Homemade Valentine's Cards

I grew up with a very creative mother. She always had us making things and using our imaginations. I would love to be as crafty as her, but alas I am not...though I do try.

This year I thought it would be fun to make the kid's Valentine's cards...well let them make them with my help.

Here are some ideas I found online that look easy enough that I won't be stuck making them myself. Are there any that you like more than others? Any input is appreciated...or if you know of a site with more ideas I would love the recommend!

Oh and on a completely different note. The ART doctor told me that my shin splints, and most shin splints are caused by ill fitting or worn out shoes. He recommended that I go to my local Run Tex store and get fitted for shoes. So about a week or so ago I went and ran around and let them look at my arch, did some little squat things....and voila! They told me that I am over pronating with one foot, the foot on my bad hip/shin side. So, they recommended I get a stability shoe, instead of the neutral shoe. (I have been running in neutral shoes for years) Their first recommend was the Saucony Pro Grid Guide 4. (Yes shameless Road Runner Sports plug...I love them and will always promote them because you can try shoes for 60 days and if you don't like them you can return them for your money back...worn, as many miles as you can run in 60 days type worn!) But of course they didn't have my size, and there are a lot of mixed reviews on the Pro Grid 5 so I went on to the next shoe that was recommended which was the Brooks Ravenna 2 . Which they did have in my size, and it's on sale! So, they are on their way and I can't wait to try them! I am hoping a more stable shoe will help me in the future....but honestly, and this may sound stupid, but I am sad to move on from my trusty Asics Cumulus...just look at them....600 miles on them...dirty, but so well loved....Took me through my first 10 mile race...my first 20 mile run....my first 1/2 marathon....Good times and memories....sigh.....

P.s....and LOVE the blue laces!

And finally some pictures!

Weekend Recap

Ahhhh weekends...they go by too fast!

Let's see.... Friday night, well that's like any other work weekday as I am always exhausted from the week..so pretty much dinner and bed.

Saturday I cleaned house and spent time with Phene. We had this really cold bitter north wind blowing so we pretty much stayed inside. She was a little stir crazy, but all in all it was a good day. I did P90x yoga in the afternoon which was relaxing.

Saturday night we got a babysitter and headed over to a friend's house for game night. It was a lot of fun! We played Apples to Sour Apples, a variation of the game Apples to Apples. Great company, great food, and just all in all a really fun night! I would like to do these types of things more often....saves money, and really just a lot more fun then the usual stuff we do!

Sunday I "ran" on the elliptical completing the "Freeze Your Thorns Off 5K". Unfortunately I have no pictures of me in my elliptical glory....step...step....stepping myself to 3.1. It took me about 50 minutes....it sucked....and I wish I could have done this 5K on the road...oh well....it gave me something to work for and gave meaning to my endless stepping! (Thank you Adam)

Sunday afternoon we went to Chucky Cheese fopr Phene's first school birthday party. What a chaotic place to have a kids bday party! There were like 10 bdays going on and it was hard to get the kids from her class in one place to interact. Plus, she is the youngest in her class, so at almost 3 she is not quite up to speed with the other kids who are around 4 years old. We pretty much just separated off and let her ride the rides and run around. We won a few tickets and she got a whistle and some stickers. I have some GREAT pics I wanted to post of how much fun Phene had....but for some reason my memory card reader is not working today :(  Hopefully I can get them downloaded soon!

For dinner I made an AMAZINGLY easy chicken parmesan. (Recipe from Pinterest) I love easy recipes, and I love cheese! Win, win! I also love the recipes on there! Here is a very poor picture of the leftovers I am eating today...

We watched a very good movie also called 50/50...very well acted, some sad parts, some funny parts, a great entertaining movie I recommend it!

So that was my weekend....now it's Monday and I am at work...boo.....

I ran 2 miles today...first time running after 10 days off.  It was so so.  My hips felt ok while running but my shin was hurting....not so bad I slowed down, but bad enough that I knew I shouldn't run farther.  When I got back I did all my roll outs and hip exercises....so now sitting at my desk a few hours later I am feeling it a little...sucks....I will try to run another 2 later in the week.

Until then elliptical, yoga, elliptical, yoga...repeat....

8 Days & Counting

8 Days since I last ran.
I woke up kind of frustrated.
From my first step today I felt sore.
All I did was yoga yesterday so I shouldn't be feeling sore.
Worked out on the elliptical for 35 minutes which was painless.
Came in to work and weighed myself. I have gained 2lbs.
Looks like I need to cut back on eating, and get on a diet of sorts if I am going to be off running for awhile.
I am so bad at dieting or having portion control.
I really miss being out there in fresh air, wind in my hair, feet on the pavement...
Feeling stir crazy.
So much on my mind today.
At least it's friday!

Pleasant Nose Pick?

I slept in and couldn't do yoga this morning.  So I packed my mat and laptop and did yoga in the photography/media conference room here at work.
Here is what I got to stare at everytime I came up I came up in to Warrior one....as you can see they are hard at work here!

Egg Boats

Everyone keeps telling me about pinterest.  And for the most part I am not really in to social media, and from what people tell me this site is very addicting and they spend hours on it....like I need another internet time suck!

I went to their main page....and I was surprised!  There were a lot of cool things...here are just a few I saw that I liked....

Egg Boats...OH MY GOODNESS do these look good!!!  And they have the recipe on there and it looks easy, even for someone who doesn't cook that well like me!

And how about this one!  Red Lobster biscuit recipe!!!

And I love this homemade light fixture! (I wish I was more creative and handy!)

And this is a great idea

Pretty cool stuff if you ask me!

I guess you have to be invited to use it though....and I am NOT asking for an invite...In fact I ask you to NOT invite me so I don't spend way more time than I already have and I am not even a member!

Aha!

I have had a bit of an Aha moment here at work.

(I know I should be thinking about work, but of course my mind is pre-occupied with running.)

My shin is still hurting and my legs are still just not 100% even after almost a week without running.

So....this is what I am thinking.....remember that marathon plan I showed you a few posts back?
Well here it is again....

I think when I do start running again, which will hopefully be soon, I might just start over.

Start from a marathon plan beginning.  (I am going to do some research in to some other plans too, to make sure I am picking the correct one, that fits my schedule, etc...)

I don't know what my hurry is...I don't know why I am needing to rush things.  I love running, I don't want to be hurt, I want to continue running injury free...and perhaps that means I just need to start over and get a good base.  Start over with some good cross training mixed in.  Start over with some good core mixed in.  Start over using the exercises I learned from the ART guy. Just restart running completely.

I need to think about this more.  But I think this is going to be my plan when I can start running again.

Work it harder, make it better, do it faster, makes us stronger

Well it's been almost a week since I have run. I did the elliptical Friday, P90x yoga on Saturday....we bought a cheap elliptical on craigslist, so Sunday I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and Ab Ripper X. Today was 45 minutes on the stationary bike. I am using muscles I haven't used for awhile since all I do is run, so I am happy to be exploring some new options as well as enjoying having the cardio outlet!

I am rolling out on my triggerpoint ball and roller, and doing the exercises the ART guy suggested. My calf is feeling less sore, and my back is feeling better...Still a little lingering achiness in my hips. I think the week off that I planned probably needs to turn in to 2 weeks.

I also think my March marathon is out of the question. Which I am fine with too because I am pretty sure I can do the 1/2. I am a little disappointed but I can always run a marathon later in the year. I just need to accept where I am at.

I also am learning about cross training and core. And have learned these are the things I need to incorporate when I do get back to running. I think lack of cross training and lack of core strength is what got me to where I am now.

So another week begins and it's back to the work grind!

I miss my running friends...and I miss running. But I will be back out there soon, hopefully refreshed and hopefully a little stronger!

Oh and my dearest friend Amy has invited me to Jamaica with her...pretty much all expenses paid! I am in the process of getting my passport renewed and then we will be going! I am super excited and look forward to a vacation, as I haven't had one in AWHILE!

Doesn't this look nice???  Always nice to have something to look forward to!

Hello My Name is Rain and I am an Addict

I am addicted to cardio, sweating, and mental anguish from exercise.

What I have learned this last week since I have been running a lot less, and now for the next week not at all, is that I thrive on exercise. If I don't exercise I feel like crap, I feel tired, I feel anxious, I can't sleep well, I ruminate about my aches and pains, and I obsess about eating carbs.

Yesterday was my first day running after 2 days off. It was a hard run for me. I felt like I couldn't catch my breath, my calf/shin were hurting along with my knee (?). But I felt like I was flying! It was like a mental vacation, and seriously I imagine this is how a drug addict feels when they take drugs after a few days hiatus. (Ok, maybe not but close!)

But....afterwards I was a TRAIN WRECK! My whole body was screaming at me. Every muscle ached, my back hurt, both my calves hurt, my shins hurts, my ankle hurt...and I realized my body needs a break from running PERIOD. No ifs and or maybes. No cutting down miles, I need a complete break. Though mentally, emotionally I was in a better place, physically I was not.

The ART guy I have been seeing says I should still run, that my "injuries" aren't that bad. And he said to run through the pain as long as it wasn't shooting pain. Well, I tried yesterday running through it and my body said no. Actually my body said HELL NO!

My dilemma is now...how can I get out this need for sweat and cardio? (So I don't yell at people, so I don't gain 20lbs, so I can sleep at night, etc...)

Well today I tried the elliptical. And hallelujah it was GREAT! I struggled a bit, I sweat (boy did I sweat) and most importantly it didn't hurt! YEAH!!!!!!

I have a friend who will let me use her apartment gym on weekdays, and I am going to search craigslist today and see if I can find a cheap elliptical to use at home. I need something and this might just get me through this running rut. And I am thinking this will be a good time to do more yoga, and more core.

Thank you elliptical, you gave me my sanity back today. I hope we can spend some more quality time together in the next week.

Something I Have Always Wanted to do

There is an island that I have always wanted to visit

It's off the coast of Virginia

Every year, once a year, for 87 years now they have a wild pony swim.  They round them up on the island, swim them across the channel, and then they have an auction where the public can buy some of the ponies.  I just think this would be such a fun experience!

Here is some history (legend) about the ponies of Chincoteague

There is a race of hardy ponies that live on the islands of Chincoteague and Assateague off the coast of Virginia and Maryland. The ponies are a race of small horses, compact and good nature. The legend is that these ponies swam ashore from a Spanish vessel, a galleon, named the Santo Cristo, which had capsized off the coast, around the century 1600. The ship had been headed to Panama but never made it. It's cargo of horses  was  to go to  the Viceroy of Peru and help in the gold mines. The horses, lost at sea, swam to the nearby island.

Once on the islands they became stunted under the harsh environment. To keep from starving they ate coarse saltmarsh cordgrass, American beachgrass, thorny greenbrier stems, bayberry twigs, seaweed and even poison ivy.  When their fresh water sources froze during cold winters or dried up during the hot summers, they learned to survive on small amounts of seawater which, at times, gave them the appearance of being fat or bloated. Thus the  horses bred down in size to the unique breed known today as the Chincoteague Pony.

The famous annual “Pony Round-up” and “Pony Swim” is held each year during the month of July. This pony penning began in the year 1927 after the town burned down due to not having a Fire Dept. and the pony auction was instituted to help finance one. The auction helped to build a large fire house on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, and continues annually to provide money for the upkeep of the ponies.

 (source)

Ever since reading Misty of Chincoteague when I was a young girl I have been fascinated with these ponies and their history.  

  This is definitely something I will be adding to my bucket list.

FrUsTrAtIoN

I'm feeling a little mad this morning....maybe more frustrated than mad, but still...a little mad.

My back has been feeling better, which I am thankful for.
My hip has been feeling better with the stretches and exercise, which I am thankful for.
But....
Now....
It's my shins/calf!

WTF!? Seriously!?

I thought I was training correctly. Taking rest days, adding in core, upping my miles slowly. So at this point I am feeling that maybe this is my body telling me that more miles isn't working....and won't work.

I feel sad....because not only does running keep me fit...it keeps me happy...it keeps me sane...and it's somewhat of an addiction at this point and I don't like it when it hurts or I have to cut back. Again with the mind is telling me one thing, my body is saying something else.

I chose to not run this morning because yesterday's 4.6 miles sucked and my shins HURT all day long. I chose to do P90x Yoga and the P90x Ab Ripper X instead. I am thinking that maybe I should just not run at all this week. Maybe just do P90x all week. There are more than a couple of the dvd's that aren't too much impact like Kenpo, Cardio, Yoga, and the Ab Ripper. And maybe get on the exercise bike.

I have another appointment with the ART guy this morning...so we will see what he says.

This sucks! Especially because I want to sign up for this marathon when I get paid on friday...but should I?

Running is really hard on our bodies. I follow a few blogs and it seems like a lot of people are injured right now. I guess as runners we need to get a little smarter. A little less hard headed. Listen to our aches and pains. Let our bodies rest once in awhile no matter how hard it is. Cross train....stretch....

Funny thing...I am in a bad mood today...as stated above pretty frustrated...and all I want to do right now is go out and run.....sigh................

(Sorry for so much venting/complaining about this lately...just frustrated and need to get it out somewhere)

Christmas All Year Round

Ok if Christmas was all year round I wouldn't be able to run or even walk because I am a glutton.
But that's not what this post is about.
It's about Christmas lights.

We didn't put Christmas lights up this year. I wanted to, but just never got time, or maybe made the time to make Sean put them up.  For awhile now I have been wanting to put nails along the front trim of our house so putting up the lights every year would be easier since we would have a place to hang them on already there.  Which got me thinking....

What about leaving white lights up all year along the top trim of the house all year long?  I really likes the way this looks and white lights aren't tacky right?  (My husband says leaving Christmas lights up all year is white trash, but hey, we live in the country....and it's not like we are in a neighborhood where people would care or even notice.)

I think he was picturing this

When really I meant something more like this (but no icicle lights just tiny white lights, and our house is one story)

What do you think?  Tacky?  White trash?

Inspirational!

Saw this over here this morning...so inspirational...gave me goosebumps!

Happy Friday all!

Good luck to my friends running marathons this weekend!

Running on Empty this Week

*When I went to see the "doctor" he said it was ok for me to do 5-7 miles...so I went to run group yesterday as I knew that would be the easiest place for me to get mileage. We did 2k repeats and I just took it slow around 8:30 pace and got 7.49 miles in which was perfect. Plus we had a big group which was kind of fun. I am thankful I have some great people to run with!

*Monday at PT the guy told me I need to do back extension exercises, so he showed me 3 or 4 exercises. I did them last night and this morning after I ran. And my back feels pretty good. So, I went online to look for more exercises and....I saw something on every site that really upset me....
Here is just one example of many which said the same thing....extensions can increase pain with facet syndrome! (And are to be avoided)

If back extensions are not good for facet syndrome....why would the PT prescribe them to me? It's making me feel more and more leery of this place and their staff. And do I have facet syndrome? Is it my hip? Grrr...I am just feeling more and more frustrated about it. And it's hurting. All night last night my lower back was aching...and it sucks, I am tired of it and want to figure it out.

I called back the other guy I first saw who does not take my insurance.  I am thinking of just paying the price to see him #1 because he came so highly recommended...and #2 because he had a plan right away with a duration of 2 weeks....not forever like this other guy.

I wish money didn't play a factor in what doctor or if I even go to the doctor for my back at all.  I wish I felt like this pain was just because of my mileage.  Last year when I was running a lot less mileage I had this same thing happen and I barely could walk for a month....so I know this goes beyond my running and I need to take care of it at some point.

* I have decided that my first marathon is going to be.....

I am going to follow this plan and start at week 10

Wish me luck...and I hope my back cooperates!!!  If not I can always drop down to the 1/2 marathon.

*Well last night I met a friend for happy hour and some food...I had a really nice time.  But....when I got home Phene was sick....just fitfully tossing and turning and crying.  We brought her in our room and she tossed and turned and cried all night.  I believe it's the lingering ear infection.  We have an appointment again with the doctor this afternoon.  I am exhausted.  I barely slept last night and just felt so bad for her because I know she was in pain.  Hopefully we can get it taken care of so we don't have another bad night :(

*What a week!  Only Wednesday and I am SO ready for the weekend!

Squeezing My Glutes

So I went to another ART practitioner here near my work that is "in network" with my insurance.

Interesting because he had a totally different diagnosis then the first guy I saw. He thinks I have facet syndrome and very weak glute and hip flexor muscles so I am using my hamstrings to propel myself forward causing all kind of other issues.
(The first guy said I had piriformis syndrome)

He spent about 15 minutes doing the ART while he asked me a bunch of questions.
Turns out I am really inflexible...which I am not too surprised about.

So, I spent almost 2 hours at his office the other day doing trigger point rolling on a rugby ball and some other little rollers...fun fun! They also showed me some exercises to get my glutes and pelvic muscles to start firing correctly. It was interesting and informative and I went home with like 20 hand outs of all the exercises I needed to do every day, some even twice a day...before runs, after runs, pretty much like an hour of trigger point and exercises each day.
He told me I should come back twice a week to see a physical therapist about my facet syndrome and back issues.

He also told me I need to have more days of recovery between runs. So, for instance this week he said I can run 5-7 tomorrow...speedwork Thursday 5-7 mile...and 16 on Saturday would be ok.

I don't have a rugby ball or there little trigger point rollers so I did as many of the exercises as I could with my foam roller both Saturday and Sunday. It's going to be SO hard to make the time to do these!!! I didn't feel that much different after either session. (Not that I expected an instant healing, but I thought I would feel a little looser.)

(Side note here...I found this video online...and I am telling you this is the BEST foam roller stretch I have found...LOVE it!)

Today I went to my first PT appt. which I felt was pretty much BS...so for $80.00 he told me to do some back bends, some pigeon poses, and some exercises on the balance ball twice a day. He spoke of flexion and how this could help my back. He said once we developed flexion, than we would work on core. It was about a 1/2 hour long.

Now I know a negative attitude is not going to help me....but what really bothered me about this appointment is that he told me that I need to start coming twice a week indefinitely. The doctor stepped in at one point and said once I met my deductible it should become easier and more affordable for me to see the PT. WHAT!? My deductible is out of pocket and it's $3000! That just seems crazy to me. So 2 appointments with the PT a week and one ART appointment a week. For a total of $240 a week. :(

I just felt discouraged. I am glad I learned more about triggerpoint therapy...and I am glad I am understanding more about my glutes and hips being part of the issue. And I am glad I learned some exercises....but there is NO way I can afford to go indefinitely.

I don't know what I am going to do.

I am sick of it!

This seems to be the season of the cold and flu. (or allergies??)

Not only have the kids been coughing these deep hacking coughs for almost months now....but everyone around me here at work has a runny nose and horrible cough.

I have been trying desperately not to get sick...taking emergenc...using hand sanitizer, washing my hands....I don't know if these things really work, but it's worth trying.

I was sick for a few days with a cough and I lost my voice...but other then that, luckily I haven't had a full blown cold.....but....

This is what I am finding annoying...I feel constantly on the verge of getting sick. I wake up with a little sore throat...I have a cough that comes and goes....I feel more tired than usual.

Some people are saying it's cedar fever....now if you don't live in TX you are asking yourself..what the hell is cedar fever?

Well this tree above, which seems to grow just about everywhere around here, let's loose a bunch of pollen, and it just so happens that a lot of people are allergic to it.  Most people have flu like symptoms when the cedar pollen count is high.

There are even websites devoted to this allergy (I guess not a huge surprise since there are websites about almost everything!)

This one cracked me up
http://www.peopleagainstcedars.com/html/cedar__the_plague_of_trees.html

People Against Cedar :)

Any way, whatever the reason for my general feel of crappiness and sore throat....I really hope I don't get completely prone to bed sick!

And maybe some day soon the kids won't be constantly having a runny nose that they wipe on just about everything (even my leg) and won't be hacking up a lung all night long.

And on the running front......

Plan is 13 miles tomorrow morning, and I have a ART appointment at 11am today.  Hoping it helps as my hip/back is killing me and I need some relief!  I went on youtube and found this great video on how to use the foam roller on my hip....OH BOY...the pain was bittersweet and brought tears to my eyes.  I both love and hate that damn foam roller!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

What a Narcissist!

As I was re-reading my post from yesterday I realized that everything I was saying about how I am feeling about 2012 had to do with me...things I am going to do for myself...things I am thinking about for myself, etc...

Honestly I am thinking of other things too.....

About being a better friend
About being a better wife
About being a better mother
About being a better employee
Just about being a better person in general

I would like to enrich my own life for sure....but I also want to be the type of person who can touch and enrich other people's lives also.

This year I also am going to start going to counseling. I really do need someone to talk to. And there are some issues in my life that I don't know how to even begin identifying and repairing. I have gone to counseling in the past, and if you find the right person, it can be very beneficial. We all have problems right? I could definitely use some help communicating....handling my emotions...being more present....I don't think there should be any shame in admitting that I don't have all the answers and that I could use some help.

So along with thinking about what I am good at, and what I want to do in my life to make my life better and more full of passion....I want to think about the way I act, react, don't act....and figure out ways to be a better me. (For every one's sake!)

See now I am going back to it being all about me! :)

But really, I guess it does come down to me....

Thoughts at the Beginning of a New Year

I don't really believe in resolutions.
And I wish I had a plan for 2012....but I really don't.
I have some things I would like to do...such as the Austin marathon in February, and half marathon sometime soon. But nothing is set in stone, no races are paid for.

My back is feeling better, and after a high mileage week last week (47 miles, which is a lot of miles for me) I feel ok. My shins hurt a little, my back is sore...but all in all I feel ok. I want to take the next few Saturday long runs and see where I am at. I need to be able to increase my miles on my long runs each week if I want to run 26.2 in Feb. And honestly I don't know if my back will hold up. So, no concrete plans until I see how I feel after the next few long runs.

I am making an appointment with a local sports athlete doctor/chiropractor...he holds a free clinic here in my area on a weekly basis and I think I am going to check it out. I believe my insurance covers it if I want to continue to see him and if I am being honest with myself I really think I need to learn more about what part of my body is actually causing my back pain, and what stretches or exercises I can do to aid in a faster recovery. I really would like to be more in tune with my body.

I also need to make some decisions about my ponies, and whether I want to make the time this year to finish them off and get them completely rideable. Unfortunately I don't think I can run and finish the ponies. It's going to take time and at least 90 days to get them where they need to be...which means, I will have to cut down on my running significantly during this time. And herein lies the predicament....because....well running has become very meaningful for me in recent months. And my sanity has become dependent on it.

One thing I have been thinking about a lot is just how life has so many seasons. Happy times, sad times, hurt times, elated times, confusing times....and we all go through these seasons throughout our whole life. The way we choose to do deal with these seasons, whether good or bad, dictate which paths we take, what choices we make, and ultimately what the future holds for us.

I was watching 60 minutes the other night and they had this segment about this AMAZING rock climber who free climbs. (I am no climbing expert, but as they explained it, it means he climbs without safety ropes) It was simply amazing to watch this guy! Doing something that was so beyond anything I could ever imagine doing myself. He lived in a van travelling around and just seemed so centered on what he was doing.

I have a deep respect for people who follow their dreams, and who pursue things they are good at or their passions. In fact I feel that every person has something (maybe more than one thing) that they are good at....something that arouses a passion inside them. I think we should all, including myself, aspire to find what we are good at...and try to do it more often, or try to hone that skill.

I posted about this earlier this year, but I wanted to mention it again. Because I really want to think more about the things that I like...the things that make me happy....the things I am good at. What's my skill? What am I good at? What do I want to accomplish in my life?

These are my thoughts entering 2012....

I want to know, what are you good at?