This is my house:

Of course, it doesn’t look like that anymore. I chose the picture we took when the house wasn’t ours yet AKA before all the leaves had come in and we realized that the previous owner hadn’t done ANY maintenance of the landscaping in the 20 years she owned the place. It’s made for a long summer of pulling, trimming and cutting down buuuuuuut there’s so much that I’ll save that for it’s own post. Here’s the floor plan (look at the nifty program I found!).

First floor:                                                                 Second Floor:

It works for us right now but we have grand ideas of how we could make this house even more amaze-balls. You see, currently the upstairs is just our master which is really nice but the other day I was out for a run and saw another model of our house. It looks like they pushed out the back of the upstairs (changed the slop of the roof) so that there are full sized walls and no crawl space action. While I’m not exactly sure how they set it up, I’m thinking that with all that extra room, you could easily fit 3 bedrooms upstairs with a master suite and the other full bath. How awesome would that be? Then we could knock out our current guest room downstairs and make it a great room off the kitchen. Soooooo, if I had a million dollars that’s what I’d do. And buy a monkey. Haven’t you always wanted a monkey?

 Anyway, let me take you on a photo tour (can you tell I’m overly obsessed with this house?). These are the before pictures, I’ll throw some after ones in as we continue to do projects and decorate. Here’s the front entrance with the stairs up and the front closet.

turn 180* and....our living room.

From there you walk through to the dining room, kitchen and sunroom (back)

                               

Sunroom - Look at the park behind us!

We have two bedrooms on the main floor

 <----Den
                                                 



                          Guest Room  ---->

Let's head upstairs! 

One the right at the top of the stairs is our master bath and unused room

Then there is our MASSIVE master bedroom....

with a teeny closet..

  

Hope you enjoyed the tour. Obviously, I need to figure out how to use Blogger a little better so the pictures are spaced more evenly but there is a quick tour. Everything has since been painted and we do have furniture. Micah and I still have so many projects we want to do but have made some serious progress and are excited about it! Hope you'll keep checking it out - maybe this can be our chance to beat Dave's video of their new place. ;)

Finisher!

That's right. I am officially a 5k finisher and I ran the WHOLE thing. I know that sounds wimpy to most people but running has always been a struggle for me so I was quite happy. I also finished it over 2 minutes faster than I had previously on my practice course. I was worried that I was going to fail miserably, too. The last two runs I had done were horrible so I thought I had slacked too much on my training. No matter now, though, I finished and now it's on to the next thing...

That's right, there is more running in my future. I think this is my official announcement so Chelsea it's official. ;) On February 26, 2012, I will be running the Disney Princess Half Marathon. I think I'm crazy but my great friend, Chelsea, convinced me to do it while we were in D.C. It's becoming real too, my parents are talking about coming and her parents are coming for sure. Guess I have to do it now. I plan on running some races in the interim to make sure I am always working towards something. Problem is that Micah will be gone until August so I might have to start running one or two by myself - which I'm not good at. If you want to run a race with me by all means let me know! I want to start with another couple 5ks, work to a 10k and then go from there. Once I have a schedule figured out, I will put it on here so it's official.

Last time I posted I talked about the Detox that we tried. We really liked doing it and are going to keep up some of the same ideas. We want to cut out processed foods completely to include refined sugars and flours. I have realized that these make me crash big time and I enjoyed not feeling that when I wasn't eating them. I am not going to cut out wheat and gluten entirely but I do want to limit them because my body likes me more when I avoid them. I definitely need to start doing something because ever since the race I have been eating like crap and I haven't run ONCE. I need to fix this and plan on doing so right after I visit the cities this weekend. :)

I hope to keep this updated more. School is over for the summer so I have a lot more time. I will add some great recipes in the future!

Test 5k and new adventure...

Long time no post, huh? Last week was Spring Break and I got some fun work outs in. My friend and I decided to try our hands at some of the group fitness classes at our gym since we didn't have school getting in the way. ;) We tried Zumba first which was an interesting experience. My cousin has been taking zumba classes and has lost a good amount of weight and looks AWESOME so I figured it was at least worth a try. We had fun and I was definitely sweating after but I know I looked like a flailing idiot for the entire hour. It was nowhere near as bad as the step class we tried the next day. I could not figure the stupid thing out. Every time I figured out the footwork she would change it upon me and I'd be lost. It was infuriating. Needless to say, I will not be trying that class again. Ha.

I did get a couple runs in as well, the longest being Saturday. In my training plan I am up to the straight runs between 20-25 minutes. I had done 20 on the treadmill earlier in the week and since the treadmill is far easier I wanted to try outside to see how long I could go. Micah and I headed over to the route for the Berbee Derbee 5k and started running. It was great on the way out and the small cramp that I got was easy to work through. Then I turned around and the wind was CRAZY. Mother nature chose that exact moment to start pushing in a storm front and I was miserable. Plus, the way back has a lot more hills anyway. I was able to keep going until about 23 minutes and I had the worst cramp. I walked for a bit and then ran/walked the rest of the 3.1. I finished in 36 minutes and I was soooooooooo disappointed as I  had hoped to be a little closer to the 30 minute mark. I know the the wind sucked but I was trying not to make excuses.

Since I have to keep upping the length of straight running time, if the weather cooperates, I am hoping to keep running this course. That way I can gauge my progress and maybe even finish a practice 5k before the race (which is under 3 weeks away!!). I think I can get myself up to that point in the next three weeks and thankfully Micah is really helping me out by running with me when he's home. I have such a great husband. :)

In other news, I'm starting up a business and I'm super nervous. I'm not talking a little nervous when I think about it but like nervous all the time. I am starting to sell Arbonne which is a company that makes skin care, make-up and nutritional products.  I am starting it because I need to find a way to bring in an income this summer and while I student teach in the fall. Student teaching is a great thing for getting certified and teaching but not so much for the wallet since I get paid NOTHING - I actually pay the school. Haha. Since Micah is in school too, I have to figure something out and I really don't want to go back to waitressing and bartending since late nights and early mornings don't go well together.

Now Micah and I have been using the products for years so I'm not worried that the company is bogus or that the products suck because I know that's not the case. I'm worried that I'm not going to make enough or that I'm going to fail. I am stepping so far outside my comfort zone that I hope I can really do this. The timing of it is hard, too. In order for me to get started, I have to have my first parties (where I get trained) over Memorial Day weekend. Who wants to give up that weekend? However, if I don't get the parties in that weekend I may have to wait until late June because my trainer will be gone to Iceland for the Air Guard.  By that time we won't have had an income for a couple weeks, so that's scary. I am hoping I can make this work because I love the products and can learn some very valuable skills that would make me a better teacher, too (hello public speaking). Keep your fingers crossed for me. Good thing running relieves stress, right?

P.s. wrote this on the blogger apparently on my phone. Hopefully It works and I will edit for grammar and spelling later. :)

To detox or not to detox....

So I was looking into doing a 28 day detox. It's a program designed by Arbonne. If you haven't heard of Arbonne, look it up! It's a great, all natural company that has amazing products from skin care to make-up to supplements. Micah and I talked about it a little and decided to sort of tweek the program to fit our lives a little better. First off, it's not a cheap program to do it completely through Arbonne and it's just not an expense that we're willing to splurge on. Plus, part of it is a 7 day cleanse which I've already done and let's just say, wasn't the most amazing experience and I never want to do it again. So the plan (at least for me) for the next 28 days is less dairy, less to no wheat, less to no gluten, and no sugar. Doesn't that sound horrible? It's basically primal eating - which if you don't know what that is, look it up. A couple of our friends have done it and had wonderful results so I'm trying it. There are a couple of other reasons that I'm trying it, too. After larger amounts of wheat/gluten/carbs, I'm always so tired. I'm hoping this will help keep my energy up! Plus, there are so many great products on the market that have more nutritional value that I'd like to try like quinoa pasta, brown rice pasta, spelt flour/bread, etc.

I'm not quite sure if Micah is going to get into it quite as much as I am but he's definitely interested. It's more just about eating healthy to us. I'll probably modify again after this is done but I would still like to keep any sort of processed food out of my diet. One thing that you're supposed to do is to stop all consumption of alcohol....we will not be doing this. :) I can only give up so much.

After Easter, because I have Spring Break next week, I'm also going to start to try to work out in the morning. Working out in the afternoon is hard for me because if I EVER have homework, then working out gets the boot. It'd be nice to be able to come home, do some homework, cook some dinner and have a relaxing night. I've tried this in the past and failed miserably but I am going to try it again anyway. Hopefully it will work a little better this time as I don't think I'll have to get up quite as early as previously. Hopefully, it'll warm up again and I can run outside in the morning which takes even less time than going to the gym.

So, do you think I can do it? Everyone thinks I'm crazy, but let's hope. I'm going to measure and weigh tomorrow or Friday and maaaaaaaaybe I'll post it. I'm hoping to see a difference before I spend 2 weeks in a bikini. :)

Happy Spring???

Is it really Spring? You wouldn't know it up here or I guess I should say that depending on the day you don't know it. Yesterday it was 50 and today it's cold, rainy and windy. YUCK! I was hoping that by this time I would be running outside more often but sadly, that has only been able to happen twice. Yesterday was one of those days, though and I found a wonderful (and free) new trainer! His name is Bascom and he's my 9 month old Golden Retriever (cutest on the Planet!). Micah had taken him out for a run the other day and since the dog was going stir crazy, I decided to take him with me yesterday. He was great. He pulled just enough to get me to run a little faster which was exactly what I needed. His favorite part was getting to the off-leash section of the park where he was able to run free and run he did....like the crazy dog he is. :)

Training has been going pretty well. I had to re-vamp my schedule a little as life had gotten in the way just a bit and I was about a week behind. No big deal, though because I'm perfectly on track for the 5k now. Runs are getting more challenging which is a little scary. This week I'm re-doing week 5 because it's supposed to be nicer so I can run outside based on distance as opposed to just time because I know that I don't run the 9 or 10 minute mile they expect. It's kind of nice that I have the ability to do that because this week is Micah's birthday week and there are a couple of nights out to eat that will mess with my schedule a little. I'm hoping to still fit a run in before dinner tomorrow night with our parents but I don't know if it'll actually happen with the longer school days now. I do feel good that I worked out 3 times last week. I was going for 4 but my spinning class was so hard on Wednesday that the instructor suggested we take two days off. I was sore and obliged. :)

I feel like I've been eating pretty well lately, too. We went out on Thursday and I ordered a great salad from the Great Dane. It is their take on Panzanella and Caprese Salad. It uses Pita Bread instead of a regular Italian bread and I think I only ate 2 of the slices of cheese, made for a pretty healthy salad. Tomorrow might not be quite as healthy as we're going for sushi and sometimes I just don't know how to stop with sushi. Tonight I was going to take Micah out for some yummy dinner but because his drill went soooooooo long he's just grabbing take-out from Granite City on the way home - still yummy! I am not deciding how healthy I want to be...pasta just sounds goooooooood.

I'm not seeing a lot so far as far as weight-loss but I am noticing that my pants and tops are fitting a little differently. I'm hoping that later this week I'll see a little more when I'm not retaining water. ;)

Anyway, I said I would throw a recipe in every time I blog and I will not back out on that promise. Last weekend I was craving chocolate but I didn't want it to be horrible for me. I found (this) recipe for some yummy and fudgy brownies that only have 132 calories per brownie. They were a great snack with some of the strawberries I've been hoarding now that they're on sale. Try them. They were even hubby approved. I highly recommend a high quality bittersweet chocolate and powder as it makes all the difference.

Anyway, off to grab a card and some candles for the hubby's birthday cake. I'll post a picture later this week. I successfully made a two tier cake and I'm VERY proud of myself. It's preeeeeetty. Have a good week all.

I SUUUUUUUCK....

at this blogging thing. What has it been, three weeks since I said I would blog? Ugh.

I've really been sucking at eating well which is a big problem. I thought I was doing well last week and then St. Patty's day hit. I ate corned beef and cabbage and then kept going over the weekend with pizza AND chinese. Ugh! I wish I could say that I have been keeping up with my working out but I'm about 2 workouts behind.

Life keeps getting in the way and I'm trying to work around it but it's hard. I was able to run outside for the first time this weekend and that was awesome. Best part about it was that I got Micah to go with me. Why is that a big deal? Well...Micah tends to ignore me when I talk about working out at all. He's just in better shape than me at his base level so I get frustrated when we try to work out together. It doesn't help that he is 6'1" and his legs are like 20 feet longer than mine. Also, I may have yelled at him a couple of times in the past when he has finished and come back to run by me. I know that he is trying to motivate me but it feels like he's lapping me and I get frustrated and yell and him. Oops. I'm trying to convince him to help me again because he is the closest person to me so he can be the best motivation. I may have scared him off, though.

Alright, I'm going to try and keep a weekly goal. It's a little more attainable than thinking about over a month from now. My main goal is to work out 4 times this week, including my spinning class. I went to spinning two weeks ago and fell in love again. I don't know why I ever gave it up! My goal for working out is tomorrow (run), Wednesday (spinning), Friday (run) and one day this weekend (run). Let's hope I can keep it up!

Alright....I know at least one person is interested in some of the recipes I've tried lately so I'll try to post one every time I blog. I'll start my recipes with the first and best meal of the day - BREAKFAST!! This is one of Micah and my new favorite weekend breakfasts. Paired up with a little fruit salad, it's such a great and hearty breakfast that can be made with pretty much anything you have on hand. Who doesn't like eggs, toast and cheese? The recipe can be found on the cooking blog Framed (). Micah and I always use just egg whites and add different vegetables or leftovers we have on hand including: tomato, green onions, chicken, turkey, etc. I think it would be great with a little avocado or spinach...hum...guess I'll have to try that next time! I normally have one with a little fruit and Micah has two. Fills us up well and if you use some good quality whole wheat/grain bread, you'll get the extra fiber to keep you full!

Have a great week everyone. Hopefully I can stick to my plan!

I'm baaaaack...

I'm going to try this whole blogging thing again but this time for a better cause. I stepped on the scale at the gym yesterday and was SO disappointed in myself. The past year of grad school full-time and working full-time has not left me with much time to take care of myself and apparently that has taken its toll. I'm ready to change that! It's time to make time for working out and to get my butt in gear!

So, I've decided to train for a 5k. I am not a runner and never have been. I've started training once before but I've never been able to complete the training successfully since I've still never run more than 2 miles straight. I want to change that. One, because I hate failing and two, because running is something I can fit in to my busy schedule since all I need is pavement. Since Micah and I were trying to plan a trip to Hawaii I figured that was going to be the best motivation I could find. So, on May 15, on the beautiful island of Oahu, I will (hopefully) complete my first 5k.

So why blog about it? Mainly because I need motivation BADLY! I am the queen of justifying everything and I am hoping that if I can keep a record of my workout schedule, weight lost and some yummy, healthy recipes that I'll have an easier time sticking to my plan. I'm hoping it'll be a way that I can track my progress so it'll be easier to motivate myself to keep going. Plus, one of my good friends started this awesome blog with some friends that she's training with...so I'm really copying her. :)

I have made a couple of short term goals that I'm hoping to accomplish by the time I step on that plane to Hawaii.

1. Lose 10 pounds - depending on what scale I use I am either 152 (gym scale) or 148 (home scale). My lowest weight was 133 and I was very confident and thought I looked great at that weight. I'd like to get back to that eventually but I think 10 pounds is a reasonable start.

2. Complete a 5k- Duh! That's the whole point of this blog. I am not worried about how fast or slow I do it, I just want to FINISH!

3. Eat Healthy - With our busy schedule, Micah and I have sort of fallen off the healthy band-wagon. Quick fixes and eating out has become far too frequent and I don't even want to think about how much sodium we've had in the past few months. I did some batch cooking the other day so hopefully the fact that there is quick and easy stuff in the freezer will help with this!

4. Work out at least 3 times a week - I'm hoping that some weeks I'll be able to work out more but I would like this to be my starting point. I think this will be hard enough with class two nights a week and a puppy at home.

So help me out! Keep me motivated! Ask me if I've been working out. Or just read and enjoy the recipes I hope to post. I'm off to a good start with a run/lift day on Monday and spinning tonight and I'm loving the feeling. Hopefully I can keep it up!