Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Adopt a Soldier Care Package

Today I'm sending my first care package off to my soldier. The guy at the post office wasn't very helpful so I'm hoping that it gets to her. If not, at least to someone in need of it. I've asked her if she needs anything and I have yet to get a response from her so I just went ahead and gathered a few things: Hawaiian punch packets, granola bars, dried fruit mix, a bag of M&M's, dice Phase 10 game, stationary, mini pens, a notebook, and a magazine with "brain games".

Monday, March 29, 2010

Big Fish


So my boyfriend, who I nickname FB (for fish boy!) won big fish in his fishing tournament last Saturday. And his team got first place! A double win for him!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Pictures

I've been slacking big time when it comes to pictures so today is catch-up picture day!

First up, St. Patty's Day:
Big Red & I
Some of party crew we ran into
My college roommate & I hanging out for her birthday in Feb
FB & I at D's wedding
The lovely bride & groom and our friend Annie
Me & Mo
Matt & D
Myrtle Beach, having fun at the Aquarium gift shop
FB, me, & the sharks!
My current roommate & I after the Goofy Challenge
My Sis-in-law and nephew
My sister & brother, yes, the beard is real
My nephew pretending he is the dog
My nephew on x-mas
There you have it! That's what I've been up to in the last few months!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Lists: Gym Bag

I like lists. Sometimes if I don't like my handwriting, I have to start all over again. Anyway, part of what helps to get me to the gym in the morning is having my gym bag packed the night before and my workout clothes put out.
Here are the staples of what I keep in my gym bag ( it sometime changes based on what type of workout I might be doing):

-Shoes
-hairties
-ipod
-flip flops
-shower kit - shampoo, conditioner, face wash
-lotion
-deodorant
-chapstick
-tampons
-notebook
-pen
-extra socks

What's in your gym bag?

WORKIN IT OUT

It's been a good workout week so far:
M: 5:30 am cycle class, 4 mile run in the evening
T: 5:15 am FIT class
W: 5:30 am cycle class, 3 mile run in the evening
Today: Meeting up with some friends for a run.

Love weeks like this! Although, I feel a bit sleep deprived!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

It's a fun day in the Detroit area - St. Patty's Day! The fun actually started last Sunday with annual St. Patrick's Parade. Big Red & I headed downtown at 10am last Sunday and ran the Corktown Race that starts the festivities of the day off. It used to be a 4 mile run, but was switched to a 5K this year. It had been a while since I ran that distance. According to athlinks, I only ran 2 5K's last year. The last was in May. It was fun to do the shorter race, but I'd forgotten how hard & exhausting they can be. I ran it in 24:40, I minute forty slower than my PR.

After the race we did a quick change in the car and then headed off the Gaelic League for some fun. We ran into so many people that we knew! When I got home, I checked my e-mail and was SO excited to see that my soldier had responded to my first e-mail! She said that she's pretty busy but will write when she can. It made my day!

I've been on a roll with my morning work outs. Today was the third day in a row that I saw 4:30 am. I'm pretty exhausted, but am feeling good about the work outs. Today was the hardest day to get up. I knew that there is a chance that I won't get a run in tonight so I wanted to make sure that I got some sort of work out in. I opted for the cycling class, it was a good class today.

FB is working all day today. I think he had to go in at 6am and won't get home until sometime after midnight. I'll head over to see him tonight after work, and hopefully after a short run.

Friday, March 12, 2010

AAUSS

AAUSS = Adopt a US Soldier. A friend of mine signed up for this not too long ago & has been having fun corresponding with a soldier deployed overseas. So I decided to sign up this week. I got my soldier assignment yesterday and I'm so excited about this. I don't know much about her, other than she is in the Navy and 21 years old. I was in College and partying hard at 21, not sacrificing my life for this country.

When you sign up, it takes a few days for them to process your registration and match you with a soldier. It's all done random, however I guess you can e-mail the organization and request a male or female soldier and/or what division of the military they are with. After you register you can log onto their forum and share information with others who have adopted soldiers. Discussions include what you can & can't send them, how to send it, when to expect response if any, etc. Sometimes you get what they call a "silent" soldier. For one reason or another they aren't capable of replying to you. I sent my soldier an e-mail and mailed her a letter yesterday. I'm hoping that I will get to hear back from her at some point. In the mean time I'll continue to support her and send a weekly letter, e-mail, or package.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Big Decisions

I strongly believe that everything in life happens for a reason, sometimes it just takes longer for us to figure out what that reason is. I was lucky enough to be able to move in with my parents for a while when I left my ex-husband. My parents still live in the same house that I grew up in and it's just a half an hour drive from work. And they have a nice fenced in yard for the dog to poop in, I mean play safely in. About 2-3 months after living with them I was getting antsy to move elsewhere. One of my running buddies suggested that I move in with Miss 3D. She needed a roommate, I needed a place to live. She has condo that is just 4 miles from my parents. It all worked out and for a good price for me. It's now approaching a year since I've been living with her. I couldn't ask for a better roommate, but more space would be nice. I feel cramped living in a medium sized bedroom while I've had to keep on renting a storage unit.

A few months ago I decided it was time to move on again and that buying a house was the way to go. I wanted my own place and I wanted to have a fenced yard for the dog. After the ups & downs of house hunting of the past two months, I've really started to think about this whole house thing. I know that I could afford it now, but there are so many variable in my life right now. One of which is continued talks at work of budget cuts which have involved talks of lay-offs and salary cuts. The areas that I can afford to purchase a house in would still give me about a half hour drive in to work. There have been days where an accident on the expressway or bad weather has doubled that drive. That can take a tole on a person after working all day. There is so much work that goes into a house too...yard work, snow removal, basic maintenance & repairs. And to be committed to something that big when Michigan is getting hit so hard right now is so scary.

So lately I've been thinking that renting a pet friendly apartment might be the better option. I was thinking that I could rent one closer to work and I would be able to take a bus instead of driving my car. Ann Arbor has 2 dog parks, and there are others in neighboring areas. Plus Ann Arbor has so many great parks to walk/run in with the dog. I would have the comfort of my own place and I'd be able to get rid of that storage unit. Which by the way, I had to sign a contract that I would not store live or dead bodies in. Creepy. The downside of this is that my favorite gym is near where I'm at now and so are my parents, and most of my friends.

This week, Miss 3D & I started carpooling. Why it took us so long to figure that one out, I have no idea! It made me rethink an apartment in Ann Arbor and consider an apartment in the complex where 3D's condo is. My life would then change very little from what it is now, but I would still have the drive into work. And I don't know how long this carpooling thing would last.

I'm at the point now where I need to create some sort of geek spreadsheet weighing the pros & cons & costs of all of my options.

But I know in the end that whatever decision I end up making, will be the one that was meant to happen.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Sunshine

I'm loving this weather we've been having in Michigan lately. The sun's been out shining bright and temps are warming up. We still have some snow on the ground but it's melting quickly.

Lots has been going on over here. I found out that I didn't get house #3. It's made me really think about if buying a house is the right thing or not. Part of me thinks that it just might be better for me to get an apartment close to work. I'll get more into this later.

I was really bummed about the house bit over the weekend so my workouts slacked. I did get lots of walking in though and that was nice for a change. My running buddy came home from her retirement training in Florida and we got to catch up over a 5 mile run last night. I was hoping to get another 6 miles in on the treadmill this morning but I just wasn't feeling it. I did get 2 very slow miles in before I headed over the the elliptical machine to finish out my hour of cardio.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

10


When I saw that the Chicago Marathon was on 10/10/10, I knew that I had to make it my 10th marathon. See #10 is my favorite number. It all started when I was little and played soccer. What soccer player in the early 80's didn't love Pele!?! Now I just need to figure out marathon #9 between now and October.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Workout Wednesday

In my attempt to get back into running and my dislike for the Wednesday morning cycling instructor, I decided to run on the treadmill. I ran 5 miles. It felt great! I'm hoping more of this starts to happen. I've found that morning workouts fit in my life best, but it takes planning and an early nights sleep. I put my running & work clothes out last night, and I made my lunch. What a difference that makes.

Tonight is date night, not sure what we'll do yet. I open to any suggestions (hint, hint).

Once again, the house I made an offer on went to biggest & best. I found this out Monday evening and once again upped my offer. I haven't heard back yet. Nothing of interest has popped up on this weeks listings either. I'm staying positive.

Just realized I hadn't blogged since last Friday. The weekend was a really good one that went by way to fast. My friend Maura was in town for the weekend so I hung out with her and her Mom on Friday. I really miss having her around! On Saturday we got up early and did two classes at the gym. The first was a barbell class that was a ton of fun! The second was not so fun for me, an intermediate step class. I used to do step classes regularly but it's been a few years. I almost fell twice and it took until the end of class to finally pick up the sequence. Then we went off the help set up for out friend Diane's wedding. I'm amazed at all the work that Diane did! She made her own centerpieces! Here's a picture of the room when we were almost finished setting everything up:
The wedding was beautiful! I'll get some pictures of that up next. And I got home at a decent time. Sunday was a day for errands and to be lazy. FB & I did watch the USA vs. Canada hockey game, what a great game! I just wish it had a different outcome!