{partners in crime}: October 2013

30 Before 30 - Family Photo Shoot

October hit and the weather finally started to cool down. That meant it was time to schedule our family photo shoot! I didn't care about what kind of weather we were having, but I knew my heat hating husband and dog would have complaints if it wasn't below 75 degrees!

Even though Dan wasn't thrilled about getting family photos taken, I have had this on my To-Do List for years now so I was super excited about them. You see, I really wanted some nice pictures of just the three of us together to document the time in our lives when it was just us. Plus... not that I want to think about this... but I know Remi won't be around forever and I needed these pictures as a testament of the bond and love we have with him. Yes... I'm tearing up as I write this!

I asked one of my co-workers if she would be willing to take the pictures for us. I knew that she dabbled in photography and thought she would be the perfect one to do it since she's a fellow dog lover :) You must love dogs to photograph us!!

I really thought that doing photos with Remington would be easy peasy. He is pretty well trained and everything, but I didn't take into consideration all the distractions that would be going on around us. In other words he was a total spaz to say the least. It's one of those things that looking back on it I should have had more of a plan of attack going into it.. but hindsight is always 20/20 right.

Sadly, because of Remington's behavior I left the photo shoot thinking I would be happy if we got a few nice shots of the three of us together... I mean we didn't have a lot to work with... but I must say they didn't turn out too shabby :) I'll spare you with tons of photos, but I'll leave you with some of my favorites.

Big THANK YOU to JZ, our photographer, who put up with us for two long hours. Not many people could deal with a squirrel chasing, dirt loving, ADD 80 pound doodle! We really appreciated all the time you took with us and making sure you captured our little family. Again... giant thank you!

Time to check "do a family photo shoot" off my 30 Before 30 List! Slowly but surely we are getting them done!

Mileage & CrossFit Monday

Running stats and CrossFit WOD's for the week of October 21st - October 27th... This weeks weather was all over the place here. Some days it was perfect fall temps for running and other days it was just down right too cold for my taste. I have not hit the treadmill yet... and I have hopes of staying away from them until snow creates other plans for me.

I'm planning on taking a little break from CrossFit for the month of November and December. I'm still going to be doing it at least once a week in my "box", but I'll probably start doing more of it at home. Because of the holidays and our cruise, making time to actually go to the CrossFit Box will be a bit difficult. I'm just going to buy a 10 day pass so I can go when possible during the next few months and then get back into my monthly membership after the first of the year.

Monday, October 21st, 2013 - Ran 4.25 miles around UIndy's campus

Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013 - STRETCH! The rain killed my shot of getting a run in... BLAH!

Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013 - Warm up : 45 med ball cleans (14#), 90 sits ups, 3 one minute hand stand holds / Strength : shoulder press (45#) / WOD : 10 minute AMRAP (100 meter run, 10 hang cleans (45#), 5 push press (45#)... 5 rounds

Thursday, October 24th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Friday, October 25th, 2013 - Ran 4 miles / STRETCH / Walked Remi 2.5 miles

Saturday, October 26th, 2013 - 100 sit ups, 100 hand release push ups, 100 air squats

Sunday, October 27th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Total miles ran this week : 8.25 miles

Photo a Day Challenge : Week #43

Day 20 - Open

Day 21 - Then & Now

Day 22 - Change

Day 23 - My Mood Today (cuddly)

Day 24 - Dark

Day 25 - Welcome

Day 26 - Depth of Field

30 Before 30 - October Book (The Blessings of Animals by Katrina Kittle)

The second book I decided to read for my big challenge was...

I'm really trying to broaden my horizons when it comes to the books I read. I have a tendency to read books in series or mysteries so this was way out of my norm. Actually, all I did to choose this book was click through my Kindle for titles that caught my attention... "animals"... sure I'll read it! At the beginning I thought I would be disappointed because this book was all about relationships, love, blah blah blah... I'm not into mushy gushy books... however it didn't take too long before I was completely absorbed!

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From Katrina Kittle, critically acclaimed author of The Kindness of Strangers, comes a wry and moving story of forgiveness, flexibility, happiness, and the art of moving on.

Veterinarian Cami Anderson has hit a rough patch. Stymied by her recent divorce, she wonders if there are secret ingredients to a happy, long-lasting marriage or if the entire institution is outdated and obsolete. Couples all around her are approaching important milestones. Her parents are preparing to celebrate their fiftieth anniversary. Her brother and his partner find their marriage dreams legally blocked. Her former sister-in-law—still her best friend—is newly engaged. The youthfully exuberant romance of her teenage daughter is developing complications. And three separate men—including her ex-husband—are becoming entangled in Cami's messy post-marital love life.

But as she struggles to come to terms with her own doubts amid this chaotic circus of relationships, Cami finds strange comfort in an unexpected confidant: an angry, unpredictable horse in her care. With the help of her equine soul mate, she begins to make sense of marriage's great mysteries—and its disconnects.

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As I read through this book I couldn't help but think about the animal relationship in my life. I am so thankful for having a strong love and bond with a dog that makes me stop and take in the little things in life. Even though he doesn't know it, he has taught Dan and I a lot about ourselves and what it means to be a family. I think this book is right... animals are a blessing :)

Mileage & CrossFit Monday

Running stats and CrossFit WOD's for the week of October 14th - October 20th... it was a short three day week for me and I loved it! The University was on Fall Break so I ended up having 4 full days of rest from work. YAY! One of the things I love about being off for the day is getting to go to CrossFit early with Dan. It is one of the rare times we get to see each other and even though we don't talk during these classes much there is something cool about getting our butts kicked together. I ended up going to CrossFit two days in a row which involved some major arm workouts. Now I'm suffering from a weird ache in my shoulders/triceps/biceps area. I'm hoping with a little rest it will go away but so far after not doing much of anything the past five days I'm still feeling pretty tender... BOO!

Another awesome thing I forgot to mention about last week was that Dan was off all week long... LUCKY! I got majorly spoiled being able to actually have dinner with my husband after work every night. I'm already going through withdrawals and missing having a normal married life ;) Counting down the days until my little family of three is together again!

Monday, October 14th, 2013 - Warm up : 3 rounds (banded walks & 25 sit ups) / Strength : sumo deadlifts / WOD: On a 30 minute running clock : 3 rounds (10 power snatches (35#) & 20" box jumps)... at the 10 minute mark begin : 3 rounds (15 push presses (35#) & 15 toes to bar)... at the 20 minute mark begin : (500 meter row, 20 over the rower burpees, 500 meter row)... This WOD was insane! It was like 3 WOD's built into one! PHEW!

Tuesday, October 15th, 2013 - Warm up : 30 med ball squats & PVC/Bar drills / Strength : pause clean jerks & rear push press / WOD : 12 minute AMRAP (20 singles, 5 pull ups, 40 singles, 10 pull ups, 60 singles, 15 pull ups... etc) ... 5 rounds + 6 pull ups

Wednesday, October 16th, 2013 - REST DAY... and boy did I need it... I hurt all over from the past two days of CrossFit!

Thursday, October 17th, 2013 - REST DAY... still so so so sore!

Friday, October 18th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Saturday, October 19th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Sunday, October 20th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Total miles ran this week : 0 miles

Photo a Day Challenge : Week #42

Day 13 - Watching

Day 14 - Favorite Space (my bed)

Day 15 - Secret

Day 16 - Leafy

Day 17 - First World Problems (trying to pick out the best burger at this place)

Day 18 - Still

Day 19 - A Good Day (with my Grams)

BOO-apalooza!

What's a BOO-apalooza you ask? It's a party at Aunt Boo's of course!

Every year around this time Dan's side of the family gets together to have a big celebration for all the October Birthdays that are going on that month. Of course, we mainly celebrate Grandpa Rhoton since he is the coolest and wisest of the group! Family from Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and even Arizona all make the trip to this once a year get together and let me tell you it's a blast every time! Get ready for picture overload!

We started off the party at Acapulco's... Grandpa's favorite Mexican Restaurant!

Grandpa and Raelyn ordered some margaritas right away. Raelyn's was virgin of course ;)

Musketeer Power!

The food was good, but the company was better! As you can tell there were quite a few of us in attendance. Twenty-four to be exact! I think the staff was happy to see our crazy group leave for the night...

... and from there we traveled back to Boo's house to get rid of a little energy!

VROOM VROOM!

Ali and Lizzie representing their sorority!

Once the mosquitos started to eat us alive the party traveled inside for cake, ice cream and presents!!

The kids helping Grandpa blow out his candles!

As always, we all had a great time chatting and catching up with each other. Everyone's lives are so busy and moving by so fast it was nice to stop and appreciate this moment in time that we were all together just enjoying each others company.

We ended the Boo-apalooza with a group picture together. Having this entire group together at one time is a rarity so we had to take advantage of it.

Didn't Grandpa create a nice looking family? All four generations worth!

Mileage & CrossFit Monday

Running stats and CrossFit WOD's for the week for October 7th - October 13th... I would say right now I'm just maintaining with my running. I want to keep my endurance level up enough that I could run six miles at least without too much trouble. In my mind I'm done with any races this year since the weather is getting cooler and a little unpredictable... of course that could change at the drop of a hat :) I want to keep running outside as long as possible before I have to hit the treadmills... but who knows how long that will last. You all know how much I hate those treadmills!!! HATE THEM!

Monday, October 7th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Tuesday, October 8th, 2013 - Ran 4.1 miles around campus

Wednesday, October 9th, 2013 - Warm up : 3 rounds (10 hip extensions, 10 renegade rows, 8 dumb bell push press / Strength : shoulder press complex (45#) / WOD : 3 rounds (400 meter run, 15 kettle bell snatches left arm (15#), 15 kettle bell snatches right arm (15#), 30 sit ups)... time 15:28

Thursday, October 10th, 2013 - Warm up : / Strength : power cleans & back squats / WOD : "Karen" (150 wallballs)... time 11:22

Friday, October 11th, 2013 - 2 mile walk with Remi / Stretch

Saturday, October 12th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Sunday, October 13th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Total miles ran for the week : 4.1 miles