Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Cue Rocky Theme
I decided that I am going to train for Color Me Rad in Raleigh during October. God gave me several signs last week and I am accepting them!
First, Justin surprised me with the tropical gummy bears from Duke that I love so much, which are rainbow colored. Then, it rained enough to call for a second Ark that same night, and I thought it might be nice to run in the rain. After that same rain shower, there was a full rainbow in the complex parking lot! So, God is showing me a lot of colorful signs that I need not ignore! :)
In related news, I started working out yesterday. I did a Netflix workout for roughly 35 minutes, rested until around 8:30 last night and then walked/jogged outside for roughly 35 minutes as well. I bought all this healthy stuff at the store the other day; strawberries and bananas for smoothies, broccoli, already had pickles, bought some goldfish. I've been counting my calories all day today. From my calculations, after dinner tonight I will have consumed approximately 1,405 calories. I think that's great, but I'm probably going to have to step up that number closer to 2,000 for endurance training. I don't know, honestly. I'm just kinda making this up as I go and hoping for the best.
I feel like I should mention that I'm not trying to lose weight. I'm trying to complete the 5K in 8 weeks. If I lose weight during the next 2 months, that's great. But for once, I'm not trying to get the big number down. If I do that, I'll have a different outlook and perspective on this, and I don't want that. Anyway, just wanted that to be clear.
I ate yogurt today and actually liked it! It was Yoplait Light in Strawberry Shortcake. It didn't taste like its namesake, but it was SO sweet and good! It left the best taste in my mouth. You must understand, yogurt has never done this for me. It has always tasted sour to me. That was a pleasant surprise.
I'm excited to do this. I really hope I can stick with it. Normally, people have a hard time starting something, but once they get in the groove, they can stick it out. I am the complete opposite. Starting something is no biggie for me, it's staying with it that always defeats me. So, I think I'm off to a good start. I just hope I can prove this to myself! Prayers are appreciated from random blog-readers. :)
Friday, July 27, 2012
Perhaps I Will Color Myself Rad
If you've never heard of Color Me Rad, it's a 5K marathon where all the runners/walkers wear white and are pelted with colored cornstarch. Everyone ends the race looking like a tie-dyed mess. And it looks like so much fun. And it's coming to Raleigh...
I'm very much considering doing this. I have a little less than 3 months (depending on what day the marathon is in October) to run/train for the marathon. I've seen several blogs where people have participated and it looks like a lot of fun. From what I can find as far as pricing, it's also only $35 to register. Color Me Rad Raleigh takes place at the Time Warner Country Music Pavilion and benefits the Special Olympics of North Carolina. I just don't see a downside here.
Well, there is one.
I'm such a lazy ass, I don't know if I'll be able to actually run the race, but I want to do it to have fun and have an awesome memory. I'm not looking to "win" or come in first, or even really get a good time. I just want to do this. As long as I finish, I will have won. I do, however, want to run a little bit and get in a little shape before doing this. Even if I just walk the whole thing, a 5K is still no easy feat.
I'm really excited about this. :)
I'm very much considering doing this. I have a little less than 3 months (depending on what day the marathon is in October) to run/train for the marathon. I've seen several blogs where people have participated and it looks like a lot of fun. From what I can find as far as pricing, it's also only $35 to register. Color Me Rad Raleigh takes place at the Time Warner Country Music Pavilion and benefits the Special Olympics of North Carolina. I just don't see a downside here.
Well, there is one.
I'm such a lazy ass, I don't know if I'll be able to actually run the race, but I want to do it to have fun and have an awesome memory. I'm not looking to "win" or come in first, or even really get a good time. I just want to do this. As long as I finish, I will have won. I do, however, want to run a little bit and get in a little shape before doing this. Even if I just walk the whole thing, a 5K is still no easy feat.
I'm really excited about this. :)
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Book Review: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, by Seth Grahame-Smith
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is the second book by Seth Grahame-Smith. It tells the life story of Abraham Lincoln, starting at his birth and ending at his assassination, revealing our 16th president to have once been a vampire hunter. After a vampire kills his mother, young Abe decides to become their enemy and "kill every vampire in America." He works his entire life to accomplish this goal, saving the nation and meeting some friends along the way.
Warning: Spoilers follow here.
A whole bunch of famous people from history were vampires. Abe kills most of them, but befriends a few as well. The book follows Abe from a very young age, all the way to his assassination. (John Wilkes Booth is, of course, a vampire.) Early on in the book, it is brought to light that slaves are widely accepted as vampire chow. Once black slaves get old enough and are no longer useful, the owners feed them to vampires, apparently a well-known and accepted phenom. Upon hearing of the bounty of slaves to feast upon, vampires made their way over to America from Europe, nearly overflowing our country. At first, Abe decides to just go on a mass killing spree, killing any vampire that he can find with his trusty ax. Eventually, the killing spree turns into a highly developed plan to cut out slavery altogether, which would eliminate any possible free vampire food options. The fear is that once all the slaves are eaten, the vampires, now grossly outnumbering civilians, would turn to other things/people for food, resulting in the death of our nation. Thus, Abe becomes president and moves to get rid of slavery, wins the Civil War, and sends a large population of the vampires back to where they came from. Abe's best friend/vampire, Henry, plays a huge part in the book, at first offering names and locations of known vampires to Abe for killing, and then becoming the leader of the Union later on. After Abe is killed, Henry turns him into a vampire and they are presumably hanging around to this day, being awesome somewhere.
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I give the book a 4/5. I thought it was very well written, and I absolutely loved how Seth wove history and fantasy together. A few times, while reading the book, I began to actually question history because the book's explanations of vampires existing through history made so much sense and fit together seamlessly. There are two things I don't like about the book, one at no fault of the author. I will be the first to tell you, I am pretty much the exact opposite of a history buff. The book reads very much like a history book, and because of that, it took me a long time to read. Despite the fact that the book was exciting and fast-paced in its own right, I just couldn't get into it sometimes. The other thing was the absence of an epilogue. I had really wanted there to be a more defined ending brought back to modern times, like the introduction. I wanted to find out what Henry showed Seth at the beginning, and for Seth to confirm that Henry liked what he wrote, or something to that effect. I really liked how the book ended, but I wanted an epilogue so bad.
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For Next Time
The Postcard Killers, by James Patterson & Liza Marklund
Finally gonna get back to this book! I had to stop in the middle of it to read KK5, and then Abe Lincoln. First we were on a Disney cruise, and then fighting the Civil War against vampires, and now we're back to solving a murder mystery in Europe. Oh, I love books.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The Itch is Back
It seems I am back to that old itch I thought I was rid of.
The baby bug.
Well, let's be fair. "Rid of" isn't the right terminology. Right after Justin and I got married, despite the fact that we had decided to wait to have children and start a family, the itch happened. It seemed like babies were everywhere and that everyone was having them. And to a point, that was true. SO many of my Facebook friends, including people I had known since elementary school, were having children. And the bug bit me hard. I would lament to Justin about how my clock was ticking, and how I wanted them so badly. However, soon enough, the itch passed and I was ready to wait. The itch was put on hold.
This has been the way of life for right at 2 years. Until recently.
Given all the events back-to-back over the past weeks (Mother's Day to Father's Day to birthdays to weddings), Justin and I have done a lot of traveling. And, without fail, every time we travel, we talk about children. This is mostly my doing, but Justin always has input as well. We talk about what we will name them, how many of each we hope to have, what their nurseries and bedrooms will be decorated with, etc. And with more traveling comes more talking about children.
This was bad enough until Justin and I were talking in the living room one night last week, and he said these words, "I'm ready to be a dad." It was almost in passing in the middle of a conversation, but those words took my breath. This was the man who had scoffed and nearly laughed every time I thought of yet another name I'd like to call our kids, or expressed my opinions on how to dress them. This was the man who had not only supported, but almost ordered me to wait to have children. And now, all of a sudden, he's ready to be a dad?!
It was wonderful and bizarre at the same time. So many years of talking about going to Paris and the Grand Canyon before the kids came were tossed out the window. Where my acceptance of age 30 as a starting point for having children had once been praised, it was now thought insane. It was bizarre, I tell you.
Now, all of this is not to say that we started trying to conceive the night he said those words, but it is to say that the current plan is to start trying around this time next year. We love the idea of having a child in 2014. The number 14 has meant so many things to us over the years: Valentine's Day, our anniversary, our wedding day. It would just seem full-circle to bring children into the 14-mix. If we got pregnant next July, let's say after the 5th so that I would be 27, we would have our first child before I turned 28, which I think would make everyone happy. Our parents would be delighted, of course, and it's before 30 but not so early to us. As far as timing, I know we can't do a lot about that, but we really don't want a Christmas baby. Or even a December baby, for that matter. We've noticed that everyone seems to run their birthday and Christmas together, which is just plain unfair. Justin and I also want to avoid having a child in July, simply because that month is already over-run with everyone else in our family. And so, theoretically, our first child (or children, who knows?) would be born in April. They would either be an Aries or a Taurus.
Anyway, I'm rambling now I think. My main point was to document that Justin has given a small green light toward having a family, and I am pretty darn excited about our 2014 plan. And now, I am itching all over again. I have a feeling my future childrens' Pinterest board is going to get a little bigger over the next few days... :)
The baby bug.
Well, let's be fair. "Rid of" isn't the right terminology. Right after Justin and I got married, despite the fact that we had decided to wait to have children and start a family, the itch happened. It seemed like babies were everywhere and that everyone was having them. And to a point, that was true. SO many of my Facebook friends, including people I had known since elementary school, were having children. And the bug bit me hard. I would lament to Justin about how my clock was ticking, and how I wanted them so badly. However, soon enough, the itch passed and I was ready to wait. The itch was put on hold.
This has been the way of life for right at 2 years. Until recently.
Given all the events back-to-back over the past weeks (Mother's Day to Father's Day to birthdays to weddings), Justin and I have done a lot of traveling. And, without fail, every time we travel, we talk about children. This is mostly my doing, but Justin always has input as well. We talk about what we will name them, how many of each we hope to have, what their nurseries and bedrooms will be decorated with, etc. And with more traveling comes more talking about children.
This was bad enough until Justin and I were talking in the living room one night last week, and he said these words, "I'm ready to be a dad." It was almost in passing in the middle of a conversation, but those words took my breath. This was the man who had scoffed and nearly laughed every time I thought of yet another name I'd like to call our kids, or expressed my opinions on how to dress them. This was the man who had not only supported, but almost ordered me to wait to have children. And now, all of a sudden, he's ready to be a dad?!
It was wonderful and bizarre at the same time. So many years of talking about going to Paris and the Grand Canyon before the kids came were tossed out the window. Where my acceptance of age 30 as a starting point for having children had once been praised, it was now thought insane. It was bizarre, I tell you.
Now, all of this is not to say that we started trying to conceive the night he said those words, but it is to say that the current plan is to start trying around this time next year. We love the idea of having a child in 2014. The number 14 has meant so many things to us over the years: Valentine's Day, our anniversary, our wedding day. It would just seem full-circle to bring children into the 14-mix. If we got pregnant next July, let's say after the 5th so that I would be 27, we would have our first child before I turned 28, which I think would make everyone happy. Our parents would be delighted, of course, and it's before 30 but not so early to us. As far as timing, I know we can't do a lot about that, but we really don't want a Christmas baby. Or even a December baby, for that matter. We've noticed that everyone seems to run their birthday and Christmas together, which is just plain unfair. Justin and I also want to avoid having a child in July, simply because that month is already over-run with everyone else in our family. And so, theoretically, our first child (or children, who knows?) would be born in April. They would either be an Aries or a Taurus.
Anyway, I'm rambling now I think. My main point was to document that Justin has given a small green light toward having a family, and I am pretty darn excited about our 2014 plan. And now, I am itching all over again. I have a feeling my future childrens' Pinterest board is going to get a little bigger over the next few days... :)
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Sugar.
I've been getting/using a lot of it lately!
Last week, I used this recipe from Urban Nester to make Baked Oatmeal Casserole.
With the leftover strawberries and bananas, I made Justin strawberry and banana waffles the next morning. He loved them.
Today, Justin and I spent the 4th watching Hey Arnold! on Netflix most of the day and having red, white, and blue spaghetti for dinner.
The noodles look a little teal in these pictures, but they were more so blue!
Just before dinner, Justin headed out to go get a birthday surprise for me! I wasn't sure what it was, but I was really excited about it!
He brought me a Kroger whipped-icing cake!! It is, like, my favorite thing.
I also got lovely flowers and a very sweet card. :)
It sure made for a great surprise kickoff to my birthday weekend!
I wish the day had started off as well as it ended, though. My poor hubby woke up around 5:30 this morning knowing out-right he was going to throw up. And after waiting an hour sitting on the bathroom floor, he finally did. Afterward, when we tried to go back to sleep, he threw up again. That's just not a nice way for anyone to start their day, especially a day off work! But thankfully, he's doing much better now and didn't get sick anymore today. Ginger Ale and McDonald's cure anything!
Hope everyone had a very Happy and Relaxing 4th! God bless America, and bless us, everyone.
*I'd just like to apologize for some poor lighting in these pictures. Delilah is on loan to my mother at the moment for photographing a wedding. :)
Last week, I used this recipe from Urban Nester to make Baked Oatmeal Casserole.
It was a big hit with Justin and Dave, but I would have liked it more
without the chocolate. I'm one of those weird people who doesn't like
the chocolate+fruit combo.
 |
| Good to the last bite! |
With the leftover strawberries and bananas, I made Justin strawberry and banana waffles the next morning. He loved them.
Today, Justin and I spent the 4th watching Hey Arnold! on Netflix most of the day and having red, white, and blue spaghetti for dinner.
The noodles look a little teal in these pictures, but they were more so blue!
Just before dinner, Justin headed out to go get a birthday surprise for me! I wasn't sure what it was, but I was really excited about it!
He brought me a Kroger whipped-icing cake!! It is, like, my favorite thing.
 |
| Purple icing! |
I also got lovely flowers and a very sweet card. :)
It sure made for a great surprise kickoff to my birthday weekend!
I wish the day had started off as well as it ended, though. My poor hubby woke up around 5:30 this morning knowing out-right he was going to throw up. And after waiting an hour sitting on the bathroom floor, he finally did. Afterward, when we tried to go back to sleep, he threw up again. That's just not a nice way for anyone to start their day, especially a day off work! But thankfully, he's doing much better now and didn't get sick anymore today. Ginger Ale and McDonald's cure anything!
 |
| My mom bought me a 4th of July headband. Rock on. |
Hope everyone had a very Happy and Relaxing 4th! God bless America, and bless us, everyone.
*I'd just like to apologize for some poor lighting in these pictures. Delilah is on loan to my mother at the moment for photographing a wedding. :)
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
How Whole Grain Kix My Butt
So, sometime last week I got this almost unbearable craving for Berry Berry Kix, a childhood favorite of mine.
I don't know why this craving hit, but it was BAD. Like, I had to have them right now or die.
I thought it was a sign when I was adding my digital coupons to my Kroger card and happened upon a coupon for the very cereal I was in the process of dying for.
I hurried to Kroger and was saddened to realize that only Original Kix lined the shelves. No matter! I thought. I'll just try the other Kroger! So I did. Again, I was met with defeat.
After lamenting this story to Justin, who knew of my plight to find the magical puffed corn confection, he took the liberty of looking up the product online.
At first, because of how close the asterisk text was, the purple arrow was all we saw. I almost cried hysterically at the thought of this cereal being discontinued. But then I saw the other listing below the purple arrow and a little hope started shining!
After clicking the bottom 12 oz. link, we found out that this cereal is apparently only sold in Target stores anymore. After dinner was done, I put on pants and hurried to the nearest Target store. I was absolutely enlightened when I saw the purple box on the shelf where there had been a gaping hole in every other store.
As I neared the cereal, I recognized the words, "Whole Grain," the latest health fad, scrawled across the front of the box. Upon seeing this, I cringed a little. You see, I don't like whole grain. And it's not for lack of trying. I've tried whole grain pasta and rice. I think it tastes gross and it's very noticeably different from the regular version.
Upon this realization, I shoved the forward-most cereal boxes to the side and checked in the back of the row to see if perhaps there were some "normal" boxes of the cereal left. There weren't.
I refused to give up hope after this kind of adventure and semi-reluctantly bought the cereal and came home. I couldn't wait to pour the little berry-flavored balls into milk that would later be strawberry-flavored when I drank it from the bowl. I performed the cereal ritual and headed to my rocker to fully enjoy the experience.
The first bite sealed the unfortunate deal. Whole Grain had ruined something else I loved. The cereal just didn't taste the same. And not in the I-was-a-kid-last-time-I-ate-this way, but it was almost as if this was a whole other cereal. It wasn't as sweet, and the flavors weren't the same. The milk at the end was a weak version of the strawberry my tongue had been longing for over a week's time.
And so, I am sad. Stupid whole grain. Ruins everything. Sigh.
I don't know why this craving hit, but it was BAD. Like, I had to have them right now or die.
I thought it was a sign when I was adding my digital coupons to my Kroger card and happened upon a coupon for the very cereal I was in the process of dying for.
I hurried to Kroger and was saddened to realize that only Original Kix lined the shelves. No matter! I thought. I'll just try the other Kroger! So I did. Again, I was met with defeat.
After lamenting this story to Justin, who knew of my plight to find the magical puffed corn confection, he took the liberty of looking up the product online.
At first, because of how close the asterisk text was, the purple arrow was all we saw. I almost cried hysterically at the thought of this cereal being discontinued. But then I saw the other listing below the purple arrow and a little hope started shining!
After clicking the bottom 12 oz. link, we found out that this cereal is apparently only sold in Target stores anymore. After dinner was done, I put on pants and hurried to the nearest Target store. I was absolutely enlightened when I saw the purple box on the shelf where there had been a gaping hole in every other store.
As I neared the cereal, I recognized the words, "Whole Grain," the latest health fad, scrawled across the front of the box. Upon seeing this, I cringed a little. You see, I don't like whole grain. And it's not for lack of trying. I've tried whole grain pasta and rice. I think it tastes gross and it's very noticeably different from the regular version.
Upon this realization, I shoved the forward-most cereal boxes to the side and checked in the back of the row to see if perhaps there were some "normal" boxes of the cereal left. There weren't.
I refused to give up hope after this kind of adventure and semi-reluctantly bought the cereal and came home. I couldn't wait to pour the little berry-flavored balls into milk that would later be strawberry-flavored when I drank it from the bowl. I performed the cereal ritual and headed to my rocker to fully enjoy the experience.
The first bite sealed the unfortunate deal. Whole Grain had ruined something else I loved. The cereal just didn't taste the same. And not in the I-was-a-kid-last-time-I-ate-this way, but it was almost as if this was a whole other cereal. It wasn't as sweet, and the flavors weren't the same. The milk at the end was a weak version of the strawberry my tongue had been longing for over a week's time.
And so, I am sad. Stupid whole grain. Ruins everything. Sigh.
Good News & Bad News
I finally heard back from Tara this morning regarding the email I sent her June 19 about my work duties. She was no help whatsoever. She basically just said to research other HVAC companies and see what they do, and to pretend that it was my company and act accordingly to promote it. Ugh.
That's the bad news. I'm still really clueless about this job. I'm also scared to talk to anyone about it. I suck.
But there's good news!
Also on June 19, ironically, I bought the domain for Daddy's website, so now you can visit 109southmain.com! Then, on the 27, I set up emails under that domain.
-I feel like I'm the shit when I work on Daddy's stuff, and feel like shit when I work on CSI stuff.-
Yesterday, Daddy sent out his first Monday Morning THOT (which is just thought spelled weird; it doesn't stand for anything). Daddy really loved my layout and we got excellent stats on the newsletter as well!
So far, no unsubs, and mostly opens! We unfortunately had a decent amount of bounces, but that was no fault of our own.
I'm SO ready to go home. Don't feel too hot today and woke up in the middle of the night with tummy troubles. Can't we just run on Australian time and say it's already tomorrow?
That's the bad news. I'm still really clueless about this job. I'm also scared to talk to anyone about it. I suck.
But there's good news!
Also on June 19, ironically, I bought the domain for Daddy's website, so now you can visit 109southmain.com! Then, on the 27, I set up emails under that domain.
-I feel like I'm the shit when I work on Daddy's stuff, and feel like shit when I work on CSI stuff.-
Yesterday, Daddy sent out his first Monday Morning THOT (which is just thought spelled weird; it doesn't stand for anything). Daddy really loved my layout and we got excellent stats on the newsletter as well!
So far, no unsubs, and mostly opens! We unfortunately had a decent amount of bounces, but that was no fault of our own.
I'm SO ready to go home. Don't feel too hot today and woke up in the middle of the night with tummy troubles. Can't we just run on Australian time and say it's already tomorrow?
Sunday, July 1, 2012
This blog got an update.
For the last several months, this blog has been pink.
Real pink.
Last night, I tweaked it a little, and now I like it much better.
Old header:
New header:
I like it! :)
Real pink.
Last night, I tweaked it a little, and now I like it much better.
Old header:
New header:
I like it! :)
It's My Birthday Week!
The week of my 26th year is finally here! :)
I'm planning on going to Walmart, or even the dollar store, and getting some birthday stuff for myself. Like, a Birthday Girl ribbon and streamers to decorate the apartment with. Because I can.
I'm also going to photograph myself at some point this week and make something like this that I originally found on Pinterest.
I kinda hope I always treat my birthday as a big deal. It seems the older you get, the less your birthday means to you and the less you celebrate it. I understand doing this in favor of celebrating your children's birthdays with more gusto, but I read something once that really stuck with me. It said to appreciate every birthday that you get, because someone was not as lucky as you.
Chilling words, indeed.
I'm planning on going to Walmart, or even the dollar store, and getting some birthday stuff for myself. Like, a Birthday Girl ribbon and streamers to decorate the apartment with. Because I can.
I'm also going to photograph myself at some point this week and make something like this that I originally found on Pinterest.
I kinda hope I always treat my birthday as a big deal. It seems the older you get, the less your birthday means to you and the less you celebrate it. I understand doing this in favor of celebrating your children's birthdays with more gusto, but I read something once that really stuck with me. It said to appreciate every birthday that you get, because someone was not as lucky as you.
Chilling words, indeed.
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