And.....I'm Back!

It's been just under a year since my last post. Since then, much has happened. I've gone from this



To this



(yes, my boobs and stomach are HUGE and I still had two and a half months left of pregnancy...LOL)

I had this little guy 4 weeks early. Ok, so he wasn't THAT little, weighing in at 7 lbs, 5 oz at birth, but still made a dramatic entrance.



He's now over 6 months old!



So, a lot has happened during this past year. We went on a couple of vacations last year. We went to Beaver Lake in Arkansas for a week. It was a lot of fun and we did a lot of relaxing. Here are a couple snippets from that trip.


This is a typical picture of Coach. He frequently has his eyes closed in his photos.


My nephew, Jackson

We also went to Destin, FL with another couple. It was a lot of fun as well and nice to have another person who wasn't able to indulge in any alcoholic beverages! Tiffany and I are both pregnant on this trip, however, she was only about 3 weeks pregnant!




Yeah, she's just a TAD bit smaller than me


Seaside, Florida

Life has been pretty great this past year and we have more fun stuff to come this summer. I haven't really been working out at all, but am desperately trying to get motivated to get back into running or at least SOMETHING. The only exercise I've been getting is feeding my baby...lol. Hey, at least I'm burning some calories!

Hope everyone has had a good year and I am still blog reading religiously, so I'm keeping up with you!

half marathon redemption

Yesterday, I ran my second half marathon of the week. I finished in 2:08:48...so I shaved off about three minutes since the STL half. I was pretty pleased b/c there were some KILLER hills...not as many hills, but they were steeper. I felt pretty good most of the race, but was pretty beat by the time I finished.

So, my news about why my training hasn't gone as well this time around????? I'M PREGNANT :) I'm 12 weeks now, so the cat's out of the bag! Needless to say, I get fatigued more easily and therefore can't run as fast as I used to. But, that's ok...I'm still getting exercise and it's kind of cool to be able to say I ran two half marathons while I was pregnant.

Last night we went to our friend's engagement party and spent the night in Kansas City and had a great time. We told all our friends about our news the afternoon before, so it was nice not to have to keep lying and act like I was drinking when I wasn't. A couple of them definitely suspected it since my lower belly is already pooching out a little...LOL!

Well, that's all the exciting news I have for now. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

three more days

I'm getting very excited for this weekend for not only my half marathon, but more importantly to hang out with my best college friends! Tomorrow night we're staying in KC and going to the George Strait/Reba McEntire/Leanne Womack concert and then heading to STL first thing Saturday morning. When we arrive, we'll head downtown to the expo to get our race packets and shop around a little (I'm sure). I'd also like to drive the race course to see what is in store for me. Then we're throwing our friend, Alison, a baby shower....she's expecting her first baby...a girl! Not sure what's in store for Saturday night, but I'm guessing whatever it is will be low key for those of us running in Sunday's race.

I just checked the weather and they're calling for a high of 78 and sunny. So, I'm seriously stressing out that I'm going to get too hot! Thank God the race starts at 7 AM, so I'm hoping it will be cool and cloudy for at least the first half. Not sure why I can't run when it's over about 65 if it's sunny, but I seriously get a headache and feel like I'm going to wet my pants every 10 minutes...weird, I know.

Tonight I'll be packing all of the race gear I could possibly ever need, just in case the weather forecast changes. I'm planning on running with my fuel belt so I don't have to get in the mess of people fighting for water/gu. I like to drink and fuel when I want to and not rely on the race volunteers anyway.

I've really been slacking in working out this week, meaning today is the first day I've done a darn thing! So, again, yet another thing to spaz out about. My last long run before the race was last Saturday and it was six miles. I was pleased with the pace (9:04) so hopefully I'll be able to do that for another 7.1 on Sunday!

Good luck on the races this weekend ladies!

half marathon training - week #2

This morning I did my long run of 6 miles. The miles looked like this....

Mile 1: 9:17
Mile 2: 8:57
Mile 3: 9:18
Mile 4: 9:17
Mile 5: 9:18
Mile 6: 9:32 (uphill)
Total Time : 55:37 (avg pace = 9:16)

I was pleased with this run and felt pretty good afterwards. I've been doing pretty well sticking my training program this week.

Sunday, my rest day, I did 40 minutes on the elliptical since I knew that Monday I wouldn't have time to get my workout in. Turns out also, Monday I came down with some sinus issues, so I ended up not having the energy the workout anyway...nor did I on Tuesday. Tuesday night I went to bed at 7 PM, was asleep by 8 PM and slept until 6 AM! It was glorious! Wednesday I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and Thursday I did my short run. Friday was supposed to be another cross training workout, but I decided to get a pedicure after work instead. And, then my nephew came over for a couple of hours in the evening. So, my workout was basically shot!

Today, Coach and I have had some free entertainment around our house. Turns out there's a opossum (sp?) hanging out in our back yard so we've been watching him. They are such nasty animals and I really hope he leaves soon! I thought they were nocturnal?! Anyway, Coach has been outside with his BB Gun hoping to at least scare it away. He almost pulled out his 22, but then we'd have to find something to do with the dead carcass so we nixed that idea.

Tomorrow, my nephew Jackson is turning 4 years old so we will be attending his Batman Birthday Party. Should be a lot of fun.

On a sadder note, my running buddy Katy and her husband just bought a house in Kansas City so she will be moving away :( Sad for me, happy for them.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

under the weather

Today, I am staying home from work---sick. I'm having some stomach issues, the details of which I will not disclose. We got snow on Friday - Monday and now are having frigid temps. Needless to say, I haven't gotten outside to run since last Thursday and I'm feeling it. Whenever this happens I start stressing that I'm going to have to completely "start over" and work my way up to easily running 6 miles. To some, this may not sound like much, but I felt pretty accomplished getting to this point.

Also, the STL half marathon filled up last week, so my two friends who were also running this race didn't get in. One of them just signed up for the full marathon and is going to run the half. The other one can't decide whether or not to do that (you're "strongly" discouraged to do this by the race committee and this friend doesn't like to break rules:) I tried to convince her to sign up for the full and run the half, but she informed me that she was told her chip timing wouldn't be accurate if she did this, nor would she get a medal. And, this being her first half is really a bummer.

Hopefully next week, I'll have some running updates for you. Other than that not much is going on. Coach is taking me out to dinner on Sunday night for Valentine's Day in Kansas City and neither one of us has to work on Monday, so that means I'll get to enjoy a glass of wine...or two :)

my life in a bubble

I'm a member of a women's community volunteer organization here in town, for those of you who aren't aware. Part of being a new member in this org requires you to do a project, locally. This project must include finding a need, coming up with a plan to help those in need, obtaining PR about org and our project and reaching out to area people/businesses to help with our project.

Last night, my group met and we were brainstorming project ideas. There are a couple of elementary teachers in my group, so we started talking about schools and wanting to focus on Middle Schoolers since many of them fall through the cracks. It seems like most people want to help out the younger kids (this is just my opinion...not factual:) But, seriously, most of the time I was sitting here listening to the stories these teachers told (both of them teach at or have taught at Title 1 schools...the low income schools) with my jaw on the floor. I mean, I grew up in this town and have lived here the majority of my life. Could I have been so naive and not seen the needs within my own community? I grew up in a happy little bubble where everything was roses with my home life and my friend's home lives. I made good grades and had two parents at home with me every night who were able to help me with my homework and give me baths and teach me how to take care of myself and it's importance. And, for these reasons, among many others, I have been blessed with a life for which I am very grateful. I realize now how lucky I was when I hear stories like these.

1. These Title 1 schools have washers and dryers so that teachers can wash their student's clothes. Many of the students continuously come to school in dirty clothes as I imagine their homes don't have these appliances and it can get very expensive washing your clothes in a laundromat if you don't have the money.

2. Some of the kids continuously have lice because of unclean living conditions. Although there is shampoo that will get rid of lice, their parents can't afford it.

3. There are kids that don't even have socks or have shoes that fit them. In gym, kids wear flip flops since those are usually just a couple of bucks. Or, they wear shoes that are too small, too big or shoes with holes.

I know that most of your are probably aware that this is a problem and I was too. I just thought it was in larger communities or those really small towns. I didn't really think this was going on in my mid-sized community of around 75,000 people. I've lived my life not leaving a radius of a couple of miles from my home. And, even within this small circle, there were areas I avoided because I had no need to go there.

So, I have decided that I'd like to volunteer some time with the lowest income school in my town and either tutor or become a mentor to one of those kids. I seriously believe it when teachers say that there are some kids who may only see one smile a day...and it's from their teacher. And, this just breaks my heart.

What are you doing to help those in need in your community? Prior to yesterday, I was doing nothing, so don't feel bad if you're in the same boat.

getting in the Christmas spirit

Christmas truly is my favorite time of year. I had pretty much all of my Christmas shopping done this year before Thanksgiving....I'm not joking! When I was younger, I started listening to Christmas music in September! Last year, I really got into baking new sweets/candies for Christmas parties I attended so I'm going to keep this tradition going again this year.

On the menu for an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party I'm going to on Saturday night.........

Cake Balls (recipe found here)

Rather than doing red velvet on the inside and milk chocolate on the outside, I'm planning on a dark chocolate inside with a white chocolate outside. I can't wait to try these puppies!

The other new item I'm baking for the first time....

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies (recipe found here and here)

No, you're not hallucinating. That is a chocolate ganache icing on the top to make these brownies a little more melt in your mouth, wonderful deliciousness! Caution: This WILL make your love handles a little more lovable! Um, Honey, I REALLY need that elliptical......

Bakerella just might be my new favorite baking blog! I was introduced by her by this lovely lady's blog--Pioneer Woman! Seriously, if you have some spare time (like, really...a LOT of spare time) check out Pioneer Woman's blog. She is absolutely hilarious! Okay, so she's been around awhile and maybe everyone already knows her, but I just discovered her. And, she has a ton of amazing "Cowboy/Cowgirl" recipes on her blog that are a little more my speed. She lives in OK and is the wife of a 4th generation rancher. So, she's a city girl turned country girl. Although I can't relate to country life, Coach would absolutely love live in the country someday, so maybe her blog will help me be more open minded about the possibility of that....someday.....like WAY down the road.....uh, let's not get ahead of ourselves here:)

from the beach to the freezing cold

On Thanksgiving, Coach and I left for Mexico. We had a wonderful time away, although we wish it would have lasted longer. Here's the view we looked at for 5 days.




We returned to Missouri just in time for temperatures in the twenties and blustery winds. I took my workout clothes to Mexico with full intention of working out in the fitness center, but needless to say they never made it out of my suitcase. In fact, even more depressing is I haven't even run a millimeter since my half marathon.

Tomorrow, Coach and I are going to get our Christmas tree which I'm so excited about. I've already wrapped about half of my Christmas gifts and only have about two more gifts to buy before I'm done. This is my absolute favorite time of year: listening to Christmas carols, trimming the tree and wrapping presents. So, I've got a very festive weekend ahead of me.

The next couple of weeks are filled with parties, one is a Snuggie couples shower (yes, we are being forced to wear Snuggies out to the bars) another is an ugly Christmas sweater party, and the last is a girls Christmas party with some fellow Jr. Leaguers. So, many fun things to look forward to.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Oh, and one last thing. Coach and I were thinking about hanging lights this year outside and I like the white lights, but Coach wants to hang blue lights. I seriously thought that blue lights were for Hanukkah...anyone want to weigh in on this?

team jacob

Last weekend, I went to the Mizzou/K-State football game in Manhattan, KS. The tigers pulled off an easy win and I got to have some fun spending time with my extended family. I have a cousin who is a senior at K-State so it's become a tradition for him, me and my cousin Aaron (Aaron and I went to Mizzou) to go the the football game each year with our dads---our dads are brothers.

I was reminded that I can't really party like I used to. The game started at 11:30 and then we immediately went to the bars to start drinking. It was a lot of fun and I even got to play some rounds of PhotoHunt on the Mega Touch! Good times. But, also, after spending some time at my cousin's house (basically a fraternity house for the seniors in his fraternity) I was very grateful that I don't have to deal with immature college guys anymore and made me feel even luckier to have my wonderful husband back at home waiting for me (OK you can all gag:). My parents had to drag me out of the bar (and off the dance floor) at about 11 PM to take me back to our hotel room. Here's a picture of some my three cousins who went to the game with me.




Tonight I'm going to the movie theater to see Twilight and then to watch the midnight showing of New Moon. I absolutely cannot wait and have really found it hard to concentrate at work today, I'm so excited. I'm going to have to pay for it tomorrow, though since I'll be lucky to get four hours of sleep tonight. I'm sure it will be worth it though.

For those of you who don't understand the Twilight hype...take a look at the photo below. And, yes, I know he's only 17!

crazy week

So sorry for neglecting my blog all week, but I'm so happy the weekend is here. Work has been so crazy and I really need to unwind. On the work front, we had a reorganization and now I have new team members, a new boss and am working with about 40 agents up in WI now (previously I worked with agents around St. Cloud, MN and I loved them). These WI American Family agents have a lot to live up to! But, I feel like my work load has at least doubled...not kidding!

On the personal-life front, I went to the doctor this week as I'd been feeling tired and fatigued. Well, after some blood work, I found out that my B12 was really low. So, now I have to go in for a weekly B12 shot for 4 weeks and then get monthly shots indefinitely. My doctor said that if I got in a couple shots before my half marathon next weekend, I'd shave 10 minutes off my time. So, we shall see! I really hope he's right, although I'm not really sure what I think my time will be. So, in turn, I don't know what ten minutes less than that time will be. I haven't run a half in over! three! years! and I don't know how accurate that time was compared to my pace now. I guess I'll find out in about a week.

Because I haven't run a half in over! three! years!, I'm feeling a little anxious about the race. I know I'll it will be fine because I felt really good about my 10 miler last Saturday, but the pre-race jitters are starting to hit. My new goal is to run at least one race a month, but it seems like around the holidays down here all of the races are only 5K. And, I really just don't want to run a 5K. I'd like to run only in races with a minimum distance of 10K if I can help it. I'd also like my next half marathon to be somewhere fun so that I can make a mini vacation out of it. Some friends of mine had talked about running the Mardi Gras half in February in New Orleans which would be so much fun, but I'm not sure if it actually panned out and they are really going. Any takers on running a destination half or full?!

Tomorrow I'm heading to Manhattan, KS to go to the K-State/Mizzou football game---Go Tigers!!!!! Coach is down in southern MO hunting all weekend. Hopefully he doesn't bring any of that nasty deer meat home :) Next week doesn't seem to get any less busy, but I'm so excited that Coach and I are heading to Mexico on Thanksgiving. We are in desperate need of a vacation.

Finally, speaking of vacations....I've yet to blog about the rest of my Hilton Head trip last month. And, quite honestly, I'd like to forget that trip so I'm not going to blog about it. So, instead, I'll leave you with a picture of the beach.

t.m.i.

Today I had a doctor's appointment. While in the waiting room, there was only one other person (also, why is it that even when there are 15 empty seats, people choose to sit in the seat right next to you?!)...a woman, although she resembled a man (this may be why she wanted to sit directly beside me if you catch my drift), with a permed mullet. In the waiting room, there was also a TV. So, I was sitting there minding my own business when the permed mullet woman says, "I just can't take this anymore". I was confused, unsure whether she was referring to the HGTV program we were watching or something else. She proceeds to tell me that she hated coming to the doctor. I just kind of laughed nervously like I tend to do when I'm uncomfortable and said, "Yeah".

A couple minutes later she elaborates and begins to tell me (through half closed eyes, mind you. Like maybe she was high, drunk, or maybe just tired???) that she had to drink 40 ounces of water (or maybe 40 ounces of vodka by the looks of her) to fill up her bladder so the doctor could get a good "look". I'm not sure what body part, exactly, the doctor was looking at because then she tells me that she's going to get a hysterectomy. Last time I checked, those parts don't have anything to do with the bladder. Nurses, help me out if I'm misunderstanding, though. Remember that the only response I had to her was "Yeah" after her very first comment. But, apparently I opened the door for her to share her entire medical (and menstrual) history. She goes on about how they don't have to do a total hysterectomy, but that she's going to have them do one because "as you get older your periods get worse. They're a b!tch. They just get heavier and heavier".

As if God sent one of his angels, a nurse opened the door and called my name. Note to self: next time a mulleted freak starts small talk with you at the doctor's office, do not try to be polite and respond or else you might hear how heavy her periods are.

worst! day! ever!

So, I just got home from a trip to Hilton Head with one of my old coworkers from Kansas City. Our old boss, gave us his timeshare that was otherwise going to go unused. It was a very nice gesture, so Lori and I jumped at the chance to go. I will tell more about the trip on a later post, but in the meantime will tell you about my day today.....the worst! day! ever!

This morning I woke up around 8 AM in order to leave our hotel room by 9 to make our way to Savannah, GA to see some sights and possibly take a tour prior to catching our 4:20 PM flight home. Mind you, I was already not in good spirits since the trip was going downhill fast (starting on Thursday night when Lori invited a random guy..random to me anyway, she used to date, whom I had never met, to crash our vacation. He arrived on Thursday night and didn't leave until Sat morning when we left for Savannah. Nothing like sharing your hotel room with some random guy you've never met, who monopolizes your trip and keeps you from doing what you want! Oh, and she texted me the day before we left asking me if it was ok if he came in town and had dinner with us one night....I had no idea at the time what was in store). All that said, I was determined to have a good day in Savannah. So, around 8:45, I go down to our rental car to put my suitcase in the trunk when I notice the remote unlock isn't working. Then, I tried to pop the trunk....not WORKING! Finally, I manually unlock the door and try to start the car....DEAD!!!!!!! Lori's friend, who was driving our rental for us all day on Friday, left the lights on all night. I was absolutely livid! I'm lucky I cried all the tears I had on Friday night, otherwise I might have thrown a full blown tantrum right then and there!

I'll cut to the chase and just tell you that we finally got on the road to Savannah around 11. Then, I was in such a hurry to still try to do at least a couple of things in Savannah before we had to catch our flight, that before I was even out of the Hilton Head city limits, I got pulled over doing 58 in a 40 mph. So, now I'm $81.50 poorer.

FINALLY, we arrive in Savannah and make our way to Bonaventure Cemetery. It is absolutely beautiful, with tons of those trees you see in the movies with the hanging down thing-ies blowing in the wind. This cemetery dates back to the 1700s, I think. Anyway, I had to convince Lori to walk through the cemetery rather than drive. After about 20 minutes, she was continuously sighing about being hot or having blisters on her feet, that I just gave in and said, "let's go!". So, I wanted to drive through Savannah to see some of the old mansions and the downtown area. Since we were running so far behind my original schedule, I was unable to do any of the Trolley Tours like I wanted to. So, I asked Lori to follow our map and guide us through downtown while I drove. Another sigh and absolutely no direction from her, I finally had had enough and snapped! I know it's hard to believe, but I just couldn't keep it bottled in any longer. I proceeded to tell her how the trip and taken a completely different direction than I thought it would and that I didn't appreciate her inviting some guy that I don't even know to spend our trip with us and keep me from doing the things I wanted to do. I told her that it was obvious she didn't even want to be in Savannah so we would just go sit in the airport until our flight left.

She was rather quiet after that and did apologize, but it didn't mean much to me. I mean, you seriously should have heard me talking to mom on Friday night.....hysterical and wanting to go home. I felt like a kid at summer camp or something who was homesick. The icing on the cake was that our flight was delayed an hour, but I guess it could have been worse.

Anyway, as I mentioned, I'll tell more about the trip in another post since I'm sure you're dying to hear more about this wonderful vacation getaway! It's sad when you'd seriously rather be at work, than on this vacation. Oh, and also, there will be very limited photos of Hilton Head, since I didn't get to do any sightseeing or anything. All I saw was the f***ing outlet mall!

like a virgin

Well, this is my first post (hence the title). Unlike most people, who start blogging in an attempt to capture memories of their families/travels/accomplishments, the reason I'm blogging is different. I set up my blogging account many many months ago so that I could follow the blog of a friend of mine, Journey to a Better Me.


Once I started following her blog, I found all of these blogs created by women (not that I'm opposed to following the blogs of men...just haven't found any that I like yet:) whom I found inspiring. Whether it was inspiring me to be more creative or to lace up my running shoes that had been collecting dust in my closet for far too long. These wonderful women had giveaways, asked questions, wanted advice, etc. And, I so badly wanted to comment on their posts. So, bloggers, THIS is why I wanted to finally create my blog. It was so that I could make comments and enter to win said giveaways. But, most importantly, it was so when that blog owner clicked on the link to my blog by my comment, it wouldn't pull up a (nearly) blank profile without any blog entries. Because, you know if you did this, you would think, "Who is this crazy lady?! Is she a blog stalker?" The answer to that is "No." But, those bloggers have now inspired me enough to come out of the closet, so to speak. And, not I don't mean what you're thinking. Get your minds out of the gutter...I am married after all!


So, thank you ladies for giving me the courage to "come out"!