Go run!

Maybe you've heard.
It's National Running Day! YAY!! Aren't you excited??? I am. Mainly because I see these things on Twitter & FB & I could never say I participated before but today I can! I ran 3.5 miles this morning before work. I've been back into the half marathon training plan for a couple of weeks & that means Sunday I'm supposed to run 5 miles. YIKES! I'm nervous.

I think I'm going to celebrate National Running Day with Yogurtland. I swear I love that stuff. It reminds me of my high school days when I worked at Zack's Frozen Yogurt. Best job EVER!! Best boss ever too!

Have I mentioned how hot it is these days? It's HOT! At 5:00 am when I started my run it was 75 degrees. That may not sound hot but with the humidity it is. That's why I run so early.  I've never paid so much attention to the weather until I started running. It's weird.

For anyone who reads this blog on even a semi-regular basis this will come as no surprise to you. I can't cook. Just when I think maybe I'm getting better I screw something up. I saw a recipe for Mediterranean Quinoa Salad & it looked so good so I tried it. Here's where the problem came in.  The recipe listed the ingredients as 1 cup uncooked Quinoa, 2 cups water. OK fine. Then the directions say "Fill a medium pot with water". Now, I am very technical when it comes to cooking. I do EXACTLY what the recipe says. So this means I filled the pot up with water & added the Quinoa. When it was finished cooking I had WAAAY too much water. I stared at it awhile. I asked Dean for advice. I stared at it some more. I tried to ladle out the water. Then I took his advice & through it away & started over. I figured out that I could've made this salad much quicker & without all the trouble if the recipe would've just said "Cook the Quinoa according to the directions on the box, then add vegetables".  sigh. It ended up being very good & something I'll make again. Maybe one day I'll get this cooking thing down. Or at least be able to follow directions better.

Toodles!

Is it really Monday?

Seriously, I just left this desk. It couldn't possibly have been 2 days ago. sigh.

LSU won Friday afternoon. You know the game I talked about not being interested in? The one that if they lost wasn't something I would've wanted to see? THANK GOODNESS I didn't waste vacation time on that debacle. They managed to win but good grief it was ugly. I swear that wasn't the same team we've been watching all year.

We started the weekend with our regular stop at Caliente.
What is it with me & blue drinks? I didn't even know this one was blue when I ordered it.

Saturday was supposed to be a rest day as for as working out goes. It didn't really go that way. I decided that I'm annoyed with the irises in my yard. I love the purple blooms, I love how they look at the beginning of the season but when they start flopping over I HATE THEM. Hate outweighed love & I pulled a bunch up. It was HARD WORK. I should've taken pictures of the roots on those things. Did I mention I have a lot of them because they multiply like crazy? I think I could pour gas on them & they'd survive. I only did one small section. They were starting to smother one of my other plants. I'm hoping I saved it from strangulation. It was soooo hot. When I was finished with a small area I couldn't take it anymore & got in the pool. I swam some laps. I didn't get carried away, I only did 20 but I could definitely feel it.

Saturday night before the game we ate at new place near the stadium called Leroy's. BEST burger I've had in awhile. It was on a sour dough bun & was just like a homemade burger. DELISH!

When we got to game I met up with someone I haven't seen in 12 years.
Seth was the little brother of one of LSU's players that played in '00-'01. He was 10 the last time I saw him. His family tailgated with us & we traveled all over the SEC. It was a lot of fun. I remember Seth sleeping in his mom's trunk (the trunk was open) & he had his own cheers for his brother & some of the other guys. Dean has seen him several times over the last couple of seasons but it was always at games that I wasn't at. He's now a senior at LSU. I wouldn't have recognized him. I felt very, very old. I HATE hot my hair looks in this picture. It was HOT & it was in a ponytail & I couldn't stand my bangs on my forehead. UGH.

The sky looked really cool when the game started. Speaking of the game, the same team that played Friday showed up Sat. Again, they managed to pull out a win after 4 HOURS!!!

Yesterday, I got up at 6:30 to go for a run. I'm trying to beat the heat but it was still hot! Luckily, it was cloudy. After the 4 hour debacle that was Saturday's game I took a 2 1/2 hour nap Sunday. Y'all know I need my sleep. The game ended up being only 3 hours which means I got to sleep at 11:00.  Good thing I took that nap. I'm still really tired today.

I treated myself to Yogurtland yesterday too.
Red Velvet Cake Batter is soooo good! I mixed it with cheesecake & had cheesecake bites, Reeses & mini M&M's. YUMMMM!! What is it about cold M&M's?? They're so good.

I stole this pic from a friend. We had some really cool looking sunsets at The Box this weekend.
So, it's back to counting down to the weekend. Isn't that what everyone does on a Monday??

Toodles!

12.55

In the last 8 days I've ran 12.55 miles. I know that's not a ton like some people but for me it's awesome! Aside from the runs, I've swam laps & gone to Yoglates twice. It's been HOT!!! Like really, really hot. This morning at 4:45 when I got up it was 75 degrees. That may sound nice to some of you but when you factor in the 80% humidity it's not nice at all. I just wanted to get in the pool when I got back but there's that thing called a job that got in the way of that. UGH!

I stole this from my sis-in-laws FB wall. It's so true. I had only ran 0.8 of a mile this morning & was
sooooo ready to stop. The rest of the run went by fast & the more I ran the better I felt. It's weird but the first mile is always my hardest.

The LSU Baseball team starts Regional play today at the God awful time of 2:00. I've said before, our coach is moron. In what world is it better to play when it's 87 degrees, 80% humidity & under the blazing hot sun rather than at 7:00 tonight when it's only 83, humidity is down & THERE'S NO SUN???? Well, guess who won't be there??? THIS GIRL. LSU is playing Jackson State, which is a SWAC school, which means they don't play as tough of a schedule as LSU so this SHOULDN'T be a very good game. I don't want to take vacation to watch that & have to sit in the heat. Yes, I'm a baby. Not to mention I think I've sweated my allotted amount of sweat already today. Should LSU happen to lose it's a game that I certainly wouldn't have wanted to see so it's a win win for me. I'll sit at work in the A/C & watch on the ESPN app.

Speaking of work, things are better. Thanks goodness!! We have a new boss. He's my friend & already works with us. It's only on an interim basis now but we're hoping it will become permanent. We're scared of outsiders!! There are other changes & one involves this.
How does my job have anything to do with a Starbuck's Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frap you ask??? Well, one of the other guys that I work for that is also our friend will be working out of the office for the majority of the time now. He's my SB buddy. He makes Starbucks runs for us during the day. Not everyday but often. Sometimes all I have to do is tweet about needing caffeine. HA! Soooo with him not being in the office & sometimes not even in Baton Rouge I'll be doing without. sigh. It's a tough life I know.  

Anyone have any good plans for the weekend? I'll be at the LSU games Saturday & Sunday & hopefully have some pool time. Tomorrow will be my off day from running & working out. I'm looking forward to that.

Have a great weekend!

Toodles!

Happy Memorial Day!

We got together with our families Sunday. Dean's brother & his kids were in town so it worked out for everyone.  Including this guy.

First snake of the year. Oh joy. I was standing by the pool taking pics of Logan when I saw him slither up. He sat in this spot for awhile. I guess he was trying to decide what to do next. My brother ended up with the shovel which was a mistake of EPIC proportions. Apparently,he's scared of snakes. Yes, he got away. He does have an injured tail. The good news is he's not poisonous.

Logan loves the pool. In case you're wondering the snake was over to the left of the knock out rose in this pic before the big escape.

We had burgers, hot dogs & these little guys for lunch.

This was when they were first put in the pot.

The finished product. They were sooooo good!!!-

I think everyone enjoyed them.

The uninvited guest used the bamboo along the fence as his getaway.

I think Logan would've stayed in the pool all night.

 

Our niece Camille brought an alligator with her. It's a big noodle with a seat.

Our nephew Drew.

Camille
Logan with his daddy.

We celebrated Camille's 11th birthday.

I hooked her up with her fave - Under Armour.

I think Drew was over the birthday festivities by this point.

It was great to be able to relax after the stressful few days I'd had at work. Of course I ate too much. Dean & I were both off Monday. I got in a 4 mile run. I was excited that I was able to do it but it was tough! Tuesday I was back at Yoglates after a week off. It was tough too but I did it. This morning I ran 3 miles. I'm using the Hal Higdon 1/2 Marathon training app & I'm almost where I left off when I had tendinitis. Thanks goodness!

Toodles!

TGIF

More beach pics. I've been looking at them a lot this week because they make me happy. I've only had to work 3 days this week & it's a really good thing because those 3 days haven't been good. The wonderful new people (yes, people, that is sarcasm & I'm sure there will be a lot of it here over the next days, weeks, months - however long I have this job) that are now in charge fired my boss Wednesday. This is awful awful awful news. Not totally surprising but awful. 27 years & out the door just like that!  Moving on.

We only went out to eat one night at the beach. We went to Crabs & had seafood. It was good.
We took a few pics. Dean thought this was a great picture. All I see are how droopy my eyes are. Add an eye lift to the list of things I want to have done to me.
Don't ask. I really have no idea why I have that expression on my face. Although, my eyes don't look as droopy in this pic so maybe I should start posing like that. The beer is not mine. The Crabwacker is. It was just a Bushwacker with a crab name since the name of the restaurant was Crab's.
I ran Saturday & Monday. Good Lord was it hot & humid. However, I ran 2 of my best times ever. The scenery was awesome! I LOVED this beach house.
There were so many pretty ones along my route.
This was the scenery the day I ran the other direction. So peaceful.
More beach houses. I was surely hoping to win the $600 million Powerball Saturday night so I could build myself one of these somewhere in the Caribbean. I didn't need the whole $600 mil, just some would've made me happy!
Logan loved the pool!

Logan & his daddy had dug a big hole. You can't tell from the picture but Logan was jumping into it.
More jumping!
What I wish I was doing right now.
Logan loves ice cream!

I don't think he can eat anything without it getting all over him.
I laughed & laughed when I saw this. Mama & daddy playing Candy Crush & Logan playing something on his DS.

Have a good weekend! We have a 3 day weekend & I'm very excited!

Toodles!

We're Back!

We got back from the beach yesterday. We had such an awesome time & the weather was fabulous!When we go to the beach we always stop at the outlet mall in Foley. I have a new obsession.
I've bought 3 pair of tennis shoes in like 3 months. These were a great deal! They're Nike Lunar something or other. They're a stability shoe which is good for my over pronating feet. Plus they're pink! I bought some new workout clothes & some stuff from Loft. I love that store. There is always a sale & I had a $20 gift card.
My other new obsession. YUM! They also had a Starbucks so I had green tea too. Definitely a successful trip. Next stop - Portofino!

This was our "big house" as Logan called it for 4 days.

Logan loved the beach & we loved watching him & playing with him. He's sooo funny!

I'm going to miss this little guy after being with him for 4 days.
He didn't sit still for long.
Logan's 4th birthday is the 25th but they'll be at their camp so I ordered a cake from Publix & we picked it up on the way. I thought it was so cute!
He told us "now you sing to me". Um, yeh, it never occurred to me to get candles. You can tell by Logan's "wife beater" that he'd eaten quite a bit.
We made do with matches & we sang. He was happy.

We all had green teeth & tongues!
He was laying on me playing his Nintendo DS & all of a sudden he was out.
He thought it was hilarious to bury his daddy in the sand.

He "took a little rest".

 

Some of our friends that live by us that we travel with sometimes were there the same time we were so we hung out with them for a little while. You can't tell in the pictures but I have a lovely mismatched sunburn. I've decided that aerosol sunscreen doesn't work. I have some spots that aren't burned, then I have spots that are & pretty much the entire backs of my legs are. I put on 50 spf. Unreal.

Toodles!