Its Shiner Time!

WOW! What a week! Well, my plan to begin Clean Eating did not quite go as intended and this is why...

 

Meet Shiner Blonde Fikac! The newest member of our family! She is an 8 week old Australian Shepard Lab Mix. She is absolutely adorable!! I know it seems really soon after losing our sweet Dutchie to get another dog. But our other two dogs (especially our yellow lab mix, Oakley) seemed withdrawn and depressed since their sister has been gone. And when we went to pet her, we were not even looking to adopt, it was just sort of meant to be! We adopted her from a pretty cool shelter called, "CAP" in Katy .We brought her home on Sunday night and things have been pretty hectic, but really great! She got a clean bill of health from our vet on Monday. But, on Tuesday when I got home from work, it seemed as if her incision from her spaying was coming open so I rushed her back to the vet (in a whole 'nuther town, but he is such a wonderful vet we could never imagine switching). Only to find out I was an over protective mommy and she was fine. Turns out she loves the car and she slept the whole way home, sans carrier, and even let mommy stop off to get a Starbucks!!

 

The other pups are accepting her quite well.

 

See the resemblance! It is a baby Oakley!! I cant wait until she is one week post surgery (Sunday) and they can play full force! Its going to be hilarious!!

 

My dinners this week were pretty good, chicken tenders and red potatoes one night and a frozen pasta and veggie stir fry another night. But, the highlight meal of the week was this...

 

Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner! It is da bomb! My only compliant, the bacon was not crispy enough for me! Burn it, that is how to do bacon right! haha!

 

Well, off to play with the pup! Hope everyone has a fantastic start to the weekend!!

 

Smiles!

 

 





"The Challenge"

So, Wednesday afternoon while I was changing for yoga, a flyer in the restroom caught my eye...

I was intrigued! So I asked the lady at the front desk and she told me all about it. It sounds absolutely fantastic! She said it is a 2 hour class that involves a yoga session, discussions about healthy and clean eating and mediation practices. After she finished talking I was SOLD! I signed up. I cannot wait. I don't know much more about the challenge yet, except I have to journal what I take in, commit to yoga 5 days a week and EEKS-- give up caffeine and alcohol. The alcohol will be easy, but I don't know if I can go with out my morning coffee!! Our first session may be to try and convince this First Grade teacher how to go with out.. not sure that part of the challenge will happen. But the rest I am stoked about!

This challenge got me thinking. The working out and running is helping me to drop some lbs, but I feel I can still do more. I feel I am getting burned out with the same ole food in the kitchen so I want to try clean eating. I have read a bunch on it and have heard how great it is for your body. So I am going to give it a try! The next month of blogs should have some fun cooking stories in it!! haha!

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Smiles

No time to Stress

YAAAAY!! Another Thursday in the books and Friday is on the horizon! Sooo ready! I must say, as far as school years go, this one has been pretty speedy!

Well, I met with my trainer today! I have not been in to see him in almost a month. Something came up every time we were supposed to meet. From Georgia, to meetings, to getting sick, I have been M.I.A. as far as the gym is concerned.

I have been working out though. I have been trying to endure and ignore the foot pain which has progressively gotten worse. But, I have not quit. We did my assessment today and I think my trainer was shocked! I went down 5lbs (though my morning weigh-in's at home say I have lost even more, but that is before food and sans clothes!). And I am DOWN on all my measurements and I have lost 4% of my body fat!!! 4%!!!!! I am sooo excited!!!

However, after I told him about my foot and attempted a few exercise with an apparent grimace on my face, this is what I am doing right now...

 



This will be my view for the next week and a half. Ice, elevation and rest. Well, at least I found a use for the yucky broccoli! haha!! And YES, can you believe it... a fire in the fireplace in April! Crazy weather!

Well, my trainer (and my friends, AND my husband) all think I have a stress fracture. I think they may be right but I have worked so hard to get to this race, I will go to the doctor AFTER the race next Sunday. I know it may not be the smartest thing to do, and I know there are a million reasons why I should not run. But, for me, this is something I have to do for me. I am very aware of the damage it may do, but this is where my determination and stubbornness collide. If I have to hobble across that finish line I will, and I will be soooo proud of myself. I will have reached a goal I set for myself 4 months ago and have been working so hard to get too. I cant wait!

Now, that you so kindly read my rant I would like to wish everyone a wonderful start to their weekend!! Enjoy!

SMILES

Month In a Minute

Okay, so I know I let a week slip by once and summed it up in a single blog. Well, the month of March was NO exception! It was fast and furious, and boy, how I have missed writing! So, the best thing to do is to sum up my month in what I would like to call, a "month in a minute". So here we go!

Last I wrote I was about to leave for a vacation in Savannah, Ga to visit one of my best friends and her family! We worked together at the same school my first year as an aide, and we love to tell the story of how I just hated her! I thought she swooped in and stole my other friends job. Then the unthinkable happened... I got to know her and I LOVED her! Now, 5 years later, one big move (her), the loss of two parents (me), and 2 kids later (her), we talk almost every day! And my trip to visit her did not disappoint!! Here are just a few of the things we did...

 

Jenni is always so super crafty and had this awaiting me when I arrived! Gotta love her!



 

We visited Tybee Island where the movie "The Last Song" was filmed. We took her BE-YOND adorable son Grayson with us and this kid is the biggest FLIRT! I am in love! And seriously, the kid could be my son, right??

 

Apparently, St. Patricks Day in Savannah is the second biggest celebration in the country next to Chicago. So we HAD to go and visit the famous green fountain in Forsyth Park! I thought this was pretty awesome until I saw that EVERY fountain in Savannah is dyed green for celebration! crazy!!

 

 

 

This was one of the coolest things we did! We rented the movie, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" which is based on a murder in Savannah. It was a great movie and if you have not seen it yet, I highly recommend it! It was really good! We went and visited the famous cemetery in the movie. And while at first I was a little leery of going to a graveyard for fun, it turned out to be pretty awesome! And there was a ton of tourists there. This place was pretty historic.

 

And no trip would be complete without Jenni taking me across the bridge to South Carolina so I could say that I visited 2 states in one day. The very first thing I saw when we crossed the state line was this...

Couldn't help it! I had to take a picture! I thought this was pretty hilarious!

Oh and I can not forget, anyone who knows me, knows my love for everything baseball! Well, little did I know Savannah is home to this...

William Grayson Stadium, home of the Savannah Sandgnats! This is the oldest minor league ballpark in the country! It is an affiliate of the Mets. When I told the girl who let me in to buy souvenirs that we now have the Minor League team too, the Skeeters, she immediately loved the name as we were both apparently annoying insects! hahaha!!

It was a great GREAT trip! I cant wait to go back and I am already planning my trip back this summer!

So onto more somber and sad news a couple of days after I got back for Georgia we lost one of our babies...

Our sweet, gentle giant, Dutchie, passed away on St. Patricks Day. It was extremely fast and extremely sudden. The only comfort I can take away is that she passed at home, in her favorite spot, with her favorite blanket with us all around... It happened almost 3 weeks ago, and I miss her as much as if it were yesterday.

Okay, I HAVE to change the subject... making me sad. Onto happy... To round out the month, one of my best friends in the world came down to visit! And the mini Girls Weekend did NOT disappoint! You know that saving, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? Well same goes for Girls Weekend. so the only picture I will post is this...

I know, poor Christins eyes are closed because she was in the middle of talking and laughing, but that really does sum up that weekend! Hilarious, and wonderful! Love that all my besties get along so well! Love them all!!

Well, we are now in April, and though I have not trained as much as I would have liked due to severe foot pain (in both feet), I still have a half marathon coming up in about 2 weeks! I am excited! Well, more on that later! I gotta go, it is starting to storm here and one of our puppies has major anxiety when she hears thunder (we call it her "dog-ler" radar, get it like "dopler" radar!??! haha!!) oh well. It feels great to be back and I will write much, much more this month! Have a wonderful Wednesday!!

SMILES!