Couch-to-5k Third Workout

For the first and second runs of my Couch-To-5k Workout, go here and here.

Tonight Justinbustin had youth group down in south Austin, so Brando, Shawners, and I dropped him off then went and parked at Zilker Park so I could run Town Lake Trail aka Lady Bird Lake Trail while Shawners and Brando hung out at Zilker. Brilliant. I left the watch I'd been borrowing from Justinbustin at home, so I used his iTouch to time my run instead.

7:25pm Running down rocks to the trail. This was not so smart. Guy running up the rocks. Strange.

7:26pm Why the heck is the walk part the longest most boring part ever? And what the heck is up with these gnats on the trail? *swat*

7:27pm Seriously, am I the only one dealing with these gnats. They can't just be following me, can they? *nervous glance at other walkers/runners to see if they seem to be bothered*

7:28pm Okay, this is going so slow. Time to enjoy the beauty of the lake you're walking alongside.

7:29pm 30 seconds Ooh, pretty plants next to the water.

7:31pm Thank God that's over. The plants and lake are pretty, but what is that stench?

7:31pm First run. Slight side cramp. Nooo!

7:31pm 30 seconds Oops, I forgot water again. Maybe that's why I have the side cramp. Good thing I'm running by Brando's car where I left my water bottle.

7:32pm 30 seconds Banging on the car window trying to wake Brando up so I don't break my time. Success.

7:32pm 45 seconds Water in hand. Why did that guy ask me how I was doing as I was running past him? Did he not see I was busy?

7:33pm Run back to the trail. Seriously, the whoot out of the car is tried and failed. Just keep driving guys.

7:33pm 15 sec Man, these gnats are EVERYwhere. And it's not just me. I see other people swatting.

7:33pm 30 sec Ooh, look, I just saw that walking girl running a minute ago. She must be doing intervals, too.

7:34pm I feel like pig pen from peanuts. These gnats are following me. And they're worse when the stench of the lake gets worse.

7:35pm Back to running. Sweet, I'm ten minutes in. I can do this. And no more side cramps!

7:36pm Smooth sailing with my water. Love it.

7:37pm 30 seconds More running.

7:38pm Uh oh, I feel like throwing up. Maybe eating before running wasn't the smartest idea. Especially after adding water on top of it.

7:38pm 30 seconds Thank goodness I get to walk again. I seriously am starting to feel food coming up.

7:39pm Almost to the point I need to turn around. Dang, there are so many sweaty, huffing, puffing people around. I do not like this.

7:39pm 30 seconds I can do this. Just breathe.

7:40pm Time to run and turn around. I'm skipping the trail and taking the grassy way back to the car.

7:40pm 30 seconds Ahhh, peace. No gnats, no stench, no people. I love running on the grassy field.

7:41pm I did another run. No upchuck. Thank goodness.

7:42pm I love walking all by myself. Town Lake Trail is so not my cup of tea to run.

7:43pm 30 seconds Last run! Can't believe I did this again. This time was the most challenging with the new terrain, the people, and the nasty gnats. Wonder how many I swallowed.

7:44pm 30 seconds Victory lap around the parking lot where Brando and Shawners are parked.

7:45pm 30 seconds Okay, really, it's a final cool down lap so nothing comes up. Can't wait to get back to the car and let my stomach settle.

7:46pm Back to the car. So happy I pushed through and finished!

Couch-to-5k Second Workout

Second interval run. So proud of myself!

3:55pm Starting out with walking. Most boring part ever.

3:57pm Seriously, it's only been two minutes?

3:58pm Mmm, smells like barbeque weather. Love all the purple flowers on the patios.

3:59pm I'm also at the end of my running area, where the heck am I going to run. Should've taken the road.

4:00pm First run. Not bad. Uh-oh, slight side cramp. Shoot, this better not put me down for the count.

4:02pm Yay, the walking time totally allows for the cramp to be breathed away.

4:03pm Guess I'll go run over where they are doing the new construction. Oops, I'll have to jump fences during my running time. That counts.

4:03pm 30 sec Wow, I've worked up a sweat already. Awesome.

4:05pm Ooh, pretty sunset through the trees from the construction area.

4:07pm Running time. Uh-oh, did I seriously forget water? I am breathing heavy and this side cramp is coming back with every run. At least it's leaving with the walks.

4:08pm Better head back to my place.

4:09pm 30 seconds Can't believe I forgot water. Dumb. Hope it doesn't ruin my good feeling about running. Note to self: BRING WATER.

4:10pm Routine at this point. Side cramp while running, walk off the side cramp, run again. Thinking this may have to do with my lack of water.

4:14pm Almost back to the house, but need to walk off this last cramp.

4:15pm Totally covered in sweat. Love it.

4:15pm 30 sec Back at the house within 30 seconds of my target time. Awesome.

Fireworks

I did it! I bought Katy Perry tickets to her California Dreams tour coming to Austin as {one of} Brando's birthday presents to me. So FLIPPIN' excited!

Speaking of Brando, he is coming with me - I gave him a choice and warned him he may be the only guy there. Although, I have to admit, I did throw in that I went to his much desired go-to event last year, and this would be my turn for him to go to my much desired go-to event. He assured me he'd love to go with me, and was sure there will be other guys who have been dragged along. SO darn exciting. While it would be fun to take a girlfriend and he wouldn't mind if I did, I am giddy excited to get to share an experience I'm so looking forward to with him.

I can't wait for the COLOR!
Her over-the-top colorful props and scenes she's famous for in her music videos.
And her gorgeous voice, of course.
Most of all, I'm looking forward to my absolute favorite songs:

California Girls - "Nothing comes close to the Golden Coast" is one of the lyrics and is the title to my facebook album of our vow renewal pictures.

Teenage Dream - This makes me think of Goldilock's super sappy love story via a past post of hers, which, in turn, makes me think of my own love story- the way she loves that man makes me appreciate mine all the more and be determined to show him just how much I love him as she does her man.

This is my favorite pose and hold with Brando. On top of that, it reminds me of our vow renewal photos.

Firework - The song that lately makes me feel like I can conquer the world and peps me up when I'm feeling down, as it does for a lot of my girlfriends. Including Teagan, who I have to thank for encouraging me to actually buy these tickets - without her encouragement I definitely can't say I would have made sure it happened. So happy she did!
Not Like the Movies - I love the versatility of her voice. Her voice sounds like it belongs in a 1920s jazz club in this song, and I can't wait to see how she interprets it live.

According to her California Dreams' tour setlist aka list of songs she plays, I will have to wait til' the end to hear my favorite songs, which will leave me on a FANTASTIC note. Plus, it will get "I Kissed a Girl" out of the way in the beginning - one of my least favorite songs. Actually, I don't like it at all - especially after an ill-informed DJ played it at my son's third grade carnival. DJ fail.
I'm starting my grooveshark playlist now so I can know the songs before I go. SO darn excited!!

Updated: Just came across this picture that Katy Perry's husband, Russell Brand, posted on his Twitter account of Katy in the morning in December. Big oops on his part as he deleted it a few hours later with nary a mention, but I still love that he posted it in the first place. It's so important for girls to see the Hollywood effect and not beat themselves up for who they are. Although, I wish she left it up and withstood the bad press, but it still makes me even more excited to see her now! To read the whole story go here.

Christmas Time

We haven't decorated at all for Christmas as we will be elsewhere, but tonight we made Christmas crafts. Specifically, Shawners made crafts because crafts get all up in my business of annoyance. I love when other people set up a craft, show me how to do it, and then seeing the end product, but the actual buying of the materials, setting it up, and then half the time ending up with a dud? No, thanks. Fortunately, my son has much more patience than I and spent an hour alternating between putting beads in a metal frame with tweezers
and painting etching cream on a glass ornament via a design punched laminate stencil while his brother created an animated cartoon movie. Shawner's finished product was nothing short of amazing. Unfortunately, I don't have a finished shot of the Christmas tree ornament, but you can already tell from the before shot that it is even more stunning afterwards. The glass etched ornaments were new to me, but I used to love these make it and bake it ornaments as a kid! I was so happy to introduce Shawners to them, and am so glad he loved them, too.

Volunteering

Giving this mobile posting thing a go:
So many perks to volunteering. The first of which is a huge sense of satisfaction, motivation, and production. Volunteering with my best friend, KT, has the added benefit of three hours of (almost) uninterrupted girlie chat time, plus a celebration lunch of giving back afterwards. On top of all that, we get to enjoy yummy treats like these delicious chocolate covered rice krispy treats of which we used the ribbon ties to make rings out of. I'd post a picture of that, along with a better picture of the rice krispy treat, however I wasn't intending to post them and included brightly colored contact information as the background. Enjoy the thought and if you can figure out how to make them this way on your own, definitely let me know!

Oh the Places You Will Go

Excuse me while I take another little jaunt, this time for our renewalmoon. Brando and I will be married ten years this year and we celebrated by renewing our vows on the beach he proposed to me at in a ceremony unlike our first. Our first had only ten people, this one we invited all, and as many as could be there in the two weeks short notice we gave them were there. My best friend from my childhood and my sister stood up next to me, and the boys, Brando's brother, and his childhood friend stood next to him. I designed my flowers, my sister-in-law sang You and Me by Lifehouse only changing the words "everything she does is beautiful, everything she does is right" to "everything you do is beautiful, everything you do is right", and we celebrated by having our favorite restaurants cater to my parents backyard on the harbor with a soundtrack made by my girlfriend, A, here in Texas. It was beautiful. Simple. Sweet. Perfect.

The week before we took a renewalmoon by visiting my cousin, whom I normally visit once a year. It was so much fun to take Brando this time and show him all my favorite haunts.

We started out with a California coast road trip via the Pacific Coast Highway along with appropriate road trip snacks of course,

past gorgeous California vineyards

down the historic El Camino Real,

a gas station stop and a quick picture in case I didn't get any more before the sun set, though fortunately I did.

Finally, the beautiful California coast gracing the road,

stopping at a vista point,

more coastal road side beauty,

then to see the sunset in Ventura.

We spent the next few days around Orange County and I can't wait to show you pictures of those adventures! It's so strange to have pictures of Brando and I instead of my cousin and I this time around, but I love it, and fortunately we still got a few super cute pictures of my cousin and I.

Summertime Mealtime

After having Brando's friend Big Shawners grocery shop for us, then come home and slave in our kitchen for four hours making three delicious meals for us that lasted us all week, and then hearing Allison rave again about her delicious meals made in advance for the entire week, I finally decided I would do it myself. After Big Shawners wasn't available to come over tonight and do it again, that is.

So, tonight, Brando and I grocery shopped and slaved for four hours to make three (hopefully all) delicious meals that will hopefully last us the week. Grocery shopping together was a BLAST, especially sending the boys in all different directions to get ingredients (out of the whole list, I'm pretty sure Brando and I only got two items ourselves), coming home and all four of us putting all the ingredients together - washing, chopping, putting together, all the while I was making the ingredients pretty in their own individual bowls whilst Brando made fun of me,

and then finally, FINALLY eating my delicious plate of chicken, red pepper, and onion kabobs marinated in soy sauce, honey, and olive oil with fresh green beans, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, and basil.

So excited for beef bourgouignon with red wine, carrots, and onions,

asparagus with fresh squeezed lime and garlic,

rosemary potatoes,

and goat cheese, basil, and bread crumb stuffed tomatoes.

ph. by Brando (except for the 3rd ph.), unedited because I stole them too quickly

Lovely Arizona

Lately my posts have been out of state, and I love it!

This past weekend I went to Arizona to see my grandma get married. She was married to her first husband for 50 years and he passed away. She remarried to the grandpa my kids remember, divorced him, even though they still spent all their time together, then he passed away. Now she is married again to another grandpa for my kiddos. She is amazing.

My sister who lives near me and I flew out there together and enjoyed the whole weekend with my parents, my cousin whom I go visit in the OC, and my grandma and new grandpa. It was amazing. Rejuvenating. Relaxing. Wonderful. The stress melted away in less than the two days I was there. And now I am back.

I didn't realize even though I have kids I can still go see my grandma all by myself! I didn't get to visit her as I was growing up, so there's no reason I can't do that now! I can't wait for next time! As well as to explore more of the gorgeousness that is Arizona with the beautiful skyline,

the tiled mosaics of dragonflies flying aside a river along the highways,

and the gorgeous mountain ranges amidst the flatness.

I also can't wait to visit and explore the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley!

Favorite Memories of My Semester

Hello long lost friends!! I did it! I survived my first full-time semester as a Mom, wife, friend, and human being. There were a few times I didn't think I was going to make it through, but then I would text a friend and they would offer their house, a beer, and a quiet place, or a word of encouragement telling me I could do it, and they believed in me, and I would truck on.

Before I took my finals I finished with an A in all four classes!! Whoohoo. For sure two have stuck - in history and english, and I'll wait to see what I get in math and psych, but I'm happy. I set out to be happy with a few B's if I got them. When that became a possible prospect I started to lose face under the reality. That led to really growing to accept it, even up to only studying an hour for my history final and still making an A on it (talk about a confidence booster ;) !!

Any way, I had a fabulous first semester, and even though I broke the last week thinking I NEVER wanted to go through this again, I actually couldn't imagine not having such an amazing opportunity to learn and meet new friends with similar lifelong goals taking the steps we all have to take to get there.

Tada! Some of my favorite memories of my semester:

Celebrating awesome exam scores with hi fives with Arisa

Late night study sessions with KT

Having someone to understand the panic attacks and anxiety with Katey

Hanging out with Marlie, Christian, Laurin, and Ambir in English

Finding a true friend in Marlie (and Katey!!)

Shocking myself with an A in history from a 58 out of 60 on the final!

People who believe in me - KT, Li, Mai, all of you, (others I'm forgetting) and all my girls from school.

Happy Halloween

Yay, Halloween! I am loving the idea of parties the weekend before. After a Halloween costume party AND a pumpkin carving party last weekend, I already feel like we've celebrated Halloween and we're not even there yet!

Greek Goddess and Brando as... himself.

I tried to convince him to write in silver sharpie on his shirt, "I am coming as myself."

Oh, yes, we danced. And danced. And danced.

Brando did borrow my friend's boyfriend's costume from last year. He only wore the ostrich rider for about twenty minutes, though, because the machine on his rear end keeping the costume full of air was a little hard to sit on.

The end of the night, and the Burger King. He was awesome.

And on to... the pumpkin carving party! We went to Sweet Berry Farm first for our pumpkins, and did a giant maze where the field is in the shape of Texas (you can see the field ready to be seeded here).

Afterwards, we went to a friend's house and everybody carved all their pumpkins! Shawners and I had the weekend to ourselves as Brando and Justinb had gone camping. So we cuddled upstairs and watched a movie on the half a theatre movie size screen until the crowd (with their crazy huge knives they used for their pumpkin carving tools!!) cleared and then we carved ours with one other girl that was still doing an intricate design on her large pumpkin.

Shawner's pumpkin!

My pumpkin that was extremely difficult. It took all of five minutes!