Date night and making progress

Friday night the hubs and I were kidless so we went to Costco and ordered my glasses and a pizza. Pretty cool how you can get just about everything at Costco. 

I had some fresh eggs to give to my sister so we stopped by her house to eat and drop off her eggs. We ended up staying for a few hours. We played interactive video games. I'd say it was a pretty fun date night. Pizza and video games. Every girls dream right? 

The guys playing gladiator.

Trying to play just dance. 

Look at that skill.

Me: I'm so confused!!

This game is super addicting and it really can be a workout once you learn the moves. I might've worked off one of four slices of pizza that I ate.

Saturday morning + no kids = running with the hubs outside.

Since I'm still suffering from an IT band strain we stopped at big five to buy a strap so I can run longer than half a mile. 

It seemed to help a lot. Once my legs warmed up I was able to run 1.25 miles and only had to walk two very short times. I was very pleased to see progress. Last week I could only run half a mile before the pain set in. 

After our mini run we got breakfast at Carl's Jr. Steak and egg burrito for me and the hubs got the country something.

I was in a good amount of pain later in the day so I won't be running much for a couple days. But it sure felt good to run outside. 

How's your weekend going? 

Have you ever played Just Dance?

Have an awesome Sunday everyone! We're off to enjoy some fellowship and turkey. :-)

You think I have what?!

So I went to put my glasses on the other day and they were broken.. not exactly sure how this happened but I may have thrown them once or twice. Maybe. But that was a long time ago.

Since I need my glasses for driving and other things like seeing, I didn't waste time making an appointment. Thankfully I walked in and they were able to squeeze me in between patients that they didn't have. After a quick checkup and a new prescription, the Dr was talking to me about possibly having Glaucoma! I do have a small growth in my right eye and that's a cause for concern but Glaucoma?! Do a quick Google search and you'll find out real quick what it is.

After the shock of it all settled I went shopping for glasses but eventually went home because I couldn't find the right ones for dirt cheap. So I improvised!

Black tape fixes everything. You can slightly see the growth on the inside of my eye. Gross I know.

Maybe I'll turn into a pirate. I'm sure the world of eye patches has endless options.

Some good news: aerobic exercise (like running) could actually help issues that come with having Glaucoma.

I made this scrumptious soup for dinner for myself. Rice, chicken, carrots, celery, cilantro, and lime! If you want the recipe I'll post it under the recipe tab.

I'm going to attempt another run this morning or some time today. I need a good run but my need for a healed IT band is greater so I'll be smart and listen to my body.

I need to work on my pirate face. But I'm totally rockin that patch.

Enjoy your Friday!! And I'd you have time, get your eyes checked. Just to be safe.

Have you heard of Glaucoma?

Do you have any family members that have it? - My grandma is almost blind from it.

Run a mile for me please! :-D

Just Another Wednesday

It took me way too long to figure out a title for this post. Now the word Wednesday and looks odd because I typed it and deleted it so many times.


So you may or may not have heard that I'm suffering from a minor IT band strain. ;-) Thankfully it's not severe and a little time and a whole lot of stretching and foam rolling will heal it. Hopefully.

I have fallen in love with my foam roller. How did I ever live without one?

Yes I took a selfie with it and yes I am a dork.

I attempted another run on the treadmill but with my knee and leg wrapped. I was able to run half a mile without pain then I had to walk for another half mile. I can do no-to-low impact exercises without pain so here's what I did:

20 single leg squats (each leg)
50 regular squats (shook out & stretched after 25)
30 side leg raises (laying on my side)
50 crunches

Topped off with stretching and foam rolling. Injuries have a way of forcing me to strength train. Although I do know how important it is for runners to strength train.

And here's my lunch. A bunless turkey burger. Cuz I'm healthy like that.

Then I made a banana cake and ate one or three pieces.

Today while most of the world is probably feasting on turkey we went to lunch at the Grand China buffet. I didn't get any pics of our food. Blogger fail.

I'm hoping to get back to running by the beginning of the year. *Fingers crossed!*

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday! I have a bed full of laundry that's just begging to be folded. Funny how the only one who hears it is me. -_-

Do you like bunless burgers?

How do you strength train?

Random stuff, an attempted run and some goals

This weekend was full of fun stuff. The kids and I went to my sisters house to make sugar cookie houses. 

Kate + sweets = trouble

My sister and my big kid, Daniel.

They take their cookie house decorating very seriously.

Can you guess which one took first place? 

Hot cheeseburger dip. Delicious. I'll post the recipe under the "recipes we love" tab. 

Please tell me all guys sit around and play video games when they get together..no matter how old they are.

The game was pretty intense. 

This little guy has my heart.

(He's saying "cheeese"!)

Kate found a new bff. 

Fast forward to today (Monday)

 My husband has been taking care of our neighbors chickens while they're out of town and look at how any eggs we got! This is from about four days of laying. There are 51 eggs!! Omelettes anyone?

The hubs and I went out on a little date tonight to The Black Bear Diner. For some reason sandwiches sounded good. 

I got The Gobbler. Turkey, avacado, tomato, a little mayo and cranberry sauce on sourdough. A-mazing!

So after much research and an attempted treadmill run that ended in pain, I have a minor strain (I refuse to use the word injury) in my IT band which is causing my knee to ache when running. I'm hoping to fully heal before the new year. 

A couple goals:

I plan on signing up for the 14 races in 2014. My goal race will be a 10k but could change. 

I'm looking into starting a group in our county for Girls on the Run. I would love to be a mentor for young girls to help build their self esteem and help get them on the right path to a healthy life.

I hope everyone had an awesome weekend! 

What are some of your goals for next year? 

Have you heard of Girls on the Run? 

Are you a stubborn runner like me?

Five Things Friday & more

This week was full of birthdays! 

My nephew celebrated his 8th birthday with a superhero party. 

        Spiderman aka birthday boy

                          Wondergirl

Little Miss Captain America

Too cool for school.

There were other superheros there but I couldn't get pics with all the party madness going on. Oh, there was a gorilla too. Maybe he was King Kong. Wait, that's not a superhero is it?

My mom and dad had birthdays this week too. I wanted to give them something sentimental so my sister and I put together a shadowbox. 

I'd say it turned out pretty good. 

Plus I got the box half off at Hobby lobby so that makes it even better.

I also made my mom this cake:

And here's my five things this Friday:

1. 

These things keep your wrists and hands warm while using your phone or Nook at night in a 62 degree house. Yes we are penny pitchers..not me really. My husband is.

2.

Quinoa and brown rice with a cut up turkey burger is good stuff. 

3. This should've been number 1 because it's pretty important. Before using resistance bands, make sure the handles are hooked and secured to the bands because it could end really bad. I learned this the hard way yesterday and my foot paid dearly for it.

4. 

If you want to eat goldfish crackers without your baby cousins attacking you for some, hide them behind your back and sneak them into your mouth. Clever girl.

5. And last but not least:

Cinnabon cinnamon rolls make life grand.

Enjoy your weekend! 

How was your week?

Do you like cinnabon? 

Have you heard of Cinnabon?

Would you still be my friend if I told you

That the reason my hair is long is because it's against our beliefs to cut it. 

That I don't wear pants/jeans. I also always wear a skirt (that I made) over my leggings while running. 

That I don't wear makeup or jewelry.

That I don't drink or use bad language.

That I cover my head with a scarf/veil while I pray, read the Bible or have Bible study.

That I don't celebrate most holidays.

That I don't make friends easily in person because when people look at the outside, they assume I'm going to "preach" at them or try to "convert" them, when in all reality, I just want a friend.

Now that you've read all of that, would you still be my friend even if we have different beliefs. BUT we shared other things in common like:

Running.
Eating healthy.
Exercising.
Hiking.
Playing tennis.
Swimming.
Traveling.
Indulging in comfort foods & goodies.
Reading.
Writing.
Baking.
Drinking coffee/tea.
Playing video games.
Playing board games.
Listening to music.
Watching a good movie/show. 
Picnicking.
Spending time with family.
Taking pictures.
Country music.
Going out to eat.
Being spontaneous & trying new things.
& much, much more.

And I have a huge list of things I want to do before I get too old to do them, but I won't add them now.

Yeah, what if I am that weird Christian girl?

This is who I am. Take it or leave it. (although I hope you don't leave) I've often wondered, why can't people be friends despite their differences? That's what makes us who we are. The world would be pretty boring if everyone lived, breathed, looked and acted the same.

Why do people judge a book by its cover and never attempt to look past the first page?

We all bleed red, don't we?

Zucchini/Veggie Soup

Another great soup! I don't think we've ever eaten so much soup. I'm loving this kick we're on on. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups diced zucchini

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup margarine

1 tbsp all purpose flour

1 3/4 cups milk

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 1/4 cups water

1 cube chicken bouillon

1/2 cup sour cream

*I added about a cup of broccoli too*

Directions:

1. In a large stock pot saute zucchini, celery, carrots and onion in margarine until soft. (Approx. 20 min) about halfway, add broccoli. 

2. In a small mixing bowl combine flour and milk. Mix until smooth and then add to stock pot.

3. Cook soup until thickened and then blend in blender or food processor until desired texture.

4. Pour back into pot and add cream of mushroom soup, water, bouillon cube and sour cream. Add any seasonings you'd like. I added a little garlic salt, a little pepper, and basil. Cook until heated through. Serve with bread, crackers or grilled cheese sandwiches.(as my husband suggests)

This soup was very good and filling. You can taste every vegetable too! 

*This recipe was found on allrecipes.com, I added broccoli, garlic salt & basil*

How was your day? 

What did you have for dinner? 

Three words & a rant

Hamstring tendon strain.

Why do injuries happen? 

Just days ago I was running effortlessly and pain free. I felt like I could run forever. Then BAM! My body protests about what I've been doing and causes me to have to stop running for who knows how long! K rant over.

I'm not too upset with my body since I realize it was most likely my fault. We got a treadmill and it was all fine and dandy until I decided to get a run in just about every day when I never ran daily before. I upped my miles way too fast so this is my body's way of saying hello you shouldn't do that! I may have found my chi but I'm not invincible.

Yes, yes it does. It's a pain in the butt too.

I woke up this morning feeling a lot better and just because I mentioned feeling better my husband threatened to hide my running shoes. I guess he knows how stubborn I can be. He took me out for some retail therapy which helped take my mind off running for a few minutes.

Steel cut oatmeal with blueberry and blackberry topping from Jamba. This was so good I wouldn't even consider it breakfast. More like dessert.

New running shirt. WITH thumb holes! Mind back on running. I could wear this shirt all winter long.

 White chocolate kisses with candy cane bits. Need I say more?

 Gold's Gym foam roller.
Something I've needed for a long time. Every runner needs one.

So I'll be sitting out of running for a little while. I better treat my body better if I want to run at all. I'm learning that even if it feels ok to keep going, I still shouldn't up my miles so quickly. The foam roller, iced rice bag and some ace wrap will be my friends for a while. And maybe I'll try some stretching too. What's up with runners forgetting to stretch? I know I'm not the only one.

Enjoy your Sunday! Run a mile for me please! :-)

How was your weekend?
Suffering from any injuries?
What's your favorite candy?

Off to a good start

Yesterday I woke up and decided I needed a day to sort of detox since I've been eating so many goodies and too many carbs. I got off on a good start by making some carrot and chia seed juice and lots of water. Why is it that when I tell myself I'm going to be super healthy or do a detox I want to eat everything in sight? Fast forward to dinner and I had some amazing potato and broccoli chowder/soup. 

That I made. :-)

Most of my days, ah who am I kidding, all of my days are spent with my daughter and our dog. Here are some photos of what those two do all day to keep me entertained.

Guess who's in there

She was dancing her heart out, in her chonies, then stopped and said "word".

We always try to go visit my nephew while my mom is watching him. Isn't he the cutest little guy??

Meet Ginger. She's the best dog anyone could ask for. She's a very "go with the flow" kind of dog. She even lets our kids dress her up. If she ever feels annoyed she just gives a little growl and moves away from them. 

I'm not sure who took the wings off of her but I bet she would've just lived with them on. She obviously knew how to lay down with them. 

Working on some invitations for Kate's 5th birthday. Boy how time flies!

One of my nephew's is turning 8 tomorrow (well technically not til the 19th) and his party is a dress as your favorite super hero party. Kate's going as wonder woman. I'll take lots of pics cuz I bet you're all dying to see what she'll look like. Daniel's going as the first spiderman. He's old school like that.

I'll be making Kate's costume. Let's hope it turns out ok. 

Potato broccoli chowder. The soup that makes everything better. I'll post the recipe under the "recipes we love" tab. Another winner from sixsistersstuff.com! With added broccoli and no toppings.

I'm taking it easy today since yesterday my left knee decided to protest against me running. It hurts as I'm standing here posting from my phone. Why am I standing? I do not know. I sure hope it isn't serious..I know I've upped my weekly miles ever since we got a treadmill..runner problems.

How has your week been?

Dealing with any injuries?

What's your favorite soup or chowder? Please share!