Just Another Week

I don't have much to say or any updates, so I've decided to post pictures from the last two and a half days of my life.  The only news I have is that, after two weeks of having to be up early every day (even the weekends), I finally got to sleep in.  And sleep I did.  I went to bed at 11 and got out of bed at 11.  Twelve hours of sleep.  I think I needed it.  Badly.  Boy and I were supposed to have date night last night, but I was simply too tired to do my hair and put on make up, so we ate a lovely dinner of bean and cheese burritos and salad, then sat in bed and watched a movie while I knitted.  Then I fell asleep.  It felt so good and I could not believe it was 11 when I woke up.  I haven't slept past 9 in a very, very, very long time.

Last night's dinner.

Milo watched the movie too.

As for my 365 days of fitness, on Thursday, I went to my dad's to run 7 miles on the treadmill because it was pouring and freezing outside.  I made sure to have an incline on the treadmill for at least 35 minutes of the run.  I am signing up for a 10 miler in March because I realized it was really good to  have goal and complete it.  Plus, this keeps me running, and if I don't have a running goal, I won't run (or do any cardio) and since I have stepped up the cardio in the last few months, I can definitely see changes in my body.

All done.

So much running.

On Friday (yesterday), I went home and did back and biceps.  I REALLY didn't want to.  I really wanted to take a nap.  The night before I had gotten about 4 hours of sleep total.  I was worried about several different things which kept my brain from turning off which kept me from falling asleep.  But, I knocked out the work out and felt good about it.

Can't make a mess like this at a real gym.

My workout for the afternoon.

Today, I went for a hike with the ex.  Now, this may sound weird, but he's a best friend.  We had a very amicable break up and we share a dog.  The boy is very, very gracious about our friendship.  He knows we have a long history together and he is very respectful and doesn't care if we hang out once in awhile.  He's so awesome.  The ex and I also know every little detail about each other after being together for 6 years (living together for 4).  So, it was a nice hike through the mountains to catch up on each other's lives.  I will always adore him, even if we aren't exactly right for each other marrying-wise.  Also, what's the point of all this physical activity if you don't go outside and have fun and play once in awhile?  We hiked for about an hour and a half, went back to his place and made a lunch of "squealers" (hamburgers made out a a meat mixture that has pork, beef, and elk?).  We put an egg on top and it was perfect.  Especially since I had just hopped out of bed and left for the hike, no coffee or food at all.

Pretty little waterfall.

Took this for my mushroom man.  It's very pretty, but would probably kill me.

We found a friend.

My boys enjoying themselves.

At the top.

Ex trying to get a better view.

This is where I live.  And I adore it.

Down there is the bay.

Our post-hike lunch.

Now I'm home, waiting for the boy to come back from Jui Jitsu so we can have the date night we planned last night.  We will probably go to dinner and then to the show playing at the theater I am involved with.  We know most of the people in it, so we are going to support them and listen to their amazing singing.  Tomorrow is food day, with brunch and dinner with our parents.  My fantastic running partner and I are meeting at 9 to get our long run over with, which will be nice.  Happy Saturday!

The Past Two Days

Have not been exciting.  They've been normal, boring, regular work days.  Yesterday I had to stay a bit longer after work (an hour) for a meeting on the Common Core Standards, which is really interesting.  I'm glad all of the states (except 4) are getting on board and all of our kids will be held to the same standards, instead of California's insane amount of standards that no teacher could ever really teach in a school year.  I am very interested to see how these will apply to my population of students.

So, I got home a little bit later than usual, but I still did my chest/tri workout.  My brother joined me for a small part of it.  Then I cooked dinner, as usual.  The boy got home at 7 and we cuddled and watched How I Met Your Mother.  My beautiful friend was an extra and I got SO excited when I saw her in the background several times.  We are both a little bit obsessed with the show (and NPH), so when she told me she was going to be an extra, I about died.  She only got to meet Ted though, but hopefully when she goes back down there she will be able to be in bar scenes and meet NPH.  Oh, and Milo finally came back from his dad's house last night, so that was an exciting little happening.  He turns 6 on the 28th of this month.  I cannot believe how fast time flies (I almost spelled this flyes, like the exercise.....too much).

Yesterday's workout.

She's the beautiful one in the red beanie.  And there's Ted next to her on the left!

Milo came home.

Knitting, because I'm an old lady.

Today was, again, normal.  I went to work, came home, got into workout clothes. Normal, normal, normal.  What wasn't normal was that when I asked boy if he would go on a run with me, he actually said yes.  So, we took off with the dog in tow.  Milo is a horrible runner.  Plus, he's too smart for his own good.  We got to 2.5 miles and I always turn away from home to get some more milage in.  If I went straight, I would just go home and it wouldn't be a long enough run.  So, we went to turn but Milo just stopped, right in the middle of the road.  He's such a brat.  So boy took him home while I finished up the extra half mile.  I then went to the gym and proceeded to get my butt kicked.  I LOVE my circuit class.  Everyone has such a great sense of humor and everyone enjoys being there.  We all give each other tough love and laugh at ourselves.  

3.5 miles down.

Proud of my boy.

Circuit in progress, me taking a water break...

I came home to boy making dinner.  Tonight was roasted turkey breast that was supposed to go over broccoli, but it was cooked a little too long, so it got switched to cauliflower and salad.  It was delicious.  I decided he got to cook tonight since he didn't have to do anything today.  He did fantastic.  

Boy carving his meat.

My plate.

Tomorrow is the 100th day of school, which is super exciting and super weird at the same time.  This school year has gone so fast.  I am starting to feel really sad about leaving my classroom and moving on to bigger and better things.  My coworkers are so fabulous and they always are making the laugh and smile.  They are such beautiful people inside and out, it's going to be really hard to say goodbye to them after 5 years.  I also adore my students.  Absolutely, positively love them.  We have an amazing class this year and I am seriously going to miss those kids.  But, I've got to move on with my life and become an actual teacher.

And so, before I go and watch Suits with the boy, I leave you with two of the best pictures I've ever seen with one of the most beautiful ladies I have the pleasure of knowing.  They're from Saturday's race.  

Smiling because it's the beginning.

I LOVE this one.  It shows the fun we have together, even if we're in pain.

Another Day

Everything was fairly normal today.  Got up, went to work, came home, worked out.  Nothing out of the ordinary, but it felt different.  I walked outside this morning and everything seemed brighter than usual.  My drive to work was quieter than usual.  I thought it was going to turn out to be a really weird day, but it never did.

I went over to my cousin's friend's house today to work out.  We had planned on Friday to workout on Monday again because tomorrow I have to stay for a meeting after work.  Her friend has a real 45lb bar which was incredibly exciting to me since I just have that small 4lb bar for now until I win the lottery, buy a bigger house, and have my own home gym.  We did our usual circuit of 16 exercises, but with less rest time in between.  I was super tired by the end of it.  It's so nice to have people who enjoy working out as much as I do.  Sometimes I feel insane for being such an addict, but then I get around other addicts and I don't feel as nuts.  They speak my language.

Cousin helping her friend with hip thrusters.

A very helpful workout partner.

Our workout for the day.

Then I came home, had a snack and showered.  I finished my taxes, which feels really good.  I'm also pretty much done with the part of the application that I need to be done with in order to turn it in.  This is really, really exciting.  

Post workout snack.  Protein and fruit.

Tonight's dinner was "Paleo Shepard's Pie."  I know there is a lot of controversy over the use of the term "Paleo," but for lack of a better word, that's what it's called.  It used cauliflower instead of potatoes.  It was absolutely delicious.  I love mashed cauliflower, so I thought this was delicious.

Straight out of the oven.

My complete meal.

Now I am secretly watching How I Met Your Mother on TV while it is airing because one of my very good friend's was an extra in this episode, so I have to watch it.  The problem is that this is a show that the boy and I watch together, so I will have to watch it again with him.  Then it's off to knitting and sleeping.  

Race Day and the Super Bowl

Well, Race Day came as fast as it went.  Yesterday started really, really early.  Actually, it started just as early as every other day I wake up, but it was a Saturday, so it felt that much earlier.  I left my house at 6:50 to make it to meet Dani at 7:15 so we could make the bus to the starting line by 7:30.

At our meeting place, the sun rising.

Once we got to the starting line, my nerves kind of calmed down and I realized that it's just a silly race and all I wanted to do was finish without walking.  The first three miles were mostly hills.  So.  Many.  Hills.  Now, we had been training with some hills and inclines, but not like what we came upon in those first three miles.  The last 5 3/4 miles had some hills, but by the last one, my legs burned like they're never burned before.  If it hadn't been for my beautiful partner booking it up the hill next to me, I would have stopped and walked.

My pink tights.

When we got to the river crossing, we just went for it.  No ropes, no taking off our shoes.  I didn't even feel the water.  I thank the lovely pink running tights I had purchased the night before.  My feet felt so, so heavy for approximately a half a mile and my hip felt like it was falling out.  Dani ended up running about 30 seconds ahead of me because I needed to slow down my pace or risk walking.  I sprinted up to her to run the last tiny bit next to her, but when we got to the finish line, it was really soft sand.  I told her to go on without me and she crossed about 30 seconds before me.  She is so awesome.  I am so thankful she has come into my life.  She has pushed me through so many hard, horrible workouts that I would never have completed by myself.  I've decided that I want to sign up for the 10 miler in March

So incredibly grateful for her.

The rest of the day was spent eating.  I swear I ate about 7 bazillion calories.  But I felt like I earned every single one.  Boy and I went grocery shopping and then to his mom's house for dinner since today he had to go back to work.  I feel like he just got off (because he did), but he will have 7 days off when he's done on Tuesday evening.  We had delicious salmon burgers and salad.  Then his mom helped me to finally finish my hat!  She's amazing.

My grocery cart.

His grandma found this gem her camera and printed it out for us...

I love Olive so much.

My finished hat!

This morning I told myself I would sleep in as long as I want and then spend the day on my behind.  Well, as long as I wanted ended up being 9am and sitting on my behind didn't happen.  I didn't feel sore or awful like I thought I would.  So, I loaded up an Insanity video and worked out for 45 minutes.  I knew the day would be spent eating and eating and eating yet again, so I had to do something physical. Plus my 365 day goal will not be broken this early in the year.  I chose one of the easier ones (upper body weight training) so that I could give my foot and legs a rest.  The only thing that is hurting is my foot.  I think I injured it on a previous run and to keep running on it was a bad idea.  Oh well.  

Sean T. and I don't get along.

I showered, ate breakfast, and headed to my dad's where I proceeded to work on my newest knitting project.  I have spent about 3 hours on it, ripping it out twice because I don't know what I'm doing without boy's mom.  I'm afraid I'm doing something wrong, but I will see her Thursday and she will fix things I did wrong.  She's magical.  I also stuffed myself on carrots, celery, fruit, (gluten free) chicken wings, and chili.  I guess I could have done worse, but I've eaten so much this weekend.  I can't wait to get back to my high protein diet tomorrow.  I also worked on (and finished) my letter of intent for my application.  Now, I just need two more letters of recommendation and I can turn it in.  This is way farther than I got last year, so I'm pretty excited.  Of course, I took breaks to watch the commercials out of the corner of my eye.  

Moe and I not really caring about the game.

My knitting that I'm not sure is going well.

Now, I am going to go home and cuddle up in my blankets and hopefully fall asleep early.  I haven't slept much this weekend, again, but who needs sleep, really?

'Twas The Night Before Race Day

And all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for the dogs.  Seriously.  No one is home. I guess that is normal for a Friday night, but not around here.

Tomorrow is race day already!  I feel as though I just signed up for it and it's already here!  Yesterday my muscles were so sore from my previous two workouts, so I decided to go for one last short run before the big day.  I am so strangely nervous.  There is nothing to be nervous about except not finishing, and I know that will never happen.  It's so much more mind over body.  If you tell yourself you're not tired and you will finish, you will finish.  That's how I felt yesterday.  I told myself I would do 4 miles, and I did.  And I finished it in record time.  Eight minute miles aren't bad.  The race starts at 8 and is about 45 minutes away, so I've got to be out of the house by 7.  An early night for me tonight.

Yesterday after my run.  It was beautiful outside.

Yesterday, I had just sat down to work on my application essay when my step mom texted me to ask if I wanted to go see a house that looks interesting.  My step sister and her boyfriend are planning on moving home so they are looking for a place.  This place is a duplex and they would live upstairs while my brother, the boy and I would live downstairs.  It's actually quite cute.  The scary thing is, though, that I may not have a job next year as I am student teaching.  I am terrified about money and right now I am living rent-free, which is a HUGE financial help.  I'm already a pretty big tightwad, only spending money on necessities, like food.  I was looking through pictures at work today from the past 5 years and I am still wearing the exact same outfits!  I'm too cheap for new clothing.

So then I raced home to make dinner.  I decided on cheap and easy for Thursday.  Kale, apples, and eggs.  It was super easy and really delicious.  

Yum.

Then, I rushed off again to meet boy's mom at Sip-N-Knit.  And thank goodness she's a knitting genius.  She fixed my knitting and told me what I was doing wrong.  I met some really awesome women last night.  They are all so accepting and funny.  I really enjoy going on Thursdays.  It gets me out of my cave.

Our knitting bags.

Today, my cousin came over to workout because we had cancelled on Tuesday.  We always have pretty darn good workouts.  We really motivate each other and kick each other's butts.  She wanted me to take it easy today, though, because of my run in the morning.  So we did back, biceps, and some leg and ab moves.  She wouldn't let me go too heavy on the legs and we took a longer time stretching today than we usually do.

Cousin doing weighted V sit ups.

Our workout today.

Boy came home from work today with new glasses.  They look extremely good on him.  I really like men with glasses, so this just ups his attractiveness to me.  

Nerdy boyfriend.

We went shopping at Target and I got some hot pink running tights for tomorrow.  No car is going to hit me!  I also got some running gloves as it is supposed to be 38 degrees at 8am and the worst part is my hands being absolutely freezing.  It's almost all I can think about when I'm cold.  We had a nice dinner at Pho and then he had to race off to Jiu Jitsu with his brother.  I went to the store to stock up on some bananas and other such stuff for tomorrow.  I came home, ate my chocolate, and packed my bag. I feel like it's the first day of school or something.  I have all of my clothes laid out and my extra change of clothes (we have to cross a river) in my bag all ready to go.  This is my first big race.  I did a mud run a year ago, back when I hadn't run more than two miles in several months.  It was about 90 degrees and I had thrown out my back somehow and was in excruciating pain, but I made it through the mud and the challenges.  So, I think I will be just fine tomorrow.  Especially with my amazing running partner next to me.

Messing around with the glasses at dinner.

It's off to knit and wait for the boy to come home to cuddle me to sleep before I wake up super early on a Saturday to kick my own behind.

A bonus picture of Moe laying in the sun today.