Hair Dilemma

I'm still at the beach, being as lazy as possible with 2 young kids. It's surprisingly easier than you might think. The kids love it here. Mornings consist of eating Lucky Charms on the sofa while watching TV. Then some beach time, lunch, pool time, more beach, more pool, and a late dinner. Needless to say, they both fall asleep quite easily at the end of the day.

I came to Litchfield with great intentions of a 6am run each  morning:

Somehow, that hasn't happened.

I don't love running on the beach. Sometimes the sand slopes and that drives me nuts. Other times it's just too mushy, and I feel like that can't be good on the aging joints. Plus, while perusing Pinterest the other day, I came across an Insanity workout featured in Self magazine. I tried out this move:

And promptly pulled a muscle in my back. Ouch. Of course, that provided an excellent excuse for laziness. However, I'm debating a quick run before getting everyone ready to head out to the beach this morning.

One of the biggest issues I have to deal with here is Ava's hair. She has been wanting to let it grow out for some time now. So, I've been letting her. My initial thought on the topic was, "it's her hair, if it's a big deal for her to have it long, I'll let her do it." Trouble is, long is not really the best style for her. And it's not even crazy long, yet. But it's long enough that it is constantly tangled, resulting in a scream-fest every morning when it's time to brush it. I love it in a ponytail:

But what I really loved was when she was four and had this sweet little bob:

I recently showed her a picture of Crystal Gayle, thinking that would change her mind about overly-long hair,  but of course, it had the opposite effect. She was mesmerized. 

Of course. 

Tar Heel Ten Miler

I think I mentioned here last week that I was going to do a 10 mile run in Chapel Hill this past weekend, right? Well, I did it. I didn't train at all, and I did it. It was actually pretty fun. My old college roommate and I have done this race together the last few years. Two years ago, we were both pretty new to running, and opted for the 4-miler that is also an option. I was immediately jealous of all the 10 mile runners and vowed that I would make that  happen the next year. So, last year, fairly fresh off a half marathon, I signed up for the 10. I think at that point Sarah and I pretty much decided we'd try to do it every year.

This year we both put off registration as long as we could. Two weeks before the race, I signed up. I run a few days a week, but 6 miles is the farthest I've gone in a year. Yes, I do that six every week, but still. The math is pretty simple: 10 > 6. 

Anyway. As a Carolina girl, I know it doesn't get much better than Chapel Hill in the springtime. It also doesn't get much hillier. I mean, you have to figure any town with the word "Hill" in its name is going to have some of those little demons. Of course, I had done this race before, so I knew what I was getting into, but honestly, there isn't much that can prepare you for the grueling part of the course that is Laurel Hill Road. More on that in a sec.

So, beautiful spring day. A little humid, but that's okay. I was well-hydrated. We pretty much started out on an uphill, which I think is mean, but they didn't consult me when making the course. I won't go into the mile-by-mile details, but basically, I felt really good for about 8 miles. I could feel my legs starting to tire a bit, but nothing terrible. But then came that damn Laurel Hill Road. Starting at about mile 8.25, you start going straight up. Then about a half mile up, you think you're done. Flatter road! Yay! Oh, but no. Not really. Because look! More uphill. Ugh! It's like it never ends. And then it finally does, about a mile later. It sucks. That's just all I can say about it. But then it's over, and you're only about .75 miles from the finish, and it's all flat road to the end. 

The 10 miles flew by since Sarah and I chatted the whole way. Plus, the scenery was beautiful and the people watching was good. Here we are at the end, all sweaty and glistening. It was insanely humid for April:

So, I'm glad I did it and I'm glad it's over. And I'm looking forward to doing it again next year. 

The Agony of Defeat

Today, a beautiful almost-Spring day, I played in my first ever tennis match. If you recall, I started taking lessons last summer. I'm not good, but I was deemed  good enough to play on a 2.5 team. We've been doing team clinics for about 6 weeks, and let's just say that we're all beginners on our little team. Some perhaps even more beginner than me. I'll leave it at that.

Anyway, today was my first big doubles match. I had to miss clinic last week since I was sick, but I was able to play with my scheduled doubles partner for a little while Sunday afternoon. We had fun, and I was relieved to have been able to get in a little play time before the match today.

I started out the day at 5:30am with my usual Wednesday 6 mile run. As previously mentioned, I was sick last week. I have not worked out at all in 8 days. The run? It nearly killed me. In fact, around the end of mile 5, I declared that my friends were going to have to continue on without me. Since they are such great friends, they did not let me stop, and encouraged me to finish our last mile. Heather suggested I think of the Biggest Loser contestants who run a marathon at the end of their show, and that did help to make my legs feel a bit lighter. Still, I was beat.

 

Okay. Fast forward a few hours to 9:30. My partner and I fully expected a complete beating. Davis was at home sick, and Morgan was with him. I said I figured we'd lose in 2 straight sets and I'd be home at 10:30. Well, we were matched up better than anticipated. The first set took an hour, and we won 6-4. I think 80% of our games went to deuce. Second set. Another hour. We were tied at 6-6, and the other team beat us in a tie break game. That tied it up 1-1. We had to play a 10-point tie break game to settle the match, and we lost. A crushing defeat. Honestly, I could have lost 6-0, 6-0, and felt better than playing hard and well for 2.5 hours and then losing at the very end.

Still, it was great practice, and at least I've got the first match jitters out of the way.

Plus, my team outfit is super cute:



I would like this outfit in more colors, please. Thank you.

The weeks fly by....

Well, here we are. Friday all over again. I guess that our school system is trying to kill me, because not only did they have early release today, but they are out of school Monday and Tuesday. That's not to say I dislike having Ava at home. It's the Ava/Davis combo that kills me. They are in full on love-hate sibling mode these days. They can't stand to be apart from one another, but the bickering is nonstop.

In order to maintain my sanity, I have been doing some online shopping. Nothing huge....just some cute crewcuts stuff for Ava that was on sale. I've also been perusing Pinterest quite a bit. How addicitive is that little site? Geez.

Here are a few of my favorite things that I've pinned lately.

Love this green/navy/white combo for spring:

This e-card is great:

I  am crazy about this room, and particularly those curtains. Wowza.

If I ever redo Ava's room, I love this for inspiration:

I found a tutorial for no-sew  Roman shades. I'm planning to try this out on one of my kitchen windows as soon as I can find the right fabric:

I made these bars. If you  love peanut butter and chocolate, make these now. Seriously. Now.

http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/03/peanut-butter-chocolate-bars.html 

And, lastly, I made this chicken dish. It is absurdly simple to make. 

http://www.plainchicken.com/2009/08/chicken-rollups-2.html 

I'm hoping I can find something to make for dinner tonight. Right now, I'm completely unmotivated to cook at all. In fact, after an early run and  Body Pump class at the gym, I kind of want to take a nap. Unfortunately, both kids are at home, and the youngest slept 20 minutes in the car, which he seems to be counting as a nap. Hmph. 

I'm excited about my weekend. I'm having lunch tomorrow with 2 of my college roommates. We don't live far from one another, but lining up schedules to get together is nearly impossible. 

We're also at T minus 6 days until we leave for Disney, so that's pretty exciting. I'm ready for some warm Florida weather. It will be Davis' first time on a plane, and to anyone else on the flight, I offer my apologies ahead of time. Especially since it's a commuter plane with only 14 rows. Again, people, I'm really sorry.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Workin' On My Fitness

I will never claim to be the most fit person in the world, but I do like to stay ahead of my calorie consumption, so regular exercise is part of most  of my days. I have to work out in order to eat like I do (2 Krispy Kremes this morning, for instance). I often think that if I could work out AND cut out bad food, I might actually look like I really want to, but really, I like food. And wine.

Anyway, in order to keep me motivated to run, go to the gym, whatever, I have to keep things fresh. So, today, without further adieu, I present to you my favorite recent exercise finds:

1. Rock My Run
I don't run by myself much anymore. Time alone with my own thoughts is far too scary. But when the universe's forces are working against me and I have to run alone, I need good music. Enter Rock My Run.


This website has pre-made running mixes, put together by some pretty big DJs. I'm not really into the DJ scene, so I'll take the site's word for it. I've downloaded two FREE mixes so far, and they really keep me moving on my solo runs. I guess the downfall is that when you download, you're downloading the whole mix, and therefore can't skip any songs you don't like. However, since they're DJ mixes, most of the songs aren't  full-length. I was so excited when I downloaded a new mix this morning that included Bell Biv Devoe's "Poison" and Boyz II Men's "Motown Philly" in a bit of a mash-up.

2. lululemon
I think I have made my love for this brand pretty well known lately. The opening of the Raleigh store may be my financial downfall. My current favorite is my Run:Full Tilt Long Sleeve top:

image via

I adore this top. Besides being the cutest top in my workout drawer (ruffles!), it's soft and cozy. And it has those fun little thumb hole things, which I love. Even better is the little zipper pocket near the bottom that can hold my iPod. Despite the fact that it's overpriced, I'm very tempted to invest in one more of these babies.

I'm also really tempted to get these new striped Wunder Unders.

The fabric is supposedly the same as my other beloved (plain black) Wunder Unders, but it's pique, or something. I tried them on, and I'm kind of worried that they're going to be hot for gym workouts. So, I'm on the fence.

3. Since I'm not made of money and can't really outfit myself solely in lulu, I like to diversify. One of my very favorite finds ever is these Old Navy compression capris:

image here

I seriously paid $15 for these on sale. I initially ordered them in grey (I think ON calls it carbon). I love them so much I just ordered a second pair in black. They're great for running and the gym. The waist is high enough that they hide any muffin top, and they don't slide down during a run. Plus, whenever it's more than 35 or 40 degrees outside, I just prefer a cropped running pant. I get toasty pretty easily. Layers are my friend. 

Anyone have any favorites to share? Please post in the comments.

I've got Ava home sick again today, so I had to miss one of my favorite torture sessions gym classes.Luckily, my sweet husband let me sneak in a run this morning after I dropped Davis at school.I have a feeling Ava will be home again tomorrow. If that's the case, she'll be coming with me to my kitchen designer consultation. Good times!

TV and other musings

Hi there. Several topics for today.

First, the almighty TV. What a whirlwind couple of TV days. First the epic series finale of 'Lost', and then the end of '24'?? Whatever will I do? Thank God for Netflix is all I have to say. Okay, so 'Lost.' I am still trying to make sense of it all, and I'm sure I'll never come up with the answers. But my biggest question is this: what was the point of the Dharma Initiative? And The Others? I mean, yeah, we got some of the big questions sorta answered (Smokey, Jacob's origins, etc), but there is so much that's still unaccounted for. Argh. Damn writers.

And '24'. Oh, sadness. I was kind of disappointed in the ending (spoiler alert!). I mean, I know it might feel contrived, but couldn't Jack have just gone to LA to life a nice, quiet life with his family? I guess we should have known as soon as they killed off his FBI girlfriend that a tidy ending just wasn't gonna happen. And, I know it wasn't feasible. I mean, this is JACK BAUER we're talking about. A life of leisure just isn't in the cards for him.

So, this brings me to my next topic, the DVR. It seems that I have to explain all my recordings to my husband, while he gets to record whatever he wants and not have to answer to anyone about it. Case in point: last night, the DVR was just about full, and we needed to record '24' and 'The Bachelorette." So the husband says to me, "Um, did you mean to record this 'Oprah'?" I was like, "YES! Please do not erase my shows!" And the he says, "why do you want to watch this one with Julia Roberts anyway?" Seriously, dear. I do not ask you to explain why you feel the need to watch 'Cops' or NASCAR, so just give me my 'Oprah', 'k? (And my 'Real Housewives' for that matter. But only of NY and NJ. Orange County and Atlanta aren't for me.)

So, with the TV season running out, here's what I plan to watch via Netflix this summer:

-True Blood
-Dexter (seasons 3 & 4)
-The Tudors
-Mad Men (season 3)
-Entourage (not sure what the last season I saw was)

And I think that' it.

I got myself out of bed for a 3 mile run this morning and boy was it humid. It was only about 67 degrees, but holy perspiration, Batman! And then, a la George Costanza, my shower didn't take.(I was trying to find a clip to post, but no luck). I think I have finally cooled off now, but sheesh. Oh, I will mention that I noticed all these food/health bloggers have been drinking Green Monsters lately. Basically, that's a spinach smoothie. Sounds gross, no? Well, I was curious so I made one yesterday, and actually found it quite pleasant. It was:

3 cups raw spinach
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1 TSP ground flax seed
1 banana
1 scoop soy protein powder
ice

And I have a new blender that does a fancy-pants job of crushing ice (and also has the ability to wake the dead with it's volume), so I just put it all together and hit "frozen drink." Well, it all comes out quite nicely. I'll try to remember to take a picture tomorrow. Lots of green. The husband tried it and did not like it. Ava wouldn't go near it. Not sure about Davis.

Ta -ta for now, kids!

Oh, sweet sleep.

In the last 6 months, or maybe it's more like 3, I have lost my mind and become a morning exerciser. It is the only time of day I can count on to be my own, so I claim the early hour with pride. However it does often take GREAT effort to pry me from the comfort of my loving bed, and every morning, I have multiple conversations with myself regarding reasons NOT to get up. Now that  it's actually light and warm at 6am, getting up is not as much of a chore. And do you know what my biggest motivation is? Cocktail hour. You see, the husband does not usually arrive home until sometime around 7pm, so an evening run would not be over until around 8. And that? Means wine would not be feasible until that time. And frankly, I don't like a glass of wine after a run. I think that's what distinguishes me from someone with a REAL drinking problem. (Hi Mom). Seriously, though. I mean, if I had an actual problem, I would be like, "hey, just finished a 4 mile run, so that means I can have a few extra glasses of Chardonnay!" Not the case here. I guess post-exercise, I get in some stupid let's-be-healthy frame of mind and just sip on water the rest of the night.

Speaking of the rest of the night, I would like to mention that I need about 3 more hours of wakeful time during the evening/night, when the kids are asleep. I mean, I have lots of TV to watch, lots of laundry to fold, lots and lots of books to read ( a huge source of stress for me - there are way too many good books out there and I fear that I will never get through all of them! Or that I will miss the best of them!!). But these two little people (and one big person) that live with me take up all my daytime hours, leaving only a few precious me hours at night. Sometimes I find myself wanting to pull an all-nighter just to get stuff done, but the fear of extreme tiredness the next day keeps me from actually going through with it. I may or may not have had a small meltdown this morning, the theme of which was, "I am a failure as a wife and mother and a constant disappointment to those around me." (And I wonder where my daughter gets her flair for the dramatic.) I also may or may not have mumbled loud enough for my husband to hear, "sometimes it's like I have THREE children to take care of." Of course, my eldest heard me and quickly said, "Mommy, you only have two children." Oh, right. Thanks for the clarification, oh wise one.

Anyway, we're all good here now. Had a good day, didn't get much done, but did go out to lunch AND purchased a blender, so that's all good news. Plus, my husband is having a colonoscopy tomorrow, which means I don't have to cook dinner tonight. Yay for medical procedures that make you have to fast and spend the night in the bathroom!!

Cheerio!

Sibling Rivalry....

For the last year, my kids have been all love for each other. So sweet. Ava has either loved or ignored her brother most of the time. However, since he started walking, it's all changed. There is still lots of love, and even lots of playing (yay! please entertain each other....Mommy needs to catch up on Facebook now). However, Davis loves all of Ava's stuff. And he loves to pull her hair. And yell in her ear. Well, she says it's in her ear. Usually, it's just in her proximity.

My sister is 10 years older than me, so I have never personally experienced childhood sibling rivalry. It's interesting to watch. I'm pretty good at not intervening or taking sides, but there is lots of me reminding Ava that Davis is only one and that he just doesn't understand things like she does. Sigh. It's hard to reason with a dramatic 4-year-old.

It's been a pretty uneventful week here. Busy, but uneventful, if that makes any sense. I have a 5 mile run planned for the morning, so I suppose I should put down the wine, turn off the tv, and get into bed.

Oh! One last thing, though. Since stalking strangers on the web is a hobby of mine, I often read other people's blogs. Running blogs have caught my attention of late, and I started reading Erica's blog over at http://www.ericarunning.com/. She hosted a giveaway for Chobani Champions (yum!) last week, and guess what? I won! Yay me! And thanks, Erica!