Weekend Re-Cap / Life is Back to Normal

Happy Monday to everyone!  I hope it's been a kind one!

I kind of feel a little pressure to get our life, house, errands etc back on track this week.  We have been gone every single weekend this month!  Two of those weekends were not planned either.  With all the unexpected travel I haven't done "real" grocery shopping in a very long time.  Nor have I made dentists appointments, Dr. appointments, cleaned the house...you get the idea.  I have been doing the minimum to keep things going (unpacking doing laundry and repacking over and over) and getting my training runs done, and as a result it's all caught up with us now.

I sort of love being home though and doing the normal every stuff, and it feels good to be getting back to normal and getting things done!  

I finally had time for a hair cut last week and boy oh boy was I over due!  It may not look a ton different, but the real beauty of this cut is when I let it air dry...it's has the perfect, no effort beach waves cut into the style, so it looks amazing with zero effort!  (We won't talk about the fact that I got rear ended again on the way to the hair cut...thankfully Sky and I are fine!  Thankfully it's wasn't more serious because they hit us and took off...karma...that's all I have to say).

This is the blown out version of the below style/pic my stylist worked off of!  Once again El did an amazing job, and was able to take all the heavy stuff off thankfully!

I let it air dry camping, and it looks pretty great if I do say so myself!  El get's all the credit, she's the one that makes it look good!

Friday started with my last "real" run before race day.  I got up and got 8 miles in and felt great doing it!  This week I have two 3 mile runs planned and then I'm resting until Sat.  Saturday races feel strange to me, but it's kinda nice to have Sunday to lay around and recover.

After that it was time for a weekend of camping on the coast.  It's always dicey camping on the WA Coast even in the summer, but we got so lucky with clear sunny days and a slight breeze that was perfect for keeping it from getting to hot!

 Sky and I waited around for Mark to finish work for the day and she was so over the top excited when it was finally time to get to camping!  This girl loves camping!  Out of the blue, twice today, she has said "Thank you mommy for the camping"!

 Climbing trees!  

 We were so not prepared for her to play in the ocean, we had no extra clothes, nor did we have any of the dishes/silverware needed for lunch either, but we made it work and had a lovely lunch on the beach!

Watching the kiddos play in the waves, I could do this all day!

 The girls coloring in trailer.  It's nice that each family has a trailer because the kids end up in one, usually ours since it's smaller and less stuff to get into, and the adults can visit in the other one, but with both doors open and facing each other we always know what they are up to.

 She wakes up super cuddly when we are camping!

Who's walking who?

Thankfully Michelle's Mom came up to camp and watched the kiddo's so we could sneak away for wine tasting and silliness at The Westport Winery.  If you are ever in the area check them out!  One of the few that let's you wander the grounds at will, and they set up ton's of outdoor seating, games, and entertainment to enjoy while strolling the vineyards drinking wine. 

The sunset was really amazing!

 My two favorite people taking a sunset walk. 

Sadly that glass of wine ended up getting kicked out of my hand, down the front of me, and (I have no idea how this happened) all down the inside as well.  I had wine in my belly button.  I was not a happy camper, mostly because I was worried about getting the wine out.  I ended up having to toss a few items, but the rest washed out with some Wine Away.  I learned that Wine Away needs to be a staple in the camping trailer, and not to drink and snuggle with a tired 3 year old at the same time.

Michelle and I enjoying the sunset.

This trip was timed perfectly!  This month has been crazy with travel, car issues, getting hit twice, Grandpa passing, the stress of trying to potty train a tot that want's nothing to do with it yet must be potty trained before pre-school starts, being away from home every weekend (I really like being home!) among other things.  It all sort of hit me, and getting away with good friends for the weekend and just relaxing and having fun was exactly what I needed.  I feel recharged and ready to take on the rest of summer! 

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How do you recharge when life gets crazy?

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm Thankful For:

-Cooler Temps and a bit of rain...my plants love it!  I hope that the side of the state that is on fire got some rain as well.

-That the sun is back for the weekend.  Just in time for our camping trip at the beach!

-Time to enjoy a few of my favorite things...

Especially loving the new summer pj pants from Target.  On sale right now!!

-That I have a hair cut tonight!  Even with my hair being as short as it is (shoulder length bob) it's still so thick that it's taking 20 to 30 minutes to dry with a blow dryer!  YIKES!  That is too much time spent drying hair! Two changes that need to happen...I need bangs and I think some layers will help.  I'm showing this pic to El as our inspiration for tonight's cut...

Found this on Pinterest.

I just need to make sure I can pull off a sleek, put together look as well as the messy version above.  I don't always want it to look messy.  

-Thankful that things are calm enough in life right now that my hair style is the biggest thing I'm thinking about today.  (Ok, I'd be lying if I didn't include potty training as well...its getting the better of me for sure).  

-Daddy/Daughter heart to hearts.  Sky has had a few really rough days.  Just cranky, upset, very clingy and needy, crying at the drop of a hat...it's totally not like her at all.  By the end of each day I'm pretty much done.  Yesterday evening was not great, but then Mark got down on the floor with her and they talked.  I have no idea what about (probably her new Minnie Mouse toy) and she calmed right down.  

  

-I'm super thankful that even when she's upset she still just really wants hugs and love.  Hugs make everything better.  

-Thankful and excited that tomorrow is the last "real" run before race day.  8 miles in the morning and then after that just two more 3 milers and then it's go time!  I'm ready, and excited, and can't wait to run.  I'm really looking forward to pushing as hard as I can for 13.1.  I want to cross that finish line and feel like I don't have another step left in me.  

-For inspiration!  I'm loving adidas "all in" campaign!  I'm all in for running, all in for 13.1, all in for pushing hard and accomplishing my goal!  I keep reminding myself during my runs that I'm all in...it helps keep me going!   

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What are you thankful for today? 

Last Long Training Run Done!

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a fun weekend and is ready to make this a great week!

My weekend started with an early morning run Friday.  I wanted to get my 12 miles done on home turf before heading to the HOT side of the state.

I got it done, and the good news is there was only a little knee pain the last few miles.  But, I also picked a route that ended with 2 to 3 miles of nothing but hills.  So, I wasn't too concerned about the knee pain.  I was kind of dreading this run because 12 miles is a lot of miles to run totally alone, for me anyway.  I'm a social runner for sure and have learned through this training cycle that I would rather run with a friend, so was not super excited about this last long run.  But, you know what...I LOVED it!  I didn't get bored with my own thoughts, I never once thought about stopping and walking or cutting the run short, and my first thought when I got back to my car was "that was no big deal"!

Then I started crying.  Mostly because I was able to run 12 miles period.  There was a stretch there that I didn't know if the knee would even let me hit the start line for this race.  To run 12, still be on track for a PR, and enjoy doing it alone got to me.

It worked out well that we were driving to E WA again this weekend (last trip over for a while!) because my Dad did a quick rescue treatment on the knee and took care of the little bit of knee pain I was having.  I'm pretty sure the ice bath I took helped as well.

Mosquito bites, not the measles! 

It may seem extreme to some, but it works for me!  I notice a difference when I ice after a run and when I don't.  Even though Mark and Sky were waiting for me to get showered and ready to hit the road, I took the time to take a quick ice bath.  I knew running 12 and then driving for 4 hours was not going to feel awesome, so I took the time to foam roll and ice bath to help the old legs out.  

It felt good to get the running done so I could focus on spending time with family that I don't get to see much, and remembering Grandpa.  The memorial was nice and catching up with family from across the state/country is always nice even if for a sad reason. 

A few pics from the weekend: 

 My cousin Nathan. 

 Sky made a new friend in Harlow!  Thank goodness there was another tot (almost 3) there because those two kept each other entertained and danced while pictures were playing to music on the TV.

 Even thought my aunt and uncle were out of town they let us stay at their place, and they have the best view for watching amazing sunsets! 

 Sky and Grandpa, reminds me of Grandpa Carl and how he always had tractors ready to go for us!

Sky is a great little road tripper and usually is very happy reading books, singing, talking to us, and staring out the window.  But, sometimes a girl just needs to learn How To Train Your Dragon to be happy in life.

Loves her books, and as long as she has water, a snack, a few books, her blanket, and a few stuffed animals that she loves she can make it through a road trip pretty easily.  Pit stops help too!  

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Who had an awesome training run or race this weekend?  Tell me about it!  

 

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for:

-Mark having a job/boss that doesn't hesitate to let him put family first, and take off work with no notice.   Also, for technology that allows for both of us to keep up on work emails etc even when we are clear across the state.  

-That I can send a text to my Aunt asking if we can stay with them for an unknown length of time with only a few hours notice.

-But mostly I'm thankful for memories!

Pretty sure he's talking about the belt buckle he won me when I was maybe 2...you couldn't be around him for 2 minutes without him telling the story.  I still have the buckle...it makes me smile every time I see it! 

My Grandpa passed away last Thursday, and while it was time, and we are all somewhat ready for it, it's also hard to see what others are going through in the aftermath.  That sounds so dramatic, but really it's just the business of closing accounts, making arrangements at the funeral home, and a million other little things.

While things with Grandpa had become unpleasant at the end I'm really thankful to have a lifetime of memories to hold close to my heart.

He was always so much fun, and growing up we always had his full attention when we visited.  He would go to great lengths making sure we had a good time!  He built a race track around their (huge!) garden with jumps and bumps for the dirt bikes, and when all the grand kids were in town  we'd have both dirt bikes, the tractor(s) going, and grandpa pulling us in the wooden wagon and stagecoach he built himself.  There always seemed to be a ton of bikes, scooters, and other random wheeled devices for us to zoom around and around the house, and race across the back patio area. 

I remember many hours spent fishing with him baiting hooks and taking fish off of hooks just as fast as he could, never getting to fish himself.  Visiting their house was always such an adventure, there was so much property and a garden that you cold get lost in, with several sheds and outbuildings full of fun to be had.  There was just so much space to run and play, and Grandpa always made sure there was stuff for us to play with, and half the time was playing right along with us.

I think the memory I will hold most dear to my heart though are the hot summer nights we spent sleeping on the back patio under the willow tree.  He would blow up every air mattress he could find and we would lay out there way too late talking, laughing, looking at stars, listening to him and Grandma tell stories with the willow tree swaying in the breeze.  It's probably why I love willow trees to this day!

I know Sky won't remember, but I'm so thankful that she got to enjoy Grandpa before things got bad.  The last time we talked he hugged me as we were saying goodbye and he said, "I have to live a lot longer, I have to see what Sky's going to do, she's so special and is going to change the world". 

This is how I'll always remember him, outside, active, having fun with his grand kids and great grand kids, with a big smile on his face!

You will be missed Grandpa Carl.  

Picture Post

We find ourselves unexpectedly traveling the next few days to help family make some arrangements and to offer support.  It's a little hectic right now, so just a picture post today. 

Some of the fun from last weekend's 4th of July trip! 

 She loved the chickens!

 Driving the tractor!

 Deep thoughts on the slip n slide...she was asking him "What do you think"?

Morning walk to get the paper with Uncle Paul. 

Dirt shower...I really have no words. 

  

Needless to say we had a ton of fun, and Sky LOVES the country/vineyard life!  We all do actually!  

Have a lovely weekend and I'll be back to posting in a few days!

I'm Back - To Running and From the Long Weekend!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes I'm pretty excited about how today's 8 miles went!

I even got bonus miles, and had a pretty great pace going at the end of the run!  The knee felt great from the get go.  It twinged a few times during the run during some of the hills, up and down.  But, I always kind of expect that on hills.  To be safe I have spent portions of time through the day foam rolling, trigger pointing, and icing.  I just want to take care of as I start to up the miles as quickly as I can without adding on too quickly.  I have three weeks to get up to 12 miles, and try to have some sort of a taper as well.  I may be going into this one without much of a taper, but it is what it is.

Big Thank You to Amy for running with me!  I was craving some running company and she was awesome at running whatever pace I needed!  I just never think of slacking or cutting a run short when I'm with someone else and she made the time fly by!  Also, thank you to Jodi, who's bathroom I visited on our way past her house...now that is true friendship!  :)

I'm so thankful Dad found time between clients to work on my knee over the weekend.  I know I'm not the only one in pain who needs his help, so I'm grateful that it worked out.  It's really nice to find what the problem is, have him work on it/let me know that I'm doing great focusing on the other things that are normally the problem (those other things, like my TFL, didn't hurt at all when he worked on them which means I'm doing good on the foam rolling/trigger pointing) and learning what else I need to work on to stay healthy and pain free!  

Now I'm super excited to get 10, or maybe 11, miles in later this week!

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I hope everyone had a fun filled, and safe, July 4th Holiday!

Our's got off to an exciting start when Sky and I were rear-ended on our way to pick Mark up from work to hit the road.  Thankfully we were not hurt, the car has some battle scars, but it's fine.  There was a bit of drama involved with the other two cars, but the LPD handled it smoothly and got Sky and I on our way.  We went home (didn't want to risk driving the car 4 hours after an accident until we could have it looked at, which I did yesterday) and switched into the truck for the drive.

We thought we were on our way to a quick, easy drive over (really after starting out the way Sky and I did we deserved it), but not so.  Unfortunately there was a wild fire right on the HWY, so it was closed and there was a pretty lengthy, and slow detour.  Thankfully it was pretty at least, and a scenic route we have never taken.  Also very thankful that Sky is a pro road tripper and was happy the entire time!  She really is the best!  

And, we got to see the fire helicopters fly over the detour route to get water out of the river that the detour followed.  

We know now (because we saw it on the way back home and the fire was limited to non-residential land next to the HWY) that no homes were lost, and we hope that all the firefighters were safe and sound after.  I have to say that fires/smoke make for some amazing sunsets!

Not bad for a pic of the truck/sunset in the side mirror! 

There are a ton of really great pics from the weekend, on Mark's camera.  So, as soon as I have the ok to use them I will share some here.  In the meantime since he had his camera I didn't take many pics with my phone, actually only two.

Amazing steak, street tacos that Uncle Paul made, and a zaiquiri (like a daiquiri only not).  Perfect for a warm E WA day!

There was plenty of time spent with family, having fun, playing yard games, playing with the chickens, tractor riding, slip n sliding, drinking and eating, and fireworks!  I'll share pics when I can.

In the meantime it's time to get my run on and get ready for the start line!

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What was the best thing you ate or drank over the weekend?

 

 

Thankful Thursday!

Things I'm thankful for today:

-It's a holiday weekend, and we get to spend it with people we love!  And, I'm leaving the computer at home, and while I could post from my phone, it's tedious, so this is the last post for the weekend.  Going to spend the time enjoying the sun and the people I'm with!  

-That even though it was hot, and I detest running in the heat, my knee finally felt good enough to run with the group Tuesday night!  And, we saw a dear, running through the North End like no big deal.  Only it was a big deal because it almost scared the crap out of me, thankfully it didn't though because I had my white running skirt on!  :)

-That Sky loves to "read" to herself.  She may not actually know how to read, but she knows exactly whats happening on every page and recites the book from memory.  She's a typical kid and wants more movie time than we give her, and wants to run around like a wild child, but she also really wants her books, and to be read to...for hours!

-For window air conditioning units!  It doesn't make a ton of sense to fork out the $$ for AC in the PNW, but when it gets super hot it's nice to have some sort of AC option.

View of the TV from the deck.

-That I have the ability to sit outside in the sun, while Sky's playing and still watch the soccer match.  So sad the US lost, but I'm so thankful this is how I got to watch it go down.  (Let's just say this was one of those days that cause some to judge SAHM and assume we sit around lounging and eating bon bon's all day).  I don't do this every day, but am thankful it's an option now and then.  

-The stroller group had their first track day yesterday.  It was an attempt to allow parents with older kiddo's, who are out of school and therefor making it difficult to impossible to attend stroller group, to join us, and to let the kiddos be active as well.  It was fun, and Sky "ran" about 3 laps with me. There was some bubble chasing and soccer ball kicking mixed in as well.  Can't wait for the next one!

-For tons of training opportunities and support in my Jamberry business.  I'm having so much fun, and learning so much (and was top seller in my direct team, and second highest in the bigger team!) the effort is paying off!  Mostly it just feels good to know I can cover things like my next hair cut, and not have it hit the family budget!  Plus, it's really good for me to have a schedule, even if it's a flexible one.  I need timelines/deadlines looming over me to get things done!  From house cleaning to training runs, I work best with the pressure of a to do list/timeline!

-I always assumed the tennis ball pocket on Lulu skirts were pointless for runners.  But, Amy told me otherwise, and now I know that GU will indeed stay in an upside down pocket very nicely during a run.  I always thought things would just slide right out of those pockets, but not so.  Thank you Amy!

-That I finally get some help/relief for my knee!  So thankful that Dad worked me into his busy schedule and we can figure out what's going on with this darn knee pain!

Lastly I want to say Happy 4th Of July to everyone!

I hope the weekend is full of fun, friends, family, sun, food, and good drinks!  Cute nails are nice too!  :)

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What are you thankful for today?

100 Happy Days - Done

Do you remember way back to March 24th when I started the 100 Happy Days Project?  You can read about it in this Happy Monday post.  Well my 100 days ended yesterday and I'm a little sad about it actually.

My last 100 Happy Days pic...I love observing their moments together.  

I missed one day because we were camping and I had no cell service or wifi, but I made up for it by posting two the next day.  I was a little worried I would end up being one of the over 70% of people that don't finish the project, because you know life happens and we get busy.  But, too busy to be happy?!  Not me!  

What I loved most about this project was that in the middle of a crappy day, or being sick or whatever, I would all of a sudden be reaching for my phone to snap a pic of something that made me happy and made me smile.  I found myself thinking about being happy without having to think about it, if that makes any sense at all.  

I heard a few comments here and there about how easy it must be to be happy when I don't work (don't even get me started) or it must be nice to be so dang happy all the time (like it's a bad thing?!).  

To those people I would say no life isn't always full of rainbows and sunshine.  Life is hard sometimes.  And, believe me I have had my share of hard times/situations to deal with. Everybody has, it's something we all have in common...bad days, weeks, months, years, situations, experiences.  

It all comes down to perspective I guess.  I am 100% willing to take responsibility for my happiness.  It means I'm proactive in dealing with issues/problems, and that I don't blame others.  It's on me how I let things/people/situation make me feel.  I deal with things that need dealt with, figure out what is mine to "fix" and what is mine to let go of, and then I move on.  

I also feel pretty strongly that there is already enough complaining, bad news, and negativity put out into the universe via blog, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook posts, and I try really hard to not be part of that (man FB riles me up sometimes though...working on it)!  I like to keep the negative/stressful/sad/upsetting things off of social media.  Maybe that makes my life appear to be over the top happy and fun all the time, but I guess I'd rather have people complain about how happy I appear to be then about how negative I am.   

Bottom line is there is so much good in life to embrace.  So many rich and meaningful experiences and relationships to be part of.  From seemingly small everyday little things, to big amazing fun events/experiences I want to be thankful for all of them, enjoy and embrace all of them, and Be Happy every day!  

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Some random pics from the last few days...

Amy joined us for our play date yesterday (walk to Starbucks, Trader Joe's, and the fruit stand)...she got a second run in for the day with Sky and Reagan!

Pretty much how she goes to bed every single night.  Happy, and willing, and for that I'm thankful!

 Must have for Taco Night! 

 She really wanted to go with Daddy on his last trip...thankfully he came home after only one night away...she was missing him so much!

Hanging out with cousin Emily, on a blanket in the shade.

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What makes you happy?