{fitness}

I've been a pretty poor blogger lately. Forgive me?! I thought with two extra days off during the week I'd have all of this extra time to pick up my blogging, but instead I've been keeping busy with other stuff... namely wedding planning and getting things done on that front. Not going to lie, also been busy with enjoying the nice weather and getting sucked into a good book and being able to sit out in the sun on my swing and just read. Keeping up with my fitness routine and just having some summer fun! The weather seems to have finally decided that it is summer and is going to be warm out. I have to say that after my morning run this morning in 70 degree weather, as much as I hate being cold in the winter, I just might prefer running in the cold than the warm. Because when you are running in 30 or 40 degree weather (or even colder), you don't sweat as much. Or maybe I just don't. Or maybe I do and the cold weather just dries it faster, haha! In any case, my three miles this morning were rough!

This past weekend Victoria and I did our very first adventure run and it was seriously a BLAST! I would never have thought it was going to be as much fun as it was and now I am even more excited to do the Tough Mudder in September. It is going to be SO much fun! The race that we did was a 5k, which both Victoria and I have successfully done before. We knew there was going to be obstacles and knew about how many, but they didn't tell us anything about what the obstacles were going to be and boy were we in for it!

Here are some before pictures. Yes, I totally wore my Run Bitch Run head band, gave my best 'mean' face and got ready for the race! They even branded us before the race! Haha! And in case you're wondering, the penguin duct tape was supposed to help keep our shoes on because of the all of the mud we were going to be stepping in. It helped for the first half, but the more mud we were in and water, the tape started to loosen up and I don't know how much extra help it really was. It did help keep my car key in place though. Yes, I tied my car key within my shoe laces, tucked it in next to my foot, and then duct taped over it. Yes, I'm crazy like that, but I didn't want to leave my car unlocked and I don't have a hide a key thing on my car so I needed to keep it on me some how. I'm so good like that! And then the annkle bracelet because, you know, I'm an escaped crazy person! Actually, it was our timing chip.The first wave of runners left the gates at 8am... we were in Wave 4 and were let out at about 8:20am. Victoria and I started out running, but we weren't too far in before the mud hit us. We knew at that point we were really in for it! At first I tried to avoid what I could of the mud... I know... a mud run and I was avoiding it! What?! Obstacle one included hopping some baracades. By obstacle two, they had you tramping through some swamp like water. And you know what, I just went for it. Straight through, soaked shoes and everything. We were in it to get dirty, why not!

By three, we were trapsing through some of a pond, getting wet almost to the waist and this was after having to slide on our tooshes down a small mud hill to get to the pond. Yes, mud butts! Haha! I think it was just a matter of getting into the mindset of you're doing this, don't think about how dirty you are going to get, don't think about that you just climbed through a pond when you don't even like swimming in a lake. Just do it! And did it we did!

There wasn't much running going on (at least from Victoria or I) because so much of the paths were just pure mud and you couldn't without the risk of falling and twisting an ankle. We hopped across some tires. We were in a creek and crawling through huge culverts, we were jumping over bales of hay, balance beam walking, climbing over a wall, inch worming down a hill backwards, climbing on trees, hoping not to fall, falling, monkey bar crossing, slip and sliding head first, mud pit crawling, and edge climbing up pure mud... all before battling some gladiators at the end! It took us a little longer than maybe we would have thought, but Victoria ended up hitting her knee during one of the obstacles and tweaking it pretty bad and the last thing I wanted was to push her to the point of her not being able to finish, so we took it at her pace and finished proud! It was SO much fun!I ended up getting a few scratches on my arms from the slip and slide. It was a lot of fun; however, by the time that we ended up going down it, lots of people had already gone down and the water and mud at the end meant that you didn't stop sliding at the end of the slide, you slid right into the grass, mud, and stones and my arms didn't like that. But I survived and my battle wounds were SO worth it!And I'm going to leave you with an outfit that I ended up finding while we were rummaging this past week. Both the top and the jeans are 'new' to me and I love them and hell, I'll pay $1 for $70 jeans! Love it! CIAO! LOVE ME!

{blast from the past}

As I was enjoying a lazy day at home yesterday, during which I was productive for absolutely none of it (so sue me, everyone has those kinds of days), I decided to dig through some of my old journals and see what my cares were over ten years ago. You see, it is probably no secret by now that I love to write. I love to get my thoughts and feelings out on paper because it is a nice release for me when the going gets tough. I started journaling just before I entered the ninth grade and I continued consistently through my senior year. I stopped journaling just before graduation and didn’t get back into it until I started blogging a couple of years ago. Only this time my thoughts and feelings are plastered all over the interweb for everyone and their mother to see. And at this point in the game I’ve learned to censor myself at least somewhat. If you’ve been around since the beginning of the blog, then you know at the beginning it was so censored and I wrote like no one was reading (when in fact probably no WAS reading). I’ve since grown and despite still having that urge to get EVERY little thought that is rolling through my head down onto paper (or in this case, on the screen), I definitely do hold back some. You live and learn and while I’ve had no real repercussions in my life for being so blatantly open and honest, I’ve changed my habits somewhat.

So, as I was going back and rereading some old journal entries I realized just how much of a regular teenager I really was and I’ve also got a glimpse of what the future holds for me as a parent having to deal with teenage children. I like to think that I didn’t really give my parents that much of a run for their money during my teenage years and I wasn’t all THAT dramatic. I mean, I didn’t go to house parties, I didn’t drink, I didn’t smoke, I never snuck out (although that’s not to say I never snuck anyone in, haha!), so all in all I was overall (in my opinion) an average teenage child, you know, until I got knocked up during my senior year of high school, lol! I can laugh about it on the outside, but it will forever haunt me, no matter how old I get.

I know that I’ve grown and changed leaps and bounds over the last 10 years, but just going back and rereading some things, I was cracking up! Oh the woes I had to go through. It is hilarious! Of course, it wasn’t at the time, but reflecting on it as an adult, girls are dramatic! I was dramatic, at least in my journals. My sweet parents having to deal with me. My sweet parents having to deal with my sister! I thought I was hot headed at times, she is ten times worse and we only have our mother to thank for that, lol!

I have to say though, that I have got to have some the best parents around. They’ve been nothing but supportive for my entire life and continue to be so. I know I’ve given them both oodles of credit on the blog before for helping make become the person I am today, but people, tis true! And I know anything they ever did that I didn’t agree with as a child was only because they loved me. As a parent myself now I have a greater appreciation for what the things they did that I didn’t like because I am learning that with Ayden, it’s parent first, then friend. And there have been, are, and definitely will be things that I do that he doesn’t like. It’s called being a parent.

With that, I also have to say that I have some of the best (future) in-laws around too! Like I said before, I know it’s been mentioned before, but I have to say it again. You hear horror stories about people’s in-laws, but you won’t hear them from me. Right from the beginning Jay’s family has been nothing but welcoming. I sincerely enjoy spending time with them.

I don’t often go back and look at my old journals. There are times that I’d rather not remember. I think everyone has those. But I think I’m going to keep my old journals around, so that if I ever end up with a daughter… when she gets to the age that I started journaling… I might consider letting her read them. So that she can see her mom went through the same kind of teenage girl drama. Maybe. We’ll see. Lol! I’m sure there are things I’d rather her probably not read. But I do like that I have those memories written down. I might really get a kick out of going back and re-reading them when I’m 80 years old and have grandchildren running around. I’d love to get my blog printed into a book or something as well to have that, but I haven’t found a good website to do it that doesn’t cost a ton of money. I mean, I have over four years of stuff that would need to be printed off. And there are definitely things I’ve blogged about that I’d rather not remember as well.

In other news, we’re still on the vehicle hunt for Jay. Ugh, added stress there. Ayden continues to enjoy summer school. Mother Nature has finally decided that it should be summer (at least for the rest of this week). Wedding planning continues to go well. Did I mention that I went and tried on my dress earlier this week? Still in love with it. We finally decided on the tuxes. I’ve attempted to start another book. I have another book in the wings that I want to read. I’m continuing to keep up with my workouts. Although, I’m using today as my off day from working out, despite going for a walk during lunch. That doesn’t really count, haha!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{a few more sentences}

Tuesday

 

The weekend was good. Relaxing, yet good. Ayden finished up his soccer season with a win. He enjoyed the season and I think we'll be repeating that again next spring. I have to give a shout out to our family who consistently came to watch the little man play. I think it meant more to me than it did to Ayden. You see, for the longest time, it was always just Jay, Ayden, and myself. So for anything school related or sports related, it was just us. And it was just us because we lived so far away. (Not that our family didn't come see different things at different times.) So, it was different for me for our family to come to almost every game. I know they enjoyed it as well, otherwise they wouldn't have come; however, it was new to me and I really appreciated them being there. And I know that Ayden did too. Another perk of living closer. It just made me all warm and mushy on the inside, haha!

After the soccer game, my mom stuck around for awhile and helped with some wedding stuff. We got a few things done and after a trip to Walmart, I spent too much money, haha! It was productive and a good afternoon with my mom. But apparently not a good enough one to convince her to stick around in the Chilton area, haha, as she has finally found a new place to live closer to her new job. I'm definitely excited for her and can't wait to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas in her new place this year with everyone!

I didn't workout on Friday because I was just zonked by the time I got home from work. I literally was in bed and asleep before 8pm. Yeah, I'm that person, lol! And then because my body is used to getting only a certain amount of sleep, I was wide awake at 4am! Anyways, I was jonsing for some activity later Saturday afternoon and I didn't want that hardcore of a workout, so I texted my bestie and we went for a 4.3 mile walk (yes, I mapped it out, Victoria) and had a great time talking. It was just what I needed. Plus, I got my steps in for that day!

My lackage of working out on Friday and my semi lackage of working out on Saturday were made up for it on Sunday. Ayden and Jay were gone the majority of Sunday leaving me with the house to myself. I did get quite a bit done even though I was home alone. I couldn't just sit and watch TV all day. By the afternoon I was getting antsy, so I went for a three mile run and after I got home, I quickly switched into my swim suit and I hit up the pool for a half hour of swimming. I had the entire pool to myself and even though swimming laps isn't necessarily considered an easy workout, it was definitely peaceful! I probably could have kept going. And if that wasn't enough, later in the night I busted out 40 minutes of strength training. Yeah, three workouts in one day. That's right! Although, I'm feeling a little sore today... I was expecting it yesterday, not today.

Yesterday was supposed to be a 45 minute Turbo Fire DVD, but instead Ayden and I went for a five mile bike ride around the track which only took us 33 minutes. We were flying. Okay, well I was flying for at least some of it, Ayden needed to take a few breaks which was okay. And I think instead of the 45 minute Turbo Fire DVD tonight, I think I might head out for a 4.5 mile run in the beautiful weather as that will take just about as long and I need a good run for my legs. I also saw that the new pool schedule is up and I think I'll be doing some morning swims. I honestly do love swimming!

I was even seriously considering joining Sarah in the Iron Girl triathalon later this summer because I had that date available, until I found out that you needed to be present in person to pick up your stuff the day before the event. Unfortunately I have something going on that day that I can't miss, so no Iron Girl for me this year. I could totally have swam 1/2 mile, rode my bike for 12 miles and then ran a 5k... totally! I suppose doing the Tough Mudder this year is enough!

 

Wednesday

 

You know, this not having to work two days a week thing is pretty nice; however, it'd be more fun if Ayden wasn't in summer school all day, lol! I had no ambition to do any housework at all today which meant that I was pretty bored.

 

I skipped the 45 minute Turbo Fire DVD last night in favor of 45 minutes of rollerblading in which time I did exactly 7 miles. Pretty proud of myself. I don't know if I'll be doing any of the Turbo Fire or just the ChaLEAN Extreme strength training stuff. Given the nice weather I much prefer my cardio getting done in other more fun ways: running, biking, rollerblading, swimming, etc...

 

After dropping Ayden off at school this morning I did hit up the pool for a good 40 minute swim session. Once again I was the only one in the pool. That is definitely one nice thing about living in a small town. I love that we have access to the pool facilities (even if we have to pay a small fee now- as it was free for city residents for a number of years). The facility is great! (And the pool was even a decent temperature today.) Anyways, the small town means that the pool is very frequently super busy, especially during the times I tend to go. LOVE that! I also did my 40 minutes of strength training today and even though the moves themselves are not hard, I was dripping in sweat! A good day, that's for sure! And maybe a bike ride later?! Something easy! I just feel like I need to be moving!

 

Bring on the rest of the week! This summer is just going to fly by!

 

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{105}

I have 105 days to whip my body into full on bridal beast mode, haha! I had scary dreams last night about my wedding dress not fitting correctly; however, it was the dress maker people's fault, and not mine. Either way, I thought it was probably a good as time as any to get really hard core about my strength training routine.

 

The little man and I were supposed to go out for a training run last night, but I kind of knew when I got home that that wasn't going to happen. Getting home close to 6pm really puts a damper on your night time activities and motivation to do them. Anyways, I had it in my head on the drive home that even if Ayden wasn't going to run with me, I was going to head out for a solo run.

 

Right away when I got home, I changed into my running clothes because I knew that if I didn't, there was no way that I was getting back up off that couch after settling in for the night.

 

7:00pm rolled around and I had eaten supper and let it settle for a while and knew it was time to head out. I had high goals of running 4.5 miles last night just to see if I could still do it. I hadn't run over three miles since my half marathon almost a month and a half ago now and didn't know if my body was still up to it. I started off with what I thought was a pretty slow pace and then hit mile one and heard my phone tell me that my pace was 9:50. Under a 10 min mile... pretty good. Even though I thought I was going to die at that point, haha!

 

But, I kept the legs moving and a grooving and kept going. I hit mile two and my pace had decreased a little bit, mile 2 was in 9:56. By the time I got through mile two, I was starting to feel a little bit better. I wasn't huffing and puffing so hard. At that point I can pick if I want to go three miles or go the four and a half mile route. I was feeling three miles, but knew I wanted to go for the whole thing, so I took the turn and decided to really push myself. Hell, why not?!

 

Three miles in and still just slightly under the 10 minute per mile mark. I was still feeling okay. I knew at that point I could finish it out. By the fourth mile I was starting to feel it a little bit in my knees and my IT band, but I kept pushing forward. I ran the whole 4.5 miles without stopping, and according to my phone my average pace was exactly 10 minutes per mile. That definitely made me feel great! I was definitely sweat and icky by the end of the run, but just knowing that I pounded out 4.5 miles without stopping made me feel pretty awesome! Especially given the fact that I haven't been hardcore running for more than just a few weeks now!

 

I have both the Turbo Fire and ChaLEAN Extreme workout DVDs and I have found a schedule of their hybrid programs that I am going to start on Sunday. I've worked in some other exercises as well because too many inside workouts in the hopefully soon warmer weather will just get to me. I need to be outside people, outside! Let's get this body into tip top shape for the wedding! I know I already have a good start, just need to keep at it!

 

Not so sure if I'll get a workout in today... I have afterall already biked 23.6 miles this week and ran 6.5. I think I'm good so far, lol! Maybe a walk or a short run. Then maybe a bike ride tomorrow...

 

CIAO! LOVE ME! 

{just some sentences}

I don't have anything in particular to blog about today. Nothing outstanding in my brain that I absolutely NEED to get out of my fingers and onto the blog... well nothing except, HI HONEY! Apparently, my future husband sometimes happens upon the blog and reads so I thought a shout out to him might be nice, hehe! Just because I know it irritates him when I talk about him on the blog, even the good stuff. Jees, can never make the guy happy, haha!

In other news, the work world continues to go well. I'm still adjusting to this only working three days a week thing. As much as I enjoy the extra two days off during the week, I am trying to keep myself motivated during those days so I am not a couch potato just wasting the day away. And with the craptastic weather we have been having, it is hard to not just want to sit on the couch all day long. So far, into week two of the working world, I've been pretty good about keeping myself motivated in the morning, but it is after lunch were the slow sit on the couch feeling comes into play.

With Ayden needing to get to school, we've both needed to be up and running by 7:40am. I've gotten him to school on time and I am proud to say that the three mornings that I've done it, I've been active afterwards. Last week Wednesday (as we both had off on Monday because of Memorial Day), I got outside and rollerbladed for five miles before getting ready for the day. This week I took to the bike. On Monday morning, I biked 10 miles, cleaned out my car, and then got ready for the day. Finished the bike ride and cleaning the car and doing some laundry by 11am... the rest of the afternoon was semi a wash. Ayden and I did get outside after school for our Couch to 5K training... of which we are on Week 4 with intervals of running three and five minutes twice and I'm proud to say that my little man was able to do both (albeit not without just a little bit of whining).

Yesterday, I got on the bike again after dropping Ayden off at school and this time I busted out 13.5 miles. It was what I was striving for on Monday, but just didn't get there. Proud to say I made it yesterday and I felt good. After that it was into the shower and then some grocery shopping before some photo editing as well. Semi productive day again. Like I mentioned, since Mother Nature is being such a hag lately, it is harder to want to be productive (especially when the house is cold and I refuse to turn the heat back on)! I mean, for crying out loud... it is freaking JUNE! I am sick of having to open and close my freaking windows! I live in a very old house and the windows were halfway painted shut when we moved in... they are a pain in the ASS to open and close! It freaking takes work and we have a freaking crapload of windows, haha!

I've realized lately that I'm doing relatively good on the cardio side of things, but what I need to up the ante on is my strength training... that is where I falter my friends. Tell me to bike ten miles, yeah, okay, I'll do it, mostly smiling the whole day. Tell me to do an hour, even a half hour of hard core strength training and I'll sulk, haha! I'm good for cardio on my own, but I definitely need a buddy to help with the strength training stuff. I know that I need to do and how to do most of it, but I don't have anyone pushing me because it is what I dread the most. I'd rather go for a nice run than strength train. Yes, I just said that. You know, just because I've ran a half marathon and slowed down since then doesn't mean there still isn't a runner in this body. I've actually felt the pull to really get back into running again, even aside from training with Ayden. I know I need to get back out there and really start pushing myself some more with my runs or it won't come back to me. I need to get back into a better routine. I need the motivation again! It just needs to come, haha!

We got visited today again by the front office lady's daughter and the new baby. The baby is about a month old now and just as cute as a button. Another perk of the current job... getting some baby snuggles in. Just what this woman needed today! I literally could have sat down and cuddled that little one all afternoon if she would have let me. I can only hope that I'll be getting to share around the baby cuddles when we have more kiddos! My baby talk is only going to get worse as the wedding day gets closer and closer. Hell, I think we all know by now that I'm far more excited about potentially adding to the family than actually getting married. Sure, I get to wear a pretty dress, but I'm in full on baby wanting mode!

There is probably some more sentences that I could write, but I'll go for now...

 

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{mommy blogger}

Mommy blogging is all the rage these days! You’d be hard pressed to find a stay at home mom who doesn’t blog (or for that matter, a working mom who doesn’t blog). It’s the truth, like it or not. Not that I have anything against mommy bloggers (because I love me some good mommy blogs), but that leads me into what I’m about to post today.

Unbeknownst to my mom, she gave a good attempt at mommy blogging back in the day before mommy blogging even existed. Today, while she was gathering some addresses for me for the upcoming wedding, she happened upon some stuff she had written for me back in the day and sent it to me. With her permission, I am sharing it on my blog with all of you because I think it is so sweet! I have written to Ayden on my blog before on his birthdays and essentially, a lot of my blog chronicles his life as it is. I don’t know if when my mom started this she ever had any intention of me seeing it, but now twentyish years later I did get to read it and loved it!

So… here goes…

06-14-93 Hi Ashley, I decided I should start a journal about each one of you kids so that when you get older and have to write about yourself you will really know what you were like! You are almost 7 years old. Time sure has flown by fast.You just finished 1st grade. I am sure proud of how smart you are and how much you learned. I'm sure I couldn't read as good as you can when I was in 1st grade. I think we first learned the alphabet then. How does that go again ABCD,ha! ha! Lets go back to the beginning. The day before you were born Chilton Metal Products (This is where your dad works) was having their annual summer picnic. Your dad and I were in charge of the picnic, someone else might have been in charge also, but I don't remember them helping. It seems funny that it was you dads picnic and I did all the work plus I was huge because you were pushing my belly out of wack. Anyway after the picnic I helped them clean up. I was picking up trash all over the place, standing up and down, bending forward and backwards. The next morning you decided it was time to be born. The fluid that you lived in inside my belly came out and this was the first sign that you also wanted to come out. I was scared because you were not due to be born for another 3 weeks. I called the doctor and he told us to come in. The doctor did an ultrasound which tells him how big you are. They couldn't get an accurate reading and therefore decided you were to small to be born. He then gave me some pills to convince you to stay put. The Doctor then consulted with another Doctor and they decided that they should let you come out. Well 24 hours later you made your appearance. You were 7 lbs .6 oz and 19 inches long. You had dark black hair and how tiny. They had to show me everything there was about taking care of babies. I didn't know a thing. It took me a long time to feel comfortable watching you. The first night we had you sleeping in a bassinet next to the bed (I mean right next to the bed) You were so noisy that I couldn't sleep, so when you woke up for your feeding I pushed you in your own room, and believe me I still heard you scream for your next feeding. I have to end this for tonight because I am tired. I will finish this later.

June 26, 1995 Funny isn't it that it took me more than two years to come back to this. You are now almost 9 years old and have just finished the 3rd grade. You are stubborn at times and still very smart. Back to the baby story - You grew very quickly I believe at your 7 week check-up that your were 12 pounds and from then on you continued to grow. You were in large diapers at 6 months and had the chubbiest legs and arms. Just look at all the pictures. You did not walk until you were a little over a year. We did video tape your first birthday take a look at it and see how much fun you had. Again I started this a bit late and should actually go to bed but I promise that I will write more and not two year later…

At least she tried… it’s more than two years later mommy dearest, where is the rest?! And you were right, it did put a smile on my face!

Not going to lie, have the greatest mom around!

CIAO! LOVE ME!