.

I traveled to Austin last Friday and arrived to warm weather. Highs in the upper 70s/low 80s, lows in the upper 60s. High humidity. Weather that I love, just not the weather I had trained for the last few months. I didn't even pack my gloves to run in. I was in heaven. Saturday we hit the expo where I picked up some Yurbuds and a really cool shirt that says "Run, Live, Sleep, Repeat". My friend got her legs all taped up with k-tape and people were staring where ever we went. It was pretty funny. We finally made it home about dinner time and my friend's mom had made some homemade spaghetti sauce. I should have said no and just eaten plain pasta, but it was yummy and I had two servings. My friend smartly passed and just ate plain pasta. I crashed pretty early that night since I had been up early.

Race day my alarm went off at 4:00am. I took my time getting ready, but already had a nervous stomach and by the time we left at 5:00am, I had visited the bathroom 4 times. Not a good sign, but I figured I was just really nervous. I was in a tank top and running skirt, and was fine outside since it was already 65 degrees and 75% humidity. We made it to the start in plenty of time, and lined up between the 4:30 and the 4:45 pace groups.

And we were off onto the HILLIEST COURSE I HAVE EVER RUN. Seriously. I would not recommend this race to even my worst enemy. I run hills all the time in Holly Springs, but these hills were relentless. The first 6 miles were uphill out of downtown Austin. Then a little bit of a downhill, and then all I remember are uphills. I freaked out my husband and friends who were tracking me because I missed the 5K timing mat. It didn't go all the way across the road, and I never stepped on it. We did hit it at about 33 minutes. My 10 mile split was 1:48, and soon after that things started going downhill.

It was hot. By mile 3, I was pouring water on my head. I had been taking extra vitamin C and zicam to head off my head cold, and that was a stupid idea because it didn't work and I think it just made my stomach worse. I stuck with my friend and her running friends until about mile 12 (the half marathoners split from us at mile 11), but I ended up puking on the side of the course at that point. It was a lovely mix of orange Gu and yellow Gatorade, but I instantly felt better. I was still running 100% of the time through all this. And then BAM, my stomach just completely cramped up. Who knows what it was - the heat, the food I ate, the medicine I was taking, the Gatorade, dehydration - but whatever it was, it SUCKED. My stomach hurt so bad at points I had to completely stop and was doubled over. I threw up again somewhere about mile 15ish in a portable restroom (which was lovely, let me tell you). Again, I felt better instantly but that feeling went away quickly.

At that point, I had nothing left in the tank, and taking another Gu or drinking any Gatorade was not an option for my stomach. I tried some pretzels someone was handing out, and I could get it in my mouth, but I just couldn't swallow them. I was drinking water but I was still so freaking thirsty. I remember somewhere about mile 19 I saw a girl throwing up and a policeman took her off the course and I thought there was no way in Hell they were taking me off the course. I was going to finish no matter what. All I really wanted was a diet Coke. I even almost asked some spectators, but honestly the energy that would have taken to ask was too much. So I kept trudging along. I walked when my stomach protested too much and the hills were too steep, and ran when I could. Even walking though, I was passing people running. I remember around mile 23/24 walking up a hill and looking around me and everyone was walking. I remember the 5:00 pace group passing me, and I didn't even care. I knew I would finish, but I knew any hopes of a "good" time were over.

Finally I was at the end. At 800 meters to go, you have to climb a hill and I saw my friend's husband. He was a huge help throughout the day on the course. He talked to me and told me when I rounded the corner to start running, but instead I started running then. I remember seeing the finish line and I was so freaking happy.

5:25:24

A couple days post marathon, and my quads are still sore from all the hills. My head cold is worse, but my stomach is finally better. I will be honest, I am hugely disappointed and sad about my time. I really thought I would have done better. I know that if my stomach had felt better I would have done better, I just don't know by how much. I am still proud of my accomplishment and am going to wear my finisher's shirt every chance I get, but still. Hence why there has to be marathon #2. My friend didn't do as she expected either, and we both want our redemption race. Any ideas?

Huge, huge thanks to momof3 for her kind words and helpful wisdom, and for Tall Mom for the shout out. And thanks to my husband for putting up with me and all my running the past 6 months, and taking care of the home front while I flew to Austin. And a huge thanks to my friends who supported me from afar in Holly Springs with cards and love and good thoughts - Wendy for the arm warmers and cards, Nancy for the brownies, and Shelley for my week of gifts, poster on my front door when I got home, and the champagne. I couldn't have done this without any of you.

Leaving on a jet plane

2011-02-17T10:02:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow I fly from Raleigh to Austin, Texas for the marathon. I am leaving behind a husband coming down with a head cold, and a brother-in-law who lives with us with the flu (the rest of us smart people in the house had our flu shots, so I am hopeful we won't get it). That and Audrey said her legs hurt today and I am hoping it was just the P90X Ab Ripper stuff she was doing with me last night and not a repeat of transient synovitis she had EXACTLY A YEAR ago where we spent the night in the ER. Nothing like having a ton of stuff to worry about before flying away to go run a marathon.

And I still don't feel ready.

I have run 511 miles in this training cycle, run in cold, heat, snow, rain. I have run through illnesses and cramps and side stitches. I have run with friends, alone, on the treadmill. I ran one half marathon, 3 16-milers, 1 14-miler, 1 18-miler, and 2 20-milers and a ton of stuff in between. I have done tempo runs, mile repeats and easy slow paced long runs. I should be ready, my brain tells me I should be, but I just don't feel it.

My bib number is 5042. Don't make fun of me if I take a really long time to finish the marathon.

weather

2011-02-15T09:05:00.003-05:00

After running all my significant long runs this training cycle in weather of about 30 to 35 degrees, the forecast for Austin this weekend is a low of 57, high of 75.

Holy crap.

Need to find my tank tops!!

Commence FREAKING OUT

2011-02-14T09:07:00.002-05:00

Less than a week until 26.2 miles, and considering I was miserable during my last long run of the training cycle that was ONLY 8 miles, I am pretty nervous. If I can't do 8 miles comfortable, how in the HELL am I going to do 26.2? I had no energy during my run, which I am going to blame on PMS. Yes, you read that right. I have that going on this week too. Good times.

And today I am home with Audrey. There is some random fever/headache/cough thing going around, and its Audrey's turn to have it. She is sad to miss her Valentine's Day party at school, and I am sad for her as well. Let's hope that I don't get this thing either. Because that would be icing on the cake.

One of my best friends is sending me motivational quotes every day this week leading up to the marathon. Today's quote:

"We are different, in essence, from other men (women). If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon."
-Emil Zatopek

I love it. I loved yesterday's quote too:

"Big occasions and races which have been eagerly anticipated almost to the point of dread, are where great deeds can be accomplished."
-Jack Lovelock

Less than two weeks

2011-02-07T12:37:00.003-05:00

My first marathon is less than 2 weeks away. And yes, I did say first because I don't think this will be my only one. I am hopeful that in the future there will be another.

I had a friend ask me last night if I was ready, and I replied no. Because I don't feel ready. I have missed a few runs. I am not fast. I haven't run over 20 miles. I don't know what to expect. Luckily, my friend in Texas who normally is faster than me has slowed down some due to injuries, so I don't think I will be running the marathon all by myself. Which honestly I have trained 90% by myself, so I think I would be okay.

I think I just need to stop thinking for the next 2 weeks.

This week my long run is only 8 miles. I haven't had that in months...

another head cold...

2011-02-04T09:13:00.002-05:00

I have another head cold this week. Maybe its part of the "taper madness" of running. I skipped my speed workout on Monday, only ran 2 miles. I did 3 last night, will do 12 tomorrow. And then hopefully 4 on Sunday. My hip is still bothering me after I run, but not enough to cause issues.

I haven't run much this week due to my head cold and the fact I spent Wednesday driving to Virginia, sitting in a court room for most of the day, and then driving 4 hours back to NC. Let's just say the court system works. I was a character witness for a family member's custody battle, and he won full custody of both of his kids. It was a long and emotional day, not one that I want to repeat ever in my life.

Today was wear your favorite team shirt in Audrey's school, so of course I sent her in a Virginia Tech shirt. And since we live in Raleigh, there weren't many football shirts being worn for Green Bay or Pittsburgh, just tons of UNC or NC State stuff. I told Audrey not to play with any kids wearing NC State or UNC or Duke. I was joking (sort of). Audrey is really sad though because her favorite teacher is leaving next week. Which sucks since she only has a few months left at this school (she graduates on June 17 and starts kindergarten the beginning of July). When her teacher told the class she was leaving, Audrey cried, that's how much Audrey likes her.

Ready

2011-01-31T12:44:00.003-05:00

This is what Ashley wore OUTSIDE yesterday. No, I am totally not bragging to my family and friends who live in colder climates. This is the reason we moved to Raleigh...70 degree days that appear randomly in January (our average temp for this time of year is supposed to be 50s).

Ashley got to enjoy the weather, Audrey didn't due to strep throat. She did get outside some, but was tired pretty quickly. She is on meds and was fine this morning.

This week starts my 2 week taper until the marathon. I did my last 20 miler on Saturday with another big thanks to Carmen. I got up early and did 9 miles in my town and then met her and her running crew for 11 miles in a neighboring town. It was nice for good conversation and a change in scenery. And the coffee Carmen bought me afterwards! Thanks again!!

And no, I don't feel ready for the marathon. I am not sure I ever will. I feel like I need to drop 5 pounds, run a few more 20 milers, and drink water from now until February 20th; then maybe I will feel ready. But for now I have 2 weeks of taper to do...less mileage after my highest mileage month EVER....over 100 miles run in January.

Playlist

2011-01-27T15:19:00.003-05:00

I have my bib number for the marathon in February. It's getting more and more real everyday!

I finally finalized my playlist on my iPod today. Here is my playlist in case you are curious:

Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore) by B.o.B Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore)
Bang Bang by K'naan & Adam Levine
Boom Boom Pow by Black Eyed Peas
Bottoms Up (feat. Nicki Minaj) by Trey Songz
Carry Out (feat. Justin Timberlake) by Timbaland
Closer by Ne-Yo
Club Can't Handle Me (feat. David Guetta) by Flo Rida
Don't Stop Believin' by Glee Cast
Down (feat. Lil Wayne) by Jay Sean
Dynamite by Taio Cruz
F**kin' Perfect by P!nk
Forever by Chris Brown
Forget You by Cee Lo Green
Freak the Freak Out (feat. Victoria Justice) by Victorious Cast
Glitter In the Air by P!nk
Grenade by Bruno Mars
Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor) [feat. T-Pain] by Pitbull
Hotel Room Service by Pitbull
How Low by Ludacris
I'm In the House (feat. [[[Zuper Blahq]]]) by Steve Aoki
I Like It (feat. Pitbull) by Enrique Iglesias
If It's Love by Train
Imma Be by Black Eyed Peas
In the Ayer (feat. Will.I.am) by Flo Rida
Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri
Just a Dream by Nelly
Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars
Let It Rock by Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne
Like a G6 by Far East Movement
London Bridge by Fergie
Love the Way You Lie (feat. Rihanna) by Eminem
More by Usher
Morning After Dark (feat. Nelly Furtado & SoShy) by Timbaland
OMG (feat. will.i.am) by Usher
Poker Face by Lady GaGa
Raise Your Glass by P!nk
Ridin' Solo by Jason Derülo
Rock That Body by Black Eyed Peas
Say Hey (I Love You) [feat. Cherine Anderson] by Michael Franti & Spearhead
SexyBack by Justin Timberlake featuring Timbaland
Shake It (feat. Lady Saw) by Michael Franti & Spearhead
Stronger by Kanye West
The Time (Dirty Bit) by The Black Eyed Peas
Tipsy by Big Heed And Alien
Total Eclipse of the Heart (Glee Cast Version) by Glee Cast
The Way I Are (feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E.) by Timbaland
What the Hell by Avril Lavigne
4 Minutes (feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland) by Madonna

Yes, I have the song from Victorious on there. Don't make fun. And what song has helped me on every single speed workout? Don't Stop Believin' from Glee. Once again, don't make fun.

Running Mojo

2011-01-25T09:27:00.002-05:00

Last week, I lost the will to run. A few things caused this - that time of the month, a sore throat and swollen glands in my neck, a hip that hurt, Audrey's birthday, the coldest winter Raleigh has seen in a long time. I ran once, on the treadmill, and stopped when my hip pain became more than I was willing to run through. I think my body was telling me I needed a break. I have been training for this marathon since August really - a 16 week training program up until my half in November, and then another 16 week program that overlapped that one by 2 weeks for the marathon in February.

Of course I am worried about the lost mileage last week, but it was a step down week of only 27 miles, so I am trying not to stress about it too much. I did see my massage guy Friday night for some active release therapy and WOW did it hurt. My hip pain in my left hip seemed to stem from a strained butt muscle and a sore hamstring. He worked on my left side for most of the hour.

And last night? I knocked out 5 fast miles on the "dreadmill" and felt minimal pain. I have my running mojo back. And just in time for my last 20 miler of this training cycle this Saturday.

The shoe that will take me 26.2 miles in February....

2011-01-20T11:08:00.000-05:00

For my past few longs runs, the arches of both feet have been aching as well as part of my right foot. I had about 400 miles on my shoes, but considering the last Brooks Adrenalines I had lasted about 600 miles, I thought that was odd. But after talking to the guy at the Raleigh Running Store, I didn't put 20 and 18 milers on those last pair of shoes like I did these. And these shoes should really only last 300-400 miles.

So here are my shoes for the marathon....they are my favorite color blue (and no, they are NOT Carolina Tarheel Blue as Ray suggested...).

Wake County NC

2011-01-19T10:35:00.001-05:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Word - Disintegration

http://www.colbertnation.com/

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Political Humor & Satire Blog</a>

Video Archive

Yup, this is about the county I live in. Love Colbert.

She's Five...

2011-01-18T10:02:00.005-05:00

There are a few things that mark your 5th year, memories of some things that make me and your Dad laugh out loud sometimes.

You love to perform, whether it's singing at school, dancing in ballet class, doing all of the cheers your sister learned this past year. Your eyes shine and your face lights up.
And then there's your absolute fear of some things, like when we "made" you go on the Tower of Terror at Disney World, or just this simple kid ride at the fair....

One second you are terrified, the next, you are all smiles. It is hilarious.

You love our dog Tootles, you love snuggling with me early in the morning (most mornings you come into my room between 5 and 6am and go back to sleep while laying on top of me). You love candy and cupcakes and playing with your friends. You give the best hugs on earth. I joke and tell you your hugs have healing powers, but I really think they do. You are almost always happy, but when you cry, it's heart breaking, gut wrenching. You definitely know how to cry. There are times when you are so tired, you just cry and can't tell me why you are crying. We get you to laugh and you are all better.

You love dance and gymnastics. You did well at soccer, but you don't want to play it this spring. Maybe in the fall you tell me.

You wake up everyday happy and never complain about going to school, although you look forward to "stay home days". You could watch the Ramona and Beezus movie over and over and over again. You told us last night you are in love with Justin Beiber, although you think his name is Beaver. You can write your whole name (and for those that know us, you know our last name is long). You have started to learn how to read and take great pride in that fact.

We tell you often that we love you, and you respond "I love you more".

You can't wait to start kindergarten in July, but I surely can. I think I will need a few drinks that day.

Happy Birthday Audrey! And I love you more....

Elevation...

2011-01-14T00:08:00.000-05:00

Please tell me that miles 9 - 20 won't feel like I am running uphill the whole time?

I still have a ton going on....

2011-01-13T11:56:00.003-05:00

Next week my youngest turns 5. I am still uncertain to where the last 5 years went, but she is excited. Why? Because she knows going to kindergarten is really, really close. I actually get to register her for kindergarten on her birthday. I will save my sappy post for Tuesday about her, but she is such a happy kid that she makes everyday shine.

And yes, Ashley makes our days shine too. We had a month or so a few months ago where every.little.thing was a battle with her. Thankfully it was a stage and she has been very loving and sweet and helpful lately (although she still has her moments). The only thing the two girls do that drive me nuts? They fight with each other, and it seems like they fight all the time although that is probably an exaggeration. But some days, I swear it sucks the life out of me.

So next week will be filled with birthday dinners, birthday parties, doctor's appointments (for Audrey) and the ever present running. I am in the middle of the highest mileage weeks of my training cycle. I will wait until near the marathon to post my thoughts on my training cycle, but I think I will be embracing the taper weeks at the end. 12 miles and 8 miles for my long runs? Shockingly, those sound like a piece of cake.

Iced in and 20 miles....

2011-01-09T15:19:00.007-05:00

Sorry for the long delay in posting, we have had icy weather the past few days with the girls getting out of school early Monday, out of school completely yesterday, and they went in late today. So of course this means Ashley's make up day is this Saturday which she is not too happy about, but it's only half a day. So she is going.

So last Saturday I did my first 20 miler. I was lucky and got to get my first 4.5 miles with Carmen (thank you again!!) and then headed out on my own. It wasn't too bad. Hopefully I will say the same thing after my second one in a few weeks! I did it in 3:32:29 and would be ecstatic with that performance on marathon day (which is in 38 days, but who's counting??). I had some pain in the arches of my feet and when I got home I figured out the mileage on my shoes was over 450 miles, so I am thinking a new pair of shoes is in order.

And now it's Wednesday and I haven't done any runs yet this week. Guess I will be running 4 days in a row? Nothing like waiting until last minute. I am going to hit the dreadmill at the gym tonight for a 7 mile tempo run. Trying to get myself psyched up for dreadmill running. I hate it.

The longest week of the year....

2011-01-07T08:55:00.003-05:00

Yes, I realize it is only the first full week of the year, but the first week back is always tough. Ashley had been tracked out of school for a month, so it was especially hard for her. But she received a new alarm clock as a present, and every morning she gets up at 6:45am and starts to get dressed on her own. This is so much better than the previous mornings sans alarm clock where I would have to bug her and bug her some more to get up.

And I am back on track with running. I did 8 miles of speedwork on the treadmill last night at the gym. It was torture, but really doing mile repeats makes the miles go by pretty quickly. 20 miles is on deck for the morning. My first of two. The marathon is getting closer and closer. I have visions of how I want to do, but since it is so much of an unknown, I really don't know what to expect. And that is a little nerve-wracking.

I continue to check the girls' heads every night for lice and I probably will until they turn 18. I never, ever want to deal with bugs in our hair again.

Audrey turns 5 in less than 2 weeks, and I am just getting to her birthday party invitations today. We are doing it at a Build-a-Bear at the mall. I just hope the mall won't be crowded that day.

Runs and Resolutions

2011-01-03T10:09:00.002-05:00

After two weeks of no long run, I finally got out there yesterday for a long run of 14ish miles. I say 14ish because my Garmin was dead when I started, so I put in on the charger while I ran a little over a mile then waited out a rain storm while it charged. I headed back out for 13 miles where I got caught in another rain storm, but I was too far from home to stay dry. At least it was warm outside.

I will attempt my first 20 miler this coming Saturday.

In 2010, I ran 715 miles...pretty good considering between April and June I barely ran any. I don't want to say I can do 1,000 miles in 2011, but I think I can.

The only races on the books for this year are the Austin Marathon next month and the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in April (yes, I got in!). I think I may do the Historic Marine Corp Half Marathon in May and if my first marathon goes well, I would love to do the Marine Corp Marathon in October.

The only other resolution? I need to cross train. I have been really lucky (knock on wood) to stay healthy this training cycle. I plan on trying to cross train with either work out DVDs at home or hit the gym for more than just running on the treadmill.

All is well in our house finally. I did what I hope is our final chemical treatment for lice last night. I didn't see any eggs or nits in the girls' hair, and Ray checked my hair. I don't with lice on my worst enemy. And everyone went back to school today fairly easily. Ashley went back after being tracked out for over a month and she even got up on her own with her new alarm clock. I had to actually wake Audrey up which was new, but she got ready fairly easily as well.

And for tonight? Wings, a deep fried turkey and some beer to watch Virginia Tech hopefully win over Stanford. Wearing my lucky VT shirt and socks!

Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2010-12-30T14:40:00.002-05:00

I am not going to say all is well in our house. Lice eggs (or nits) are still holding on for dear life in Ashley's hair. I am strategically going through her hair every night to get those out. I don't see how we can send a man to the moon, but no one can come up with something to get those eggs to detach themselves from hair.

And I am also not going to share that I never got the stomach thing that rocked everyone else in my house. Nope, not going to say it at all.

Audrey is our puker. She always has been. She woke up in a coughing fit last night and THREW UP again all over her bed.

The things I have washed in my house over the past week:
All the bed linens
All the pillows
Couch pillows
Blankets from everywhere
Coats, scarves, earmuffs

And some of those things more than once. I tossed all of Audrey's stuffed animals. I colored my hair last night and we are all washing with Head and Shoulders shampoo. I feel like I am an expert on lice. Go ahead, ask me anything. I spent a few hours reading all I could on the internet and spoke to my pediatrician.

Christmas was still good though. Ashley got a laptop, a video Barbie, tons of stuff from Justice as requested. Audrey got a DS and a dance barre.

We have no plans for New Year's Eve. We were going to head to my neighbor's beach house, but I would rather not take lice to her beach house.

And I am 2 weeks from a long run. I missed my scheduled 20-miler last weekend due to the snow and vomit. I just figured I would pick up where I left off and do 16 this weekend, 20 the next. I hope I survive the marathon in February.

This Christmas is going on record....

2010-12-26T14:32:00.002-05:00

Christmas eve brought the stomach bug to Ashley about midday. Right before leaving for our annual hot chocolate with friends at The Umstead hotel. So she missed that, church, and our Christmas eve party. She was okay, only threw up 4 times and was all better Christmas day.

Audrey got hit with it about midnight, and proceeded to throw up every ten minutes between midnight and 3am. And then she intermittently threw up for the next few hours.

Fast forward to today - Ray woke up with the stomach bug AND I found lice in BOTH GIRLS' HAIR. And we have 8 inches of snow on the ground. Luckily (or unluckily as this is probably where they got it from) a neighbor had treatment stuff for the lice, so they have been treated once.

So am I just a ticking time bomb for getting the stomach bug or what?

Oh, and this all also means no long run for me today. Good times.

H-E-L-L

2010-12-15T11:32:00.002-05:00

Audrey is definitely the most loving child between her and her sister. She hands out hugs and kisses all the time and still snuggles with Ray and I. (I think Ashley thinks it is not "so cool" to do those things anymore, and yes, she is only 7.)

This morning Audrey was snuggling in bed with me before I got up as she had come in our room at about 5:00am and had gone back to sleep. I told her I loved her and she told me she loved me more, and that she loved me to "hockey sticks, heaven, Mars and the moon and back". It took a second for me to think what the heck hockey sticks was.

I don't cuss a ton at home (aw hell, yes I do), but I do say "God Bless America" instead of sh*t and "H E Double Hockey Sticks" for hell. So yes, Audrey loves me to hell and back.

I realize most of the United States is cold right now, but DAMN it's cold. At least my van started this morning unlike yesterday morning. I am doing all my runs during the week at the gym and will attempt my 20 miler in the cold on Saturday morning. I am thinking I will be wearing multiple layers of clothes. This is really not normal for this time of year in NC. I hope it passes soon.

Lack of posting

2010-12-14T10:02:00.002-05:00

I feel like I get one post done about my epic new distance long runs, and then I have already run my next one. Sorry for the lack of posts!

This past weekend was just Audrey and I. Ray and Ashley flew to Texas to visit friends. And since they left on Friday and Audrey would be in school, I did my 18 miler on Friday. I started at 10am, finishing around 1pm. And yes, I was STARVING when I finished. Good thing I had parked next to a McDonalds....

The 18 miler was hard, and really it was hard because I thought the trail I had picked to run on was really long. Instead I had to play "where can I pick up more miles" the whole time which is really tiring.

But I did it. Ran for 18 miles straight.

Audrey and I had a good weekend and Ray and Ashley had a good weekend. The girls both love being only children. Audrey did sleep in my bed all weekend though....

20 miler this Saturday, anyone want to join me? It should be about 20 degrees. I am done with the cold. It was so cold this morning my freaking van wouldn't start. Luckily Ray was still home and we jumped it.

Who picked a winter marathon to train for?

First full weekend in December done

2010-12-06T10:13:00.003-05:00

It was a packed weekend - Ashley had two sleepovers, Audrey had a birthday party and sleepover, Ray's company's Holiday party, Virginia Tech once again winning the ACC Championship game, and a pajama party exchange hosted at my house. Oh, and throw in a little bit of snow AND a sixteen miler, and I am done.

Friday night Ashley had a birthday party to attend and it was a sleepover. She has done plenty of sleepovers, but this was the first with a ton of girls. Nine total and they didn't get to bed until midnight, up at 6:00am. To say Ashley was tired on Saturday was an understatement.

Saturday morning I left the house at 6:30am to head to the American Tobacco trail for my 16 miler. It was 31 degrees out and cloudy. I was surprisingly not very cold in my triple layers, but I ran through all my tissues I brought for my runny nose by mile 3. I resorted to using my gloves to blow my nose. I did 16 miles in 2 hours, 39 minutes and some change, basically 10 minute miles which if I can run 26.2 miles in 10 minute miles, I would be ecstatic. The only issue I had was serious chafing from my sports bra even with putting on glide. It still hurts today.

Audrey had a birthday party that morning as well, and then it started snowing. Not enough to do anything, but enough to make the kids all want to go out and play. That evening the girls spent the night at a friend's house so Ray and I could attend his Christmas party and watch the Virginia Tech football game.

And now it's Wednesday, and this week has been packed too. Ray and Ashley leave for Texas on Friday for a long weekend, so Audrey and I get to enjoy some Christmas activities alone. We will be in our town's parade on Saturday morning. Ray and Ashley come back on Monday.

And yes, I have an 18 mile run scheduled. At this point I am doing it on Friday and let's hope it warms up. It was 17 degrees outside this morning. Brutal.

More of the same...

2010-12-03T13:17:00.003-05:00

I still have not completed anymore Christmas shopping, although I have had to purchase 5 birthday presents between parties my kids have been invited to and my BIL and MIL (Happy Birthday Cindy and early birthday Sean!). And in the three stores I had to go into at the mall, I had someone cut in front of me in line at two of them. They had complete disregard for the line. And I wonder why I don't want to do any Christmas shopping. I need to look online for the stuff I need.

And now my laptop at home has crashed. We thought it might have been the power cord, so I ordered a new one on ebay for $8. Well, that wasn't it. Three years of pictures are on that damn computer. Someone better be able to get those pictures off.

I have 16 miles to run in the morning. Wish me luck as the temperature will be about 28 degrees, although weather.com says it will feel like 22 degrees. Fabulous.

Updating finally....

2010-11-30T13:34:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving was great - Ashley and I ran a turkey trot and then we all went to a neighbor's house for Thanksgiving. And for the record, Ashley did a mile in 11:00 minutes. I have my little future runner and I am very happy about that.

And then I went shopping - as in all night long. I left the house around 9:15pm and headed to an outlet mall about 45 minutes away. It wasn't scheduled to open until midnight, but knowing from last year's experience some stores decided to open at 10:00pm. From there I headed to Walmart and then I went back home for about 30 minutes while I waited to hear from a neighbor to see if she was accompanying me to Kohl's and Target. Thankfully she was and we headed to Kohl's opening at 3:00am. The line wasn't ridiculously long and we were out of there by 3:45am to head next door to Target. That line was long. We got in line behind the store only to have people cut as we got close to the entrance. Two words - people suck. And hopefully karma bites those people in the ass big time. We finished up at Target in time to hit Lowes next door at 5:00am (I was looking for a Christmas tree and refused to pay more than $130 for a decent prelit one and got one at Lowes).

Finally at home by 5:30am and I crashed until the kids woke me up at 10:00am. And now I have a head cold which I think is completely from lack of sleep. So last week I took my step back week in running very seriously - I only ran 6.2 miles (I was supposed to do 20). Go me. Back on track already this week though - I did 6 miles at the gym last night, snotty dripping nose and all and will do a few more runs this week before my 16 miler on Saturday.

And no, I am not even remotely close to being even half way done with Christmas shopping. So don't ask.

A few more mentions of running...

2010-11-23T15:03:00.002-05:00

I have been really lucky (knocking on a lot of wood right now) to avoid injury this training cycle. The one thing that I have not been lucky on is chafing. Yes, ouch.

Normally I chafe in spots due to my sports bra (don't ask), but I have also chafed on my arms from my shirt and from my fuel belt on long runs. Luckily Band-Aid sent me some Friction Block to try just in time for the OBX half marathon. And I know what you are thinking, they have stuff called Body Glide for runners, but I just never felt like paying the $8 - $10 for a stick of it. You can get the Band-Aid Friction Block for approximately $4.99 and you don't have to get it from a sports store. They carry it at Walmart and Target.

And it worked like a charm, no chafing from my sports bra at all during the half marathon. The packaging says "invisibly prevents friction from shoes", but the label on the back says you can use it anywhere. So go buy some even if you don't run. I am going to use it with any new shoes I buy.

And also go buy these - they are freaking adorable (especially for a Disney family like we are...)

14 Miles

2010-11-22T07:44:00.003-05:00

There was no break last week from running even though I was slightly burned out. When I make it to the marathon on February 20th, I would have trained for 28 weeks. I think for a first time marathoner, I need this long training period but at this point, I am a little tired. Thankfully this week is a step back week of only 22 miles, with a long run of only 6 miles. Yipee!

But first was Saturday and my first distance beyond 13.1. I had 14 miles on the schedule, so I headed out to the American Tobacco Trail. I love and hate this trail. For starters, its not all paved. Most of the trail is crushed gravel and it starts to wear on my knees. Secondly, I swear the damn trail is uphill both ways. Not significantly uphill, more like a gradual incline, but still. I remember thinking running out my 7 miles that it wouldn't be that bad coming back since it felt like I was running uphill, but it was.

I ended up averaging 9:55 minutes per mile. If I could run 10:00 minute miles for the marathon, I would be ESTATIC. I realize that 14 miles is hell and gone from 26.2, but I was still happy with my performance.

This week is a 5K on Thanksgiving Day and Ashley is doing a mile run as well. Looking forward to running and eating on Thursday....

Race Recap - OBX Half Marathon

2010-11-16T00:35:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning I was up bright and early to get Ashley up and ready for her cheerleading competition. We had to be in Knightdale by 8:00am (I am going to reserve my comments about the competition for another post...especially how poorly it was run for the second year in a row), so that meant leaving the house by 7:15am. I wanted Ashley to have a good breakfast, so I made scrambled eggs and cereal for her.

I stayed at the competition until after Ashley's squad performed. I headed out a little before noon and got Chick-fil-a on the road. After a 15 minute stop at a drawbridge, I was at the expo around 3:45pm. I met up with my roommates for the night, got my gear and shopped for about 2 seconds (got a fitness belt and a new hat) and we headed to the hotel to check in. After that was dinner at the Tomato Patch in Corolla, then back to the hotel for bed. I think we were in bed by 9:00pm, which was good considering we had the alarm set for 5:00am.

I did not sleep well which was expected. We were up and at the start by 6:30am for the 7:00am start. It was about 50 degrees, perfect weather. I was in shorts, short sleeved shirt, and my arm warmers. I tossed a sweatshirt at the start.

I really, really wanted 2:05. But I also decided I would see how I felt the first few miles. I am a wuss, this was my first race I was running by myself. My last two half marathons I did with friends and ran with them the entire time.

Mile 1 - 9:11
Mile 2 - 9:28
Mile 3 - 9:18
I felt pretty good through these miles, although by the end of mile 3, I was getting unexpectedly tired early. I decided to take my Gu. I also fought through some side stitches and I really need to figure those out.

Mile 4 - 9:30
Mile 5 - 9:23

I had decided after mile 3 not to look at my Garmin when it beeped after each mile. I just kept trucking.

Mile 6 - 9:29
Mile 7 - 9:34
Mile 8 - 9:45
I took another Gu here. One other note, I carried my little sprint handheld full of Gatorade. I was hoping it would help with side stitches as well.

Mile 9 - 9:48
I stopped at the water stop at mile 9 and had them fill up my handheld. Mile 9 was the bridge, the top of the bridge was mile 10. My stomach also growled at this point.

Mile 10 - 9:49
Bridge...enough said. At least I ran up the entire thing. I did look at my Garmin at the top of the bridge and saw where I was. I knew it was going to be close.

Mile 11 - 10:05
I actually have no idea why this mile was slower than all the rest. It was mainly downhill. I was struggling, but I should have run it faster.

Mile 12 - 9:35
That is more like it...

Mile 13 - 9:38
I knew the end was near....

Mile .2 - 2:01

And finally done, 2:06:38. I was thirsty and tired, but I had no pain anywhere. Well, except for my arm that was chafed from my shirt (I had other chafing but it didn't hurt at that point). I didn't want any of the food they offered (bananas, peanut butter sandwiches). I started to get cold, so we hopped on the shuttle back to our cars at the start.

And then I had the BEST BURGER ever at Five Guys. It was probably really good because I was starving at that point. And then I got in my van and drove 3.5 hours home. Not ideal, but I had to get home.

Next up...full marathon...I have 14 miles on deck for Saturday for my long run. From here on out are new distances...

OBX Half Marathon update (full recap later this week)

2010-11-15T08:38:00.004-05:00

2:06:38 Official time
107/430 per division (35-39)
653/2386 for females

I was trying for 2:05, but I just couldn't pull it out. Running by yourself (at least for me and the fact that my last 2 half marathons were with friends) sucks. Still a 4 minute PR. Next up - Austin Marathon.

Garmin

2010-11-12T20:17:00.001-05:00

I own the old Garmin 305...how I would love to win this contest!

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/11/november-forerunner-210-giveaway.html

A Change

2010-11-10T08:53:00.002-05:00

Warning - this post is a lot of randomness....

Next week, I will be working for Ray and his business DreamLiving Realty. Without divulging too much information about my current job, I am beyond happy about this.

5 days until my half and I am a huge stress ball. I don't even want to talk about it. I just don't know what I am capable of. I guess I will know on Sunday.

I am completely impressed with the effort that Ashley has been putting in for her cheerleading competition (heck, all the girls on her squad are putting in a huge effort). She hasn't complained once about the practices (the past two weeks they have practiced Saturday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday). She is excited when she comes home to tell me how well she did in practice or what they worked on. I am keeping my fingers crossed they get first place on Saturday. They are only competing against 2 other squads, so their chances are good.

Less than a week

2010-11-08T12:15:00.003-05:00

The OBX Half marathon is next Sunday. I did 12 miles on Saturday in my very freaking hilly town, so I am thinking I am pretty ready for a nice flat course (except for the bridge at mile 10...).

I am definitely more prepared than I was for last year's race and the half marathon I did in March. I didn't run over 10 miles as a long run for either of those, and I did zero speedwork.

But the crappy thing? I received an email update this weekend and they won't be providing pace groups, a very last minute decision. Which really sucks because I was banking on running with the 2 hour pacer. I guess I will still try for 2 hours, but that really bums me out. I don't think I can alone push myself to run a sub-2 hour half. Maybe I can and I am underestimating myself, but I just don't know.

I am trying to also stay away from diet soda this week. This should be interesting.

So my goals for the race? The pie in the sky would be to finish in 1:59:59. Really, I think that is a HUGE stretch. It will be interesting, this is the first race I am running without a friend. A more realistic goal is to beat my previous time of 2 hours and 10 minutes. Or I could just treat it as a training run for my full marathon in February like my training plan for the full marathon says, but I don't know. I guess on Sunday morning I will be able to say how I feel and how I will run. Kind of cheating to wait until Sunday morning to set my goals, but no one said life was fair.

A little bit of cheer...

2010-11-05T09:30:00.003-04:00

Ashley's cheerleading competition is one week from tomorrow. I got to her practice a few minutes early last night and got to finally see the routine. Last year her squad came in 4th place - out of 4 teams. Everyone was disappointed. This year they have a new coach (the coach whose squad won overall at the competition last year) and they look so much better already and they still have 4 more practices to go. I am keeping my fingers crossed they will do much better this year.

And even more cheer? Virginia Tech won their football game last night.

And not so much cheer? I couldn't find Audrey's coat this morning, and I think I lost a check reimbursement from work for about $260. Grrr. I really need to organize at home and at work. It's driving me nuts.

I am running at lunch today, and of course I forgot my Garmin. Luckily I can go over to a path that has the miles marked, but still. I hate being that forgetful.

Listerine Challenge

2010-11-05T09:28:00.001-04:00

We got to participate in a 3 week challenge with Listerine - brush, floss and rinse twice a day for three weeks...check out here to see how we did.

Pictures

2010-11-01T13:07:00.002-04:00

I gave up a few years ago on getting the girls photos done at one of those places like Sears or Portrait Innovations. I was spending a ton of money of some good, most not so great photos as we were cattle-herded into one room while screaming children waited for their turn where we could see. Not the best situations to take pictures in.

Luckily I have a good friend who takes photos and takes them well. We get an outside setting (or inside like for Audrey's birthday party last year) and the girls are at ease. And I get pictures like the ones above - they really capture the girls. I love, love, LOVE that first photo.

If you live in the Raleigh area, her website is here...

Weekend

2010-11-01T12:28:00.002-04:00

Last weekend, Ray spent 5 days in Vegas for a friend's 40th birthday (which I have now been informed of is an annual trip considering it's 5 years before Ray's turns 40...). So this weekend it was the wives' turn for their trip. So 4 of us headed to Boston on Thursday morning - 3 of us from Raleigh and one of us from Texas.

I was the only one that had been to Boston before, and I had actually been twice - once with my Dad and once with Ray and another couple when Ashley was little. We saw the sights, ate amazing Italian food twice, and there were no kids to fight over who got to push the button to the elevator first. The only slightly bad thing about the weekend was the weather was cold on Friday and Saturday. I don't do well with cold. I admit it, I am a wimp.

I also had 12 miles on the schedule for my long run and Boston is an amazing place to run. My friend and I headed about 4 blocks from our hotel Friday morning to the Charles River trail, a wide paved path that goes for miles around the river along the city. The main thing? It was FLAT. I never get to run on flat here. It was my fastest 12 miles ever thanks to the flat and my speedy friend.

We made it back in time for Halloween festivities and then I promptly fell asleep at 8:30pm. 14 days until my half marathon, 110 days until the full marathon....let the countdown begin.

Happy Belated Birthday Ray!!

2010-10-26T14:55:00.003-04:00

His birthday was Saturday and considering he was in Las Vegas for 4 nights, I think he had a pretty good birthday. And he actually came home ahead which I think is a first. He actually wasn't there to celebrate his birthday but a good friend's 40th birthday. But it helped that it was his birthday as well.

So I was on my own with the kids which really wasn't too bad considering they had about 12,482 activities on Saturday alone (that is only a slight exaggeration). I got in trouble with the school for having Ashley ride the bus home with a friend on Thursday, but other than that, there were no snafus.

And in turn, I am leaving this weekend to spend with some friends, and leaving Ray with the girls and on Friday afternoon alone they have to be in 3 different places at the same time. Bwahahaha!! Good luck Ray.

I leave on Thursday for Boston to meet up with my friend who moved back to Texas over the summer. The same one I am running the Austin Marathon with in February. We get to run together in Boston which should be fun, but cold. Considering it is supposed to be 83 here tomorrow and the highs in Boston this week are 50s, I am not looking forward to running in the cold, but I will deal.

And in more so-so news, I will most likely be furloughed at work in November. Merry Christmas to me.

In the spirit of Halloween....

2010-10-22T09:24:00.003-04:00

I love ghost stories and ghost shows and ghost tours and anything related to the paranormal. I DVR Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures.

I saw the first Paranormal Activity movie and it was freaking scary. Thankfully I saw it in the comfort of my own home so I could cover my eyes and scream when I wanted to.

But I have a huge issue with the Paranormal Activity 2. Have you seen the previews? It involves a toddler, maybe 1 - 2 years old. It just crossed over the line with me. I will not be able to watch a movie where a toddler is messed with by a ghost or demon. Just can't do it. If you go see the movie, just let me know how it is.

One year older...

2010-10-21T12:41:00.003-04:00

I realized today that as of my birthday this past Tuesday, I am now in another age bracket in most races. Which of course doesn't really mean anything because I will never, ever place in my age group at any race, but just makes me feel that much older. And yes, I realize I am whining and I am not really old at 35, but some days I feel old. And the gray hairs on my head don't help.

I am on target to run over 100 miles this month, and I hit 500 miles for the year a while back. I still can't shake these last 5 pounds I want to lose though and I am thinking I need to add some cross training. I did the P90X Ab Ripper video the other day and I was so sore the next day it hurt to breath. I might try it again tonight.

I ran at lunch downtown again today and I didn't trip in front of the Krispy Kreme this time. I was amazed at how hilly downtown Raleigh really is.

Ashley has a performance at school tonight for the second graders. They are singing patriotic songs which I find odd. Why not Halloween songs? Before that, I have her parent-teacher conference which is always enlightening. She does well in school, but the teachers always have some funny story about her.

Continuing the crazy month

2010-10-18T12:34:00.003-04:00

My birthday is tomorrow. Oh, and it's my twin brother's birthday too. Funny how that works. While there are no big plans (Ashley has cheerleading and Audrey has dance), I am hopeful I will have a good day. I have to teach a training class at work, but since the class as of right now has only 2 people attending, I think it will be a piece of cake.

And no, Ray and I don't get each other any presents. His birthday is Saturday and since we both have out of town trips for other reasons than our birthdays, those trips have become our birthday "presents". I did however make some random money recently (thank you ebay!!) and bought my first ever running skirt. I haven't received it in the mail yet, so I am still keeping my fingers crossed it fits.

I also want for my birthday for Ashley to stop acting like a teenager. Seriously, she's seven and I swear she added a few gray hairs on me yesterday.

The even scarier thing? She's just like me.

We have new chore charts at home as we haven't been good lately at keeping up with the kids doing their chores (but it still doesn't stop Ashley from asking for her allowance). I added two important things to the chore charts - Be Nice to Your Sister and Give Your Sister a Hug. And yes, they have to do that everyday.

I am less than a month from my half marathon, and had 10 miles on the schedule this last Saturday. I will say this about my training this time - it is lonely to run by yourself. I did both training cycles last time with a friend and running with someone makes the time go by so much faster. I had to get the "just walk" words out of my head pretty much the entire run on Saturday. But I did it, and even finished a few minutes faster than the previous week's 10 miler. Every once in a while I look at my schedule for the full marathon (I am pretty much doing a 12 week program for the half, then a 16 week program for the full which overlaps the half schedule by 2 weeks) and get really scared. I have only ever run 13.1 miles, and the week after my half I have 14 miles on the schedule. Pretty freaking scary.

A really late random Disney post...

2010-10-12T13:11:00.002-04:00

We had an amazing time in Disney. The decision at the last minute to add on two additional nights was great. I liked having another full two days at the parks plus we got to enjoy the Food and Wine Festival.

I have had a few friends comment on how we go every year (ie affordability and is there really anything new) and why. Here's my answer:

Affording a Disney trip each year for us - We own Disney timeshare, something Ray and I purchased back in 2001 (prior to even being pregnant with Ashley). It was an unbelievably wise investment for us considering how much we enjoy Disney. That also gives us a mini-condo for the week which means we cook many meals in our room. We only ate dinner out three times in 8 nights, once was just eating at the Food and Wine festival, once at the ESPN club watching the VT/NC State game, and once at Le Cellier in Epcot. All other dinners were in our room. We had two character breakfasts, and one those days Ray and I were so full from breakfast we didn't eat lunch. And we also packed lunch 3 days to the parks and when we did buy meals in the parks for lunch, we shared meals. And I love how with the kids meals in Disney they serve carrots and grapes, they made great snacks for later in the day.

We also give the kids a set limit to spend for the vacation on souvenirs. They both had $50 to spend which Audrey blew through by the second day. Ashley was a little more conservative with her spending.

In the end, we were very happy with our room charge bill at the end (we charge everything back to the room). It helped too that as annual passholders we got discounts in many places.

New things to do - We always, always try something new each trip. There was not a new ride this time in a park (although there is normally a new parade or show), but we did get to see construction for the new section in Magic Kingdom. There is so much in Disney World that there are still things we haven't done to save for later trips. We also always try and eat somewhere we haven't before. This year it was Le Cellier in Canada in Epcot. Audrey got to try a few rides that she was finally tall enough for (Tower of Terror being one which she says she will not go on again until she is a mommy...). Ray and Ashley saw Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios one night. We stayed late for the Electrical Parade at Magic Kingdom too. Ashley pin traded for the first time and she got into Vinylmation trading too.

Things that were interesting - I saw many men with man-purses. It was actually quite funny. I told Ray I was going to buy him one for his birthday.

Disappointing things - And this had nothing really to do with Disney, but rather with people. We witnessed some really ugly behavior from some adults while waiting for the parade in Magic Kingdom. I think we all need to learn to be a little more patient. I also had a woman completely cut in front of me in line at a store. I normally don't do this, but as I walked past her after that, I said "karma is a bitch". Yes, I am that person. She pissed me off. The state of Americans and their weight was bothersome too. I saw way too many overweight kids and adults in wheelchairs. Pretty sad actually. There were times that the people waiting for wheelchair access was actually longer than the standby line for a ride.

What we really loved on this trip - We stay at Disney's Beach Club, and the pool at the resort has a sand bottom (not real sand, but Disney sand, sand that doesn't stick to you!). Plus it has a slide, a whirl pool thing, and hot tubs. Oh, and a bar which made the most amazing Tangerine Dream drinks that I have ever had. I may have had one or twenty of those. A couple of days we finished early afternoon at the parks and enjoyed the afternoon/early evening at the pool. It was relaxing and the kids loved it.

I still have not downloaded the 1200+ pictures I have taked, so none of those can be shared yet. And I am not sure when that will happen - I have travel for work this week and the big birthday week for Ray and I starts next week (we are both traveling on separate weekends in October). Oh, and throw in fitting in running when I can (like last night 7 mile speedwork on the treadmill at 8:30pm at the gym). I had never run more than 6 on a treadmill prior to last night, that was not fun last night.

Breast Cancer Awareness month

2010-10-12T12:18:00.004-04:00

My Mom had her surgery yesterday and is doing fine. And since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, you need to checkout the Hanes site. Hanes recently launched an online Design and Buy program that allows visitors to design their own T-shirts adorned with messages of hope, love and support. Additionally, Hanes will donate 10 percent of the proceeds from all custom T-shirts through the Design and Buy program to Komen for the Cure. Ashley and I had fun designing a t-shirt last night on the computer, and it was a great segway into what breast cancer was.

Additionally, for the second year, Hanes will offer its “Pink Collection” of panties, bras, socks, and tees designed to create awareness for the cause. As part of the collection, Hanes spokesperson and film star Melina Kanakaredes has designed three T-shirts meant to inspire and encourage others to join her in the fight against breast cancer.

I have this t-shirt, and per Hanes standards, it is comfortable and a perfect fit. They not only sell these online, but I have seen them in my local Walmart store.

Fall Down

2010-10-08T12:59:00.003-04:00

When I was in high school, I vividly remember a nasty fall I took on my bike one day. I went head first over my handle bars after hitting a rock. Somehow I got right back up and was fine.

I really can't remember the last time I fell after that. Of course you see where this is going.

I have been doing runs at lunch at work on Fridays, mostly at a local trail that is about 10 minutes from my office. But today I forgot my Garmin and I had a ton of stuff to do at work, so I just decided I would map out my 3 miler on the streets of downtown Raleigh and have at it. I work about 2 blocks from a Krispy Creme donut shop (where the Krispy Creme Challenge is run from). I was right in front of it when I hit a lip in the sidewalk and sprawled out. Seriously, one second I was running, the next I was on the ground.

I immediately sat up, and a car actually stopped and asked if I was okay. I was fine, just scraped both hands and my right knee and leg. I was really just more embarrassed than anything. I kept running and washed up when I got back to my office.

I still need to type up my list of things I learned while in Disney (despite this being my 16th trip there, I still learn stuff every time we go) and I still need to unpack at home. Yes, we have been home for a week, don't judge. I did manage to get the Halloween decorations up last night upon the kids urging. And we finally have milk.

I have 10 miles on deck for tomorrow, maybe I should ice my leg when I get home?

I don't even know where to start...

2010-10-05T14:46:00.002-04:00

We got back on Sunday and we still have no milk in our fridge (and Ray did a quick grocery story run last night, but somehow beer made it home but neither milk nor diet cokes did...). Bags are not unpacked. And stuff keeps getting added to the schedule every freaking day. This weekend is booked, just saying.

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If you notice on the side bar, down below the Hokies banner is a My Blog Cares/Blogs Against Breast Cancer 2010. When you publish the “My Blog Cares” badge on your blog or website, Diets in Review will make a $5 donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Why is this important? Breast Cancer hits 1 in 8 women. And where I used to know someones mom or someones friend who had breast cancer, I now really know someone. My Mom was diagnosed last week with breast cancer, and not to worry, they caught it extremely early.

Get screened early and often. I am only turning 35 this month, but will have my second mammogram this month. Get your annual check up and see what your doctor says.

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I ran last night at the gym, 6 sucktacular miles on the dreadmill. The only thing that made them go by quickly was my friend Wendy on the dreadmill next to me talking. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made it. 3 miles tonight in between dance/dinner/cheer/book club, and hopefully I will be back on track.

Disney

2010-10-04T09:44:00.003-04:00

I have tried to type this sentence multiple times to try and capture just how great a vacation we had. I will have to download some pictures over the next week and share some stories about the week, but it was great. Fun was had by all. We had great weather, we enjoyed the parks and the pool at our resort multiple times, rode rides, and ate great food at the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot.

I only ran once though, my only regret from this vacation. I plan on getting back on track this week as my half marathon is a little over a month away.

For now, it is back to school for Ashley after being tracked out for 3 weeks. This morning was only slightly rough after getting home at 8pm last night. And of course with stuff every.night.this.week, we jump right back into the chaos.

I wish I was back at the pool drinking my Tangerine Dream drink....

Out

2010-09-24T18:56:00.002-04:00

I won't be posting next week while at Disney, so have a good week...I will tell the mouse you say hello....

And wish me luck, we are leaving at 2:00am to make the drive.

See you in a week...

It's only Tuesday...

2010-09-21T12:04:00.004-04:00

Random bullets for today:

Everyone at work thinks I am good at finding out information. IT'S CALLED GOOGLE. Or the HELP MENU.
My right shin is tight for some reason today.
I am getting new running shoes tomorrow.
Ray met Jon Voight on Sunday night at a bar in Dallas, Texas. He just walked up to the table Ray was sitting at and asked him the score of the football game, like he was just some random person. Ray snapped a photo with his iPhone.
Grandma is here, so that means that one of the girls is sleeping with her each night. Which in turn means the other one is sleeping with me.
My kids are bed hogs, even in a king sized bed.
Did 6 miles last night, have 18 more to do before Friday evening.
I woke up this morning thinking it was Wednesday and wishing it was Friday.
The leaves are starting to change here, yet it is still in the 90s during the day.

I realize I have been MIA....

2010-09-20T10:21:00.002-04:00

I realize that I was missing most of last week. These past few weeks have been a blur....and it is only getting worse this week.

Ashley is tracked out of school, Ray is on a trip, my Mom is here to help out, Girl Scouts starts today, we leave for Disney on Friday night/Saturday morning for 9 days.

Yes, 9 days. In my favorite place on Earth.

And I haven't packed, I haven't finished my spreadsheet with our plans, I have a concert to go to Thursday night (Lady Antebellum), and I have to fit in my long run for the week before work on Friday. I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday AND I am playing my bassoon for Audrey's class that afternoon since they are focusing on musical instruments this week.

So wish me luck this week. I have to fit in my runs some how as next week I am making it a step back week where I will only run 20 miles. I just might hit 100 miles for the month of September, which the most miles I have ever had in month prior to this is 70. So yea, this month is pretty crazy.

And October doesn't get any easier....

Long Run Fail

2010-09-13T09:31:00.002-04:00

Let's get one thing out of the way first: College Football is dead to me now. At least the Redskins beat Dallas last night. One redeeming thing for the weekend.

Moving on.

So Saturday morning I planned on running a 5K with my good friend Nikki (who graduated from JMU and I talked smack with about the football game until Virginia Tech decided to LOSE) whose Mom passed away from Ovarian Cancer. It was the Gail Perkins Memorial Ovarian Cancer Run and Walk. So then I was going to do my long run on Sunday morning of 9 miles to finish out the week. No biggie, although it did kind of screw with my schedule. I am pretty used to having Sundays of no running.

The 5K was hard - as in extremely hilly hard. As in my chip time (although there was no mat at the start, and I was in the back of the pack to start) was 30:15. I ran with Nikki the whole time, and at one point we were running up a hill, and we both decided we could walk up the hill faster than we were running.

Finished up there, and then it was a normal Saturday. Ashley cheered at a town about 45 minutes away, so later on Saturday we headed out there. By the end of the game after driving and sitting in bleachers in on and off again rain, my right calf hurt. As in walking it hurt. By the time I got home at 8:30, I iced it and hoped for the best. But Sunday morning it was still sore, and I made the executive decision to skip my long run for the day. It was hard and I questioned it over and over again, but I am glad I did it. I think mentally I needed a break as well. And this morning, there is no pain at all in my calf so running can commence again.

This week was actually supposed to be a step back week in mileage with a long run of only 4 miles, so obviously that is going to be changed to 9 miles. I think it will all work out in the end.

First Day of Pre-K

2010-09-09T21:46:00.000-04:00

Audrey had her first official day of Pre-K this week...and yes, Ray and I are counting down the days until we no longer have to pay for her school and she goes to kindergarten. She wears a uniform to Pre-K which I am hoping makes my mornings run just a little smoother.

Notice the white croc...Ray took Audrey to the pool one day last week, and sprayed her with sunscreen with her shoes on and it turned her shoe white.

Some Really Good Runs Last Week

2010-09-08T21:37:00.001-04:00

As I mentioned in my last post, we left early for the beach last Saturday. We wanted to be on the road by 8am, but I had 8 miles on the schedule. So I did what any other crazy fanatical runner would do - I got up at 5:15am and ran.

It was like a tale of two runs...look at my splits below:

Mile 1 - 10:46
Mile 2 - 10:49
Mile 3 - 11:03
Mile 4 - 11:14 (Walked to take a Gu)
Mile 5 - 9:46
Mile 6 - 9:53
Mile 7 - 9:18
Mile 8 - 9:04

Look at that last mile! I will say that the first 4 miles had a ton of uphills in them and the last 4 had more downhills. I always struggle in the beginning and it shows. But I was very happy with the negative (sort of) splits.

Monday I had a tempo run on the schedule - 1 mile warm up, 3 miles at about 9:45/mile pace, 1 mile cool down. I was so excited to be able to attempt this outside instead of at the gym since we were still at the beach and it was very, very flat.

Mile 1 - 10:51 (I obviously take my warm up mile very seriously..)
Mile 2 - 9:12
Mile 3 - 9:19
Mile 4 - 9:51
Mile 5 - 9:53

I was very, very happy with how that run went. Let's hope I keep up the good running vibes the rest of this week. I have a 5k on Saturday and 9 miles on the schedule for Sunday.

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-07T21:14:00.003-04:00

We are lucky enough to have good friends who bought a beach house in Oak Island, NC this summer. We celebrated the last long weekend of the summer with them at their beach house. There was a concern at first for hurricane Earl, but considering it didn't even rain in Raleigh, we figured it was safe to head to the beach for the weekend. We left early Saturday morning and we were on the beach at noon. I will say that the waves on Saturday were huge - the biggest waves I have seen on a North Carolina beach. The kids could really only play in the waves near the shore and couldn't really boogie board. Sunday was calm and clear (as you can see from the pictures below). We were on the beach for over 6 hours on Sunday. Yes, the kids love the beach as much as I do. And our friend rented a paddle board for the day too. All the kids took a turn trying it out. It is basically a huge surf board with a paddle and it was so much fun. And it was also one hell of a workout.

Here is Ashley the first time on it. That's our friend helping her out. He's the master surfer.

She's getting the hang of it.

I just like this shot with the boats in the background...

And she finally grabs a hold of the paddle. I am not sure how much she used it, but at least she tried. In the end, she caught a wave while she was sitting in the middle of the board and it was like watching it in slow motion as the paddle board took a nose dive and sent Ashley face first into the sand. But she was okay after some crying and went back on it later. She just didn't want to ride any waves in on it.

Audrey just hung out...but don't worry, she got a turn too.

She wouldn't let go of my arm. She lasted only a few minutes, but still, she did it!

And then it was my turn. And this is the only photo that was okay to post....all the others were not flattering to say the least. My quads were burning when I got off the board. And yes, I am wearing a weird hat as I forgot my sunglasses. Actually it is my Virginia Tech hat, and no, I am not ashamed to wear it even after we lost to Boise State.

Running update

2010-09-03T09:10:00.004-04:00

I promise pictures of Ashley cheering at the high school football game last night will be posted tonight (that is mostly to appease my Mom...).

I get kind of bummed when I read some running blogs that preach and preach about the benefits of running 30-40 miles a week. I think that I am not doing enough and it will affect me in my races.

But then I step back and realize a couple of things. First off, I ran my first half marathon last year without taking my mileage over 17 miles a week and I had a pretty respectable time. Then I ran another one without going much over 15 miles a week. So I am hoping that my 20-30 miles I am running a week now will be an improvement.

And I am busy - working full time, two kids in multiple activities, a husband who owns his own real estate business with wacky hours some days, a husband who is also training for the half marathon, and I lead my daughter's brownie troop and am team mom for cheerleading. I am doing what I can to get the miles in, and it's enough.

So this week has been all about squeezing in runs when I can. Monday night after the kids went to bed I hit the gym for 5 miles of speedwork which I hit all my paces (yipee!). Wednesday morning was a 5 miler and it was an adventure. It was hot as I got started around 8:30am after the kids were at school and I got snapped at my a HUGE turtle and I almost stepped on a snake. I hate snakes.

This morning I got up at 5:30am to get 4 miles in before the kids got up. I will do the same for my 8 miler in the morning. I normally run at lunch time on Fridays, but it is supposed to be 97 here today and we have a lunch event at work today and Audrey will be with me at work since her school is closed for a teacher workday. It was really nice to get up and get it done. I can see why Ray likes getting up early and running. And I stayed away from the path around the pond by our house as I didn't want to encounter anymore snakes or turtles.

Ashley and Audrey have been invited to a Camp Rock 2 movie party tonight which they are extremely excited about. It's a perfect way to start the holiday weekend.

Dinner Games

2010-08-31T15:27:00.002-04:00

We often play the Family Time Fun Beginner Dinner Games because the girls like it (my kids like to talk) and it's often better than the how was school conversation.

Last night we drew a card where you got to wave around the magic spoon and say three things you would wish for.

My wishes:
1. A running skirt
2. A new van (And really, I'm not sure why I said this as our van is only 2 years old and perfectly fine. I think the girls had me frazzled demanding I answer so they could.)
3. And I never got to say my third one as mentioned above, the girls got a little anxious about saying what they wanted.

Ashley's Wishes:
1. For everyone to take care of the Earth (very nice of her and frankly I was shocked by the fact it wasn't a material item.)
2. A horse
3. A scooter (Yes, there are some kids in our neighborhood who drive around on their scooters, and unless a Grandparent is willing to buy her one, she is never getting one from Ray nor I.)

Audrey's Wishes:
1. To get hugs from Mommy all the time (I always tell her she gives the best hugs)
2. To never die. (Yes, she seriously said that. Hmm.)
3. To go to Marbles, the local kid's museum

Sleep

2010-08-29T14:09:00.000-04:00

I have posted many, many times I am sure about sleep issues in our house (and I don't feel like going back through the archives and finding those posts).

Old sleep issues seemed to have been resolved, only for new ones to rear their ugly heads.

Ashley has always, always been a great sleeper once she decided at 18 months to sleep through the night. We had some hiccups along the way, but at least since she was in preschool she would go to bed at night and be asleep before her head hit the pillow. And she would stay that way until morning, although sometimes that morning was a little earlier than I wanted.

But lately, it's a different story. I don't know what's up with her. She is having trouble falling asleep. I often go upstairs after I put the girls to bed to find her up walking around. And yes, part of the problem is that Audrey is up walking around, but I will get to that in a minute. A few nights ago, it was after 10 before she finally fell asleep. And she is waking up in the middle of the night and doing God knows what but every morning I find her bedroom door open. By Friday, she is so tired she's toast.

Audrey just needs to not nap at school. She naps, she doesn't fall asleep until late, then is tired, then naps again at school. The weekends are great because she falls right to sleep. I can't do anything about it though. I am not going to tell her teachers to keep her awake, that's not her job. She is obviously tired because she isn't falling asleep until late, so it's just a vicious cycle. One more year and she's off to kindergarten and no naps.

So any suggestions for Ashley would be helpful. I feel so bad when I have to wake her up in the morning when I know she is tired. Maybe it's an age thing?

Avocado League

2010-08-27T14:46:00.001-04:00

Check out about avocados and get some great recipes here....

Time

2010-08-27T13:53:00.003-04:00

The bus came on time yesterday, go figure. Although I am pretty sure enough of us called/emailed/faxed or whatever yesterday to make sure that our kids didn't get home at 4:00pm again. We shall see what time the bus comes today.

First week of training, so far so good (sort of). I was supposed to do a tempo run on Monday, and I figured I would do it at the gym. It was supposed to be 1 mile warm-up, 3 miles at 9:43 pace, the 1 mile cool down. Using the treadmill conversion, that meant I was running the 3 miles at 6.4 which isn't too bad for me.

But 2.5 miles into it, I was done. I don't know if it was dinner, too much water, my stupid underwear riding up my butt the whole time or what, but I took the pace down and then only did 4 miles. I made up the other mile on Wednesday where I did 5 instead of 4. And it was a glorious 5 miles since it was actually only in the 70s and overcast for the run. I hadn't done one of those in months. And today was another 4 at lunch where it was about 90, but not as humid and I ran a shaded trail. 8 tomorrow to round out the week at 21 miles.

One week almost down, 11 to go until OBX.

Tonight is a jazz class for Ashley. Yes, we actually have an activity on a Friday night, but there was no way around it with her cheerleading schedule. And she really wanted to take a jazz class. And three of her friends are in it with her.

I realized this week that I have taken absolutely no photos of anything this month. Pretty pathetic. So my challenge for this weekend and next week is to take pictures. Audrey has a birthday party to go to tomorrow, and next week Ashley gets to cheer at the high school football game on Thursday night. So plenty of opportunities for pictures.

Why can't they just get it right the first time?

2010-08-26T09:15:00.002-04:00

So Ashley normally gets off the bus around 3:15pm. Just in time for her piano lessons on Thursdays at 3:30pm and enough time for Ray to get her off the bus and go get Audrey from school and then to Audrey's dance class at 4:00pm on Tuesdays. Yes, it's cutting it close, but it works.

Until yesterday. The bus didn't come until after 4:00pm. Not only does this screw us up, but I am pissed for the fact that we literally live less than a mile from the school, and Ashley sat in her classroom and then in the office when her teacher left for 45 minutes after the final bell.

The problem is the traditional calendar schools started yesterday here in Wake County, and our bus driver has a middle school route prior to our route. And she said that her middle school route takes her an hour. WTF? So my kid sits in school for almost an hour waiting for the bus to come get her? She could walk home faster than that.

So I have called the school and emailed and called transportation. Hopefully this will get changed, otherwise I am screwed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Plus, it makes for a long day for Ashley. She gets on the bus at 7:45am. So if she doesn't get home until after 4:00pm, that's over 8 hours.

GAH! This stuff stresses me out. We were on a perfect schedule for the past 6.5 weeks that we have been in school.

Texas

2010-08-20T15:27:00.007-04:00

We miss our friends that moved to Texas...Ashley still talks about her best friend Catalina everyday. Hence the poem she did for homework last night....

Another neighbor was lucky enough to go and visit them last week, and brought me back a shirt.

And no, I am not switching loyalties to Texas. If you recall, the last time Virginia Tech played Texas was in the Sugar Bowl my senior year of college (which was *cough*cough* many, many years ago) and Virginia Tech won.

But I will wear this shirt proudly. On non-football playing days. Go Hokies!

Oh, and THANK GOD ITS THE WEEKEND...that's all I have to say about this week. Let's just say it started off with me wearing my shirt inside-out to the bus stop on Monday morning, and it has just never stopped from there.

I have no title for this post

2010-08-16T12:25:00.004-04:00

I hate having projects unfinished, and Ashley's room was a project that was unfinished (and actually still is until Ray hangs her curtain rod TONIGHT). The big thing left to do was to paint. And paint we did. Her room is now a "brave purple" color. Ray did some of the painting, and I finished up on Saturday morning while Audrey was at a friend's school's festival and Ashley was at a birthday party. I know, a kid free Saturday morning, and I spent it painting. I would have much rather spent it at a coffee shop reading a book, but oh well. Next time. And I guess I could actually take pictures of the room...add that to my to-do list tonight.

Prior to the painting, I did 7 miles bright and early with my friend Wendy on the Tobacco Trail. There were a ton of runners/bikers out Saturday morning, even at the 6:30am hour we got started at. I am guessing all the fall marathon training schedules have started. I officially start my training next week on the 23rd. This was my sixth straight week of around 20 miles or so, and my legs were feeling it. They were just tired. I think I might step it back a few miles this week before I get back into an official training schedule next week.

And speaking of training, I used the Smart Coach application (or you can find it on Runner's World) for my training plan for both the half marathon and the full I am doing. Keep your fingers crossed it gets me a PR in my half marathon in November. And because I am psycho about spreadsheets, I am still tweaking the schedule today. We have our Disney vacation in September and I have a weekend trip in October that all need to go into consideration when looking at my training schedule.

Last week, Audrey started soccer and holy crap, she loves it. So unlike her sister which we endured two seasons of intro to soccer of Ashley playing in the dirt instead of actually paying attention to the coach. She did start to melt at the end, but it was over 90 degrees and she was hot. Yes, pictures of this to come soon as well. As soon as I remember to bring a camera to practice.

And speaking of practice, she has practice on Thursdays from 5:45 - 6:45pm. Ashley has cheer leading from 6:00-7:30pm that day as well. I drop Ashley off at a neighbors for her to hitch a ride at 5:30pm, then take Audrey to soccer (Ray last week had a realtor event, this week hopefully he will be home because getting them both fed and ready was not fun). This Thursday? It is also Ashley's open house for school as well at parent's night out at Audrey's school (where we would have had free childcare for 3 hours, guess we will get it next time) and the open house at their dance school. Luckily they both know their dance teachers, but I still want to go to Ashley's open house. What is it with everything being on the same day?

Heat (again)

2010-08-11T13:56:00.003-04:00

I ran 5 miles this morning with an average pace of about 10:30/mile which was pretty good considering IT WAS 84 DEGREES WHEN I STARTED.

I partially melted, but I ran on the Tobacco Trail where it is mostly shady. But I still used about half of my water to dump on my head instead of in my mouth.

And on more exciting running news, I am being considered for a book Melinda Hinson Neely is writing about marathons. I am not one of the six featured runners, but will be featured in a smaller part in her book. She enjoyed all the various stories of why people are running, and decided she couldn't leave anyone out.

So I guess I really have to run the Austin Marathon in February. You can read the details here.

I was also quoted in Parents magazine this month about being a working Mom with sick kids. They got Ashley and Audrey's ages wrong, and it wasn't this last winter, but the winter before. Oh well, I guess they can't get everything right. But really, read the article. What some Moms have done is CRAZY when their kids get sick. I am lucky in that Ray and I can swap out taking turns, or even do half days. That and I have an employer who is very understanding.

The fighting....

2010-08-10T10:34:00.002-04:00

Little did Ray and I know that having two girls 2.5 years apart would create two human beings who would rather fight with each other over every.little.thing than actual be nice for a few minutes.

The fighting seems to never stop. Ashley touches Audrey, Audrey hits Ashley back. One is sitting in the other one's way, one gives the other one the stink eye.

Yes, really sometimes they fight over stupid stuff. I am shocked, I know.

Most of the time the arguments are created over competition and Ashley bragging that she gets to do something her sister does not. Like who gets their vitamins first in the morning. Who goes down the stairs first. Who takes a shower first.

But then we have a morning like this one. Audrey announced she was line leader, Ashley wanted to ride piggyback down the stairs (yes, she is too big for this, but if it would get them downstairs and eating breakfast, I am willing to ride a skateboard down the stairs...). Audrey then saw she was missing out on riding on my back, and threw a fit. To which Ashley said her sister could do it instead of her.

Then at the bus stop, Audrey actually gave her sister a hug. To which I said I needed to write this date down, a day when they were actually nice to each other. So this is me writing it down.

The Countdown has begun....

2010-08-09T11:29:00.002-04:00

And my training plan has even been tweaked for our upcoming annual trip to Disney World (I do plan on running while there). We are going the last week in September when Ashley is tracked out of school. I can't freaking wait. Neither can the kids; Audrey keeps mentioning things she wants to do in Disney World, and Ashley has money put aside already.

I need to finalize my spreadsheet for the trip and start a packing list. Yes, I am anal and I love spreadsheets and lists.

This trip will actually be a cheap-ish trip for us. We don't pay for our room (well, we paid for it years ago when we bought Disney timeshare), we have annual passes we purchased last December that are obviously still good, we still have some water park tickets from years ago, and we plan on packing our lunches again and eating in the room as much as possible (we packed lunches for the first time when we went in December, and it worked out great). Don't get me wrong, we have our traditional Chef Mickey's breakfast buffet planned as well as our first ever time to Le Cellier in Epcot to eat. I also plan on eating as much desserts as possible (bring on the Mickey shaped ice cream bars!). Whatever souvenirs the kids want they have to buy with their own money. Ashley has a Visa giftcard from her birthday she is saving and Audrey has some money in her piggy bank.

We also drive to Disney, normally leaving the Raleigh area around 2:00am putting us there before lunch. And yes, we might be crazy for this as well, but it works for us.

And here is our tally of times we have been to Disney:
Amy - 14 times
Ray - 10 times
Ashley - 7 times
Audrey - 4 times

Crazy? Possibly. We just love all that a Disney World vacation has to offer. I would go more than once a year if Ray (and our bank account) would let us. I am also excited about running while there. There is a great website for running in Disney here. And I know the next obvious question - when will I run an actual Disney marathon? There is actually one there the day after we leave this year, but we can't stay an extra day (its the new Disney Wine and Dine one). The Princess Half is the same month as the Austin Marathon I am doing, so that is out. I am hoping for 2012...

I am in love with my Garmin, but I could definitely use a new one...

2010-08-05T16:16:00.002-04:00

Cool giveaway here....

Running again...

2010-08-04T11:54:00.002-04:00

So a few weeks ago, I had something every night it seemed, and while most events (like me going to the gym) were after the kids went to bed, I still felt guilty and decided to reevaluate my running schedule for the fall half marathon. And with soccer/dance for Audrey and cheerleading/dance for Ashley this fall, our schedule gets a little crazy. That, and cheerleading is 2 nights a week from 6-7:30pm, and I just signed up to help out on the Tuesday night practices. Because as my friends would say, I can't say no.

That and last night on our night-run, it was pretty darn dark when my friend and I finished. There is a trail that is pretty short, maybe a quarter of a mile, that runs between Ashley's elementary school and our street and it goes through the woods. We hit that trail at 8:45pm last night and it was scary. Dark, scary, and we had just finished up a conversation about snakes. So needless to say, I was worried about stepping on one. So I think our nightly runs will have to take a backseat, or just run at the gym.

My running schedule which officially starts on August 23:
Mondays - speed work at the gym on the treadmill where I can concentrate on my pace
Wednesdays - morning run or lunchtime run (I work from home on Wednesdays)
Fridays - run at lunchtime at work (I did this in the winter)
Saturdays - long runs in the morning

So it will only be one night a week where I am at the gym at night. Last week I ran 20 miles for the first time ever in a week, but this training cycle I will get up to 30 miles in on week. Pretty scary!

Running and exercising with kids

2010-08-02T16:38:00.003-04:00

I don't boast fast times when I run, nor do I run 30-40 miles a week. I try to hit 20 miles a week, and at best, I come close (although my new training plan that starts this month for the half marathon in November and the full in February have me running 20+ miles each week). I work full-time, have 2 kids, and I could go on with the list of other things I am involved in, but I would just bore you to death.

I do try to keep my workouts at night after the kids go to bed or incorporate the kids into my workouts (Ray takes the early morning shift running). Like yesterday. I took the girls to see a movie, then we went back home where all they wanted to do again was watch TV. Since for the first time in 2 months it wasn't 90+ degrees outside and I needed a measly 2.5 miles to get my 20 miles for the week, I took the kids to a local track at a middle school. Ashley biked, Audrey biked and ran/walked. I ran and the girls had fun watching me for my last 2 laps.

I also wrote for a great website, Diets in Review this past weekend. You can check out my article here....

Quick Recap

2010-07-27T11:56:00.003-04:00

Ashley's birthday party was a success. I took her and some of her friends to see the Ramona and Beezus movie on Saturday. Great movie for girls (Ray was utterly bored with it) but warning, it has some sad parts in it. Audrey was sobbing at one point over something that happened and Ray had to take her out of the theater for a few minutes.

Her present from us and the Grandparents was a new bed. I found one I liked on Ikea's website, and it was even available to order online (or so I thought). The closest 2 stores to us are in Charlotte, NC or Woodbridge, VA (both 3 hours or more away). So I went to order it Sunday and I could add the bed to my cart, but then when I went to pay, it said the bed was not available online. Nor was it available at either close store.

Next option - a discount furniture warehouse place nearby. I found the perfect bed, and the price was $399, but it said "any reasonable offers accepted". So I offered $299 and got it. Ray was pissed as he of course thought I could have talked them down to $250, but I am just not good at that stuff. New bedding from ebay has been ordered, and now she just needs to pick a room color, and her new-ish room makeover for her birthday will be complete.

I did get a run in Saturday morning with Ann again on the Tobacco Trail. We only did 6 this time, and it went by fast. It made me realize that training for the Austin Marathon in December and January by myself is going to SUCK A$$. I might have to pay people to run with me.

The Heat is Going to Kill Me

2010-07-23T09:33:00.003-04:00

Last night I met up with my friend Wendy to run 4 miles at a new trail (new to me anyway) in a neighboring town.

When we started at 8:00pm, it was 95 degrees outside. When we finished about 45 minutes later, it was still 91 degrees out.

I was soaked. We made it 2 miles (and up 2 hills) before I needed a quick walk break. I felt like I couldn't catch my breath.

I am not normally a wimp in the heat, but running in it sucks. Twice on the trail we had runners fly by us. So I guess it is just me who sucks running in the heat.

Yesterday

2010-07-22T11:55:00.002-04:00

Ashley turned 7 yesterday. I know! Seven!

And I didn't write my usual post dedicated to her and this past year. I just couldn't bring myself to it. Every time I started writing, I started crying. I know every parent says this, but I really can't believe she's seven.

See? I am crying just typing that little bit. So Happy Birthday Ashley. From your pathetically emotionally Mother. I am pretty sure on your wedding day you may as well set up an entire barricade of tissues around me. That or sedate me, either one.

So for her birthday, we let her pick her dinner place. I was thinking she would pick Red Robin which is the only restaurant Ray truly hates. Worst case I thought she would pick McDonalds.

She chose The Pit, you know, the downtown Raleigh restaurant that has been featured on the Food Network a few times. Yea, that place.

She loves their mac and cheese. And you can only imagine how good the mac and cheese is there. To.die.for. Yummy stuff.

Our friend's daughter's birthday is today, so they joined us for dinner too. We successfully stuffed ourselves, and then ordered dessert.

This was after I took Ashley cupcakes at school for lunch. And the celebration continues this week. Ray is taking Ashley golfing after school this afternoon. Tomorrow night we have a pool party to attend (not one for Ashley, but playing in the pool with free food and drinks will be fun). And then Saturday is her birthday party. We are taking her and 8 of her friends to see the new Ramona and Beezus movie and then back to our house for dinner and cake.

The other good news is that Ray doesn't have to work his open houses this weekend, so Sunday we actually get to go to the pool as a family, instead of me taking the girls by myself. And considering we are on target to hit a record number of days in a row in the 90s (seriously, last night driving home from the restaurant at 8:00pm is was still 91 degrees out...), the pool is a must on the weekends here.

The Pool

2010-07-19T15:20:00.003-04:00

I am going to say my streak is still alive considering I carried Audrey up the steps to the top of the slide at our pool once on Sunday. Which that is an accomplishment as I seem to have caught some sort of stomach thing where my stomach is pretty pissed at me. As soon as Ray got home from working his open house last night, I raised my white flag and went to bed.

So the pool. Audrey loves the pool now. She wears her life vest and will go down the slide, jump in the deep end, go off the diving board, have fun in the lazy river (yes, our pools in our neighborhood ROCK).

But yesterday she decided to fight her sister over a sea noodle Ashley picked up out of lost and found, despite the fact that she didn't need it to keep her afloat. So at break time, she threw a fit which included her hitting me. So we left (and lucky for Ashley, her friend was at the pool and her family said she could stay with them so I could take Satan child home). I carried a screaming Audrey out of the pool and to the van. At that point, she realized what was up, and completely calmed down and said, "I am ready to go back to the pool now. I calmed down."

I told her hitting and having a temper-tantrum (my friend who has a 4.5 year old right now is going through the same temper-tantrum stuff with her son)(I still say and this is proof that the halves are worse than the wholes) was not acceptable and we could go back to the pool another day. Which of course this brought on more crying until we got home. To which she decided as we got out of the van that she was going to walk back to the pool (about 3/4 of a mile, or more, I forget). I go inside and watch her through the front door. She stands there, acts like she is going to walk down the steps, then she peers back into the front door. And then comes in, saying sorry.

She was tired and hungry. We both got changed, and she hung out with me on the couch. She may be small, but no one is ever going to mess with this kid. She can throw one heck of a tantrum....

I am not flexible

2010-07-16T12:15:00.003-04:00

Last night I did the P90X Yoga DVD. Well, okay, I didn't do the whole hour and 32 minutes of it. I had children that decided 8:00pm was not a good bedtime and continually called me to their rooms. I think I did about 45 minutes.

And I am sore today in my upper body - my back, weird spots on my arms, core. And really, I am so not flexible. I know that and accept that. I will never be able to bend over and touch my toes.

I was going to get up and do the Ab Ripper DVD prior to work, but I slept all night on about a 2 inch patch of my bed due to the fact the sleepless children decided that the only way they were going to sleep last night was in our bed. So it was me, Ray, Ashley, Audrey, and Tootles. Audrey is the type of sleeper that you scoot over to get away from her, she just scoots closer. So I continually lost prime bed real estate all night long. And really, I should of just gotten up and gone in the guest room, but that would have been too much effort. And then about 5:59am (right before my alarm was going to go off), Tootles fell off the bed. She was fine, but it was funny. Poor dog.

So tonight, ab DVD to keep my 30 day challenge to myself alive. Then running in the morning with my blogging friend Ann at the Tobacco Trail tomorrow morning. She has 12 on her schedule, I am going to try and hang on for 8 miles. I haven't done anything over 5.5 miles in over a month. I really need to build back my endurance for the long runs. I am about a month out from starting my half marathon training for OBX.

Let's Go Hokies!!

2010-07-15T11:01:00.000-04:00

Day 2 and 3 and a winner

2010-07-14T11:08:00.002-04:00

Last night at her swim meet, Ashley finally won a heat! She took first in her heat for backstroke. She was ecstatic. And she came very, very close in breast stroke as well (and she is in a much higher heat in breast stroke).

But the swim meet went long, so by the time we got home and cleaned up and the kids in bed, it was almost 10:00pm. I did do the Ab Ripper video, and yes, my abs are sore today. Not as sore as I thought they would be, but sore. And then this morning I ran 5 miles in the heat and humidity. I will not share my time because it was really pathetic, but I did it.

So three days down in the 30 day challenge...

Day One

2010-07-13T09:01:00.002-04:00

I ran last night with my friend Wendy. And yes, I am on the East Coast and the humidity stinks, but going out at 8:00pm helped some. That and we were sprinkled on a few times.

4.25 miles done.

No running today, Ashley has a swim meet tonight. I plan on doing the P90X Ab Ripper video and some leg exercises when I get home from that.

New Challenge

2010-07-12T11:30:00.002-04:00

Now that school is back and we are back to a somewhat normal schedule and I have to get back into half marathon training again in the middle of August, I have decided to give myself a new challenge for the next 30 days - do freaking something exercise worthy everyday. And it is starting today. Luckily, I have the P90X Ab Ripper and Yoga DVDs, so on days I don't run or go to the gym, I plan on doing those. I will keep track of this here, just to make myself accountable.

I haven't run in a week. Last week was vacation and running around and then this weekend I was hit with a head cold. So I took the wimpy way out and didn't run. But I have conned my friend Wendy to run with me tonight.

We finally had a weekend where we had nothing planned. Well, Ashley did have a friend spend the night Friday night and she had swim team practice on Saturday, but that was it. I pretended I was Betty Crocker and actually made dinner ahead for tonight, made a crapton of pancakes and froze them, and did grocery shopping. I also made Ashley's birthday party invitations and got those out the door (made them with the computer and scrapbooking supplies I had on hand - free invitations rock)(I am taking Ashley and 9 of her friends to see the new Ramona and Beezus movie for her birthday). We hit the pool yesterday with friends and just relaxed. I think it was the weekend we all needed. Especially me. I had a not so good week last week for multiple reasons, so this weekend helped some.

Ashley had a great first day of school and loves her teacher. She has two weeks of swim team left and then she will have a few weeks break from activities until cheerleading starts mid August. Then dance starts in September for both girls, and Ray just signed Audrey up for soccer this morning. Which I think starts next month too. Add in Girl Scouts and piano lessons and Y Princesses, trips for both Ray and I in October and our 35th birthdays (which I am seriously having issues with even though I realize it isn't a big one like 4-0), I think our fall is all booked out. Oh, and a trip to Disney World in September when Ashley is tracked out of school. And a half marathon race in November. GAH! Typing that all out just made my head spin around....

First Day of School

2010-07-09T09:34:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I took Ashley and a few of her friends to get their nails "done".
Because today is the first day of school. Meet my new second-grader who didn't even want me to walk her to the bus stop (although I did).

Almost back to our regular schedule

2010-07-07T19:22:00.002-04:00

I took most of this week off since Ashley's goes back to school on Friday and I wanted her to have a little bit of a break from 3 weeks of camps before she started school. And no, I have no idea why they are starting on Friday. So back to school for her on Friday and back to work for me on Friday.

We had a really great 4th of July holiday. We headed back to the beach where we enjoyed full days on the sand (Monday we were on the beach from 8:00am until 4:00pm). Both of the girls unfortunately complained of headaches and sore throats throughout the weekend and today I decided to take Ashley to the doctor. She just has a sinus infection which I thought was going to be the diagnosis. And no, I have no pictures of the weekend...I forgot my camera. I also forgot Ashley's 4th of July shirt we bought at Walmart for her to wear, so of course I won Mommy of the Year for that mistake.

Tomorrow we have meet the teacher since we were finally assigned a teacher and we are remaining on track 1. Yippee!

Today I took Ashley and a friend to the mall, and Holy Hell, I got a glimpse of what the teenage years are going to look like. Ashley and this particular friend really, really like shopping. Ashley is going to need to get a job to support this habit when she is old enough. Thankfully for both of them, all the stores were having ridiculous sales on summer stuff, so I got Ashley an entire outfit for the first day of school for $10 at Gap Kids. I know, I really scored big time. It's not even a store I normally go in for myself or the kids. Tomorrow I am taking the two of them to get their nails done.

So Friday - back to our regular routine for 9 weeks until Ashley tracks back out in September. We have 2 more weeks of swim team, and then we will have a few weeks of no activities until the fall stuff gears back up.

That and Ashley turns 7 on the 21st of this month. I am so not prepared to be the parent of a 7 year old.

Finally an update

2010-07-01T09:39:00.002-04:00

Crazy week. Why does everything happen at once?

I ran Monday night at 9:00pm and it was still 90 degrees out (and no Mom, I did not run alone). It was just a big sweat-fest. And I haven't run since even though the weather is actually cooler these past few days (and by cooler I mean 80). But I plan on running at the beach this weekend, my absolute favorite place to run.

Ashley had a swim meet Tuesday night which was rained out and rescheduled for last night. Both nights I couldn't stay to watch; Tuesday night we had friends from Virginia stopping by on their way back from Florida for the night and last night I saw Eclipse.

OMIGOD I want to see it again it was that good. I am still Team Edward.

Ashley is in her final week of camp and according to the school, we will find out her second grade teacher Monday (she starts school next Friday, July 9th) (and no, I have no idea why the hell they are starting school on a Friday). Audrey is in her new Pre-K classroom and loves it. No transition issues or anything. Her teacher actually taught Ashley as well and commented how different Audrey is then Ashley. As in Audrey is so much more quieter than Ashley was.

Ashley is in a Girl Scouts camp this week, and on the way to drop her off this morning, she was singing one of her camp songs which I now have stuck in my head.

I said a Boom Chicka Boom....

Now hopefully I have passed that onto you.

Where did the week go...

2010-06-25T09:47:00.003-04:00

Random stuff this week, all pretty much unrelated. Enter in bullets:

Ashley had her first swim meet Tuesday night and did well. She was fourth in the backstroke in her heat, which is what she cared about (out of 8 swimmers). She just didn't want to be last. I was a place judge for the meet and was on my feet for 5 hours and only got distracted twice with judging to the point I didn't even see the event (oops). Luckily, I was the last place judge, so by process of elimination, they figured out who was last.
Ashley also has been in dance/drama camp this week and performs this afternoon. I will post a video later since I have the new iPhone and finally have video.
And yes, the new iPhone is as cool as they say it is. Happy anniversary to myself and Ray.
Last night, after a long week, being up late, getting up early, Ashley was tired and had a meltdown. During this, she told me I was not a nice person, which was basically a stab in my heart. One of my Facebook friends had an analogy she shared: "As a parent to grown adults with children-that still happens. Now they step on your toes-when they are older they step on your heart." Wow, that put it in perspective.
Tonight I am going with friends to see Rascal Flatts for the 4th or 5th time (I have lost track). Totally excited.
Even more excited about Eclipse next week and the possibility of my friend hosting a Twilight pre-show party.
I still don't know who Ashley's teacher is next year, and she starts July 9th. Everyday I think that we will get a letter in the mail, but no dice.'
I actually did a sort of brick workout at the gym last night. I ran 3 miles, then hopped on the bike (which was a pathetic demonstration on how I really suck on the bike) and then ran some more. My legs felt really weird running again after the bike.

I think that's it. Summer is kicking my butt (hence the lack of posting). I will try and do better next week...

First Day of Summer

2010-06-21T09:20:00.006-04:00

First day of summer my a$$. It's been in the 90s here in Raleigh for weeks. And this week? Saturday will be a high of 90, that is the lowest high this week. Today and tomorrow - 95 and 96.

It's makes running outside kind of hard. I did manage to get out yesterday evening about 7:00pm, and it wasn't too bad. I ran to a local middle school and tried my best to run a mile as fast as I could, but the heat, having eaten dinner just an hour before, and the fact that I had already run a few pretty fast (for me anyway) and hilly miles to the school meant I bonked out on my fourth lap. I think I need someone there to push me.

Yesterday was not only Father's Day, but it Ray and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. We took the girls to a driving range yesterday morning to try out Ashley's new golf clubs, and then promptly went to Dick's Sporting Goods after that to get Audrey some. Ray is determined to have golfing kids.

Ashley is in a dance camp this week and I am glad she will be indoors all day with this heat. Last week she was in a Girl Scout camp and spent all day outside, and it wiped her out by the evening. Her first swim meet is tomorrow night (she had her real first meet last week, but it stormed so it was cancelled). Audrey is transitioning to the Pre-K classroom at school this week as well. Still no word yet whether we will be forced to switch tracks next year for Ashley. Supposedly they only need 5 kids out of about 60 to switch tracks, so I (as should YOU) am keeping my fingers crossed that we aren't one of those 5 families.

Stressed out

2010-06-16T13:32:00.002-04:00

Small things stress me out that probably shouldn't. I am psycho about being on time for starters. I had this ingrained in my head from my band days in high school - "to be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late is to be left out."

Change doesn't stress me out as Ray and I have been pretty crazy about change in our lives. The week we were getting married we bought a townhouse and I accepted a new job. When Ashley was born, Ray decided to forgo his stable consulting job to become a realtor. Nothing like new mom hormones and no guaranteed paychecks to make someone crazy.

So today in the mail I get a letter from Ashley's school. She is on track 1 of a year round school. Most year round schools have 2 class per each of the 4 tracks. She actually has 3 classes in her track. And per the letter, due to "a reduction in the enrollment in 2nd grade" they are downsizing her track to 2 classes. Not only does this mean she is no longer in the teacher's class she thought she was (that teacher is moving tracks), but they are asking for volunteers to move tracks.

I DO NOT WANT TO MOVE TRACKS. And the unknown now about who the heck will be her teacher (she starts 2nd grade on July 9th if she stays in track 1) stresses me out. As does whether or not we will be forced to move tracks. Ray is of the mindset, eh, wait and see what happens. Me? The unknown drives me crazy.

So the 2 mini-cupcakes I just inhaled did not help with my stress. I am not sure anything will at this point.

Running and Leaving

2010-06-14T12:50:00.002-04:00

The end of last week we spent at the beach, and I had great intentions to get some miles in on a flat surface, much unlike Raleigh. Instead, I caught some bug and spent a good part of Thursday morning in the bathroom and decided running was probably not a good idea. I attempted to again that evening, but a storm hit us as we were heading home from taking the kids to a playground. Friday morning we wanted to spend as much time on the beach as we could since we were driving home at lunchtime, so no running then either.

But I did do the Race for the Cure on Saturday (check out LMC's Race Report). I signed up for the women's only race, which is not chip timed and follows the competitive race. The course is hilly, and it was hot, and due to some stomach troubles again (this time caused by me being a female and that's all I have to say about that), I finished the 5K in 29 minutes and some change, according to the clock at the finish line.

This week I hope to get some more miles in. Of course it is again a crazy week (I sound like a broken record lately) with Ashley's first swim meet tomorrow night and other random stuff.

And on leaving...on Sunday morning, our good friends/neighbors left to move back to Texas. We were able to hang out with them on Saturday night at our block party (which started at 4:00pm and the kids actually stayed up until 11:00pm). My other friend sent me a quote that was perfect:

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened ~ Dr. Seuss

I think I can finally breathe....

2010-06-07T09:51:00.002-04:00

Ashley's two recitals - piano and dance - are over. She did so well at both of them, but of course I am most proud of the piano recital. Here she is, six years old, getting up in front of a crowd and playing two pieces from memory. She was nervous, but she did it. And yes, I am proud of her dance too, but music was and still is a big part of my life. All the girls in Ashley's dance class did so well, and they were all so pretty (Ashley had 4 neighbors/friends in her dance class with her this year). It might have been just me, but I felt like they all looked younger with their hair in a bun and makeup on.

After her dance recital, we came home and hit the pool as the perfect end to our weekend. I finally feel like it's summer, especially since Ashley's last day of school is tomorrow (don't speak to me about how I will have a second grader, I am not ready for that yet...). We are heading to the beach Wednesday - Friday, and then we are coming back in town so that we can have another crazy weekend - Race for the Cure, Ashley's first mock swim meet, block party, and a sad farewell to friends who are moving back to Texas. GAH, I cry just typing that. Moving on....

I did get some HOT miles in this weekend running - I did 3 miles on Saturday morning where at 7:30am it was 78 degrees out. And then Sunday I met up with Ann for a 7 mile run. It was so much fun to run with someone for a change. I am pretty sure she might think I am crazy though as I think I talked her head off. I greatly appreciate her meeting me so early that morning to run though. I don't plan on running the Race for the Cure this weekend as I have to take Audrey with me, but I am sure it will be a workout as I am sure most of the time I will be carrying her or have her on my shoulder (no strollers allowed in the race we are doing). But I do plan on getting in some flat miles at the beach this week.