Thankful Thursday

Today I'm Thankful For:

-Conversations with my Dad.  No matter what, happy, sad, stressful, just catching up I love talking to him. 

-That it was Thankful Thursday today...I was not feeling very kind/tolerant/charitable/ towards the majority of people I came into contact with.  Or, more like our vehicles almost came in contact.  It's just thoughtless and selfish to speed through school zones and then pretend to side swipe the person (me) that was doing the speed limit in the school zone.  Between the 3 to 4 school zones and 3 construction zones I go through to get anywhere through our part of town I see horrific driving behavior every single day.  :(

But, every time I got angry and wanted to go all road rage on them I reminded myself it was Thankful Thursday, and what did I have to be thankful for instead.  P.S. I'm thankful I'm not a dumb ass driver! 

-That Mark is such a hard worker and spends so much time making our house/outside look so nice.  He has been working non-stop the last few days (it's been sunny and dry, so pulling up sod and loading up a dumpster of yard waist) all to get ready to make Bishops kennel nice and pretty, and finish the back yard. 

-For shopping trips with Sky...

When is the last time you enjoyed grocery shopping this much?!

-For Boxed wine...recommended by my Aunt and Uncle who are in the industry...

 This is really good, ad really on sale at FM right now! 

-Birchbox day!  

Month after month, this never gets old!

-Tacos, they are just good no matter what!  

-For bed time.  Those first few seconds of snuggling under the blankets and letting out the breath that sinks you down into the mattress.  Yep, I'm really thankful for that!  

What are you thankful for today?

Little But Fierce

She is so proud of her new trick on her rocking horse, and she is pretty proud of her "little but fierce" shirt as well!  She TaDa's all over the place, it's her new way of making an entrance and getting us to pay attention to her.

I felt fierce myself tonight...sub 9 pace (barely...was 8:56) for the group run tonight. I felt like I was going to vomit every single step of the way, but I got it done.  I just didn't eat properly pre-run, I won't make that mistake gain!

In other good news I got this in the mail today...

The best $10 a month every month!

I am so excited about the Nail Rock!  You paint your nails with the clear stuff then dip them in the confetti pot!  How fun is that?!!!  My nails are going to be very Tada!

I was going to wait for a party to do my nails, but I just got a phone call from Michelle and in even more good news found out we are going to the Justin Timberlake concert this Friday night!!!!  I can't even begin to express how excited I am about seeing MR. JT live!  I had been trying to win us tickets for weeks, but thanks to Bob we now get to go, and I'm still a little in shock.  I kind of want to run around the block shouting at the top of my lungs, but my legs are pretty tired from the group run.  So I'll just blog about it instead.  :-)

Tell me the best concert you have ever been to!  
Mine was Aerosmith at the gorge in WA years ago.  Perfect weather, amazing performance, front row at the second stage they did part of the show from, and was with Mark.  It was pretty amazing!


  

Early Morning Run

I'm trying really hard to stay on schedule with the training runs even though I'm feeling the time crunch of getting ready for a two week vacation.  Part road trip to get there, and part time spent in a lovely condo in a fun to explore area.  Feels like I'm getting ready for two trips actually and it's a bit stressful. 

But, even though it feels like I don't have time to run it's what helps keep me balanced. 

So, when a last minute opportunity to run early this morning came up I took it!  Even though I was not loving the early alarm it was once again a lovely run with Elya.  So nice to catch up with her over 5 miles!

Chambers is so pretty to run in the mornings!

I got a little running treat yesterday from one of my favorite running blogs!  Skinnyrunner.com sent me all of this.... (Edited to note that skinnyrunner.com no longer exists 1/14/14).

...after I didn't win one of her contests.  There were several Jen's that entered and when the winner was posted it just said Jen with no way to know which one.  I think she felt bad telling me I was the wrong one so she sent a little "sorry you lost" swag my way.  She totally didn't have to do that, I wasn't upset, but it sure was nice of her!.  Those socks are $50!  I would have been selfish and kept them for myself.  :0 

Stroller group run in the morning and then I'm done with "real life running"...bring on vacation running!!!  There is an epic run planned next week with someone I have been waiting years to run with!  It's going to be so much fun I can hardly stand it!!! 

Sky pics from the last few days:

This one is just scary looking.  I was playing with some of the filters on my phone.



Watching Cars together.

We went to the city of Steilacoom's city-wide garage sale day last weekend.  She was totally riding in style with her feet propped up, snacks, and drinks.  So many people stopped and commented on her sweet ride!  Totally a side note, but I got 3 awesome stainless steel pots for under $20! 

I also got this Saturday!!!  I love my Birchbox surprise every month!!!  I totally need a million of the foot wipes!!!

Love having a bunch of sample/travel size beauty products.  Makes packing for a trip so easy! 

Any tips for a 5 day road trip with a 2 year old?





Good Run, Run Mommy

Am I the only one that wants to wear the race medal for days afterwards?  I'm just so satisfied (I hate to say proud because I'm not arrogant) with my effort and accomplishment that I kind of want everyone to know about it. 

I resist though, because that would make me an annoying runner, or more annoying than I already am.  I finally have enough race bling that I need to start thinking about what I'm actually going to do with them.  Store them/display or not display them in the house...more like display them/hide them at the same time in my closet somehow, donate them?  I mean if I can't wear them without getting on peoples nerves what's the point of having them?  

Got out for a what I thought would be a quick and easy short little run just to get my running legs under me again.  Oh man there was nothing quick or easy about it!  It was hard, and hot, and I was miserable the entire time.  For as hot as See Jane was I was way more drenched after today's 2 miles than I was after 13 at See Jane.  Rivers of sweat running off me. Couldn't get in a cool shower fast enough.

The best part was when I stopped to walk the last 10 yards to cool down Sky yelled out "Good run, run Mommy" with glee in her voice.  That sort of made the 2 miles of torcher worth it.

I always feel like a little pampering is in order after a big race, and thanks to Val I was all set to get a mani and pedi.  I started thinking about it though and realized that my manicures chip after 2 or 3 days and my pedicures are pointless with all the spray/powder and anti-blister stuff I put on my feet.  So, instead of going for a few days of pleasure I went for a whole years worth!!! 

I upgraded my Birchbox membership from month to month to the whole year!!!  I will get a box of high end beauty samples sent to me for an entire year, and will now earn bonus points for each box shipped.  At any time I can turn those points in to put them towards full-sized products that I like.  I'm so excited, and can now be pampered after every race!  Thank you Val for being so thoughtful!!! 

If you don't know about Birchbox check them out HERE

A peak at the box I was sent last month...

Heat protecting leave in conditioning spray, foundation, self tanner, SPF moisturizer, body butter and instructions for how to use them all.

I talk a lot about running, but I'm girly too without being high maintenance.  Getting free samples of skin care products, make-up, beauty tools etc is perfect!  Not too much, but just enough for me to play with and remind myself to take the running shoes/cloths off and put on some make-up and a cute skirt and sandals.

The run aside it was actually a pretty great day spent playing outside and getting a few chores done around the house.  

 

She was so distracted by Daddy being silly behind her that she could hardly stay on the balance beam for more than a few seconds.  She loves being outside playing and loves it even more when Daddy plays too. 

Hard to believe that there are only a few weeks of summer left.  :(  Going to enjoy it as much as possible!!!





  

Weekend Fun

While I really toyed with the idea of getting a quick little (unauthorized) run in, I opted for a weekend of non-running fun instead. 

Friday night started with Mark scoring a free (yes I said FREE) play set for Sky!  I'm talking one of the nice wooden ones with swings, climbing wall, slide, fort, picnic table underneath the fort, and a seesaw horse swing thingy. 

While Mark was off taking the thing apart and loading it in his truck Sky and I enjoyed play time in the yard.  I actually feel bad because it took him 3 ish hours and two trips to get it and he did it all by himself.  But, we now have a really cool structure that Mark can modify to fit our yard perfectly!

Yes, that's Sky through the wine glass.

 

Saturday Sky was thrilled to have a sleep over with Grace and Kiera.  It's was Grace's pizza party night that we gave her for Christmas.  Yes, it took us until July to find a weekend that worked!  YIKES!!! 

 Mark, Sky, Giant Pooh Bear, and Kiera watching Peter Pan.

 

It took Sky a little bit to warm up to having others in her sand box.

 

I had fun opening my very first Birchbox!  For $10 a month you get a sample box of beauty products that you can customize to your preferences.  I toyed with the idea of subscribing to Birchbox for a while.  It came highly recommended from Jodi, but being on a single income having a frivolous monthly expense seemed not smart.  But, I figured I can come up with $10 a month to try some really nice beauty products, and I can always skip a month if need be.  It took about 4 weeks of waiting on a list to be invited to join and then about 3 weeks to get my first box.  I was so excited and have already used all but two things in my box!  You can check out Birchbox HERE 

 

 

 

Today we went to NW Trek with the Beckham's.  Sky had a blast running around and seeing Bison, Moos, Elk, Dear, Mountain Goats, Big Horn Sheep, Caribou, and Swans among other things. 

 

 

 

Look at that curly hair!!  So much fun to brush.  :(  Sky was not loving having her picture taken today below is her "No cheese" face which is what she says when she does not want her picture taken.

 



 

I'm stretching and trigger pointing the rest of the day, oh and probably drinking some wine too.  Starting tomorrow it's back to strength training and running.  1/2 #2 is going to be here before I know it!!!!