Whew!

Today was tiring. I woke up in time to be on the road for my 6-miler. The run went better than expected....I always dread running alone, but in all honesty it wasn't that bad. I ran the 1st 2 miles around the neighborhood loop, the 2nd two miles on the trails in the neighborhood, then decided to get back on the flat pavement thanks to my screaming right IT band. It made itself known at the San Antonio 1/2, but it wasn't too bad. Then, it got a bit worse on last week's 5-miler. Looks like I will have to do some extra stretching to get things back to normal. I also felt that weird tug in my lower back. The one that was there before I got preggo with the munchkin. The same stinkin' pain that drove me to do PT 2x a week. I was hoping all the core and strength training I've been doing for the past 4 months would help me keep the hips all aligned, but it doesn't look that way. I'll see if I can make it to January without too much trouble.

Then, I came home and made the family some eggs and bacon - egg beaters and turkey bacon for me, of course. :-) Next, we got everyone dressed and headed out to Garden Ridge for Christmas stuff...what a PITA! People were everywhere and there was not much of the stuff we were looking for left. The hubby hates crowds, so he was a joy to shop with...plus, the baby was fussy and the kiddo wanted to run all over the place. Ugh! Next stop - Krogers. Not as bad, but still stressful with the not-as-fussy baby and the kiddo who wants to see and wants you to see everything. Damn Disney for putting characters on just about everything - cereal, fruit snacks, bubble bath, ice cream, you name it.

Next, we came home and ate some lunch before starting on the Christmas decorations. The kiddo and I managed to get the tree up and decorated, but it was kinda hard with the munchkin trying to crawl all over the place. I tried the swing and the Exersaucer, but he wanted nothing to do with either one and would scream bloody murder if I tried to make him sit in either. Due to that, I put the rest of the decorating on hold until the kids were fast asleep. What now? I'm off to fold the kid's clothes before getting the last 100 pages of Breaking Dawn, the final book of the Twilight series.

As for the Twilight movie? It sucked. I don't think I was expecting a lot, so that was good...the acting was mediocre and the special effects were cheesy. The guy who plays the male lead did not live up to my expectation at all. Don't get me wrong, the guy is a cutie, but he's not the Adonis that's described in the book. Oh well, what do you expect for a teen movie based on a "young adult" novel? My Sister-in-Law and I did get a chuckle when all the teen girls in the theatre gasped the 1st time the male lead appeared on the screen. The same thing happened when he first spoke and once more when he kissed the female lead. Yes, I am rolling my eyes now just thinking about it. LOL!

The girls are back!!!!

And I can't wait to see them!

Movies

I forgot to mention yesterday that I actually have been able to see some movies (mostly rentals) since school has been out.



Nanny Diaries - While I thought it was really cute, the book was so much better! But isn't always? Entertaining, but Mrs. X wasn't near the bitch she was in the book.

3:10 to Yuma - Very good, but not as good as Unforgiven. Then again, how can you go wrong with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe?

Wonderland - Who would have thought a movie about ex-porn star, John Holmes, would be any good? The movie was made in 2003, so I am a little late seeing it. It was about the investigation of a brutal murder scene in which John Holmes was a suspect. I enjoyed it!

I am Legend - So far, this is my favorite of all the movies I've seen lately. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Plus, for some reason, I am intrigued by this type of post-apocalyptic theme. Hey, it could happen!

Transformers - Not bad! The kid I used to babysit used to watch the cartoons - this was way better. The special effects were awesome, so I wish I could have seen it on the big screen with the awesome surround sound. (We have surround sound, but it's hard to use it to it's full advantage when you live in a small house and have a 3-year old asleep!)

Live Free, Die Hard - I actually fell asleep during this one...blame it on the pregnancy! I did like the parts I did see of it. It was a bit far-fetched, and while the villain was a hottie, I wasn't impressed with his acting. But, it's the typical explosions and one-liners you come to expect from the Die Hard series and that made it pretty entertaining.

Bourne Ultimatum - Okay, I'm a little biased, because I LOVE the Bourne movies. So yes, I liked this one too. A lot. Not as much as Legend, but I would go out and buy this one.


Okay, I think that's it so far. The hubby is planning to be hunting for a few days, so I intend to catch up on the chick flicks I haven't seen. Oh, I did watch Barbie Fairytopia, Angelina Ballerina and The Jungle Book with the kiddo, but I won't go into detail on those. ;-)

A little "me" time

Well, today I am almost officially done with school! I do have some final touches to make to my take home final for Econ, but that's it. I have 2 weeks of freedom until the fall semester begins...and I am officially 1/2 done with my MBA!


I had the day off from work, so I scheduled a doctor's appointment and an eye doctor appointment. You know, the stuff that you can never seem to cram into the regular work week. I even managed to get suckered into getting my tetanus shot. But, I did get to squeeze in a movie with one of my friends from school. We saw Becoming Jane. I loved it! I love Jane Austen, plus it was just the kind of mushy girl movie I love. I saw some great previews too (Lust Caution, The Jane Austen Book Club, Things We Lost in the Fire and August Rush) . I forgot how much I miss going to see chick flicks!

I did a little shopping for fun clothes and then spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the kiddo in her inflatable pool in the backyard. Fun, fun! I sure the neighbors loved seeing that. :-0

Yesterday after work, I headed to the bike trail for a ride. Cassie, the trails are along White Oak bayou, near 610, between 11th street and a bit past 43rd. I decided that since I wasn't doing an extremely long ride, that I would try to push my speed a little more than I did on my previous two rides. And I did! I was alone so there was no coasting along and chatting. I was pedaling pretty hard the entire time...well, except for the downhill sections. But, I felt like I made myself earn those downhills.

During the ride, I started to think about the bike I used to ride in Jr. High and High School. It was a red 10-speed that my parents bought me for Christmas. I loved that bike! I loved riding! Suddenly on Friday, those memories came flooding back. I recaptured that feeling. I was never a runner in my younger days. In fact, I hated running, so my love of running was a total shock to me. But cycling, it's different. I think I am going to like this biking thing. I really do!

So anywho, I was quite proud of myself. The 8-mile stretch that I did on my very first ride took me about 40 minutes. This time, it only took 32:50. Not fast by any stretch of the imagination, but better. I reached the turn around point in just over 17 minutes, so when I turned around I decided I would try to beat that on the way back. And I did! I never negative split in running, so I was pretty pleased with myself. And, I added another 2 miles to make an even 10 with my last mile as a cool down. Good times!

And, I tried a little jogging after loading up my bike. Yep, I can definitely see why brick workouts are a must! It wasn't pretty.

The park, school, movies, running and whackings

The weekend just flew by again! Friday, the hubby met me at the park with the kiddo. I ran a couple of miles before they arrived, then met them at the playground. The kiddo loves being outside, which made it difficult for us to convince her to leave when it's finally time to go.

Saturday was my 1st day of classes. Ethics was first and while it will not be a cake walk, it doesn't seem too frightening. We have a case study due each week, a mid-term and a big final group presentation. Economics, on the other hand, seems pretty scary. There are 3 tests, a reaction paper each week, 2 group projects, discussion questions, etc. etc. etc. Looks like I will beat the Houston summer heat by spending lots of time in the library. Joy.

Saturday night the hubby and I actually had a date night. It's been a few months, so we were long overdue. We had dinner and then headed to the movies to see Spiderman 3. I LOVED it! The movie had everything I liked about the series...the action and special effects. Plus, there's a bit of love story. The hubby thought it was "okay" and told me that it wasn't what he expected. When I asked him why, he just said, "I just thought it would be like the other two." I asked him to elaborate and he mumbled something about the mushy love story. Boys. On the way to pick up the kiddo, we had a lengthy discussion about what happens next in the comic books. Seriously, I thought he was going to run out to the storage shed and start digging out his old comic book collection to find Spiderman #300 (where Spidey gets the black suit). Boys. Did I already say that?

This morning, I headed to the park for a couple of loops. It was humid as heck! Not much to report, except that the foot didn't hurt at all until I made it back home. Oh, and that blister is back. Strange. I really didn't feel like running. In fact, I've felt like that for the past week or so. I'm hoping that running with a group again after the summer semester will help. I just have to make it to mid-August...that seems really far away. After playgroup and grocery store, I managed to read a chapter of Ethics and then took the kiddo to the neighborhood pool. I wanted to squeeze in another chapter after the went to bed, but I had a shift in priorities - The Sopranos. Yep, only 2 episodes and then no more...and tonight it seems they were making up for the lack of whackings in the last season. Woohooo! ;-)

So, looks like a late night with the books.

Freedom - part II

Well, the hubby decided to leave early this morning for the fishing trip rather than last night. So, he picked up the kiddo and I went to the GSA happy hour. I'm glad I did! I met quite a few students who are not in our Saturday cohort and a couple of my future professors. The free drinks and food were also a plus. Good thing I got in a workout this morning...after a couple of 'ritas, I did not feel like running!


I arrived home in time to tuck the kiddo in. Then, the hubby and I watched Alpha Dog. Well, I watched, he fell asleep. Usually it's me doing the sleeping. The movie was good, but very disturbing. But hey, JT was had a major role and he was actually good. Of course, it helps to have some eye candy in any movie. ;-)

Great weekend - day 2

I am loving this weather! Last night, the kiddo hung out with her grandparents and the hubby and I went out. We wanted dinner and a movie, so we decided to check out our local Movie Tavern where we could do both at the same time! I have been to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, but this was my 1st time at the Tavern. It was great! The setting was a bit nicer than Alamo, the chairs were comfy, the service was great and the food was yummy (the "Blue Beast" margarita included). We ended up seeing Zodiac. It was very good, very suspenseful and since it was based on true events, very scary!

This morning, I headed to the park for my Sunday LR. Technically, I don't know that I can call 6 miles an LONG, LR...I know with the Lucky Trails 1/2 Marathon coming up in 2 weeks, it should have been more like 1o miles. But for some reason, I could not bring myself to go farther. In fact, I was very tempted to stay in my nice, warm bed and not run at all! But, I managed to drag my butt out of bed and into my running gear. By the time I pulled out of my driveway and was greeted by the gorgeous blue sky and full moon, I was feeling a tad bit more motivated.

I made it to the park a little after 7 am. The park was pretty quiet and I managed to get one of the coveted parking spaces near the tennis center. After a few minutes of stretching I was off...my 1st 2 miles were both exactly 10:16. I decided to slow down a bit, because my goal was just to maintain a 10:30 pace. My next mile was 10:39 - better. Then, 10:51 (?), 10:35 & 10:38. I started at the mile 0 marker and ran clockwise around the park, stopping at the mile 3 marker. Then, I headed counter-clockwise all the way around until I made it back to the mile 0 marker. Between my two loops, I stopped at the restrooms and at my car for water. I must have stopped a tad bit too long, because when I 1st started again, I felt heavy and flat. (Guess that explains the time for mile 3.)

Later, we took the kiddo to get pictures taken. Between school, work and the holiday craziness, we never had a chance to take the kiddo for her 2nd birthday. Bad, I know! We'll be taking Easter pics in about 2 weeks too. The photo shoot went extremely well! What a world of difference from last year, when I was lucky just to get one good shot without tears. Her favorite cousin also came along to help make her laugh...it worked!

Here are a few of my favorites: