Warning weekend 1/2 marathon craziness ahead..

Hey all you lovely bloggers! Sorry I have been a little neglective as of late..I was totally planning on doing an awesome “Try’em out Tuesday” and well with this being a short week for me (explanation to follow), things got crazy and time ran out on me! But don’t worry, it WILL be back next week!

This weekend was a blast of craziness as the hubs and I headed out to partake in our first 1/2 and full marathon. That’s right folks, we headed to Ohio (land of the free and the runners) for the Air Force Marathon..whoot whoot!! I know that I have mentioned it on several occasions but have yet to come out and tell all you lovely ladies what has been monopolizing most of my time for the last few weeks. so here it is…I just ran my first 1/2 marathon this last weekend!

Now this is Big because as of June 2009 I was a total anti-runner! Seriously folks, the Hubs would beg and plead for me to join him but I would either make some lame excuse or claim I hate running and even more it hates me (so we would all be better if  we just avoided each other, me and running that is)! The Hubs would continue to beg me claiming that I would so learn to love it and even begin to gasp be addicted! And yes, as much as I hate to admit the hubs was right, I soon fell victim to the running addiction too :)

It was not easy at first; in fact I quit many times. But alas..with the hubs encouragement I persevered and soon could not live without it really started to love it! One of the other things that kept me going through the training was the fact that I had committed to running the AF Marathon in Ohio on September 19th and didn’t want to disappoint!

Oh and what a weekend it was!! I had the tremendous pleasure of getting to run the 1/2 marathon with my sister-in-law :) The hubs and I also got to stay in her new house which is incredibly cute and so much fun! A lot of the Hubs family lives near Dayton Ohio so not only was it an amazing time to get to participate in the marathon but we had a blast getting to hang with the fam!

We arrived in Ohio late thursday night and on friday we got to attend Chapel at the college where we met..so many good memories there! The rest of the day was spent hanging out with family, getting to see my sister-in-law’s class and preparing for the festivities of the next day.

We woke up at the crack of dawn on Saturday and headed out to Wright Patt AFB. I made it just in time to see the Hubs group (there were so many people there i couldn’t see him) take off for the Marathon. The lines for the bathroom were crazy so Rachel and I spent the next 40 minutes waiting in line so that we could empty our bladders before our race started. Once the tank was empty we had just enough time to tear off our warm-ups, hand them to our lovely family members that came to support us and run to the start line! By 8:30am we were off and running :0

I had two main goals for this race:

1. to run the whole thing (no walking for me) and..

2. to keep about a 10 minute mile pace!

I’m not going to lie..some parts of the race were really tough. there were some hardcore hills that really got to me but overall I felt like I was keeping a steady pace (I didn’t have a watch to keep track). AND I ran the WHOLE thing..whoot whoot! The first two miles it was hard b/c there were a lot of people to try and get around so that I could find a spot to fall into a good grove (I really don’t know why people stopped in the middle of the road to walk..so annoying..move to the side people please!). Also it was funny b/c around mile nine the burps started coming out..not from me though..from those around me! I guess it’s about that time that your body just has to let it out :)

It was really neat getting to run through the base, there were some really cool houses to look at which helped keep me distracted. There wasn’t a lot of spectator spots but it was so cool hearing the cheers of the active duty military members cheering us on as well as the volunteers :) It was also neat to get to run with all the active military members participating..some ROTC students even ran with packs and boots..craziness! Knowing that when I finished I would then get to cheer the hubs on to the finish helped keep me going!

The end was the coolest as we got to run through the AF museum planes to the finish line with all our friends and family cheering us on!

You can’t really see me but I am in the pink and grey! I was able to sprint to the finish with all that I had left! It felt so good to finish and my final time was 2 hours and 11 minutes (which is right about the 10 min mile pace)! go me :)

Once I finished and finally snapped out of my daze (I was basically wandering around while people were handing me towels, food and my medal) I found the family and was then able to cheer on the sis!

Go Rachel! she did amazing and I am so proud of her!

A little while later the excitement mounted as the hubs came into my line of view..

he’s in the blue (you can’t really see him here)! Rachel and I followed him and yelled at the top of our lungs all the way to the finish line!

Isn’t he so cute!! He was totally amazing and I can’t even express how proud of him I am!

I am now totally hooked and I am already looking for the next race I can participate in :) What has happened to me?! I even went out and ran 6 miles today! I now can’t wait to do a full marathon (though i think I might do another 1/2 again first).

Sorry for the long post :) I just couldn’t wait to share! hope you had a  wonderful weekend!

Stay tuned for Try’em out Tuesday tomorrow!

Plans change and a pig gives it’s life..

It seems as of late that a lot of times when I get in a groove or start to have a plan for the weekend, month, year, life, etc. the AF quickly reminds me of my need to be flexible! I am a slow learner (hence needing to be constantly reminded) however I am starting to see a pattern developing. I have also surprised myself by not getting my feathers as ruffled as I use to when our plans suddenly changed..maybe there’s hope for me yet. All that to say that this last weekend was one of those plans quickly changing weekends!

First my friday run got all rained out (seriously folks it rained ALL thursday night,  ALL day on friday and into saturday morning..not cool). I had a feeling on thursday (which was my day off of running) that I should run since they were forecasting heavy rain for friday but due to the unfortunate reality of getting the second part of my root canal done on thursday morning I opted to take my chances (I have a serious drooling problem when my mouth isn’t numb, I didn’t want to even see how running with a numb mouth would turn out.."it’s just sweat people..really”)!

Anyways, we had originally been planning on heading up to New York to meet up with the in-laws for a weekend there since they were passing through. However, there was some inspection going on at the base and the hubs wasn’t sure if he would be called in to work during the weekend so we had to cancel the NYC trip (although it was probably good considering the weather and the fact that it was 9/11). Before we had planned the NYC trip the hubs had told me about a squadron picnic bbq thing that was happening this saturday, but once we decided to go to NYC as far as I knew we were no longer planning on attending this said bbq. When we realized we had to cancel, we started making other tentative plans for the weekend but nothing was said about the bbq (which had long since left my spastic brain). We planned on going out to breakfast, finding some fun marathon running clothes (next week folks..ahh) and then meeting up with some friends that night for dinner (all tentative since we weren’t sure if the hubs would have to work).

Friday night rolls around and the hubs tells me that he doesn’t think he is going to have to work after all (yay)! However he then proceeds to bring up the squadron bbq (which I had totally not remembered), another plan switcharoo, and we had to nix the shopping (sadness) but we were still able to go to breakfast and meet friends for dinner (and if you feed me I am happy so it was okay).

Okay, now here’s where the story gets a little tramatic..

Earlier saturday morning, before we get to the bbq, the hubs proceeds to inform me that part of the bbq includes a whole pig roast which the guys were starting about 3-4am so that it would be ready for that afternoon. humm…interesting…but I didn’t give it much thought (I usually don’t eat at these things anyways and I was still focusing on the fact that it was raining and they said the bbq would happen come rain or shine..i don’t do rain)!

One thing I have to point out is that the hubs recently changed squadrons, he is still in the same group but there are many squadrons in one group and they tend to switch the guys around at least once a year. Therefore, I hadn't really met anyone in this squadron and had no idea what to expect.

As we arrive at the bbq the air was still a bit damp but at least it wasn’t raining anymore. I guess there was some mix up on the actual start time so we arrived with hardly anyone else there. But don’t worry the guys that had been up roasting the pig since 3am had also started drinking around that time so they provided the entertainment!

As we are walking up, smelling all the good bbq smells, I approach the grill and there it is…a Whole pig on the grill with it’s empty eye sockets staring right at me! What the heck! Yeah i jumped a little (or a lot) which provided ample material for the guys to start teasing me with. It all started with the wave of a roasting hoof…and they were off! I had never seen a whole pig roasting before and I had to literally stop myself from regurgitating the said breakfast from the morning. Now to some people it might not seem like that big of a deal but let me give a little background information.

Yes, in high school I was miss Ag girl herself. Although we lived in a very suburban area I was in the FFA (Future Farmers of America) which in my 4 years enabled me to raise two lambs and two pigs to show and sell at the local county fair. I loved it! And the pigs by far were my favorite. I had no idea what a personality they could develop. Although I knew that when I sold them they were not going to some nice family to be raised as their own child, I had allowed myself to live with some sort of hope that maybe ..just maybe..their buyer would see their true self and not have the heart to end their life. I don’t know why I even allowed myself to live in that dream world since my own parents were part of the buyers and therefore had my little Jamima’s bacon in our own freezer! umm..yeah..

so as you can imagine when I walked up and saw the almost alive looking pig roasting in all its beer marinated and crispy glory I started to have some major flashbacks to my own little piggy days. This pig was no longer just dinner to me…I could now only see my little Jamima! Yes, it was traumatic and yes I had a hard time looking over there and I tried not to think about the little pig that sacrificed it’s life so that we wouldn’t be left hungry. However, I do love a good pulled pork sandwich and when it came down to it my stomach won out :0

It was very yummy but I couldn’t get the picture of the poor little piggy out of my mind and it literally haunted me the rest of the weekend..maybe I should go vegetarian..it makes you think! I am doing better now but I would prefer next time to have the head and feet already gone before I see a pig providing us dinner!

Am I crazy for being so traumatized?!

Charles and the lake..

The ride to the cabin was a fun experience for the pup! He totally loved sticking his head out of the window while we were going slow! However, as soon as we hit 50 mph he promptly let us know that we was content staying inside the car :)

The Charles loved the Cabin..let’s just say his nose had a little party with all the new smells!

The Reno Rents (my in-laws) have all hardwood floors that are pretty slick in the cabin so it was quite an experience for the pup. I totally wish I could have documented the Charles trying to figure out how to walk on the floor that didn’t give him any traction. He was slipping and sliding everywhere and for a while wouldn’t even move. The boys however, did what they do best and got him riled up so that soon the fear of the floor was a distant memory for the pup.

One of the all time best times this weekend was the meeting of two totally different environments..the Charles who is only really used to dry land and the lake that is well..wet! We had really wanted to take him out on the boat and give him the full experience, but well, the water was cold and we are wimps (I wouldn’t even get near the wet cold stuff)! I have to say though I loved feeling the crisp cool air and looking at the beautiful clear skies..fall was defiantly around the corner. Now back to the Charles..we had to document his first real water experience (what kind of mother would I be if I didn’t)!

So without further ado..here is the Charles in all his water glory..

and here is a little video fun..

(p.s I have been having trouble with the video portion so I hope that you will be able to view it!)

Let’s just say that I still think he is not totally sure about this whole lake thing but I am confident that once he is thrown in experiences it a little more (maybe when it’s warmer) he will soon be a full fledged water-lovin pup!

Have a great Weekend :)

Try’em Out Tuesday..Wednesday Edition

I was all set to write this yesterday..but well life got crazy and by the time I got home I was zapped! So instead of forgoing it this week I decided to write a special Wednesday edition :) I knew all you lovely gals wouldn’t mind!

I have another amazing face product to share with you ladies today. I wasn’t sure at first if I should review two face products in a row but when I was on my tremendously long run on sat (12 miles thank you), I realized that everyone of you lovely girls is unique and therefore one product does not fit all…so what the hay..by george i’m going to review two in a row!

As I had mentioned in my previous review, I am on a continual search for the perfect face product (although I am starting to believe that even if I found it I would continue to “have to” try the newest or latest thing..i’m just a curious creature)! I know a lot of you ladies mentioned having sensitive skin or even hard to manage skin. I for one (being in my mid-twenties) am at a weird stage with my face. You see, I am still dealing with acne and oiliness as well as trying to fight off those ever multiplying wrinkles. I have used products that are suppose to help with aging and I have also used products that help with acne but have been hard pressed to find both in one product!

Until now..

Olay Total Effects Cream Cleanser and Blemish Control

This lovely product is part of the Olay Total Effects Advanced Anti-aging Skin Care line. It is one of the first products that I have found to address both acne and wrinkles as well as other important problem topics! Oh and get this girls..for those of you who weren’t too keen on the refills with The Wave, well here is another awesome product that is refill free!

I saw it at the store when I was browsing “just to see” what they had and HAD to buy it..plus it would make a good try’em out tuesday anyways..right?! It is fairly inexpensive, around $5-7 depending on where you buy it!

According to the back of the bottle..

This daily facial cleanser with micro-beads provides 7 anti-aging benefits in 1 cleansing step PLUS blemish control.

• Thorough Cleansing
• Gentle Exfoliation
• Tone Enhancement
• Nourishing Moisturization
• Pore Appearance Refinement
• Line Appearance Minimization
• Texture Refinement

So far I have no complaints! After I use it my face feels clean and tight and oh so nice :) I also Love the smell..it’s kind of a vanilla smell that is so nice and light..not too heavy! I also really love the micro beads, they make me feel like my face is really getting clean. Many times I don’t even need to use eye makeup remover! Overall I would say this product is a must try! My skin feels smooth and soft and happy!

Olay you earn an A in my book :) I will say though, I haven’t seen a dramatic difference in the lines on my face but I haven’t been using it that long and I am not the best at totally paying attention until it is really noticeable (and I probably don’t have too many yet). If you have some acne problems and are also looking for anti-aging benefits this is a product you want to have on you bathroom counter!

Have a great day ladies and thank you for giving me yet one more excuse to buy another face product!

Stay tuned for pics of the Charles getting thrown in the lake..a must not miss for sure!

And we’re off to the great outdoors..

That’s right Joshley and The Charles are heading out on the road! Where you ask?? Well off to the great outdoors of course :)

 

We are so excited to be able to get away for the weekend!

You see, my wonderful in-law’s have a cabin in upstate NY and we are heading out, with the Charles in tow, to surprise my MIL and spend time with them. I have to admit that I was seriously about to post this yesterday when I realized that it is a surprise for the MIL and she does read my blog and knowing my luck she would check my blog before they left and then there goes the surprise..whoa close one :) Now they are already out on the road so I am safe! Why are we surprising her?? Well no reason except that the Hubs and his dad love surprises and they take every opportunity they can to give her the shock of her life (I warned the Hubs that I hate surprises and he better leave that love language for his mom)!

Oh and don’t worry, I will do my best to remember to take pics and have plenty to report back on tuesday! Not to mention that we are so excited to throw the Charles in the lake!! I feel like a bad parent for the thrill I am going to get when he freaks out (but I know he will love it)! The Charles as never been in real water, although he is a Lab and everyone looks at me like I am the worst dog parent ever and have seriously deprived him when I tell them that..so now it’s all about to change!

Usually when the bags come out the Charles gets really depressed because he knows we are leaving him…so basically he has been following us around with the saddest look on his face all morning. I have been trying to explain to him that he is coming with us…so far he hasn’t really caught on. This is only the second road trip that we have done with him..should be interesting since last time he was just a little guy and now he takes up the whole back seat :0

What are your plans for the holiday weekend?

Look forward to reporting back hopefully all in once piece!

Oh and P.S. my 1/2 marathon is in two weeks and I ran 12 miles straight yesterday and am still alive…I think i’ll survive it after all!!

Have a great weekend!

"You can leave your socks on for this one. Use it seven days a week, not just on Wednesdays..."

First I would like to say a huge thanks to all of you lovely ladies! Your support on my previous post means more to me than you will ever know. Thank you from the bottom of my heart :) I am feeling a lot better about everything and I am praying a lot for God’s guidance and my open ears for the next year and what to get involved in.

Now for something on a lighter note..

I love LUSH products!! They are great if you haven’t tired them.  The have the best Bath bombs that bring totally relaxation (which is usually interrupted by the Charles trying to drink the fizzy water) but still amazing! I also love Flight of the Concords..they are great and they make me laugh so much :) I have posted this video in the past but hey you can never watch it enough..

I received this email from my sis yesterday and I just had to share..

Lush now has a massage bar that is called “Business time”…so cool! Here’s a sneak peak straight from the mouth of LUSH to you..

 

“Rose, fennel and lavender set the mood for seduction

Get ready for some ‘business time' with your special someone with this melty massage bar. Shea and cocoa butters make skin touchably soft, while rose absolute along with fennel and lavender essential oils help you relax and get in the mood. A perfect choice when there's business to attend to.”

And in the words of my sis..

"You can leave your socks on for this one. Use it seven days a week, not just on Wednesdays..."

Enjoy :)

Overcommit..who me??

Warning: There is some serious venting going on here…

Do you ever wonder why you can go through the same experience numerous times and still not learn? I am having one of those moments the last few weeks (it’s been a long moment)! I wouldn’t say that I haven’t learned anything from my past but I am a slow learner with a thick head of hair to get through and therefore I often times forget the previously learned lessons in the heat of the moment :)

Here’s the deal..

We have been living in NJ for over three years now (well I was a year behind the hubs so over two years for me) and I have yet to truly follow through on something I have committed to or started. Growing up had this intense fear of being left out or disappointing people which caused me to stick with many things that I hated or wanted to get out of. The problem with that was that I was making decisions based on what I felt others thought I should do and not what I had a passion for or felt called to. Somewhere in my late teens, early twenties I decided I had enough and took on a whole new approach which involved making decision based on what I felt called to do..however since I hadn’t been tuned into my own passions for several years I really had no idea what exactly I wanted to do!

I stepped back and really started to evaluate what it was that I enjoyed ..which honestly is a lot of different little things so that didn’t help too much :) However, I was single with not a lot of friends, living at home so I started jumping into different things, getting involved in different groups and making a lot of new friends. I was finally at a point where I felt I was doing was I was suppose to be doing at that point in my life. God was using me in ways I hadn’t really thought of and I was enjoying life!

Then life dynamics changed! I moved to Ohio to finish college, met the hubs, got married and then moved to NJ. I had been so focused on finishing up college and getting married that I didn’t really have to think about what I would do after…I would be a wife right?! When I got to NJ I didn’t work right away, in an effort to get acquainted with NJ, Military and Married life. However, although it was a joy to have such a lax schedule after being so busy for so many years..I soon became bored.

I think that problem started with the fact that I didn’t absolutely have to work (although the extra income defiantly helped) and I as trying to build a new life the way I had when I was single..which didn’t really work! I now had to consider someone else in the decisions that I made with my time and since the Hubs schedule was so sporadic for the first year I wanted to be free to spend time with him when I could. To make matters more complicated, the Hubs was deployed for a few months that first year so I jumped from being married in NJ to to being married/single in Cali (while he was gone) back to being married in NJ. I honestly didn’t know how to go about finding a job I liked, getting to spend time with the Hubs and making those Oh so need girlfriends all while in a totally new state!

These last few years have been filled with finding jobs, friends, church groups, getting really excited, jumping headfirst into getting involved and then realizing I am in way over my head feeling totally overwhelmed and making the Hubs and myself miserable. So then I bail…

I quit my job, don’t really make an effort to keep in touch with the few people I have found out here, back-out of different commitments and become a strictly sunday church goer. The sudden freedom and time with the hubs is nice. I love the flexibility for a while.

Then I get the Urge..

It can stem from many different things..seeing others succeeding in their jobs, seeing those commitments I backed out of continue to move on, realizing that extra income is needed, wishing that I had friends and feeling like a loser for not having anything to do when the Hubs is gone on a trip. Whatever it is I get this sudden urge to go get involved in anything and everything so that I too can feel successful and accomplished! However, the vicious cycle will return..I will feel overcommitted and totally cut myself off again just when things are starting to turn around…maybe i’m afraid of failure (who knows?)!

The point of all of this venting is that I am having a hard time finding balance in my life! I don’t know how to make friends, be free to spend time with the hubs and do the wifey stuff and have a job that I feel productive in all while knowing that we will only be in one location for a few years at a time! Sometimes I just want to say “Why bother?”! But I know that God has a plan for me here in NJ and it is not to sit on my butt waiting to move to the next place.

I thought I was doing a lot better. I got a substitute teaching job that allows for totally flexibility so that is one less thing to worry about (except that fact that school starts next week and I am totally freaking out!). I have started to make more of an effort to hang out with the one friend that I do have here..which has been a blast! I guess I saw the old tendencies arise last week when I attended the kick-off event for the Officers Spouses Club on base. I really want to get involved and feel more connected, especially since I live on base now so I basically found myself signing up for 5 out of the 7 groups to be involved in!

Right now since I have had a very relaxed summer and am ready to be busy again I am totally gung-ho about getting involved, working and making friends! I am just so afraid as things start to pick up that I will start to freak out again and then bail…seriously it is like an addiction..once you bail out of something early it is so hard stop doing that! I really want this time to be different! I want to stay committed to the things that I have  signed on for! I have noticed that I have been better about not following through on all my gut reactions to volunteer myself for things I know I haven’t been good at in the past.

I just want to make this year different and I am scared of not being able to break the cycle!

Sorry about the long post..I just had to vent a little!

Am I the only one who feels this way? Do you guys ever go through things like this?