Two Reasons I Love My Employer

1. They encourage me to workout 3 times a week during working hours. And approve compensation during that time! 

2. The insurance that is provided is Blue Cross and they have a really cool program, Blue 365. The program allows me save on health and wellness products.

They have a deal with Reebok that allows Blue Cross members to purchase items at 20% off, plus free shipping. I just bought my first pair of Reebok's! I've been using Nike running shoes for years. When I first started running I would buy $90-100 dollar shoes (I tried other brands too), but as of about 2 years ago, I started looking at give or take $50 - $60 dollar running shoes. Since I'm not prone to injury and as long as the shoes are a notch above average quality, I can get by just fine.

If these shoes work out for me, I'll be buying a second pair soon...since I like to have two pair of shoes on rotation.


I still don't have any races on the calendar. Right now, I'm enjoying running for fun and fitness. Some days I run slow, some days I run fast. Most of my running is done solo, I miss running with friends, but this is just a season in life - with the girls being so young - trey has his business and having to be on call basically 24/7 - it makes it difficult to plan running dates with my friends. I might try to sneak a group run in every now and then, it's not impossible, but it's a challenge!

Since this post has way too many words in it, here's a photo of the girls. Lately, we can't get enough of the patio! It's easily our favorite space, when we are home. I'll have more patio pics to share later.

P.S. Here is a whole gallery of my running shoes, through the years.

My Week in Photos

Did you watch the Oscars? This was the first year, I got into it! Watching more than half of the films helped. I kind of had an idea of what was going on.

What did you think of John Travolta? Slate.com has a Travolta name generator. Check mine out.

After watching the Oscars on Sunday I went to bed and I was sleeping so good, until I heard Cheyenne crying. Cleaning puke in the middle of the night is not fun. I missed work Monday because both girls were sick with a stomach bug. This is what my Monday looked like. The upside…my floors are super clean! When my kids are sick, I'm reminded how much I love hardwood and tile throughout my house.

Yesterday, while running around the indoor track, I watched this basketball game.

Most of the time, when I window shop, I find myself looking at formal dresses. I want to buy all of them…. and wear them where? I don't know. I love this black and white Calvin Klein formal. You can't tell from this photo, but the white section has tiny sequins all over it.

Mrs. Rosa loves to braid hair. Next week, is the last week the girls will be staying at Rosa's. She's been wonderful and reliable. I can't think her enough for filling in for Mrs. Amanda during her maternity leave.

I'm completely out of coffee at home, so when I went to Sprouts I took three cups of sample coffee. In my defense the cups are tiny. Dakota was judging me, I can see it in her eyes.

Tomorrow, I'm taking school portraits, so I bought some snack food. I'll be tied down to one location for a good portion of the day, so it's nice having easy food like this. The Way Better Chips, were BOGO free at Sprouts. I hope I like them.
 
Did you have a chance to enjoy the weather today? It was a gorgeous 68 degrees outside. The girls spent at least 2 hours outside.

What Am I Doing Here? & THIS SPA is Totally FAB!

Yesterday, I walked by the full length mirror in my hotel room and I had to do a double take. I looked at myself head on and then turned to see my profile. I asked myself, "What in the world are you doing in Las Vegas? You are 2 months away from giving birth to a child!" Some drunk guy saw me walking around the lobby and yelled, "BABY ON BOARD!" Yes, sir -- you are correct. I just smiled and kept walking.

You'd think people would be polite to a pregnant woman, but that's not always the case, some people will be jerks no mater what. For example, I was waiting to board the bus --- it was mad chaos and some man cut right in front of me and acted like nothing. Doing that to anyone, pregnant or not is rude. I asked him, "Are you in line for bus 10?" And he responded with a firm, yes. I was hoping for an answer something like this: "Oh, I'm so sorry -- I didn't realize you were also in this line." (And then he would move to the back. BUT NO.) RUDE. I made the cut for that shuttle by 3 people. If I would have missed the bus by 1 person, I would've been irate.
Okay, enough of the pregnancy and raging hormones. Let's talk about the NABShow. I attended the opening reception and heard the CEO talk. Desperate Housewife star, Terri Hatcher was the MC at the event, but I didn't get a photo of her. My camera battery, died at the very moment I went to take her pic. Awesome!

For dinner (yesterday), I enjoyed vegetable rice from the Dragon Noodle. The restaurant is conveniently located at the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino. I sat at the bar and drank water, as I waited for my food. I took my food back to my hotel room and enjoyed a quite evening eating, calling and talking to Trey and Cheyenne, watching TV, and playing on twitter. It was just what I needed after a full day of going non-stop.

My Chinese Fortune.

Since I got a good nights rest, I woke up refreshed and ready to workout. One of the main reasons, I picked the hotel, I did, was because of the gym. I didn't know it was a "spa gym." It is sooooo NICE! I had to walk through the spa just to get to the gym area. There were massage rooms, sitting areas, a sauna hot spot, locker room, super chic shower area and a spa/pool.

This is the spa

This is what I call fancy water, located in the sitting area. It has fresh fruit in it. This is the type of place I want to stay at and just read a book, get a massage, lounge, whatever....I just want to be pampered. I took a spa brochure and I swear my wallet slapped me! There is no way, I can afford a $115 dollar massage. Oh, well. I'll go back tomorrow, workout and then sit in the sitting room and pretend I'm rich. :)

Here are the sessions I've attended, the last two days, at the NABShow. I need more time!!!!! I haven't had a chance to make my rounds to the exhibit hall. As soon, as I get out of my last class, I'm heading over. I'll only have one hour before it closes. I'll see about getting here early tomorrow and going before my first class starts, but even then, I'll only have 45 minutes....

PS. Happy 30th Wedding Anniversary to Trey's parents. 30 years, that's amazing!!!!

1st Day of a 10 Week enduraLAB Fitness Challenge

Today, begins the 10 week enduraLAB challenge. It seems like they are really pushing the Zone Diet, even more so than the Paleo Diet. I've spent the last two days trying to understand how the Zone blocks work and I'm completely lost. All I know is the protein I consume for breakfast, lunch and dinner should be 4 ounces with a ton of veggies. I have a lot of questions to ask the enduraLAB folks, when I see them on Wednesday about the meal part of this challenge. I'm hoping they can help me understand how the numbers all work. I was hoping I could just eat Strict Paleo and call it a day, but the way I have to log my information online, contradicts that....so, we shall see how this goes.....

This was my breakfast. 3 eggs, a bit of ground beef, 3 cups of broccoli and half an apple.

Part of the challenge is consuming 64 ounces of water a day. This will not be a problem. I've never tracked my water consumption before, but thought I'd give it a go. It's 8:30 pm and I've consumed  roughly 180 ounces. That's over a gallon of water or if you look at it in liters that's 5 liter bottles. Something you might not know about me, I sleep with water on my nightstand and I wake up in the middle of the night and take sips of it. I'm a total H2O addict! (help)

Besides the food and eating healthy, I think it will be a challenge to get 8.5 hours of sleep. Last night, I got  6.5 hours and I was trying! Trey will do great with the sleeping points. He gets 9 hours of sleep on the regular. As for the diet, I'm worried since he is not a fan of vegetables. And for the exercise part, he's a regular at the gym, so he'll do fine there.

Okay, I'll keep you all updated on our progress. I'm sure there will be small victories, mini-break downs, and cheat meals along the way. Stay tune.
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Oh, here is my DailyMile Training from last week.

Cycling: 18 Miles 

Walking: 9.25 Miles

Rowing: 2.5 Miles (I still want my own machine) 

Elliptical: 2 Hours 

QUESTION: Have any of you guys ever done the ZONE diet? 
I could really use a hand here. Thanks! 

My Week in Photos

I think I'm going to do a post like this once a week, called my week in photos or my Instagram photos or something random like that. I take pictures when I'm out, and sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to my madness. I find the most random things interesting and photo worthy -- even if they are as random as can be. So, here are my phone pictures and one T2i pic that I captured during the week. ENJOY! If you like this random style of blogging let me know with a comment or a like at the bottom of this post! Thanks.

And now for the most random blog post. This is not in any particular order.

Some girls like shoes or purses, well I'm OBSESSED with jackets! I found this one, today while I was shopping at the mall. Yes, I understand it's currently in the upper 70's, but I'm praying for a cold front!

I couldn't resist, I had to zip it. I look totally normal, right?

Guess, who I rescued from Abilene? Tasha was losing her mind staying at home during spring break, so she's hanging out with us this weekend. We love this shirt! It's at Wal-Mart for $12 bucks. WISH LIST! We should get matching ones -- all of us!

It's been about 2 or 3 weeks, since I had a protein shake. They make a great dessert or recovery drink.

Here is a purse coolie for my water bottle. I'm serious about my water, y'all. I didn't buy it, but it's a cool idea. The bags are meant for wine bottles, but whatever.

Today, I had the day off and since Tasha was here, she stayed at home and watched Cheyenne while Trey and I went to the gym. I rode 4 miles on the bike, while Trey pumped some iron. I'm so impressed with him, this week he bench pressed 225 lbs.

Last week, Trey and I weighed Cheyenne when we went to the gym. She weighs 40 lbs.

Do you guys ever sleep with a sleeping mask on? This week I did because I was exhausted and Trey wanted to watch TV. When I woke up, I was all confused.

I snuck into Cheyenne's room and took this photo of her, while she was sleeping. All the mom's out there can relate. How many times have you done this? Numerous times, am I right? They grow so fast, I want to savor every moment.

Okay, that's all I have. Everyone have a fantastic weekend. We'll be hanging out with Tasha and Bella.

$1.30 Home Date Night, Losing A Toddler & A Parenting Secret

Red Box It!  $1.30 Home Date Night
Do you guys ever rent DVD's from Red Box? You know the DVD kiosk that you see outside of grocery stores and pharmacies? Lately, Trey and I have been taking advantage of the $1.30 rentals. It's a great in home date night. In the last few weeks, we've watched In Time, Jack and Jill, and The Debt. We have Netflix (streaming only). Now that football season is over, we might upgrade to receive DVDs again.

The Main Event: Losing a Toddler
Over the weekend, while Brandon and Maghen were still in town we went to the Main Event. Can you say Spring Break Crowd? Whoa, there were crowds and crowds of people, you can't tell by the picture, but trust me they were a lot of people. Somehow when we were dodging humans we lost Cheyenne for about 10 seconds. When we spotted her wondering in the crowd she was already in panic mode. She had tears rolling down her face and she was looking everywhere for us. When I found her, I didn't even say anything. I just ran to her and gave her the biggest hug. I could feel her little heart beating a million times per minute. It was a scary moment for all of us.

As a child did you ever get separated from your parent(s) when you were out? I did, several times in the grocery store. I think I may have had separation anxiety because I would also have reoccurring nightmares about losing my mom and never being reunited with her. How terrible. I know! But then I'd wake up and be fine.

Cheyenne enjoyed all the games at Main Event! I bet we could've let her sit there without paying a dime and she wouldn't have known the difference. DJ was really getting into it too.

Catching some bumble bees. I tried to help her so she could have a high score, but she didn't want my help, she wanted to do it all by herself. Miss independent, okay then!

I had a chance to use my lazy susan warming tray. I made a buffet style breakfast, Sunday morning for everyone. Anytime you and your family want to come over for brunch -- I'm ready!

A Parenting Secret That Works for Us
I'll leave you with a picture of Cheyenne at the Container Store. She has a habit of wanting every item she sees === in every store we shop at. That bag, the one she's holding in that picture -- yeah she wanted it.

The best way Trey and I have been able to deal with this issue is we have created a wish list for her. Anytime she sees something she can't live without, we tell her to put it back on the shelf and we'll put it on her list. This list is actually stored in our iPhone Notes. Occasionally, we'll snap a photo of it, so she knows we're serious. Don't ask me why, but it works like a charm. No fuss. I wonder how long we can get away with this.....Who knows maybe years :)

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!

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!!!!!

A Chance To Recharge My Personal Battery

Today, was my first day back at work. I've been on holiday break for over a week and it's be glorious. I feel like the break was productive, yet restful. I didn't fill my schedule up with a lot of things to do, which gave me lots of free time to sit around and recharge my personal battery. It's just what I needed.

Yesterday, morning we went to the gym and walked the indoor track as a family and then Trey and I left Cheyenne at the gym childcare center while we worked out. We ran and rode bikes. I love when I get to workout with Trey. I try to hide my excitement because I know my enthusiasm scares Trey.

For the past few days, I've been kind of sick. I don't know if sick is the right word. It's more of allergies and sinus pressure junk. I've been sleeping with the humidifier on and using the best kleenex in the world...Puffs Plus. Have you tried this stuff? It has Vicks Vapor Rub in each tissue.

In unrelated news, look what is being built in my backyard. Trey and I like to refer to it as the mansion. It's huge! This picture only shows the side of the house, there's more that couldn't fit in the frame of the picture! The new neighbors can build on my lot if they want, as long as I can swim in their pool -- it's a fair deal.

Car Wouldn't Start This Morning & Swimming in December

I woke up this morning with the intent to drive to the gym. I went to start the car and once again the car would not start. Trey was concerned it was something major, but it appears the battery officially died. We replaced it mid-morning and thus far, everything has been fine.

Since, I planned on running first thing this morning and I was ready to go -- Trey suggested I just run to the gym. But it's cold! I got over it and went. I ran the indoor track, where it was nice and toasty. I also rode a few miles on the bike. Before leaving, I signed our family up, for a membership. Even Cheyenne has a gym tag. The gym has childcare, so that will come in handy. I really feel like we are getting an amazing deal at this place.

Mid-day, I took Cheyenne swimming at the gym pool. It was a great way to wear her out before nap time. I think we may go a few more times this week.

Cheyenne using her new apron, she got from Grammy. Chey was suppose to be helping me with dinner, but instead she was sampling everything I chopped.

Yesterday, Trey had the day off, so we went to the movies and watched the early-EARLY showtime, Alvin and the Chipmunks. Cheyenne is a great movie watcher. No bathroom interruptions.

Another thing about yesterday.....
I got a head start on organizing Cheyenne's room. Now, all that's left is the closet. That will be a daunting task. I don't know what to do with all her clothes. Maybe I should wait until February, when we find out the sex of the baby. That way, I know if I should hold on to Cheyenne's girl clothes.