1, 2, 3 JUMP!

Apparently I have a death wish as I jump first and do not look for a net. I will be run/walking in my 2nd ever 5k tomorrow. Less than 200 people registered so I am expecting another last place but that is fine by me.

What are you doing tomorrow?

Inner monologue

Still sick. Woke up with a sore throat and popped two advil and promptly went back to sleep.  I actually went to bed early last night. At midnight instead of the 2am that I have been doing just because I can.

Relaxing day at home till about 5pm when we went off to spend money at Target. The boys have needed new shoes for a few weeks now and they are on sale this week. Buy 1 get 1 50% off and there is a $5 off $30 mobile coupon as well. We split the order up into two transactions so we could use my phone and hubby's phone. We spent a pretty penny as each child got 3 pairs and mommy and daddy each got one. I have been wanting shoes to use for the bike. Something without laces that I could slip off and on easily. I was thinking about some of those Tom's style canvas shoes but basically ended up with a ked type shoe that has eyelet holes but no laces as the tongue is a stretch spandex. They actually felt really cozy in the store and when I put them on at home to show hubby. I woke my Hoka's to the store and they were like walking on clouds.

When we were driving home I had an idea hit me out of the blue. I also hatched a plan for myself to do when I got home. The idea actually came to me when I was thinking about how the various shoes felt. The Tom's style ones just felt to short in the top over the toes. I envisioned something with a longer top for my bike riding. Anyway I was thinking about the top of my feet and how that would be a a perfect place for a tattoo. But what would I want on my body that I would see daily and *zing* the idea hit me. A tiger lily.

Something like this but much, much smaller.

My girlfriend I mentioned a few week ago that passed on with young ones had many tattoos. Hers were beautiful and looked more like air brushing on her skin rather than tattoos. One of hers was tiger lillies as she loved them. I was thinking about how I could see it everyday and remember her but I could still cover it up if I wanted to. Then I went into the Hmmm when would I do this because I want to be able to run also   Ummm???!!!  Yeah, about that.  Yesterday when I was trying on the Hoka's I was walking and jogging around the store. The store has a small track in it painted on the floor around the register. At one point I ran around it full speed like a little kid and I felt zero fatigue. Right then I knew I wanted to try and run in these shoes and see how they were. I remembered that in my internal monologue to myself when I was thinking about the tattoo.

As soon as we got home and went inside and changed into my running tights and a running shirt. I grabbed my garmin and walked out to the living room and grabbed hubby's night running vest. He asked if I was going for a bike ride and I said no. He then asked if I was going for a walk and I said no. "A run" he questioned and I said yes. He helped me out by grabbing me a hat and showing me how he positions a headlamp for running in the dark. We went outside and he tried to show me how to use my garmin but it wasn't responding so he grabbed his for me. After it got loaded I started walking towards the road and he told me to start it. I told him I didn't want to as I wasn't running down the incline of our driveway but he said not to short myself distance. LOL  I started the garmin and took off down the road mapping a small distance in my head that I wanted to go. I ran till my breathing got heavy then I paused the garmin and stood still breathing. .11 of a mile. Last time I tried to run I know I stopped right about .10 so that seems to be my starting distance. I hit start after a minute or two and ran again. I stopped a total of four time on an out and back. Each time I just stood still and rested. I could have walked but I wanted this outing to be entirely running. I got back home and I had done .31 of a mile. Not much for others but a big step for me.

I could not have done that in a different pair of shoes.  Ok, well I could have but I would not have because I had no desire to. When I run in other shoes I want to lean forward and I feel like I am trying to propel myself along. In these I just ran. Of course my husband probably could have walked and kept pace with my running speed but whatever. LOL  These shoes are amazing! I came up with a great way to describe them. Some of you will understand but others will be like HUH?  I have been in two malls that had a play area for the kiddos. In both places the floor in this area is super plush and springy. That is how these shoes feel on my feet. For anyone else I have read them described as:  It's like if angels put unicorn leather on your feet and stuffed it with dodo feathers.  LMAO

Spur of the moment surprise trip.

A few days ago hubby mentioned a new kind of running shoe to me. He said people in his groups were talking about it and that they were supposed to be really cushiony. That made my ears perk up as I am always looking for a cushey sneaker. With 10 hour days at work I want cushey!  I asked who carried them and he said probably Dick's and I forgot about it. Two days ago I remembered and went to looking. It seems they are specialty and only sold in certain stores. The closest to us being Gainesville, Orlando, or Tampa. We mentioned maybe hitting Tampa one day when we were at MOSI or visiting my mom and life went on.

This morning hubby met up with his bud to help him out with his studies and I knew he wouldn't be home till after 1pm. I tried to think of something we could do for the day that would be ok for the later half. I looked up the Gainesville store and called and no answer. I looked at the Facebook page to make sure they were still open. Turns out it is a huge chain (LOL I didn't know) and the FB page showed Brooks there today and a free run starting at 6:30pm. I called again and someone answered. I asked if they had that brand in stock in my size and they did.  So I told hubby to dress in running clothing and to be ready to leave the house by 3pm. We got out about 3:30pm but that is normal for us. A is the only one that knew the plan because B would have blurted it out in a heartbeat. Hubby was clueless but excited. Especially as I took the long way out of town going past several places he would have normally ran. Once I got on the interstate he realized we were going to Gainesville but he still didn't know why.

The store is in the Oaks Mall so he knew we were going to something there. He figured it out once he saw the Fit2Run logo. Once we got into the store I told him he was doing the fun run with a group. LOL  I tried on many styles of the shoe brand and a few of other brands. We joined their store club and basically had that fee cut in half with what we saved on my shoes. While hubby did the run the kids and I walked around the mall. After he got back we went to Red Robin for dinner. Much better experience this time. Of course it was a different location so I would hope it was better.

It is 10pm and we are just now getting home and settled. All in all it was a good day. :)  The shoes are Hoka One One.  www.hokaoneone.com

I received an insult today.   o.O   Yesterday we bought a new scale when were at Aldi. It was one of those water/fat percentage ones for $15 and I thought that was reasonable. This morning I opened it up and got it ready for a WI. I read the instructions and set myself as user one. Got on and got my weigh and waited for the rest. I got a weird Errh so I tried again standing differently. Same thing so I tried again. Then I grabbed the manual since it was obviously and error of some sort and I wanted to know why. Umm yeah, I got the answer.  ERROR HEAVY.  Basically it means that my body fat % is to high for it to calculate.  :Insert cuss word to scale here:  Thankfully it was funny to me and didn't drag me down.

Vacation

I am on vacation. The kids are on vacation.

I am also sick. Not tummy bug sick this time. Throat ickys and coughing with occasional wheezing this time around.

We should be heading to MOSI today to spend the day but it isn't nice to share germies so home we be.

Late WI last week (after a late WI due to coworker's sick baby and schedule swaps) and I was up. I am totally cool with that since it was monthly and I was down so much the week before from the tummy bug.

I really wanted to sleep in but with all the coughing I was doing there was no way that was going to happen. I am hoping to catch a nap later today though.

Who's for hire?

I need one of ya'll who isn't going to judge me to come help me clean up this friggen house.

It is A LOT LOT better than it used to be but it is still a friggen mess!  I say not going to judge me as my corners are cobwebby and door jams are dirt encrusted. There miiiight even be more than one wall decorated in either makeup or crayons or both. Siiigh.  I feel like I can never get ahead. I try to stay on top of the dishes and laundry as best I can but it sure doesn't feel like it lately. I want to get this place scrubbed so I have a baseline to try and keep up with daily.

My brother helped out a ton last weekend by getting our yard cleaned up.  My backyard wasn't mowed but maybe once last summer. My hubby would rather run 80+ miles a month than keep up with the yard. I can't even start the easy start mowers! Plus our mower keeps dieing. Thankfully it is all purty and the dogs are not walking around in the jungle anymore. Of course now there will be the upkeep on that but I have a week or three (hopefully) before I have to figure that out. The concrete driveway and porches were all pressure washed and are nice and pretty now. The front porch light was replaced and now works. That hasn't worked in years. We also have a nice pretty new mailbox now. I had changed it in the past but used the original pole that was super wobbly. My brother changed his recently so he knew exactly how to do it.

I want to purge out some of my clothing soon too. The things that it is time to admit I am never going to wear again or just hate. You know that ones that are currently to big and you only owned and keep because at one point they were some of the only things you could wear?

I am trying to clean up my credit score too but that will take a while. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it public this time but I think I have in the past. That dark cloud from a few weeks ago was court. I had a defaulted credit card that kept taking me to court and then not showing. They finally showed the 3rd time and we are currently in a payment arrangement hence the mention of an extra bill. I never cared about my credit. I didn't know how important it was and that is a lesson I have learned as an adult with high interest rates on everything. Our house is uber high and it sucks. We could be paying $200 less a month if our credit was better! The plan is to try and clean mine up then maybe refinance the car and house in the future.

The bills are actually current and I now have a plan that I hope to stick to for paying them. In the past it was rob Peter to pay Paul but thankfully the taxes allowed me to catch up and breath. I predict it will get tight again soon but I hope to hold on as long as I can. (It would help if people learned how to turn off lights and what not when they are not in the room Hmph!)

I want to improve things in my life. I am tired of just being.

I am starting to feel sad about certain things though. I don't want to say depressed but just deeply sad if that makes sense?  Which is what yesterdays post was about.

My world

sucks a lot harder when I refuse to medicate myself with food.



Thankfully I am tired and will have an early morning so off to bed I go to sleep my cares away.


I cannot be the only person that goes to bed :insert emotion here: and wakes up not even remembering that I went to bed with an issue can I?

New day equals a new dawn.

Thanks?

Now that I have completed the great colon cleanse of 2014 from this tummy bug I seem to owe it thanks?  I am down 4.4 lbs and I guarantee that I wouldn't be that far down if not for this bug. Of course I know as soon as I start eating more than scrambled eggs that it will tick up a bit more.

Tonight's dinner

Cooked ground chicken with Worcestershire, A-1, soy sauce and lots of onions sauteed till onions soft. For hubby over rice and for me over lettuce and guacamole. YUMMY! My tummy is talking to me but so far so good.

I need to mention things that I need to do more often. I completely overhauled and cleaned the turtle tank as I said I would. Looks like itty guy needs to be on a diet. He is a little fatty and cannot pull all the way back into his shell. Whoops! No more daily feeding no matter how much they beg.  

Two loads of laundry and a short bike ride around the block completed my day. Oh and I slept in bunches as well. :)  

Odds and ends.

It seems that I have now contracted the lovely tummy bug that the rest of my house had last week. A missed 2 days of school and B missed 3 due to it. I was scheduled 9-1 today but I ended up calling out. At least I am not throwing up like B was. I dislike throwing up and am grateful that I didn't have horrible morning sickness with my pregnancies.

I was able to get a few small things done around the house with the extra full day off. Several loads of laundry and a few small projects completed. Tomorrow I need to siphon out the turtle tank and give them fresh water. I did the guppy tank last week so only fair I do the turtles next.

Planning on an early night tonight so that hopefully I will be feeling better tomorrow. I want to take the bike out for a spin. (Yes, that picture is the exact bike I got so it is that teal color with white accents) It has been so many days I know my butt better not be saddle sore any longer. LOL

On the way home from work last week I swung into WinnDixie an scored some HUGE savings. They have a K cup deal currently and I had coupons plus found clearance salads and used a $5 off $30 coupon. I was very happy with the final numbers as you can see. I got a hold of even better K cup coupons on Sunday but I resisted buying more. LOL  I have tons that I need to drink through first.

Saved 91.90 and spent $53.37

I am still noticing little changes in my body even if the scale isn't dropping to fast.  I happen to glance in the mirror at Target last night when was washing my hands and had to do a double take. My jaw line totally caught my eye. My double chin is almost gone!   Kinda wish I had snapped a picture now just to show you. 

 Also I can feel my collar bones!!! They are just baaarrrellyy showing but they are there. 

See the slight bump right in the center there? 

Early to bed

For two nights in a row hence the no blogging.

Our house is undergoing a simple face lift that I cannot wait to blog about.  :) Of course I have no befores to show you how much the face lift did.

It also seems we have another critter in the backyard that we didn't buy or adopt. We may just have a gopher tortoise back there. I cannot tell the difference between a gopher tortoise or regular gopher hole even with googles help. If it is indeed a gopher tortoise we are not allowed to touch or disturb it in any way. They are protected here in FL.

Meh's go bye bye

As the title says "meh" go bye bye.  One huge *dark* cloud that has been hanging over my head for a good year+ is now gone. The sun is shining through loud and clear. Adds another expense to the monthly bills but at least it is finally settled. No more stress from it that makes me stick my head into the sand to ignore it.

It helped to know that I was going to go on an adventure after my 1 pm time today. After I left the building I went to my brother's house. He recently bought a Trek recumbent bike and wanted me to get a bike too. I had no interest in a bike that cost that much (Holy poop!) but I was curious of the cheaper ones. He wanted to buy me a bike so that he had someone to go riding with. We headed up to Gainesville to see what they had.

 I already had an idea of what I wanted just from looking online the night before. It worked out well that the salesman recommended 2 possible bikes and one was the one I had in mind. BONUS: It was the last one and was on clearance. If you have been reading here for any length of time you know I LOVE clearance. LOL My 5 yr old is trained to look for the word sale or the red tags at Target. People hear him exclaim about something being on clearance and they start giggling due to his exuberance.  :)

I tested out 3 bikes and two recumbent styles. The recumbent ones are very nice. However something like that would not be practical for me at this stage of my life. Maybe if we had a truck or something but transporting that anywhere would be difficult. I ended up with the clearance one with an added kick stand and bottle cage.

Meet a factory picture of my new ride. I want to name her but that will take time. 

After I got home I tried to take it on a spin around the block. It was dark and I was using a headlamp. Umm yeah pot hole caused headlamp to tilt down and make me blind so I turned around real quick. No night time riding for this girl at this point. As soon as I slid my butt on the seat though I could feel that I was already getting saddle sore. EEPP! I maybe rode a mile with all the rest riding so this shall be interesting. 

Off to bed as this was my only full day off this week. My next day off isn't until Saturday.  Eating took a little nose dive last night due to the 1 pm thing today. No sweets, but there may have been some bread involved...  Combined with WI this morning it didn't make a pretty picture but it is what it is. 

Meh

Just wanted to let you all know I am around.

Lots of feeling "meh" going on though. Wish I could talk about it but some things are just not blog fodder.

Thankfully the "meh" is just mental and isn't creeping over into my eating.