{should have expected this}

It is Sunday night and I am sick.

I should have expected this. I should have known that my sister and son would share their germs with me.

Thankfully, I think I am on the mend.

It started on Thursday, so thankfully it was after the Christmas celebrations. I woke up Thursday morning and started to get ready for work. I didn't feel 100% as I started to get ready, but I really wanted to get out of the house for a little while so I told myself that I would go to work and then leave early if I started to feel worse.

I made it until 1:00pm and then I headed home. My whole body just started to ache, particularly my back, and so I came home and just relaxed. Thankfully I was child free until Friday afternoon so I didn't have to worry about Ayden.

I spent the majority of the next three days in bed/on the couch feeling like crap. It wavered between fever, chills, sore throat, cough, stomach ache. Now, it is pretty much a sore throat/cough and runny nose. My appetite is pretty much back to the way that it was, although it is hard to eat when your throat hurts so bad. I got some cough drops today that have really helped my throat which has been great.

I finally found our NyQuil last night and I took some before bed and slept pretty good. I'm thinking about taking some again tonight and then hoping tomorrow I can go medicine free. A lot of this sitting around has really put a damper on my mood. It wouldn't be so bad sitting at home for a few days if I didn't feel like such a pile. My house is a disaster and I have no ambition to clean it whatsoever.

I haven't been able to workout/run since last Wednesday and that has also played into my sour mood. Plus, my back just hurts. I need a good massage and I know it hurts from me sitting around/laying around so much lately. It just aches.

And I'm in a sour mood. Ugh.

I wish I felt normal again.

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{2012 recap}

I only felt right doing a recap for 2012 since I have done one at least the last year (maybe more, but I’m just too lazy to go back on my blog and check). And so here goes, a little snip-it of what has been going on in my/our lives over the course of the last year. I cannot believe how fast 2012 has flown by! I can only hope that 2013 holds as many great things for my family, and yours, as 2012 did! Bring it on! And without further a-do…

January

Another year had come and gone and we started 2012 out with a bang. In January I had set some goals/resolutions for myself in 2012. These goals were: to stay healthy in 2012, blog more, start and finish Project 365, and try harder in school. I am proud to say that at least I stayed healthy, haha! I may weigh five pounds more this January than I did last January, but I know it is because I have more muscle and I KNOW that I am in better shape than what I was last year at this time. I also blogged more, even if it was only 20 or 30 more times. I did start Project 365 and did pretty good with it until about June when life really became busy. And school, well I managed straight ‘A’s, but cannot say that I tried all that much harder. Also, with some time off last January, I was pretty crafty and made quite a number of DIY items at home.

February

I got a pen pal from New Jeresy in February... we wrote actual letters for a while and then we caved to technology and mostly keep in touch via Facebook now. It was super awesome to gain a new friend though! I also second shot my first wedding this month and had a great time!

March

It warmed up in March! We went rollerskating with my dad's family and had a blast! Ayden and I spent a lot of time outside enjoying the nice weather. And towards the end of March I started my journey as a single mother during the week. It would last this way for the next two months as Jay lived closer to his new job with his parents and Ayden and I stayed in Point to finish out the school year before moving. We also found the house that we were going to rent in March!

Sidenote, this is one of my absolute favorite pictures of Ayden! It is just SO him and I think that is why I like it so much!

April

I took and passed the Praxis this month. (Although I wouldn’t find out that I passed until sometime in early June.) I was SO relieved to not have to worry about that anymore. We also started to pack up our house this month and had boxes around for the next month or so until we moved. We boxed up everything that wasn't essential for the next couple of weeks to make the moving process easier. We stopped by our new place and I got to take a picture of the outside!

May

This was a big month for us as we officially moved from Stevens Point to our new house, Ayden had his last day of being a second grader, and I started my year long externship. Granted, the majority of these things happened at the end of the month, but still... May will forever be the month where we left Stevens Point behind. Before moving I attempted the Couch to 5K program for the first time. I wanted to become a runner. That didn't last too long as I ended up with really bad shin splints about two days in and then quit. Little did I know that I needed proper running shoes. During much of the last two weeks that we lived in Stevens Point I did a lot of this. I would work in the morning and then sit outside and read all afternoon until Ayden got done with school. I succumbed to the Fifty Shades of Grey series and my legs got plenty of sun while I reveled in the world of those books, haha!

 

June

I decided that I wanted to be crazy and signed up for a 5:30am boot camp this month that was held every Monday. Getting up at 5:00am on a Monday! I don't know what I was thinking! But I survived! One of my cousins and one of Jay's also signed up for it, so seeing them each Monday morning definitely helped keep me motivated! As a family, we travelled to the Mall of America for our last outing with Ayden's cub scout troup from Point! We slept with the sharks and had a great time!

July

We ventured out on the lake quite a bit this month! I love being out on the calm water fishing with Jay's family. There is just something special about it! We also went camping in the hottest weather imaginable with Jay's parents. It was a ton of fun, especially since the pond water was so warm and the inflatable toys were awesome!

August

I got my new ring this month. I could not be more in love with it! It is SO me. I loved my other ring, but really I wanted something that was just mine. We also picked out Jay's wedding ring. Cannot wait until we are married! I also went wedding dress shopping and found THE ONE with my mom, sister, and one of my bridesmaids. I cannot wait to wear it on our wedding day. Ayden turned 8 and I turned 26... We went both Hoerth camping (during which I felt like crap) and Schwobe camping (during which I didn't feel like crap and had a ton of fun). We were actually camping with my family on my birthday!

September

Ayden started 3rd grade and Jay turned 27. I decided that I really wanted to be a runner, so I got myself some actual running shoes and started the Couch to 5K program over and really got motivated. I signed up for my first 5K at the end of October and got committed again.

October

Victoria and I signed up for a Zumba class at some point either during September or October. In any case, we both loved it and loved going together. I continued to run and continued to build up my endurance. At the end of the month I ran my very first 5K and finished in under 30 minutes (just under 30 minutes) and was SO proud of myself. All of my commitment to running started to pay off and it just made me want to train harder. After my first 5K I decided that I wanted to train for a half marathon!

Novemeber

Happy Thanksgiving! I ran my first 5 mile run on Thanksgiving Day... a turkey trot and I loved it. After this run I decided that I wanted to run a race every month for the next year! Crazy much?! I ran a total of 75 miles this month, with my longest run being 7.2 miles! SO proud of myself!

December

I wrote the 'obligatory christmas post' this month and then realized after posting it that I had titled one the exact same thing last year. How ironic and how me, haha! Ran another 5 mile race... this time with my bestie. It was her first 2 mile race and she rocked it like no other! We celebrated Christmas with our family! Victoria and I have been hanging out more and more and I cannot express how grateful I am to have my bestie live a two minute drive from me. Our kids get along great and I LOVE IT! Cannot wait to run our 5K Color Run together in a few days!

And that would be 2012…

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{obligatory christmas post}

It’s been over a week since I last posted and in true fashion, there is a lot to update on. Well actually, the majority of it is Christmas related, but I will start before Christmas.

Last Wednesday was my last day of work before Christmas, although I had very good intentions of going to work on at least Friday. The weather was forecasting a pretty good snow storm Wednesday night into Thursday and I really didn’t have any good intentions on going to work on Thursday if the weather was bad, and in fact, one of the office managers called me Thursday morning and told me not to come in.

Wednesday night I pounded out a good five miles on the treadmill at the high school weight room. I didn’t want to run outside (or on the treadmill), but I got it done and felt pretty good. Prior to that, Wednesday at work went good. The day was packed with patients and it went pretty fast. I was able to head out a little early to finish up some Christmas shopping and then get home to run. The snow started late Wednesday and because I was staying home (and the kids didn’t have school), I watched Ayden and Alexis at our house. We didn’t do anything Thursday except stay inside. Alexis came over with a pretty good cold after being sick Tuesday night into Wednesday. The kids played outside for a little bit.

By Thursday night though, Ayden had a fever and was catching what Alexis had. I kind of expected it because they spend every morning and night together. I didn’t think Ayden would be going to school on Friday either, and he didn’t. It was kind of nice for me though because I wasn’t quite ready to brave the roads on Friday. Ayden and I spent most of Friday just chilling out at home. I doped him up with some cold medicine.

Friday night was my family Christmas. My mom came over late in the afternoon to help get ready and to hang out and then my sister, John, and my brother joined us later in the night. We had a lot of fun eating good food, opening gifts, taking Christmas pictures in front of our awesome tree, and playing a Wii tournament together. We all (except Jay) even battled in Just Dance 2! It was hilarious!

Saturday I was gone all day helping to photograph a wedding. The day went super fast and I got some awesome pictures of which I have yet to go through and post some on my photography blog. Sunday, I came home from the wedding. The wedding was in Wausau (about 2 1/2 hours away from my house) so the main photographer and I slept over night. I got home in the early afternoon and vegged in bed for a while watching Lifetime before deciding that I needed to get off my lazy patootie and do something and by that time it was dark out and I wasn’t going to run outside anymore. I had a nine mile run that I wanted to  complete and was totally going to put off until Monday, but I asked my dad if I could use his treadmill and I pounded them out. It was the longest nine miles EVER, but I did it! I rocked those nine miles!

Monday and Tuesday were Christmas celebrations. We ventured to a local bar on Monday afternoon and spent some time with my dad’s side of the family (there actual celebration is this coming weekend) and after that we went to Jay’s mom’s side of the family and then my mom’s side of the family. By the time we made it to my mom’s side of the family Ayden was pretty out of it. Each year we don’t start opening gifts there until usually 9:30pm or later (I don’t know why I ever think the next year is going to be different) and Ayden was asleep on my lap by about 8pm. Poor little guy! It was so nice to be able to rock him for a little while, but really, an eight year old on your lap isn’t quite as comfortable for either me or him as when he was two, but I know that he needed some mommy cuddles.

Tuesday we headed to Jay’s dad side of the family and Jay’s parents house. Oh man, says Ayden… this present opening is hard, what am I going to do! How am I going to be able to ever open all of these?!

Wait, I got a bowling ball, how cool is that?! He cannot wait to use it. He needs to go and get the finger holes drilled before he can use it though. By the time supper rolled around I was ready to be home and in bed. It had been a long couple of days!

I cannot believe that Christmas has come and gone already this year! Time flies! (Faster and faster every year.)

The best part of the holidays is definitely getting to spend it with our families. I will forever enjoy getting together with family and remembering the fun that we have together. There is always something memorable at each family event! As busy and tiring as the holidays are, I do enjoy it!

We were also blessed gift wise this year. Ayden got a bowling ball from Jay’s parents which he cannot wait to use for the first time. I got Jay a Kitchen Aid mixer of which he has been wanting for YEARS! It was even to the point where he wanted us to get one for Christmas from our parents, but I didn’t want to use ‘my’ part of the gift for something that only he wanted. I managed to find a super good deal on this one and I surprised him with him (well tried to anyways, he managed to find out before Christmas). He is in love and I know that he is just dying to use it for the first time! He surprised me with a Garmin Forerunner GPS running watch! He even got the kind right without me having to tell him, I was so proud, hehe! Ayden got lots of legos! He loves legos and I put up with them, haha!And today, Wednesday, I went for my very first run with my new watch. I am in love! Real dedication comes when you go for a run in 19 degree weather just to try out your new watch, hehe! And then Victoria and I went shopping! I spent my Target gift cards and got some new clothes and some new boots with some left over Kohls cash!Work tomorrow and Friday and then another four days off! And before I sign off, I will leave you with some family pictures we took on Friday…

Nothing like some awesome Christmas lights bokeh! Love it!Our beautiful Christmas tree! Don’t think we will be getting another long needled tree next year. As pretty as it is, you can’t see any of the ornaments that we decorated it with. Either way, its our tree and I love it!Yes, this is my crazy family and yes I love them!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{redeemed my run}

Guess who totally redeemed herself on Friday?! THIS girl! Yup, you better believe it! Instead of just the typical six miles that I was pushing for on Friday, I decided to go all out and do my long run that night. The weather was great for it and I knew the weather for the weekend was going to be kind of iffy. I pushed out 8.37 miles on Friday night and was so proud of myself. Some days I wonder if I will ever be able to run a full half marathon and the thought of the 13.1 miles is daunting to me. Can I really do it? Will my body let me? Running is probably the most mental sport that I have ever attempted (not that I've been all into trying every sport that there is). In fact, I am not much of a sports person to begin with. I was not actively involved in any sports while I was in school (other than being a manager and please, like that requires any effort, haha!) But compared to just your typical workout video and/or bike riding or rollerblading, running takes a lot more mental effort. There have been runs where I know my body can keep going, but my head just isn't in it and when your head isn't in the game, it is SO much harder to finish.

But, on Friday, I rocked it out. Once I was about halfway through I knew I could keep pushing and would finish. The first 1/3 of the long runs is probably the hardest for me right now mentally because I know just how long I have to go and I am just starting. It takes me a while to really get into the groove. I pounded that pavement and was super proud of myself. This weekend I have my first 9 mile run. Slowly but surely I am going to make my way up to 13.1 miles, even when I feel like I cannot. I am going to just keep going and going and going.

On Saturday and Sunday... I was lazy and didn't work out. Ayden had bowling on Saturday morning and after bowling it was raining out and Ayden and I were running to the car. Please, even attempting to somewhat run to the car the day after a long ass run, not possible! I looked like an injured deer trying to hobble my way across the road at anything faster than a slow walk, haha!

The rest of the weekend was good. We were supposed to go sledding on Saturday with Victoria and Parker; however, the rain melted all of the snow and really, no one likes to sled in the rain on the grass anyways. So, Victoria and Parker just came over to our house instead, we had lunch, and then hung out together enjoying a relaxing afternoon. Sunday... well Sunday wasn't exactly pleasant at my house, so for the sake of respecting my almost husband's wishes about putting our entire life in display for everyone, I'll just skip over Sunday. But in case you were wondering, we are fine again.

And Monday... it was good. Pretty super busy at work, but it made the day fly by. Ayden had his Christmas concert after school and my little boy made this momma SO proud. He had been practicing his songs for the concert at home for the last several weeks and I fully believed he would be belting them out while on the stage. He did not disappoint. He also had a whole gaggle of people there to watch him as well! Me, Jay, my mom, Emily, John, both of Jay's parents, both of Jay's sets of grandparents (although one set was there to watch other great grandchildren as well), my dad and Wendy (Alexis sang before Ayden did), and my aunt's family (there daughter was on after Ayden). I think he was just beaming inside to know that that many people he knew were there.

Run wise, I squeezed in a quick 4.5 mile run last night. I didn't really want to go. Like I said, it takes me a while to get into it and it was cold out last night. But I pushed it out. My knee started to hurt around the 3.5 mile mark, not liking that so much. Speaking of knee pain, almost hubby is having some pretty severe knee pain today. So much so that he stayed home from work. Jay isn't one to complain too much about pain unless it really hurts, like really hurts. When I talked to him last, the plan was to head to the doctor to have it looked at. He is concerned that he might have pulled/torn an MCL ligament or whatever you call it. All I know that is that typically anything MCL related usually ends up in surgery, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it is just a knee sprain or something like that and that we are over-reacting right now. But really, he was not looking too hot this morning when he was trying to hobble around.

Speaking of running, has anything that lives in this area seen the weather that we are supposed to get. 6-10" of snow! OMG! I won't even start the rant about how much I hate the snow because I'm sure you are all well aware of that already. But seriously, ugh!

I'll say this again, I like my nice clean sidewalks and roads to run on. Snow hinders that. No thank you, haha!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{botched and unbotched}

(Written last Friday afternoon)

I chickened out on my six mile run the other night and bowed ungracefully out after just three miles. To be honest though, the wind was killing me. I was running against the wind for at least half of the three miles and it was hard my friends, hard. I probably could have kept going, but I wasn't really feeling it. I know that every run isn't going to be good and I just couldn't really get into a good groove the other night. I just kept thinking about how hard the last mile was going to be running against the wind and then just made up my mind to cut it short. It was still a three mile run, I mean I guess I can't say that I did nothing. (Is it sad that I now consider a three mile run short? Shouldn't I be excited that I can now run three miles without killing myself? I don't know.)

Another reason for my run cut short, icy sidewalks. I have to say that the majority of the people in town are pretty good at keeping their sidewalks clean (at least it seems that way so far), but really, three days after a snowfall and you still have icy/snow on your sidewalk, really?! Don't you know that that is interfering with my running capabilities, haha! I could feel myself not really running full out because of the sidewalks. I started my run when there was some light left in the sky so I could see the icy sidewalks, but about halfway through it got dark and then I didn't know what I was stepping on and really didn't want to fall and get hurt. Guess I need to get some grips for my shoes for the winter running.

I'm going to attempt to make up for Wednesday night and tonight get a good six mile run in. The wind is supposed to be pretty nonexistent tonight and the weather is supposed to be pretty nice as well. And since I didn't work out at all on Tuesday or Thursday, I need to make up for it, lol! Okay, I probably don't need to make up for it, as much as I need to watch the unhealthiness that I have been putting in my mouth.

Has anyone heard of Funky Chunky popcorn? OMG! If not, look it up at funkychunky.com! I think I have died and gone to heaven, this stuff is AMAZEBALLS good! And like AMAZEBALLS bad for you, lol! Popcorn and peanuts covered in butter, chocolate and caramel! Talk about a party in my mouth. Anyways, I attended a hearing aid conference yesterday and the manufacturer was giving this stuff out to the participants. I made Ayden promise not to tell Jay that I have some because I want to keep all of that goodness to myself! I swear I could have eaten the entire jar of it last night in one sitting. I mean, it is not THAT big, but still, even what I did end up eating was too much! (And there is even some more at work that I can snack on, sweet sweet goodness!)

CIAO! LOVE ME!