{it ain't rocket science}

*Disclaimer: I am totally going to own this post and quite possibly gloat more than you'd like, but hey, I'm feeling like it's my kind of night and I just sort of might deserve it. Can't say I didn't warn you.*

Before I get to the awesome part of this post, I want to recap a bit about my weekend. I got home from work on Friday night and was feeling pretty bushed. It wasn't a super rough day at clinic and I got to see some pretty awesome patients. I did a few hearing aid fittings, which I love, and overall, had a pretty great day. I didn't even get home too late. Once home, I had the house to myself for a while, since my boys were gone helping to set up for the following day's golf outing. They got home right around 7pm and left about five minutes after walking in the door to go to the football game. Me... I decided to stay home because it was a little too cold and rainy outside for me. As my guys were rushing in and out of the house, I was getting ready to work out. Previously in the night I had resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to work out... it was too cold for a run, I probably shouldn't run that many days in a row anyways, and just didn't want to do anything in the house. I was tired and being lazy.

But, I knew that once I got up to work out I would feel better. So... I busted out 35 minutes of strength training and felt SO much better. Like the title of my post, it isn't rocket science... if you want energy and to feel good, working out is definitely going to give you that. I know that. It was just a matter of getting my lazy butt up and off of the couch. After working out, I folded and put away three heaping baskets of laundry (shh, don't tell anyone that I have two more from today in the basement again). Halfway through that, Jay, Ayden, JT (Jay's friend from Minnesota... also going to be his best man at our wedding), Jay's parents, and Jay's brother, come barging into the house drenched from the rain. Perks of living behind the football field, can watch it from our living room on nights like that. I finished putting the clothes away and retreated to the bedroom to relax. I ended up sleeping like crap Friday night. Don't know why...

Had good intentions of getting up early on Saturday to get a run in before the golf outing, but dang, it was too cold and I wanted to sleep in a little bit. I slept until 6:45 and then Ayden and I got up and headed out for the golf outing. My bestie, Niki, and I sat on hole 9 and took team pictures throughout the outing. It was a great time. I had fun catching up with Niki and taking pictures and seeing all of the teams go through. I froze for the majority of the day, even with all of the layers that I was wearing, but still had a good time. Afterwards, I went home for a bit to get warm, relax, and escape the throes of people. I just needed a bit of down time to be honest. Still an introvert at heart. Jay, Ayden, and JT stopped at home to change and we headed out to a surprise birthday party for a little while and then off to a different party.

I was finally able to see the potential place for our wedding this past weekend. I could see the vision in my head, but then again, I couldn't. Yes, I am sure that we could make it work... but I don't want people to think that this is just some crazy party. Yes, I am not the traditional person who wants a traditional wedding, but it is still a WEDDING and not just a party. I want things to look nice. I want decorations. I want a wedding feel. Do I want a black tie affair... no, but I don't want this to just be a bon fire, bag throwing, poker playing party either. It is our wedding. So, I think that Jay and I need to talk about it a little more and see what we come up with.

Today was pretty low key. Slept in... had a photo shoot this morning. Also, did some homework, edited some more pictures. We went out for pizza for lunch. It was kind of funny because the last time we went out for pizza with JT was when we were broken down in Milwaukee on our way to a Brewer's game. This time I wouldn't let him pay the bill. JT left shortly after we got back from pizza... I mean, he did have a 6 hour drive ahead of him. It was nice to see him again. I know that every time him and Jay get together they have a good time. I wish that we all lived closer to each other than we do. JT is a great guy... gets along with Ayden well, fits right in with just about everyone.

I ended up taking a nap this afternoon for a little while... then we went and got ice cream from the local ice cream shop in town. Didn't watch what I ate at all today. Greasy pizza and a death by chocolate shake! YUMMY! And once again had no intention of working out. I knew that I should, but didn't really want to. Well, after we got home from getting the ice cream, Jay told me that I should just go because I was complaining about knowing I should go, but not wanting to because it was cooler out. I took his advice before I could get comfy on the couch again and laced up my kick ass shoes and headed out for Week 4 Day 2 of my Couch to 5K program. I was taking today kind of slow and was feeling pretty good. I was just finishing up my last running segment of the 5 minute run and was about to start the cool down when I decided to just keep running and see how long I could go. At about the five minute mark I had run half a mile without stopping (mind you, this is 20 minutes in, with a five minute walk warm up, 3 min jog, 1.5 min walk, 5 min jog, 3 min walk, 3 min jog, 1.5 min walk, and then the 5 min job I mentioned previously). So... I just kept running, and running, and running... and friends, I ran a whole mile without stopping. A whole mile after already 20 minutes, WITHOUT STOPPING! Yes, this is where I gloat. A WHOLE MILE! I haven't run a mile since high school, over 10 years ago, and that was definitely with having to walk, and even though I was slightly winded after the mile, I probably could have kept going!

I felt amazing! I still feel amazing! It's like I was a completely different person! I never thought I could do that and previously had questioned my ability to run the 5K I signed up for and here today I ran a mile! It renewed me! I very well know that my next run might not go as smoothly, but running for 10 minutes straight without stopping felt great! Slow and steady! Makes me want it even more, that's for sure!

Now... now... I am going to go crawl into bed and dream about rocking my first ever 5K in a couple of weeks!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{you can do it}

As I was about to start Week 4 Day 1 of my Couch to 5K program yesterday, I was mildly freaking out about running for five minutes straight... TWICE! The sequence for yesterdays run was set up to go something like this...

5 minute warm up walk
3 minute run
1.5 minute brisk walk
5 minute run
3 minute brisk walk
3 minute run
1.5 minute brisk walk
5 minute run
5 minute cool down

That dear readers was a FULL sixteen minutes of running! Was that even possible for me at this point? I mean, just the day before I was barely making it through the three minute runs! But, I soldiered on and told myself that yes, I could do this and that yes I WOULD do it!

And in Ashley fashion, I ran my heart out! I ran for the full five minutes BOTH times and I didn't die! Oh, I was close on the second five minute run, but I completed it. At this point in time, running for five minutes had me finishing just over a half mile. I ran a FULL half mile without stopping (albeit slowly), but still, it was a GREAT accomplishment for me. For someone who was not and is now slowly becoming a runner. Folks, on my drive home from clinic each day, I am craving getting out of the car, getting in the house and getting ready for my run ASAP! I know that if I do not go straight to my workout, I most likely will not fit it in for the night. I've tried morning workouts, at this point, I just cannot get myself to do it.

I think I may have over did it a bit last night. I know that my lack of proper stretching before and after my runs does have something to do with my slight soreness today. (And Ryan, if you happen to be reading this, stop shaking your head at me, haha! I can't follow ALL of the 'rules' you've so graciously passed onto me right away.) I do know that I cannot run tonight. I know that if I were, I would only be in more pain and my run would not go very smoothly. So, tonight it is strength training.

With each run, I am also becoming more confident in myself. I try to portray the gal next door who doesn't give a shit what people think about her and for the most part, I do not. You kind of have to get over it when you get pregnant in high school, lol! I joke now, but hid the pain of most of that at the time and for a long time after that. But running outside with people watching, I mean come on, what if they say something to me?! Now, just over four weeks into running, I give a patooties behind! I turn on some good tunes, at an audologist unapproved level, and just run. Run with my thoughts. Run, run, run, okay, and at this point, also walk, walk, walk! But I'm back in my groove and I have a goal in site and believe you me, I am going to rock that 5K at the end of October! Oh hell yes I will!

If I can do it, SO can you! If you want it bad enough... ANYTHING is possible!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{cold}

A year from this Friday Jay and I will be officially tying the knot... 365 days! Please, oh please, let the weather be warmer than it is today! Pretty please!

I am freezing today, literally freezing! I have a cami on, a t-shirt over the cami, and a light weight sweater and I STILL have goosebumps! And this is AFTER I have run my hands under warm water for a couple of minutes. I mean, my hands are kind of warm, but that is about it. And the bad mother in me let my son go to school in shorts this morning. At least I made him put a heavier jacket on. I don't think it's cold enough today for him to get sick with shorts on, but at least it will teach him that tomorrow he needs to wear pants. And maybe, just maybe, mom should be a little more aware of what clothes that he is putting on in the morning, haha!

But back to the wedding and the weather. Because we are getting married outside, I desperately need it to be warmer because friends, if you don't already know, I am FREEZING pretty much the majority of the time. And scatterbrain me thought that it would be warmer this late in September. Well, last weekend the weather was perfect. We need a nice 70 degree day with a lot of sunshine. PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE! Everyone say it with me... WARM WEATHER FOR ASHLEY AND JAY'S WEDDING! WARM WEATHER FOR ASHLEY AND JAY'S WEDDING! WARM WEATHER FOR ASHLEY AND JAY'S WEDDING! One more time WARM WEATHER FOR ASHLEY AND JAY'S WEDDING!

Ayden's teacher emailed me this morning about his reading. She tested him and according to the test that he was given, he is still a little bit behind grade level. She said that a lot of his little mistakes add up and I notice it too. He can read pretty fluently, but he tries to read fast to get it done faster and that is where the mistakes occur. I guess that he will qualify for extra help in the classroom with his teacher this year until he reaches the rest of his peers. That is good to know. I would rather him get the help than not, and I would rather him get it in the classroom than not as well because he really does not enjoy being pulled out of the class. I really think that this year is going to be a struggle for all of us. There is a lot more that both Jay and I need to be on top of school wise with Ayden to make sure that he is on top of his game and with both of us working full time and then with me having school on top of that, it is just one more thing that can get overlooked. But we will get it figured out and he will succeed!

I am officially over 1/4 of the way through my externship. Time truly flies!

I have some hefty goals for myself tonight since I sort of blew them off last night. I am still editing pictures from a wedding I photographed two weeks ago. It takes time. I definitely could have been done by now if I were not working full time, have a class on top of it, fitting in working out, and then fitting in family time (not to mention everything else that we have going on), but it is taking time. I also feel that I should not be pressured to get these pictures done super fast because I know that those who photograph weddings as a profession often do not have their clients pictures done for upwards of two months. I figure, two weeks to a month is a great time frame. And really, I do not need to answer to anyone. Anyways, I had a set amount of photos I wanted to get done each night this week and last night I was just too tired. Tonight I hope to get last nights photos done, tonight's photos (which will probably take about an hour or so), do some homework, do my workout, and fold three loads of laundry. If I am able to get home by 5:30, I should be able to accomplish that all by 8:30, or so I'm hoping. Pictures an hour, clothes hopefully less than a hour, workout 45 min'ish', homework maybe 30 minutes.

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{weekend recap}

I thought the weekends were supposed to be for recouperating from the work week?! My weekend was almost busier than my week at clinic and believe you me, we had a busy week at clinic!

On Friday, my supervisor closed the clinic down early and treated everyone to a Brewer's game. LOVE her! Everyone had a great time. I know I've mentioned it before, but I have the most awesome people to work with at my externship. Yes, I may not be getting any cochlear implant experience or seeing children every day, but I am doing TONS with hearing aids and I think that that has become my niche in audiology. I love hearing aids. Audiology is such a wide scope and can encompass many different things... I think what my 'thing' is... is hearing aids. Anyways, I headed to a Brewer's game with my supervisor, the other audiology in the office, the two office managers, and a hearing aid rep (who by the way was the most hilarious one there, she was such a hoot)!

The Brewer's had a crappy game, but we had awesome seats. To be honest, I was over the game by the second inning... watching sports is really not my thing, but I had a great time people watching and making jokes with my co-workers. We had a great supper... made better by great company!

I didn't get home until almost exactly midnight and hit the sack because I had an early morning the next day. Saturday started with an early wake up call. I was walking in a 5k with some friends. The walk was awesome, but once again, the company was even better! I got to hang with my besite, Victoria, who walked with us after being awake for over 20 hours (bless her heart), and two other high school classmates whom I have not seen in years. Great company! And the walk just made me commit to my goal of running solidify! I am totally registering for a 5k RUN at the end of October! And... I am going to RUN the whole thing! So, if you happen to be reading this... thanks again for such an awesome Saturday morning... April, Ryan, and Victoria! I also got to meet April's mom who is just the sweetest thing! I may have instantly fallen in love with her!

Saturday afternoon, Ayden and I hit up the apple orchard with my sister and her boyfriend. Got us some carmel apples which were overloaded with carmel! But damn, they were yummy! We also did our first corn maze of the year. I am a bit obsessed with corn mazes and have an unhealthy love affair with them. It has become a family tradition to do a huge corn maze close to my mom's house the last couple of years. We just recently started to do the maze in the dark with glow sticks which makes it even more fun. I was telling my sister that this year I think we need to do teams (maybe boys against girls) and race each other through. That might up the ante!

I also bought a big bag of... you guessed it... HONEY CRISP apples! Um hello, the best apples EVER! They were SO worth the price! Even after walking the 5k and then walking at the apple orchard, I ran on Saturday evening. I thought I was doing Week 2 yet which was walk two minutes, run 1.5, walk, run, etc... but I didn't look at my phone when I clicked go and ended up started Week 3 which was alternate between run 1.5, walk 2, run 3, walk 3, run 1.5, and so on. I was able to run for THREE minutes straight! Okay, so maybe that isn't that big of a deal for you, but have you tried it lately? I could barely run for one minute when I started, so running three minutes at a time was great for me!

On Sunday, Ayden and I slept in and then watched some Indiana Jones before heading to Darboy where I got some new kick ass running shoes and then got a few things at Kohls with my 30% off, courtesy of a co-worker. We got home and it was almost time for Jay's grandma's party, which he conviently reminded me of at last minute. We headed to the party. It was a surprise party for his grandma's 80th birthday and it was great to see her so happy. I didn't stay at the party for too long because I had other stuff that I wanted to get done at home, which included just a bit of down time. Didn't get much down time and stayed up too late... paying for it today.

Overall it was a good weekend though. Looking forward to another busy weekend on the horizon!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{my own 30 day challenge: PART 1}

I have challenged myself to do some sort of physical activity for all 30 days of September. Given that I know I need/should give my body at least one day of rest during the week, my 'off' days will contain only short/non grueling activities, but it will still be something. My goal for the other days of the week is 30-60 minutes of activity, be it a workout DVD, swimming, rollerblading, or even bike riding or walk/running, just something! Wish me luck (even though I am posting this after the 30 days is up.)Today is...

Day 1: TurboFire Fire 30. Not going to lie, I had to stop after the f ire drills for more than just the allotted 60 seconds, it was more like 2 or 3 minutes. Didn't realize that just two months of not working out consistently could put me so far back at the beginning. But I pushed through! It probably didn't help that I hadn't eaten anything before working out. Not super smart there either. Day 1 is done and I feel good!

Day 2: 3.3 mile bike ride with little man and 3.5 walk with my bestie! Went to bed last night feeling a little sore after a long day of photographing a wedding and then could barely get my pj shirt off this morning because I was so sore... a good muscle sore, but still sore. Thought I wouldn't over do it today and keep it low key with a bike ride and walk and my eating was pretty decent today as well. Still trying to keep up with my water intake. Day 2 in the books!

Day 3: ChaLEAN Extreme Burn Circuit 3. Despite still feeling a little sore this morning, I busted out a half hour of strength training. Hoping to get in a little bit more today... maybe another short bike . Didn't end up doing any other grueling exercise, but we did walk to and from the fair which counts for something, right?

Day 4: C25K Week 1 Day 1. I hate running, but I would love to become a 'runner'... I know, crazy dream of mine. So I thought I would try the C25K program (again). I had previously tried it shortly before we moved from Point and made it through Week 1. This time I am determined to make it all the way through. Last nights run went well and there were even some points that I enjoyed. Wish me luck!

Day 5: TurboFire Fire 30. No stopping during the workout today. Doesn't mean it was any easier than it was on Day 1, but hey, I made it all the way through and was drenched in sweat by the end. Feeling good. Definitely needed some cardio today, even though I didn't feel like working out at all. One of the ladies at work brought in chocolate covered almonds and mini peanut butter cups from Trader Joe's and believe you me, I definitely had my fair share! SO yummy!

Day 6: C25K Week 1 Day 2. Can't say today was any easier, in fact, I think part of it was harder. I started off good, got to the middle and wanted to quit, and then finished strong. Hoping to keep this up as the amount I have to run increases. One more day of walk 90 seconds, run 60, for 8 intervals and then it's run 90, walk 60 next week! I also busted out Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 Week 1 tonight as well. Needed to compensate for my semi crappy eating today. Hoping to actually feel some kind of muscle soreness tomorrow, although I could do without the shin splints that I can feel slowly coming on.

Day 7: ChaLEAN Extreme Burn Circuit 2. Seriously ate like crap today. My supervisor brought in bagels and donuts to work. Had a chocolate chip bagel with cream cheese and half a glazers donut, then half a Jimmy Johns sub and a small bag of chips then at least a cup of chocolate covered almonds (hey, they were almonds, that was halfway healthy, right?!), and at least two chocolate chip cookies on top of a bowl of noodles for supper and definitely not enough water for the day. Should probably have done an hour of cardio, but just wasn't in the mood. Wasn't in the mood for working out at all, but told myself that I would feel bad if I gave up on my goal of working out every day already, so I made myself get up and work out for the 37 minutes. Helping build some muscle. Tomorrow is back to running and probably (hopefully) more cardio!

Day 8: Short walk. No hardcore workouts for me today. I had two photoshoots during which I did some walking, but nothing full out. I had every intention of doing something that was actual physical work at night, but I had such a bad headache in the afternoon that I ended up spending the rest of the day laying down in bed watching Lifetime movies.

Day 9: C25K Week 1 Day 3. Dare I say I might slowly be starting to like running, especially when I am listening to some good music. Ready for Week 2!

Day 10: C25K Week 2 Day 1. Running for 1.5 minutes without stopping for intervals this week. I killed it. I enjoyed it. I turned my music up really loud, tuned out everything else, and just ran. Okay, ran, walked, ran, walked, etc... and I felt good. And my shins feel good. Might have something to do with running on a track... I actually felt like I could go out again last night and run it again. Going to try running Week 2 every day this week. We'll see how that goes.

Day 11: C25K Week 2 Day 2. UGH! As much as I said that I loved Week 2 yesterday, I hate it times 10 today. I was unable to run on the track at the time that I wanted to (okay, so maybe I could have, but there was a football game going on and I decided it probably wouldn't be very nice of me to be running around the track in front of all of the fans) and so I ran on the sidewalks around town. Let me tell you, running on a flat track is MUCH easier than up and down hills. Wanted to die today, but pushed through! Hell yeah!

Day 12: C25K Week 2 Day 3. Back to the track it was and busted it out!

Day 13: Didn't work out today. Insert sad face here. Instead spent the night at my dad's celebrating my youngest sister's birthday with family! It was a great night and we had some great food!

Day 14: No workout for me today either. Brewer's game with some co-workers. Ate well until supper, then it was sort of down hill, but tried to keep it semi good. Definitely feeling guilty for not working out two days in a row, but it wasn't going to kill me.

Day 15: 5K walk this morning with a bunch of good friends. Walk at the apple orchard and through a corn maze (don't think it was quite long enough to walk off the carmel apple I had eaten prior, but at least I had a good lunch!) and a 2.45 mile run/walk tonight for C25K Week 3 Day 1! I totally thought I was still on Week 2, but little did I remember that there are only three days in the Week for the program and just hit go when I started. I was able to run two three minute stretches today and was SO proud of myself! This may not seem like a big feat, but for someone who could barely run for 60 seconds two weeks ago, this is awesome in my books! Feeling better after two 'off' days! (Although, we do need those from time to time.)

Bring it on PART 2!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{teacher teacher}

If you've read my blog for any amount of time (or happen to know me in real life), you know that I have a younger sister (two actually, and a younger brother). My first younger sister is Emily. She graduated almost a year ago from college and is a teacher. Full fledged teacher! I kid you not! An elementary teacher! A FIRST grade teacher!

I probably have never said this to my sister (we don't do all mushy gushy), but I am SO proud of her. Of course there was never any doubt in my mind that she would do great things, I mean, she does take after her older sister who is pretty awesome. For as long as I can remember Emily has wanted to be a teacher. There were no other career options for her. Me, on the other hand, I've wanted to become it all... architect, archaeologist, forensic pathologist, speech and language pathologist, and now audiologist. For some reason, I have a knack for picking careers that involve a TON of schooling! What the hey!

I've heard many a story from my sister about the adventures of teaching, and teaching at such a young age. People, I LOVE my son to death, but 20 of him in a classroom ALL day long... definitely would drive me to the loony bin faster than anything else, that is for sure! In my opinion (you know, because it matters SO much), teachers, of any age group/grade level, are AWESOME! Yes, there are bad teachers out there, but I am hoping there are more great than bad. And friends, my sister is one of those great teachers. I say this not just because is my sister, but because I know so. If Ayden weren't my son and Emily were not his aunt, I would totally want her teaching him! Needless to say, that probably wouldn't go over well in the classroom with a bunch of other students, but still.

We have been lucky so far with Ayden's teachers. He has had a great kindergarten, first grade, and second grade teacher. I fell in love with his second grade teacher. She was SO kind and helpful, especially with all of my concerns about Ayden's reading. And what's more, he has had two wonderful speech and language therapists so far. The one at his last school was so sad to see us leave. His previous school will always hold a special place in my heart. Okay, now I am getting all sentimental about missing Stevens Point and I don't want this to turn into one of those kind of posts. It will just make me miss it even more. (Yes, I still go through Point withdrawals, so sue me!)

Ayden's current teacher, although I've only met her twice now, seems great as well. I have been in touch with her regarding his reading, we've all met with the SLP at the school, and I think Ayden is on track for a wonderful third grade experience. I am very excited to see what adventures await him this year! One thing that has gotten on this mommy's heart though is the fact that the teacher writes percentage scores and letter grades on the student's homework. It probably wouldn't have gotten to me so badly had little man not come home with an 'F' on one of his assignments. We are fresh into a new school year and wouldn't you know it, first 'F'. I guess in Chilton, in third grade, they start getting letter grades. I know Ayden has no idea what an 'F' actually means. To be honest, the page also said 'please redo'. I had no problem with having Ayden sit down and redo the assignment, but I guess the letter grade was just harsh to me because I want Ayden to do so well. My child is FAR from perfect and actually, as much as I hate to put it into words, I do not feel like he will excel in school like I did. Yes, Ayden is very smart is different areas, I just happen to think that at times school is going to be a struggle for him. It also hurt because then it had me wondering if I did everything I could to prepare him for this assignment. Apparently it was a science quiz that was open book. I cannot remember in the first news letter that the teacher sent home if she dictated what the science quiz would be on and so I'm wondering if maybe we should have been preparing with Ayden for this particular quiz which makes me feel like a failure as a parent.

Oh and now we have weekly spelling words that we need to work on and my dear child is just LOVING that! Insert sarcasm here! Is it wrong that I bribed him with a $1 for each spelling test that he gets a 100% on? My child needs some sort of external motivation to want to do good in school and on assignments. None of this, you should do good to make yourself proud thing will work for him right now. Plain and simple. It did hurt to know that he didn't want to get a 100% because then he would get the challenge words and he didn't want the challenge words because he knew they were going to be hard. Aw buddy, you are SO smart, you don't even know! So, yes, we did have a talk about wanting to do good and knowing that he can do good. Keeping my fingers crossed for today's test!

Okay, back to the point, my sister is an AMAZING teacher and love her to death! Definitely appreciating her more as a sister and a friend now that we are older and that we live closer to each other again. And, Emily, if you are reading this... not that it matters to you much, but John is okay in my book too! If he gets little man's approval, he gets little man's mom approval too! You have the okay to keep him around for a long time, hehe!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{sabotage}

Um, there is nothing that a woman likes more than when her (future) husband brings home her some surprise chocolate. Unless that woman is trying to eat right and be healthy and get fit. Oh no, I don't need to self sabotage my healthy eating... that is what Jay is for. Love you my dear, love that you would surprise me with my favorite kind of chocolate... peanut butter M&Ms, but seriously, right as I'm working so hard to rein in my bad eating habits. Love it, just love it, haha!

Is it normal for the scale to go up when you start running? My scale just seems to be continuing to increase. Not even just staying the same, like going up! Ack! Forgive me as I throw it out of the window one of these days. I said I had no problem of not losing any more weight, but gaining, heck yeah I have a problem with that. I didn't think I was pigging out THAT much! Maybe it is time to start the calorie counting again because then I will know for sure what I am taking in. Time to make use of that My Fitness Pal app on my phone again. I think we might need to become friends again.

The Lifetime Network and I became good friends again over the weekend. I watched a lot of good Lifetime movies that I had not seen yet and for the most part they were good. Not blockbusters, but your typical Lifetime movies. I needed a good weekend of those kind of movies. It has been WAY too long. It felt nice. And I didn't feel like I was neglecting my son while watching them because he was playing with his buddies the ENTIRE day! Friends, we may have a problem on our hands here. Haha! Actually, Ayden was very good yesterday about finishing his homework with me before going over to play with his buddies and both of the little boys that he plays with are very friendly. It really just makes this momma happy!

The beginning of this week started off kind of slow. I had yesterday off from clinic as they were still installing the new sound booth. No sound booth and an office in disarray means no patients. Coming in today, I found that the sound booth is now in; however, things are still in a pretty big state of disarray. I think it will definitely take a week or two before everything is back to how it needs to be. That is okay, I suppose. I think the rest of the week is going to fly by though. On Thursday night we are going over to my dad's house to celebrate my youngest sister's 8th birthday. I know my sister will be there and I am assuming that my brother will be there as well. So there goes our Thursday night. Not that we had anything else major planned for that night. Oh wait, I think that the Packers play that night. Not that I watch the Packers though. Friday afternoon, we are closing the clinic office a bit early and my supervisor is treating everyone to a Brewers game. This time, I am not driving my car. I WILL make it to the game and I WILL be having a lot of fun. Saturday morning I am participating in a 5k Walk for Wellness with a few friends and I am excited about that as well. I would love to try and run/walk it, but because I am doing it with my friends who are not runners, I don't want to leave them behind. But believe you me, I do plan on running an entire 5k! There is one at the end of October that I am considering signing up for it. It is in the Fox Valley and it would come right at the end of my training. I would love to sign up for a 10k or half marathon in the Spring sometime already as something to work towards, but I would love to find someone to do it with first. Of course I could run it alone, but training and running with someone would be much more fun and keep me on my goal... because lord knows that Jay would never do it with me. This is something I would really love to do and so I am going to try my hardest to keep at it. Maybe I should just sign up for the 5k at the end of October already, go run it, and then treat myself to an awesome pair of running shoes afterwards?! What do you think? Also, anyone local that happens to read my blog, know of a good place that I could go to get fit for the right pair of running shoes? I'm guessing that what I am wearing right now are semi okay since I am not in serious pain or anything, but I would love a killer pair of shoes that will do me good!

I mean check out these pieces of awesomeness! Wouldn't you love to be doning these on your feet? I know I would!

I have decided that I seriously need to get my butt into gear and post some pictures on my blog. I have been way slacking when it comes to posting pictures. I also need to update my photography blog. I have been so busy with other photo shoots that I have forgotten to do that.

It is almost the end of my day at clinic, I've been writing this throughout the day when I have a free moment to spare (and I will most likely post this when I get home tonight), and I am SO tired and my back is killing me. It is one of those nights where I want to get home, curl up on the couch in a nice warm blanket, eat lots of chocolate, and do nothing for the next twenty four hours. Alas though, I will get home, maybe go for a run right away while I am still motivated (somewhat motivated) and then work on some homework and some picture editing, and then curl up in bed. My goal is to be in bed by 8:30pm... I know, it is really early, but this girl LOVES her sleep a little too much! And all of this is pending I get out of clinic at a decent time. Keeping my fingers crossed!

*As it turned out, I was able to get done with clinic at the alotted time I had wanted to. Yippee! I made it home at the right time, got my run in, ate supper, and now I'm finishing up this blog post.

By the way, I SERIOUSLY want those shoes! Just might need to go register for that 5k at the end of October right now, kick it's ass, and then go by myself these shoes as a reward, what do you think?!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{new friends}

We have been home all day today and yet I've seen my child probably less than two hours total. The reason for that... he has made a new best friend, our next door neighbor. When we moved into our house, one of our neighbors told us that there were two little boys who lived in the house next to us (and as an aside, that particular house was one that I happened to tour with my dad WAY back in the day when he was looking at houses before he found the current one he is living at, so I saw the inside at one point). Since the beginning of the summer, Ayden has periodically played with the kiddos from next door, but it was usually by happen stance when they both seemed to be outside at the same time. Until yesterday.

Yesterday, the older of the two boys came over and asked Ayden to play with him. Just so happens that the older brother is also eight and also in the third grade at the same school as Ayden. Too bad it is not in the same class with the same teacher, but someone next door the SAME age as Ayden. I smell a great friendship in the future. The two have been inseperable ALL day today! ALL day! They have gone from playing outside, to playing inside at our place to playing inside at his place, to outside again. The two are having a great friend. And me, I love that my little man has made a friend so easily.

It makes my mommy soul smile to know that us moving halfway across the state while Ayden is so young really hasn't done any permanent damage. Okay, maybe it has, hehe! Just kidding! Anyone open to paying for his therapy bills?! He really has some big problems. Personally, I think he's just a little too attached to his dad, lol! Wait, I meant his legos. Actually, I think it's his mom. Or all of the above. And now I have just become the crazy one myself!

I had two photo shoots yesterday and they both went well. I am in the process of editing the wedding I photographed last weekend and then need to do the ones from this weekend. I have one wedding next month for my cousin's cousin. We photographed the groom's brother's wedding last year together. I expect to have at least two more shoots before the winter hits. An engagement shoot and a family/child shoot that still need to be scheduled. It has been a busy summer full of photo shoots and I wouldn't have it any other way. It has definitely been a fun summer of meeting and photographing new people. This coming from the introvert that I am. Going into audiology has definitely opened me up to interacting with people on a daily basis. I never thought I would be in a career that deals with being face to face with new people on a daily basis and now I am. It becomes easier and easier every day.

I have successfully finished Week 1 of the Couch to 5K program. Okay, so running three times in one week really isn't all that much of an accomplishment, but truth be told, I am excited to start Week 2 tomorrow. My shins are doing okay. I want to become a runner. I want to enjoy running. I want to run a 5K! Like the whole thing! As I started out today I cranked the music on my phone to an inapproriately loud level and started off. The music was pumping me up and all I really wanted to do was start waving my arms in the arm and sing out loud as loud as I could, but there were people around and I'm just a wee bit self conscious. I am slowly getting over the running in front of people thing, but I'm sure they would have dialed up the insane asylum pretty fast if I would have started waving my arms around and singing along. The super loud music really kept me going though and there were a few times where I was supposed to slow down to a walk where I just wanted to keep running. I am slightly bummed that in the coming weeks it is going to be getting colder out... the colder it gets the less likely I am going to want to run outside. But I need to keep motivated, at least until I have finished the C25K plan! My eating, still working on that one.

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{life lately}

Ayden has been back in school for almost an entire week and reports from his teacher, his grandma, and even other students in the school all have been good. Apparently we’ve got eyes everywhere on him in school and his teacher reports that it seems like he has been there for years now. All everything that a mom would like to hear. Although, we did find out that he didn’t know how to spell his last name. A complete surprise to me because I thought he already knew, but I suppose that he hasn’t had to write it out on anything in forever that maybe he didn’t recall. In any case, after one night of practicing, he now knows how to spell it without delay. Yippee! We have also had no complaints about getting up early in the morning for school and/or complaints about actually going to school. I do realize that this is just the first week and that could very well change at any point, but I will take that as a good sign. His teacher seems like a blessing and I am very excited to see what this year brings! Bring it on third grade, Ayden is going to rock your socks off like you wouldn’t believe!

Jay and I were butting heads a bit last week, but things between us seem to be back on track and we have been doing really well this week. Just like life ebbs and flows, so do relationships. I’ll take the bad with the good anytime because I know that all relationships are NOT perfect and that there will be times that you will have to work at them. But as long as we are not having to work at keeping our relationship together, I don’t mind having to work through little rough patches. Okay, so I do mind having to work through the rough patches because no one likes the rough patches, but like I said, I will take the bad with the good. I think almost everyone would.

My online class started this week. Definitely not really looking forward to it, but I suppose getting through it is one more step closer to graduating and being done. And I will take that! At least with this semester I will not have to present until the second last week, whereas last semester I was the first one to present. I don’t remember if I told you (not that you all care), but I got two A’s on both of my classes this summer and an ‘A’ for my clinic grade which was awesome! Rockin’ out the last year of grad school, that is for sure!

I was hoping to hold off on posting about this, but I cannot. I cannot keep anything inside for very long. Don’t worry, it is nothing too overly exciting or such awesome news. For the month of September I have challenged myself to workout EVERY day. I do know that I should have an ‘off’ day during the week and during my ‘off’ days I am going to just do something low impact. So far I am six days in and I am logging what I am doing each day and how I am feeling about it. I will post the first half next week after I am halfway done. And I know that working out six days in a row (so far) is really nothing too exciting, but it is exciting for me because this summer has been VERY hard for me to stay consistent with working out. I have decided to not do any specific program straight… like just Turbo Fire. Instead I am mixing it up with a lot of things to help prevent boredom, which I think is a big part of my problem. I am rollerblading, biking, walking, Turbo Firing, ChaLEAN Extremeing, Jillian Michaelsing… all sorts of things. I am however starting the Couch 2 5K Program and I have currently made it through Day 2. Such an accomplishment, I know, lol! I hesitate to write too much about it right now because I am blogging about it on my Challenge post, but suffice to say, I am surviving so far. The eating… well that has been semi okay since I’ve started. I am trying not to over indulge and I am trying not to limit myself too much. I am also trying not to focus on the scale. I am not doing this to lose any weight (although that would be a bonus), I am really just trying to focus on becoming more fit, sticking a goal for a full month, and seeing some awesome results. At the end of eight weeks I would really LOVE to be able to run a 5K without stopping as well and whatever the scale says at that point is pretty much moot because I’d be able to run 3.1 miles WITHOUT STOPPING! Believe you me, it is hard enough right now for me to run even 60 seconds without stopping!

And so… that is my life lately!

CIAO! LOVE ME!