You Me and Jaspy

Red Wine

2012-02-15T10:37:00.001-08:00

Workout: None…REST DAY!! Booya!

Hi there and Happy Post-Valentines Day. The entire evening I kept thinking, I should probably take some pictures. But the red wine took over and I got really lazy.

But alas, here are some details.

Ken didn’t finish up with work until around 6, so I spent some time browsing the magazines at Barnes and Nobles and the aisles of Whole Foods.

I decided to treat us to two of my favorite things…

Both of them lived up to their wonderfulness.

Dinner was cooked as a team. We had some delicious T-Bone steaks, mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli. And red wine, did I mention the wine?

Last year we went to a wine party and ordered this baby (a 5 year old Merlot). Finally, we decided to partake…me a little more than Ken. I am not normally a big “red” girl…I prefer the whites and pinks…but this one was outstanding. I will have to look up the Winery later, but I would totally recommend it. It made for quite the wonderful evening.

And now, I have the headache to prove I drank red wine last night. Lovely.

I adored our low-key, romantic dinner at home while keeping up with the Biggest Loser. I have the best husband!!

Back to work!!

Shades of Pink

2012-02-14T13:27:00.001-08:00

9 days….until VACATION TIME. Much needed vacation time!!

Recap of the past couple of days…

Saturday: I blogged. Impressive, I know. While I was blogging, Ken was on his bike knocking out an hours worth of intervals. I was still in my bathrobe and PJs because I am a really hot, sexy wife.

Jasper was more on my level….

After his “pre-workout” workout Ken joined me for 4.7 miles of fun-filled snow running. Nothing like slipping and sliding to keep things exciting.

At least Jasper dressed for the occasion…

He is a pretty cool ~~cat~~ dog!

We also hit the gym for some weight work (and I finished 1.3 miles to complete my 6!). Good times!!

Sunday: Church..with Ken! He went out for a 4+ hour ride in the freezing cold following the service (and driving home to pick up a forgotten front tire…oops!). Such a rock star!! Jasper and I went for a lazy 3.5 mile run (again, in the snow) to the dog park. He was pretty happy. And then the hot tub beckoned….

Monday: Usual craziness. On an exciting note, I got the first week of workouts for my training plan!! I am training for the Sage Burner-a 25k trail race in Gunnison, CO and for the Teva Mountain Games Trail 10k….which happen to be 5 days apart. Awesome.

When I talked to my running coach, E, she said she would incorporate my weight workouts and some cycling (since I am hoping to do a couple of bike races too). So….the majority of my workouts will be based off that! But I may have to throw in a little more “recreational” exercise!

My first “training” workout was a 5 mile run plus my normal arm weight workout. Jasper did the run with me and it was extra tough with the melting snow. Oh, and almost getting a ticket for having him off leash. Oops! It felt good to have a plan again!

This morning, Ken and I woke up at 5 for our Valentine’s Day trip to the gym. My workout included 30 minutes on the bike and legs + core. Followed by a glorious egg, bacon and Nutella toast breakfast made by my wonderful husband.

Now we are just trying to make it through the day in order to get home for our steak dinner! I am maybe salivating thinking about it!

And trying to figure out how to turn this…

into a beautiful Valentine’s day card…

Hawaii instead of gifts…my kind of Valentine’s Day!!

Lazy Mornings are the BEST

2012-02-11T11:11:00.001-08:00

Happy Weekend

I hope that everyone is off doing wonderfully fun things.

Yesterday Ken and I ventured up to Ski Cooper to watch some downhill ski racing. Our friend A was participating and it was great to get a chance to watch her.

Not to mention the fact that the snow was great and there were exactly 14 other people on the mountain (or at least it felt that way).

Ski Cooper is pretty small with only 2 lifts, but it was a blast. I really enjoyed the terrain (even if Ken decided the first run down should be a black diamond…boys).

We had a little picnic for lunch at the car….

The day started off at 8 degrees, but at least the sun was up to keep us pretty warm.

Thanks Errin for stopping by to play with our little buddy while we were out!

We finished up the day by being lazy and picking up Papa Murphy’s pizza and Something Borrowed from Redbox. It felt awesome to chillax on the couch with the boys!

This morning, er afternoon…day, has started out quite lazily. Normally we have our workouts done by now, but it is 19 whole degrees outside and I really want to get out for 6 miles….so we are waiting for at least 24 degrees. That will be downright balmy!

I am prepping by rocking my new CEP compression sleeves!

They are amazing! I loved rocking my compression socks all last year during marathon training….but really like to have my feet free. This should be a match made in heaven!! I will let you know how much I adore them soon, I’m sure!!

Jasper is pretty excited about them too

I am for real about to jump back on the running wagon. I let my awesome coach know my goal races and she is setting up a program for me. Excited to share it with you!!

Better get to those homemade pretzels….if I can quit being so lazy!

Technorati Tags: ceP Compression Sleeves

Up and At ‘Em

2012-02-09T13:34:00.001-08:00

Happy ~~Friday~~ Thursday everyone! Well, it is kind of my Friday. Tomorrow, Ken and I will be traveling up into the mountains to watch one of our HS students downhill ski race. In a way, it is work, but in a bigger way…it is a much needed day with my husband!

This morning started off ~~bright~~ dark and early at 5 am. To be honest, I don’t have much of a memory of the alarm going off. I just knew I didn’t want to be getting up yet. Ugh. Tomorrow will be an early morning too…but at least it will be one where we hop in the car and drink coffee.

For a pre-gym snack (because I would die if I didn’t eat) Ken and I each had a piece of brownie and half a banana (morning snack of champions!). We started off with about a 12 minute warm up on the track (while I am thinking back on it, it feels like it happened yesterday-weird!). I love warming up on the track with Ken. We totally get to chit chat and slowly work into “workout” mode.

Speaking of my workout, I did arms and core. The majority of the machines at our gym are from Cybex. It is the same company who provides all the machines on The Biggest Loser. I’m a dork.

I try to do about 3 sets of 15 reps for each of the exercises I do. This changes if I decide to throw in a heavier weight and drop down to 10 or twelve reps. I usually do all of my sets on the same machine just so I don’t have to keep cleaning and coming back. I leave about 15-20 seconds in between each set and (especially with arms) totally feel the burn by the end of the 3rd set!

Depending on my mood, I tend to focus one day on free weights and another day on machines (I do 2 days of arms and 2 days of legs per week). And…most days I throw in some core work (although I try to incorporate it in my free weights as well-uneven surface, yes please!). I am working on getting together a complete, back-friendly Core Workout Post-being a chiropractor and all-I HATE sit-ups and crunches. I promise I can have you begging for mercy without hurting your back! Maybe I can convince Ken to take some pictures, too!

Well, that was wordy. So here, have some cute….

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And in getting in the spirit for Hawaii…

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Working until 9:30…yikes! Hope I make it!

Random Rants and a Cute Dog

2012-02-08T14:37:00.001-08:00

Is anyone watching The Biggest Loser this season? I am (half heartedly) but don’t really know why. The people just seem more interested in the drama they are creating rather than the weight they should be working on losing.

Which brings me to another rant. On Monday, there were 2 ladies at the gym who spent the entire 45 minutes that I was lifting weights sitting on a bench talking. They had done about 15 minutes on the elliptical and then just sat there! Who does that?! I LOVE that you are at the gym….not make it meaningful!! Okay, enough of that.

Today is a rest day, but come tomorrow morning at 5 am, Ken and I will be back pumping weight. (I need to figure out how to get morning running in…yikes!). Love that I actually have muscle on my arms again!

Today, Ken took Jasper to work, but had an eye appointment so I blipped over and stole the pup. Tehehe. Now he is chillin in my office being the best dog ever. Because that is his job!

Oh how I love that face!

Tonight…I have no idea what to make for dinner. One Tree Hill is on (and I started watching that in HS-so I HAVE to keep up with the last season!).

And maybe I will think about something interesting to blog about….

Has it really been that long…

2012-02-07T13:21:00.001-08:00

since I have posted on here?!

Yikes! Ugh-I blame waking up at 5 am for workouts….oh, that was just this morning. Blech!

Okay-major highlights:

*Last week we had a ginormous snow storm. As in 18 inches at our house and the city shutting down (I exaggerate…kinda). I still went to work-Ken had to take me…but I still did it!

“I have to stretch before I go out in that much powder!”…

It was a bit nuts!!

*Enjoyed some awesome workouts. Especially the Spin class on Saturday morning with Errin. Oh…and I swam! Like a for real freestyle stroke. I am a little proud of my~~self~~ shoulders!!

*Hit up the ACA Cyclocross awards. Feedback took 2nd team overall in the elite (Ken’s) division. Yay boys!! Lauren and I spent the evening making fun of cyclists (because we love them).

More snow….

*Headed to the park for some Frisbee time

And then needed a nap….

*Watched the Super Bowl.

*Actually took pictures of things!

*Found my summer clothes to pack for Hawaii!!!!!!! And fit into my bathing suits!

And pretty much had a lovely weekend

Hope yours was great too!!

Top 10….

2012-02-01T12:51:00.001-08:00

Things I can’t wait for in….California!

(First off…Happy Birthday, Grandma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

So yes, the upcoming trip gets closer by the day. Some days seem longer than others, but hey, that’s life. In my excitement I thought I would share the Top 10 things I am beyond thrilled about!!!

1. Seeing my family!!! (Especially my super adorable little niece)

2. Watching Jasper meet Jack and Rusty.

PLUS

It is gonna be CRAZY!

3. In-N-Out (although this may happen in Utah)

4. Seeing friends that I have not seen in F.O.R.E.V.E.R

5. Trader Joe’s. Duh.

6. Running at sea level (so I can feel fast).

7. Yaki’s (Land of Ken and I’s first date).

8. Shopping trip to Sport Chalet.

9. Convincing Alle to take me shopping

10. Hanging out with Ken (and being on VACATION!!)

And these are a few of my favorite (Cali) things…

A Whole Lotta….

2012-01-31T14:04:00.001-08:00

Working out!

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope that you had a blast of a weekend. For me, it was one giant workout!! And I loved every minute.

Let’s start with Friday….After finishing a day in the office, I booked it home to drop off the pup before joining Errin for a sand workout. My feet wanted to know what happened to shoes and my legs wanted to know what happened to a stable surface. In other words, it was great! I did (the non-volleyball) drills with them for about 40 minutes before heading to the gym for my (already planned) upper body workout. I was pretty shot by the time I got home (read: went to bed at 9).

Indoor beach volleyball…who knew?!

Saturday…I met up with Errin and Ken met up with Colin and we went out on the Cyclocross bikes! Oh my goodness….I had so much fun. We rode for about 2.5 hours at a pretty good pace. My legs were pretty tired at the end. So…..I took Jasper out on a 3.5 mile jog to the dog park-he begged. Ken and I made sure to hit up the hot tub at the end of the day!

Sunday….OFF DAY! And much needed. I was exhausted. Rented a movie (Moneyball) and just enjoyed some downtime.

Monday….Ken had Jury Duty but didn’t end up being called, so we had a nice spontaneous part.of.the day together. We ventured to the gym for our respective workouts…arms for me and then he took me to Valmont to work on my bike handling skills….

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Let’s just say they need a LOT of work. At the beginning, I was completely incapable of making a right hand turn. Okay-I can turn right, like on a street…but around a banked turn, no such luck!

Ken was insanely patient with me. I did a lot of things “wrong” but he just kept at it….and by the end, I was turning right, albeit slowly.

When we got home (after eating of course) all I wanted to do was lay on the couch. I maybe did for a minute before conquering some “To Do’s” around the house. Clean sheets-booya!

This morning, Ken and I got up at 5 to visit the gym. We each groggily made it through our workouts…and with a busy day at work thus far, I am hoping not to fall asleep on my last patient….no promises! Better get back at it! Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow!!!

I Need a Fast Forward Button

2012-01-27T10:14:00.001-08:00

I am seriously excited that the weekend has finally decided to join us! The past 5 days have been nothing short of crazy.

Yesterday, Ken and I both had to work late so we dragged our behinds out of bed at 5 am to hit the gym. We started with a nice little mile warm up on the track and then played in the weight area.

Because I am going to the gym tonight, I broke my workup into lower and upper body. Yesterday was lower body and my boot-ay is screaming today. That whole standing up business is quite the challenge. I pretty much did every lower body machine (3 sets of 15), 3 sets of 15 squats on the balance discs (with 15 pounds), lunges down the hallway, backward lunges with pulses, and some fit ball work for the abs and glutes. I even spent a good 10 minutes stretching-which I rarely get to do!

As much as I loved the early morning workout, it made for a long day! I had meetings in the morning, followed by treating some amazing preggo patients in the afternoon and then headed to church for group in the evening. I got home at 10…rough!

Jasper was with me all day and kind of looked like he does right now…

Yes, my little lover is with me again today. He makes me smile.

Ken’s yesterday went even longer than mine-he didn’t get home until 11:30ish. I was still up. Good times.

Getting out of bed this morning for a 7:45 patient wasn’t much of a party either….but now we are working away and waiting unpatiently until it is time to go home and (after working out) crash on the couch.

Happy Friday!!! Oh! My bike came…cant wait to play with it tomorrow with Errin (and maybe Ken!!!).

Does it Snow in Oahu?

2012-01-24T15:04:00.001-08:00

Howdy and Happy Tuesday (seriously almost wrote Wednesday)…it is dreary outside and all I can think about is this…

Is it February yet?!

Let’s talk about weekend happenings…

Friday after work Ken joined me for a freshman boys basketball game (or at least part of one). We rushed from there to grab him a movie and some dinner before I dropped him off at home and headed to Jump Street to watch 40 MS and HS students jump. No jumping for me thanks-I like my body in one piece!

Saturday morning we got up early to meet E and C at the Rec center to do some working out. I did a mixed upper and lower body workout since I missed the night before.

Post workout and shower, I headed to Louisville to celebrate with Heather at her baby shower. Ken was right…I left wanting to poke holes in all of our contraceptives. And still want to. Sigh.

I had lost my voice the previous night, so the whole weekend was a little “quiet”. The rest of the day was filled with cleaning and such.

Sunday: Church. Cleaning. Jacuzzi. I really haven’t the slightest idea. Oh! Costco…it was great!

Monday…Jasper and I hit the open ~~road~~ trail for a nice 6 miles. We had a great run and kept the pace around 8:30 the whole time. So nice to get out!! After the run, I dropped the pup at home and headed to the gym to do some lifting. My legs were thoroughly done. Good times. The rest of the day was [thankfully] very lazy-much needed.

And today…it is snowy. All I want to do is finish up with patients and head to the gym! Totally throwing dinner in the oven so it is ready when we get home. Oh snap! 1 more hour of work!!

And 30 days (one month) until this….oh shaved ice…how I long for you…just not the red!

BYE!

New Toy=New Dilemma

2012-01-20T08:40:00.001-08:00

Friday…best day of the week (especially when the previous Friday led into an non-existent “weekend”).

Today is going to be a busy day! Working at the office until 4, should probably start my lesson for Sunday during lunch, heading straight to a HS boys basketball game after work, dropping Ken off at home before heading to a youth event at Jump Street and finally heading home to crash. I am tired already!!

Tomorrow I am hitting the gym bright and early with Ken because I will be heading to a Baby Shower for Heather! I may be insanely excited

Excited?! That would have been me yesterday when Ken told me that he “won” this on E-bay (you know, won…but still have to pay for it).

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It is going to look amazing with some pink handlebar tape, huh? It is a cyclocross bike-so I can through road tires on it or nubby tires and use it on road or trail. I am beyond stoked-can I still use that word?

Ken got an amazing deal on it and I have been researching every part of it. I am going to sell my road bike to help offset the cost. I cant wait until it gets here…next week! Bah!

So what do I mean by new dilemma…it seems awesome, right? Well-all of last year, I ran! And ran. I have goals of doing a couple of trail races this spring, but I have a feeling I will be tempted to spend all of my time riding instead of training for them! Jasper may be mad at me!! Plus, I have been hitting the gym pretty hard…oh the trouble with loving working out! If only I had the talent to be a professional athlete and work out all day!

…and how does that fit in with wanting to start thinking about a baby…sorry Ken…I went there. Tehehe.

PS My shellac nail polish is still chip free-but starting to grow out!

The Presentation That Would Never End

2012-01-18T11:54:00.001-08:00

Hey there and happy Wednesday!!

I hope that you feel better than me. I woke up this morning with that achy all over feeling with the hairball in the throat…otherwise known as the getting sick following camp normalcy of my life. It stinks.

Jasper is chilling on his bed at my office…

And it is taking all of my strength to keep from curing up with him and taking a nap (or at least just cuddling).

Pretty sure I am going to leave work early and go home to collapse on the couch. I don’t think Jasper will complain.

Last night I hit up the gym for a quick 2 miles around the track followed by an upper body workout. My arms felt like Jell-O when I was done. It was glorious! I am pretty excited to see the increase in the amount of weight I can lift, just in the (not quite) 2 months I have been doing it!

I am almost as strong as this lady….

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Um, maybe not!

Once home, I got dinner together while Ken went to the gym for his workout. We had chicken, sweet potatoes and broccoli-quite the healthy meal.

Just as dinner was about to be served, a lady from Rain Soft showed up at our door. We had scheduled the appointment last week (though I thought it was for some college research project) but I had hoped she wouldn’t be able to make it. Alas, she showed up and showed us how disgusting our water was and tried to sell us on a filtration system. Yes, I thought it was a good idea and totally loved it, but not quite ready to drop 4 grand on it right now. But thank you very much for the $20 gift card to Home Depot…I can do a lot of Pinterest projects with that!

The test and presentation took over 2 hours….yup, you read that right. So much for getting to enjoy a night together (we ate while she did the test-awkward, much?). When she was done, we showered, had some sleepytime tea and passed out.

Maybe an easy leg workout tonight….depending on how craptastic I feel….oh, camp…why must you always end this way?!

We made it….

2012-01-17T14:25:00.001-08:00

through winter camp!!

Ken and I have returned from our 3 days away with 33 of our closest high school friends. It was great and amazing and it is nice to be back home to our bed.

~~Highlights~~ Main points from the trip:

*Knowing that our pupster was in great hands. Thanks sooo much E and C for taking care of him!!

*Uneventful charter bus rides up and back

*Zero issues with kids doing things they shouldn’t. Really. They were amazing.

*Skiing (carefully).

*Student with a broken clavicle-on the first run down the mountain (hence main points and not “highlights”). He was a rockstar and stayed at camp. No complaining.

*Conversation with a parent that I wanted to send to time out (of parenting).

*9 hours of sleep-total.

*Eating delicious food. At a camp.

*Watching God work in the hearts of the students.

*This sunset

*Walking into our house to a wiggly Jasper.

*Going to the Rec Center with the sole purpose of sitting in the hot tub.

It was a great (exhausting) weekend with a ton of prep work. Now it is time to hop back into the real world and get back to work….

Hitting the gym tonight to compensate for my lack of lifting weights and get in some good cardio.

Special thanks to my amazing husband for volunteering his much loved weekend and doing a wonderful job with the students and keeping me sane! Ken, you are the best!!

Back to more normalcy soon

Bland chaos

2012-01-13T11:54:00.001-08:00

Happy Friday! I am always excited for Fridays even if there really isn’t a weekend after them.

Tomorrow we are heading up to camp and while I know I will have a good time once we get there, the stress surrounding it has been a bit much. Yesterday I spent 10 hours doing church work-between paperwork, meeting with a student and our Thursday night even (and seeing my patients) I was pretty much thrashed. I almost didn’t get out of bed this morning.

But alas, I eventually did. And managed to make it in for a busy morning of patients. Always fun.

Random picture of my windshield Wednesday after work-a little bit frozen:

Yesterday, before the craziness began, Jaspy and I went for a 3.5 mile run to the dog park and back. There was a nice layer of snow, but the 30 degrees didn’t seem so bad. We both enjoyed being out in the sunshine. My pace was not super awesome…I better start training! Next week I will share what races (that I know of) I will be doing this year!

Tonight Ken and I are hitting up the gym (we did Wednesday too!) for some cardio and weights (and maybe the jacuzzi) before indulging in some Papa Murphy pizza and packing the night away.

I hope you have an amazing weekend…it is back to the paperwork for this girl!!

Days until we leave for Cali/Hawaii: 40!!!

Oh…and so excited that Rob and Rene’ get to join us!! I get to see all four of my parents in the span of a week. That is pretty awesome!

I don’t like: The Week Before Camp!

2012-01-11T13:33:00.001-08:00

Today is one of those days where you look up and realize that it is after 2:00 and you don’t even know how it happened.

We leave for camp on Saturday morning, which means this is the week before camp. The week before camp means…I would rather jump off a building. Okay, maybe that is excessive…but I would rather it be next week.

The week before camp means that I get a constant stream of emails asking about numbers, parents asking about things that I sent them in emails and having to figure out how to get my computer formatted for printing name badges. I don’t particularly like the week before camp….and when I am a parent, I will make a point to have everything in on time and completely done. Lesson learned!

Hawaii cant come soon enough!

But enough of the rant….this morning it snowed. Not just the little dusting that they expected, but inches:

It was almost a blizzard (said the girl from Cali) and driving was a bit sketcy. So what did I do….I took pictures while I was driving-because I am smart! (At least I only did it while going in a straight line).

Here is a picture of my awesome shellac’ed nails. Seriously, not one chip yet!!

In workout news, I very much enjoyed my rest day yesterday but am mega-ly looking forward to our workout at the gym tonight. So much better when Ken goes with me!! I am planning on rocking some cardio (either the dreadmill or a bike) and then hitting up some arms and legs (not the day for core…ugh!). Pretty excited to be working out INSIDE tonight….er, and not freezing to death.

Um….and…ONE TREE HILL tonight. Yes, I am a CW nerd…last season- I gotta watch it!

Back to student spreadsheets and figuring out housing. What a delight!

A little bit Muddy

2012-01-10T11:15:00.001-08:00

Oh, hello Tuesday-where did you come from?

Did everyone have a great weekend? Ours was great…but went (per usual) way too fast.

Highlights:

Saturday: Ken and Colin went on a 3 hour and 45 minute ride. NBD. Errin and I took advantage of the time and went for a 4 mile run plus went to the gym and did an upper body workout and hit the jacuzzi.

Later in the day, it began to snow…and what better way to spend a snowy afternoon than to get your nails done! Errin was sweet enough to give me a gift certificate for a manicure-and a shellac manicure at that! It has been 3 whole days and nothing has chipped. This stuff is serious!! I went with a nice purple-I will try to snap a picture at some point.

I spent the rest of the afternoon writing my lesson for Sunday and prepping for Lauren to come over for dinner. Homemade pizza-my favorite!

Sunday: Taught at church before heading home to do some cleaning. We watched the Cyclocross Nationals and it made me want to ride my bike! So I did…with Ken! He was super sweet and let me tag along on his ride. It was about 17 miles of fun (except taking my road bike through the mud and literally coming to a complete stop). Thanks for riding slow enough for me to keep up!!

Post ride, we headed to the Rec Center for the sole purpose of hitting up the jacuzzi-for like 25 minutes. It was a great way to warm up!

Once home, we turned on the Bronco game to catch the last quarter. It was so exciting. Best overtime win, ever!! Love Tebow!!!

Monday: In addition to all of the normal Monday craziness (cleaning, laundry….) I managed to add in: Acupuncture, taking Ken a latte, a 3 mile muddy, snow…disgusting but awesome trail run with Jasper and a weight workout.

Suffice it to say, I was thoroughly trashed when I feel into bed

The sun made me think it would be dry and warm. It was warm…but not dry! Jasper loved every.single.second of it.

And now I am enjoying my day at work…and my first “rest day” in 6 days. Oops!

The moon was amazing on the way into work this morning.

Heading to a basketball game after work. Thank goodness for the crockpot!

Day Dreaming and Not Sleeping

2012-01-06T10:18:00.001-08:00

Hi there! I hope that you all saw my un-wordy post from yesterday! More on that in a minute.

Random pictures of my best buddy (besides Ken)

Lets start with the not sleeping. This happened Wednesday night and I feel that the reason is hysterical enough to mention. About 2 am (I guess that is Thursday morning, technically) I awoke to Ken talking. Yes, in his sleep.

He said, “My stomach is on fire!” Um…okay. In my dazed state, I replied “What?!” To which he said, “I’m stretching” (as he stretched across the bed). I, again, responded with the question, “What?!?!” to which I received, “I’m stretching” (with another demonstration). And then he was silent. Yes, I get to share a bed with him for the rest of our lives. Good thing he is cute!

Well after the crazy exchange, I was unable to fall back to sleep. For some reason I had to mentally try to figure out why is stomach was on fire. I wondered if he had food poisoning, the flu…who knows? I managed to psycho-somatically make my self feel sick to my stomach. I am pretty sure I have lost my mind. In the morning-Ken had no recollection of our conversation. These are the ~~days~~ nights of our lives!

In day dreaming news….We are going to Hawaii (via LA). I had some skymiles that were soon to expire, so Ken and I made the decision to head out of town. Because of work schedules and bike racing schedules, our window for vacation is limited. Once March/ April hits, it is pretty non-stop and the traveling that is done revolves around training and racing. I am totally fine with that-especially when we get to leave cold to go to warm!

(Sidenote: I cant really complain as it has been in the 50s and 60s the last few days-so great):

At the end of February we are making the drive to LA to hang out with family and friends before and after our trip. We are pretty excited because Jasper gets to meet he cousins! (Yes, they are dogs). My parents are going to be rock stars and babysit him while we are gone. Two Vizslas and a German Shorthair Pointer-good thing they have a doggie door and a huge backyard!

To say that we are excited is the biggest understatement of the year (even if we are only 6 days in). I am literally counting the days!!!

Jasper and I went on our first “real” run yesterday-complete with my garmin that has been hibernating since my marathon in October. It was a great break-but I am ready to get back at it.

Weight workout tonight!!! And a busy morning at the office. Gonna be TIRED tomorrow!! But gotta get swimsuit ready!!!

Coming February 25-March 1

2012-01-05T15:59:00.001-08:00

Pee in my pants excited!

Thank you Skymiles!!

I’m Sexy and I know it….

2012-01-04T11:41:00.001-08:00

Please tell me that this picture doesn’t scream that song..which Ken loves and I tolerate….

He knows how cute he is…and uses it against me.

“Mom, I know it is before dinner, but can I PALLEEEEAAASSSEEEE have a cookie?”

“No, Jasper, you wont eat your meal”

“But, I am soooo cute, look into my eyes….”

“Okay, but just one…or two…or seven”

But, alas, back to reality. I found a few pictures on my phone that I thought would be fun to share from our time in Wyoming..

Pouncing a tennis ball in the snow is the BEST…and no, he is not part cat.

Getting ready for our trek through the snow…look at those booties!

I snowshoe in a bright hat…in case I fall and they have to find me!

Yes, this was on my 29th birthday, and yes, I am rocking pigtails. I refuse to get any older.

In other news, I never got to write out my “resolutions,” so that is still my number one resolution…doh! I better get on it or it will be February before I know it.

In exciting news, Ken and I have decided to……join the rec center for a few months (too dramatic?). I am looking forward to continuing my weight workouts and ~~lap swimming~~ lounging in the hot tub.

Random: I am kind of annoyed that there is not a female trainer for Biggest Loser…I miss Jillian. Boo.

Resolutions VS To Do List

2012-01-03T14:24:00.001-08:00

Hi there! First off, it isn’t even fair that this is my view driving between my 2 jobs. You would think everyday was a vacation!

You can be a little jealous-it sure beats the 405!

On another awesome note…I found a pair of jeans that fits!!!! Now this may seem like a “whatever” moment to some of you…but I tried on close to 30 pairs of jeans to find them.

I should have known that they would be Sevens. I have a pair (that now have a nice sized whole in the, er, crotch) that I have had for about 5 years + and I still rock them as my most favorite pair of jeans ever. Ken spent the day ~~slaving away~~ shopping with me in Cherry Creek before we made our way to the Aurora Nordstrom Rack. It is an AMAZING store-I want to go back (and I don’t say that about clothes stores lightly).

Of course, I am wearing said jeans today and I just cant get enough of them. Don’t judge me if Ken takes a picture of me wearing them as pajamas.

Today is my (and Ken’s) first day back at work after a week off. I am a little amazed at how much there is to do when you get back from a vacation (maybe because we don’t take many vacations-and they normally surround a bike race). I have literally been trying to catch up on things all day and am barely breaking even.

That takes me to the title of this post. Resolutions VS To Do Lists. I have resolved to write out some resolutions (but haven’t had time-bad sign?). But half of my resolutions are things that I could check off on a To Do list. So….are they still resolutions? I know there are some things I can work on doing better…Being a better wife, doctor, youth leader, house cleaner, blogger, non-procrastinator. But there are also things that I want to resolve to DO: Paint my cabinets, refinish my kitchen set, organize our office, etc.

My question is: Can your resolutions be things that you can check off?

And with that….I am going to take a free 5 minutes to try to put together my combo list (I think I need categories and subcategories!).

See those 4 miles I ran yesterday? Ken and Jasper ran them with me. Best way to end our vacation!! Already loving 2012!!

Cyber-Vacation

2012-01-01T20:29:00.001-08:00

After taking some time away from the World Wide Web…I have returned! I had a fantastic end to 2011-filled with food, family and fun.

First, here are the cookies I made pre-Christmas. They were pretty tasty!

On the Friday before Christmas, Ken and I loaded up the truck and headed to Wyoming. Jasper had the good seat!

Our front yard looked like this…

Hello, snow!

We made it to the Star Valley in about 8 hours with great weather…although it was like 10 when we got there. Brrr!

And here (for the sake of not boring you to death) I will hit some highlights.

New Year’s Eve: I read a novel (as in 325 pages). It was AWESOME to not do anything! We also went to Church that evening to cheer for Rene’ as she performed in the Christmas play! It was very cute!!

Christmas:

This little guy was very into opening presents!

Adores the Kong Frisbee!

Thanks for all of the gifts Rob and Rene’!! We all felt very spoiled!!

The rest of the day was spent going to Church and hanging out…oh, and eating a ridiculously delicious meal!

The next day was MY BIRTHDAY! I turned the big 29. Wowzers. One more year before 30. We went snow shoeing (me) and cross country skiing (everyone else). It was SOOOO much fun!!! Thanks for making me feel special on my birthday (I got the special plate!).

The day after that (we are at the 27th) we headed to some Hot Springs. I had never been and it was super fun!

The water was hot, but not ridiculous…and we got in some great People Watching! After soaking up the heat (LOVED), we took a little stroll before heading for dinner.

My little family (I adore them!)

Wednesday morning we packed up the truck and headed home to beat a storm.

We spent Thursday cleaning up and running errands (and settling back into a “normal”). We also got to join Errin and Colin for some dinner before watching Top Gun on their new (amazing) TV.

Friday, we had plans to head up to the mountains to do some shooting. But before hand….we took the Celestial Seasonings Tour! I have wanted to do it since moving to Colorado and it didn’t disappoint.

I learned a lot! Errin and I walked away with several boxes of tea!

By early afternoon, we had found a spot for some shooting (safe and away from everything). Jasper was unsure of the sounds, but enjoyed the running in between.

Ken wanted to make sure that his truck was well represented. It managed to climb up a mountain of snow that I would never have thought possible.

We had a delightful day!

Yesterday (New Year’s Eve) was pretty laid back. E and C came over for appetizers and a movie. We called it quits about 11 and hit the sack. Because Ken and I are giant sleep wusses! So is Jasper.

And today (New Year’s) we headed to Church and then spent the day working around the house.

And with that….LONG POST…we are caught up!!

Thanks R and R for a great Christmas and E and C for a great New Years! We are so blessed!

I need an Elf

2011-12-21T10:05:00.001-08:00

I just made my “To Do” list and decided that I need an Elf…or a personal assistant…or a husband with 2 functioning hands…I joke! We will call it one and a half. Tehehe. I hope no one lost their lunch over his pictures yesterday. They were pretty gnarly.

The good news: he was able to shower last night without pacing around the room in pain afterwards. It is the little things that are worth celebrating.

But before that…we celebrated bigger things. With no pictures, of course.

Last night we hit up Rock Bottom Brewery for dinner.

I am pretty sure that this is the only restaurant we go to when we decide to eat out. And for good reason, we love it! On the way there, we tried to remember the last time we had gone out to dinner…just the 2 of us…we couldn’t remember! That made the date extra special. And it was the perfect way to end a super duper cycling season. We didn’t talk about cycling the whole night…haha..I joke!

We split a giant plate of Nachos and then split a burger. I could not finish my half of burger and fries…the nachos were HUGE! We were going to stop for some fro-yo, but we were too stuffed and it was freezing out! So we headed home for some cookies.

After some time with an ice pack..on Ken’s hand of course….we hit the sack!

Today I am super crazy with both works and trying to organize things to get everything ready. My list has hit 2 pages, but I am confident that I will get it all done…as long as I don’t fall asleep in the process!

Excited to take some stitches out today…and they aren’t even Kens!

Happy almost time for vacation Wednesday!!

A Season Wouldn’t Be Complete….

2011-12-20T08:37:00.001-08:00

…without a trip to Urgent Care!

**Caution: There are some gruesome pictures ahead…don’t continue if you get nauseous at the sight of blood!**

But lets start at the beginning of the weekend…

Friday night was RELAXING. We had no where to go and were happy to rent a movie and chill on the couch. We picked up Friends with Benefits and were pleasantly surprised with the acting. We went to bed early….because we are cool.

Saturday I headed to the Rec Center to take a Spin Class (I am in love) and do some weights! Have I mentioned that I am working on moving in there? Sorry Ken, at least you will have the bed to yourself…er…with Jasper.

Once home, I made some lunch before diving into baking mode. I made Snickerdoodles, Russian Tea Cakes and some Peanut Butter with Hershey Kisses pressed into the center. All 3 kinds got the thumbs up from Ken!!

I did take pictures and just realized I left my camera in the truck. Great.

We spent the evening watching Water for Elephants. I had read the book and was surprised how closely it followed. It was super well done!

Sunday…okay, now the excitement begins! I had to teach at church, so Ken headed down to Castle Rock early with Colin and Errin. We are SOOOOO lucky to live so close to them and have them be so supportive of Ken’s racing. (You will see what I mean later-you know, besides just being there to cheer for him).

I made it down with plenty of time to hang out while Ken warmed up and even got to pin his number on. C, E and I (while Jasper was tied to a tree close by) spent the race (oh, did I mention it was State Championships…it was) in the pit ready to do just about anything they guys needed. Colin was supposed to be at work, but called in to be a little late so he could stay at the game. Errin is recovering from a back injury and was a total rock star for still lugging bikes around and helping wash off pounds of mud.

I will say that (because Colin and Ken are super prepared) we had the best set up in the pit….sprayer, rack, buckets and brushes. We really were ready for just about anything.

The race was nuts….slippery, muddy…gross. Ken went down during the first lap and tore up his hand and leg. I don’t think he knew how bad it was, he just knew his hand wouldn’t stop bleeding. He kept racing and ended up finishing 9th!! In state!! In his first season racing Pro and second season racing Cyclocross. Such a Super Star!

The Team….

I walked over to the finish to trade bikes with Ken and he showed me this….

Then he asked me if I thought it needed stitches….um, yes!

I asked the EMTs to clean it up…and when I walked away, they poured Hydrogen Peroxide on it…growl…that is the last time I walk away! It pretty much killed all of the tissue surrounding the wound (which looked like a black whole by the way…it was sooo deep!).

After loading everything up and getting Ken cleaned up, we headed to Urgent Care. So much for my IKEA trip!

Errin was with us and was kind enough to keep and eye on Jippy and the truck full of bikes so I could stay in the room with Ken. I got to hang out with him while they cleaned up his hand and sewed him up. The doc was a little baffled as to how he was going to stitch it…but somehow came up with a way (after cutting off all of that white tissue). Ken was a tough kid and hung in there even after the local had worn off.

We picked up his Vicodin prescription and I dropped him and Jappy off before taking Errin home. What a day!

Monday was its normal self with crazy cleaning and laundry. I did manage to make it to the Rec Center for some running and weights.
Ken’s hand is doing alright…I made him put some ice on it because it was quite swollen. His leg abrasions were actually the most painful thing of the night…following the “worst shower [he] has ever had”.

And today…we are both at work and counting down the days until we get to head to Wyoming! 3 left!!!

We are also going on a date!! tonight to celebrate his amazing season and my pre-birthday! I cant wait

I look like a Vampire

2011-12-16T13:59:00.001-08:00

Okay, not in the good Twilight awesomely.hot.and.perfect way…in the I did not get enough sleep and have purple bags under my eye way.

I tried taking a webcam photo…but it is just not pretty….so we will go pictureless today…..and the reason for the dreaded purpleness and lack of hair washing….YOUTH GROUP.

Last night (after a full day of work) Ken and I met at the church for some Christmas party goodness. There was food, there were cookies (I ate too many) and there was a White Elephant Gift Exchange…let by, me. And there were, lets say, 55 kids.

I learned something last night (or maybe a few things)….I am sending my child away while they are in middle school (or maybe just teaching them to have manners), I don’t particularly like dealing with middle school students and, oh, I have no problem yelling at middle school boys. For real.

The high schoolers seldom drive me to a place where I feel I need to raise my voice (and for that I am thankful). Even if they do, I can jokingly get them to come back to reality. Middle schoolers are just beyond me. I would have sent them home if I could.

But alas, somehow and without a voice at the end, the night was a success and everyone seemed to have a good time. I has beyond thankful that Ken and Jasper were there-they saved my sanity.

It just means that today I am dragging and look like crap-no biggie. Patients like when you go all zombie style on them. It makes them more relaxed.

Have I mentioned that I am looking forward to vacationing next week?

**Ken has State Championships this weekend…but other than that…we have no big plans!!!***

And because I need a pick me up….

Tehehehe

On a Thursday

2011-12-15T15:52:00.001-08:00

The last 2 days have been a little bananas…so no post yesterday and a random one today!

I feel like my week has been meetings, driving and patients. And then some more meetings. This morning was particularly hectic….mainly due to my decreased brain function. I mean, I don’t get it, I was in bed at 9 last night because I couldn’t even make it back downstairs after showering. I need a vacation!

My dog friend is joining me today and currently looks like this….

And is snoring. Maybe I just need to switch places with him.

Oh to be a dog….Anyways….At our church staff meeting, I was given this super cute birthday card…I love it! It looks just like me when I was little!!

Fun times.

I think that I am just about done with Christmas shopping. My California people have been shipped, 90% of cards are out and 99% of everything else is wrapped. I am longing for a week from today…please hurry!!!

Okay, now for something random….Oranges vs Apples. This came up because I ate an orange today….and I am normally an apple girl. Often times I ask Ken if he wants an orange or an apple in his lunch. He is pretty 50/50 with his answer. Me…I am 90/10 in favor of the apple. Here is why: Oranges are so stinking messy!.No joke, today I needed a sink and soap and several paper towels just to get through the thing. Ugh..Sticky. And, since I am a huge multi-tasker, it prevented me from doing ANYTHING else besides eat the orange. I never have that problem with an apple. It is easy peasy..clean…one handed and I can do a ton (even DRIVE) while eating them. Let’s hear it for the apples! Okay-rant ended.

Time to get stuff together for the youth Christmas party…and then go home and go to bed!

Picture Perfect

2011-12-13T13:18:00.001-08:00

Well…I finally found my camera! So here are some pics from 2 weeks ago…

This past weekends didn’t look much different…you’ll see….

Highlights:

Friday night-work party was fine (although Ken may have strained a hamstring dragging my body out the door). The couch looked SO cozy!

Saturday-I went to the gym and had a blast taking a Spin class, doing an upper body workout and SWIMMING!!

Cleaned up around the house and then hit the mall for some last minute shopping with the husband.

Other work party-we had a blast!! But by 10, I was ready to crash.

Sunday-Taught at church, hurried my butt to Lyons and cheered for the Feedback gang (one in particular!).

It was NASTY out there…super muddy and slippery. Ken took a couple spills which left him looking like this:

The Feedback guys did stellar finishing 5,6,7,8. Gotta love it!

Errin and Colin had us over after the race for some delicious burgers and sweet potato fries….Thanks!!!

Monday-I got to clean those shoes. Yum! Jasper and I did our normal cleaning and errands. I ate it on our 3 mile run-I wanted to have a scratched up knee to match Ken’s.

I hit up the Rec center for a weight workout (and one more mile) that has left my butt very sore today! Gotta love the squats.

Ken came home with some booties for Jasper. He was less than thrilled, but I know he will get used to them.

Something about not wanting to put down that back leg.

Gotta get back to work….

Quick Pics

2011-12-09T11:40:00.001-08:00

2 super fast pictures:

My veggie platter-mmmmmm

My Thursday helper…..

Busy Bee

2011-12-09T11:11:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I intended to blog…but that didn’t happen. Here’s why.

The morning (from 6:30-9:30):

Made Breakfast

Made Mexican Rice

Made Corn Pudding

Made dough for Dinner Rolls

Cut up Veggies for a Platter

Did some dishes

Took Jasper on a 3 mile run in the snow

Took the fastest shower known to man and got ready for work.

Mid-morning (10-12)

Meeting at Church

Costco to get gas

Starbucks-to make it through the rest of the day

Dog ParkTHeaded into office

Afternoon (12-6)

Made Christmas Cards

Treated Patients

Did some Church Work

Evening (6:30-9:15)

Hung out with Awesome Students

Past Bedtime (10-11)

Made Spinach/Artichoke Dip and then passed out!

There was literally no time for anything else in the day! It was bonkers. I am hoping that I don’t fall asleep during our Christmas Party tonight. That could be embarrassing.

At least my run yesterday was a lot of fun and really fast (we were on a tight schedule). Jasper thought he won the lottery when we hit up the dog park for 15 minutes.

My camera is still MIA. I guess I need to look for it. My phone is also being ridiculous and not sending the pictures I have on it. When they come through…I will put them up.

Plan for the weekend: Tonight: Church party. Saturday: Workout, errands, Office Party. Sunday: Church, race, hang with E and C. I need it to be Christmas!

Zero for Eleven

2011-12-07T10:53:00.001-08:00

(Note-still no camera….I am terrible)

Yesterday after work I headed to Boulder to pick up Ken. We had one goal in mind….find me a pair of jeans. Our quest took us to Nordstrom Rack where I tried on (no joke) 11 pairs of jeans without one fitting. That makes a girl feel REALLY good about herself.

I tried on:

*True Religion

*Paige Denim

*Joe’s Jeans

*JJ Brand

*Sevens

*Hudson

*And a couple other brands that I don’t remember.

Pretty much everything in the store. I tried on my normal size and the size below. But alas, no luck! My issue: the legs fit perfect in my normal size, but the waist is huge…like 1-2 sizes too big! When I tried on the smaller size, the legs looked like they were painted on…NOT hot!

At least none of them looked like this:

So….we left the store empty handed with me in a less than stellar mood. Someday someone will make jeans that fit me!

Enough of the ranting…Once we got home, I threw together some “bowl” lasagna (everything that goes into lasagna, but mixed together and eaten out of a bowl) and Ken and I sat on the couch and watched Biggest Loser. At least I felt better about myself after watching that-they ran the marathon and my time was faster. Yes, I was that petty last night.

Happily, today is another day. I dropped Ken off at work before heading to Monarch to do my hallway monitoring. I love starting my day with high school students!!

Now I am at work! Fun times! To be followed by: Picking up Ken, dropping him and the Japster off at home and heading to CPR recertification from 6-10….BOOOO! I will probably fall asleep while giving the Dummy mouth-to-mouth. I hope no one thinks I am trying to make out with him!

Back to work!

Race Through the Snow!

2011-12-06T13:55:00.001-08:00

Twenty days until I turn 29! Wowzers!!

(Note: I am a dumdum and left my camera at home. Pictures later)

This past weekend was one of those…where did it go, weekends?!

Saturday morning I PLANNED to sleep in until at least 7, but by 6 I was wide awake. Why is it that when I can sleep in, my body won’t BUT when I have to get up for work…all I want to do is sleep?! Growl. Once I actually climbed out of bed, I headed downstairs to make some breakfast before cleaning up the house. Ken spent the morning getting ready for a (wait for it) bike race. Here is the kicker-It snowed all morning! Bahaha.

Around 9:45, I headed to the Paul Derda Rec. Center. I must say, the thought of running inside was pretty appealing (they sent us a card for 10 free visits-I begged Ken for it…and being the amazing husband he is, he let me go!!). The good part: It is phenomenal! I’m not kidding. It has a pool with a lazy river and slides. It has a full gymnastics area-complete with uneven bars, beams, floor, vault, rings…SO COOL! It has studios with classes, treadmills, a track, elliptical machines, bikes, WEIGHTS, a climbing area and who knows what else. The bad part: I now want to live there.

It is actually in Broomfield (about 4 minutes from our house) so we are not considered “residents”. So, it is a littler pricier for us than going to the Westminster Rec Center (which is like 10 minutes further). Gotta love that!

I got home from my workout at 10:55 and in the timespan of about 35 minutes, I: Cut up veggies and potatoes and put dinner in the slow cooker, made Ken a pre-race lunch, took a shower, got dressed in ski clothes, ate lunch (almost in the shower) and we packed up the truck and headed to Louisville!

Race conditions looked a little like this…

Okay, maybe no bear.

Luckily, by the time Ken raced, the snow had ceased and the sun was shining a bit. It made 22 degrees seem like 40. Errin, Colin and I made ourselves at home in the pit (we anticipated being needed). And boy, were we right! Between Ken, Tim and Chris, we were always busy chiseling away at ice and mud frozen to bikes and wheels. It was a lot of work keeping up with bike swaps and not getting run over, but it was also a blast! The guys were riding through snow, mud and who knows what else and that looked exhausting…but they all finished in the Top 10…so I am going to say that is a good day!!

Post-race, we raced home so Ken could shower before we all piled into Colin’s truck to catch the 3:50 showing of Breaking Dawn. Mixed reviews…but I really cant wait until Part 2!!! After the show, we ate that slow cooker meal (so nice that it was done when we walked in the door).

Geesh-I feel like I have met my word quota for the day! So I will keep Sunday short:

*Went to church super early to get calendars done.

*Stayed late teaching.

*Hit up Costco and Babies-R-Us to pick up some presents and dog food.

*I went to a dinner with some church peeps that Ken had to bail on due to a work (on a SUNDAY!) conference call and then more work following that. Oh Spyder!

*I lazily sat on the couch and read while Ken worked.

Monday:

* All kinds of cleaning, laundry and the norm.

*Grocery shopping.

*Took Jasper on a short run…in 9 degrees! He had a frozen beard when we got home.

*Prepped dinner.

*Headed to the Rec Center to take an Ultimate Fitness class and LOVED it. It was HARD! I did great with the cardio part (especially the running) and passed people left and right, but the strength part was really challenging. Sooooo fun!

*Home to my husband who was riding the trainer….made dinner….CRASHED on the couch for our Monday shows!

I feel like I have written a book! I really need to start posting on Mondays!

Let it Snow

2011-12-02T10:01:00.001-08:00

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in Colorado. A nice dusting of snow and some cold temperatures are enough to make a girl search through the house to find hidden presents (sorry, Ken-my name is LeeAnn and I have a problem!). I REALLY love it though!! How about I just keep it a surprise for everyone else?!

This is what I get to look at through my office window today….

It just makes me want some hot chocolate!

Wednesday night I finally got a workout in…Jasper and I went out for about 4 miles (I so need to get back into shape!). It was light for the first half of the run so we headed to the Dog Park. Darkness descended on our run back to Spyder….luckily my awesome husband packed me a headlamp-so we were A-OK. The temperature was a little warmer than I expected…so I got hot in my thermal tights. That would SO not have been the case yesterday!

While Ken was working until about 11 on Thursday night, I decided to do something super productive (or not) and made us our own little Advent Calendar.

I hung little “ornaments” with numbers on our banister and Ken (because we don’t have kids and Jasper doesn’t have thumbs) has to take one down each day. I think he secretly likes it!

Yesterday was filled with meetings, trying not to fall on my butt on the ice and treating patients. I had the pleasure of this little guys company…

We love our Thursday Mommy and Me days

Due to the weather, we canceled youth group activities and I got to spend the evening hanging out with my boys.

Today is work…and daydreaming of the weekend. We have lots going on! Tomorrow, in the midst of snow and sub-freezing temperatures, Ken has a race. Cant wait to see him riding around in his thermal onsie! I am planning on checking out our local rec center in the morning (I got a free pass in the mail) and doing some indoor exercising! We are also planning on seeing Breaking Dawn with E and C and doing dinner afterwards! I am so excited!!! Don’t judge me!

Should be a fun-filled weekend! Hope yours is great

Last Day of November?!

2011-11-30T12:05:00.001-08:00

Holy Smokes! I happened to look at the calendar today and realized that December is rapidly approaching…as in…tomorrow. Where did November go? Where did 2011 go? I am pretty sure I have not even perfected the ‘11 yet….and we are almost at ‘12?!

Enough of that rant…Ken and I blew off our workouts yesterday. Darn darkness. No motivation. We are going to make up for it today though. Ken is riding and I am planning an after.work.in.the.dark.run with Jasper. Can’t wait to rock the headlamp…um, not!

In the spirit of December…I am going to do a list of my favorite things about the month….

The Top Ten Reasons I LOVE December

10. Snow! Okay, so we have a love/hate relationship, but in December it is all good. I love that it makes it feel more “Season-y”.

9. Christmas Carols. I am NOT about Christmas music in November, but come December 1st, bring it on! Especially the really cheesy stuff.

8. UGGS- Face it, they are insanely comfortable and just make you want to cuddle (not okay with super short skirts and dresses, just saying).

7. Christmas Lights- I am a HUGE fan of Christmas Lights! I love ~~driving~~ running around my neighborhood looking at all of them. Favorites-simple, white, classy lighting. Unfavorites (not a word?)- Tacky, different textured, random colored, unorganized displays. Ick.

Yes!

NO!

6. The Continuation of Cyclocross Season- I truly love going to the races on the weekend and watching Ken race around in next to nothing. Okay, he does wear his onsie, but lets face it….when it is below 30 degrees, that isn’t much!

source

5. Christmas Decorations-I beyond love the day after Thanksgiving and pulling out all of the fun holiday décor. It just makes things feel extra cozy (not to mention the smell of cinnamon apple candles!).

4. Presents!!! Okay, before you call me shallow and superficial…I mostly mean giving them…to the dog! I almost cant stand myself when Jasper tears open a package and throws it around the room in delight. Melts.my.heart. He loves everything he receives, even if I just wrap more wrapping paper. Don’t worry, I love giving them to my humans too!

3. My Birthday- Everyone loves to age, right? Okay, maybe that is NOT what I love…but everyone loves their birthday month, yeah? Mine just happens to be the day after Christmas.

2. Road Tripping- Eight.hours.where.I.can.talk.and.Ken.cant.escape! Bahahaha. In all honesty, it is one of my favorite things. I love the time with my boys and it is a nice break from the non-stop action of our lives.

source

1. Christmas!!!!! Okay, not the cheesy, superficial Christmas. Not the consumer driven Christmas…The celebrating the birth of our Lord Christmas!! Maybe Christmas should be called Thanksgiving, because I am SUPER thankful for that!

And that is why I love December…..off to finish November!

Snap Back to Reality

2011-11-29T11:12:00.001-08:00

After a LONG break from the internet world, I’m back!!

It has been quite the past 6 days with Thanksgiving, family in town and shopping trips. I am officially exhausted. I took about 1 picture the entire 6 days. On my phone. And 2 videos of the Japster. So I will just give you a brief overview….

Wednesday-Work, clean, R and R arrive, dinner, hang out…bed.

Thursday-THANKSGIVING!!! A day of eating

It was a CRAZY day. A patient texted me (no joke) and needed to get in. So…we hung out in the morning, I went in to Lville to treat, back home for a much needed run with L (about 4.5 miles…I died!), Ken and Tim rode, headed over to E and Cs for a fantastic meal (their new place looks fantastical), home, couch…BED.

Friday- Up “early” to get some shopping done. Fueled up with some oatmeal before hitting Flatirons Mall with Rene’ and Errin (also Michaels and Costco). Nothing OVERLY exciting. Ken did better with a new printer and office chair.

After meeting the guys back at home for some lunch, we headed to JAX so Jaspy could try on some booties. This is what happened….

It was pretty hilarious.

Saturday-Race Day! Ken, Rob, Rene’, Jasper and I headed down to Westminster City Park to watch Colin race. It was nice and cold! Colin had a good time and finished well. When he was done racing, we headed home to get some stuff done (and eat) before heading back around noon for Ken’s race.

Ken did great and finished in 9th place. Tim was right behind him in 10th. It was super fun watching the guys work together during the race. There were a ton of stairs for them to climb…that is always fun to watch!

Post-race we headed back to the homestead and made some pizza!

Sunday- Started the day off with some waffles before heading to church. It was nice going to the 10:30 service because we had a lot of time to get things together! Once we had gotten home and eaten (this seems to be a theme), Ken rode with me down to the Cross course where we met up with Colin (Rene’ headed to Errin’s to help with some tree trimming and Rob was brave enough to take Jasper out for a run!). I had a blast riding the course. It became evident that my bike handling skills need a ton of work….as I fell over while practically standing still and turning right. I also threw a giant fit when Ken tried to help me turning right around a tree. Apparently I am great going left and incredible challenged turning right. I blame the shoulder!

I think I gave Ken and Colin an entertaining show.The cardio was great!

Once home, we procrastinated before eventually getting dressed and heading to Rock Bottom Brewery. It was DELICIOUS!!!

Monday- R and R hit the road just after Ken left for work and Jasper and I were left in total silence. A little too quiet! Jasper pretty much passed out on the couch as I spent the morning cleaning and doing laundry. About 1, we headed to church to get some work done.

We were home by about 4:30 and finished up housework before Ken made it home in time for dinner and some TV shows. I even managed to do a little Christmas gift wrapping before the night was over….Ken called me the Energizer Bunny.

We LOVED having our Thanksgiving company Now it is back to reality! (i.e. work).

Castle Cross

2011-11-22T13:43:00.001-08:00

Happy 2 days before Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. An entire holiday dedicated to eating-you knew I would like that one! But the real part too-taking a day to look at your life and acknowledge everything you are thankful for-I should do that everyday!

This weekend was a lot of fun. Saturday we ran some errands and worked around the house. It was quite the productive day…but not too much exciting to talk about. I rearranged the basement..That is exciting to me!

Sunday on the other hand…much more exciting. The alarm went off at 5 am and we were out the door about 6. The drive to Castle Rock took about 45 minutes. Jasper decided he might as well get comfy, seeing as we woke him up way before he wanted!

Not a morning dog!

Once at the venue, Ken jumped right into working the registration table with Lisa and Tim. I got to sort some papers, but otherwise I just hung around staying warm. It was a balmy 24 degrees. I wore my ski pants over my jeans. Because I am classy.

It was great to get to see Colin race (because normally I am still in my pajamas at home) and hang out with Errin. I may have died being there all day with no one to chit chat with!

A little before the Open race Lauren and Jennifer got there-I was excited to see them….. So was Jasper….look at this line of dogs! And you cant even see Bella.

We cheered for the guys during their race….

They all did great and had a blast!

After the race, Lauren and I ditched clean up (don’t worry, we felt guilty) and headed to IKEA. We had so much fun wandering about and checking it all out. Boy is that store DANGEROUS! Ken picked me up on the way up the freeway-perfect!

Monday was the continuation of crazy.clean.the.house.mode. I still have about 4 rooms to get through tonight. I am tired thinking about it-haha! I did manage to sneak out and get my hair cut. She put a strand of tinsel in my hair…so much for looking older for patients.

I also chatted with an Ortho…but that is a topic for another day.

Gotta make my To Do List….

Quick Hello

2011-11-17T13:31:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to say hi. Having a not so great last 2 days of shoulder pain. It plain old sucks. I kind of want to cut off my arm.

Went for a little run yesterday with Jasper. It was good AND cold. Hung out with Ken a little. Watched Survivor last night and fought the urge to have an emotional breakdown.

Trying to figure out what the plan is…sulky. Hope to be more exciting tomorrow. Anyone know a good orthopedist in Colorado?

Something cute so you can be in a better mood….

bahahaha I feel better already!

Dismounting on the Left

2011-11-15T13:34:00.001-08:00

Howdy, Blog World. Do I have some fun stuff to share! This past weekend was ……-filled!

Friday after work, Jasper and I went for an almost.dark.run. It was chilly, so we threw in some hill sprints to warm things up. It was awesome that I got my third run in in 3 days. My legs were a little sluggish though. We probably did about 3 miles with a little stop at the dog park thrown in!

Saturday we actually got to chillax in bed (until like 7:20 because we are cool and wake up early). I made some omelets and Ken got crackin’ on the first project of the day.

Gross vertical blinds….DOWN

New, glorious shades…UP (I am thinking some minimal curtains would be fun. It felt SOOOO clean!!!

I am so thrilled with them!!

Jasper thought the project was a bit boring…so he chewed on a bear….

Until Ken grabbed him for some we.are.cool.guy.time….

While I wandered around aimlessly for most of the afternoon, Ken fought the wind and washed his bike. And THEN…he took me out for a ride!!!! He rocked his cross bike and I was on my mountain bike. We rode over to the park where the cross race would be the next day.

I struggled getting there…the wind wanted to knock me over! But, alas, we made it. Ken taught me how to get off my bike on the correct side and how to jump back on it. I was doing fairly well by the end of our practice sesh! We rode the course (for the most part) and it was a BLAST. Such an amazing cardio workout! I don’t think I ever breathe that hard while running. Maybe I am not running hard enough?

The ride home was beautiful and remained windy. Blech.

We finally had a much needed quiet night on the couch watching Transformers 3 (good…too much action).

Sunday I did the church thing solo as Ken was getting ready for his race. I booked it over there as soon as the service ended and was met by (shocker) horrific winds. I don’t know how they stayed upright?!

Jasper whined the entire time. I am glad Colin got to hang out with us and witness his ridiculousness.

Ken did well and took 5th or 6th (I say that because there were 5 people in front of him, but one guy was not in the results).

Post-race, we hurried home and got ready to head out to our church Thanksgiving dinner. Lots.of.food!

Yesterday, Jasper and I tried to go out for a run. We only made it about 2 miles because the wind was soooo bad! I am over the wind completely. Instead, I did a leg workout (so many squats that I cant walk well today. Oops!! Haha!).

And then….I started the prep.for.company cleaning. Yes, ladders were involved…as well as the moving of couches. Jasper didn’t want to help.

Monday’s always go too fast and I never get enough done. Guess I will have to be productive this week!

3 Runs in 3 Days

2011-11-11T09:36:00.001-08:00

Running has finally returned in more consistent fashion. I’m glad.

Yesterday was so busy that I didn’t open my computer until I got home at 10. Ha. Gotta love Thursdays! But, back to that in a second.

Wednesday night after work, I got to go for a run before heading to a high school play. It was about 4:45 when I started out my run and about 35 degrees and getting dark. fast. I ran on the Bobo Link Trail in Boulder, which I never do because it is No Dogs Allowed in certain areas. Being that I didn’t have Jasper, I figured it was a good place to go.

It was COLD. And a little sketch in the twilight, but it was BEAUTIFUL. I ran along the creek (which made it colder I think) and even saw an owl chilling in a tree. It was so cold that I didn’t warm up much at all-I just ran…fast! I finished my 4 miles in about 33 minutes. Pretty good for my lack of consistent running.

Here is a picture taken from the comfort of my warm truck BEFORE heading out! A lady tried to pass me while I was slowly running by the owl, I flew by her a minute later (I’m no competitive at all. wink wink.).

Thursday morning (I didn’t have to be at work until 1!) I spent time cleaning, putting away laundry and taking Jasper for a run to the Dog Park. We did about 3.4 miles with a 15 minute break for some puppy playtime. It was BEAUTIFUL out and I wished I had shorts to go with my T-shirt instead of capris. Quite the change from the night before. Our pace was a little slower, but still pretty good!

Yesterday also included: work, meeting, back to work for 3 patients in a row, driving like a crazy person to meet up with Lauren, her mom and Em for some Wedding Dress Shopping! (she looked gorgeous in all of them!), flew back to Boulder for youth group and then went home and fell on the couch.

Ken was in Denver all day, but got to hang out with his buddy PS who is in from LA. They had a phenomenal dinner out the with the Spyder peeps. I had 2 pieces of terrible LC pizza. Jealous much?

Today I am pretty busy and then have a nice little run planned for after work with the pup! Looking forward to that one! We are staying in Louisville to workout because we have a group dinner to attend at 6. Oh how I long for tomorrow and NO PLANS! I miss my husband, seriously! And I cant wait to hang my new blinds. Apparently Ken has a long list of things to do tomorrow. Can’t wait to see that one!

Until next time….

Not Quite the End of the Craziness

2011-11-09T13:10:00.001-08:00

Contrary to the hope in yesterday’s post, Ken’s work schedule has resumed its un-delightfulness. When he got to work this morning he was informed that he would be needed in Denver this afternoon/evening. Blah!

Seeing as he had taken the truck, we met up for the quickest Hi.Bye.ILOVEYOU ever to switch cars. Jasper was unsure about the awkwardness of our meeting, but he went with it. Unfortunately, Ken thinks that he will be down there pretty late…which means he wont be able to train today (not great after a week off and a race Sunday).

It was nice getting to kiss Ken in the middle of the day

Jasper joined Ken on his journey because after work today I have other commitments (as in a High School play). I know, you are shocked! It starts at 7 so I am hoping to squeeze a little run in before hand.

Last night I attended a church Blockparty. I was there from about 6-9:30 and during that time, I got to have my hair done. And, by that, I mean 2 freshman boys got to create a “shaving cream mohawk” for me. It looked a little something like this…

Source

Except that I am a girl and my hair is a bit longer. It literally took me 3 rounds of shampooing to get it all out and it was incredibly drying. I need to make myself a little hydrating mask for my poor hair!!

It may have been those freshman boys favorite event ever! For me…maybe not! Haha…at least there were burgers!

I cant believe Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks?! Where did 2011 go?! Cant wait to see R and R

Start of a Long Week

2011-11-08T14:30:00.001-08:00

Oh, Tuesday. You arrived so soon.

I am happy to say that Ken made it through the last 10 days in (mostly) one piece. For his sake, I hope the worst is behind him!

In his absence this weekend, I fulfilled my “crafty” promises (albeit less than expected because they were more time consuming than I expected.

First off, here is a picture of the Japster on Friday before heading home…pathetic!

Saturday morning I actually managed to drag myself out for a decent run. Jasper and I complete 5.42 miles while Ken got in a quick ride before heading to work. It felt awesome to run (and at a good pace too!).

My main goal for the weekend was to stencil one of our bathrooms (thankfully it was the smallest). It took me about 6 hours total to get it done between Saturday and Sunday. Geesh…but, I kind of love it!

At first, I was afraid it would make people dizzy (me included) but once I put things back on the wall it was fine.

I had to cut it short on Saturday night because I was driving to Longmont for a production of High School Musical. It was cute. Ken still wasn’t home when I returned at 9:45, but luckily he was not too far behind.

Sunday was solo churching for me. It is never as fun without my husband there with me, but luckily I had 30 high school students to keep me company. Love them

Once I returned home and had finished stenciling (Jasper was mad that I was home and not playing with him), I guiltily indulged in some pleasure reading. I am reading American Wife. It is pretty good. Different from what I anticipated, but I like it.

Jasper was eager to hit the sack after a long day of …nothing.

Oh, those eyes!

Yesterday Ken got to work from home! Which meant, I heard his music playing from the office most of the day and got to eat meals with him! So nice! He managed to get up early and go for a ride. I managed to stay in bed and rode later!

That’s right, I rode! For the first time in forever I took my mountain bike out on the (kind of) trails. It was super fun and I actually worked a lot harder than I thought I would.

When I made it to City Park, I decided I would try my hand at dismounting like you would on a cyclocross bike. Well, after several attempts on the left (correct) side of the bike (and a lot of the bike hitting the ground) I tried it on the right. It was SOOO easy and natural on the right. I got it on the first time! But when I called Ken, he told me I had to do it on the left. It still remains to be established if I am coordinated enough for that one. But for now, I am relishing in the fact that I could even do it!

In the evening, we went on an errand escapade. Not for super fun things, but it was super fun hanging out! We got a new car battery from Costco and new blinds from Lowes for the family room…oh and a humidifier filter from Walmart (very exciting, no?) Jasper was excited because we DID manage to grab him a new toy!

While we were at Lowes, I may have lusted over the carpet. Our “white” carpet is mostly “gray”. Blech. Who would put white carpet in a house in Colorado…It gets snowy/rainy/muddy here people!!?? I am thinking that next year for Christmas/Birthday/Ken’s Birthday/Ken’s Christmas (don’t tell him)/ Valentine’s Day/ Presidents Day/ Yom Kippur, I may ask for donations for new carpet. Yes, I am weird like that. For now, I will just bust out the trusty carpet cleaner, then it only LOOKS dirty and is actually quite clean!

Okay, back to work and then an event from 6-9:30 tonight. Call me if you hear me snoring!

Are You Qualified For That?

2011-11-04T10:48:00.001-07:00

Why hello, Friday. Where have you been all my life!

I hope everyone is enjoying wrapping up another work week. I am…Ken-not so much. He has to work both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Such a bummer! But…he is doing a fantastic job!

Due to the fact that ~~I am a giant slacker~~ it snowed this week and Jasper being out of commission, there has not been much working out this week. Instead, I got a little crafty (you’ll see).

First, here are some gorgeous after.the.storm pictures…

Really, Mom…clearly I have a hurt paw and you are making me go out in this?!

In the world of craftistry (so not a word) I decided to try my hand at wreathing (really, spell check-that IS a word?!)

I made my own little felt flowers and glued them all over (What can I say, Ken has been working late). I think I want to get one more brighter color to throw on there…we will see how ambitious I get.

The only problem is hanging it on the door. There is a knocker that is in the way…someday that may have to go…and it gets closed between the storm door. Still working on figuring that one out!

Today Ken is down in Denver again so the Veesh pup is chilling with me. And today is the day that the foot wrapping could come off…so I took it off. It was quite the event. Jasper kept shaking and looking at me as if he didn’t think I was properly qualified for the task.
I tried to tell him that it was no big deal, but he wanted to help just in case.

There were a bajillion layers!

Jasper tried to hold down my hands several times…

Being SUPER helpful…

And finally…success! A bandage-free paw! And a happy pup!

See the stitches? Poor baby!

Now there is a continual battle against the licking. Good times!

My single-girl weekend is upon me…with a list of things to do. Number one will be GO RUNNING (or riding…or something fun!). Followed quickly by cleaning the house, attempting to stencil the bathroom and hopefully some more crafty things!

I think Ken will be happy he is working

Have a GREAT weekend and don’t forget to change your clocks for Sunday!!!

Another Day of the White Stuff

2011-11-02T11:47:00.001-07:00

That’s right. We awoke this morning to a wintery wonderland. What is it with Wednesdays?!

I don’t know about this Mom!

Jasper is being quite the trooper walking around in the snow with his wrapped up paw. Being curled up in my office doesn’t hurt either.

This morning he had to wait in the truck (which stayed nice and toasty) while I went in and wandered the halls of the local High School as a volunteer. Don’t worry, I was so scary that no one even dreamed of starting a fight!

Last night (while Ken worked away at Spyder), Jasper and I watched The Biggest Loser while I worked on my Fall Wreath (pics to come). I love being all crafty…especially since I have recently become obsessed with Pinterest. If you have never been to this site…DON’T GO…or you will lose large chunks of your day lusting over DIY projects! I WISH I was that creative and had TIME to do all of the fun things on there. Don’t be surprised if you see a few things pop up in the future (ie…the Fall Wreath..wink wink).

For now…I better get back to my job

Boulder Cup and an Icky Monday

2011-11-01T11:54:00.001-07:00

Another attempted Monday blog post failed miserable! Maybe I should just give up and take it off of the To Do list.

But, anyways….I am back with some fun weekend happenings and a crap-tastic Monday.

This Saturday Ken and I lazily lounged around the house. Part of that had to do with the late night prior (we went to a packet pick-up party and then dinner at a fave Thai restaurant in Boulder with a big group of people). We didn’t end up getting home until well after 10:00 (yikes…that is past my bedtime!). Luckily, Ken’s race was not until after 4 pm-so we had some time to recover!

Around 1:15, we headed up to the Boulder Res for some cyclocross action. The weather was so weird…hot…cold…windy. It didn’t seem to know what to do with itself. Lauren and I hung out and hit up the free coconut water that was being handed out…Score! We were supposed to go for a run…but some shoes were forgotten so we postponed for the next day.

Before we knew it, it was race time…

Colin (who raced earlier in the day and did great) and Errin manned the pit so I was free to roam around and ~~yell at~~ cheer for Ken all over the course (thanks guys!). They guys did great! Especially racing with all the big names.

After the race, Ken joined me for a Sweet 16 party. We dropped off some roses, enjoyed some food and headed home to collapse on the couch. Good times!

Sunday morning was a little more hurried. We had to get everything together before heading to church-and I had to wear “real clothes” instead of just workout attire. Boo.

As soon as we finished at church, we headed to Valmont Bike Park for Day 2 of the Boulder Cup. We got to watch our friend Zane absolutely kill the Junior race. No contest. Being there early meant that we got to check out a lot of the course. Looked pretty muddy to me!

Lauren and Tim got there just in time for the 2 of us to take the pups on a quick 40 minute run (funny how short that seems). We made it back in time to kiss the boys good luck and cheer for them for an hour.

It looked like a really tough race and the big names really laid down the hammer. Once again the guys did awesome! So proud of them.

Awesomely I forgot to grab my camera-but I will grab some good pics when they go up!

Now…lets have a quick chat about Monday. Oh Monday. My normally favorite day of the week shall not be my favorite of this week…I hope!

Sunday night I discovered a deep cut on one of Jasper’s paws so I called the vet to get him in. Sure enough, he needed 2 stitches. Which meant leaving him at the vet so they could put him under and picking up a pup with a taped up foot. No running for 4 days. He will be very crazy come the weekend!

While he was getting taken care of, I had a dentist appt. to get two small fillings. I HATE having my face numb!! And it gets all swollen. They only gave me 1/3 the normal amount and I still only got feeling back around 6:30 (appt was at 2!). Plus, I had to do the grocery shopping and sounded especially awesome when I was checking out.

With all of that and registering the truck, it was a very expensive day!

Jasper ended up on the couch pretty early…see his ouchie paw!

And to make things worse…we only had 5 trick or treaters (in just 2 groups). Sad day! Plus….Ken is working super late all week…so the Japster and I will be holding down the fort. But…that means that there will be a lot of projects getting done!!

Back to Beautiful

2011-10-28T13:15:00.001-07:00

After one day of crazy weather…we are back to our normal Colorado awesomeness!

Really, does it get any better?

Ken wouldn’t know, he rode at 5:45 this morning. It was still dark when he got BACK. Ewww.

Since my marathon, I have done an awesome job of running about 15 miles. In.three.weeks. Quite the change from 35-40 per week! Part of it was that I needed time to recover, part of it has been my shoulder being too painful to do anything and part of it has been that I am NOT an elite athlete like my husband and can get away with loving a warm bed a little more than a run!

Another factor is that I am done with THE race! I made it through my year of training and my schedule is suddenly clear. Running a marathon is kind of like having a kid…as soon as you finish your first one, everyone asks when you are doing your next one! The truth is, I don’t know. I REALLY enjoy long runs and the ~~excessive~~ eating schedule…but 26.2 miles on the hard roads maybe isn’t my thing. I loved the half marathon distance and am thinking about sticking around there for a while…or….something else that interests me is a trail marathon. I know it will take longer to run…but I LOVE running on the dirt (and my body likes it a lot more too).

A difference with how I will be training is going to be a lot more cross training. I really want to get on my bike and enjoy some lower impact cardio. I feel like I built up a great running base this year and I want to mess around with other things. I would TRY (I suck at it) swimming, but I don’t belong to a gym and swimming in a frozen lake doesn’t work so well!

With all of that said…I MAY be running a 6k race tomorrow with Lauren (on the cyclocross course!!) or we may just go for a nice run. Either way, it will be a blast!

Here are some races I am thinking about/planning on doing next year!

Sage Burner 25k Trail Race (15ish miles)

Teva Trail 10k

American Discovery Trail Marathon (50/50 on this…depends if my friend Kelly does it and is looking for someone to run with-because that would be AWESOME!)

Just some thoughts!

Being lazy again this afternoon and not doing anything…go me! Well-there is that Rocky Mounts event we are hitting up tonight…gotta pick up Ken’s race bibs for tomorrows big Boulder Cup race

Did Someone Say Snow?

2011-10-26T19:20:00.001-07:00

Well, for once, the weather people were right. We awoke this morning to find a lovely layer of the white stuff. A thick layer. Like 8-10 inches or something crazy!

Ken actually got to work from home today. This meant (since I didn’t start until 10) that we got to stay in bed until 6:45 and have pancakes for breakfast! WIN!

This was my drive in to work…

The roads we just wet, not snowy.

The workday went by super fast because I had a new patient and 2 meetings. Love when that happens. Before I knew it, it was 4:00 and I was ready to head home to my boys. Ken and Colin rode at lunch so Ken is all mine for the evening!

Here is a random picture of the bookcase I love so much…

A constant work in progress.

And they boys put on a little show for me…indoor play time!

I convinced Jasper that it was warm enough to show me the snow in the backyard.

Water bowl…

Oh silly dog!

Around 5, K and I went to Costco in search of a computer desk that we had seen this summer. No luck finding it, but we did walk away with one of these babies…

We can know tell you the exact temperature and the humidity. We are so high tech. Well-at least Ken is!

Jasper liked it so much, he spun around in circles!

And then realized he was exhausted after a day of watching Ken work.

Off to cuddle with my family

Temperatures are a changin’

2011-10-25T14:11:00.001-07:00

Hi and Happy Tuesday! Did you have a nice weekend? We sure did

Friday night I hit up a corn maze for the first time ever. Thoughts: It may have been my last time ever as well. Totally don’t see the draw. I stared at my feet and wandered aimlessly. I am perfectly capable of doing that at home. thank.you.very.much.

Saturday I woke up at 7 ready to hit the kitchen. I was going to run, but really didn’t think I had the time…I didn’t. I spent the morning putting chicken in the slow cooker, making Spanish rice, making corn pudding, baking carrot cake cupcakes and washing a bajillion dishes.

Around 11:00 (because we needed to leave at like 11:15) I hopped in the shower. I am really girlie and clearly take a long time to get ready. Post shower I made some sandwiches and loaded into the car to head out to Ken’s race. The race happened to be super close (love that). He did excellent and finished in 5th place. After finishing the hour long all out effort, he decided that he wanted to ride home. Because he is a nut.

Spectating…

Move that skinny spandexed bootay!

Post-race we had a cycling party! That means we only feed the guests water and half a Clif Bar…hey, they are choosing to pour themselves into unforgiving onsies!

Okay, I am totally kidding-we had tacos, rice, black beans (delicious, Errin!), corn pudding, chips and salsa, MARGARITAS! and some other deliciousness! Including these babies…

It was super fun and relaxing! Thanks Errin for all of your help!! Afterwards, I got to write my lesson for Sunday. Fun!

Sunday I gave said lesson…and get this, later that evening a freshman boy texted me about it! Crazy! Ken had to go into work so Jasper and I went for a 4.5 mile run around the lake. He rolled in dead fish and smelled delicious. Bath. I was really lazy. And I loved it.

Monday I decided to be a photographer and take pictures of the sunrise colors. In my bathrobe. Because I am a professional.

In other exciting Monday news…I went to the dentist (blech), did some grocery shopping and went to a soccer game. I also did the laundry, dishes and cleaned up the house-but that is not so exciting.

Jasper on the other hand…had a leisurely kind of day….

This morning looked like this..

But tonight is supposed to look like this…

Tonight: Rain likely before 9pm, then rain and snow likely between 9pm and midnight, then snow after midnight. Low around 28. North northwest wind between 5 and 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 7 to 11 inches possible.

Yikes!

I am off to finish up at work, hopefully get in a decent run and then road trip with Ken before we lock ourselves in the house and crank up the heater!

Hope I can get into work tomorrow!!!

Forget Thursday

2011-10-21T13:59:00.001-07:00

Yesterday involved frustration and tears over my dumb shoulder…so we are just going to ax the day completely. Thanks, Ken, for being your amazing self. You are the best.

We are going to rewind to Tuesday night for a minute…After work, I picked up Jasper and we headed home to get dinner together while Ken rode home.

This is what Jasper does if Ken is out later than us: (sorry for the horrific lighting-phone pics!)

Too funny! Once Ken was home and dinner was done-Pad Thai Baby!, Jasper made sure to give his baby a bath on the couch. Because he is cool like that.

Love that dog!

Wednesday night I went for my first real run since the marathon! Jasper and I did 4 miles of trail on Marshall Mesa. It felt GREAT to be out again. My quads were a little surprised that my brain was okay with the whole running business. They were a little bit sore, but warmed up nicely. Jasper had a BLAST!!! I simply adore trail running.

Yesterday (the dreaded Thursday) morning I started my cross training plan. Because the shoulder has been a punk lately, I stuck mostly to a leg workout and did some non-shoulder arm weights. Unfortunately that didn’t end great for me. Oh well-my core is sore today…love that feeling!

But let’s talk about the REAL excitement. Tomorrow Ken is racing…shocking, I know! And afterwards we are having people over for Linner (you know Lunch/Dinner). What started out as inviting 2 people has turned into the potential of 15. Yes, I am a nut. We are going to do a taco bar and who knows what else. It will be a blast!!

As for now, I am staying late to treat a patient, going home to prep for tomorrow and then spending a couple hours at a corn maze. Oh Friday night!

Projects

2011-10-19T13:19:00.001-07:00

Today I am going to tell Ken not to read my blog…because he is already having a not.so.awesome day at work…and I don’t want him to have a full fledged panic attack. So Darling, if you didn’t get my message…STOP NOW!

Why do I not want him to read it? Because I am going to talk about goal projects I have for the Fall and Winter and let’s face it…he will feel completely overwhelmed, curl up in a ball and possibly cry…even though I most likely will not ask him to help, he somehow feels the need to jump in and cut my time in half. He is kinda great that way.

Last chance, Ken….stop reading!!

Since I finished my marathon training (and said marathon), I have had a little time left on my hands. Now, I am going to start running again (today actually!! Hitting the Mesa for some trail with Jappy) but it will not be quite as structured-and there will be much more cross training. I even stuck “weights” on my calendar two days a week! Ambitious, I know! In my extra time (even though it is only light out from 10 am to 3 pm-okay, slight exaggeration) I plan on getting some stuff done around the house….

1. Refinish or Paint the Kitchen Cabinets. I am NOT the biggest Oak fan in the world and to me, my cabinets look orange. Eww. I would like Jasper to not feel like he is camouflaged when he walks through that room.

One of the ladies that works in my awesome also does interior design (my hero) and recommended a product that apparently does wonders:

Now, I just have to figure out if I want to go light or dark…decisions decisions! Not to mention the sanding, prepping and all that jazz…but I think it will be awesome!

2. Refinish the Kitchen Table. The table seems to work perfectly in the space, but the stain has been rubbed away in several places and it just needs some TLC.

3. Refinish the Kitchen Chairs and Change the Fabric. The fabric doesn’t match anything in our house. Facelift time chairs!! Plus, they could use a little tightening of the bolts!

4. Stencil the Downstairs Bathroom. My colors are yellowy and purple. But it is missing something. I am thinking a light glossy gold stencil might pep it up a bit.

Something along the lines of…..

Have I totally lost my mind? Maybe.

5. Organize the Basement. Good project.

6. Finish Scrapbooking our Wedding. Yes, I am a complete slacker! It has only been 2.5 years, you know.

Depending how the kitchen cabinet painting goes….that could evolve into bathrooms and the laundry room. We will see how ambitious I am when we start seeing temps in the 30s and 40s.

Cant wait to get started on one of these bad boys! If you are skilled in interior design or Do It Yourself projects…I would love any suggestions!

Off to E-bay stalk some stencils!!

Some Racing and Some Soup

2011-10-18T14:47:00.001-07:00

Howdy, Y’all! Hope you are having a blast of a Tuesday. As Ken said yesterday, “it is one step closer to Friday.” Which is just delightful!!

Let’s talk about the weekend!

Saturday: Woke up LATE! Okay…7:45 is like noon in our world! It was soooo nice to lounge in bed. Jasper soaked up every.single.minute. You know those dogs that wake up their humans in the morning….we don’t have one of those. He is like a toddler who wants to hop in our bed and cuddle and go back to sleep. He is the bestest!

When we finally rolled out of bed, I made some eggs to have with toast and then got crackin’ on some soup: Butternut Squash Soup! First off, I don’t think I have ever made soup that wasn’t out of a can (or box) and second, I have never eaten butternut squash soup-so it was quite the adventure.

In the end, it was delicious and I froze all of it to be used in the wintery future.

I had just enough time to hit the shower before we headed up to Longmont for a bike race! It was HOT! What is it with that venue…required 80+ degrees?! Remind me of my complaining in a week when it is –14 degrees here (or 50).

We had a lovely time…me and the pup!

Ken did well and finished in 8th. I ran my first sprints….providing water bottles.

This is what it is supposed to look like….

And this is what happens if you fail….

Oopsies!

Post race, we enjoyed hanging out on the back porch. While Ken washed bikes, I wrote my lesson…you know, so I could watch Despicable Me after dinner (um…it was super cute…and I totally fell asleep-don’t judge). Errin came over for Fajitas…mandatory break from moving things to the new place!!

Sunday: Did the church thing, had a meeting after church and still managed to make it to Ken’s race 15 minutes early. I even drove the speed limit!

Luckily, the race was super super close. I even brought a student with me….Ken and my adopted sister A! She hung out and cheered with me and Lauren as the guys raced around the course. We even ventured out to the middle of nowhere to cheer.

Huge thanks to Errin for holding on to Jasper the WHOLE day. He loved it!! The boys did fantastic. All 3 of the Feedback guys that raced placed in the top 6….what?! Go Ken, Chris and Tim!

Ken took 4th and even earned $40! Gotta love that! The only picture that I took happened to be of the pup-I was really focused on cheering…and chatting with A and Lauren!

We hit up the Happiest Place on Earth (Costco) before heading home. It was a blast!!

Monday: I did an insane cleaning of the house-I didn’t leave all day (as in: I have not worked out in a LONG time!). In my defense, it was rainy and cold and windy all day. Jasper did a lot of this:

He melts my heart. Pure love.

Today I have been busy busy working and am about to bounce to do the grocery shopping that I put off yesterday!

See you tomorrow

No 4:30 am wake up calls!

2011-10-14T13:28:00.001-07:00

I must admit that I am rather excited that we get to sleep in tomorrow morning. Even after Ken let me sleep in 2 days this week, I still feel like I am recovering from Sunday. If someone gave me a bed right now, I would be down for the count!

Yesterday was its normal busy self…but Jasper and I did manage to squeeze in 40 minutes of Dog Park time. I will forever by his favorite now.

I came across this and had to share…so true. Jasper thinks he is absolutely above other dogs. He often looks at them with confusion when they do weird dog things. The other day a woman rolled down her window to tell me Jasper looked so “human”…maybe because he was sitting in the front seat of the car, straight up and looking forward. Next time I will let him drive!

source

And just because they rock my world…could you imagine this….Vizsla Heaven!!!

source

In other news…my left shoulder has decided to be a pain in my behind. It hurts like crazy and I really have no idea why. Luckily, Errin has agreed to ~~amputate~~ look at it tonight and see if we can figure out what is going on. She also offered to feed us!! I am pretty excited about Pesto Pasta!!

Two bike races this weekend. Luckily, both are pretty close

It is supposed to be 82 degrees tomorrow…return of summer. I will cherish every minute.

Now what?!

2011-10-12T12:55:00.001-07:00

Now that I have completed my Marathon and I no longer have a training plan….I am at a loss with what to do with myself! Okay, not really…but kind of.

Yesterday I took advantage of my free time and took the pupster out on Marshall Mesa (while Ken did a tough bike workout)…it was weird to not be running.

It was absolutely beautiful out!!!

Jasper was a bit confused my the slow speed of our venture, but thought that it was great because he could sniff EVERYTHING!

I was a bit jealous of the people that ran by us!

Mom…smell this…it smells awesome!!!

Clearly, when you are walking you have time to take really cool pictures with your dog.

And amazing pictures of your shadow (check out Jasper sprinting in the background!)

Oh Flatirons…you are incredible!

Mom, this was the best idea ever!!

I loved every minute of our walk…minus the parts where I had to walk downhill-my quads did not like that at all!

We finished the night by cashing in my $10 off PF Changs coupon (my race bib…don’t worry, they gave it back) with some take out. Once home, we hit the couch with our grub and watched The Biggest Loser (somehow we are always eating during that show!).

This morning Ken woke up super early and headed into Boulder for Wednesday Worlds (a cyclocross group ride). I remember kissing him at 5:45 and the must have fallen back to sleep. Jasper and I didn’t drag our butts out of bed until 7!!! Lazy us!

Happily, when I did roll out of bed…I could walk. I feel about 85% back to normal today!! Yippeeee!!

Off to finish some paperwork, head home (early-tisk tisk) and do some baking and cooking!!

Thinking that maybe a trail marathon would be something exciting to do next year….hmmmmm?? Oh…and some cross training for sure!

Bike races and a Marathon

2011-10-11T14:10:00.001-07:00

It is official…I am a marathoner! Who would have thought that in just over a year and a half, I could go from someone who thought a 5k was long to someone running 26.2 miles?! I would not have bet on it!

But more on that in a bit…lets have a weekend play.by.play…

Friday I hit up the expo which was “decent.” I was pretty tired so I didn’t hang out too long. When I got home, I made some dinner while Ken took over the dining room table…

We hit the couch soon after dinner….conserving energy and all.

Saturday morning was pretty relaxed…just getting things in order and prepped for the rest of the weekend. Around 12:30, we loaded up the truck (in the pouring rain) and set out for Fort Collins.

When we got to the race (US Grand Prix of Cyclocross event) everything looked miserable. It was pouring, windy and the course was all torn up….mud everywhere! I was glad that I was in my winter coat, hat and gloves and felt bad for Ken in his little spandex outfit. Brrr! The race looked anything but fun.

Ken got taken out 3 times by other people and slid out twice on his own. He was nice and sore afterward, not to mention filthy!

On a happier note, there was Hot Chocolate waiting in the truck…along with our dry puppy (I didn’t want him to freeze!!).

Once home, I threw together some spaghetti with meat sauce while Ken cleaned off his bike ( a huge undertaking). And then…I went to bed.

And when I woke up….it was Marathon day!!!!

The alarm went off at 4:30…I contemplated saying “forget about it” and going back to bed…but then hauled my butt downstairs to eat some food and pound some water. I threw on my outfit (um BRRRR) and layered on some extras and we were off.

I was so excited that Ken and Jasper came with me!

They hung out with me until the start and kept me from freaking out. Ken even warmed my legs up for me! Thanks Buddy!!

The first 12 miles were a blast! I absolutely loved the atmosphere. I was being super good about eating and things were great. Around mile 12.5 we had to go up a giant hill. At this point, I felt a little jealous of the people that split off for the half!

Once at the top, I was happy again and enjoyed the next 4ish miles. At mile 16, my hands started to feel really swollen. They were cold and I couldn’t bend my fingers well. So…as much as I was afraid to try the sports drink on the course (because I had never had it), I realized I needed some electrolytes! My sports chews were just not cutting it. I felt much better after my first cup.

Mile 20 is when I hit the wall. Hard. Every muscle in my legs started cramping and I started questioning why I had decided to run a marathon?! But between walking and stretching and jogging…I made it through. Mile 25 provided another giant hill…OUCH…but meant the rest was downhill! I flew through the last .4ish miles and across the finish line! I finished in 4:13:41 (about 13 minutes slower than I wanted). I was thrilled with my time and happy to fall into Ken’s waiting arms. Jasper jumped for joy (I am glad he could).

Thanks Mom for sponsoring my race look (and Sport Chalet too…hehe). Check out my bling bling medal…heck yeah!!

It was so cold when I finished….but my amazing support crew had a sweatshirt for me…they are the best!

We ~~walked~~ hobbled back to the car and hurried home so I could shower and throw on other clothes before heading back to Fort Collins. Getting upstairs to the shower was quite exciting and I NEVER wanted to get out…it felt sooooo good! But, eventually, I did and we were out the door again.

I figured I would be starving after my race, but in reality all I wanted was a Coke (gross). Luckily I found one at the race.

The weather was so much better than the day before and Jasper got to hang out with us. He may have pulled me around a little thanks to my lack of ability to move. I enjoyed hanging out with Lauren and getting Ken ready for his race ( didn’t enjoy sprinting back to the tent for a tool that he didn’t have time to use..ouch!).

He had a much better day on the bike and even though he finished outside of where he wanted to be….he did fantastic!! Someone needs to tell him that he has been riding cyclocross for less than a year!

Dry clean clothes!!!!!

Needless to say, Jasper looked like this all the way home….

And Errin saved my life by dropping off a DELICOUS pizza….Thanks…You are AMAZING!!!

I have spent the last day and a half trying not to move! Oh my goodness…I never thought I could be so sore. Standing up may be one of the hardest actions of my life!

But look what my amazing husband brought home for me!!! Love him!! (I may have him convinced that the little pink one can go on the truck).

Next weekend is going to seem really tame…even with 2 bike races

2 days remaining…

2011-10-07T12:55:00.001-07:00

until 26.2 miles. Bah!

I cannot believe it is NOW. It feels like I should still have a few more weeks left to prepare. But, alas, it is go time!

Today I am heading down to Denver to pick up my race packet. I am hoping that will make me relax a little bit. I have heard that the Expo is pretty cool, so that is promising! Jasper is with me today…so I will have nice company.

I woke up this morning feeling terrible (I think this is the taper-craziness that everyone talks about). My feet hurt (both of them…nice), the outside of my lower right leg kills from rolling it yesterday(so tight) and I could barely lift my left arm without stabbing pain in my shoulder. Disaster much?! Luckily, as I write this, my shoulder is about 90% fine (who knows what that was about-changing weather?) but the leg is still painful to walk on…I am hoping that clears up by Sunday!

This weekend is supposed to be cold and rainy….because it has been perfect for 4 months…and all of a sudden race weekend needs to be freezing. Fantastic. I feel for Ken because he is racing Saturday and Sunday in his lovely spandex ~~onsie~~ skin suit. Fort Collins is supposed to be a toasty 49 tomorrow…as a high. Yikes! You can count on me being bundled up and sitting down somewhere. Colin is racing at 8 am….that may be even worse!

My race starts at 6:55 on Sunday morning and I plan on wearing 2 layers that can go to Goodwill-nothing like stripping down a few miles in! I have been looking at all sorts of websites for tips come race day and have stumbled across from some good ideas. Now, if I can only get myself to eat during the run and not bonk…that will be great!

I am now off to finish with patients, paperwork and head to the Expo…see you soon…and hopefully as a marathoner

The Winds are a Blowin

2011-10-06T14:23:00.001-07:00

Howdy and Happy Thursday….so close to the Friday we all love so much!

**Side note…as I type this, I am listening to a new Pandora Station…Disney music anyone? Jasper seems to be a fan Simba

Anyways….This week is a tough one! Late nights and I don’t get along really well (and by late, yes, I mean 10:30). Yesterday after work, I headed into Boulder to pick up the boys and take them to Boulder Reservoir. I had never been to the lake part, so it was neat to hang out up there.

We were actually up there for a reason…Ken and Colin were doing a Cyclocross clinic. It was neat watching them ride their bikes through all sorts of sand. It looked all sorts of hard . People were falling over left and right…I would have fit in very well!

While they stirred up dust, Jasper and I wandered about the lake. We found a group of guys with a Lab and the pups had a blast! Jasper was all about chasing the tennis ball out into the water. They guys found it very entertaining to have the dogs “race.” Jasper won every time (he is athletically gifted….just like his father!).

Beautiful, no?

We had a blast I love being able to hang out around Ken, even if he is playing in the sand!

Around 6:45, I headed to a youth event. Hung out with some cool kids and then headed home to crawl into bed.

This morning I was lucky enough to not have to be anywhere until 11:30. This meant that Jasper and I could tackle my last 4 miles.before.the.race together!! We had a delightful time…minus the wind! The only problem…I was being sooooo careful, that I managed to roll my ankle off a curb. Hi…my name is LeeAnn and I am a train wreck!

I met my friend J for FroYo (Jasper joined us too) and we chatted about life. Her comments on my life…Wow, you are busy! Yeah well, that is how we roll.

Now my trusty sidekick and I are treating some patients before heading to hang out with my favoritest high school students. Sometimes I just want to hug them all….other times I want to throw them out the window…that seems like a normal relationship with teenagers!

See you tomorrow!

Love, Hate and Marathon Training

2011-10-04T17:32:00.000-07:00

Training for a marathon has definitely been an experience. I started running (for real) last spring/summer. I completed two 5ks last year and just “decided” I was going to run a marathon. No big deal.

I enlisted the help of a friend who just happens to be a fantastic running coach and off we went. She has been writing me plans since November and the changes in my running have been spectacular.

For fun-sake…and pre-actually-running-a-marathon..I thought I would make a list of my Top 10 Things I have Loved…and Hated about Marathon Training!

Loved

1. Being able to eat anything.I.want! (All of it healthy of course, but the amount has been unbelievable!)

2. Having runs scheduled and knowing exactly what I am doing each day.

3. My pants fitting in completely different ways/ being more confident in a bathing suit.

4. The accomplishment on passing each distance level..10 miles used to seem unfathomable…now it “isn’t long”.

5. Ice baths….I have some weird love for them.

6. Watching my speed increase (My goal pace for my marathon is what I raced my 5ks at last year).

7. Races for “fun and training”-That half marathon was a blast!

Apparently I wear the same outfit to all my races

8. Spending time with the pupster…best running partner EVER!

9. Having an excuse to pass out on the couch at 9 pm (don’t judge me).

10. Feeling fitter and healthier than ever

11. The cute clothes (Yes, I know I went over).

Hated

1. Injuries (knee, foot, etc)…total bummers!

2. Feeling guilty if I had to miss a workout (this one faded towards the end when I started dealing with injuries).

3. Bonking during a long run and feeling TERRIBLE!

4. Fighting doubts as to whether I can do it or not.

5. The first 35 seconds of the ice bath

6. Running in –8 degrees and 98 degrees (yuck and yuck)…don’t let the smile fool you!

7. Being hungry all the time (like having your tummy growl at a patient)..oops.

8. Ugly feet…That make Ken gag…they really aren’t that bad..I am going into the marathon with all 10 toenails! We will see about after.

I googled “ugly running feet” but couldn’t bring myself to post a picture…scary!

9. Having to shave because of wearing running shorts (okay, I sucked at this one and had hairy legs all summer…luckily capri/pant weather is approaching rapidly).

10. Chafing across the chest….Ouch!

Will I do it again? I will let you know after Sunday

Notorious Tuesday Bullet Points

2011-10-04T12:13:00.001-07:00

Every Monday morning I put “Blog” on my “To Do List” but I always run out of time (yesterday I could have used about 4 more hours in the day).

So without further ado….

Saturday:

*Frisco for bike races! All of our guys did fantastic Ken walked away with a 9th place finish and was pretty happy with that (as he should be!). BIG races next weekend!!

The trees were amazing…the colors are so vivid!

Catch that guy!!!

Clearly I was expecting Ken to be much faster…that IS his hand on the right side of the picture…(actually I am just quite challenged in the picture taking department)

*Had a blast hanging with Lauren, Tim, Zane, Errin and Colin.

*Rushed into L-ville to see a patient and picked up a HS friend for dinner (and to use the Recovery Boots).

*Watched The Notebook while writing my lesson (mulit-tasker to the core)

Sunday:

*Did the church thing…those HS students were unruly! They had a plethora of energy and I was actually tired when we were done.

*Ken used his massage gift certificate! She tortured him…but not as good as I do…tehehehe.

*Cleaned up the homestead...the usual.

*Ken took me out for a nice hour spin on the bikes. I LOVE when he rides with me! Even though “easy” is quite a relative term….I think I impressed him with my bravery in the bike handling department…I rode off a curb AND up a curb…on my road bike! I think it is time to switch to cross-wink wink!

*Had a student over for dinner (he graduated this past May, but we still love him).

*Sprawled out on the couch with my boys….3 nights in a row of having company for dinner….we were BEAT!

Monday:

*Cleaned the house and all that entails (laundry, sheets, dusting, vacuuming….all that jazz).

*Ran errands (Mostly grocery stuff).

*Didn’t run…hello marathon week!

*Put on Jasper’s Halloween costume to make sure it still fit…

He loves it, cant you tell?

*Made dinner for Ken before heading out for the evening….

*Met a friend to watch one of my HS seniors play in a Powderpuff game…they grow up so fast! They lost

*Sat on the couch with Ken for half an hour before collapsing in bed.

I am thinking I need a day to relax…looking at the calendar…that will be November 12th. Literally the first day on my calendar without something planned (and honestly, we will see how long that lasts). Yikes!

Today I am doing the work thing and doing a little running afterwards. Should be just over 4 miles total with 2 super fast miles in the middle….cant believe I am running 26.2 on Sunday…eeeek!

Countdown to Marathon: 5 days! NERVOUS!!!

Oh Bed…how I long for you!

2011-09-30T12:07:00.001-07:00

Today is a super sleepy day! I feel like I could crawl up under my desk and pass out. Nobody would mind, right?

It all started…last night. After working on some patients, I headed to Bean and Berry to hang out with about 25 awesome High School students. It was a blast (and my 3rd round of coffee for the day-at least I switched to decaf)!! We wrapped up about 9:30-at which time I made my way to the grocery and at that hour, I am sure I forgot some things! I got home about 10:15, put away groceries and did a quick clean up of the lower portion of the house (and vacuumed the stairs-because that is incredibly important).

As we were on our way to bed…at 11:30….Ken pointed out that the only time for us to get our workout in today would be BEFORE work. While it was a good point, 5:30 didn’t sound so awesome….and let me tell you…when the alarm went off this morning, I thought someone was playing a practical joke on me.

After a couple minutes of whining and groaning and seriously contemplating “accidentally” falling back to sleep, Ken managed to drag my butt out of bed. He should get a cookie for that one-I fought hard. The Jipster and I hit the road at about 5:50-I don’t function so great in the dark and it took a little longer than anticipated to get out of the house. We did our thrilling and awe inspiring 3 miles (around the neighborhood-because I don’t want to be confused with coyote food). It DID feel great to get it done and I am happy I did it…but boy am I dragging…and starving (even after lunch!).

I did manage to through an oven-baked pancake in the (shocker) oven before hitting the shower…that was nice to come down to!!

Jasper was a little sketched about the dark at first…but he got over it and wore himself out too….

Yes, that is the ride into work…I hope he doesn’t end up with a case of torticollis! Okay…unfunny Chiropractic joke.

source

I am now longingly awaiting 4:00 and being half done with the day. Then hosting 10-12 people at my house for dinner tonight. No big deal :-/

Tomorrow we are heading up to Frisco for Ken, Tim, and Zane’s race. I am excited because Lauren is coming with us and Errin will be up there! Five people, 5 bikes (mind you they all belong to the 3 boys), a dog and one truck. Yay road trips!!

Have a blast of a weekend! (No long run…yay taper!!)

Product Review:Recovery Boots

2011-09-29T14:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I received a package via UPS. Something that Ken has been longing for since our trip to Vegas earlier in the month. Something that will be LIFE CHANGING! Okay, maybe not…but LEG CHANGING? Probably! Something that we got a great deal on because he is a “Professional athlete”-cool, no? And something that I will be stealing to use in my office.

I give you….Recovery Boots…check out the site on these bad boys!

Pretty snazzy, huh? They gradually fill with air from the bottom up. It feels pretty great if.I.do.say.so.myself. We tried them in Vegas after walking a bajillion miles and our legs felt so refreshed after.

We plan on using them to help our legs recover after tough workouts (you know, like crazy bike races and marathon running). They are surprisingly quiet. We can watch TV at the normal sound level. I am afraid Ken may try to bring them to bed with us…and between 2 people and a dog, the queen size bed may be a little small to have these join us.

Can’t wait to let you know how I do after a long workout! So far we love them (our couch may get permanent “butt” marks!).

In other news, my favorite dog is joining me today…and apparently giving me the evil eye (even after spending 25 minutes at the dog park?!). Apparently he wanted me to drop him off and pretend it was day care. Sorry, Sucker….time for the office!

Yesterday, the not.so.furry. furball joined me on my run. Speed work, anyone? We did a mile warm up and cool down with 7x1 minutes in between. I thought this was going to be an easy workout-but I was mistaken! Longest minutes of my life! But…I felt good….and sweaty! (All of my minutes were run under a 6:20 pace…Jasper even said it was tough).

I think it is time to start a countdown….. 10 days until the marathon-AH!

Things I have started to do in anticipation of said marathon:

-Drink lots of water….result: Have to run to the bathroom every 20 minutes!

-Obsess over sites with “Marathon Tips”…..result: Me freaking out.

Oh well…back to work and then other work tonight…and then grocery shopping for people coming over tomorrow night for work. Bah!

Jasper’s Photo Shoot

2011-09-28T10:06:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking my favorite furry friend out for a hike while Ken was riding some hill repeats (delightful).

I decided to have a little photo shoot with the pup…and seeing as nothing too exciting is going on….I thought I would share!

Incoming!!!!

My favorite….

And obviously not Jasper…

Can you tell I am in love with my dog?! Don’t worry, Ken has it worse Boy is he fast too!

After work today I have a run workout….1.5 weeks until the marathon. Get this…1 mile warm up and cool down with 7x1 minute hard and 2 minutes rest between. Gotta love Taper Time!!

Survivor tonight

What happened to Fall?!

2011-09-27T13:35:00.001-07:00

Hi there and happy Tuesday! Hope you had a good weekend and a lovely productive Monday (I sure did). I told Ken that I would make an excellent Stay at Home Wife!

I could honestly fill an entire post with the happenings of my Monday, but alas, there are even more exciting things from the weekend!

Saturday: The boys and I headed up to Longmont for a day of bike racing/spectating. We watched our buddy Zane crush it in the junior race and then Colin did awesome in his race too. Super great morning of Cross. In between C and K’s races (Ken didn’t race until 1:05) I went out for my 10 mile race pace run. It was disgustingly hot. Not in a good way. I ended up stopping for water and grabbing Jasper 6 miles in and we finished it together.

Ken did great in his race finishing 6th in the hot, dusty conditions

Plastic bottles make the best toys…EVER!!!

Go Dad Go!!!!

Are we done yet?!

Ken and I were both DONE after our “workouts” …yeah, his was WAY tougher than mine.

Surprisingly, we actually got a lot done when we got home and even watched a movie without falling asleep. Be impressed.

Sunday: Church as usual. Ken rode there and home because I had a meeting afterward. Once home, I used my amazing powers of persuasion to convince Ken that we should go get FroYo (hey…I had coupons AND we still have money on our gift card!). We ended up with smoothies that were just delightful. Ken managed to rotate my tires and play in the man-cave while I cleaned up the house and such. I thanked him by working on his legs for 40 minutes.

Monday: My favorite day of insanity! Better bulleted:

*Made breakfast, did dishes, ran dishwasher

*Did the laundry

*Washed the sheets and towels

*Ran-1/2 mile warm up and cool down with 2x15 minutes hard-felt good!! Finally!!!!

*Cleaned the house-dusted, vacuumed, Windex-ed and all that jazz

*Did some work from home-emails, organizing, picture printing

*Went to the dog park

*Sprouts, Wal-Mart and Costco

*Emptied dishwasher, folded and put away laundry, made bed

*Made a Mac-Daddy dinner (Spare ribs, mashed potatoes, broccoli and French bread)

*Enjoyed a lovely dinner with my wonderful husband…aawwwwee

*Did the dishes

*Baked pumpkin bars and made cream cheese frosting-the bomb

*Hung my picture collage in the stairwell (except the one frame that hates me and will not stay level-we have a date tonight!)

*Collapsed in bed!

It was a good day! Did you see Hart of Dixie? I think I will be in love with that show.

Off to finish Tuesday…possibly some hiking in my future this afternoon…and some Biggest Loser!

Frrriiiidddaayyyyy!!!!!

2011-09-23T10:32:00.001-07:00

I am a little excited…can you tell?

Yesterday was my normal manic Thursday….all over the place! Jasper got to be my special little helper and went everywhere with me. He was even allowed to accompany me to a meeting inside another church. Yeah, that is how he rolls.

I did take him to the dog park for awhile….as a thank you for being such a delightful boy throughout the day. He was a big fan.

I have yet to do any significant running this week. Wednesday, Jasper and I went on another hike while Ken did some hill repeats on his bike. It was a lot of fun to just be out enjoying the ~~beautiful weather~~ rain. We even managed to throw some “trail yoga” in there…you know, yoga in trail runners-I am classy like that. Of course I forgot my camera, but it looked a little like this….(just dark and rainy)

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There was no time yesterday for working out, unless you count the chasing of Jasper at the dog park…but even that wasn’t super great!

Today I am planning to hop on my bike. We will see if I end up riding with Ken or hitting the road solo. The ride is some more cross training to get me ready for tomorrow’s run. We will going up to Longmont bright and early to watch Colin and another friend race, then I will do my 10 mile race pace run and then Ken will race. I am thinking a picnic lunch may be in order. I have mixed emotions about the run. I am both super excited and nervous. I hope it goes well after a week of sketch-tastic workouts.

As for tonight…I think there are so TV shows that are in need of watching online…or maybe a movie. Can’t wait to be done with work to get outside in the gorgeous weather…Literally perfect out!!

And because everyone needs some cute puppy in their day…..

Source

Hope you get to be a little lazy tonight

The Fear of Racing

2011-09-21T15:01:00.001-07:00

Fun title, huh?

Okay-first of all, I don’t really have a fear of racing…most of the time. This year I have done 8 races and was only really nervous for the first one. I think part of that has to do with the fact that most of the races were “training races” in preparation for one big race: the Marathon!

I will be honest and say that my training has had its ups and downs. The first 8ish months were fabulous. I followed my training plan to a T! No missed runs…everything was dandy. I felt great and couldn’t wait to run after work.

The last six and a half weeks have been another story. Ever since my half-marathon, things have been weird. Something about that course really did a number on my left knee and I have been struggling with it ever since. I have axed some of my workouts, taken 5 days completely off of running, cut out miles from long runs….and pretty much thrown my plan out the window (kinda). On top of that, I now have a cold which makes running seem about as fun as breathing out of a straw

.source Okay-who does that?

Yes, I did get a 20+ miler in on Sunday and a 50 minute hike/run done yesterday, but the quality was lacking. My body was not super thrilled to be doing anything!

You can imagine my ~~horror~~ surprise when I opened up my email Sunday night and there was a confirmation letter for my marathon….in less than 3 weeks.

My face went from to this to this .

People keep telling me that I will be fine. That I have a good amount of miles on my legs and I could race tomorrow. But I am a planner…and I have a plan…and my plan is not going according to plan!!

So now I will try to go the next 2.5 weeks trying not to freak out and get in as many of my scheduled runs without killing my knee. And wrapping my head around the insane number of people that will be at the race! At least the mini concerts will be good!

I am thinking my goals will be changed too…at this point I will be happy to finish. My initial goal of 3:45 to 4:00 hours may or may not come true and I think I am going to have to be okay with that.

Hopefully this will be me at the end….finishers medal baby

okay it really looks like this….

source

Fingers crossed!! Off for another little hike/jog with the pup…and a whole lot of foam rollering tonight!

And we’re back…..

2011-09-20T14:45:00.001-07:00

Howdy! Wow-I just looked back at the last time I posted, Friday September 9th! Whoa…11 days?! I think a lot has happened since then…so much that I will have to refer to my Google Calendar to make sure I get it all!

*Saturday the 10th-Ken raced his first Cyclocross race of the season and did a stellar job finishing 4th (and winning $35)!! Lauren also asked me to be a bridesmaid…YAY!!! Can’t wait till next summer!!

*Took about 5 days off completely from running…knee feels a bit better.

*Work work work work meetings meetings meetings…blah blah blah

*Acupuncture

*Saw The Help and LOVED it!

*Wednesday the 14th (and now we get to the excitement!)- K and I got up early to take catch our flight to Las Vegas! Literally catch it…we got to the airport just in time to spend 5 minutes before boarding. Got to Vegas and Tim picked us up before heading to Interbike (HUGE bike tradeshow). Spent some time browsing and visiting with E and C (who awesomely made the trip out to cheer for Ken!).

Around 1, Ken, Tim and I went out to the venue (CrossVegas!!!) Spent some time setting up (in the rain), the guys did some warming up, we watched 2 other races and then it was GO TIME…at 9:30 pm!!

An hour of grueling cycling under the bright lights and in front of THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of fans. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen!!!

Oh…did I mentioned that it poured for 2 days before the race…in Vegas?! Hello slippery grass.

Yes, they were nice and muddy after the race.

Doesn’t he look happy while he is racing?! And he says it was painful…whatever Ken…looks like a walk in the park to me..JK! It was awesome cheering for Ken and Tim in such a huge race.

Ken came in 31st and Tim came in 37th out of 109 guys. So impressed!!! Plus they beat their goal of not getting pulled (by a lot)…so it was a great night.

By the time we got to our hotel to check in, it was 1:15 am (2:15 Colorado time) and we were done-zo.

Luckily we woke up to this view…

Yay Excalibur Castle

We spent Thursday lounging around, walking Vegas, scouring Interbike and hitting up this place….

Oh In-N-Out…how I miss you!!! (We maybe had it for lunch again Friday!)

Once we made it back to the hotel, we chilled out by the pool and in the jacuzzi for about an hour before making our way to the Luxor Buffet where we proceeded to destroy the place (Don’t worry, I ran on the ~~very boring~~ treadmill earlier in the day). We made it back to the hotel just in time for me to pass out in bed.

Friday I woke up to this cute face …

We hit up the pool, grabbed some grub and walked the 437 miles back to Interbike. I may have been covered with sweat by the time we made it, but hey, who doesn’t love to sit by someone smelly on a 2 hour flight?!

The plane ride home was super bumpy (read: Ken couldn’t feel his arm by the time we landed) but we eventually made it home to a very excited Vizsla! Oh how we missed that little dude!

Saturday (Can you believe all of that happened without a weekend?)-Headed into Boulder for the Valmont CX race. Third race in 7 days! BAM! Ken took 11th place on some very tired legs…

They may have both fallen asleep on the way home…just saying!

Luckily, Ken manned up and joined me for a work party that night…such a good husband!

Sunday-Wrote my lesson for church and then taught it! And they liked it…oh last minute-ness!

From church, I set out on my 22 mile run (due to….running trails, running hills, exhausted legs, super heat, coming down with a cold and some (small) knee issues…I only made it 20.5 miles-but hey-after not really being able to run a week ago, I will take it!).

I got to see E and C’s new house, which is huge! Jasper may try to move in with them! Can’t wait for the decorating process to begin! It is going to be sweet!

And now that I have a post-trip cold…I think I will skip my track workout today and hit up 5 fun miles with the Japster!

Tomorrow (because I am sure I am boring you by now) we will dive into the fear I feel now that I have received my official last minute information and confirmation for my marathon! Ahhhhh!!!

Need More Coffee!

2011-09-09T13:12:00.001-07:00

Somehow I have managed to make it to 2:00 and still not wake up. Sure I have treated 7 patients already…don’t tell them I slept through it! Just kidding-I was mostly awake for that part.

Alas, I feel like I am functioning at about a 45% level today. Yay for Friday! But let’s look at the last couple days in pictures..

Wednesday after work, Jasper and I went for a little walk in Boulder while we waited for Ken. it was very romantic (seeing as the clouds looked as if they could open up and pour on us at any point).

Yup, that is the view I had!

Ominous!

Only take pictures from my left….this is my good side!

Pretty Boulder Creek

Thursday was just bananas. I used my incredible powers to persuade Ken to drive separately so I didn’t have to leave until 8:30! It was quite fantastic (you know after making pancakes for breakfast, doing the dishes, cleaning the kitchen, cleaning up the house and throwing on clothes). But, really, I cherished the time to do those things….They were the most relaxing things I did all day!

Interesting parent meeting at 9, meetings until 11:20, lunch meeting from 11:30 to 12:45, meeting in Boulder from 1-3, pick up the pup, office for patients from 3:30 to 6, head to church, meeting from 6:30 to 7, teach and groups from 7-9:30ish, drove home….ate cheesecake! Oh Thursdays…how I have a love/hate relationship with you!

I do love when this little guy comes to hang with me….

Better clean my paws for the patients!

That way they listen when I tell them important information!

Today could fall into the “bananas” category too…busy busy with patients today and trying to stay awake. I could go for a Pumpkin Spice Latte right about know….or a nap!

Going to try running this afternoon! Fingers crossed that I don’t fall over crying or fall asleep half way through.

Happy Friday…hope you are doing something fun this weekend….First Cyclocross race for Ken….bring on the Queens

Gloomy

2011-09-07T12:18:00.001-07:00

Remember last week when I said that I was over the heat…well I got what I asked for! Today it is 55 degrees and has not stopped (lightly) raining.

Part of me is LOVING the weather…the part that needs to take Jasper out to potty is NOT LOVING the weather.

At least I have this adorable face to snuggle with…

Those little eyes melt.my.heart!

The weather seems to be reflecting my I.haven’t.run.in.four.days attitude. I did some yoga and cross training last night….but it is not that same. *Insert whine here* I am hoping that I may be able to sneak a little 2 mile run-attempt in tomorrow, but schedule wise, it seems unlikely….it may have to wait until Friday-which probably wouldn’t be a bad thing. Is that the longest, inappropriately punctuated run-on sentence ever? I think, yes!

Okay…enough downer…let’s talk about yesterday….

After work I headed into Boulder to grab Jasper and meet up with Ken. Jap and I drove (and Ken rode) over to the Vamont Bike Park. It was my first time and I was blown away. The park is HUGE. Jumps, trails, sandpits….and in the far corner…a DOG PARK!

Jasper had a spectacular time chasing Ken around on his bike (he is a great training partner) and then hitting up the dog park to play with some pretty cool pups. By the time we left, he was sufficiently tired. I was pretty good and only ran/hobbled up one flight of stairs. I watched some guy eat it off a log-he was okay…so I can say it was a little funny to watch. Can’t wait to spectate some Cyclocross races there!

Speaking of Cyclocross…Ken kicks off his season this Saturday racing in the Queen of Cyclocross race in Golden. He decided to race in the Women’s class this year! Okay…I’ m only kidding. The team that is putting it on is a female team-but really, the guys race too. You can still make fun of him though. I sure will! Maybe he can wear a sparkly pink Tutu while he rides? This should be great!!

And even more exciting….Vegas next week! Saaawwwweeeettttt!

Alright…back to work…and trying to build up enough courage to take Jasper outside…should have brought an umbrella…or jacket!

Four days of no running=torture!

2011-09-06T11:38:00.001-07:00

Happy Day.After.A.Holiday Tuesday! I hope that everyone had a fantabulous long weekend…I know we sure did!!

Flashback to….

Friday: Ken had to work in South Denver so my little man got to hang out with me!

What dog lays there staring at a bone without eating it?! He’s a special one. We had a delightful day together that lead right into a lovely 2.5 mile run when we got home. It was an early to bed night…seeing as Ken and I both had to be out of the house by about 6:10 the next morning.

Saturday: Woke up BEFORE the crack of dawn (although that is getting easier due to the later sunrise). Ken got dressed in work clothes and I got dressed in race clothes and then we headed our own separate directions.

Mine lead me to the Coal Creek Crossing 10 mile race in Louisville-gotta love super local races! The “gun” went off at 7:00 and we were off like a herd of turtles. Okay, not really, the pace was pretty quick.

The first 6ish miles were fantastic. I was super stoked on my time splits and felt great. I was running 8-8:15 min. miles and was right on track for my marathon training run. Mile 6: Enter ridiculous knee pain. That pain I thought I had escaped….yeah…not so much! It came back with a vengeance. My times took a nose dive and I was looking at 9-9:30 min. miles. Grrrr! Not to mention the knife stabbing pain that almost took me to my knees and the awkward limp, hop, hobble gait that ensued. By mile 9…I just wanted it to be over.

I must say that I am thrilled that I finished it…I didn’t know if that was going to happen. I crossed the line at 1:25:23. (14th woman and 3rd in my age group) The race itself was really great. Hard packed trail with some rolling hills. It was cool outside!!! What!?! Post-race I chatted with my lovely coach and told her about my dreaded knee-ness. She told me to take 4 days off….no running at ALL! I maybe freaked out a little. My marathon is in a month! Snarl.

I indulged in the pancake breakfast before heading home to do something I had never done before: ICE BATH. Amazed that I have never tried it?…well….I despise cold water. To the point that if a pool is less than about 80 degrees…you can forget it!

This is my “I’m afraid” face..cute, huh?

Ten pounds of bone-chilling ice.

And in we go…..

Mom, what are you thinking?!?! There is ice in that water!!!

I will say that it was much more pleasant than I expected. I actually went and grabbed the other 10 pounds of ice because it didn’t seem cold enough. Thanks Errin for suggesting the hot coffee…it did wonders! That and the fact that I wore a sweatshirt over my T-shirt! I also wore bathing suit bottoms…weird? I was cold for 2 hours after-even in sweatpants and a jacket. Love the ice bath!

During my warm up process, I put together a bookshelf. Ken stopped by Ikea on Friday and picked up this baby…

I may be in love! There was some rearranging done…but it lives in our front room now and the smaller one moved to the dining room. Along with a shelf that Ken put up for me. I will take pictures…someday!

The rest of Saturday was spent re-organizing the kitchen cabinets. That is my version of “resting” apparently! Ken may never be able to find anything.ever.again. Good times!

Sunday: Did the church thing…my lesson may have been based on running. You know-I have a lot to talk about in that department. Ken did some riding and I don’t really remember what I did…Pretty sure I was lazy (Ken napped)…or cleaned something! We rented 2 movies Arthur (I thought I would hate it, but ended up laughing so much) and Source Code (this one was pretty good as well).

Monday: Didn’t have time to think about not running because I cleaned and baked and organized like a crazy person. Ken waxed the truck (I’m sure that was a good workout). I made a carrot cake for work and a cheesecake for dessert with lunch/dinner. Errin and Colin came over about 3 and we grilled up some deliciousness! What a great way to end the day! Well, besides crashing on the couch watching Royal Pains!….and icing my knees…

Random Note: Fall is officially here!!!!! Only in the 70s today. Fab!! Back to work…see ya later

Top 10 Fall Favorites

2011-09-01T14:53:00.001-07:00

Adios August and Hello September. Fingers crossed that the chronic 95+ degree days will quickly fade into mid-80s! I am O.V.E.R this heat…and so is Jasper!

Let’s talk running. Since developing knee pain after my Half Marathon, I decided to take a look at my running routine and try to figure out what could be going on…well, what I finally came to was shoes. After doing some calculating, I determined that each of my 2 pairs of running shoes probably had at LEAST 400-450 miles on them. Lovely. I experimented with doing a couple of my runs in my trail runners and didn’t experience any pain….soooo……yesterday (on the way to work) I stopped by my favorite Runner’s Roost in Louisville. I picked up a pair of these babies:

The Saucony ProGrid Ride 4! And boy…aren’t they gorgeous?! I love my Ride 3s, but these are even more comfy.

After a day of work, I took them out for a 4 mile spin with Jasper. Get this…no knee pain!! It appears (knock on wood) that my problem is solved for the moment. That’s good…because I have a 10 mile race this Saturday!

My little friend Jasper is joining me for work today (we hit up the dog park earlier, but fried like eggs in a hot pan).

“Mom, isn’t my posture phenomenal?”

How I love my little companion…he knows just how to melt my heart.

Tonight is our Fall Kickoff for Student Ministry. Back to 14 hour Thursdays! Gotta love ‘em! I really AM excited to be hanging out with the high schoolers again…they make me happy ~~while driving me up the wall~~.

And now on to my Top 10 favorite things about Fall:

1. Cooler weather (and especially chilly mornings and evenings)

2. School starting! Okay, this was more when I was in school…but I loved going back!!! And shopping for supplies!

3. Running in capris and/or thin long sleeves-LOVE!

4. The colors of leaves changing!

5. Cyclocross season… and cheering for Ken.

6. The house being cool enough to cuddle with my boys.

7. Pumpkin flavored…everything!

8. The return of scarves!!!!!

9. Crockpot meals.

10. Boots

Happy September!!!

And now for words…

2011-08-31T07:58:00.001-07:00

So this weekend was both interesting and exciting….

Saturday: Did a little 4 mile run, some garage-sale-ing….Ken, Jasper and I all found a few fun things! And then Ken and I went to lunch…with someone I had not seen in over 19 years….Steve (otherwise known as my biological father). It was interesting to chat and catch up a little bit….and meet his fiancée Linda. And that’s about all I want to say blog-wise. Interestingly, I did not have a lot of emotion surrounding the meeting…maybe there is something wrong with me?

Post-lunch…Ken rode and I …. don’t remember what I did! (Besides stopping at Home Goods!). We did rent Country Strong (don’t judge me). It was okay-pretty sad…but good for what it was.

Sunday: Now is where the excitement begins! Ken and I bailed on Church (tisk tisk…I know) and met up with Errin and Colin to head to Golden for the last stage of the Pro Cycling Challenge. Woohoo! It was so cool watching road racers that I have seen racing the Tour de France…right there 3 feet away! It was INSANE!!! Jasper very much enjoyed himself as well…You know that dog and bike races!

Once we made it down the mountain (through all the traffic) we visited Moki and Poncho and stole a few tomatoes from T and L’s garden…shhhh So excited on their engagement!!!

We made it back to Superior in time for a delicious bate birthday lunch for Ken at PF Changs. Thanks E and C….it was delightful!

I had a meeting from 5-7:30 and was sad to leave Ken snuggled up on the couch relaxing….lucky guy!

Monday: Busy busy busy!

*Baked banana bread, banana chocolate chip muffins, loaf of honey whole wheat, batch of cookies and dough for calzones.

*Cleaned the house, washed the carpet in a few areas.

*Moved the guest queen bed from the basement to the second floor guestroom. Yes, you read that right! Frame, box spring and mattress. Boy was that tough work!

*Did laundry.

*Took the pup to the vet for his shots….everyone loved him. He did NOT love the thermometer up the behind part! He gave them dirty looks that had the doctor laughing out loud! Jasper is always a crowd pleaser!

*Ran….first time with no knee pain!!! Sweetness! 1/2 mile warm up and cool down with 6x5 minutes hard and 3 minutes rest between. I was a sweaty mess and it was hard…but oh so good!

*Made Ranch, Sausage and Mushroom Calzones….YUM!

*Collapsed on the couch! hehehe

Tuesday: The usual…work and staff meeting and work. Jasper and I went on a 40 minute hike while Ken rode his bike. Hit up the Costco and home for dinner. Gave Ken a 45 minute leg massage…aka:tortured him! He loved it

And now on to Wednesday!