{partners in crime}: October 2011

Mileage Monday

Running stats for the week of October 24th - October 30th... have I mentioned how much I hate the treadmill! Seriously, it sucks! I hate it because I know how long I've been running, how much longer I need to go, and the scenery... well let's just say looking at a bunch of sweaty people isn't my cup of tea. Sigh... and to think I have 6 months left of this treadmill relationship.

You know what else I hate... WORK! Work gets in the way of everything, especially my workouts. This week was the worst! I worked 12 hour days 4 days this week so by the time I made it home I was wiped out! I need to find a way to fit some workout time in even when I'm pooped, but I just haven't figured that out yet.

Goodness... I sound like a Pessimistic Polly! On to my workouts for the week!

Monday, October 24th, 2011 - 12 hour work day....

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 - 12 hour work day...

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011 - 12 hour work day...

Thursday, October 27th 2011 -11 hour work day...

Friday, October 28th, 2011 - REST DAY!

Saturday, October 29th, 2011 - ran 2 miles, weights, abs, stretch

Sunday, October 30th, 2011 - abs & stretch

Total miles for the week: 2 miles

WOW! I did worse this week than last. PATHETIC! It's times like these that I ask myself why I took a break from running because it is so hard to get back into it!

Chicken Chili to the Rescue!

Since the weather has started to turn colder, I have started to crave my favorite winter meal... Chicken Chili! I have worked 12 hour days almost every day this week so I haven't had a chance to make it. I was thrilled when I got home from work tonight and saw Dan made it for me today! YAY!

It hits the spot every time :)

Mileage Monday

Workout stats for the week of October 17th - October 23rd... After falling off my running regiment for the last few weeks I decided to pick back up on my workouts. To tell you the truth, I'm not in the mood to workout period. I guess having a race in mind to run was actually good motivation for me because since I decided to not run it, any little bit of motivation to live healthy has officially gone down the drain. Not only have I not been working out... I've been eating bad! We're talking pop, fast food, coffee, candy... you name it I'm eating it. The 10 lbs I lost during my summer of running... I have almost gained it all back in a matter of 3-4 weeks! THE SHAME! Did I mention I finally joined a gym? It's about time!

Speaking of the gym... you all know my hate of treadmill running! BLAH! BORING! But it is a necessary evil for me in the winter time since without it I wouldn't do anything! My first run this week I decided that the treadmill is just as exciting as I remember... NOT... but I was pleasantly surprised by something. After doing most of my runs on the concrete sidewalk for the past 5 months and my knees, ankles, and shins screaming in pain... I noticed after I was finished with this run that my legs felt great! Not even a little bit of aches and pains like usual. I think this is because the treadmill has some give to it and for that I'm thankful! Also, maybe this break I've taken was beneficial to my body. I gave it some time to heal.

Here's to getting back into the running habit!

Monday, October 17th, 2011 - LAZY DAY!

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 - Stretch/Abs

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011 - ran 2 miles

Thursday, October 20th, 2011 - LAZY DAY!

Friday, October 21st, 2011 - LAZY DAY!

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011- ran 1.5 miles/Abs/Arms

Sunday, October 23rd, 2011 - weights

Total miles ran for the week : 3.5 miles

Wow... I went from doing 12-15 miles a week to 3.5 miles! BLAH! My goal is to step it up next week!

The Cons of an 80 lb Dog!

Remington can be a lot to handle... that's no secret! He's knocked me down the stairs several times, scratched up my arms, legs, stomach, and even face, and made my right shoulder horribly sore when he use to pull on his leash during walks. But this weekend I experienced another con of owning this 80 lb monster...

While taking him out to potty on Saturday evening, Remington saw something of interest to him and took off full force! Thank goodness he was on a leash, but this meant I was pulled along with him. It is all I can do to control him when he REALLY wants to go somewhere. In the process of trying to get control back, I hit my finger on the side of the door and ripped the top of my nail off! It hurt so bad I actually cried... more like sobbed! MAN IT HURT! A few hours later I also noticed a nice sized lump on the side of my knee. I must have hit my knee during the craziness as well. It was swollen, red, and my guess is it will bruise up pretty bad.

Oh Remington... you make my life interesting and I suppose that is why I love you so darn much!

Braiding?

I've hopelessly been trying to learn to french braid my hair. It isn't really long enough yet to do anything too fancy with it, but I want to be prepared when I have long luxurious locks and can do my hair in all sorts of lovely ways... at least that is the goal.

I did this last night all by myself! YAY!

Not impressed? I was... Come on people, it's the small successes that keep me going!

P.S. I never noticed how LARGE and in charge my forehead was until this pic. YIKES!

Late Anniversary Gift

Dan got me a late anniversary gift :) Isn't he sweet! I have been wanting a cheap wedding band that I can wear to the gym... you know, I have to let all those beefy workout creepers know I'm taken :) And I definitely never wear my real wedding ring when I'm working out... even if I'm just running around outside.

The ring he ordered is a plain silver band with a tiny little diamond in it. On the inside of the ring Dan had inscribed... "Partners in Crime 10.9.09" <---- this is our wedding date. I love the ring to pieces :) Thanks Dan!!

Dan's 27th Birthday

I didn't forget my husband's B-day! PROMISE! October 13th is the actual date!

BUT... Dan had to work on his actual birthday, so we celebrated this weekend!

I didn't get him anything... don't feel bad for him, he actually made a rather large purchase a few months ago on something he wanted. I said that was his B-day present from me... but I did tell him I would cook him a special Birthday Dinner.

He was given this Birthday Menu Request Form to fill out.

On it he was to choose his appetizer, main course, dessert, and special drinks that he wanted for his birthday meal and then returned it to housekeeping... or should I say... ME!

These were his picks...

Appetizer - Cook's Choice
Main Course - Meatloaf with Veggies
Dessert - Nutty Buddy (Dan's Mom makes this)
Special Drinks - Cook's Choice

For his appetizer I made salami rolls! YUM! They are salami, with cream cheese spread on them, and a little leaf of spinach... then you roll them up into a little roll. Dan was in love with these and pretty much ate all 24 of them. Later he even made some of his own.

I also made our favorite meatloaf. Dan loved it as usual. You can find that recipe here.

Dan really wanted me to make Nutty Buddy. I guess this was Grandma Rhoton's old recipe. It was success and Dan said it tasted just like it always does :)

For Dan's special drink I made homemade sangria. This consisted of white wine, Fresca, grapes, nectarines, and strawberries. It wasn't too bad and even tasted better the second day.

Dan said that he had a great birthday... and that his favorite part was getting to spend the whole weekend with his family. Good answer Dan :)

Work Hard when you're Young!

When I was in High School I use to go to the Chiropractor almost every week because of back problems from gymnastics and cheerleading. It wasn't fun... but I learned something during my many trips there. I would often tell the doctor cracking my back what was going on in my life... games, competitions, school, getting ready for college, etc. and he would say to me every time... "Work hard when you're young so you don't have to when you're older!" This quote has stuck to me like glue still to this day.

Every morning when I wake up... and I REALLY don't want to go to work... which is pretty much everyday... I say those 13 little words in my head and it helps me to crawl out from under the warm covers and set my two feet on the ground. I repeat them to myself when things are hectic at work, when I want to quit my Master's Program that is taking forever, and even when I am dreading a workout. I guess you could call it my life's mantra.

As Fall Break slowly approaches with a lovely three day weekend in store for me... I find myself repeating this quote over and over again when I'm working 12 hour days and writing papers for class. It reminds me that now is the time to push myself and then when I'm older I can relax :)

Any of you out there have good mantra's that you live by???

2nd Anniversary : A Year of Dates and Love Jar

Holy Moly! This weekend has been busy! Make sure you scroll clear down to see all the previous posts from the weekend!

Happy 2nd Anniversary to my wonderful husband! We have had our ups and downs this year, but continue to strive to be the best we can be for each other. I feel so blessed to have spent my life so far with you and I look forward to continuing our adventure together as the years go by! Thank you for all the support, kindness, and love you have given me since the first day we met. I love you very much!

I decided not to get Dan anything, but instead make something for "us". What we struggle with the most as a couple is making time for each other. We make time for our work, school, the dog, our friends and family... but we fail at stopping to focus our attention on each other. I made these gifts to hopefully get us to take time out of our busy schedules and spend a little time just being together and connecting again.

Gift #1 : A Year of Dates

I found this idea on one of the "Cop Wife" blogs I follow. What this gift consists of is a box, 24 envelops, and 24 different date ideas. I switched mine up a little bit and made 12 "Stay at Home Dates" and 12 "Out and About Dates".

What will happen is every month Dan will get to pick a date. He either will pick a "Stay at Home Date" if say we are short on cash... or he will pick an "Out and About Date" if say he is feeling like getting out of the house. I wanted to give him a little bit of a choice based on how he was feeling at the time. From there he will give me the envelop and based on what it says inside I will plan the date from there. Sounds fun right?! I plan to blog about our dates as the year goes by! I hope you enjoy all my date ideas!!!! The plan is for the "Year of Dates" to help us take time out for each other more than what we do now.

Gift #2 : Love Jar

I found this idea on a blog I follow called Dating Divas. What this gift consists of is a jar, and a piece of paper for each day of the month. I cut out several pieces to fill the jar up.

What will happen is every month Dan and I will pull a day out of the jar. Whatever day we get, we will have to do something nice for that person. It could be anything from buying a sweet card to let them know your thinking of them... to filling their car up with gas... to taking them out to dinner... really it is whatever you think will show them that you love them that day. I'm hoping this gift will help us to focus more on showing each other that we care and fill up our "Love Tanks" as the author of The Five Languages of Love would say.

I gave Dan his gift when we got home from Muncie. I actually think he liked it :)

Or... maybe he was just really happy to see Remington ;)

Bruce's 60th Birthday Bash!

This weekend we celebrated my father in-laws 60th Birthday! I know, he doesn't look a day over 40 does he??

The party was held in Muncie, so Dan and I packed up our things, took Remington to be boarded, and headed to our old stomping grounds. We were very excited to go not only because of the party, but also because of all the people that were going to be there. All of Dan's brothers, their wives, and their kids were in attendance. YAY! It isn't everyday that I get to see my nieces and nephews all at the same time!

We all met up at the Apple Orchard for some family photos. This is the first time in ages we have all gotten together so Dan's Mom wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. Below are just some of the pictures we took.