Friday, December 28, 2007

What do you think?

My friend who got me into this crazy running-thing has been on hiatus for about 2 years now. She just had a baby last month and is really excited about joining Houston Fit again and training for Houston 2009. Naturally, she wants me to train with her.

Just one tiny issue - I am having a baby in early May.

With the kiddo, I started jogging (slowly) on the treadmill at 4 weeks post baby. If things go as well with this little bean, I would not really start jogging again until June. Marathon training starts in July. I'm not sure I will be up to par to train for a full that quickly. A half perhaps, but a full?

Am I being a wuss here?

I know Paula Radcliff ran (and won) the NYC marathon only 9 months after having a baby. But, she is an elite athlete. There is no comparison as far as I'm concerned. Not to mention that July will be crunch time for my final semester at school. The seminar class I am taking is supposed to be a killer. That, paired with my elective, will not be fun. So, that means my "training" wouldn't really begin until August (after I am all done!). And, training with 2 kiddos...well, that is going to be a bit trickier than training with one.

I'll be honest...I'm not even sure I want to train for a 2009 marathon. I thought I did, but I really don't miss training. I do miss running with my peeps, because I am more of a social runner. :-) But, I don't miss the early mornings, running in the Houston heat, the sore muscles and injuries. Of course, I still enjoy getting out there and running...even if I am much slower these days. I suspect that by the time the baby is here, I will be longing to get out of the house and run as much as possible. By then, I will be going through withdrawals! But, I also know I want to throw in some cycling and swimming. I guess I have a little time to re-evaluate. Until then, I'll keep doing my little shuffle on the treadmill. :-)

Speaking of...

Workout Stats
12/26- Treadmill "run" - 30 minutes, 12:50 pace, 1/1 intervals

Thursday, December 27, 2007

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. ;-)

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Holiday Craziness

I don't know about anyone else out there, but I am somewhat happy that the holidays are over. I'm not happy to be returning to work today, but I am happy the the rushing-around-to-get- everything-done part is over.

Just a quick re-cap of the past few days...

Friday
I managed to leave work early and had some time to head to the park for a loop. I think this is the beginning of the end of my "running" during pregnancy. It felt great to be out there and finally running outdoors again. As a result, I think I may have overdone it a bit and when I woke up on Saturday, my back was killing me! After picking up the kiddo and heading home, we headed to the in-laws. By the way, I ran into Steeeve out at the park and shouted a "hi Steve!" as he ran by in the opposite direction...not sure that he knew who the heck I was. LOL!

Saturday
I woke up at an embarrassingly early hour to head out for my last minute shopping. I was back by 10:30 am and had the rest of the day to hang out with the family.

Sunday
After church, we actually ended up heading home, because the hubby got called into work. It was a pretty low key afternoon. The kiddo and I just headed out to have some lunch and get the grocery shopping done. While the kiddo was napping, I managed to clean out my closet and chest of drawers....something I have been wanting to get done for months now. I had four large garbage bags full of stuff that will be going to Goodwill, Salvation Army or a shelter somewhere! And, when I look in my closet, I am pleasantly surprised to find that not only can I actually see the floor, I can find the clothes I am looking for! I am usually a total neat freak, (especially when it comes to my closet) but, in the craziness of the past couple of semesters, I'd let my closet get cluttered. Once the hubby was home on Sunday night, we wrapped all our presents while watching 3:10 to Yuma.

Monday
I spent the morning baking and cooking the dishes I was going to take to my Sister-in-Law's house that evening and to my parent's house the following day. (With the kiddo's help of course!) We also baked chocolate chip cookies for Santa. Next, we hung out and watched some of the Everest:Beyond the Limit marathon while coloring, putting together puzzles and playing Candyland. Next, we headed to the park where I walked for about 40 minutes. Then, we grabbed some lunch at Beck's and went to the playground for a picnic and some playtime. (By the way, for the 3rd time Beck's has screwed up my salad...and they forgot to give me silverware. What's up with that???) After playing at the park, we headed home and got ready to head to the Sister-in-Law's for some holiday cheer. We were there until about 10:30, which made for one tired kiddo.

Tuesday
Christmas Day! We woke to find Santa gifts for the kiddo under the tree and lounged around in our PJs before heading to my parent's house. We got there early to help out before the crowd arrived...and by crowd, I mean 40 of my family members crammed into my parent's house. It was chaotic, but fun! I used to love these crazy, crowded Christmas days with my family growing up and while it's much more work as an adult, it's still so much fun to have everyone in one place. But, it was indeed chaotic and quite frankly, I'm glad it's over!

This is the 1st time in about six years that I've had to work the day after Christmas. I think it's actually less work to be at work today! :-) Next year, I will be done with school and will actually be able to get all my holiday stuff done before the holidays instead of the week of the holiday!

Hope everyone out there had a great Christmas!!!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Yikes!

Looks like I have some Christmas Shopping to do! As if I didn't already know that...but now it's going to have to be expedited a bit. The hubby decided that he wants to visit his parent's house this weekend, rather than making them come to see us.

As of today, the only Christmas presents I have purchased have been for the kiddo. That means I need to get ALL my shopping done during my lunch break or after work between now and Friday, since we're leaving Friday and not coming back until Monday. Agh! And I am not one to be out shopping on Christmas Eve!

So much for relaxing after finals! Hopefully, once Christmas is over, I can get in some R&R and some running too.

Speaking of finals...we completely scratched our original video idea. We were getting short on time and I decided to throw together something on onetruemedia.com. Not very original, but the Prof loved it and we got the highest grade in the class! (Apparently, the other groups went the same route because they could not edit their videos!)

I wish I could say the same for our Finance class. That final was beyond brutal. The prof said it should take approximately 2 1/2 hours. I left 3 hours and 15 minutes later and about 1/3 of the class was still there. Those I ran into on the way out had a glazed over expression that said "that kicked my ass!". I'm sure I wore that expression as well. But, it's over and that alone makes me one happy camper!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Breakfast with Santa

This morning we surprised the kiddo with Breakfast with Santa at the Aquarium. The kiddo had fun and we enjoyed a really yummy breakfast...here are some pics from the morning:






Friday, December 14, 2007

Just Checking In...

I managed to get in a quick 20 minutes on the treadmill Wednesday. Yesterday, I had the day off and spent the entire time at the library, with the exception of a 2 hour break to get my hair cut and colored and to grab some lunch. Today, we have our ladies holiday party at work...we're all getting manis & pedis (courtesy of the company) and later we'll head out early for a late lunch and gift exchange. After that, I will have to head to the library for more Finance studying.

I don't think I could study enough for this test...no matter how many times I do the homework problems and read the chapters, it just doesn't click for me. Yes, this is a reminder why I chose the field of HR rather than Accounting or Finance! :-) I am so incredibly ready to get this semester done. Then, 2 more to go! Wooohooo! So, if you don't mind sending some good luck vibes to me tomorrow around 1pm, I would greatly appreciate it.

Speaking of good luck vibes, I will be sending some of those out to all the peeps running the 21 miler tomorrow! The weather forecast looks pretty good, so I hope you all have a great run!

Workout Stats
Treadmill, 20 minutes, 2/1 intervals, 12:27 pace (no heartburn, woohoo!)

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

New Wheels

After paying off my truck (which I hate, but will drive forever because it's paid for), the hubby decided to go against everything Dave Ramsey suggests and bought some new wheels...


Yes, it has all the stuff Texas "big bubba trucks" should have - off road package, 4WD, DVD player for the kiddo, nerf bars (which will come in handy when I am super huge and need to get to the hospital!), etc.
I think the hubby's life is complete. Well, he still want's a boat, but that's not happening anytime soon.
Just when I was ready to call Dave Ramsey's show and scream, "I'M DEBT FREE!!!!".

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Finally...

I finally made it back to the treadmill after a week hiatus. The run on Friday didn't happen. My 1:30 interview got lost and didn't make it to our office until 2:30, so I didn't have time to head to the park before picking up the kiddo from school.

But, I did get in 35 minutes on the treadmill while watching The Hills finale. Woohoo! I did miss the "exciting, big announcement" afterwards though...if anyone has the scoop, please fill me in!

Workout Stats
35 minutes, treadmill, walking (heartburn was out of control!) - 14:50 pace

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Best-laid plans

You can plan all you want, but when you have a 3-year old sometimes even the best made plans get thrown out the window.

I stayed late at work tonight. The parents were kind enough to pick up the kiddo, so the hubby could go to Hapkido. They were also kind enough to bring the kiddo home, so I didn't have to drive across town to pick her up. Little did I know that she would get home a hour later than planned. Had I known, I would have hopped on the treadmill as soon as I made it into the house. Oh well, it did give me time to get clothes ready for tomorrow, make the kiddo's lunch, etc. I figured I could get on the treadmill after she went to sleep.

Not quite.

It's now 9:45. The kiddo went to sleep about 5 minutes ago. Yep, now I have just enough time to work on my Finance assignment before I get really sleepy. The treadmill run went out the window! Ugh! I don't know what happened to the kiddo who fell asleep by 8:30. She seems to disappear every once in a while, only to be replaced by the kiddo who refuses to close her eyes, has to go potty 15 times, needs a drink of water, or has some other excuse for NOT going to sleep. Ugh, I hope the other kiddo comes back again soon. The sleepier one. This Mommy needs to work out! I am stressed and the only thing that helps is getting lost in a run (or in recent weeks a jog).

So, I have my bag packed for tomorrow. If all goes well, I will try to leave work a little early and head to the park for the first time in what seems like ages. Unfortunately, I was not prepared for something I discovered today. Something I knew was happening, but received an official confirmed today. My butt, hips, waist and stomach are getting huge! I know that's what's SUPPOSED to happen when you're preggo, but nothing quite prepares you for when that realization really hits home. I mean, yes, my clothes are tight. And no, I can't button my pants. :-) But, I thought that my cute running skirt that looked fine a couple of weeks ago might just be okay. I mean, the fabric does stretch.

It just doesn't quite stretch enough.

It fits, but it's tight!

It looks like I might be wearing the hubby's workout shorts soon. :-)

I'm off to hit the books.

I *heart* my friends!



A huge-mongous thank you to my buds! You totally and completely rock! First, thanks to Margo, my fellow running blogger who founds someone who could help me out. In addition to posting my frustration here, I sent out a mass e-mail to all my friends asking if they knew of anyone who might be able to help. I figured why not? I was desperate! I could not believe the responses I received! Within a few hours, I had the names and phone numbers of several people who might be able to help me. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your help. Now I actually feel like I might actually keep my sanity in tact and for that I am immensely grateful!

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Banging my head against a brick wall...


No, this is not a post about my latest brick workout. It is a post about my lovely video project for school. After working from about 5 am - 6:30 am yesterday morning, 5 - 7 pm last night and from 3:50 am - 6:30 am this morning, I am ready to call it quits. (Yes, you read that right. 3 freakin' 50 AM.)

I will accept the fact that I cannot edit a video. Those are just the hours I've attempted this in the past 2 days. Don't even ask me about the hours I put in over the past 2 weeks. And, I still have nothing to show for it.

I give up.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Quick Update

The weekend's activities went well! Friday's company holiday party was a blast...any party where the CEO of the company has his shoes off and is dancing in the middle of a circle of women is bound to be fun. LOL! I can definitely say that I DO NOT work in a stuffy corporate office. (Been there, done that...don't want to go back!) Usually the hubby is ready to leave this type of event after an hour or two, but this time I couldn't get him to leave!

School, well, was just school. Four hours of International Management, lunch and then four hours of Finance. Sounds like fun, huh? Speaking of school, I think I finally discovered a video editing software that will do what I want it to do....I think. It just takes 30 minutes to download the video...after that it's not too bad. Less than 2 weeks left!!!

Sunday was the kiddo's birthday party with her friends. Oh my gosh, 20 of the 26 invited actually showed! (Although only 16 RSVPed) It was pure chaos, but it certainly looked like everyone was having a good time. It was fabulous, because the kiddo was out about 5 minutes after crawling into bed. :-) Before bedtime, she was so great at entertaining herself with all her new toys, the hubby and I actually had time to sit down and watch the coverage of Kona. Talk about inspiring! I watch it every year, and every year I tear up because of someone's story. A few years back it was Team Hoyt, then it was Blazeman, one year it was the 70-something Nun...the hubby gets a good laugh out of all that. :-)

After studying at the library, I did get to run yesterday...35 minutes on the treadmill. And, I got to catch up a little on The Hills. Seriously, these girls are horrible at picking their guys! Of course, if they had perfect relationships, it would make for a really boring show. Haha! The hubby and I also watched the season finale of Heroes. It's the one show we both watch. It was great, but jeeze both of the bad guys are still alive! This writer's strike better get resolved, so that LOST can start in February as scheduled. That's it...no more TV for me until after the 15th when finals are over!

Workout Stats
Treadmill - 2/2 intervals - 35 minutes

Friday, November 30, 2007

Ack!

I'm feeling quite slug-like after not getting in a workout of any kind for the past two days. Wednesday night, I met up with my group to work on our school project. Last night, I and a group of co-workers were at A&M for a presentation to a group of students (and potential employees). Both nights, I didn't make it home until between 9 & 10 pm. Tonight, it's our company's "holiday" party (yes, we're being all politically correct) and tomorrow is school all day! Sunday is the kiddo's official b-day party with her friends, so maybe I can squeeze in a workout later then.

Honestly, I am just ready for this semester to be over. One class is nothing but high-schoolish busy work with posters and videos. The other class is taught by a tenured professor who can't remember what he said in the last class, gives us handouts with multiple errors, but follows-up with multiple revisions and is trying to get us through more chapters than humanly possible.

Two more weeks!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Thanks to Runner Susan and Masthead Factory for my holiday masthead!

I managed to get in two very short workouts...that's about all I've time for. Hardly seems worth it, but I figure 20 good minutes is better than nothing. Oh, I've discovered that running and bad heartburn are not a good combination! I've actually done more walking than running, because everytime I start running, I feel the heartburn and feel like I'm about to lose my lunch! Yuck! And Tums do absolutely nothing for me. Fun!

Thanks to everyone for the bike advice. I think I will look a little more before making my decision. I totally *heart* the black and pink Specialized, but if it doesn't feel as good as the other bikes, I guess I will move on.

Workout Stats
Monday - 20 minutes, treadmill, 13:00 pace (serious heartburn)
Tuesday - 20 minutes, treadmill, 12:30 pace

Monday, November 26, 2007

She's 3!

Here are some of my favorite pics from the kiddo's 3rd birthday/Christmas photo session. We also took a few with her cousins as a gift for my mother-in-law....





?

Sorry, I couldn't think of a title for this post. After meeting with my group to discuss our group project yesterday, I came home to an empty house. Turns out that the in-laws took the kiddo to see her cousins and I had time to hop on the treadmill! I only did 30 minutes of intervals...had I known the in-laws wouldn't be back for 3 hours, I would have done more. Oh well! It did give me time to work a little on our group project.

By the way, I am having a hell of a time figuring out how to edit our video. We have Windows Movie Maker on our computer, but it isn't compatible with the files from our camcorder. I downloaded a free trial version of WinDVD Creator, but I can't seem to get it to do what I want it to do. If anyone out there in cyberland has any words of advice or tips, please let me know. I still have 3 weeks to figure out how to get this done!

Speaking of advice and tips, I am officially ready to buy a new bike (thanks to my bonus at work!). The hubby and I went shopping on Tuesday of last week and I am having the hardest time trying to decide what to do! Do I get an entry-level, but still good bike (i.e. Trek 1.2/1000, Specialized Dolce, Cannondale Synapse 6)???? Or, do I go a step up for a bike with better components like a better rear derailleur, some carbon fiber (like the front forks & seat post)? Or, do I keep looking? I know there are other brands out there that I still haven't seen yet.

My goal after having the baby is to get my swimming up to par and train for a few sprint-distance triathlons. However, I would also like to train for longer rides like the MS 150, Hotter than Hell, or something similar....in that case, I can imagine that the carbon fiber would be nice. Honestly, I don't want to go much higher price-wise than say the Specialized Dolce Elite. So far, I think I prefer the Trek to the Specialized, because it just felt more comfortable. I felt like I was really reaching on the Specialized...of course, I know that can be adjusted. Ugh, I am the world's worst when it comes to making these decisions!

Workout Stats
Treadmill - 30 minutes, 12:40 pace

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Just Checking In

I can't believe it's been over a week since my last post! Jeeze! It's just been a crazy, but fun week.


I had to go to work on Monday...we were supposed to fly to our Dallas office in the AM and then the Austin office in the PM and then head home. However, there were radar or communication issues with both Dallas airports, so our flight was delayed for about an hour and a half. We made it to Dallas only a few minutes late for our meeting. The flight to Austin was cancelled due to mechanical issues, so we held that meeting via conference call in the airport. If I wasn't preggo, I would have held it from the airport bar with a Margarita in my hand.

Tuesday, I had the day off, so I actually took the kiddo to school and had a "me" day! I went for a ride on my bike, got a mani & a pedi, then went to see American Gangster before picking up the kiddo from school. American Gangster was awesome by the way! Violent, of course, but awesome performances from both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.

Wednesday, after a routine dr appointment, the kiddo and I headed to The Children's Museum for a couple of hours of fun. Next, I surprised the hubby with a suite at a hotel downtown for our Anniversary.

Thursday, the parental units brought the kiddo up to the hotel in time to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade from the 2nd story window. Next we headed to my parent's house for Thanksgiving Day dinner.

I spent Friday cleaning the house and grocery shopping to get ready for the in-laws and other family members to come over on Saturday to celebrate the kiddos b-day. And of course, I watched the A&M/t.u. game. Gig'em!

Saturday was the kiddo's b-day and she made she we were all aware of it. LOL! We had a small gathering of family for burgers and cake. She had a stack of presents that you wouldn't believe (courtesy of the Grandparents)! Between her V-Smile gaming system and Star Station Entertainment System, we may never be able to watch our TV again! She also received a toddler-friendly digital camera and a new bike. She still has a birthday party with all her school friends next weekend at Gymboree....sigh!

I have pictures from the weekend, so I'll try to post a few soon.

Have a great week!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Fake-Out

The kiddo always does this to me...

We've read the books, sung the lullabies, she's drifted off too sleep (I think). Then, I get up and begin to walk to the door and I hear, "MOMMY!". Sometimes, I actually make it out the door before hearing that. Ugh! It's the fake-out. The "you think I'm in a deep sleep, but I'm really not" thing.

Finally, she's really asleep! Now I can hit the treadmill while watching a little "Dirty Sexy Money" and then hitting the books for awhile. I think I've finally moved past the "I must go to sleep by 8:30 pm thing"! At least I hope so, it's wrecking my study habits.

So annoying...

Okay, here it goes...a work-related post. (GASP!)

The only thing that drives me crazy about my job is that in HR, you're constantly trying to make/keep employees happy. You know that old saying..."you can't make everyone happy"...or, the one that goes something like, "you can make everyone happy some of the time, but you can't make everyone happy all of the time". It's so freaking true! I like my job, but seriously, I cannot make everyone happy all the time. Get over yourselves people. Really!