Back in Action

This could be trouble...I figured out how to post my blog on my iPhone or iPad with the Blogger App.  I only knew how to blog before on my computer, so I really had to think about my posts before I wrote them....not anymore! Now you are going to have to deal with my shitty thumb-typing skills and all of the typos that come with that.

(I am also hoping that I won't do any blogging during my drunken wine benders...but....you've been warned)

I'm sitting here in the Denver Airport on my way back to #omahasomewhereinmiddleamerica feeling quite pudgy after 3 Thanksgiving dinners and numerous desserts.  I exercised every day (almost) that I was on vacation, but I still managed to pack on a few lbs based on how my jeans feel.  Is it a sign that your jeans are too tight when you can barely sit down without blowing out the back pockets??!!  No?  I didn't think so either.

This was Thanksgiving dinner #1 with part of my awesome family!  Love these good people so much! 

Dinner #2 was with my hunney's family and I just love spending time with them, good people (and great cooks!). I'm blessed to have them in my life.

#3 was with my Dad and Sister and Grandparents.  Dad turned 60 yesterday (I didn't know he was 60 already, he's been telling me he is 29 for so long..) Gramma cooked up a fantastic dinner and we got to sit around her table that I have so many memories of since I was little.  Thankful to have such great Grandparents in my life.

I also made bourbon chocolate pecan pie. It was so good!!  (don't tell anyone, but I might have added a few extra tablespoons of bourbon to the pies) it was my first time making pecan pie and it's really tough to tell when it's done.

I also might have had a little bourbon for myself too....it's the holidays, isn't it?

My little cousins, sister and I made a really cool turkey inspired veggie platter.  It turned out great and was a lot of fun to make!

Tomorrow, it's back to the grind.  I joined a 'mile a day' challenge for the month.  You have to run at least a mile a day every day in December. (Except, I just realized that it's December 1st and I didn't run today.  Oops, tomorrow, I promise will be better)

I've been tracking all of my non-treadmill miles since August and am up to 171 miles!

I'm excited to see where I'll be after December!  I've NEVER tracked my miles before and just started in August when I got the nike Running App and was training for the half marathon. Its awesome and really motivating to see how far you've come.

I also decided that I need to do something about my old-lady-bus-driver arms.  Man, they are getting a little jiggly. I will be dilligently on Pinterest searching for an arm challenge.  I will post pictures and measurements this week. It's important that I start getting ready for tank top season at least 6-7 months early, I have a lot of work to do.

I was also thinking about a cleanse again to kickstart - but I might be taking on too much at once.  Thoughts?

It might be too much.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Enjoy the week ahead and you can bet your ass I'll be online shopping until I drop tomorrow for cyber Monday!

Cheers to starting new/over and making the most of every day!

Saying Goodbye

2 Big things happened today

1. I resumed my laser tattoo removal...

 You have get to wear these sweet goggles when you are getting lazered.

 

When I was about 18 years old and 1 minute - I did what most small town Montana girls do when they leave home - I ran out and got a dolphin on my ankle. 

I miss 1994 more than you can imagine!  But now would rather have the memories of being blacked out on jungle juice and trying to make it to class the next morning and gaining the freshman 20 30 than a permanent inked in memory.

I know, I know, I should have thought of this back then.  BUT - I didn't.

I had only been to the ocean once - was (and still am) pretty timid of the water - and had never even seen a dolphin in real life.  (I still have never seen one).  But I HAD to have this beautiful sea creature on my ankle to symbolize my freedom, duh. 

No disrespect to the dolphins out there - I still love ya, I hope I see you one day in real life but have no desire to swim with you or have you on my ankle.

Honestly, this feels like its my 100th treatment.  This has been a really long process.  I started getting laser tat removal in Texas in the summer of 2011.  I went around 10-12 times (at $70-90 a pop!)  The first several times it was SO PAINFUL but then it got easier and easier.  The laser basically blasts each layer of ink into tiny particles and then your body naturally sluffs it off until its gone.  You are supposed to get treatment every 4-8 weeks and they cannot guarantee that the tattoo will be fully removed.  Low and behold Green and Blue colors are really tough to remove.

Well, guess what....

A dolphin jumping out of the ocean on your ankle has lots of friggin' green and blue in it.  Who'da thought?

Well, because it was such a long process - I went ahead and took the last 9 months or so off.  #1 - I was sick of it and opted to spend my money on clothing and hair products & #2, I was living in the backwoods of Kentucky and didn't even attempt to find a reputable place to keep up with treatments.   

After being stuck with a half-ass removed tattoo for the past several months - I decided it was go time.  Time for the dolphin to go time.  I went to a place called Skin Specialists, PC.  www.lovelyskin.com They were really nice there and it was much like a legit Doctor's office. 

We opted to do a 'Stacked Treatment' which is 4 treatments at once.  They numbed my cankle with about what felt like 50 shots and went to town.  I didn't feel a thing.  Until now.  Eek - it hurts and I am afraid to take the bandaid off for fear of it being a dolphin-shaped scar.  I hope it works.  I'll keep you posted.

#2  This is random, but I feel like I have to share it because it was a big moment for me - 28 CD's and 33 1/2 hours later, I finally finished the Game of Thrones Audio Book.  Holy shit that took a lot of commitment and car time.  I NEVER would have read the actual book.  It is way too thick and definitely not enough toilet humor to keep me rolling - but the book on CD was fantastic.  The narrator even did voices!  I miss it already!  I am back to the boring old country station listening.  I would much rather listen to fighting over kingdoms.

I usually don't get into fantasy at all - but highly recommend it if you have some car time coming up in your near future.   I am debating wether or not to get the next one - I probably will.

On a side note:  I think Prince Jeoffery is a little prick for be-heading Edard Stark.

FINALLY - if you get a chance, watch Kanye's new video and tell me if you love it as much as I do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr4HVom01T0

WTF was that? 

Cheers to being 18 and dumb - Castles and Kingdoms - and not to Kanye and Kim's video!
Happy Thursday - I'm off to the treadmill!

What? There's no Basement in the Alamo??

No -there isn't a basement in the Alamo.  (for all of you Pee Wee Herman fans out there)

After 12 short weeks of training....we made it to the San Antonio Rock n' Roll Half Marathon.

A half-marathon is 13.2 miles.  (not a 5k - to the guy on the plane who sat next to me on the way to Dallas)

I finished in 2:25 - not too great.  That is about 11 minute miles average and I trained for 10 minute miles.  It was so hot outside and I was really slow. (and more hills than I anticipated)  Also, lets face it, I didn't train hard enough.  Not enough long runs and definitely not enough strength training.  Either way - it was really a good time!  I am still a little sore today, mostly my feet and chafe, but I am planning on hitting the treadmill again tomorrow! 

Here is a race re-cap for you:

We started out in South Fort Worth on Saturday morning for breakfast.  My good friends from met up with us and we had a really nice visit, I was happy to spend time with them.  My favorite thing at the Old South Pancake house are their German Pancakes.  (I might have been more excited for the pancakes than the race, but what did you expect?)

We made it into San Antone on Saturday afternoon and went to the Race Expo and picked up our packets.  The expo was really well organized and it went pretty smoothly and we made it through without spending $100's on race gadgets - guaranteed to make you run faster.

We stayed in the Emily Morgan DoubleTree Hotel which is right near the Alamo and the Riverwalk.  Great location and a really cool hotel.

We had dinner at a restaurant called the Iron Cactus and it was delish!  We sat outside, right on the river and couldn't have asked for a better night out with my best Grass Range Gals!

We were good little racers and actually got our race gear ready to go the night before.  All of the running magazines say to do this...I'm not sure if it saved a ton of time for us on race morning, but it was fun to get everything together.  (note the Glide - btw, it worked for only about 6 miles before I completely sweated it off)

Early early the next morning, we made the mile trek to the start line - and I had to use the can.  There were no lines at all and the bathrooms were spotless.  HA!

I work construction and have seen some gross porta potties in my day - but race morning jons are probably some of the grossest that I have seen. Yuck.  They look like such a nice clean bunch - it's weird.

This is our usual before picture - lookin' good on race day.   So happy to go for a little jog and not yet experiencing the pain that 13.2 miles brings.  It was already getting warm outside and I am pretty sure that I started sweating before I even crossed the start line.

We were soaking wet with sweat!  Eek.  It was awesome having Katie there to support us in the race!  Tami and I have ran several races together and haven't had anyone meet us at the finish line before, it was really cool.  Thanks for your support, Katie!

Chocolate Milk is an awesome re-fuel, btw.  They handed it out at the finish line...nice job RnR San Antonio.  They also gave out Fritos! Again, kudos!

Once we made the walk back to the Hotel and rinsed off the gross-ness, we popped the top on a bottle of Champagne!  Thanks a bunch to my cousin Johnna for giving us the BEST CARE PACKAGE EVER!!  She thought of everything!

Finally - quite possibly the best race re-fuel that I have ever had:

God Bless Texas. 

While shuffle jogging through the streets of Old San Antonio, I got a lot of time to think about all of the things that I love about running.  I love the fact that there are all ages, sizes and shapes of people at the races AND I love all of the signs that people make and the support from fellow runners and strangers that you get along the way.  It's a pretty neat feeling.

The only negative I could really think of are the lines to the porta jons on race day...and I can live with that.    (unless I have an emergency 'situation' going on)

Cheers to making the most of it!  Cheers to another 13 miles with a great friend!  Cheers to many many more!

CARB-O Loading!

Welp - this is it! 

I am sitting in the Omaha Airport - on my way to Texas for the big Half Marathon!

While sitting here, I am doing what any other elite athlete would be doing:  Carb Loading

While I was carb-loading - I was looking on the www and came across this:

Shit

Yep - I'm screwed.  524 Burpees is nowhere near my wheel-house.  I am getting a headache just thinking about it.

I am pretty excited for the race on Sunday - I feel pretty good about my training this time around.  Last weekend I ran 8 miles and felt great afterward - that never happens.  I have gone up to 11 miles this time around - so 13.2 should be a cinch!  Haha!

Last night I carefully selected my running outfit and this is what I came up with:

Thoughts?

I thought it looked the brightest and absolutely the fastest.  I am hoping to find a cute yellow or green headband at the Race Expo tomorrow to complete the package.  ;)

I am really excited for this race - my bestie from way back is running with me (I will be eating her dust) and we are staying on the San Antonio River Walk overlooking the ALAMO.  The River Walk is such a neat area and there are so many things to do and see there.  Hello Texas heat in November - oh how I've missed you.

If you are thinking about running a 1/2 Marathon or, God forbid, a Full Marathon, I highly suggest starting in the Rock n' Roll series.  They are in several locations around the U.S. and are such a cool race to run in.  They have a very upbeat vibe and bands every couple of miles.  You never feel alone in the race and it is a great experience.

Have a great weekend everyone!  I hope your weekend is filled with good times!

Meanwhile - I'll be over here jogging it out and starting on my burpees!

Cheers!

Hot Yoga

Welcome to beautiful Omaha, NE!

This is my comfort zone - a nice outdoor jog.  I haven't found any trails yet - but there are a lot of senic places to run here.  (It's going to be really cold soon and I am going to take all of the outdoors that I can get in)

So far - so good in the Big O as far as the half marathon shuffle jogging training goes.  (these pictures have been taken on my runs, when I need a break)  I joined a gym this past week and have been really looking at changing up my workout routine though. 

SO today I took a great big step outside of my comfort zone and tried something new - HOT YOGA!  My sister and good friend went with me to One Tree Yoga (website:  www.onetreeyoga.com)  they have 2 locations in Omaha (East & West).  We went to the west location and as far as yoga goes - In my limited experience, I highly recommend it.  I can't actually remember when or if I've evervtaken an actual Yoga class other that DVD's.  Live classes are definitely the way to go.  The instructor was really helpful and made sure we were doing the poses correctly, which was great.  She was really nice and didn't make me feel like a big oaf because it hurt  to sit on my knees and I couldn't quite wrap my ankles around my neck.  (Just kididng - we didn't get that in-depth, or slutty)  We went through 26 pretty basic poses and did each twice.  Half of the time was spent standing up and the other half on the mat.

OK - Lets talk about the hot in HOT YOGA.  I've read some articles about it and how good it is for you and have been wanting to give it a try for a while.  It's really good for flexibility and helps with deep cleansing - and I love a good cleanse.  Plus it seems like all of the cool people are doing it.

#1 - I'm not sure why it's not called Hotter n' shit Yoga.  We walked into the room and it felt like it was 300 degrees in there.  I think it was actually about 105 - but it was HOT.  Being naturally inclined to sweat a lot, Big K immediately popped a few beads.  90 minutes later - I was soaked in sweat.  We're talking drip in your eyeballs sweat.  (I checked the room and even the cute little Yoga experts were sweating too - I felt better)

Which brings me to #2 - don't wear a heavy black concert t-shirt to Hot Yoga.  Next time I am going to wear my running shorts and a light and loose tank top.  Or go in a thong and bra.  (which would be ideal, but I don't think Omaha or anyone is ready for that) My yoga pants were actually stuck to me when we were done.  It was kind of gross. 

#3 - Bring a towel and a big ol bottle of water.  You will need it.

#4 - Don't crack up in class when you almost fall or during the weird breathing exercises.  You will be the only one laughing.  They are a pretty serious and centered bunch in there.

#5 - I had no idea that Yoga had digestive benefits!  Although I did fart once in class (SBD) - There are several poses that help your digestive system.  I thought that was pretty interesting.  So next time you see me crouched down like a rabbit in the middle of a public place - don't worry about it, I'm just in a 'code-brown' situation and using Yoga moves instead of the public bathroom.

#6 - Go with good people and treat yourself to a nice cup of coffee and breakfast afterwards.
 

Thanks for going with me today, ladies!  I enjoyed every minute of it and spending time with you!  Hopefully we can do it again soon!  Sorry that the picture doesn't show more of our 'shine'!

Have a great weekend! 

Hello My Old Friend

I have this thing that I call a 'window'

It's that small amount of time every day after work that I have where I actually want to workout.  Sadly, the 'window' is small and doesn't last long and as soon as I am out of it...I am out of it.

Well tonight, while I was in my 'window', I rushed home from work and joined the gym, which is right below my apartment.  (my apartment has a gym - but the equipment isn't great, its small and I feel like I am bottoming out the treadmill, which is really bad for my self-esteem)  As soon as I paid for my 3-month membership, I wasn't in my 'window' any longer.

So....I went home, sat on the couch, ate some combos pretzels and checked all of my social media sites.  I called my sister to see if she wanted to move our dinner date a little sooner.  because I was friggin' starving. She had to work and couldn't change her plans - so I had to wait. That's when I decided that I might as well go to the gym. I broke the 'window'.

This NEVER happens. Never.
I walked to the gym and made it 45 minutes on the treadmill and felt great.

I guess my 'window' is a bunch of BS.

Shit.

Hello my old friend.  It has been since February since I have ran on a treadmill and I didn't miss it one bit.  It is so monotonous.  With the days getting shorter and living in the city, I'm scared to run alone after dark...it is my only option on weeknights.  (plus, its really cold in Omaha  and I am a wimp)

45 minutes of pounding and shaking the screen - I was a sweaty mess and feel like I got in a quality workout.  It is time to let go of nature for a few months and start enjoying inside running again.  It makes my weekend outside runs so much more enjoyable.

Which brings me to my next topic - Walmart workout clothes.

It's been a while since I've posted a dirty bathroom mirror selfie - so enjoy!  (Man, I really need to clean that mirror.  eek.)

While living in KY - my local shopping options were pretty limited.  So I spent most of my time sampling bourbon.  There was a local Walmart in town and I picked up a few workout pieces while living there.  Everything I have on in this picture is from Walmart  with the exception of the sports bra and the massive amounts of 'Glide' that I have to put on to prevent chaffe.   
The top and shorts are the brand Danskin and very reasonably priced.  The shorts are great, a little short for my chunky thighs, but overall really good for running.  They are super light weight and feel like you are running naked.  (not really, but close) The top is great too, I love the dark blue color - but doesn't breathe too well when sweating like a beast.  It would be better for weight lifting or non-cardio exercising, but still very functional.  Sorry Walmart, my boobs are too big (or I am far too bouncy) for your little and cute sports bras. 

I wear the brand Moving Comfort - pretty spendy, but I highly recommend their products, check em out next time you are looking for a new sports bra. 

I guess my point is...you don't always have to drop a buttload of cash at running stores for running shorts and shirts....pass through your local wally-world and see what they have to offer at lower prices.

Thanks for reading!  Cheers to making the Most of it and my 'window' theory being a bunch of crap.

My Last Hot Brown......

.....well, maybe not forever.

My awesome co-workers had a going away lunch for me and served up my favorite!  It was a really nice send-off!  I have worked 'on the road' for several years and it is so nice to have a home away from home and be able to work with such a fantastic group of people from all over the U.S.

Enough of all that - back th the Hot Brown.
If you were wondering - here are all of the healthy ingredients:

6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
1/2 cup freshly-grated Parmesan Cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano)
1 egg, room temperature and beaten
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup prepared whipped cream
8 slices toasted white bread, crust trimmed off
1 pound cooked turkey breast, thinly sliced
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping
1 (2-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained
8 bacon slices, fried crisp

Yum.  It is so good and SO BAD.  I dream about it.  I haven't even logged it into my calorie counter app - It is so good, I could give a shizz about the calories.  Thank you to the good people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky for this fine culinary invention.

The reason I am paying my respects to the Hot Brown is because I spent my last week in the 'Tucky and am going to miss it.  Other than the fact that I was a timezone or 2 away from all of my favorite people and my commute to Montana was really long, I had a great 15 months in the state and am sort of sad to leave it in my rear-view. 

My family came to visit me on my last weekend and I wanted to share some of Kentucky's finest with you from their visit.  We had a great time and I am happy to have such a great family who is willing to travel across the country to visit me.  Thanks Auntie Val, Dib and Johnna.  Love you guys!

On our first day we ventured to Chruchhill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum.  I had been to Churchhill Downs before for the Derby - it was AHH-Mazeing and so fun!  This time, things were a little calmed down (there weren't 100k people there) so we actually got to see the track!  It was really neat and such an old and classic facility. 

Fun fact:  Did you know that people sneak in at night and spread the ashes of their loved ones on the track? 

After our visit to the Kentucky Derby Museum and Churchill Downs, we took a river boat tour on the Ohio River in Louisville.  We caught it right at sunset and it was really beautiful!  To the left you see Louisville, KY and to the right is Jeffersonville, IN.

The next day we made it to the highest point in Carroll County and over-looked the Ohio River Valley and my cute little town of Carrollton.  General Butler State Park is nestled right in the middle of town and it was my favorite place to go while I was living there.  

This is General Butler State Park in the fall.  Such beautiful colors!  It was really nice to jog there because I got a lot of rest (I stopped to take pictures every 5 minutes - I love excuses to rest)  ;)

This kind of looks like an engagement photo, doesn't it?  If you were wondering, I play the role of the big burley woman who should re-think horizontal stripes. 

Next stop was the Kentucky Horse Park.  While Val was reading every single display word for word in the horse museum, we set out to see the exhibits.  My favorite was the Horses of the World Exhibit.  There were horses from every single country in there.  This little guy was from Norway and was a Viking pack horse.  I especially liked how he styled his mane.  (and that he was a blonde)

The next day we checked out a Tobacco Barn.  This thing was jam-packed with tobacco and smelled just like a cigar.

The picture above was taken a month or so ago - right in the middle of harvest.  This is what tobacco looks like in the field.  I would estimate it at about 6' tall with really big palm-like leaves.  The plant on the right has just been chopped down.  The harvest happens all by hand and looks really labor intensive.  The plant is chopped and left in the field to dry for a day or so and then hauled to large tobacco barns all over the country.  (like the one above)

We took a nice drive through horse-country.  The horse farms are massive and picturesque.  Not a blade of grass out of place.  I am sure they are not expensive at all!  I think the barns are nicer than most houses.

 We made our way to the Woodford Reserve Distillery.  It is a smaller distillery, owned by Jack Daniels (in TN).  We got to see the whole bourbon process from fermenting to barrelling (then tasting!)

Bourbon is intended to be sipped slowly and enjoyed.  Although I still haven't acquired a taste for it - it was nice to share the Kentucky experience with my family!  (Val shot it back really fast and asked for more, haha)

Goodbye Kentucky - thank you for all of your hospitality, I've enjoyed every.single.day!  Thank you to my wonderful family for coming to visit me! 

Cheers to making the most if it, great experiences and moving forward in life! *clink*