Live Laugh Run Today

This has kind of become a routine, unfortunately, so when it’s not Thursday, it’s just going to be an “End of the Week” post to say Thank you for a few things in my life.

I am thankful that I did well (for me at least) in both races last week.  As I’m sure you could tell by my thoughts on here, I was extremely nervous about them… especially because working out really wasn’t even on my radar.  I did one (yes a big fat one) run before the 5K and it was two miles.  It was either adrenaline or excitement (are those the same?!?) but I finished both races successfully and actually really enjoyed myself.  I was scared I would really enjoy the races because I was so out of shape, but turns out, I slowed down a little and had fun!

I am thankful for my new Pottery Barn basket for our extra pillows.  We’ve been having a lot of company lately and I really needed a place for all the pillows, because they don’t all fit on the couch when we need more seating.  Luckily, Pottery Barn (a place I have been a lot since we moved) had a super cute display for extra pillows.  I totally stole their idea… and now it looks like this.

I am thankful A&M happened to have a baseball game last Saturday and Evan wanted to be left alone to watch it.  He ended up wanting me out of his hair and to get me to stop annoying him, he let me go buy the new stools that I loved for our breakfast bar.  It was win-win for everyone. 

He really didn’t want me to get these at first, I think he wanted like Wal-mart ones.  I convinced him it was a good “investment” to just get the nice ones now, rather than have to buy cheap ones twice.  Then, when A&M was playing he wanted me to leave and told me… “Just go buy them.”  AKA, leave me alone while I watch (and enjoy) this game.

Don’t have to tell a girl like me twice;)

I am thankful that my parents get to come next weekend:)  FINALLY, they will get to see the house!!! My mom and I totally love to do all things house and decorating together and doing it alone has been really hard.  There have been A LOT (and I mean A LOT) of back and forth iPhone pictures… I need her opinion on everything.  We mostly have the same taste, so it’s more like check this out… BUT, it would be way more fun if she were here. 

Moral of the story… I’m really glad she will be here next weekend.  We can get a lot done.  Maybe there will be a good game on and Evan and my dad will say… “Just go buy it.”  Whatever “it” might be.

We are the same… you don’t have to tell her twice either.

I am thankful for our rooftop patio.  We have already spent so much time up there.  It’s totally relaxing up there.

I am thankful that I have migraine medicine that works.  I’ve recently had two REALLY bad migraines.  Honestly, I don’t really feel stressed, but I think deep down there is a lot of stress that comes with a new house… anyway, whatever it has been, I’ve had two.  I am so thankful that I have medicine that can make it go away within an hour or two.  I know so many people are not that lucky, so the fact that I can be up and feeling better after taking it makes me super thankful.

I am thankful I found these new Pilates classes.  Pilates is so good for you and I absolutely love it, so I’m so glad I found one close to home and one I like.  

I am thankful to the girl at the gym who came up, introduced herself and made me feel very welcome.  She totally didn’t have to do that, in fact, like ten other people in the class never did.  But, she was super cool and welcomed me before class even started which totally put me at ease for the rest of the time.  It’s probably the main reason I enjoyed the class so much, to be honest.

 Your turn! What are you thankful for?!?

Okay, so I haven’t been traveling… I really have no good excuse for not stopping in to say hi except for the fact that I have just been like crazy, busy.  BUT, luckily… it’s been crazy, busy in a fun way.

Since we last talked…

I ran a 5K for MD Anderson’s Sprint for Life charity.  I did a pretty good job on this race and finished in 30:40, which I was happy with.  Crazy story/lesson learned about this race:)

So, you all know how they say, get ALL your race gear ready the night before.  Your shoes, your bib, your shoe chip… have it all laid out and ready.

Friday night, I thought to myself, I should really do that… eh, it’s just a 5K, I’ll be fine and have everything.

WELLLLLLLLLLL, lesson learned.  I pulled up to the race and forgot my race bib.  Luckily a) it wasn’t toooooooo far away and b) I was 45 minutes early (originally, at least).

Needless to say, I made it back right before the race started.  BUT, I was sprinting to the start line to try to catch up to the rest of my team and ran almost a third of a mile before the race even started;) 

Lesson learned, Abby G., lesson learned. 

Since we last talked…

I ran a 10K.  I ran this race for Esprit de She. 

It was an all women’s race and SOOOOOOOOO fun.  I didn’t keep as good of a pace on this race, but finished it in under 1:10, which was ultimately my goal. I also ran with my friend, Kristi, and we had a blast talking and catching up.  We catch up like every other day, but you know what I mean;) 

I did, however, watch my Garmin like a hawk.  They even got a picture of me doing it.  I knew I was looking down a lot, but this shot proved my point.

Oh, duh… the other super fun thing about this race…  It was on a Thursday after work at 6:00 p.m.  I really enjoyed changing up the race routine.  AND, I didn’t forget my race bib! SCORE!

Since we last talked…

I joined a gym and started doing pilates again. I have totally dropped the ball on like core and muscle strength since I’ve been in Houston.  Do you guys remember how much pilates I used to do? 

No? Okay… well, I promise it was a lot.

Finally, I am getting back into it.  I have been starting to feel a little looser in certain places (if you know what I mean) and not only was I totally horrified, I figured it was because I wasn’t doing ANY strength/core work.  Needless to say, I’m back at it… looseness be gone!

I really like the teacher too;)  Always a plus.

Since we last talked…

I turned 29!  That was like last Monday, but that happened since my last post.

Since we last talked…

I officially turned in my keys to the apartment!  HALLELUJAH!!! That means I am totally and completely moved.  Totally and completely moved and totally and completely settled are two different things, but like I told my mom… my shoulders feel like a weight was taken off.

I’ll tell you all the truth, that move was one of the most stressful of my entire life.  I guess this is another lesson I learned.   Move in like two or three days and do it all at once.  Do NOT (I repeat) do NOT decide you can do it over the course of a couple of weeks and grab a load every time you are in the area and head home. 

If you are cool, calm and collected…you might be fine.  I’m totally not and almost had a complete breakdown.

We are all good now, so don’t worry;)

Since we last talked…

I finally feel like I am back into the groove.  I was out of it there for a while.  My healthy tendencies totally fell by the wayside and life took over.  BUT, it’s time to get back in my “healthy living” groove;)

POWER TO THE SHE!

With all that’s going on, this is going to be short and sweet…

I am thankful that my Aunt Anne made it through surgery and all is well!  She had surgery this week and she is home and looking good.  My other aunt sent a picture of her and she’s smiling, so that was a great sign.  If you are smiling the day after you have a big neck surgery, that’s got to be a good sign… I’m thankful she’s home and recovering:)

I am thankful I have tomorrow off to start to get things organized at the new place.  The craziness (as in stuff EV-ER-Y-WHERE) is driving me nuts.  So, thank you for that day.  I NEED IT.

I am thankful I am slowly but surely marking things off my to-do list.  It feels like it’s 85 pages (okay, like 2… but every line is filled) and I’m slowly but surely making progress.  I’d like to make it a little faster… but, progress is progress and I’m thankful for that.

I am thankful that it’s almost the weekend and I have even more time to start to get settled.  Can you tell that’s pretty much the only thing on my mind right now?

Everything I feel thankful for this week, besides being super grateful my Aunt is home safe and sound, is revolving around the fact that I have the next three days to move and get settled.  HALLELUJAH!!! HALLELUJAH!!!

So, that’s my short and sweet version for the week.

Oh, and I’m thankful for my new highlights and haircut and the new outfits I got to try to motivate myself to fix up my closet and the new house.  I got like Chevron galore at this cute little boutique the other day.  It’s for motivation to fix up my closet, so it’s cool;)

Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!  I’ll check in and let you know how the move is going;)  or if it’s bad, I’ll pop in and talk about something else:)

Hi friends!  Thank you for bearing with me through these crazy times;)

Soooooooooooo much is going on! I’ve tried to tweet and Facebook some updates, but that’s never anything good like a blog post.  It’s like hey, here’s a quick picture…

Unfortunately, that’s all I have had time for.  I’m going to do a Thankful Thursday type format for you to give you all an update on life;)

We own a house!  We have keys and we are moving in.  All of Evan’s stuff came last week and I am sloooooooooooowly bringing stuff over in small loads from the old apartment. 

I am soooooooooooooo incredibly excited about this house, but right now, I feel totally overwhelmed because I have to still move a bunch of stuff to move, nothing in the house is organized… no cable, no blinds, no internet, but we are still living there:) I’m working on all that stuff, so believe me, I’ll keep you all updated. 

Oh, duh… priorities.  I DID remember to bring over wine to celebrate;)

We had our annual company party this past weekend and it was quite the adventure;) 

Like my new hat?!?  Evan bought it for me;)

The theme was “Western” and we had some “Western” activities that I had never tried!

If two years ago you’d ask me if I’d ever do these crazy “activities”… I would’ve told you that you were crazy.

First, I was in an Armadillo Race!

Have you ever heard of that?!?  Good… me neither.  Pretty much, you get on your knees and hold an Armadillo.  When you hear the fake gunshot, you drop the little guy and blow on his or her tail to make them move. 

My armadillo happened to run away.  Evan said my voice scared him away.  But, hey, I won the race.  The little armadillo ran in the right direction:)

After the armadillo race, I headed inside to ride a mechanical bull!

To be totally honest, this party was awesome.  Evan and I had so much fun!  I can’t believe I rode a mechanical bull and blew on an armadillo’s tail… but hey, when in Rome?!?  Or Texas for that matter?!?

I have two races coming up in the next two weeks that I am completely unprepared for.  Luckily they are manageable distances so I’m not quite freaking out yet.  I am swamped this week, so no matter what (I am saying it here which means it HAS to happen), I will run two 5Ks this weekend! 

And, just to give you a few more in-depth thoughts… Overall, I feel really good and things are really exciting, but I can just tell that my body is saying… “please slow down.”  “Stop stressing me out so bad.”  I am working really hard to make sure I get plenty of sleep right now, because literally with all that we have going, it’s really the LAST thing I want to be doing.  These fun times can also be a little stressful (heck, they ARE stressful), and so I’m having to be super careful lately.  So far, I’ve stayed healthy.   BUT, most of you know my health background with my epilepsy, so lately, I’m being uber careful.

I just keep telling myself, we are so close to being totally settled.  That statement in and of itself helps me to relax:)

ALSO (the important things), I am looking for a new gym.  If there are any Houston readers out there that live near Rice Military or the Washington Corridor… what gym do you go to?  I need suggestions;)  Also, I’m really friendly, I promise! 

 

I usually tend to go to pen and paper or actually the keyboard when I really have no words.  Right now… I have none, except to say that my thoughts and prayers are with everybody in Boston… runners, spectators, family, friends, etc. 

I especially want to thank God that two friends of mine are okay.  Immediately when I read the news, my stomach dropped and to say I am just thankful they are okay is an understatement.  Luckily, they are safe and sound.

I love you H and Laris, and I’m so happy you are safe.

On that note, I will continue to pray for the victims and their families affected by this national tragedy. #prayforboston

Hello, hello!

How is everybody’s Wednesday going?!?  So, I know it’s pretty obvious I’ve been busy… there are just a couple of things going on…

Here are a few hints…

Wedding veil and jewelry shopping with the sample dress I chose on to have a better idea…

Buying a house that is under construction… It’s actually way farther along than this, but every time we have gone there lately I’ve been too worried about other stuff to take pictures.

Wedding planning and Girls on the Run site visits….

Soooooooooooooo, it’s all super fun and exciting stuff, it’s just kept me super busy and if I’m being honest, a little overwhelmed.  Okay, not the napkin decision… that’s pretty small (although if they had a couple of choices rather than 85 million that would help, it’s a napkin after all), but the house and traveling overall has me slightly overwhelmed. I’ve been in three cities in the past five days;)  On the bright side, I DO think I picked out a napkin!!!

On a totally different note, since I do that whole healthy living/workout blog thing, I should probably update you on that… I’ve totally fallen off the wagon.  My workouts have been TOTALLY sporadic.  They have existed, but definitely not consistently.  So, my goal for this week (along with closing on a house as long as construction is finished) is to get in a few solid workouts:)  I’d looooooooooooove to get over to the park this weekend! 

Also, I have awesome news… I am now the Wellness Coordinator for the Houston Division for my company!  I cannot tell you how excited this made me:)  I have asked so many times to be a part of the Wellness committee/group and all my asking paid off!  I get to participate:) 

Hope it’s sunny where you are, we are about to get a downpour!

Also, check back tomorrow… I have so many things to be thankful for this week!