Adorable Blogger Award & NSV's

Very special thanks to Patrick for giving me the Adorable Blogger Award.

Rules of the Award
*Thank the person who gave you this award, and link back to them in your post.
*Tell us 10 things about yourself.
*Nominate your bloggers.
*Contact these bloggers, and let them know they received this award.

Ten things about me.  Hmmm...After blogging so much, there cant' be much you don't already know but I'll give it a shot...

1.  One of my favorite movies when I'm feeling down is Robin Hood: Men in Tights.  Always makes me laugh.  I'm pretty sure my hubby almost didn't marry me because of this.

2.  I actually enjoy brussel sprouts - saute them, roast them, steam them, fry them...serve them with cheese, serve them with butter, serve them plain.  I would eat them with a goat and I would eat them in a boat...


3.  I'm a dog person yet don't own one.


4.  I worked at a grocery store as a bagger (ahem...courtesy clerk) when I was in high school and still bag my own groceries to this day (assuming no one else is around to do it...and to be honest, I'd rather just do it myself so the bags don't rip and my bread doesn't get smashed...).

5.  I no longer recycle...the new place doesn't have a bin.  I think that's weird.


6.  I never really liked recycling.  I did it because it's the right thing to do but it seems like my hubby (and he knows this is true) would leave plastic bottles everywhere even once the bin was full and then yell at me when I just threw it away.  I'm sorry but there are too many rules to recycling about what kind bottles and what kind of papers and what the number says on the bottom.  Guess I'm glad I can't recycle.  I counted this as 2 because well...there are two separate points here, I swear.


7.  I once had a bicycle towed.  I got it back

8.  I played softball when I was younger and I KICKED ASS.  Seriously, I did.  I was good.  *sigh*  I miss that.


9.  I also bowled as a kid..like in a league and in tournaments and stuff.  I won all kinds of trophies.  I haven't been bowling in ages...not as cheap as it used to be.  Maybe I should look into an adult league...


10.  I'm Catholic and therefore possess a certain amount of good ol' fashioned catholic guilt...about my kids.  My oldest will soon be in first grade and that means Sunday School.  I haven't taken her to mass in ages. Gotta get better about this...or I'll go to hell...I just know it.  



Time to dole out the award to others.  I hate leaving people out and I usually cop out and say it's just too hard to choose but I decided not to be anti social and actually do it.  If you already have one of these awards, be glad that so many people find you adorable.  Definitely go check out these bloggers if you don't already...they rock (and yes, I'd even venture to say they're adorable).  
Dawnya at Evolution of a Black Butterfly
Lee Ann at Stealing Skinny
Rachel at Thin Within
Ms M at Fatscapades of Redhead Chick
Lisa at The Rest of My Life

OK...So I've got some NSV's to report...We did numbers before so let's go with bullets here:

• I found 3 pairs of shorts in my closet as I was moving.  They're all size 16 (bought long before vanity sizing).  They all fit, some are a little too big and I actually don't mind wearing them.  I didn't wear shorts AT ALL last year.  I live in AZ so that's quite an accomplishment.  My legs don't look terrible in them, in my opinion.
• My hubby told me the other day that he was looking at pics on my phone and found some older ones of me and he just can't believe how much thinner I look these days. Aaawwww...
• I was sitting on the couch and hubby noticed I had a cut on the bottom of my foot.  So I bent my leg back to look at it and he said "Could you always bend your leg like that?"  Umm...no I couldn't.  Thanks for reminding me.  LOL.
• I have gone up and down the stairs a gazillion times since moving in and I don't get winded and I don't even mind that much.
• I had to "run inside" to grab something I forgot the other day and I literally RAN.  And I could run, and I didn't feel like I was going to die...didn't even feel out of breath.  It was nice.
• I was playing in the pool with the kids this weekend.  Catching them and tossing them and didn't even get tired.  THIS is what getting the band was all about.

Award Post & Runner's Help?

OK...so finally getting around to this. 

Special thanks to Patrick for the Irresistibly Sweet Award.

With this award I need to list five guilty pleasures and then pass this on to three fabulous (& sweet) bloggers that I know and love.

Guilty Pleasures:

1. Twilight movies - I haven't read the books because I heard they're awful and the movies aren't that great either but let me tell you what is... Robert Patterson.  OK...so I don't know how old he really is so it might make me a perv but OMG...he is so freakin' hot!  OK...now that I've cooled off...moving on...
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Are you seeing a theme yet?
3. TMZ - I am a news hound but it was starting to depress me reading bad news day in, day out so last year my New Year's resolution was giving up the news.  I know it seems immature to make a resolution to NOT know what's going on in the world but I digress.  The one current event thing I allowed myself was TMZ and now I'm hooked.  My news shut out only lasted 3 months but for those 3 months I learned all about pop culture.  (I'm noticing a TV/movie theme...hmmm... a guilty pleasure is sitting around doing nothing???  Maybe)
4. Chickfila - You'll notice that I mention this place often.  I LOVE this fast food chain.  Best chicken sandwiches EVER
5. Bath & Body Works - I put the whole store on here because I think everything they have is just fantastic.  I'm sure most men would think it's silly to spend that much on body wash and lotion but it makes me feel so pampered.  Even my hubby likes his body wash that I got from there.  Truth be told, he'd be just as happy with Lever 2000

3 Bloggers I know and love and who are, in their own rights, irresistible sweet...

1. Amanda
2. Lisa

3. Bonnie

Thanks to Renea for this one...Rules:

1. Post and link back to the person who awarded you this award - Done


2. Share 7 things about yourself

• I'm a closet super hero that comes out in the form of night terrors where I run around my house and try to save the world.
• I am the baby of the family and spoiled rotten.
• I've always wanted to be a cowgirl - dress up in a cowboy hat and boots and boot scootin' boogie at a honkey tonk.
• I really dislike cauliflower - but it's growing on me
• I used to spend a couple weeks every year up north at my grandparents' farm.  I lived down south in a town of about 20,000 people and my cousins considered me the cousin from "the city."
• I'm a lean, mean fraud fighting machine.
• When I was a kid I used to have 2 finches.  One would always lay eggs and I would check every day to see if they'd hatch.  They never did.  It dawned on me YEARS later that both birds were girls.  Ummm...I never said I was real bright.

3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers (or as many as you can)

• Sorry - there's just no way I can list 15.  I follow so many.  All are wonderful because I only follow wonderful blogs.  See my side panel and click on any one of them for inspiration

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them they’ve won! - Done (more or less)


Alrighty...so you now know more about me than most people in real life.  Thanks again to Patrick and Renea.  It never gets old being recognized for this little blog of mine and I'm still so fascinated by all the people who take the time to follow along.

Now onward to my running question.  I completed my Week 2 Day 2 workout last night.  Ugh.  I seriously don't think I'll be able to move on to Week 3 next week so my question is this:  To those of you who have never been "runners" and then later did...how long did it take before it seemed to get easier?  When did you feel like you were getting into a good groove?  I just don't feel that I'm improving.  Also, are there any recommendations for a website/literature on good running form?  It dawned on me as I was doing this yesterday that I don't know if I'm running properly.  I mean...I'm not suffering so I would think it's OK but it may not be the most...efficient...way to run?  I don't know.  I've never been much of a runner...even when I played sports...running laps was my least favorite thing to do in the whole world.  I will say this.  I have had NO residual pain the day after my 5k training.  I attribute this to stretching.  I use the stretch machine (I'm not sure if that's what it's really called) after every 5k workout and it seems to really be helping the day after.  So this is the lesson for today:  STRETCH.

Happy Thursday everybody!

MLK Weekend in Review

First item of business...my weekly Weigh In.  You may have figured out that I do this every Monday.  If not, you're not really paying attention.  Anyhoo - 196.  That's 1/2 lb down from last week.  *sigh*  Don't get me wrong...always happy when the scale is still moving in the right direction but this was the first week in a long time where I really focused on WHAT I was eating and making sure I was EXERCISING.  Other weeks, I really focused on HOW MUCH I was eating as opposed to what and exercise was practically nonexistent.  Why is it when I get serious about fitness and health, my body says "Whoa there Slugger!  What is it you think you're doing exactly?"  I've decided my body is just rebelling against the 5k training I'm doing...trying to talk me out of it.  Well..not this time.  This somewhat disappointing weigh in did not lead to a binge or anything remotely resembling drowning my sorrows in food.  Moral victory there.

Workouts - Yes I did my 2 workouts on Saturday.  I did my last 5k workout of the week and my Latin Heat class.  It is, as it turns out, Zumba.  I over heard the instructor talking to one of the uber-excited workout people about it and she made the comment that she's been teaching Zumba for over a year now.  So there you go.  I liked even better the second time but I think it's because the music was better.  Anyhoo...between the 2 workouts, I was beat.  Monday came and I started Week 2 Day 1 of my 5k training.  Whew.  That's gonna kill me.  For those wondering, it goes 2.5 minutes running followed by 2.5 minutes walking.  You do this 5 times.  My pace is holding steady at 4.3 but it is taking me longer to recover so we'll see how it all goes.  It works out to 1.75 miles in a 1/2 hour.  Not awful.  Week 2 Day 2 comes tomorrow.

Social Life and a NSV - Some of you my recall my "Shy" post.  I had a goal of becoming more sociable.  I think I did alright this weekend.  Friday night, I went out dancing with an old friend of mine.  She's single and hot (always has been).  The last time I went dancing with her was about 40 lbs ago.  I didn't get hit on once that night.  Friday night, I got hit on several times.  Now, I'm still the one who gets stuck with the "ugly friend."  You all know what I'm talking about.  If two of you go out, chances are your hot friend gets hit on by hot guys and those guys all have a less attractive friend.  For you men out there, it works the same way.  There's the hot chick and then her less than attractive friend.  But ugly friend or no, it's nice to feel desirable.  LOL.  Now, before anyone starts thinking I'm having marriage difficulties, I'm not.  I even went home and told my hubby I got hit on by no one older than 24 (awesome! LOL).  He actually said, "Great! I know you were a little bummed no one hit on you last time."  Does my guy rock or what?  The real NSV though is that I didn't get worn out dancing.  40 lbs ago, my feet and back were aching just an hour in and I had to stop to rest several times.  This time, I stopped once because I was really hot and wanted water and another time because one guy entirely too handsy so I had to make an excuse to get off the dance floor.  Saturday night, my hubby and I went to a 70's/80's themed skate party.  You read that right.  And yes, all these people are in their 30's going to a skate party.  These are my hubby's friends and they are... an interesting group... to say the least.  Anywhoozle, the NSV here...I dressed up in my best 80's garb that I had laying around the house and wasn't self conscious a bit... aside from that whole "please let other people dress up" thing.  That didn't have anything to do with my appearance so much as my "i don't want to look like a dork" obsession that was discussed previously.  So there you have it, not only did I get out and socialize TWICE this weekend but felt pretty good doing it.

Awards - I have been awarded with 2 awards this week!  Award post to follow in the next day or so but wanted to get huge thanks out to Renea for the Stylish Blogger Award and to Patrick for the Irresistibly Sweet award.  I admit...I don't think anyone's ever called me irresistible sweet before...irresistibly wicked, sarcastic, witty, etc...but never sweet.  Go figure.  Anyway, I am truly touched.  Thanks again!

For those States side and had yesterday off, I hope you enjoyed your long weekend and aren't having too hard of a time getting back to the grind.  For those who didn't have it off, you didn't miss much.  For those globally,  Happy Tuesday!