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Sunday, March 30, 2008

#30 - Beat my Capitol 10K PR [57:39]

Neither rain nor hail nor sleet shall stop me!

OK, so maybe there wasn’t any sleet or hail but there was definitely a lot of rain!  This morning was the Capitol 10K, my 4th year running this race.  The night before I was downtown for a friends b-day, I think this is the first time I’ve been downtown at night on a weekend and didn’t drink.  ;-)   I made sure I left the party by midnight and drank only water.  I was up by 6:45am, let the dogs outside, had my toast with peanut butter, a powerbar and was off.  Luckily I know someone who lives right by the starting line and could park at his place without a problem.  I was in line with my other colored bib competitors when 5 mins before the race was to start it began to rain!  I don’t mind running in the rain, but I was really worried about slipping on the wet asphalt/cement.  Everyone started cheering, the rain wasn’t going to stop us!  Bring it on!  It rained the entire race too...which helped keep me cool, not to mention soaking wet!  I was determined to beat my Capitol 10K PR of 57:39, so I made sure to push myself harder this time.  I had only been training for the past 3 weeks, usually running up to 4 miles, and only running 6 miles the weekend before around Town Lake.  I love the Cap 10K, for me it’s an enjoyable course.  Off we go, I make pretty good time the first couple miles, then I hit the hills which slow me down some, but I keep on going.  Next thing I know I see the finish line!  Hooray I’m almost done, I push it the last half mile and cross the finish line at 55:34!  I beat my PR by 2 mins!    I also had a drastic improvement from last years time.  Last year I had a heel injury which really slowed me down and it took me 1 hr and 55 seconds to complete the race.    Needless to say I’m ecstatic about my new PR and am already looking forward to the next race!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

#17 - Use my hot tub at the new house

I LOVE MY HOT TUB!  This thing is great! 

Monday night after work and running 3 miles I decided to try out my newly cleaned hot tub.  ;-)  It was a perfect night for it:  the temp outside was around 55 degrees, the sky was crystal clear so I could see the stars, beer in hand and the awesome jets massaging my back made for a wonderful evening.  I slept great that night!

Wednesday after running 4.2 miles during the day and playing softball after work, I came home and decided to partake in some more hot tub action.  I think I was in the hot tub around 2 hours, letting the hot water and bubbles do all the work.    Very soothing! 

Pictures from our last softball game of the season.  Next season starts at the end of April.

Up to bat  Running to 1st base  Running to 3rd

Monday, March 24, 2008

Productive weekend

OK I'm frustrated!  The whole summary I just wrote somehow got deleted and now I have to start over!  Here it goes...

I had a very productive weekend and accomplished quite a bit!

Friday 3/21- Went to Plucker's to watch the UT game and then went dancing at Grahams with some friends.  I had a great night and my dance card was always full.  I even had one lady stop me while dancing to tell me that I was a wonderful dancer!  I was stoked to receive that compliment!  Of course I give all the kudos to the guys, they have the hard job of leading and making the girls they dance with look good.  ;-)
Saturday 3/22- Slept in until 11:30am!  Then my previous home owner, Darrin, came over to help me out with the hot tub.  I've never owned one before and had no clue what I was doing!  He arrived around 1:30pm, helped me drain and clean the hot tub and even accompanied me to the store to buy the chemicals and test the water.  The hot tub took about 5 hours to get it up and running (I do not want to see my water bill this month   ).  I can't wait to try it out and cross #17 off my list.  To thank Darrin for all his help I supplied him with all the beer he could drink and pizza while we relaxed and watched some of the basketball games.  MSU won and is now going to the Sweet 16!  I crashed around 10:30pm, I was exhausted!  It was nice to spend an evening at home.
Sunday 3/12 - Woke up at 8am refreshed and ready to go!  10 hours of sleep will do that for you.   Went to the 9:30am Church service for Easter, then headed to Home Depot to get some stuff for the house, fixed my back fence (Guinness decided to eat it  ), knocked down a hornets nest (picture me running for my life after spraying them, it was quite the spectacle) and re-potted my sago palm.  Some guys were going through the neighborhood taking care of lawns so I had them mow my yard, trim my bushes in front and lay down mulch.  Now my house looks so pretty!  I just wasn't in the mood to do it myself, plus I didn't have the tools to trim the bushes...and those bushes were growing wild!  Around 2pm I headed downtown to Town Lake for an hour run.  I made it home with just enough time to take a shower and then head back out to my friends house for cards.  There's four of us who get together about once a month to play Hand and Foot and indulge in cheese, wine and pizza.  We called it a night around 9pm and I was back home around 9:30pm.  Needless to say I fell asleep without a problem.  I didn't make it out to the dog park this weekend...there was just to much to do!

#71 - Wear more dresses / skirts (5/?).  I realized that I had forgotten about this item, guess I need to read my list more often.    I've worn a skirt the past two Friday's when I've gone dancing (there's a picture of me in a skirt a couple blogs down) and yesterday I went to Church for Easter and I wore my new turquoise and brown dress (thanks mom!).  Since the weather is becoming warmer I'm sure I'll be wearing more and more skirts/dresses.  Besides, the guys seem to like the skirts I wear when I go dancing. 

Friday, March 21, 2008

#15 - Cook home meal (15/143)

Last night I made a traditional Irish St Patrick's Day meal.  Yes I know I should have made this Monday, but I was out drinking green beer instead!  So Thursday night I made my favorite corned beef brisket with this awesome mustard/brown sugar sauce.  It roasts for almost 3 hrs to make it tender, even soaking in sweet ginger ale.  Normally you would serve this with cabbage, however I'm not fond of cabbage so I made mashed potatoes and salad instead.  Mmmm Mmmm Good!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

#12 - Buy a lawnmower

It's getting to be that time where I need to start mowing the lawn.  My former manager over heard me talking about buying a lawnmower and offered me his at a great deal.  It's only a few years old and in great working condition....I just might need to get the blades sharpened but that's it.  He dropped it off Monday after work and did a quick test run.  Everything was in working order.  Now I can cross this off my list!  I'll probably have to mow the lawn this weekend.

I might need a new liver...

Well, this past week has been crazy busy.  I've gone out so much it's amazing really that I'm still standing...guess I'm like the energizer bunny.    I just keep going and going and going...

Here's the recap:
Mon 3/10 - Worked out at lunch.  Actually stayed home in the evening and relaxed!  Ate left over jambalaya.
Tues 3/11 - At the last minute decided to go to Sam's Boat with my softball team.  I was out until about 10pm.  Plus crawfish is in season so I had that for dinner!  Yummy!
Wed 3/12 - Worked out at lunch.  Ate left over jambalaya, then it was softball time!  We won our game and celebrated at Merkaba (our sponsor).  I was being good and made myself leave at 10pm despite all the protests for me to stay out longer. 
Thurs 3/13 - Went to the Rodeo again!  This time I saw Jason Aldean...I knew two of his songs.  It was quite a night, I was up on the TV screens at one point, saw a couple crazy bulls throw some cowboys around and step on them, and finally saw the Mutton Bustin!  That was hilarious, I wish I could have done that as a kid.    Around 8pm I had to have some sausage wraps because the 16 oz beers were catching up to me.
Fri 3/14 - SXSW!  I took the day off work and was downtown by 11:30am and stayed till 7am the next day!  I had to crash at a friends place because I was in no shape to drive.  Luckily I thought ahead and boarded the dogs for the evening so I didn't have to worry about them.  Saw a couple bands, went to Cedar Street, Emo's, and a few other bars...and had dinner at Stubbs.  I think I passed out a little after midnight.  I ended up losing my sunglasses sometime throughout the night.    I was up by 7am, picked up  my car, picked up the dogs, bought new sunglasses and was home by 8:30am.
Sat 3/15 - I wish I could say my day ended when I got home at 8:30am...but nope I was up and going again.  Had lunch at Chuy's then went downtown to Third Base to watch the MSU game.  We lost by 1 freaking point!  How upsetting.  From there I went to a BBQ with my softball team...and yes, that means more beer!  I hung out there for about 3 hrs before heading home to rest for an hour.  Then I was back out to Grahams for some dancing with Tammy!  I must say I had on a cute outfit and was ready to boogie.  My softball team peeps also came out to Grahams.  It was a great night, closed down the bar, then hit up Whataburger for some fries and was home a little after 3am.
Sun 3/16 - Slept in till 10am...I wish I could have slept longer but 10am seems to be my cutoff.  Took the dogs to the dog park, came back home and slept for 2 hours, then sat on the couch and caught up on all my shows.
shamrock Mon 3/17 - HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY!  I left work a little early to come home and let the dogs out, then headed down to Bagpipes for some pre-drinks w/ some co-workers.  From there we went to Fado's...which was really packed and cost way too much money.  I won't be doing that next year.  $20 to get in and $9 beers is not a good deal.  We stayed there for an hour before hitting up some other bars (w/ no cover).  I called it a night at midnight and was home a little after 12:30am.

I think that about covers it...I might need a new liver after that week.  I think I'm going to have to take a cue from Monica and give up drinking for a while....ha! Yah, we'll see. 

Failure #15- I didn't make any home meals last week.  But I was eating my left over jambalaya which was a home made meal...I really think that should count.  ;-)

Success #44 and #45 - I'm really keeping up on these items, Excellent!  I work out at least 3x's a week, sometimes more...and my weight is at an all new low!  Gotta get ready for swim suit season...I really need a tan.  My legs are glowing white.

GCS 3/15/08   

Softball Team

Monday, March 10, 2008

#97 - Take dogs to the dog park (6/33)

This has now become my Sunday ritual.  I've managed to hit up Emma Long Park every Sunday for the past 4-5 weeks.  I slept in until about 10am, made myself some breakfast, then headed out to the dog park around 1pm.  I think my dogs are starting to expect this now.  As soon as I put on their collars, they twirl around impatiently and make the most pathetic noises...it's like they think I'm going to forget to bring them with me.  They love to ride in the car and hop right in.  They are just too cute.  On the trails they will stop and wait for me to make sure I'm still there when they get too far ahead....Sarah actually looks worried at some times and gives me an encouraging whimper to 'hurry up'! 

#21 - Use my fireplace

Finally!  I've been in my house since mid December, you would have thought I would have used my fireplace before March!  This past Thursday I finally got the chance.  It was freezing outside...and for those of you who don't live in Texas, 38 degrees is pretty darn cold.  I had just returned home from a nice dinner at ZTejas and the house was cold.  Perfect time to light up the fireplace!  It felt so nice and cozy, even the dogs enjoyed it.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

#15 - Cook home meal (14/143)

Tuesday night I made my favorite cheesy shrimp jambalaya, salad with tomatoes, fresh bread from HEB and some wine.  ;)  I even had enough shrimp left over to enjoy a shrimp cocktail appetizer.  Great company and Van Wilder completed the evening.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

#109 - Go to a rodeo! Yeehaw!

Last night I attended my very first rodeo!  The Star of TX Fair and Rodeo lasts about three weeks, so there's plenty to see and do.  My friend Charles (who's a regular dance partner of mine at Dallas & GCS) was able to obtain 2 free tickets from a friend.  He knew I'd never been to a rodeo before so off we went!  We headed out there around 8pm, it was freezing out last night too so we were all bundled up.  We missed the Mutton Bustin (where the kids ride the sheep) but we caught some bareback riding, team roping, the calf scramble, saddle bronc riding, tie down roping, barrel racing and of course bull riding!  The rodeo clowns were hilarious, they were all wearing pink for The Race for the Cure ("tough enough to wear pink"), including bright pink stockings!  They even had it out with one of the 'playful' bulls.  It was all very entertaining.  To cap off the evening there was a concert featuring Gretchen Wilson.  I really liked her stuff and would totally go back again!  And yes, I did wear my belt buckle.  Not to mention I had my first corndog in probably 10 years as well!  -D

Austin Rodeo

#97 - Take dogs to the dog park (5/33)

I must say I'm doing quite well with this task.  I've managed to take the dogs to Emma Long Park the last three weekends in a row.  I LOVE these walks.  It's great exercise for me and the dogs, plus it allows me time to ponder life.  ;)  I just love being outside.  I find that it helps me center myself and I always feel revived afterwards.  There's just something about walking (and sometimes running) the trails through the woods that rejuvenates the soul.