Lunch Breaks, Swim Dates and New Work Truck

Earlier this week, I met the girls while I was on my lunch break. We had a picnic at the park.
It would've been miserable, but we went to a park that had a lot of shade. I was able to meet them again, today for another lunch date. I love summer!

Last week, Dakota and I went to Hurricane Harbor. We plan on going again soon (as soon as I can pry myself away from editing) and this time Cheyenne will join us!

Trey got a new service truck for his business. I won't be driving that around town, but it's great for him. It's hard to believe, but Twin Temp is now a 4 man crew. I'm happy they are doing so well.

My Week in Photos

Goodbye Kicks
When I like a brand or in this case a specific shoe line, I kind of go overboard. Yeah, I'm the kind of person who finds a perfect fitting shirt and buys three of them, in different colors.

Well, these shoes served me well, but it was finally time to say goodbye. They've officially been replaced.

Gas Prices, We See You
In the past few weeks, gas prices have steadily increased, like we wouldn't notice. We notice!!!!!
In related news, this makes me feel better (see the picture below) about replacing my SUV with a fuel efficient vehicle. However, my in town gas mileage is more like 24-32 mpg. Makes me wonder about the in town mpg, I was getting on the ELEMENT.

For the First Time, Since I Started Working --
...Dakota woke up in the middle of the night. Well, first I should back track and mention she went to bed at her typical 8:30-9 pm bedtime, but then she woke up to eat around 10 pm. I thought that was odd and THEN she woke up again at 1 am. Trey heard her crying so he walked to the nursery and then brought her to our room. I fed her, in bed and we both dozed off. I wan't sure if I was in for a rough night, with a fussy baby, so I put her in the pack in play right next to the bed. But nothing, she was fine and slept the rest of the night. I even got up at my normal time, to run.

This picture was taken early this week.  I can get all paparazzi with my camera, but 1 am photo taking is a little too much, even for me. 

There's a Little Truth, Behind Every E-Card
This is my thought process, right here.
I plan on running some miles over this weekend. I'm not sure how far I want to go. At this point, I like not being committed to a specific distance, that way I can bail early, if I need to.

The I* Word - *Injured & My Week in Photos

I'll cry about my injury later, but first this...

The day my complimentary sirus subscription ends, is going to be a sad day. As much as I'd like to renew it, I don't see that happening. I don't recall what the exact numbers where, to keep it, but I remember thinking, no way, am I going to pay that each month for radio. 

But I can enjoy it, while I still have it....At the moment, my favorite station is ALT Nation. It's alternative music, I rarely hear on the radio. Shins, Silversun Pickups, Matt and Kim, and more.

It's been a photo-tastic week, at home and at work.

This week, I've been taking headshots of faculty and staff. I don't have a studio, so this is my make-shift studio. It gets the job done. At the end of the day, I put my equipment away and the area is used as a skills lab, for nursing students.

My Ankle's Giving Me Grief
When it comes to running, I've dealt with sore muscles, cranky pain that has lasted a few days, and I've had to sit out for a few months because of pregnancy. but I've never had a full blown injury ===== WEll, not until now. 

I'm going on two weeks with my ankles feeling like crap. I think it's a combination of two things: 
1. Getting back into running, after having to take time off (pregnancy) 
2. My running shoes

I got these shoes right before I stopped running. However, I used them all the time for cross training, but I don't think they agree with my running feet. The other week, I ran 10 miles (not all at once, over the course of a week) in them and that's when the problems started. 

When I get to the point, when I'm feeling well enough to run again, I'm going to go back to using my old running shoes. They have a ton of miles on them, but I think it will be better than wearing the Altra's. In the meantime, I need to heal and decide what kind of running shoes I will buy next.  

We Bought a Truck

For several months, Trey and I have been saving money for a new pick-up truck. Every side job that we've done, we've been putting it in savings. You don't know how many times I wanted to take the money and go on a nice vacation, but we stuck with our plan to hoard it until Trey found a truck.

This is our new (to us) '07 F-150 Fx4, that we paid for in cash money...no car payment. Good -- since we already have one of those.



Now that we bought a truck, we can get back on track with our 2012 financial goals.

Trey was working on a family truck. It was a '86 F-150.

He put a brand new engine in it and did a lot of body work to it. Since he bought a new truck, he sold the '86 F-150 to his Dad. Trey still has a few more things to finish up on it before he sends it off to Abilene. 

New Car Smell: I Got A Ford Focus

Something I always use to say, "I'm going to drive the ELEMENT until the wheels fall off." I meant it too, however Trey and I have been talking about getting a new vehicle for about a year. Everything seemed to be directing my mind to purchase a new vehicle, despite my overwhelming commitment to my ride for life, ELEMENT. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that Trey is the king of persuasion.

So, I went from this SUV, which gets 23 miles to the gallon, (highway)....

To the Ford Focus, which gets 40 miles to the gallon (highway)...
4 days a week, I commute to work and my estimated gas savings will be approximately $100 a month.

Originally, I had my eyes set on the Ford Fiesta and I actually test drove one about a month ago. It's a great car! Ultimately, we decided to go with the Focus because it's slightly bigger and the price difference wasn't a huge step-up. The Focus model we got is called an SEL.

A nice perk is the Ford Sync Touch Screen. YES, my nerdy-side is overjoyed! I can't wait until I have time to play with it. Yesterday, I worked a full day and went straight to the dealership and didn't leave until 9:45 pm, so I have't had any time to play with my new toy.

The drive this morning was interesting. It's going to take some time to get use to driving a car again. For over six years, I've been perched up high driving an SUV, now I feel like a low-rider in this compact car. Another thing I need to get use to is a car payment. It's been almost 4 years since Trey and I have had to make one. We're hoping to pay this baby off early, just like we did with the ELEMENT.