See the Ordinary As Extraordinary

During my morning run, this line kept going through my head:
See the Ordinary As Extraordinary. I think I first saw a tweep post this quote. I kind of love it. To me, it's about making the usual-typical-everyday things or events special. This saying also reminds me of the movie American Beauty. Okay, that's my food for thought for the day.

Now, for some real food. Last night, Trey helped me cook dinner. That rarely happens. I was shocked. We made burgers and Trey prepped and cooked the patties. He used the food scale to measure and weigh them and then seasoned them with the same seasoning Chili's uses for their Old time burgers. It was scrumptious.

Hey, Trey, how do you like my stalker picture? Make my dinner. 
 
Trey and Chey went with a breaded bun, but I went primal and ate two mushroom heads. Mmmm, Paleo. I'm so glad real food taste good again. During my first trimester, I didn't care too much for veggies.

In what the what news... Look at this deformed oversized strawberry. CRAZY! It's like 3 in 1.

A Mess of a Trail

It's been weeks, no MONTHS, since I've ran the trail. Yesterday, we had the most amazing weather -- 60 degrees and sunny. I was craving to run on dirt, so I headed to the trail and this is what greeted me, at the trailhead.....

NOOOOOO! The trail was a muddy, swampy, mess. In every direction, this is what I saw. So, I turned around and headed back to beat the road. I got three miles in, but it wasn't as scenic as I had hoped.

           

This morning Chey and I went grocery shopping. We had SAMs Club all to ourselves. I love taking advantage of the early shopping hours. We were in there two hours before the store opened to the public. That's how we do it. VIP.

I finally purchased a box of diapers for Dakota for 40 bucks! They are newborn, so she will blow thru this load. Ha! How soon can we start potty-training? 

After our shopping trip we headed to the gym. I seem to be making a habit of running 8 miles every Monday. Not a terrible habit, if you ask me. I've been doing that for the last three weeks. Cheyenne joined me for a light .6 mile cool down jog on the indoor track. My goal was to wear her out. Walking would've been fine, but she wanted to "run." 

Here is my training from last week. I think I had three elliptical workouts. The numbers here reflect running. The time reflects elliptical duration. 

The rest of the day, I played with Cheyenne. We played school, colored, and baked using her Dora Kitchen. When Chey took her nap, I tried to complete my freelance project, but it looks like I still have a few more hours to go. Next weekend, I WILL finish it!

This House is Gorgeous

Whew, it's a little late for me to be up. I just got through working on a freelance project, it's the same one I've been working on for weeks now. I'm about 3 hours from completing it -- I hope. At this point, my only motivation is pay. It's so tedious...it's probably the most tedious freelance job, I've ever done. I'm thankful for the work, but I'm just saying --

Well, today, has been a good day. I slept in until 7:30 am and then our family went to church. For lunch, we tried this awesome taco shop == it was so good, I can't wait to take all my friends there.

Afterwards, we walked the model home in our neighborhood. It's gorgeous! Sorry people, but we were told this home just sold. I love the kitchen, it's the same layout as our kitchen, but this one looks all fancy, since it's a model.

Master Bedroom. How do couples sleep on a queen or full size bed? I'm all about king size. Speaking of mattresses, we need a new one. We've got a hump in the middle of ours. If I lay in the middle and slightly lean to one direction I'm bound to roll off the bed. WHEE!


Cheyenne was excited when she saw this girlie room. I told her, this is how her room will look one day, since she'll be sharing with Dakota. She seemed happy about that.

Later, Cheyenne and I went grocery shopping. She asked for candy, but I said no -- so what did she do? She stood there the entire time I was checking out and grabbed handfuls of candy bars, just shuffling them like cards. Okay. At least she didn't throw a fit.

I Totally Passed Out

What happened last night? I passed out around 9:30 pm. I'm pretty sure, I slept for 20 hours, I feel amazing! I had started this post last night, so here it is, this morning....
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Looks like we're still celebrating Trey's birthday. Chey and I made him a birthday cake. It's a strawberry cake, a recipe his grandmother makes. It's one of his favorites. The last time we made this cake was back in 2008. Trey and Cheyenne loved it. It's a little too sweet for me, but still tasty in small quantities.

Do you guys FaceTime or Skype with relatives who live away?
We do. We FaceTimed with Trey's mom. She was showing us some Care Bears she bought for Cheyenne.

I'm so jealous! Remember my generic childhood Care Bear?

Right now, Chey is really into Care Bears. We found a few CB movies on Netflix and this has made my child unbelievably happy.

Oh, on a side note, Trey called me Friday and said he found out the iPhone is not fireproof. WHAT?! Something about he was working on a ladder, explosion, fire/flames, him leaping off the ladder....ends up his phone caught on fire, while he was working on a unit and now has an imprint and crack on it. It still works, but I'm sure it's annoying seeing a crack on his phone.

This morning (Saturday), I went for a 10 mile run on the trail. Around mile 6, I needed to use the bathroom, but I was a mile away from the porta potty. That mile was the longest mile of my life! Ugh! The PG version thoughts that were going through my head: Don't crap yourself! Don't crap yourself! Don't do it!" I made it safely to the bathroom and no one was harmed.
Long distance runners know what I'm talking about, we all have our storieSSSS (plural).

Oh, last night we had a family date night and I finally tried the protein style burger from In-N-Out. Holy Goodness! It was the best! I got the single patty, but next time I'm probably going to double it. For you health councious readers, I think the double patty is around 500 calories. I didn't take a picture, but I found an online pic. This is what a protein style burger looks like. source. There fries are also tasty. :) Our family date was only $13.15.

20 Weeks: Pregnancy Snapshot

How far along?
20 weeks. Half-way there. 20 weeks to go.

This time around, I'm in no rush. I'm excited, but now I understand the whole --- It's soooo different with your second one. I get it. When I was pregnant with Cheyenne and I was 20 weeks, I was so involved in reading up all about pregnancy and baby gear and now I'm like -- I know everything. <------Not really, but I feel like I'm better prepared, since I've gone through pregnancy before. Does that make sense? The excitement is there, but I'm not as anxious.

The picture on the left is Dakota and I (present day) AND the picture on the right is when I was 20 weeks pregnant with Cheyenne. I overheard Trey describe my size to a friend of his...he said I'm as big as a house. Ha-ha! He jokes, I think.
 
How I feel: 
Great. I have lots of energy - thank you 2nd trimester. I ran 4 miles this morning before work. The time is not important, only the distance :).  I have my blah moments, but for the most part, it's been a good week. Wearing comfortable clothes and not overeating makes a world of difference. I hate that overstuffed feeling.

What annoys Me: 
My normal shirts are starting to ride up. It's time to make the big switch to maternity tops. Also, my bladder is extra sensitive. TMI? IDK. Sleeping on my stomach is uncomfortable. I'm still sleeping on my back -- but not a lot.

Food Cravings This Week: 
Limon Chips (ALWAYS), Panda Express, Roasted Veggies, and Hard Salami. Last night, I was craving chips, so after dinner we stopped at the grocery store. Gosh, I'm high maintenance. "Yeah, I just ate dinner, but can we stop and get chips -- oh and frozen pizza too." Please tell me I'm normal.

What I've been doing to prep for Dakota's Homecoming: 
Nothing. Trey suggested I sort through Cheyenne's newborn clothes and organize the closet. That sounds like a good idea.

What I've bought: 
Nothing. When I go shopping, I plan on buying diapers and wipes -- maybe not every trip, but at least every other time I go. I think we are set on most of the big baby items and clothes, although I need some small random items. We'll be borrowing a few things and reusing Cheyenne's baby crib, which means we'll be in the market for a toddler bed. OR daybed. Not sure, yet.

I'll be reusing my breast pump -- Dear Jesus, I hope that it holds out for another baby. Lord knows, I spent more time with that pump the first year of Chey's life, than I did with Trey. It's got a lot of miles on it, but it's a Medela, so it better make it another round.

Gifts:
Our neighbors bought this for Dakota. I'll be rolling this all around the house. It'll be in the bedroom, when I'm sleeping at night, guest bedroom for naps, and the living room during the day. We are thankful for the nice gift, thanks neighbors!

What are your plans for tonight and this weekend? 
It's a pizza and movie night for us. Lately, Trey's been playing video games at night, while I fall asleep watching episode of How I Met Your Mother. BUT tonight, I want to watch a movie!!! Any Netflix recommendations? QUICK, we'll be watching soon!! I have the Fighter in my instant queue, that sounds good to me.

Have a fantastic weekend and if you are running long tomorrow, good luck. I'll be running too! 

Happy 29th Birthday to Trey!

I love Trey's deer in headlights expression! Maybe at the very moment, he realized he's one year away from turning 30. This is probably the widest Trey's eyes have ever been. He usually squints them and sometimes they disappear when he laughs.

Cheyenne gets double use out of her 3D glasses....ends up they are also excellent sunglasses, since you know it was dark outside.

This evening we loaded up in the truck and headed to Ihop to celebrate. Did you know if you are part of the Ihop email club, they will send you a free birthday coupon? A lot of restaurants and fast food places offer deals like this. My favorite birthday freebie is a Red Robin burger.

Trey ate the Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n Fruity and I enjoyed a short stack.

The Birthday Boy

Trey wanted to take the truck. This is the current state of the interior.

It's a work in progress.

My Ballerina

My beautful Cheyenne at ballet class. I wish I could make it every time. She couldn't wait to come home and show us what she learned. I love that she's taking ballet. I've been looking into summer ballet programs. When I shared the info with Trey, he was like -- Whoa, slow your roll, let's see how she likes this class first. Hmmm, fair enough.

Hey, Texas -- Thanks for the widespread rain. No, really. It gave me a good excuse to take the day off from running, yesterday. It was still damp this evening, so I drove to the gym. I remember the good ole days, when all I had to do was crawl out of bed throw on some clothes and running shoes and hit GO on my own treadmill. That was so easy! I don't know how much longer I can go without my own treadmill. I need to come up with a financial plan to buy the expensive treadmill replacement part. It's going to take some creativity on my part, but I'm up for the challenge. Operation Fix Treadmill! I'm sure I could dip into our grocery budget. I mean really, do we have to eat everyday?

Time to get some rest. Lately, I've been so sleepy. I could just rest my head on my desk and pass out any given afternoon. I think that's a sign I should get more sleep. Goodnight.

Winter Gardening in Texas

But first a quick update on Cheyenne:
She woke up feeling much better. Actually, she was awake at 4 am requesting cartoons. So, yes -- she's doing fine. I made it to work on time and she made it school and ballet.

Now, I'm the one who feels a little under the weather. My head has been throbbing since I got to work. Sinus pressure is annoying.
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Winter Gardening in Texas
One thing I didn't think I'd be talking about mid-Januray is gardening, but hey I'm doing just that...
It seems as though my herb garden is thriving, even though I rarely water it. We haven't really had a harsh winter, so that probably explains why the cilantro is still alive. Here recently, it's felt like spring. Check out my dead basil in the very back. I'm not sure if I should uproot it or leave it, you know in case it comes back to life in the spring....Anyone know this? I'm too lazy to google the answer.

Skinny Rosemary plant.

Oregano. I need a bigger plant, it's hard to cut these short leaves because they all bunch together.

Here is the other side of the garden bed. It's bare and lonely.

It's been months, since I bought cilantro from the grocery store. It's nice to go outside and pluck as much as I want, when I need it.

Don't Be Impressed with My Stitchwork

For weeks, my running tights have been ripped. I've been wearing them like this (this is a better pic of the rip)...I only have this one pair of full length tights and I don't have the cash to replace them anytime soon, so I worked my sewing magic.  Me sewing? Yeah, sure....I did a simple hand stitch. We'll see how this patch work holds up, wash after wash. Have you guys priced run tights? They are crazy expensive. A good pair can cost $80 - $110. I've owned this pair for several years.

The finished product.
At least my muffin top won't be oozing out anymore. What I like about these tights is they also double as compression tights, even more so -- since I've gained pregnancy weight.

While I was working , this monkey face ran up to me and made me smile.

FEVER
And today, this is how she looked.

Big difference! She started to come down with a fever this afternoon and I'm almost certain it's tooth related. At first she complained her right cheek was hurting and that's when I felt her face and she was burning up. I stuck my finger in her mouth and felt her gums, in the very back of her mouth and she said it hurt.

She went to bed at 7 pm. I hope she sleeps the fever off and is back to her old self soon. I have a meeting with the Dean tomorrow, so  I don't want to miss work. I'm trying to stockpile all my sick time for when Dakota comes. I'll miss work if I have to. I won't have a choice.

DailyMile Stats
Here is my training from last week. I didn't count my time on the elliptical as mileage, so what you see here is all running. This morning I went to the gym and ran 8 miles on the treadmill. My shins were killing me during the first mile. I don't know what was up with that. It's rare that I have shin splits. Maybe I was going too fast....once I slowed down, it didn't hurt as much.

Let's Talk About Cravings

Here are just a few of the things I've been craving...I sent Trey to gather the goods and like a fantastic husband he delivered.

Cravings, during this pregnancy:
-Panda Express fried rice with a little bit of red sauce
-Limon Chips. Limon Chips. Limon Chips!!!!!
-Chocolate and Popcorn - a bite of popcorn with a bite of chocolate
- I don't seem to eat it that often, but Little Caesar's pizza
-Paleo Pizza Crust with Strawberry preserves
-Ramen Noodles. Ramen. RAMEN. RAMEN! I need help.
-Hard Salami

So, there it is. That's what I've been craving during this pregnancy. I recall craving nachos, chocolate covered pretzels, apples, and waffles when I was pregnant with Cheyenne.


Chances are most people reading this post, is not pregnant -- but I'm curious do you have food cravings? Sure you do. What have you been craving lately?

Zero Desire & I Want a Toy

My alarm went off this morning and all I wanted to do was stay in bed. I procrastinated for almost an hour - I ate breakfast and watched an episode of Jersey Shore, before I finally went for a run. As soon as I stepped outside, I was like, man this sucks! I planned on running 8-10 miles, but honestly I had zero desire to run. ZERO. Somehow I ran 4 miles.

There was no football on TV today, at least none that Trey wanted to watch so, we spent the majority of our day out on the town. This is the time of year, when I get my husband back! That's right, the NFL season is almost over, so I'll be interacting more with Trey on the weekends. One place we went was the Disney Store. I fell in love with these dolls. 

Oh, yeah and Cheyenne liked them too. 

These two are my favorite: Snow White and Belle. Would that be weird if I bought myself one? I'll just say it's for Chey. 

What was I thinking wearing high heel boots? We were walking around for hours and my feet hated me. While we were out, I bought a pair of shoes. Before we left the Target parking lot the sparkly shoes were on my feet. 

Highlight meal of the day was at Chuy's Mexican Resturant. I tried the Nachos for the first time. I highly recommend them, however next time I'm going to ask them to take it easy on the cheese.

Tonight, we plan on staying in. We've done enough running around for one day. Time to relax.

Ballerina Twirls Can Be Dangerous & My Home Elliptical Set-up

Earlier this week, Cheyenne had her first ballet class. I left work early, hoping to see her dance, but between traffic and taking the wrong exit (pregnancy brain spasm), I missed it. As I walked into her class, they were dismissing. Boo!!!!!

From what I can tell, Cheyenne loved it. When we got home she was showing Trey her ballet moves. She twirled and hit her head on a cabinet. What a dangerous sport, ha!

This is Chey hugging her BFF Brianna. Doesn't this look like a photo greeting card?

After class, I tried snapping some photos, but Chey was running all over the place. Be still ballerina, I'm trying to capture memories!

She paused for a moment.

My Home Elliptical Set-up
This week, my elliptical has been receiving more attention than I would like to give it. Trey decided to go to the gym several times this week, which means I've had to cut my morning runs short. The thing about being a responsible parent is that someone has to watch the child, even if she is sleeping. Yeah, I know!

This is my current, elliptical set-up.

It has wheels in the front, so it's easy to maneuver. When we have guest over, I can easily transfer it to the guest bedroom or position it right in front of the TV. I like it in this location, but this is where my treadmill use to be. Here comes the tears. Wait for it....(tears). I miss my treadmill so much!!! It's still out of service and will be until I pay for a pricey replacement part. Every time I see it in the garage it makes me sad.

This is my point of view, kind of offset from the TV, but still not bad. This morning, I watched an episode of Whitney.

I use a bar stool as my holding station. 

(Back tracking) First thing this morning, I went for a run and got a text from Trey, saying "I'm ready to go to the gym." -- That was my cue to end my run and high tail it home. I only ran 3 miles and I was hoping to run at least 4, so Trey agreed to let me run one more mile (brownie points), before leaving. If my treadmill was in service, this wouldn't even be an issue. When I got home, I put my run/winter gear on this stool. I like having the remote and my phone nearby.

Elliptical flashback to 2008. I was about 5 months pregnant with Cheyenne. Our dinning room was bare. This was before we got a table and blinds.

What is everyone doing this weekend? 
We don't have much planned. It's looking like another weekend, like last week. We'll just play it by ear and we'll see what's in store for us. I think Trey plans on working on his truck. I would like to sit on the sofa the majority of the weekend and do nothing. What? I'm just being honest.

P.S. Drake Concert 
After Tasha read yesterdays blog post, she called me and she was "crying with excitement." I'll take that. In case you missed it, I surprised Tasha with tickets to a Drake concert. Here is the post: I Want to See Tears!!!!!