General sucks.

Is it time for my vacation yet? Amy and I have been planning it for quite some time. It seems like it's never gonna get here and I feel like I've earned it like I've never ever earned a vacation before. Work has me all kinds of stressed out, y'all. 5 1/2 more weeks and it's mine...

The term general manager...let's take a look at it, shall we?

To quote Wikipedia.org, "A General Manager has broad, overall responsibility for a business or organization. Whereas a manager may be responsible for one functional area, the General Manager is responsible for all areas." Yep, that there is my problem. It's the umbrella of EVERYTHING that is so very overwhelming. General sucks.

I mean, I am responsible for 21 drivers, 23 helpers, a warehouse manager, a surveyor, and an office admin. While managing that workforce, I am also trying to add on a minimum of 2 more drivers and at least 6 more helpers. This means I am placing Craig's List Ads, scanning through applications, interviewing, badgering my HR department on status updates for the applicants, processing new hire paperwork, and all that jazz. General sucks.

In addition to this, I have to deal with the maintenance department, the safety department, the move coordinators, the operations department, the claims department, the payroll department, the billing & invoicing department, the customers, the vendors, and anyone and everyone else who wants a piece of me. General sucks.

On top of all that, I have a 1-800 # tagged to my cell and everyone in the company has access to it and can call me 24/7. I get calls during the work day, which I don't mind, sure enough. It's the calls when I'm at home during the evenings and on the weekends that drive me bonkers especially considering most of them are not even necessary calls. What's worse is when I go home thinking everything is settled and established...that everyone knows where they are supposed to be and everyone will be there just for it all to blow up in my face. It's a never ending wicked web of cuckoo crazy malarkey. General sucks.

On Monday night, I got awakened about an hour after I had gone to bed by an Ohio driver wanting to know the gate code to our Dallas warehouse. Why he hadn't called earlier in the day to ask is beyond me. Why he hadn't called the Dallas manager to ask him is beyond me, as well. On Tuesday morning, before my alarm went off, I got awakened by a Georgia driver wanting to know the gate code to my warehouse. He was supposed to be in San Antonio. Frustration, frustration, frustration....there is not enough Calgon boxes on the shelf at any given store to take it all away. I am, however, convinced that 5 days and 4 nights in tropical paradise in Playa del Carmen with no cell phone will help to calm the beast raging inside me....even if temporarily.

Do you know what it's like for a girl with A.D.D. to never get anything done? I mean as soon as I start one project, I am being interrupted with another. While getting acclimated onto that new project, still fretting about not finishing the first, a third task appears, etc.... It's like that all day long every day. Just once I would like to know what it feels like to finish something I've started....to have that sense of...fulfillment versus chaos. The sad thing here is that summer is my busy season and I'm already feeling stressed out, beat up, and spit on and out. How am I ever going to make it through the end of August?

So...yeah...general totally sucks. I'd much rather be a specific manager over a specific something...anything...ugh.

Deep breaths...running...vacation...music...massages...and I guess Calgon, too....TAKE ME AWAY!

7 Miles Successful and other News

So, attempt #1 at 7 miles was a fail. I was quite disappointed. I mean I felt mentally prepared for the challenge. Previously, my furthest mileage had been 6.35, so 7 was completely do-able, without a question. Around mile 2, I noticed my left knee started bothering me. Around mile 4, it was bothering me pretty badly. At mile 4.5, I decided to be a grown-up and call it quits. You see, I have had ACL surgery on both knees and something I promised myself when I first started this running journey was that I would not push knee pain unless I was in a race (think half or full marathon).

I know I did the right thing. I listened to my body. BUT still...I wanted that 7 miles under my belt. So what did I do? I iced both knees. I Bio-Freezed them. I Tiger Balm menthol patched them. I rested them and tried again on Sunday. This time I added Linda, my younger sister to the mix. Linda, as you may recall, ran the Houston Half Marathon in January. She is awesome! She is faster than me, but told me she would run with me because while I needed to get the distance down, she just wanted to put in the exercise. It worked out quite well. Might I also add what a gorgeous day it was?!

It is so awesome having my Garmin Forerunner, too. I am able to explore areas beyond the normal 1.27 path I have been running for the past 2 months now. I discovered a pond and that lengthened the path to 1.91 miles. Linda and I met an older gentleman who had just completed 9 miles when we were finishing our last 1.4 miles and he told us about an extension off the pond that would lead us to some softball fields and some good running over in that area. We decided to check that out next week.

Also, I checked my watch right when I had completed 6.2 miles (a 10K) and was delighted to discover I had taken 5 minutes off the time I clocked in the H.E.B. Bayou City Classic 10K just 2 weeks ago. My hip is doing that much better!

Oh...and I have officially graduated from 3/1s to 4/1s as Linda and I maintained 4/1s the entire 7 mile distance.

And then in other news...I passed the 90 lb weight loss mark!!! Since January, my weight loss has slowed dramatically. I blame the running. It's like my body was all, "Whoa...what are you doing to me? I'm not sure I like this...I'm checking out and I'll get back to you later." I had some weeks with no weight loss. I had other weeks with under a pound and a few scattered in there with slightly over a pound. It has been very frustrating because I (obviously) increased the intensity of my workouts (running) and I am very careful with my diet. The only thing I changed was adding more whole grain carbs in because my body needed the added fuel for the running. This should have been more than okay given the exercise regimen.

Something must have clicked last week because out of nowhere, BAM!, a 3 lb. weight loss and that was with eating out all week long in celebration of my birthday. Then this past week, BAM!, a 5.6 lb. weight loss. This is exciting because only 9.6 more pounds until I reach an even 100. I would really like to hit this milestone before I leave for my vacation on May 8th.

Lessons learned - patience is a virtue and hard work pays off (eventually).

meet my new friend, Meineke.

I came home from a date (yes, I actually had a date) on Sunday, stopped in my driveway to retrieve Saturday's mail, and noticed an awful rat-a-tat-tat-tat noise coming from beneath my beloved Gideon (Tahoe). Oh no! This meant he would need to go to the dealership on Monday for a check-up and consequently...an oil change since I get $9.95 life time oil changes and he was past due.

On Monday, I got crazy busy and time escaped me. I didn't even get a chance to call Lonestar Chevy until after lunch to try to make an appointment. My regular service guy, Mike, told me it would be best to bring it in on Tuesday morning and that as long as the "check engine light" didn't come on, it should be okay until then.

On Tuesday, I had one of my employees follow me over to Lonestar and I bade Gideon farewell. Later that afternoon, good ol' Mike called me to tell me the oil change was done and that the noise was because the catalytic converter was coming apart and that it needed to be replaced. He told me that I had two options. I could have them replace it with the manufacturer's catalytic converter which would run me $1085 PLUS tax (holy rusted metal, Batman). I quickly asked what might be my second option. He said I could take it to someplace like Meineke and that they would use a generic catalytic converter, cut it to fit my vehicle, and charge me about half the price. Um....so let me get this straight...you have possession of a vehicle needing to be fixed. You have a willing/paying customer. You don't want to try to make the sale. Do I have this right?! This goes against everything I know about business. I was sooooo confused. I kinda still am, for that matter. I had one of my employees take me back over there to pick up poor Gideon and decided I would take care of him the next day. Why can't anything just be easy???

So, once I got back to work, I made a couple of phone calls and I was told approximately $800 to $1000 by a couple of other places. I finally called Meineke and nice guy Bill told me $275 or something like that. I thought he meant for the part plus labor and tax. It still sounded a whole heck of a lot better than Lonestar's price, so I asked if I could bring it to them in the morning and he said sure!

Wednesday morning, I brought Gideon to Meineke. I called to check on him around 3pm and they told me he was good as new. Went to pay my bill and it was $287.30. Whoa! Are you freakin' kidding me?! That's like 1/4 of the price of the dealership. So was Mike at Lonestar just being nice in telling me to take it to Meineke? Well...regardless, I am thankful and I totally made a new friend this week, and its name is Meineke.

I did ask what else they do there and was told, by Bill, that they are a full service shop and can do anything. I feel like I'm spreading the word by blogging about it. If you need something done...you might just want to consider Meineke...friendly, fast service for a very fair price! =)

Hip Hip Hooray

So we all know I've been dealing with this wretched horrid tendonitis in my right hip since the end of January and that I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. That 10K a couple of weeks ago caused my tendonitic (a word? sure, why not?!) hip great distress.

Here's what you don't know. I had the run of my life last Saturday. Well...you may know it if you read my Facebook status update, but whatever....humor me and pretend you didn't. Anyway, here's the deal...I set out to run 5 laps at Meyer Park which would be my 3rd and final week at mile 6 (6.35 miles, to be exact). It was a dark and dreary (HUMID) morning and I felt VERY unmotivated, but still my dedicated soul hit the pavement after my hearty South Beach pancake breakfast. For the first 2 1/2 miles, I did my usual 3/1 intervals - 3 minute runs / 1 minute walks. After that, something came over me....it was crazy...I ignored my watch and just ran. At first I told myself to try to do 1 mile without stopping as my previous best was 3/4 of a mile. After I passed the mile marker, I told myself to finish the lap. Once I finished lap #3, I still felt like I had more to give, so I told myself to continue onward for another 3/4 of a mile to make it an even 2. I just kept giving myself little mini goals to carry me through until the torrential storms poured down upon me at mile 6 forcing me to cut my run short (RAR) - after I had run 3 1/2 miles without walking a lick of it!

So...initial thoughts...dude...the area directly below my knee caps and my ankles hurt, but surprisingly...the hip just felt a bit strained. It was not nearly the pain I had felt just a week before. I went home and took an hour long Epsom salt bath (Amen!) and that helped the knee and ankle pain tremendously.

I had a follow-up Ortho appointment on Wednesday and it was such a wonderful feeling to walk in there one month later feeling infinitely better than my previous visit. The doctor told me to take one more month of the anti-inflammatory meds (Voltaren which make me think of the Volturi which makes me think of Twilight) and then refill the prescription and take them on an as needed basis there after. Once I'm done with the next 30 days of this medication, I want to start adding a mid-week timed run to my exercise regimen.

I'm told that tendonitis is one of the hardest things to cure unless the tendon has complete rest. Since we know that isn't going to happen with my training schedule, I will remain glass half-full hopeful that the pain remains at a minimal, manageable level and that I am able to continue to have awesome Saturday runs.

On tap for this Saturday...7 miles using my new Garmin Forerunner 305 - can't wait!!!

Birthday Week Summary

Ever since I was a wee little kid, I've always taken pride in the fact that I can manage to stretch my birthday across a week like no other! It all started when I went to school and realized my birthday was always going to fall during Spring Break which meant I was always going to get screwed out of getting the attention I deserved on my special day.

Yes, yes....I know I should just get over it like so many other grievances I have like the fact that my parents didn't love me enough to give me a middle name...like the fact that I have such a common first name...like the fact that I have SMCS (Severe Middle Child Syndrome)...I could go on and on, but I will stop the whining here.


Anyway, this year was no exception. On Tuesday night, I met my friend Kim for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Cafe Red Onion. It had somehow been six months since Kim and I had last seen each other which is WAY too long - especially for two friends who live in the same city!!! She was my first college friend and we shared our first apartment together with our other roomie and friend, Laura. This is a picture of my dinner. It was so delicious and it came with a cup of onion soup plus I added a side of refried black beans because how often do you see that at a restaurant?!

On Wednesday night, I met my friend Amy for dinner at Chili's. We had really crappy service from our server, but thankfully the company made the night awesome regardless! In case you don't know how I met Amy, well almost 2 years ago she answered a CL ad I posted looking for a workout buddy. Turns out we like to eat out together more than workout, but I made a life long friend!!!

On Monday, I did my morning meeting with my crews before sending them out on their respective jobs. I made mention of the fact that my birthday was the same day as the beginning of March Madness. One of my guys said, "oh yay...that means we get cake." I told him it was unlikely since I don't eat cake anymore, so I really don't see my mom doing that this year. I told my mom about it later that day and guess what?!?! On Thursday, she brought up a birthday cake (for the guys to eat), a fruit tray (for me) and some flowers. Then my parents took me out to eat for a great grilled chicken salad. I actually didn't have any plans on my actual birthday night with anyone, though I was invited to go to Greggy and Mellie-D's house to watch Flash Forward (yay). Unfortunately, I had to clean house because....

On Friday, I was having a small get together with some friends, my siblings, and their spouses at Los Cucos (we all know I have a slight obsession with them lately) and then I had invited everyone back to my house for dessert (sugar free cheesecake and sopapilla cheesecake).

Jay, Cathy, ME, Linda, and Craig

Meliska & Kimska

me and my Amy

Joe didn't do his famous dance for me - no fair!!!

Lauren!!!!

Sarah - friend AND massage therapist - doesn't get much better than that!

Vicki & Andrew - a treat to get them out on a Friday night!!! yay!!!

On Saturday, I got to choose a restaurant for my family to dine at in joint celebration of my 33rd and Craig's 32nd birthdays. I picked Pappas Grill Steakhouse and Craig was so okay with this! I love this place because your meal comes with the salad bar (and they have 3 huge blocks of cheese and we all know how much I HEART cheese). After dinner, we went back to my parent's house for dessert. My mom bought a cake from Rao's Bakery. I, of course, did not partake, but it looked REALLY good. I just ate another slice of my sugar free cheesecake instead. I also got to open up all my presents! Yay! The wish-list Nazi (otherwise known as Cathy) told me my list was no good - apparently she didn't approve of my mostly running-themed items (even though she did humor me). All in all, this ranks up there as one of my favorite birthdays to date! =)

Happy Birthday to ME as I turn 33!

You know what's really funny? It seems that the older you get, the more depressed you are supposed to be about aging - at least that's what society feeds us. I don't feel depressed. Then again...I've always kinda marched to the beat of my own drum.


I would also like to take note that I'm wearing 4 dress sizes smaller this birthday than I wore on my last birthday. Here's a picture from my 16 Candles x 2 celebration in 2009.

I'm actually excited about what 33 will bring me cuz I have big plans for it, y'all! For those of you not in the know, on Monday I signed up for my first 1/2 marathon. Ironically, it wasn't the one I've been talking about - The Houston Half which is on October 24th. Nope...it's the Rock 'n' Roll series Chicago 1/2 Marathon which is on August 1st.

So this is just one adventure in what I'm sure will be a year chalk full of many, so I say "Bring it!" to 33 with open arms and a big grin!

Pancakes: South Beach Style

As a South Beacher, I'm always looking for ways to keep my meals new and exciting so I don't get bored or too monotonous. I also think variety breeds better weight loss results because it jump starts your body instead of letting your body get too used to something - similarly if you always did the same workout every day without variation, your body gets too comfortable and you don't yield the same results after a while.

One of the things I've had to mentally deal with has been the fact that I have had to up my whole grain carbohydrate intake since I've upped my exercise intensity pretty dramatically. My body needs it's fuel. I've accepted this, though it's been difficult because I know this is one of the reasons why my weight loss has slowed.

I was talking to my good friend Vicki a couple of months ago about my need to increase my breakfast carbs on Saturday mornings for my long runs. She suggested I make a recipe for oatmeal pancakes that her mom has been making since she used to do South Beach back when the diet first came out on the market. She said it was a good balance of whole grain carbs and protein.

Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup whole grain rolled oats

1/4 cup reduced fat cottage cheese

4 egg whites (or I used 1/3 cup of all egg white Egg Beaters)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Here's how you make them:

Put all the ingredients in the blender. Blend until smooth. Spray cooking spray in a skillet. Heat your skillet on medium. Pour the batter into your skillet. Cook until the pancake is lightly browned on one side, then flip and do the same on the other side.

Use sugar free syrup and voila!

Nutritional Information (with Egg Beaters):

Calories 295

Fat 4g

Carbs 34g

Fiber 4g

Sugar 4g

Protein 31g

You can usually find a sugar free syrup for about 20 calories for 1/4 cup.

This is a good, hearty breakfast that sticks with you for several hours. It also freezes quite well. I usually make 4 at a time - one to eat and 3 to freeze for future use.

Kim Versus the 10K: H.E.B. Bayou City Classic

A little unknown fact for ya - before I even turned 16, I was hired by H.E.B. to be a cashier in their work-in-progress pantry store being built across the street from Klein High School at the intersection of Louetta and Stuebner Airline. It was pretty exciting stuff because they only hired a handful of us and we had to train at the Tomball store until our store opened. Since then, it has transformed into one of their bigger/better stores, but I still remember the days fondly...

Flash forward 17 years later and I'm running a 10K sponsored by them. Who would have ever thought?!

Pre-race Commentary:

How did I prepare? Well, the Saturday before the race I hit the trail at Meyer Park 5 times around for a grand total of 6.35 miles. I completed this in 1:48 minutes. This was with stopping after each 1.27 miles to stretch that hip with the nagging tendonitis and to drink some water PLUS I even stopped once to use the facilities. Additionally, though I had better intentions of hitting the gym more than once, I did have one amazing elliptical workout "running" a 5K at a 6 incline with a 9 intensity.

Since I have been dealing with some below the knee pain (most likely as a result of over compensating for the hip) and of course the hip pain itself, I took an Epsom salt bath and then I put menthol patches on the offending areas to sleep in.

I have fully charged my iPod. I have come up with a reasonable goal - 1 hour and 30 minutes. I have picked out an appropriate wardrobe choice for the weather. I am going to bed at a reasonable hour to make sure I get at least 7 hours of sleep. I have planned a balanced carb/protein breakfast. I have had a rough work week and instead of letting it break me, I will break it...taking each bit of frustration I have endured out on that pavement. Bring it!!!

Post-race Commentary:

Success!!! The race was awesome, y'all! First and foremost I have to give props to H.E.B. Of the 3 races I have participated in so far, this was by far the most organized. There were 6 drink stations in total - one at the start line, 4 along the course, and one at the finish line. All the volunteers were friendly and fabulous! My only complaint would be that the course on the website was advertised as being "flat, fast, and fantastic" and the flat part was a bit of a lie. There were several uphill/downhill parts to the course. I handled it, don't get me wrong, but the last one located between mile 5 and mile 6 was extremely challenging because by then my right hip had become more than a nagging problem...let's call it a shooting pain instead. I kept telling myself to push through it and I did. Though I was able to maintain my 3/1 interval method for all but the last 1 1/4 mile of the race (blame the hip and the hill), I was able to regain some of my lost time by running the last 1/2 mile outright (though quite slowly). Something I didn't blog when finishing my Rocket's Run 5K was the Finish Line song on my iPod...which was Beyonce's Single Ladies. Remember how lame I was to not run with my iPod during the Rodeo Run? Yeah...there is no Finish Line song for that one. The Finish Line song, however, of this race was Natasha Bedingfield's Pocket Full of Sunshine.

Oh and may I also take this moment to mention what a glorious, beautiful day it was!!!!

It was most wonderful to run a race with my sister, Linda! Let's not get confused and think we actually ran together, though. Oh no sir-eeee...Linda and I had a whole discussion about this - don't talk to me, don't look at me, don't even act like you know me (okay, this may be a dramatization, but basically you catch my drift...all for one and one for all).

We also ran with Linda's long time friend Melissa (who was a fellow bridesmaid in Linda and Craig's wedding alongside me and our other sister, Cathy). This was Melissa's first race, though she is a runner, and she ran all 6.2 miles without walking a lick of it. Very impressive, lady!

Lauren and her sister also ran this race, but sadly I never did find them before the race start, or after for that matter. Lauren told me later she heard me (then saw me) as I double asked one of the water dudes if he was handing out water (versus Powerade - since the only Powerade I drink is the Zero kind and that wasn't what they were serving). Missed ya, girl!!!

Okay, so now onto the stats...the idea is to get a negative split in your run. This means you finish faster than you started. I failed on this, BUT I had a PR for the first 5K. If we were to reference my Rocket's Run time right now, we would note that I got a 44:15. That was 6 weeks ago. I got a 41:33 for the first leg of this race which is an improvement of 2 minutes and 42 seconds. I'll take it! I got a 45:05 for the second 5K (hip...rar!). The grand total = 1 hour 26 minutes and 38 seconds. Let me do that math for ya...3 minutes and 22 seconds better than my goal time!!! Also important to note is that I ran the Rocket's Run at a pace of 14:16 per mile, but I ran this H.E.B. Bayou City Classic at a pace of 13:58 per mile. That's improvement; that's triumph (especially considering it was twice the distance and I'm dealing with an injury that wasn't present during my first race)! =D

All in all, it was my favorite race to date - in organization, in performance, and in weather. I felt total redemption from my Rodeo Run disaster a couple of weeks ago - having applied all my lessons learned. I actually didn't even run with a camera, so the only pic I have is this one of Linda and I wearing our finisher's t-shirts later in the afternoon at our family's lunch at Los Cucos.

Next stop: Tomball's Bunny Run 5K on April 10th

AB&SFOM

&

Not to get all food obsessed on y'all, but when I have a new delightful treat...I think it only fair to share.

I've always had a "thing" for PB&J. I mean even as a kid I loved, loved, loved it. Nothing better than Peter Pan peanut butter and strawberry preserves on my Wonder Bread with a glass of ice cold 2% milk...or so I thought.

As I got older and a bit more health conscious, I traded out the white bread for wheat...and then still later for double fiber. I also traded out the regular peanut butter for the reduced fat. I became less particular on my "J" enjoying apricot, peach, raspberry...anything other than grape. Oh and the 2% milk became 1% and then landed on it's final resting place at skim.

Going all South Beach on myself, I made a couple more transitions. I changed over to almond butter (AB) and sugar free "jellies". I recently got bold and daring and tried Polaner's sugar free orange marmalade (SFOM) with added fiber. WOW! An AB&SFOM sandwich is like a party in my mouth. It's practically a dessert and I get to have it for breakfast a few times a week (best when made the night before and refrigerated overnight, by the way).

Nutritional Info: 300 calories (sandwich) + 80 calories (8 0z skim milk)

2 TBSP Marantha's Almond Butter (cheapest at Walmart):

190 calories
17 grams of fat
7 grams of carbs
3 grams of fiber
3 grams of sugar
6 grams of protein


1 TBSP Polaner's Sugar Free Orange Marmalade with added fiber:

10 calories
0 grams of fat
5 grams of carbs
3 grams of fiber
0 grams of sugar
0 grams of protein


2 Slices Nature's Own Double Fiber Wheat Bread

100 calories
2 grams of fat
20 grabs of carbs
10 grams of fiber
2 grams of sugar
8 grams of protein

Happy Gotcha Day, Delilah!!!

2 years ago today, when I had "SUCKER" written across my forehead, Delilah found her place on this earth - in my home and in my heart.

Let's go back a couple of months before that. I was not in a good place emotionally. I was dealing with a VERY bad break-up and was pretty much living my life day by day and definitely not enjoying a minute of it...except, while losing myself in a book or in music and occasionally with family and friends.

Now flash forward to a couple of weeks before I met Delilah. I was listening to music in my car on my way to work one morning and "Hey There Delilah" by The Plain White T's came on the radio. I really really loved that song (still do, actually) and I kept thinking that Delilah would be a really great dog name if I ever did get another dog.

So, on March 7th of 2008, I arrived at work and saw this emaciated brindle bashful, yet energetic sweet dispositioned dog hanging out at the front door. I fell in love. I knew immediately that I must have her. I sent one of my employees to Walmart with some money to buy her a collar and a leash. We then staked her to the front lawn and I had another one of my employees give her a bath and then we gave her some pretzels and water. I made an appointment with my then vet for when I got off of work and then I just had to deal with my dad. Needless to say, he wasn't too thrilled with the idea. I believe he said something along the lines of, "Oh great, Kim. At this rate, you will have 30 stray dogs by the time you are 40." Now this was just a ridiculous notion considering that I was less than 2 weeks from turning 31 and this was my first stray EVER. Honestly it wouldn't have mattered what he said...my mind was made up and I am a stubborn girl!

The funny thing was that Delilah acted so weird when we brought her in the building...she started walking so funny that I thought something was wrong with her back legs. In hindsight, I think she had just never been on tile before. She also acted very strangely when I tried to put her in my car to take her to the vet, so I was pretty sure she had never been in a car either. She did know the "sit" command, though. Weird. Anyway, the vet thought she was 9 months to a year old, so consequently I just rounded it to a year so today we are also celebrating her 3rd birthday, too!!! Happy Birthday, Delilah!!! He gave her a good health rating, we made an appointment to get her spayed, and he seemed to think she may be part pit bull, though that latter part I don't really agree with. One of these days I might just pay for a DNA test to find out what she is since I pretty much come up with a new combination daily! =)

Next, I took her to meet my mom. My mom thought she was kinda ugly because she doesn't like brindle dogs. Oh well...can't win them all.

Through the last couple of years, we've had our struggles. Delilah has found every which way to escape out of the back yard whenever possible. Though I know she is a "street dog", Penelope is not and they need to stay put! Delilah also has gotten into fights with other dogs (her family members - Oliver, Rocky, Spike, and Coco) over bones and toys. She becomes very territorial that way. Additionally, she has endless energy that is almost impossible to burn unless it's a hot summer day and we are swimming at my parent's house all day long (yes, she does swim).

Delilah does have her good points, however. She can be a total snuggle bunny (which I love). She is very good about going in her cage when it is appropriate. I simply say, "go to your bed" and off she goes. She will take a treat very sweetly, she will roll over while you wipe her paws, and she will sit and wait for you to open a door (once you remind her).

Basically, she is a bit of a spazz, but an entertaining one as she has very funny facial expressions and mannerisms.

Though Penelope was a bit hesitant to accept her into our family initially, she is now quite thankful to have Delilah's companionship! Oh, I will add though that sometimes when Delilah is being particularly annoying (read: hyper), Penelope will pretend to have to go outside knowing full well that will make Delilah want to go outside and then when I open the door, Delilah runs outside and Penelope is all "Psych!" and moves past the couch meaning Delilah ends up outside all by herself. Penelli is pretty clever. =D

Hey there, Delilah! Can't imagine my life without you in it - glad we gotcha when we did!!!

In the beginning...(when she was a skinny minnie)

Halloween 2008

Most recently (awwww...)

Nike Fanatic

I have a Nike Obsession. I discovered they have a plus size clothing line and so I tried on a 2XL Dri-FIT shirt at Academy last week. Guess what, y'all?! It didn't fit. It was too big. "Bummer," she exclaimed sarcastically! The 1XL fit perfectly....I can't tell you the last time I was in a 1XL. I only bought one shirt, but there are 3 colors in total, so guess who now owns all 3 colors?! It's the most awesome shirt because it literally whisks aways the sweat from your body and keeps you feeling as cool and dry as possible despite the heat your body is producing while exercising.

I also found out they had running capris, but darn if the 2XL didn't fit me in those either so I bought the 1XL in those, as well. I now own 3 pairs of those, of course.

Now for the piece de resistance, my friends...the headband...er...sweatband. I don't care what you call it, but it is my saving grace for I am a sweaty girl while ellipticalling, running, or bike riding and I needed something to keep the sweat out of my eyes. This works like magic and I am, therefore, in love with it. Oh and...you guessed it...I own it in 3 lovely shades!

Yes, I realize that this picture is severely disproportionate to the other two...

So, I guess with all my Nike gear, I better get exercising! On tap for tomorrow - 6.35 miles otherwise translated as 5 laps around Meyer's Park's 1.27 mile course. This will be my longest run to date and it's all in preparation for next week's 10K. I feel much more confident in my ability to do something once I know it's already been done. Errr....that doesn't quite make sense. Let's try again...there is zero pressure during my Saturday morning runs and all the self-induced pressure of the world upon my shoulders during a race, so I want to conquer the distance part of the equation and then just focus on applying all the lessons I have learned and the skills I've developed into having a fun and successful race!

I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want...

I want to continue my weight loss journey in the same spirit I began it - come rain or come shine (so to speak).

I want to further dedicate myself to increased physical activity - breaking out of my comfort zone and trying new things (yoga, for example).

I want to get my two spare bedrooms sorted out so the rooms can be functional regardless of whether or not they actually need to be (if that makes sense).

I want to donate all the clothes that no longer fit me.

I want to paint the entire inside of my house.

I want to walk my dogs every single day (unless it is raining).

I want to remember to document the exciting times of my life not only through words (blogging), but also through pictures.

I want to read at least one chapter a night out of any book before I go to bed.

I want to get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep each night.

I want to drink at least 96 oz. of water each day.

I want to remember that it is okay to tell people no.

I want to be on the lookout for new experiences/adventures.

I want to make new friends.

I want to make all the above statements happen - some instantly and some by year's end. Think I can do it??? You betcha!!!

What do you want?

Anxiety

"Anxiety" by Jennifer McDuffie

Have you ever had anxiety? I'm not talking about the anxiety you may experience before taking a test or starting a new job or any natural emotional response like that. No...the kind of anxiety I'm referring to is more unsettling than that. Your heart races, maybe you find yourself tapping your foot, your finger or pacing. You can't shut off your brain. You are frazzled, on edge, uneasy, and just plain uncomfortable. If only it were just as simple as completing the test or finishing your first day to get the anxiety to diminish. It's never that easy.

It's a horrible feeling. I've been there. I've been there a lot, actually. I've worked really hard to conquer it, though sometimes it sneaks back up on me. I'm kinda there right now and it sucks.

I know what triggered it. I know I am strong and will work my way through it. Peace is the plan, after all.