Yoga and Peanut

A few people have asked me how yoga is going and I must report that it's not going too well. I went the first weekend and was very gung ho about it, but I've realized that the times at this particular location aren't really working with my schedule. I had intended on going on both Saturday and Sunday since I couldn't do any weekday classes. However, because I run Saturday mornings, I had this awkward lull between running and yoga that prohibited me from starting the rest of my day. Sunday is also hard b/c it didn't start until after 10, when I am usually already up and in my routine. I am going to make myself go this Saturday though, so I'll reevaluate after this go around. And Jessica, I'm still having a hard time with the whole downward dog thing too! It's more comfortable that it used to be, but my hand keep slipping, even with the mat. I look around and seem to be the only one with the same problem, so either I am just weird, or because I'm not flexible enough, I put too much pressure on my hands. I'm afraid to ask. Maybe we need a remedial downward dog lesson :)

Onto the second part of my post's title...Peanut. This weekend I happened to have my camera in hand when Peanut started this little move. I was actually trying to take a picture but realized it was on movie mode and just let it go. For some reason when I rotated it on my computer and imported it here, it went back to the original. If anyone knows how to fix it please let me know! I hope you enjoy the show!

Thanks Megan!

My friend Megan gave me this really fun blog award. Megan and I have known each other since Kindergarten, and probably a little before. She's my oldest friend (20+ years!) and no matter where we've moved and what we've done, we always manage to keep in touch. Oh and to prove it, here's a picture of us when were were 8 and 9 at Halloween.

Along with this award, I have to answer some questions with ONE WORD ANSWERS. Anyone who knows me knows that I can't answer anything in 1 paragraph never mind one sentence. Here's my best shot at this.

1. Where is your cell phone? Computer

2. Where is your significant other? Virginia

3. Your hair color? Blondish
4. Your mother? Supportive

5. Your father? Hardworking
6. Your favorite thing? Cupcakes
7. Your dream last night? None

8. Your goal? 1:55

9. The room you are in? cubicle

10. Your hobby? Running

11. Your fear? Iraq
12. Where do you want to be in six years? NorthCarolina

13. Where were you last night? Postinos

14. What you are not? Tall

15. One of your wish list items? Gardener

16. Where you grew up? Southwest

17. The last thing you did? Phone

18. What you are wearing? Workclothes

19. Your TV? HD

20. Your pet? Snuggly

21. Your computer? 3

22. Your mood? Content

23. Missing someone? Always

24. Your car? Detailed

25. Something you are not wearing? Flipflops

26. Favorite story? SquirrelTurnovers

27. Your Summer? HOT

28. Love someone? Verymuch

29. Your favorite color? Pink

30. When was the last time you laughed? Lastnight

31. Last time you cried? tear

Weekend Recap

The past weekend was full of fun activities. I love three day weekends because not only do I get a day off from work, but then the following week (when it's a Monday) is a short week! My weekend started on Saturday with a morning run with my mom and her friend Kathleen. I love Saturday morning runs b/c we run around Tempe Town Lake and we get coffee afterwards. That's one run I don't mind waking up early for! Saturday night was my friend Colby's wedding. She was an intern at my office for almost 2 years and she started right before I did, so we worked together for a while. I went to her bachelorette party last weekend which was really fun, and her wedding was a blast as well. Since Chris is gone my mom was my date, and we had so much fun together! The wedding was at the W Hotel. The ceremony was outside by the pool and the food was wonderful. Here are some photos...

My mom and I before we left for the wedding.

They had flower petal-filled cones to throw when the Bride and Groom walked up the aisle after the ceremony. Bad news was no one actually threw them.

The beautiful tables. The menu acted as a place card, with each person's name printed at the top. Colby's mom made all the centerpieces, can you believe it?!?

Their gorgeous cake by Tammy Coe. Those are fondant rose petals on the top! My mom and I were really wondering how they were going to cut it, but of course they whisked it away to the kitchen so we never saw. It was some of the best tasting cake I've ever had. I wanted more!

Me and Colby. She was such a beautiful bride.

My mom with the favor, a homemade chocolate carmel nut cup things that the Groom's mom made. There was even a fancy P (their last name is now Pool) etched into the white chocolate on the top. I can't believe she made them!

Sunday morning my mom and rode our beach cruisers down to the race course of the PF Changs Rock and Roll Half Marathon course. We knew quite a few people running, so we went down to watch. The wedding prevented us (or at least it prevented me, my mom was skipping a year) from running so we wanted to go watch and cheer people on. We woke up early, threw on some clothes, got breakfast burritos and biked 3 miles to the course. It was really fun to see everything. We were at the mile 6 mark and got to see all the super fast runners, including my co-worker Allison's husband! We also saw my friend Emily, some co-workers and my aunt Janis.

My mom and I at the race. It was certainly a glasses day after a late night!

Sunday afternoon I watched the Cardinals win!!!!!! I've been around Arizona sports my whole life and never have we seen something like this. For those who aren't into the NFL, the Cardinals are pretty much the laughing stock of pro football and they haven't won a championship in 61 years, before the NFL was even around. I am really excited to see them play the Steelers in two weeks. While they played I made an apple coffee cake. I must admit it wasn't one of my best looking cakes, so it wasn't worthy of any photos.

On Monday I went to lunch with my mom and then we saw Bride Wars. It was a cute movie, I definitely recommend it. Not sure men would like it, reason why my mom and I went and left my dad to work. I didn't get a lot of stuff done around the houseduring my 3 days off, but that's the plan for this weekend. Wish me luck!

Another Race Another Place

Before I start, I've been slacking on my Christmas/new years updates but I PROMISE all the photos and such will be up by the end of the week. Ok, now back to your irregularly scheduled blog...

Last week I signed up for my first half marathon of the year! Normally I do the PF Changs Rock 'n Roll 1/2 here in Phoenix which is Sunday, but I'm going to a wedding the night before so running 13.1 miles the morning after is definitely out. After thinking long and hard (well not too long, and actually not too hard) I've decided on the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon! It's May 17th in Fredericksburg, VA, which is only 30 minutes south of Quantico, where Chris is currently training. The best part? My parents are coming and my mom is running with me. Chris is going to spend the weekend with us and then my parents and I are going to D.C. for the week to tour the city. I start my race training on the 26th of this month and I'm actually really excited to start running hard again.

I'm now looking for any tips on DC from anyone who's been before. Our flights and hotels are already booked, so we just need things to fill our days. Any tips of any kind are greatly appreciated!

I've always wanted boots

It's true, those below the knee ones that people have been wearing for years. I've always struggled to find the right ones at the right price. I have muscular calves so a lot of time boots don't zip up or I feel like circulation is being cut off to my feet. Either way it's not a pretty site. I did manage to find a pair of equestrian style boots earlier in the year, but I ended up taking them back b/c they were pretty pricey and I didn't feel like I would get much wear out of them.

Last night my mom asked me to go to the mall with her because she wanted to buy some silver shoes at White House Black Market. Her friend Jessica had been in there the night before and told my mom that they had silver shoes and a velvet wrap, two things she wanted to wear to a wedding that she's attending as my date next weekend. The silver shoes were very comfortable and very cheap...$17! While she was debating about which size to go with, I found this pair of boots in with the sale shoes. Now I have very small feet, so I can almost always try on the display shoe. I was surprised that they still has a small size left in said boots and slipped on the display for, if nothing else, a little entertainment. I loved them. They were black, almost to the knee, with a chunky heel. Mind you I was wearing gym clothes with them, so the whole ensemble left much to be desired. The guy helping us told me that they were $39.99 and another 40% off. That pretty much sold me right then and there. I forgot my camera last night or I would have taken some pictures of the boots and the outfit, but I am now the proud owner of $24 boots. Go me!

Christmas Recap #1

On December 23rd, my parents, Chris and I celebrated Christmas with my dad's family. We usually do something with them either before or after Christmas since we traditionally spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day with my mom's family when I was growing up. It was a nice chance to see everyone together. My dad's family all live on the other side of the Valley, which means an hour drive from our house. At least this time around my dad was down by our house so he picked up Chris and I had to work that day so I was already halfway.

Everyone was there to celebrate, which includes my 3 aunts, 1 uncle, grandmother and 7 cousins in addition to my parents and Chris. We used to all live here in the Valley, but now one of my aunts lives in Minnesota and I have one cousin going to school in Delaware and another in Northern Arizona. We've had our meal catered for the past few years and it's nice to not have to worry about cooking anything, we just have to show up! Actually, my mom usually brings dessert and this year she made a delicious Candied Apple Cheesecake. You can get the recipe here. I don't think there was any left by the end of the night! The rest of the meal included baked ham, green beans, roasted potatoes, salad and rolls. I was good and didn't overeat at all, but enjoyed a little bit of everything.

After dinner we opened some presents. It was a lot of fun to watch everyone open gifts. It takes a while since there are so many of us, and the cousins have to open according to age. I always find this funny since I'm the oldest, but at least I get to go first:) Here are a few photos from the evening. We didn't get back to our house until almost midnight, but it was worth it to be able to spend some time with the family.

My bag looks just like Peanut!

Chris playing Go Fish with my youngest cousin Karson.

All of the cousins...Me, Karson, Megan, Michelle, Melanie, Mark, Ryan and Austin.

Yoga Challenge Day #1

Day #1 is officially complete. As scheduled, I went to my first yoga class this morning after a 5 mile run. It actually went pretty well! As I wrote in my last post, the class was titled Yoga for Runners/Hikers. There was no chanting or other odd yoga related activities so I didn't laugh at all, first thing accomplished. We started off with some pretty easy stuff, easy in that I could actually do it without making a fool of myself. The only thing that was difficult was that darn downward dog position. It was better than I remember, but my hands and feet kept slipping on the mat. I am going to ask next time if it's just me, or if that's a problem for a lot of people. The good news was that we didn't go into that position for long periods of time.

Our instructor reminded us that yoga is not about competition with others, which is exactly the opposite of my personality. It was hard for me to not look around at each person and see whether or not I was doing better or worse than each of them. Of course this was only in my own eyes, and since I'm not exactly a yoga pro, I can't be any kind of judge. It's not that I judge anyone else, it's that I judge myself. I think I'm going to go back tomorrow for a New to Yoga class and see if I can lower my own standards.

Stay tuned for a holiday update!

January 2009 Challenge

Well we've officially made it to 2009 and I'm resuming my blogging. It's been quite an eventful two weeks for us, most of which I will be filling everyone in on later once I download photos and get more photos from my mom. That means actually downloading them for her because she keeps saying she doesn't know how to download photos, no matter how easy I tell her it is. I know you are reading this mom, and yes, it really is that easy, but don't worry, I'll do it for you.

The biggest thing going on is that Chris has come and gone. He actually left before the New Year, so I am starting out the New Year alone. Don't worry, I'm not sad about it and I don't expect a pity party :) I'm actually putting my time alone to good use...I've decided I need some challenges. Most everyone who knows me knows that I am a workout fanatic. Not in a weird way of course, but I really do enjoy working out. I go at least 8 times a week, both before and after work, and my workouts consist mostly of weight lifting, running, and cross training. That's been my routine for the past year and a half and I love it, at least I used to. I think I've finally gotten bored of the same old routine. I've done half marathons, and even a triathlon, but I keep thinking I need something completely different to master.

My chosen challenge for January 2009....YOGA! Here's the thing about yoga, I hate it. I've done it a few times over the last 5 years and every time I feel like I either want to laugh during the whole thing, or my shoulders are killing me due to that darn downward dog position I can't seem to manage. But everyone needs a challenge right? I found a brand new yoga studio in my neighborhood that is offering free classes for the entire month of January. My goal is to go twice a week for the entire month and see if I can make myself like it. My first class is tomorrow and is a yoga for runners class. I'll fill everyone in on how I do tomorrow. My goal for the first few weeks? Master my yoga nemesis, the downward dog without making my shoulders burn. Wish me luck!

P.S. Look for my holiday updates either later today or tomorrow!