What Your Taste Buds Say About You

My favorite daytime show is ABC's The CHEW. I like watching it, when I run on the treadmill or I'll have it on, in the background when I edit. The last episode I watched was about taste preference - salty or sweet...

If you like SWEETs... 

If you like Salty...

Or if you like both!

What's your taste preference???
I'm honestly obsessed with the salty and sweet combo. My favorite indulgence is dark chocolate morsels with salty pretzels. Now, I want some!

Running Before Dawn in Order to Get to a 9 am Showtime

How was your weekend? My weekend was filled with running and recovery.
Saturday, my morning started early at 4:45 am ---- that's when my alarm went off. In order to run 17 miles and get back to the house at 8 am, I had to get up before dawn.

Afterwards, I hurried to get out the door and get the girls to the 9 am movie to watch  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. I love going to the movies at 9 am (really). Can you tell I'm an early bird?
 
I spent the rest of the afternoon in compression socks with my legs propped up.

Lately, the girls having been spending more time outside playing with chalk. It's nice since the cold front came through, I don't have to worry about the wasps outside. In the summer, the wasps, like to linger near my back porch.

This morning, I ran 4 miles on the treadmill. It was easy. I wasn't even watching the time. I just ran and took breaks, when I needed to -- well, when Dakota demanded.

For lunch, the girls and I ate at the mall food court. Subway for me (Foot-long, black forest ham!!!), Chick-fil-A for the girls. I sat at the kiddy table with them. It was actually, really comfortable and I didn't have to worry about hunching over to feed Dakota, since I left her in the stroller.

One last thing...this is my favorite song on the radio, right now! I've gotta add this to my run playlist.

Do You Need Motivation? Here's Something that Always Inspires Me...

Yesterday, I wanted to go for a run. By the time I was free to go, it was 8:30 pm and 98 degrees outside. I've ran in the evening in 98 degree weather, it can be done, but it's not fun. I decided to run on my treadmill. It didn't make me go any faster, but hey, at least I was running and not sweating bullets.

I was hoping something good would be on TV, to distract me and luckily my DVR was recording one of my favorite shows, extreme weight loss. Have you seen this show? The host, Chris Powell, works with an obese person and helps them shed hundreds of pounds. The process takes a year. I prefer to watch this show, when I'm running on the treadmill because it motivates me to move.

My other favorite show to watch while I'm running is the Chew....how ironic (more like a contridiction) is that?

Do you ever miss a workout and then try to squeeze one in mid-day? 
Last month, I started working out at work, during my lunch break. I probably did it four or five times. I would run about 4 miles at a time. Now that the weather is back to blazing hell, I've decided to hold off on the lunch runs, until a cold front blows through or seasons change.

Don't Blink or You'll Miss It

Look in the sea of runners and you'll see me. The YouTube setting defaults to 320p, if you can -- change the view to 720p, so I look less like a blob running. (Video of Dallas Marathon)

Alternatives to Cable & Satellite Service

Let's see, it's been about a month, since we had satellite service. So, far I don't miss it. For entertainment, we've been watching Netflix and Hulu-Plus.

Netflix and Hulu-Plus both cost the same per month, $8.65. That sure does beat a $98 satellite bill! Hulu is free if you want to watch from a laptop, but I like the option of watching it on my TV or phone, so to me it's worth the pennies. There are some other bonuses to having a Hulu-Plus account, but to me that's the main one. There is one thing that surprised me, some of the shows you can only watch on a laptop and not on a TV or phone. They call them web based shows. BOOO! The Chew is one of those shows. But for the most part, the main Network Evening shows are not Web based only.

It seems like Hulu has replaced my DVR.

Cheyenne gets the most use out of Netflix-Kids. They have a nice selection of cartoons. Right now, she's on a my little pony kick.

When we want to watch new Movie Releases, Trey and I will go to a REDBOX station, which is only $1.62. There are several kiosk machines, less than a mile from home, so it's really convenient. We probably REDBOX it about 4 times a month.
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This week, I haven't been walking at work. I decided to listen to my body and take it easy.  Trey would be so proud of me. Tomorrow, I may be feeling less achy, so I may walk then.

Do you want to hear something bizarre? 
Sometimes I forget I'm pregnant. It happens when I wake up in the middle of the night to pee. I'm already out of it because it's like 2 am, but by the time I walk to the restroom, I'll have a moment of -- OMG! I'm 8 months pregnant! Late night feedings and a messed up sleeping schedule is going to suck the life out of me. 


And then I'm like whatever, Pee and Sleep <------MY IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES.

I have a Prima Donna on my hands
Lately, Cheyenne likes to put her hands on her hips when she talks and the other morning she demanded to wear a dress. Oh, I love wardrobe fights at 6 am. Ummm, no thanks. We comprised on this outfit (see picture). Now, I make sure she picks out her clothes the night before, so I can remind her (when she's screaming and she doesn't want to wear it at and it's 6:05 am)...."Remember you picked this outfit out yourself?" My strategy worked this morning.

I don't mind if she wears skirts or dresses, but not on school days. Her school prefers that the girls not wear them without shorts, which makes sense, since they are so active playing. If it's a school day and she insists on wearing a dress, I might have to start making her wear shorts underneath. Everyone wins!

Last night, we had a precious moment together. She was getting ready for bedtime and she said OK, cuddle time! She crawled into my lap, like she was a baby and we sat there holding each other for several minutes.

It's That Time of Year When We Cancel Our Satellite Service

It's that time of year when Trey and I drop our satellite service.  Bye-Bye Direct TV!

This time, we didn't suspend our account, we actually cancelled it. They should be sending us a box so we can mail them back their equipment. When football season rolls around we'll probably sign-up with AT&T u-Verse. I've heard good things about their service.

Tonight, at 11:59 pm Direct TV will officially pull the plug on our dish and all we'll have to look at will be a black screen --- that is, until Trey hooks up our antenna. So, my plan for this evening is to rush home and watch as much TV as possible.

I knew this day was coming, so for the past few weeks, I've been busy building my Hulu Queue. Am I missing any shows? What are you watching on Hulu? Or Netflix?

enduraFIT Challenge 

Guess who ran a timed mile? My husband. He's so BA. 

We're both participating in the enduraFIT Challenge and yesterday, he had his baseline testing at the LAB. He ran a timed mile and then completed a timed WOD (workout of the day), that included a few sets of kettle ball swings, jump box hops, and jump roping. In 10 weeks, he'll do the test again to see if he's improved.

I decided not to participate and do the baseline testing, since my fitness results would decline as the weeks progressed. At the moment, I'm 28 weeks pregnant, that means when we test again, I will be 38 weeks bearing a child. Can you imagine a 38 week preggo Dom doing jump box hops? Oh, yeah and the doctor doesn't want me to run....

That's okay, while Trey was getting his sweat on, I rowed 3 miles on the rowing machine. Seriously, I NEED A ROWER in my home GYM. I'm going to make that happen, one of these days. I will. Yes, I will. This is the machine I want. It's also a space saver, when not in use you can stand it upright, against a wall. Brand new, this model cost a little more than my used Treadmill and apparently it's good enough for commercial use, they use it at the LAB. It's FANTASTIC and my new best friend.

Update on my home treadmill: 

The replacement part has been on back order, but the company emailed us and said they finally received the part from their supplier and we should be recovering it in the mail as soon as tomorrow!!!!! I can't run, but you better believe, I'll be doing some serious walking.

Bunless? Yay or Nay?

My alarm went off and I swore, I immediately woke up in a sleepy haze, walked outside and checked the weather. It was raining and I was so happy, to crawl back in bed. Ends up, the only thing that really happened was my alarm went off. Eventually, I woke up on my own, after 6 am and Trey asked if I was going running. I guess so, since it never rained. I wasn't feeling it all. Somehow, I forced myself to run 4 miles. It was 35 degrees and the grass had a layer of frost. It was cold...

Trey's truck was covered too. 

For the past few days, Trey has been talking about how great Logan's Roadhouse 16 oz ribeye steak is. So, guess where we went for lunch? I love Logan's Roadhouse! If I have to pick between Logan's and Texas Roadhouse -- Hands down, I'll always pick LOGAN'S! It looks like Trey is puckering up for a kiss.

Trey's plate --- and scroll down to see my plate. 

I got the bunless burger entree. I've always wanted to try it. I have to say, with a little bit of steak sauce, it was AMAZING and only 7.99. I highly recommend it. Now, I want to try a bunless burger at Red Robin's and IN & OUT Burger. I think they call it protein style at IN & OUT. So, are you a fan of ordering a burger without the bun? Don't knock it, til you try it.

Hair News.
My roots have grown out about an inch or so and I'm thinking about going back to my original color. I keep going back and forth -- I might highlight it again, I might not. I just don't know.

We went to a birthday party today, but right now, I'm too lazy to grab my camera and upload the images. I'll post those later. Goodnight. Have a fantastic Saturday night. I plan on watching at least 3 episodes of How I Met Your Mother. I started watching the series a few weeks ago and now I'm hooked. I'm about to start the second season.

Mindless TV Watching

The past few weeks, I've been enjoying TV. Who am I? Modern-day technology makes it so easy to watch -- DVR, Netflix, Hulu....I feel like I can watch everything. Okay, maybe not everything, but you get the idea.

Here are a few new shows I've started watching. I don't know if I will continue to watch them, but they got me with the initial premieres.





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The next two are my favorite! I watched Modern Family and Happy Ending last season.

Happy Endings. I LOVE PENNY! It's nice to have shows to look forward to watching. This is new for me, but I'm enjoying it. What shows are you enjoying?

Now We're Talking

It's been weeks since we bought our TV. Well, I finally got the wireless network to communicate with the TV. It took several customer service calls to Phillips and a few online forums, but now I'm ONLINE. Have you ever wondered why things that involve wireless routers are so complicated? So many meaningless numbers, it's all greek to me.

Whatever, I'm up and running, so who cares?
I can view my Twitter feed, while I'm watching TV and I can Stream Netflix, without having the PS3. What's up?! I may never leave my bed now. It also has some other cool features, but Twitter+TV has made my life.

What Happens When We Cancel Our Satellite Service

About two months ago, Trey and I decided to suspend our satellite subscription to DirectTV. Our monthly bill was nearly 100 dollars a month. GAH! The HD package is so freakin' expensive.

If it wasn't for football, I know we could live without satellite TV FOREVER. Our account will be suspended/on-hold until August. In the meantime, we will continue to enjoy more than 15 channels we get with our digital antenna. Several of them are in HD and we get all the main broadcast powerhouse channels: CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX -- Oh, we also get those sub channels which is kind of cool. 

Other sources of entertainment, since we kissed the satellite goodbye: 

1. Netflix = $10 a month

2. Hulu = FREE

Chey gets the most use out of Netflix streaming. If I take her for a run, in the baby jogger, I'll use my phone app and she'll watch WordWorld or Dora the Explorer. Trey and I get the most use of the DVD's. We average about one DVD a week. 

I love watching my shows on Hulu! I subscribe to several shows: Modern Family, Cougar Town, Parenthood, and Nightline - just to name a few. It seems like Hulu has taken the place of my DVR. I like the flexibility, but I wish I could watch Hulu on my phone too. But that's what Hulu+ is for, but that comes with a monthly subscription. No, thanks. I'll stick with free, for now.

Thoughts? Do you pay crazy amounts of money on cable or satellite? 

Set Your Tivo

This show reminds me so much of American Beauty. I can't wait to watch the first episode this week.

The Riches

TV Junkie

It's funny how we can go most of the year without cable, but when football season is here Trey insists it's a necessity we cannot live without. This year we opted for Dish Network and my eyes are bloodshot from watching. I watch because I'm bored and partially because I feel like I have to catch up with the TV world. I've been watching TV for about 2 days and I'm already getting bored with it.

Trey is out of town for a few nights. He went with several men from church to Promise Keepers, a Christian men's retreat. He touched base with me last night and it seems like he's having a ton of fun. It's sort-of scary being at home by myself, but last night my mom came over and we watch two movies before I went to bed. And to let the time fly, before she came over, I watched The Notebook. I managed to watch it by myself and cried like a baby because it's so heartfelt.

About the job thing, it's hard being rejected, but it's their mistake not mine. I'm a great worker and I thank God for something else. As they say, I'm still on the market...the job market, that is. Well, I'm going to have as much fun as I can before my summer ends officially forever!

P.S. It looks like it's gonna rain so this morning I drove the car and I didn't realize how much I missed listening to music while I drive. I cranked up the stereo and yelled out lyrics from the Starting Line as loud as I could: "SNAP BACK INTO FORMATION AND GET TO WORK, UNTIL THE JOB GETS DONE. EVERYONE'S GETTING READY, 'CAUSE THEY'VE BEEN WAITING FOR FRIDAY NIGHT."
It felt good. I have to say everyone should use music as a stress reliever.