We Sweated Our Arses Off!!

SHAZAAM!!  I woke up to Sunday.

At 9am, went to meet up with my family at the local dive for breakfast.  Ate way too much like I typically do.  Songified my Grandma (which I twatted/tweeted). 

Came home and attacked/pruned a Weeping Contorted Crabapple tree that touched me one too many times as I walked by.  Mick saw what I did and the landscaper in him said, “It’ll grow back”.   Mowed the weeds, I mean the lawn.  

Today was a special day..not really.  It was my work picnic which was set up like this. 

You go to a semi-pro baseball game.  You arrive up to 3 hours early to eat unlimited amounts of  BBQ chicken, burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, coleslaw and cookies.  My kids enjoyed the unlimited sodee pop. 

Roo is taking our picture.  Brucee’s tummy hurt (so he probably had to poop in this pic). 

Here Mick’s annoyed that I made him stop watching the game for a picture op.  I wanna watch the game.  Blah.  Geez..

 

I think this is the 3rd year my company’s done the work picnic in the same fashion.  AND, every year it is sooo hot.  This year was no exception.  We cheated because we sat in non-reserved seats away from all of my associates so that we could be positioned in the shade.  Still hot.  Mick got us Dippin’ Dots.  I had cookie dough flavor….

I wore The Who’s dress (Free People) and was nice enough to ask her (by text w/a pic of myself wearing it) if I could while I was wearing it at the game…

She replied with, “I  suppose”.  Thank God…

We left in the top? (the beginning) of the 3rd inning.  Oops.  Well at least we made an appearance, right?  And, I didn’t have to feed the kids lunch..SCORE!!

This day was starting to feel like a “rest day” and I wasn’t prepared to call it that.  SOOO, before we made dinner,  I started my run at 7:46pm.  I ran 6.67 (the Garmin was stuck on 6.66 miles for like ev verrr so I kept going til I got to the next hundredth) miles with an average mile of 8:41.  The temp was 83 degrees (felt like 86 degrees). 

I wore some new red soccer shorts.  I don’t think I was intentionally trying to punish myself but I had to have been because those suckers kept riding up my legs.  I’m sure I looked crazy.  And yes, I know it looks like I have a messy house but it’s really just right here that’s trashed…

 

Oh and the Body Glide was a success.  The real test for the Body Glide will be when I run 14 again.

Came home to my whole hungry family impatiently waiting for me.  My poor husband had made the entire dinner.  I was so happy my daughter was home and bombarded/overwhelmed her with questions about her long weekend Up North… (tired and burnt)

Mick told her that, “that’s what happens when you do crack” (referring to me).  I didn’t do crack but I was totally high from my run. 

Mick had made pork and chicken on the grill along with sweet potatoes and squash.  The Who had brought home about 2 lbs of cherries from Up North so we chowed.

After dinner, Brucee and I had a big slice of coconut pie.  I have never had coconut pie and I’ve always wanted it.  This is because Ginger and Mary Ann always made Coconut Cream pie (or Banana Cream pie) and dressed slutty for the guys on Gilligan’s Island whenever they wanted something.  I knew those pies had to taste delicious.  And NO, I was not dressed slutty…

It’s “Roll In Poop” Day…

Started my run at 8:50am. 

The temperature was 70 degrees and it was full sun (94 % humidity).  I intended on taking it easy today since I ran over 14 miles yesterday.  I ran 6.14 miles with an average pace of 9 minutes.  I didn’t mind that I ran slower today because today I wore my Fivefingers.  I tend to take little steps which according to Good Form Running is better anyways.  My right hip hurt today.  It’s still sore tonight so I’m hoping it goes away quick. 

After my run, I came home and did some bi’s, tri’s and delt’s with the handweights.  I don’t push myself with the handweights but figure it’s okay since it’s better than nothing?!  Did the plank for a little bit too. 

Bella the Chi Chi didn’t choose wisely by rolling in tootie of some kind.  Of course she required a bath which is no big deal because she’s tiny and so easy to bathe.  She seemed a little traumatized afterwards…

 

 

Check out my Dubs?

 

Not really.  My daughter took my Explorer Up North and Mick took her car so I’m driving Mick’s truck.  It’s a huge truck and I always worry I’m going to drive over someone…or a car.  Plus,  it’s a diesel so it stinks.

Since everyone was gone, my parents took pity on me and asked me to go on their weekly date at the mall.   

I wore my octopus ring from Etsy…

and a cute little dress from Francesca’s…

I’m happy to say I found the Body Glide for my chaffing problem.  I also found some sunglasses for running.  They’re shatterproof which is good for when semi’s race by me. 

My mom and dad like to shop for one hour and one hour only.  After shopping, we went to a restaurant in the mall that has the bestest turkey burgers.  So good.

 The Parentals…

 

After the mall, we dropped my Dad off at home.  He had to mow his carpet/lawn (which he does every 2-3 days).  My mom and I continued on to see the movie, “Crazy Stupid Love”.  I liked it but don’t go by referral because I like everything…seriously.

After the movie, my mom wanted to go to Sam’s Club to buy the things that my dad hates but she can successfully sneak into his food.  I didn’t want to buy anything but I managed to find some Krill/Fish oil capsules.  I also bought a 24 count box of Clif Bars thinking that they were the same as what I previously bought.  Well, the Clif Bars I bought before were snack bars and these were regular size.  Oh well, they’ll still get eaten.

Came home and let the dogs out.  Sat on the front porch relaxing while by beautiful golden retriever found something nasty to roll in (little trend going on here).  She must have thought I looked bored so she was trying to get me something to do…. The boys all got home around 8:30pm so things are feeling a little bit more normal.

Chaffing… Youch!

Woke up late to an empty house.  All three of our kids were at their friends’.  Mick was at work.

My $6 sunglasses from Forever 21 broke today.  I know they’re kind of cheesy in that 1980’s kind of way but I loved the way they fit on my head.  I think I’ll go tomorrow and look for some real running sunglasses, maybe some Oakley’s?! 

Today was a good run.  Started at 10:36am.  I wanted to go big.  My goal was 14 and I ran 14.35 miles.  My average pace was 8:47.  It was overcast with a temperature of 72 degrees.  It was beautiful.

I wore all black.  I look stealth. 

 

14.35 miles = chaffing.  “F” me!!  I need to get some astroglide?!  Sounds sexual so I’ll double-check the name before asking for it at the store. 

We got more rain the night before which was bad since we received too much rain the previous night (I mentioned in my previous post that we lost some appliances).  We already had flooding in our town but most of us were lucky.  Not even a mile from home, I encountered water over the road.  When I got closer, I could tell that I could walk through it without getting my socks wet…

This next picture is a small park next to a stream.  The stream had overflowed… a lot.  You can barely see the monkey bars.  It’d be difficult to do the monkey bars due to the undertow.  Don’t worry, I didn’t chance it.

 

Here, the water had overflowed on the train tracks.  Again, I was able to get through it without getting my socks wet, barely.

 

I felt crazy after my run.  I looked like poo poo SOOOOO, I took a picture (hee hee)…  I kind of look like a turtle?!  But who frickin’ cares cause I ran 14.35 stinkin’ miles, SWAN!!  Sha-yeah!

Here are some pic’s from my own yard.  I’m not complaining because I know we were very lucky BUT, we do have extra water in our yard…

My father-in-law owns land that butts up to ours.  The pond is normally half the size and is a perfect oval shape.  It’s a bit overflowed as well…

After doing some housework, I worked on power-washing my deck some more.  Another sneaky horsefly rode in on my shirt and I can’t find him.  I hope he doesn’t bite us in the head while we’re sleeping.  I so hate those things. 

The kids didn’t come home so Mick and I went out for pizza (I wanted sushi). 

On our way back to the car, I totally started a fight with Mick, which is so typical of me.  This big yelling match was about deck sealer.  So incredibly stupid, I know.  I demanded to be taken straight home (which I don’t think he minded doing) and marched right to my room to watch a movie and punch in a blog post. 

All day long, my mom and sister were referring me to a link that my little cousin, Lee Lee put on my Facebook page.  The link is http://thebloggess.com/2011/06/and-thats-why-you-should-learn-to-pick-your-battles/ and it’s by a hilarious blogger.  My cousin said that the post reminded her of something I would do.  I was skeptical because how does anyone know about all the stupid things I’ve done to poor Mick.  Well, they must know because this posting was me to a tee.  I went from pouting (2 hours of pouting) to crying and laughing out loud.  I think my eyes are swollen now from all the tears.   I’m so glad that I can go to bed in a good mood instead of being mad at ole’ Mick.  Poor guy, he’s right, I do act like a queen…

It Popped And Smoked…

Normally, I sleep right through thunder and rain storms but last night, Mick and I shot straight out of bed with one huge crack of lightning in the middle of the night.  This crack was followed by a sparks and bright light which really freaked me out. 

Finally got back to sleep and woke to some things not working in our house.  These appliances, etc. were working just fine the day before. 

The stove/oven — The light in the oven would light up and the stove top worked but the digital/clock readout  and the oven control unit wouldn’t work so, no frozen pizza or chocolate chip cookies for me. 

Microwave — The microwave is totally dead.  This makes things very difficult for me.  I love my microwave because I use it, a lot! 

Garage Door Opener — There’s some clicking going on but Mick couldn’t get it to work.  I’ll have to manually open and shut that sucker just like we did when I was a little squirt.

TV/VCR/DVD/Stereo Receiver — The boys and I couldn’t get it turn on.  Mick came home and pressed the power button and the unit popped and smoked.  Scared the crapola out of me.  Unplugged that sucker from the wall and put in the garage. 

Workout room TV — It works but everything’s purple and pink.  Those colors are all right but not on a TV.  This unit had a VCR built into it so I’m not too sad about it.  However, I always used this TV when I used the treadmill.

Satellite dish receivers — We have 3 and 2 were screwed up?!  Satellite company sent a fellow over within 3 hours of my call and he upgraded one receiver to a DVR (I don’t have to share my DVR with the kids anymore = very nice).  No big whoop on the receivers cause they’re better than before.

Xbox 360 — Ha, ha.  I hate this sucker.  I wouldn’t normally report this sucker to the insurance company  (bury it in a hole) but Momma wants a better stove/oven so I could use the money from this for a better stove/oven.  Just joking… Kind of.

Boom box in workout room — I think it was $15 so I won’t report this.  Mick likes to play really loud speed metal on this sucker when he works out so I won’t miss it. 

I am grateful  that we didn’t get hit worse because we could have lost our whole house.  We were bum rushed w/5 inches of rain in a short period of time.  Cars were floating off the highway in spots. Mick got a picture this morning… 

With all that was going on today, I finally started a run later in the day.  I wasn’t feeling it and it was uncomfortable outside so I just ran my block which is 3.5 miles.  I ran it quicker than I normally do at 7:55 an average mile.  The temperature was 82 degrees with 70% humidity (felt like 87 degrees and it was really uncomfortable and hard to breathe).

I made Brucee take pictures of me before my run.  He commented that he felt some were inappropriate, “Umm, that’s inappropriate…”.  He is a very funny kid.

 

Mick plays double-header softball games on Thursday nights so it’s a big deal on my social calendar.  The games were cancelled due to all the rain.  SHITAKI MUSHROOMS!!

2 RANDOM KITTY PICTURES… Here’s Frank chattering to a dove.  I think he thinks he’s a bird whisperer and the bird will come to him if he chatters.  “Chit, chat, chit, chitty, chit, chit…”

Okay, last random animal picture.  This is our 4th kitty, Haden.  She’s a tortie.  We give her prozac because she always seems freaked out.  I think I need Prozac just to giver her Prozac because it’s no fun.

Tomorrow’s Friday.  My time off is coming to an end, quickly…

Not My Daughter, You Bitch!

Up and dressed for a fun run.  Yelled out to the world, “Should I wear a shirt today?” and all I got back was a couple of loud “NO!”‘s which I think were my boys.  So to get even with those bossy suckers, I wore one of most scandalous shirts…

Started my fashion show, I mean, run at 9:19am.  I ran 7.83 miles w/an average 8:30 minute mile.  It was 66 degrees and full sun (83% humidity).   I’ve heard 65 degrees is like the most ideal temperature but I disagree.  I must run hotter because ideal to me would be like 55 degrees (especially if I have to wear a stupid shirt). 

The boys and I went to see the last Harry Potter movie.  It was AWWE SOME!  The boys liked it but they’re not worthy because they didn’t read the books.  “Not my daughter, you bitch!”, was one of my favorite lines from the movie. 

Roo acts like he doesn’t want to be in pic’s but look at who’s creepin’ behind me in this next one…

Dinner was good and no, I didn’t take pictures.  We used real plates so I should have. 

I used my favorite, monthly publication, Simple & Delicious.  We made fettucine w/Cilantro Pesto and Greek Grilled Chicken Pitas.  We had a canary yellow melon and corn-on-the-cob. 

Tortured our animals (not really).  Actually, we just dressed them up.  Here’s Sophee…

And Peyton the Satan kitty…

And Thomas…

This is Frank.  He’s my favoritist cat.  But Frank’s heart belongs to Mick.  Mick is annoyed by Frank so it’s pretty comical to see them together.  At night, Frank likes to jump on and off my dresser on to Mick’s back or chest.  Mick will cuss and Frank will run.  We will sometimes shut the door at night but Frank throws himself at the door all night and meows annoying for hours.  It’s killer.

 

Mick was running errands and I NEEDED a peanut butter malt.  He said he was too busy.  Low and behold, he showed up with one for me anyways.  He’s the best husband.

Floating Turds….

Up and at ’em and a runnin’ at 8:50am.  I ran 8.98 miles with a 8:40 mile average.  Yesterday I enjoyed the Adele station and today I enjoyed The Beatles station on Pandora.   The temperature was 75 degrees and it was full sun so I was super-duper hot.

Wearing my Skinnyrunner.com shirt in hopes that I was going to run faster and easier today…

 

The kids and I got on the road at 12:30 for a two-hour drive to go tubing down the Muskegon River.  It was super cheap at only $10 a person which covered the tube and transportation.  It was an approximate two-hour float which was the perfect amount of time.  Mick didn’t go because he’s a worker (workaholic).  It’s hard to get him to take a day off.

Love this suit.  It’s a two-piece but it’s nice and modest…

 

There was a lot of bickering  (mainly me) but a lot more laughter.  We joke that Brucee should have his own blog because he says the funniest things.  He made the observation that we were surrounded by water that looked like urine.  Seriously though, the water was beautiful.  It was so peaceful and relaxing.  We were floating like big turds down the river.  Ahhh.  The life.

No actual pictures of us tubing because I didn’t want to ruin another camera.  I’ve had bad luck w/technology lately so it would have fallen in the water or something.

NO, no pictures!!

The Who trying to get a piggy-back from Brucee..

My 20-year-old baby, The Who…

While we were screwing around, Mick was taking our dogs swimming.  He got bit under his lip by a horsefly.  Youch!

After stopping for dinner and then a second time for ice cream, we made it home by 8:30pm.  So tired.

“Peoplefood” Bin For The Fam?

Rise and Shine at 6:40 and off to work at 7:30am. 40% chance of rain but that was no excuse not to run this morning. I was just looking for a way out.

Wore some old cropped black pants, a favorite Billabong shirt and some Steve Madden mary jane’s to work today. Uneventful…that’s how I like my workdays. I’m off for the rest of the week. No big plans but I have to use my time off somehow.

Got a windshield chip filled and picked my Pampered Chef order….a platter, two medium bowls (for serving sides), 2 cup measuring (a dream for measuring peanut butter) and a free collapsible bowl/lid.  All of this was $77.  Was it worth it? 

Came home with intentions of running. Walked through the door and saw some warm gourmet pizza (frozen Digiorno) sitting on the stovetop. Damn. Sabotage. Of course I ate it. This, of course, pushed my run 2 hours so that my stomach could settle.

84 degrees and full sun. Glad I waited, right? Not. Started my run at 3:22pm. I ran 10.54 miles with an average at 8:40 a mile. I was so hot. I stopped twice for water. Area under my boo-bays was still unhappily chaffed from Friday’s run so I took extra precautions this time by wearing a padded bandaid over that area. When I got home and after the profuse sweating stopped, I rubbed cornstarch on it (not just for cooking). I tell you, if this doesn’t get better soon, I’ll be wearing a maxi pad tucked up under my exercise bra…

Both boys had something going on tonight so Mick took Roo to his soccer game while I took Brucee to his soccer practice.

Can’t believe Brucee’s soccer practices are already starting up again. Usually we have the summers off but this new team doesn’t mess around so finishing my deck cleaning had to wait. I was enjoying my Xtra large SF Red Bull, Mann’s Stringless Sugar Peas, and a 2nd bottle of water when I realized I needed to pee, like super bad (way too many liquids). I so wish that they’d come out with a  phone app that showed you all the public restrooms near you. Arghh…

Here’s my office and/or special place while Brucee was running his little hiney off…

RANDOM OBSERVATION…Gas is $3.38 a gallon.

I was not prepared for dinner. All I could think of was my running. I’m so selfish, I know. I wish I had a bin for “people food” like I have dogfood for my dog or catfood for the kitties. Just one scoop per person, twice a day. Oh…it’d never work. They’re so picky. They’d just bitch and moan, I just know it.

 

We had fastfood…Wendy’s…bleck!

Early to bed because I need to run about 7am tomorrow. I’m planning on taking the kiddies river tubing. It’ll be two hours of floating down a river. Sounds lovely to me.

My Achin’ Back…

Woke up exhausted again.  Good thing it was a Sunday but bad thing if I planned on running…which I did.  Skipped my run today and focused ALL of my attention on my dirty deck. 

I hate borrowing stuff (even from my husband).  I want to own it and I want it in my garage or my little barn.  I’ve always wanted to buy my own pressure washer but Mick always says “NO” when I bring it up.  He’d claim to have one at the Farm (tree farm, that is) so I didn’t need to spend more $ on another.  After nagging for weeks, he brought home the Jerkoff, or soon to be known as the Jerkoff pressure washer to me.

 

I couldn’t start it but I can’t start anything gas powered with a “pulley thingee”.   I didn’t want my husband’s help.  I wanted to do it all by myself…

 

But I suck!  So…. pissed off….I had to cave and ask Mick to come help me.   Mick said I let the Jerkoff kick my ass (and he’s right).  He started that sucker (no problem) and I totally lost myself.  I went into power washer mode.  I did eat lunch but I started at 11:15am and didn’t stop til 7:15pm.

 

The only breaks I took were each time the Jerkoff ran out of gas.  I’d eat a tortilla wrap or I would have huge glasses of water each time.   I looked crazy.  I wore my pajamas and I was covered in dirt and smut from the deck.  Friends came to pick up their son and I think they were sickened by my appearance. 

I didn’t finish the deck but I got more than halfway.   I have Tuesday through Friday off so I’m hoping to finish up sometime this week.

My deck was filthy…

 

I feel deformed and I don’t think I can stand up straight..like Igor.

I did one other thing today…I fed the birds.  I was almost tempted to try one of the birdie pellets because they smelled like peanut butter.   These birdie candies will probably attrack woodpeckers to my wood sided house.  Probably not the brightest move.   Maybe I should go out and eat it.

 

Question — Do you feed your birds regularly or are you like me and do it when you think of it?

A Visiting We Will Go…

Before I could enjoy a delicious (yes I can actually spell that word) bowl of Kashi Autumn Wheat, I had to get my run done in the 100% humidity.  Thank goodness the temp was only 72 degrees.  I had lots of sprinkles but no rain.

 

I had to put a big bandage under my boobs because running w/a sweaty wet exercise bra the day before didn’t agree with me.  I think that was chaffing?!   Starting at 7:25am, I ran 5.42 miles with an average 8:23 mile pace.

 

I wanted to run earlier but I was so tired from the night before.  About 10pm, my golden retriever decided to roll in poop.  No picture op from that.  Mick was at poker so I got to deal with it.  I really wanted to scrub her and dry her before going to bed so the whole mess seemed to take forever.  I know she was probably so confused at my reaction because I was totally freaking out, “No big whoop, Mom“.  SO FRICKIN’ GROSS!

My little sissy is in the process of moving into her new house so Who Ha and I drove the hour to get there and hang out.   I’m always looking for an opportunity to hang out with my sisters.

Love this BCBG shirt.  It’s an oldie but a goodie…

Check out the opening in the back…

Our next stop after my sister’s was Trader Joe’s.  I wish I would have taken a cooler because I would have totally gotten more dinner-type food.

 

The only two things I have to purchase when I go to TJ’s is the Flaxseed Peanut Butter and big bottles of Extra Virginal Olive Oil (EVOO as Rachael Ray calls it).  Disappointed though because I thought the EVOO was special from TJ but turned out I already have it at home (from the local grocery store).  Oh well, I’m set on OO for a little while now.  I also got some fun stuff: Flaxseed tortilla chips, dried mango strips, banana chips, peach salsa, sweet chili sauce (for fish or appetizers), candy covered sunflower seeds, giant white beans in tomato sauce (just for the fun of it), doggie bones, bread and butter pickles, and my NEW favorite purchase….frozen basil and cilantro (ea has 20 teaspoons)…

 

I couldn’t stop eating the candy covered sunflower seeds.  Glad it’s a small package…

We had breakfast for dinner which always goes over well.  Pancakes w/bananas or chocolate chips, fruit, sausage links, eggs and fried potatoes.

Who Wears Short Shorts? He Does…

On my way home from work, I couldn’t believe all of the junky people hanging out near the street/road.  This is my lovely,  small town… what can I say?  I so wish that I had the guts to pull over and take a picture.  Picture this.  Two guys hanging pow wowing in the driveway of one their homes.  One standing there in a wifebeater tank.  The second, wearing shorts and workboots, sitting on an old Kawasaki motorcycle.  The guy in the shorts had absolutely no right to be wearing the shorts.  The picture I could have taken would have been awesome.  Awesome enough to make it on Ellen Degeneres or Tosh.O.   At the very least, a blue ribbon at the County Fair…Maybe I could do a reanactment at my home.  Probably not cause I have no idea where he could have found those nasty white, short shorts…

Today, for work, I wore Seven jeans, a Metropark shirt and Steve Madden shoes.

 

No, I do not think “I’m all that”.  I’m totally being stupid in the 2nd pose. 

For lunch, I had a honey wheat tortilla covered w/this  deeelish, overpriced Dietz and Watson deli Santa Fe turkey breast (spicy), hummus, red onion, and bread & butter pickles. 

RANDOM PICTURE…Here’s Thomas, one of my kitties, tangled in the tripod.  He’s been obsessed with it…

Started a run at 4:06pm.  I wanted to reach a new record and I did it.  I ran 13.33 miles which is the most I’ve ever run (8:37 average mile).  I had to stop for 3 drinks of water and one potty break.  In the end, the temperature wasn’t so bad at 76 degrees.  My right knee was pretty sore so I iced it w/a bag of frozen corn.

HELLO SAILOR!

 

We went to a local Mexican place for dinner.  I don’t like this place but it was close and that was the only way my husband would go with us is if we went somewhere close since he had a date with a poker game.

Came home after dinner, thinking the data from my run would have uploaded to my computer but it hadn’t.  It’s acting strange and I’m thinking it may need to go back to Garmin to be fixed or replaced.  Bummed about that.

Does anyone else have trouble getting their Garmin to upload to their computer?