Goals...

Goals…

I’m not sure if it was exactly a ‘goal’, but since I started tracking my runs on the Nike Running App – I’ve been very excited to get to 100 Miles.

Well, yesterday, I did it.  I made it 100.1 miles since I started tracking August 1^st.  That’s a long friggn’ way.  To put it in perspective for my small mind – I ran from Grass Range to Billings, MT…it only took me 2 months!  (it takes 1.5 hours to drive) ;)  Ultra Marathoners run that distance all at once and in under 24 hours.  …Crazy ass beotches….  I have no plans of ever doing it all at once, but still feel like it’s a milestone and calls for a pedicure and some champagne!

½ Marathon training is going well.  I am hitting my pace on the shorter distances, and a little slower on the longer distances.  I ran 9 miles on my long run last weekend, I was happy that my roommate went with me.  She’s always up for a long run (crazy lady).  We walked a little and did a little Kentucky exploring along the way – I wasn’t overly impressed with my pace – but I made it and afterward re-fueled with some Southern Cooking.  (Yumm by the way)  There was also a ‘Tobacco Festival’ in Carrollton – it rained almost the entire day, but we braved it and made our way down to the square for some Tobacco Judging.  ;) 

Priorities people, priorities.

Next week’s training calls for a 10K race.  I haven’t signed up for a 10K, so I am planning on hauling ass through 6 miles and pretending that I am racing.  We’ll see how it goes. 

THEN – the following week’s long run is 10 miles.  Ugh. 

CHEERS TO MAKING THE MOST OF IT and 100 More Miles!

Kitchen Table

This is what my kitchen table looks like at this very moment.

My ideal 'kitchen table' is completely clear with absolutely no clutter - possibly with a pretty boquet or nice tasteful center piece. 

The above picture is what my mind feels like right about now as well.  Eek

My ideal 'mind' is clear and concise and organized and knows all of the right answers or where to try to find them - and has a really nice blonde highlights that cover up all the gray.  Oh yes, its a beautiful natural blonde mind when functioning properly.  When its off - it is off the deep-end laying on the couch watching Bridget Jones eating chocolate and crying off!

My table consists of all of my 'to-dos' and reminders that I need to get done this week.  Pay bills - change my address - eat healthy for the week (Big K, this means...get groceries and keep your hungry ass away from Sonic, mmm-kay?) read all of my Fitness magazines that I am behind on, maybe do a few squats, drink coffee, write some thank you notes...read the paper, get my oil changed, finish some stuff from work, and so it goes. 

I am in the process of getting my shiznit together so I can move from the Tucky to Nebraska.  Most of what I own is in storage in Texas and I have mainly kitchen supplies, linens, a buttload of beauty products (halfway used), clothing and more shoes than I know what to do with here. So I have to figure out what to move and what to send to TX to store.  Hopefully I won't get too scattered.  (Thanks to my sweet cousin for letting me ship some stuff to her place in Fort Worth until I can move it to storage, you are way too good to me!)  My furniture is all rented, so I don't have to move anything major.  Just stuff.  So - I have made a list and gotten side tracked several times.  (I'm side-tracked right now as a matter of fact) Will I ever get organized?  Maybe I should just throw everything away and start over?  Maybe I should get another book about organization that I can display on my desk and never read.
Good Plan, but I think I'll get my oil changed first and check out if there are any sales going on at my favorite stores.

Enjoy your Saturday y'all.
Cheers to clearing your Kitchen Table! (or trying to)

It all started when...

The last 2 weeks have been fairly busy, full of carbs and quite eventful.  don't worry - I took a bunch of selfies for you.  I have been all over Kentucky - Ohio - and Nebraska and now Montana.  Needless to say, my diet and exercise have taken a strong turn for the worst.  SO...I decided to write about it and make it all better and make a plan forward to hold myself a little more accountable while I am on the road the next couple of weeks.
Good Plan.

Well, last week was my birthday and I spent it in Omaha with my sister and some great friends.  Thanks ladies for treating me to such a fun night - you are all so special to me! 

We went to a great wine bar in Omaha called 'Nosh'.  It is one of my favorite places there!  You definitely need to check it out if you ever find yourself in the Omaha Old Market area.  We had champagne, dinner, and some cake to top off the evening.

My bday is 9/11 which is already an odd day to celebrate on, so I am happy to stay in and shop online to celebrate.  BUT - I'd take spending time with people that I love over Amazon and Zappos any day. 

BUT...thats not where it all started.  Rewind one week prior....

My sweet co-workers knew I was going to be gone for my b-day and gave me an early surprise with an office FULL of balloons (about 3-400 to be exact) and homemade German Chocolate Cake!  I die!  It's my fave!  It was so good and so nice of them to think of me!  I'm thankful to work with such great people!  It makes living and working 'on the road' so much easier!  My office was really difficult to work in the rest of the day!  It was far too festive in there for a construction site!  (I'm still popping balloons!  Great stress relief!)

The rest of the week looked like this:

Yes - that's a White Russian.  I wish I could drink about 10 of those bad-boys every.single.day.  Hells to the yah.  (I did ask for skim milk to cancel everything else out)  I feel the the 'Dude' when I drink them.  So much cooler than normal.

My Hunney send me the prettiest boquet of flowers, they were absolutely beautiful!  It is hard to see, but the tiny pink roses were so unique.  They weren't just pink, but swirled with a lighter pink.  Gorrrgggg!

To: Krystal - thanks for being so great.  Happy 25th Birthday (again)!  With Love From: Krystal

I picked up the SUPER CUTE top from the gift shop at the casino!  Its great when you find treasures where you least expect it!  The top reminds me of a mullet - hence the reason why I like it so much!  Side note:  I didn't find any treasures while gambling though and lost a cool hundy in the slot machines in about 5 min flat. 

Well - today it starts again.  Back to normal healthy habits.  I am not going to let 2 foolish weeks get me down....I have to admit - the tightness of my jeans gets me down a little though.  ;)  Enjoy your weekend and make the most of every single thing you do!

I'm spending my day today with my Grandpa Phil on the ranch and even have my running clothes on already.  Hopeful that I will get a run in God's Country today.  I'm up to 7 miles on my half-marathon training.  Only a couple of months to go! 

This is my favorite place on earth!

That's Gramps - he is in his mid-80's and is still going strong and is such a great person to look up to.  I am sure he can out work me anyday of the week.  I am a lucky girl to have such a great man in my life!

Cheers to starting new and not looking back! 

Casual Friday - from across the pond

Happy Friday Everyone!  As you know, here at www.sagebrushandpurses.com we take casual Friday VERY SERIOUSLY.  Today is no exception.  As promised - I am going to mix it up a little. Featured today is a very stylish friend of mine from the UK - who also takes casual friday very seriously and actually wears a little more than jeans and a t-shirt.  I asked her only yesterday if she wanted to be featured today - her response was an enthusiastic "yes" and she already knew exactly what she was going to wear! 

Thank you for being so supportive of casual Friday!

In order to maintain confidentialitity and not blast her good name and knicker-type all over the www, lets call her Bridget Jones.  Side Note: I love Bridget Jones and only started hanging out with the above-mentioned Bridget Jones in hopes that her cool British accent would wear off on me - it never did and I was stuck with her and her odd tea drinking ways.  Since then we have strengthened our bond over our love of shopping, wine, beef and Mexican food and have become great friends.

As I mentioned earlier Bridget Jones is very fashionable.  (as I think most Brits are - not 100% sure, but they seem like it on TV...duh Madonna is British, right?) 

Bridget is no exception, her look is very classic and timeless.....and my hard-hat, jeans, steel-toed-work-boot-wearing-self is always envious. (Bitch)

Her day usually starts (or ends) like this:

Daniel Cleaver: Now these are very silly little boots, Jones. And this is a very silly little dress. And, um, these are, fuck me, absolutely enormous panties.
Bridget: Jesus. Fuck.
Daniel Cleaver: No, no. Don't apologize. I like them. Hello, Mummy

Only kidding, here she is:

-          Top by The Limited – small lashings of lace around the neck add an element of the sassy to a somewhat classic top. Peplum around the waist hides a multitude of sins and lumps and bumps

-          Underneath my top I am wearing a white satin vest from WHBM – it creates a smooth area around my bumpy stomach.

-          My jeans are Ann Taylor with a front crease/seam. It’s a classic dark jean with a classic white top. Classic, timeless look. That’s me. 

-          Under my jeans there was no need to wear scary stomach holding in Granny knickers today. My peplum top hides my bad areas. So I’m wearing my obligatory Hanky Pankys in leopard print. Conservative on the outside…totally racy underneath. That sums me and Bridget Jones up. My BF calls them my "go go faster cheetah panties."

Bridget: This is an occasion for genuinely tiny knickers.

-          Paired with my little bit of lace are my two pearl bracelets from NY&Co. Totally fake but look authentic. Who doesn’t love lace and pearls?

-          My earrings are the real thing baby. They are a gift from my ex-mother in law and are high-dollar Mikimotos from Neiman Marcus with pearl and diamonds (for real). I wear them when I want to feel preppy. They make me think of my ex mother in law and how generous she was but also a real nutso at the same time.

-          My shoes are always tan. Today’s classic heel is a Nine West special. Tan and dark jeans are my favorite look. The point on the front of the heel elongates the length of my leg.

-          My nails are tan done using an at home shellac system that cost me $39 at walgreens – Sensationail.  Best investment I ever made.

-          My eye makeup is Urban Decay’s Naked Eyes pallete, my lip stick is Mac “myth” which is a tan/light color, my foundation is Estee Lauder and my bronzer and eyeliner are Rimmel London. My mascara is Maybelline (the pink and green bottle)

-          My watch was a birthday gift from my bf and is a Fossil tan strap. My grandmother’s watch she gave me when I was 18 died recently and you can only buy the battery in England. I was so sad I have to wait till Christmas to get a new battery that my bf got me a cute watch for my birthday.

There you have it - a classic Casual Friday look that can be worn from the office right over to a quaint British Pub for a night of fun with her people!  Thanks for playing, Bridge!

Bridget Jones: At least, now that I'm in my thirties, I can hold my drink


Well - having said all that, oh.holy.shit, it looks like I need to step up my casual friday game! This hoodie and pony-tail hair arent going to cut it!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Bridget: Resolution #1: Uggg - will obviously lose 20 lbs. #2: Always put last night's panties in the laundry basket.



Selfie Sunday - on the run

Happy Selfie Sunday Everyone!  Sunday is the best day of the week, especially when you get to wear a cute pair of blue bermuda shorts that ya got at NYC&Co. (outlet) for $11 bucks!  I love Sundays and getting all dressed up!  Being the good little Montana-transplanted Southern Belle that I am - I walked the 3 blocks to church in those cute shorts (which were very comfy) and those cute shoes (that I have had for months!!!)...and now have a couple of shiny new blisters!  Why do I let that keep happening to me!!!????

Shoes are DSW, blouse is Ann Taylor (last season), belt and bracelet are White House Black Market (2 seasons ago), shorts are NYC&Co. Outlet mall!  Yay! 

Labor Day weekend was a great weekend for me, filled with some outlet mall shopping, root touch-up (goodbye gray!), relaxing, church, a couple of runs and dinner with good friends.

I finished Week #1 of Half-Marathon Training this Holiday Weekend and eeked out a 5 miler yesterday.  I feel great and am going to try for 3 more today, when it cools off a little.

Based on my 5 miles yesterday and upcoming long runs....today I am going to talk about a subject that is near and dear to me - chaffing!  OUCH.

Since I have started running, this stuff has been my friend and has never drifted too far from my gym bag.  If I run any distance over 3 miles - this stuff is necessary.  My problem area is under the elastic on my sports bra, around my rib cage. 

One good dose usually helps tremendously.  (Although - the humidity and heat and my excess sweating make it tough for this stuff to stay on)

When the heat and humidity (and sweat) is too much for the Glide to handle, and I still end up with some painful chapping - 'Bag Balm' is my go-to treatment.  This stuff is great!  I get a laugh about it every time I use it.  Its original use was for relieving chapped dairy cow tits.  It is nice to know that I am able to use it on my milkers as well.  (It also works really well for chapped lips and healing cuts & scratches).  Good stuff, give it a try.

I recently read 2 interesting articles in Women's Health magazine.  The first was an online article called '11 Interesting Facts About Your Boobs'.  Here is the link, it is pretty interesting:

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/facts-about-boobs?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-womenshealth-_-content-health-_-BoobFacts

If you don't subscribe to Women's Health on Facebook - I highly recommend it.  They have great daily posts ranging from exercise tips to boob facts...etc. 

In the boob article, I found this key point the most interesting and it led me to today's selfie post:

"So get this: When you run, the twins do, too—in a sort of figure-eight shape. And they can travel up to eight inches, according to research out of the U.K. All the more reason to wear a supportive sports bra!"

8 INCHES???!!!!  Wow.  Bring on the Glide and the Bag Balm!

Secondly - page 160 of the latest issue of the magazine:
"How to Take an Amazing Selfie"
Did you know that the average woman takes at least 3 to 4 selfies before she gets one she likes? AND you're not supposed to post more than 2 selfies a day...?  What the?  ;)

I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend as much as I did.  I am blessed to have had 2 Mondays off in a row - both making Sunday that much more enjoyable!  Have a great week!

Casual Friday

Happy Friday Everyone!  I hope everyone is gearing up for a fun and festive Labor Day Weekend!
I've really been into reading Fashion Blogs lately and secretly wish that I was a hot fashion blogger - but am far too un-motivated to dress that nice every single day.  So...I decided to start a series called 'Casual Fridays'  that is dedicated to at least one specialty outfit that my friends/family, other bloggers, or that I have worn during the week.

This week - the first focus is "Construction Casual" - on a construction site we take Casual Friday very seriously (every single day of the week). 

Today is "Freedom Friday" on the jobsite and it is the only day that I will actually wear a regualr t-shirt to work.  We each bought this fantastic (mens sized) red t-shirt for $25 bucks (the money goes to charity and the company matched all donations) and we wear them every friday.  It is really neat to see several people in the offices sporting these shirts on Friday!

Check out www.ourfallensoldier.com the focus of the organization is offer free web pages where each fallen hero can be remembered and to provide financial support for the loved ones left behind.   

To stick with my 'Fashion Blogger' theme...the shoes are steel-toed Keen work boots, from Cabelas, surprisingly comfy for steel toes, but hot as shit in the summer time.  Jeans are Lucky from Dillards, right now they are a little snug - luckily they are a little strectchy.  Head band is blsck sequin from Brady Bands, www.bradybands.com.  It DOES NOT SLIP and works fantastically underneath a hard hat!  (also for a great cause - check out the website)

I have a few plans for the weekend.
1.  Half Marathon Training - I have a 5 mile run on Sunday.
2.  Getting highlights - not ready to embrace the gray yet.
3.  Shopping - duh.  I am going to head to the Outlet Malls and find some basic fall pieces to update my wardrobe.
Pinterest is full of great fall outfits and ideas right now (and always).  I am loving it! 

In Search of:  a Chambray top!  I've been wanting one for a while.  Side note:  I like that it is called 'chambray' instead of denim or blue jean.  Classy use of a big word.

Above is my 'Pinspiration' that I was 'Pinspired' by...except I am not too sure about the skinnies. 
Love the top - love the scarf - love the earrings - come to mama, little cute shoes - love it all.
Ready.  Set.  Shop!

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!  Spend time doing what you love with the people you love!  See you next week!

'Lean In'

I often like to read funny fiction books (the kind that are easy on the mind) 

I read the '50 Shades of Gray' trilogy in about 5 hot minutes and also flew through all 3 'Hunger Games' books without stopping to take a breath.  Every single thing that Chelsea handler has ever written have been some of my quickest and most enlightening reads to date.  That is how I roll and how my brain works most efficently.

I'm not only into toilet humor, (haha who am I kidding) I'm also a big fan of non-fiction books that are true to life or tell a story of someone's life or troubles.  I really got into Polygamy books a while back (weird, I know)  read 'Favorite Wife: Escape from Polygamy' by Susan Ray Schmidt and you may be hooked too. Another obsession I have is with stories of pioneer men and women on the wagon trails.   I started with a book called 'These is my Words:  The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1891-1901' by Nancy Turner.  Told from diaries of a young girl on the wagon trail  and the life she endures and she learns to read and write along the way.  Pioneer and wild west stories have been on my reading list ever since.

More recently I read 'Wild' by Cheryl Strayed (read it, you'll love it - Oprah even recommends it) and I have a burning desire to sell everything I own and hike the remote 1,000+ Pacific Coast Trail and find myself....only a few problems, I'm scared to camp alone and my hair gets greasy after only 2 days...she went like 10 days each trek without a wash...eek.  Also, I have no idea how I would lug all of the wine that my body requires up and down rugged mountain ranges. (she did get skinny though)", hmmm, I'm still thinking about it...

FINALLY what inspired this post:

I might have jumped on the bandwagon a little late and just picked up a powerful book, I'm reading the book 'Lean In' by Sheryl Sandberg right now.  I thought I was buying the audio book on iTunes (because I would much rather 'listen' to a boring leadership book than actually read one) I actually accidentally bought the e-book on my iPhone and have been kicking myself ever since for not getting the original hard cover while I am squinting to read it on my phone.

I am 100% engrossed in this book and Sheryl Sandberg is speaking right to me.  I want to highlight every single line!!  Next stop Barnes and Noble (or an airport bookstore) for the hard copy and a hot pink highlighter.

So...I am only on chapter 6 and have already made so much self discovery.  I think the dude sitting next to me on the plane yesterday was wondering why I keep shaking my head and saying 'um-hmm' out loud!

As a generally quiet female (until you get to know me) in a male role in a very male dominated field, this book has spoke volumes to me thus far.  It is easy to read and she tells real-life stories that are inspiring and have made me look at myself in a new way.

She asks the question:  "What would you do if you weren't afraid?"

The first answer that comes to me is "say whats on my mind"

So many times I - hold it in - bite my tongue - agree when I really disagree - keep the peace - keep my ideas to myself - smile and go about my day.  BORING

BE A STANDOUT, Montgomery! Quit blending in so dang much. Don't be afraid.

If I am going to be the standout that I know I am, I have to learn to bust out of my comfort zone from time to time and say what's on my mind.

I hope the next several chapters are just as engaging as the first 6, I'm excited to learn more and discover myself along the way.  I love a good book that motivates me, and this one is doing just that.

Ask yourself: What would you do if you weren't afraid? 

It's a great question.

What would I do, you ask?

Don't mind me - I'll be over here Twerking with Miley.

OK - had to revert back to my comfort toilet-humor zone.
To be honest - I do have some underwear that fit like that.

Make the most of your day and do think about what you would do if you werent afraid!  Thank you Sheryl Sanberg for writing such a great book and being an inspiration!