Five Friday Favs

LINK UP!!!! YAY!!!!

My first link up since being back to blogging! It's a fun one too! Woot!

Welcome too.....

1. FALL/AUTUMN!!! I may be a little obsessed.

PB Pumpkins - via pintrest

via pintrest

via pintrest

via pinterest

I could post a million pictures of things I love about fall/autumn time so I'll just leave it at that. I'm obsessed with long sleeves, sweaters, boots, and all things pumpkin. :) I LOVE cold weather! Everyone here has been complaining about the sudden weather change, it went from 80 degrees to 50 degrees in two weeks(we even had a SMALL amount of snow on our playground in our backyard this morning), but I am loving it! Bring on the cold! :D And it's been super rainy and I love that too. I just love it! :D

2. Planning. Another thing I may or may not be obsessed with.

I love planning things out. I love having things to write in my day planner! Right now I'm currently obsessing over workouts and running and eating healthy. I want to wright it all down! But I have a rather small day planner and I don't like using pencils... so then I have to cross stuff out and then it looks messy. Maybe I should just get over my "no pencil" thing. ;)

3. Creativity.
      Do I really need to explain this one? I have a blog. I'm a writer and aspiring author. I draw. I have had a blast coming up with ideas to decorate our baby girls room (a lot of them I can't do because they would cost to much). Creativity all around is amazing.

4. BOOTS!!!


I may or may not be obsessed about these as well. I only have two pairs of boots... I need more!!! XD

5. Running.

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

I WANNA RUN!!!! I want to scream that at the top of my lungs! I miss running! Why did I ever stop? Oh ya... I got injured. I could have gotten back into it though, before becoming pregnant and then I could have continued running throughout my pregnancy, but starting to run in your third trimester after not running for ... a long time... is not smart or safe. I can not wait to hit that pavement after this baby girl comes and I've been cleared by the doc. :)

So if you are out hitting the pavement or trails or even the treadmill, run a little for me please! :D And I'll do the same for you when I can. :)

Happy Friday! :D
Enjoy the weekend!

Until Next Time!
Spicy

I Need A Dog

I made a green smoothie today. I found a recipe online and was really excited to try it! I've tried them in the past and never got into it, but I figured since I've been trying to eat healthier I would give it another go. I drank maybe 1/4 of what was in my glass before my gag reflex kicked in. I couldn't get passed the texture.

So I had pancakes instead.

womp womp

oops

Oh well! Today is thursday which means it's my cardio day today! I have had better weeks of working out for sure, but I'm trying. I love having a workout buddy and not having one is a little depressing, lonely, and discouraging. I'm trying to convince the hubs to workout with me. I'll let you know how that goes.

This is to all you people out there who don't like cardio. I HATED it when I first started running. And I grew to love it. I posted about that somewhere on this blog, haha. To tell you the truth. I hate it again.

After my half marathon I was scared to run. The pain that engulfed me from my injury was terrifying. I didn't want it to come back. Which caused me never to really get back into running. I regret letting my endurance slip that far. I could run 13 miles! My favorite distance is five miles. I'm no where near that right now which really saddens me.

I don't like running with a stroller. It makes it so much harder pushing around a heavy non running stroller plus a 25 lb toddler. Running is my time to get away. Time for me. Time to relax. I wish I could run in the morning before LW wakes up and before the hubs leaves for work or even run in the evenings and I could. I've seen others do it. I just get to scared. I'm scared I'm going to get kidnapped (is it really kidnapping if it's an adult getting napped?) or other bad things. The only way I would run at either of those times was with a running partner or with a dog.

I would GLADLY run with a dog. It's so hard finding someone who runs my same pace or same endurance level (which isn't anything at the moment). The Hubs and I have talked about getting a dog. I really really want a dog, I've had dogs since before I can remember. The hubs... not so much. However, because I love them so much he is willing to get one. I know he will love it when we do.

Until that moment, I'll have to stick with stroller pushing. It's a small obstacle compared to others. :)

What obstacles do you have to over come to get your workout in?

Until Next Time!
Spicy

2.3 More Miles and Another Book

Just finished walking 2.3 miles. Total: 37.3/100.

I finished reading "Wicked Lovely" yesterday. This was a hard book for me to get in to. I have tried multiple times and I finally gave it my rule. What is my rule? Read the first five chapters before I quit reading (unless it is terrible language/sex/etc.). I read the first five chapters and then was interested to know what happened. So I finished the book in a day. That means it couldn't have been that boring, right?!

No, it wasn't that boring; however, I don't think I'll be reading the rest of the series. Why? It just wasn't THAT great. I've read some pretty great books and this isn't one I think I'll even remember the title in a few months. There was also more language and intimate desires than I prefer.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars
   Characters: The characters are ok. They clearly have something driving each of them which stays constant, but I didn't fall in love with any of them. Towards the end, I did start liking the main character better, because she became a stronger version of herself.
   Language: Two uses of the F-word, a few uses of the B-word, one instance of text speak cussing. Even one f-bomb is too much for me!
   Intimacy: Nothing described in detail, but it is clear that this is the goal of one of the characters, and a few of them have desires that are described. Moments that would have led to intimacy, but get interrupted for one reason or another, are described. A character finds another's piercings and tattoos arousing. Characters are referred to as lovers, consorts, etc.
Violence/Gore: Some. The antagonist murders and hurts characters, with some of it described along with the pain. Descriptions of screaming and agony.
   Suggested reader age: I would say it is not worth your time. I wouldn't want my children reading this, or my teenager. Like I said, even as an adult, this doesn't meet a high standard of morality or values.

32 and a good book

Walking total: 32 miles/100.

I read a good book last night/this morning. I didn't want to stop until the end and now I want to go buy the next two in the series! The book is "Matched" by Allyson Condie. If you liked Hunger Games, but wish there wasn't so much violence, you will enjoy this book!

Characters: Strong- the characters are well developed.
Plot: Intriguing - like I said, I want the rest! I read it in about 5 hours because I just didn't want to stop.
Language: Clean - not a single cuss word or inuindo
Sex/Violence: Clean - two instances of a kiss (sweet, not detailed), feelings of loving somebody. The antagonist in the story does things that I believe are terrible and wrong, but none of it is described in detail and it must be inferred by the reader (other than a mention or two of poisoning people).

The nest book in the series is "Crossed" and I need it! LOL!

Recommendation: Yes! If I had children, I would allow my 12+ year old to read this book. I may even go as low as 10 years depending on the child and my relationship to the child. I definitely recommend this book for any adult who likes a sweet, if somewhat rebellious story!

C25K Day 3a.... *tears*

Man, I thought Tuesday was hard....that was nothing compared to today. I just simply didn't want to. I was also tired and hungry. But, I did it anyway. My left ankle that I injured terribly last summer was screaming at me the whole time. So much, in fact, that I had to slow my "jog" down to 3.2! What?! I usually can walk at 3.2.

Tears welled up, I kept going, I ended breathing harder than I normally do (because of the pain) and stretched it out. I am so mad, disappointed, sad, etc.

I think I am going to take Saturday off of C25K and NOT progress to the next level until my ankle can handle this level for longer than 5 workouts.

Day 2b

Wow! I did it! I am so pleased. Today, I got up earlier than a normal work day, worked a full teaching day, coached an hour of cheerleading, came home and got on the treadmill. Yes, I still did my C25K workout. Man were the first 10 minutes hard. I was hurting, tired, and hungry. But, then I decided this was silly. My conversation (yes, to myself) went something like this:

Come on, you can do this! It isn't that bad.
Cute, blonde.
Cute, jogging, blonde.
*smile*
I am strong!
I am powerful!
I got this!
I am a strong, powerful, sexy woman who my husband finds irresistible!
I do NOT feel threatened by anybody! I AM A SEXY BEAST! *huge smile and a giggle*

I finished the last half of the workout strong, and even kicked into a higher speed on the last jogging session. After I finished that last jog, I threw my hands in the air, thanked my Heavenly Father for the ability to work out, and said, "Yes!"

Lesson?  Positive self talk is important! I am so glad I worked out and feel all of those things right now.Try it, it works!

Day 1b

I just finished the second time through of Day 1 on Couch to 5k. If you didn't read my last post, I am doing couch to 5k but in double the amount of time. So that means on Saturday I'll be doing Day 2 for the first time.

I am embarrased by my numbers/speed, but happy that I completed Day 1 twice. I decided that when it is time to jog, I need to jog no matter how slow it is. So, I do the walking portion at 2.7mph and the jogging portion at 3.7mph. I tried 4mph and couldn't make it the full minute. Today I went 1.44 miles in a 30 minute workout. I cheated a little and ran at 5mph for about 20 seconds just for fun. LOL!

What was your last workout?