OH HAPPY DAY!!!

Tonight was the sign up for the Mini, finally! I have been counting down this day for months. It has gotten me all fired up again. As if that in itself wasn't awesome enough I just realized today that the Jingle Bell Race is this weekend. Friday evening there is this race thru downtown.

The shops downtown stay open late and have all kinds of neat activities and displays going on. It is really artsy--almost like a big city Soho, Broad Ripple, Bloomington, type of celebration.

I had heard of a bonus availablle to TNT members which is very exciting but I hadn't said anything b/c I was afraid to jinx it. Apparently TNT mbrs get free Y memberships for the 4 mths duration of training. Woohoo! I can go back to the gym I like most and not have to give them a dime.

I am so psyched! I could almost take off for a run right now but I am afraid I wouldn't make it far before I collapsed from exhaustion. The last couple of days have been very stressful--last night I literally did not get one ounce of sleep. My body wanted to come home and keel over right after work but there was NO WAY I was going to miss the Mini sign up. Now that that is out of the way my body is running down quickly.

Nite Nite All! Thank you for your love and prayers. Nat and I will make it thru this w/ your support. We are so grateful for each and every one of you and the special talents and words that God has given you. The book suggestion and soap opera suggestion are being taken under serious consideration. I will be sure to give thanks to all of you in the credits. Love Yas!

CALLING ALL GAMING GEEKS!!!

I am in need of feedback. Christmas is right around the corner and I have a huge decision to be making....Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii? Nat has been going on and on for monthes about the Xbox 360--until this evening. He has decided that maybe he would rather get less costly gifts so he can get more than one. If he was to receive the Xbox 360 for Christmas it would have to be a combined gift from me and Memaw & PapPap.

Tonight we saw a commercial for a new game system called Wii by Nintendo. It looks really interesting and it is a little cheaper than the 360. Being completely selfish I like Nintendo b/c they are the folks who make the Donkey Kong games--I am always hoping a new version will come out. Maybe this is my chance to get new DK action.

Right now the game selection for the Wii is pretty limited. Normally we rent the games from the local video store instead of buying them. I need to call and see whether they have the new Wii games yet or how soon they will be.

They are already offering Mario versions of the Wii games. We have always enjoyed playing them together. Well, not really playing them together. Nat does all the work and I give my advice on how to find something or how to get somewhere.

Tomorrow is the big day. The day that this year has been building up to....I sign up for the Indy Mini. I am so excited! I have been feeling a little flu-ee and the pinched nerve in my neck has been bothering me today but nothing is going to stop me. Even if I have to walk into the sign-up vomitting w/ a crooked neck I will be there.

Although I really enjoyed Thanksgiving day dinner w/ the Carvers it just wasn't the same w/o the folks. I just didn't get enough of my favorites. So I have decided my first major meal after the Mini will be my mom's Thanksgiving dinner. Lots of homemade stuffing, sweet potatoes, noodles, and her new cranberry salad I have not yet been able to try. Mom, start planning your meal now and how you are going to have it prepared for when I get home. Of course you will have to accomplish all of this while cheering me on at the Mini--a hundred miles from the kitchen.

Maybe this could be a new family tradition....Thanksgiving in May. It would go along with the cookie making tradition you started for Nat's sake a couple of years ago. Nothing like making Christmas cookies and getting schnockered at the same time! :^) Remember the fun we had Cole?

DOES CROCHETING COUNT AS AN AEROBIC ACTIVITY?

This past week has been a steady flourish of baking, eating, crocheting and occassionally reading. I will be so glad when tomorrow gets here I have been lax knowing that I will be forced into compliance with signing up for the Mini this Tuesday evening.

Thanksgiving gave us the opportunity to visit yet another little Illinois town. We spent it with my very best glamizon Jen and her hubbie Sean in Casey with her family. Jen's mom gave me the full tour of Casey--it was a neat little town. We had a very nice time. Her huge family welcomed us as if we were part of their family. Jen has a nephew that is a little older than Nat and I really thought they would have a good time outside kicking the pig skin around. Instead, they decided that kicking the virtual pig skin around on Josh's PS2 more their speed after consuming their turkey day feast.

Friday, after working 4 hours, Nat and I ventured out on my first ever Black Friday shopping excursion. The Old Navy ads really caught my attention but once we got there I didn't really care for the $10 fleeces they were offering. I was able to get Max's gifts finished. The rest of the day was spent trying to find clothes for Nat's half sister Chelsae.

I was able to find four complete outfits and a couple of jackets for her at the Goodwill. The clothes were all major name brands that did not look as if they had ever been worn. The prices were awesome! I even got a "frequent shopper" card that saved us an additional 25% off. Hopefully her mom will allow her to keep these clothes and not sell them off for alcohol/drug $$.

Nat is making me cookies. A lady I work w/ gave us the easiest cookie recipe ever. You use one box of any kind of cake mix, 2 eggs, and 1/2 Cup of oil @ 350 degrees for 13 minutes. He has chosen a devils food mix w/ white chocolate/milk chocolate swirl morsels.

Originally I thought I would use an orange cake mix w/ white chocolate morsels to make "dreamsicle" style cookies; however, Baeslers was out of the orange cake mix. Instead, I have decided to make red velvet cake cookies w/ white chocolate morsels and crushed candy cane pieces for a cookie exchange we are going to be having at work for Christmas. I may even put a little cream cheese frosting on top of them. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Let me know if you have any other cool concoction suggestions.

FLANNEL, FUR, & THE APPLE DUMPLING GANG

What a lazy day!
The weather has been perfect for being a slug. Flannel pjs, flannel throws, big socks, furry friends, my boy back from his dads and watching the old Disney movie. Nat and I are still goofing over this movie after all these years. It is really fun to hear him giggle--since becoming a teen I mostly only hear grunts, sighs, and "whatever".

Unfortunately, I have not been working out consistently for the last couple of weeks. The fitness center has been kind of a bummer. I really miss my old workout at the Y. A friend explained to me last week that my wanting to disassociate from my workouts makes complete sense. I have not reached the level of competition that requires association to better my performance. It was necessary for me to disassociate from the pain in order to stay motivated.

Rather than beat myself up I have decided to take a small seasonal rest. Seems like I have tried to "watch" what I eat every Thanksgiving of my life. This year I am going to enjoy it to its fullest w/ my friends Jen & Sean at her folks in Illinois. It seems as if the "rest" this time of year is pretty common among the bloggers that I keep up on. The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is when we signup for TNT (Trained in TH) for the Mini so I will be right back on track again.

MOST KNOW ME AS AN IRISH/GERMAN GIRL....

I am fully convinced, upon reading MARLEY & ME that I am actually descended from Labrador Retrievers. The descriptions that the author gives fit Casey and I both to a tee--I shed far less though.

Workouts suck! True to form I am always too hard on myself. When I was at the Y I could stay for an hour and a half to two hours each time I went. Now I am barely doing a little over an hour. My workouts at the Y did not consist of using free weights--mostly machines. By the time I get done with the free weights I am absolutely exhausted and shaky. Although I did more cardio at the Y I was not pushing myself to the point of exhaustion like I am now. In my mind I can make the new work out better than the old but I don't know that for a fact.

Workouts aren't as enjoyable as they used to be. Unfortunately the fc does not have any recumbant bikes--that was the time I could get a cardio workout and read my books at the same time. Today it finally occurred to me that this lack of enjoyment could work for me. I am sure that the entire Mini is not going to be a piece of cake. I have been forced to 'self talk' my way thru the pain and discomfort. This is a skill, so to speak, that I will need during the race.

As if I don't have enough time in my day for workouts and my reading I have started to crochet again. Kim taught me a new pattern that I am currently using to make a baby blanket for a friend at work. My crocheting has actually helped me to improve on my chopstick skills of all things. I decided to give sushi a try the other evening. I thought it would be a healthy choice--I no like the seaweed paper stuff! Aack! If it weren't for that I would have loved it.

Checking in at the Road Runner website the other day I found out that there is a race this Saturday--I am going to do the one mile fun walk/run as the course consists of many grades b/c it is on dirt paths going thru Hawthorne Park. My intention is to use it as a means by which to train--not going for competition just looking for some variety. Just like adhd labradors I need lots of variety!

LIFE IS GOOD....I'M IN PAIN, PEEING, AND READING A NEW BOOK


Nat is staying w/ his dad this weekend so it's just me and the animals. The teen years have been taking a toll on me here lately so it is a much needed weekend apart.

This morning I met Jen at the fitness center to go thru my new day two routine and lots of cardio and abs. My biceps are so painful--I think he has me using a little too much weight or maybe I'm just a big whiny baby. I spent an hour and twenty minutes at the fc. My plan was to work on my 5 mile time today so I decided to jump right into it. If I had gone home and kicked my feet up I would have never made it back out.

Since I wanted to work on getting my time down I needed to walk somewhere that I knew was exactly a mile--I decided on Deming. My first mile time was horrendous-- Jen had let me borrow her mp3 player and I couldn't seem to get the damn thing to work. Eventually 3/4 of a mile in I got it going. When I hit the 1 mile mark my stop watch said 18:43--ugh! The tunes really helped me to kick it up a notch. I was cracking up b/c the first song to play was FAT BOTTOM GIRLS MAKE THE ROCKIN WORLD GO ROUND. Mile two was much better it was 15:30. Unfortunately, my h2o consumption brougt me back to the car early. There was no way I was going to duck into the bathrooms the park provides.

This afternoon I started reading a book called MARLEY AND ME by John Grogan. It is a non-fiction book about the author's life w/ a neurotic yellow lab. With my neurotic yellow lab by my side I have been cracking up all day. Apparently Casey is normal when it comes to his breed.

Today has been an all around wonderful day. I think the only thing that could top it is if I was a size 6 in the arms of my 6'4 bald man.

NEW PLAN OF ATTACK


Last night I met w/ my new trainer--he has designed a new regiment for me to follow to best prepare me for the Mini. Basically, from here on out, I will be going to the gym every other day alternating upper and lower body strength training. On my off days I am going to be trying to decrease my 5 mile time. Weekends will be spent doing longer and longer walks from now until May.

Today has been a really long day. I have felt really puney--my face has been beet red and radiating heat while the rest of my body has been freezing cold. There have been waves of nausea and a slight achy headache. We got our flu shots at the clinic over a week ago so I don't know what my deal is. I do know for sure that I am NOT dehydrated. Part of my plan of attack is to consume the h2o that I should daily, religously.

I gotta get b/c I have been dealing w/ the "by product" of sucking down large quantities of h2o. :^P