Marathon Monday

Happy Monday!!!

 

Hope everyone had an awesome weekend. We had a lazy Sunday and it was amazing..like stayed in our PJs all day...yes I even ran to Walmart...and went in my jammies...trust me I wasn't the only one like that. LOL..

 

Anyway...my yearly marathon is right around the corner...17 days actually. 

Over lunch today a few of us were talking about running gear and what not and figured I'd share with you some of my favorite running gear.

1.  Running belt...I don't have a specific brand that I just love. The one that I have I picked up at a race expo. I do love how convenient they are. You can put your GU/energy packs in them, cell phone, chapstick, ect. You can even use them to hold your bib.

2. Moving Comfort Juno bra...I can't say enough great things about this bra. I LOVE it...my plan is to slowing replace my old sports bras with all moving comfort junos. I say slowly because they are alittle pricey.  You can find them on a ton of different sites, amazon, REI, lady foot locker

3. Ruffles with Love T...Love their girly look and cute sayings.  Not a great dri-fit shirt or anything but they're cute.

4.  Body Glide...This is a must. I use it under my arms and thighs.  hey it happens. I use it instead of being in pain.

5. Compresson Running Pants...I have some under armour compression pants and love them for when the weather is chilly.  It works great for preventing thigh chaffing too.

6. Bondi Band...No slip, no drip head band...love them. they look like a 1980's flash back headband but they totally do the trick and when its cold I can unfold it and cover my ears.

7. Burt's Bees wax Chapstick...I gotta have some good chapstick when running.  My lips hurt real bad when I run.

8. Running Skirts...When the weather is right...I love running skirts.  I never would of thought I'd say that but they are just do darn cute.

9. Music...Normally for most larger races I use my phone so when we have to meet up later I have a way to get a hold of people.  But for smaller races I use my nano.

10. YurBuds... Picked these up at an expo and have used them ever since. LOVE them. they fit well and you can still hear road noise (ie...cars coming ect...)

11. Compression Socks....Since starting to run distance races, I have started to use Pro Compression Socks.  they are normally alittle pricey but they offer discount codes all the time and they have cute designs too.

12. Nike Plus GPS Watch...I'm not a die hard runner so I don't have an expensive GPS watch. I do have the Nike Plus GPS Watch and have liked it thus far. No major issues and it fits fairly well too.

13. Mizuno Wave Creation 13...Since switching from Nike to Mizuno...I LOVE MY MIZUNO!!! I have had ZERO issues. Minimal blisters and maybe 1-2 lost toe nails. When I was wearing my Nike's oh it was bad...so so bad.

Well I hope you all enjoyed my Marathon Monday Post.

 

Happy Running.



                                  

Winter Weather Recipe

Good Morning to my 3 loyal readers. ;)

I think it’s time I start working on upping my readers.

Anyway, the weather in Central IL...is COLD, SNOWY & CRAP. I'm totally over it and ready for the Spring weather. Poor Mini couldn't make it through the snow drifts and got stuck in the yard yesterday when I made my 1st attempt to leave. Why I just didn't start in the 4 wheel drive truck is beyond me.

 

Since the weather was so cold and yucky, I decide that some nice Creamy Tomato Basil Tortellini Soup would warm us up.

The recipe was pretty simple to make and delicious. It would of went great with some grilled cheese or some nice warm bread. 

I made the serving size for 8…idk why other than I was too lazy to cut everything in ½. So I made a huge batch and froze the rest of it for another day.

 Ingredients:

olive oil

2 garlic cloves (chopped)

1 small onion (chopped)

2 (15 ounce) cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes  (I only used 1 can because I only had 1 and I wasn’t leaving the house to get another)

2 (10 3/4 ounce) cans campbell's tomato soup

2 (10 ounce) cans milk (use soup can)

10 fresh basil leaves, chopped or 1 tablespoon dried basil

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chicken broth

3 tablespoons Italian-style tomato paste

1/2 cup light cream or 1/2 cup half-and-half

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 (9 ounce) package cheese tortellini

Directions:

1. Coat soup pan with olive oil. Add onion and garlic and sauté till soft.

2. Add canned diced tomatoes, basil, tomato soup and two cans milk. Stir till blended.

3. Add chicken broth and stir in tomato paste till blended.

4. Simmer for 20 minutes

5. Add light cream and parmesan cheese.

6. Add tortellini and cook till tender (at least 15 minutes).

 

7.  Enjoy!!!

 

See easy peasy!!!

 

Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.
 

26.2 Reasons Why I Run a Marathon



Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend. 

My weekend was full of military training all weekend.

 

I was talking to one of the ladies that will be running the Little Rock Marathon with me today.  This will be her 1st marathon so we were dicussing what to expect, ect.  I am not a marathon professional but I've completed Little Rock twice now so I have a pretty good feel for the course.

 

We have a MONTH to get ready for Little Rock...I'm seriously insane.  As we were talking there were a few people walking by and their comment were:

 "Why would you do that to yourself?"

"You know that's gonna hurt, right?"

"I don't even like driving 26 miles."

 

So I started to think...why the hell do I do this to myself. So here are my 26.2 Reasons Why I Run a Marathon.

 

1. For the purpose of Little Rock...it is TOTALLY for the medal. It's HUGE



2. You get to Carb Load and no one will judge you when you tell them why :)

 

3. Beer taste even better than ever after you have ran 26.2 miles

4. 26.2 miles allows for a lot of me-time reflection. I have came up with some of the best solutions, solved the world’s problems and finished 26.2 miles all at the same time.

5. You will meet some amazing people along the way. Almost everyone has their reasons to complete a marathon. As you talk to people along the way you will meet some amazing people.

6. After parties are pretty nice. even though you can barely walk but it’s a good time

7. You will feel like a EFF-ING Rock Star. Sore, yes...but you will feel the best that you have ever felt in your life.

8. From this point on....you will compare life events to what it was like to train and finish a marathon, you will say "I got this, i've finished a marathon" to almost anything

9. You'll be amazed on the new things that you will try. After my 1st race...I said I would never do that shit again...well here I am...working on marathon #4

10. Who knows...you could be someone else’s motivation to run a 5K, 1/2 or marathon.

11. There is a certain amount of self confidence with comes after finishing a marathon.

12. I get to put those bad ass 13.1 & 26.2 stickers/magnets on my car :)

 

too much?

13. You will know what it’s like to not give up. There has been plenty of times that I told myself...i can cut off at the 1/2 and no one would know...but i didn't i kept going.

14. You will mostly likely lose some weight or tone up during the training process.

15. You will most likely complete another marathon and you will want to do better the next time. You'll want that PR (personal record) time.

16. The crowds along the way are amazing. Kids holding signs, strangers yelling your name for 26.2 miles, college students holding out beer and playing music to keep yea motivated. complete strangers doing what they can to help.

17. You get to travel to a new place…or a place you’ve been to before. But I bet you’ll see something new

18. Running on a treadmill can be painfully boring…what a better way to save up some dough and ditch the gym membership and it the open roads

19.  Give back to charity.  Many races are geared towards some sort of charity event. 

20.  No matter what your time is…you will still be amazed when the elite runners go blowing past you at record speeds.

21.  Gives you another reason to update your ipod.  Gotta have a good play list. Unless you’re a run in silence type person

22. You will be part of a unique group of people.  Not everyone runs 26.2 miles…why that shit is hard

23.  Gives you a reason to get some new gear.  Shoes, running clothes, GPS, Ipod you name it

24. Swag bag. Most races give out some free goodies in their swag bags. Some are pretty nice. Have you seen the Nike Women’s Swag from DC...it's on my list now.  Hello Tiffany'

 

25.  I don't know why it is...but you will fall in love with whatever song is playing when you get to the finish line.  True story...I finished 2 halfs and Mylie Cyrus "Party in the USA" was playing...and I now that song is my Lady jam.

 

26.  New town= new eateries.

 

26.2 You'll start plotting the map for more races to run.

 

I will leave you with my favorie youtube video.  This SERIOUSLY brings tears to my eyes. It cracks me up.  Enjoy!!!

 

                                                          

Book 1 Review of My 2014 Reading List

So I told myself, while John is deployed I'm going to attempt to read a book a month.

Sounds like a pretty small task...but if you know me at all, when I start reading a book, if it doesn't catch my interest within the first few chapters I either give up or it will take me forever to finish.

Since Jan is coming to an end...I'll give you a recap on my Jan Book. (I actually read it at the end of Dec and alittle bit into Jan...so it counts right)

The Fault in Our Stars



The Synopsis by Goodreads:

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumors in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumors tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

My thoughts:

A friend of mine, Jackie, who is a total book whore, had already read The Fault in Our Stars so I had a good idea what was in store for me.  And lets be honest, the story is about teenagers with cancer how do you not know whats going to happen in the end. Anyway, even though it was about teenagers, I really liked it.  It was a nice, fast, easy read. Definately a good book for me to start out with for my 1 book a month goal.

There was a point that one day at work I was asking Jackie about certain characters in the book and she refused to tell me what happened.  UGH....so I decide the next day to bring my Kindle to work and read durning lunch.  I'm not much of a cryer, so I did not cry durning the book. However, I could very well see where people could.

With out getting into too much detail about the book, my favorite characters were Hazel and Augustus. 

I would highly recommend reading The Fault in Our Stars.

Up Next...

Serena

The Synopsis by Goodreads:



The year is 1929, and newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton travel from Boston to the North Carolina mountains where they plan to create a timber empire. Although George has already lived in the camp long enough to father an illegitimate child, Serena is new to the mountains—but she soon shows herself to be the equal of any man, overseeing crews, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving her husband's life in the wilderness. Together this lord and lady of the woodlands ruthlessly kill or vanquish all who fall out of favor. Yet when Serena learns that she will never bear a child, she sets out to murder the son George fathered without her. Mother and child begin a struggle for their lives, and when Serena suspects George is protecting his illegitimate family, the Pembertons' intense, passionate marriage starts to unravel as the story moves toward its shocking reckoning.

Rash's masterful balance of violence and beauty yields a riveting novel that, at its core, tells of love both honored and betrayed

My thoughts:

I am only a few chapters into the book. The beginning is slow..but I have a feeling its about to start picking up.

Also on my reading List

 Ophan Train

The Longest Ride

Gone Girl

The Book Theif

Know of any other good reads? Let me know, I'm still looking for about 5-6 more.

Month 1 in the books

I decided a few months ago to give blogging a whirl.  

My life is nothing too exciting these days. 

Work and Family time with a little bit of adult time here and there.

One of the reasons I was going to take up blogging was to fill up my time while John is deployed.

I figured, little man goes to bed early...I could do a little catching up on reading and maybe doing a little blogging of my own, as my adult personal outlet.

I was originally going to do a weekly recap of John's deployment but decided not too. Figured that would be too long and drawn out. I mean 40-52 post on a deployment or me about to lose my marbles. So instead I decide on a monthly recap.

This is not my 1st deployment rodeo, this will be my 3rd. 

Each deployment is different from the next.

The 1st deployment was when I was married before. We were young; no kids, I had just finished up, my bachelors, I had my own military 17 week school that I had to attend and the ex was in the "green zone" so there wasn't a lot to worry about. Even though you still here the occasional explosions every so often on the phone. So needless to say my time was consumed.

Skinny Kira is on the far left. talk about throw back pic...lol

The second deployment, was totally different. We (my ex & i) had moved to Germany and my ex was being deployed. I had only been in Germany a few months before he left, we lived off post, so our interaction with other military couples was limited at first...and we were the married couple with no kids. I had a dog and he was like my kid.  Needless to say it took people awhile to get used to that one. 

Anyway, I had transferred over the the Reserves and continued to drill and work as a Family Readiness  Assistant for an Infantry Battalion in Germany. Oh the stories I could tell!!!

I of course traveled as much as I could. I LOVE traveling!!! Living in Germany opened so many doors to traveling that I would have never gotten to experience before if I hadn't of went.  I was lucky enough to have my parents come visit and even had a good girl friend from college come visit, Myla. You should check out her blog. She is like Martha Stewart, the Pioneer Women and Pinterest all rolled up into one.  

Myla & I durning our Champagne Cruise. That was a story all in its own.

When I would come back home people could not fathom that I could get in my car and drive 4 hrs to Paris, Amsterdam, or where ever just because I wanted to.  It was amazing, I miss it. I could flood this page with pictures from my trips, but I will refrain. 

Ok ok back to the deployment countdown...

I knew that this deployment was going to be different.  This time there are kids (2), dogs(3), work and my military obligations. 

So far it hasn't been bad. Graham knows what we talk/facetime to daddy on the phone every night. The kids, dog and work keeps me busy. I've kinda taken up running again...well at least doing races again. I have a goal to read a book a month..which I'm slacking on.

Well enough for now.

Master Bedroom Remodel, part 2

We knew this project was not going to be an overnighter (a 3day-er if you watch HGTV)…try like a year….yup we strung it out for a year. We weren’t in a hurry. We had our original functioning bathroom; everything we were doing was extra.

We started with tearing down the old closet and ripping out the old carpet and flipping the room. We moved the bed down and removed all the stuff from the far end of the bedroom and it stayed in this hot mess of a state…for awhile.

We eventually added the closet walls!!! Which I love…I actually have a real closet that holds more than 10 items!!!!

We would buy items here and there and work on little things.  We worked on the electrical over the summer and it went pretty smoothly.  We had to buy a few extra items because whoever wired the house before…WOW... I don’t understand their logic.

During the remodel we got engaged (you can read about the proposal post here). We got married Nov 9^th and John was going to be deploying early Jan so he definitely wanted the bathroom to be functioning before he left.  John took off pretty much the whole month of Dec to get things done before he left.

That boy worked his butt off. He worked with his buddy, John, who was our plumber and they finished the plumbing right before Christmas!!!!  My mom would come up on the weekends and watch Graham so we could get some things done around the house. A 19 month old makes DIY bathroom projects hard.  But you can see he's such a good helper.

My mom, bless her heart, had decided durning one of her visits that she was going to buy us the rest of the items we needed for the bathroom. So on Christmas Eve, her and my dad were coming up to visit and she called and said "Meet us at Lowes, we're going to finish getting the stuff for your bathroom"  She didn't want to give us money because we would of probably spent it on bills.  Mom was so touched that John was working so hard she didn't want to see all of his hard work to go unnoticed.

So after a last min shopping trip to Lowe's on Christmas Eve, we were set and ready to finish up the bathroom. Well finish it up the best that we could before John left. I’m pretty handy so most of the left over stuff I can finish while he’s gone.

But that poor boy....worked until the zero hour. We had to leave for Chicago early the next morning and we worked on the bathroom and packed until midnight the night before he left.

I love the way everything turned out.  Not to bad for 1st timers if I do say so myself.

Master Bedroom Remodel, part 1

Good Morning fellow readers.

I figured today I'd talk about our DIY Master Bedroom Remodel. Disclaimer…we are still not 100% finished…but leaps and bounds from where we started.

We live in an older house (40-50's-ish style home) idk my husband bought it prior to us getting together. It sits on a little 2 acre plot in the country. We have 4 bedrooms (2 downstairs and 2 upstairs) and 1 bathroom!!!!

Yes, this is a NO-GO in my book. I hated that we only had 1 bathroom. When we had people over they'd have to wait to use the bathroom. If someone’s in the shower and you have to pee….you either wait or give the friendly knock before you enter (don’t act like you don’t do it too)  Needless to say it’s just a big pain in the butt.

So our master bedroom is quite large 12x26. Come to find out it used to be 2 rooms that was turned into 1 oblong room.  The closet space was minimal. We had 2 closets, both of which were very small. Like un-functional small. There was so much dead space it was ridiculous.

One day the hubby was at work and drew a sketch of what he wanted to do with the room. Walk in closet & add a 2^nd bathroom!!! Ok, I’m sold where so I sign up?  We talked about it for a little bit and decided to go for it.  We had a plumber come out and look at the house to make sure it was do-able first before we started tearing down walls and ripping out carpet. I had an architect friend look at the sketch to make sure we had a freaking clue.  The plumber said it was totally doable, the electrician (family friend) say he would be able to run eclectic and our architect friend said that everything looked good in the sketch.

 

So as soon as you get the green light what do you do….Tear down walls and rip out carpet, duh.

Oh & start making a pinterest board of what you want to do & watch every episode of al HGTV DIY shows.

 

Since this project went on as long as it did, I have a feeling I should probably break it up into parts. So consider this Part 1.  I know the suspense is just too much. I promise more to follow shortly.