Jealous

I am reading about friends and their great fitness accomplishments lately (and I am SO proud of them) and if I am honest with myself, I am jealous. I had such high hopes for this season and now it has come to a stand still. Even IF my shins were cooperating (which they aren't), with all of the hospital stays and my pure exhaustion I doubt that I would be doing much better. Ughhh...it is so frustrating!!! I just want things to be "normal" for once. Okay...end of whining rant...I'll try to come up with a happy post for later :)

June Fit Camp

Cute invites

I just made some baby shower invites, and I must say, they are darn cute :)  It's a boy (obviously) and robots was listed as a theme on the registry.  I found the robot images here.

 

Be careful what you wish for...

I have been wanting change--something big--and today it got thrust upon me. So...I am looking for a new job. This is a good thing, I haven't been happy at my current job for quite some time, but at the same time, it freaks me out that I have to look for a new one right now.

I still have to work out the logistics, so I am not sure when I will actually be finished, but it will probably be soon. So, I will be pounding the pavement and trying to figure out what I want to do. Ideas??? Send any leads my way!!

Training non-existent

I am so frustrated. I had great plans for this summer. I was going to finish my first marathon. Yes, you heard me right, a marathon. But I haven't been able to run for months because of my shins. As far as the doctor, coach, and acupuncturist can tell my shin muscles are incredibly tight and that is causing this horrible pain. I am on strict instructions to stop running/walking as soon as it start to hurt. Which means I get in about 10 minutes. **makes an ugly face** I am trying to be okay with this development and focus on some other issues (managing stress mostly), but there are times when I just want to scream and/or cry. Right now it is a combo of the two. Okay, whining over for now :)

Attention any Seattle-dwellers...

Boot camp!! You know you want to join!! (P.S.--I designed this awesome flyer :) )

Some graphic designer is getting a laugh...

or is just clueless. Look at the banner from evite. Check out the second figure on the left. Looks like he is "happy" to be at that party :) (click on the image below to make it larger).

Home Alone

And no, I don't mean that silly movie...I am actually home alone.  Well, Beauty is here, but no hubby.  He is having a sleep test tonight, so he gets to spend the night at the sleep clinic.  He was so whiny about it today, but having had 3 sleep tests myself, I wasn't overly sympathetic :)  

I had all of these grand ideas about how I would spend my "free time" but I find myself sitting her watching TV and blogging :)  I thought that I would clean and do a bit of crafting...but I guess that isn't in the cards for me today.  Oh well, it is nice to have some downtime.  I need it more often!

Banana Blossom Press

A friend told me about Banana Blossom Press and I absolutely love their designs! Exercise and fitness oriented cards and t-shirts. Simple. Love them! And...they are having a SALE right now, 20% off your order. Use coupon code: SPRING 2009 at checkout. I just ordered this Find Your Inner Athlete tee...I can't wait for it to get here!

Lessons for Today

Lesson #1: If you are going to work out for 2 hours, eat more than a 90 calorie piece of toast for breakfast

Man, I wanted to sleep in this morning. But, I had a session with my trainer and if I missed it, I would still have to pay...so I got up at 5:30 a.m. The latest possible time I could get up and still make it to my 6:00 a.m. session (okay, so I was a little late). Ran around the house to find clothes for work and the gym (of course, I know that I COULD pack my bag the night before, but for some reason I can never actually seem to do this--I don't know. It was save me a lot of grief. Especially on those days when my attempt to get an entire outfit into my bag fail--and that happens more often that I would like to admit). I make a piece of toast (yummy cinnamon raisin kind) and run out the door.

The workout is good. I didn't whine that much and there wasn't too much eye rolling this morning :) All signs of success!

So, after an hour with Scott the trainer, I hop into my car and head out to the gym (Scott is training me at this little gym that doesn't have good cardio equipment). I get there and start my workout around 7:30--an hour on the elliptical. At first I am feeling good, rocking through the "hills" and watching random TV. Then, my legs decide that they just want to stop. This was probably around the 25 minute mark. I convinced myself that it was just because I was on a particularly big "hill", but no, that wasn't it. The little ones were hard too. I kept pushing, but noticed that I was slower and the time seemed to be dragging on and on and on. I thought that the last 15 minutes would never end. And then the cool down. And stretching. By the time I hit the shower it was nearing 9:00 a.m, so a good 3 hours since my 90 calorie piece of toast. Then it hit me...90 calories of fuel does not equal 2 hours of output. Duh!

That leads to lesson number 2: Recovery is imperative (especially if you fail lesson #1 above). After a typical gym workout I have a routine. Hit the locker room and chug about half a bottle of this drink mix that has a good mix of carbs and protein to help my body recover from what I just did to it. I shower, and then drink the rest. If I am doing long sessions of strength and cardio, I will sometimes drink something between them, to keep the body going. Well, today, I didn't even think about my recovery drink. I am blaming it on the effects of #1.

So, I am crashing right now as I type. I need a nap. But it is 10:00 a.m., so no naps for me. I get to work instead! Hopefully my post post-workout attempts at fuel will help and I will be somewhat awake before too long. If not, at least it's Friday!

Cute new shoes

I got a cute pair of pink Converse shoes this weekend at Target (yep, Target and only $30!!). I needed a pair of shoes to wear with my pink poodle skirt, and these did the trick. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture of the whole outfit, so you will just have to imagine how cute I looked. I am going to see if I have any pictures to post of that...stay tuned.

But here are the shoes. I love pink :)

Happy Post

Okay, I am tired of debbie downer posts...so here is a random happy post!!

A few of my favorite things...

1)  I love white bed linens...not sure what it is, but all I want is white!  We have tried different colors, but I keep going back.  So, on my shopping list is a white duvet color and some sort of bright pillows for a bit of "punch."  I would love a room like this one from Domino.  

2)  I listen to all sorts of music. One of my guilty pleasures is hip-hop music and old school R&B.  Don't judge me.  It is fun :)

Image from Wiki.

3) I love to be creative.  I feel at peace when I am painting or writing or making something. I am not very good at any of it, but it is very good for my soul.

4)  Chocolate.  What more is there to say?

Okay...now I feel better :)

Damn Shins!

Seriously...can a girl get a break??  I tried to run today---but my shins hurt :(  I am so frustrated.  I just want to run--is that too much to ask???  Grrrrrr...

The silver lining is instead of pouting, I hopped off the treadmill (after only 10 minutes) and pounded out an hour on the elliptical.  **sigh**

Slacker

I have certainly been a blogging slacker lately...I really have just been trying to keep my head above water.  Life has been rough, but I feel like I am coming back around.  This past weekend we went to Yakima to visit my family, which is generally very difficult for me.  I did extremely well under the circumstances.  I even made it through the entire weekend without crying--which has to be some type of record for me--seriously!  It was very nice to come home on Sunday and I feel like I have been pretty productive over the past couple days, which has been good for me.  So, I will keep going, working each day, and hoping the I wake up one morning and feel like me again!

By Michael Monteiro

Finding Jenn

A friend of mine recently passed away and another friend started a knitting/crocheting project in her honor. We are knitting PICC line covers for CF patients. You can find out all of the details HERE.

This is a great excuse to use up your stash, dust off those needles, or learn a new craft :)

Thanks!

Because they make me smile...

My silly husband and dog :)

Radio Silence

I haven't blogged in awhile--it has been a rough few weeks, well to be honest it has been a rough several months! But, we go on, right?

I think that the most difficult thing about the past several months is that my confidence has been shaken--shaken in away that it hasn't been before. That is a struggle, but my confidence has never been that solid. I wish that there was a magic way to find confidence. If you have the trick--send it my way!!

Hard Week

This has been a hard week on a number of levels. The biggest is that a friend passed away--losing her fight with cystic fibrosis. It breaks my heart. Rest in peace Jenn.

Off My Game

I am off my game and have been for awhile. I am not sure what is going on, but I am getting tired of this. So, this serves as an announcement...I am going to find my game....so watch out!