Friday, December 31, 2010

10 Things No One Should Wear. EVER

According to TLC....

10 Things No One Should Wear. Ever.

10.    Mom jeans
9.      crocs
8.      very low, low rise jean
7.      matchy-match ensemble
6.      real fur
5.      anything that requires batteries (save that Christmas sweater for the Ugly Sweater Party)
4.      Leggings as pants
3.      Trucker hats
2.      Short, Short, Short Jorts "jean shorts:" - No guy should ever wear short jean cutoffs.
1.      Uggs in the summer (Baron would be so proud!)

Enjoy the last Fashionista Friday of 2010!  Now, go clean out your closets!

Fashionista Friday & 2011 Goal Setting

It's official.  I'm old and BORING.  Hubby left this morning around 5 with my dad to do some hunting.  No telling when those boys will make it home.  My living room is covered with every doll and stuffed animal imaginable.  I got the girls for a sleepover.  Cindi had the boys which means her living room is probably scattered with nerf bullets.  I've been cleaning out drawers and closets like a mad woman.  No party for me.  Hopefully a date with a book, my pjs, bed and maybe a glass of wine. 

The GOOD news is that I'm going into 2011 with a fresh cut and highlights!  Bow chicka wow wow!  No roots glaring at me in the mirror. 

Yesterday's Run - Windy & Hills - Not my favorite combo.  I was suppose to run one hour but cheated and only ran 5 miles.  LOSER.  I don't know my official mileage for 2010.  I didn't get my Garmin until the end of July, and I didn't bother writing anything down before.  Clearly in 2010 I was not a serious runner.  I started using that daily mile counter so I can keep an accurate count even if I do something silly like forget my Garmin. 

GOALS for 2011 (Serious running goals!)

1. Run 1000 miles
2. Run at least one race a month (even if my only choice is a local 5K)
3. Cut back on the Sweet Tea (believe me this is connected to running!)

All this because I love my Seven for all Mankind, Big Star and BKE jeans and I don't want to have to buy:
Pajama jean - a definite what not to wear.  I bet Clinton and Stacy want to scream every time they see that commercial.  2011 is for buying a smaller size in trendy "mom" jeans not a bootcut jegging.   

What are your goals for 2011?  Happy New Year! 

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Hill training at the Lake

My training plan said that I had to run 4 miles on Tuesday with 4:00 minutes being total uphill time.  This is really hard to do around home, but at the lake I can get a lot of HILL training.  I had to sneak away while the kids were climbing trees and playing chase in the dune buggies.  Molly Duex went with me.  Unfortunately, she can't go running with me at home.  Something about cars, city traffic, not minding when I call her...

My monkeys

Molly's pace is faster than mine!


Santa waving from his golf cart.  I guess he like to recoup at the lake, too!
The area around the lake is rolling hills, so I feel like I got way more than 4:00 minutes of total uphill time.  How actually would you judge that?  Time yourself going up every incline?  I had to cut my run a little short because of the rain.  I had every intention of going back out to finish, but I got caught up playing chase with the four wheeled toys. 

Tomorrow is a one hour run at the perk with the girls.  I've missed them.  I don't push myself hard enough when I run solo.  I guess I need my Garmin to start yelling at me when I drop my pace!  I don't know if any of you read The Hungry Runner Girl but she accidentally ran a marathon plus some the other day.  I can honestly say I don't think that will ever be me.  That girl is a machine.  I need someone like Jillian Michaels yelling at me. 


Note to self:  better get busy with that shake weight to get arms like this!
Are you a self motivator?  Do you train with friends?  I'm sticking to a training plan to help keep me on track.  Do you use a plan?  I'm working on my races for 2011.  I have to register to hold myself accountable.  What are your 2011 goals?

Redneck Christmas

Sorry about all the late Christmas postings, but we've been at the lake/deer lease and lets just say the Internet doesn't really like to load pictures/blogs all that much in the boondocks.  It is nice to escape technology ever once in a while. 


Maddie four wheeling with her Daddy. 


There are actually more toys in the barn, but this was all we needed to play chase!
 My dad is a BIG hunter.  My husband is now a BIG hunter since he married me (the son my father never had).  Now, my son is wanting to be a BIG hunter.  Mom, Maddox and I are LITTLE hunters.  So here are some pics of our visit to the lake/deer lease and our redneck toys.

This is how I feel about waiting for 3 hours in a deer blind.

Hunting is about patience.  I don't have any.  They put all us girls in one itty bitty blind.  Dad and Jaxx went to the other end to sit in another blind and Shannon went to camp out in a tree.  I took a book and Maddie had her DVD player and headphones.  Mom took her DS.  Maddox did really well with the quiet part for about 30 minutes.  Someone on property close to ours got a new machine gun and unloaded about 500 rounds.  We don't know if it was the machine gun or Maddox, but we didn't see ANYTHING this day! 


Jaxxon got a new 22 rifle and wounded some rocks and cacti.    


Shannon, Jaxx and I waited for the feeders to go off and actually saw three does and someone's pet cat out catching birds.  Jaxx was soooo excited.  Almost as excited as the first night when they went hog hunting and his PawPaw got a hog.  We turn most of the hog meat into sausage.  Jaxxon LOVES deer jerky.    I'm pretty picky about what kind of wild game I eat...we were poor growing up and I my dad hunted to put food on the table.  Now, we are still responsible hunters, but I don't have to worry about starving.  

I leave you with a shot of my BIG hunters.  I love these boys!  Do you or anyone in your family enjoy hunting?

Christmas Day Run


My father-in-law cooked a 40 pound turkey!

After opening presents from Santa, we drove out to the country to have Christmas Day with my in-laws.  My mother-in-law really outdid herself with turkey, ham, dressing, gravy, green beans, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, and a assortment of homemade pies.  I chose Mamaw Billie's coconut!  While the boys played with their new nerf guns and the girls enjoyed their American Girl dolls, I went for a run...SOLO. 

His gun came with a tactical vest and four clips.  Nerf bullets everywhere!

Mother-in-law, niece and Maddox (looking tired)
Lucky for me the afternoon warmed up nicely for a four mile run.  I was excited to try out my new red Sony Cybershot that my hubby got me to replace my ghetto Canon Powershot.  It was a great camera, but had been dropped by a 4 year old one too many times.   

Flat, West Texas road surrounded by stripped cotton fields.  Not much of a shoulder to run on, but the module trucks were taking Christmas Day off so I was safe. 

After my run, the adults got to open presents.  While in San Antonio for the RnR, I bought me my mother-in-law bought me a Coach purse at the outlet and I finally got to unwrap it!  She is so great about letting me pick out my own presents, but she always takes them away and makes me wait til Christmas.  I really have the most fabulous in-laws.  Christmas Day is also my father-in-law's birthday.  Poor him, he never really gets much for his birthday.  Hope you and your family enjoyed your Christmas. 

Christmas Eve Traditions




We opened our Christmas jammies, changed into them and snapped a quick pic before loading up to look at Christmas lights.  There are several houses that have their lights synchronized to music and the kids think it is pretty awesome. 


I made chicken tortilla soup for dinner...but it was little spicy for the kids, so they had festive Christmas nachos!  It is also a possibility that had a bottle glass of wine.
After dinner, we had to go sprinkle the reindeer food in the front yard.  Santa is not missing our house!

Maddox and I were regular Suzie Homemakers.  Besides the Tortilla Soup, we made a Pineapple Jalapeno Cheese ball for Christmas Day, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and brownies.  We left Santa a  chocolate chip cookie, brownie, giant marshmallow and milk by the fireplace and hit the hay.
I am so ready for this to be gone and get this installed
The hubby and I are spending our Christmas money on a kitchen remodel!!!!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Fashionista Friday Cold Weather Must Haves

This morning I was soooo thankful that it was a rest day because the wind was blowing like crazy and the windchill temp was in the 20s.  I'm pretty sure the wind would have laughed at my North Face gear.  Check out my rules if you decide to be a Cold Weather Fool like me.

Rule #1:  Layer, Layer, Layer - starting with a good sports bra of course!  Then I add a short sleeve technical tee, then a long sleeve technical tee.  If the weather is in the 40s or 50s this is probably enough.  If it is in the 30s, I add a light weight jacket or pullover such as


Thanks, Mom!


The black one is a full zip with a hood and the cool little thumb holes!
I love North Face products, but they are so expensive.  I think they do a great job of giving you something that is really warm without the bulk.  Lucky me, my mom buys me at least one new North Face something every year.  I have a few other fleece half zips that I also wear, but they are my fav.  Tayler loves her Nike fleece lined top and running bottoms.  Our Academy has them but I haven't forked out the dough just yet....I'm waiting to see if there is an Academy gift card in my stocking.  

Remember, you can always strip away the layers as you go....just don't get carried away! 

Rule #2:  Something for your Ears and/or Noggin

Rule #3:  GLOVES - I stock up on the cheap gloves when old navy and target have them on sale.  In a race, I will usually chunk them if I get too hot because I don't want to carry them.  Otherwise on training runs, I just stuff them in a pocket or under the strap of my sports bra.  I'm classy like that.

Rule #4:  Kleenex - Once again, I will stuff them under the strap of my sports bra or on my wrist under my shirt.  My shirt is usually snug enough to hold the tissue and I never notice it.  I really hate to use my sleeve or glove, but I girls gotta do what it takes to combat snotcicles.  Carrying tissue also comes in handy if you have to use the porta potty according to my running buddy Linda! 

That's about all the wisdom  I have for this cold, blustery day in West Texas.  I will post after Christmas to brag about my loot and share our Christmas Eve traditions. 

Merry Christmas & Happy Birthday Jesus! 


Thursday, December 23, 2010

Cold Weather Fools

Yesterday's Workout (suppose to be a rest day)
10 minutes on the StairMaster = .75 miles
20 minutes on that silly elliptical
15 minutes of weight training - arms only

Today's Workout
(Marathon Training Plan - 1 hour run)

So we ventured out to Mae Simmons and Mackenzie parks to relish in the beautiful weather.  NOT!  The thermometer in my car said 37 but the windchill was 30.  As I've said before, I do not like cold.  But I couldn't imagine spending one hour on the treadmill. 


A lovely overcast winter day in West Texas!  Who would not LOVE running here? 

According to my Garmin, my average pace was 9:47.  I'm ok with the pace.  I felt pretty good today.  I might even have felt GREAT if the temperature was 20 degrees warmer. 

Shannon from Philadelphia Phitness Pharmacy mentioned that she might get leg warmers to keep her legs warm with capris, instead of buying long running pants for the winter.  Being the fashionista I am, I just put my compression sleeves on with my capris.  For me it serves two purposes and I don't have to spend any more moolah.  SkinnyRunner talked about compression sleeves here.  I have a pair of the Zensah, but I am considering buying the CEP.  I'm actually old enough to have rocked the leg warmers when I was younger.  Too bad I didn't keep a pair.  It is obvious that Shannon has way more fashion sense than me!
I'll post more of my fabulous running fashion tips later.  Maybe I will start a Friday Fashionista post!

Christmas tonight with my parents before they escape to their lake house and deer lease for the rest of December.  I hate to brag like the spoiled only child I am, but your gonna be jealous of my loot.  To brag post or not?   


Tuesday, December 21, 2010

First Day of Winter Run

I am not a cold weather person.  I define cold as anything below 60 and super cold as anything below 50.  So, I am especially pumped that the last two days have been in the 70s.  It was windy yesterday, but I take wind over cold any day!  Welcome to West Texas Father Winter, we (by we I mean me and my hubby) don't need snow for Christmas.  The kids need to take those Nerf guns outside on Christmas Day! 

So to celebrate this beautiful weather, the girls and I met up at the perk to do a little running.  Danielle and Tayler tried to send this old lady into cardiac arrest by running the first mile in 8:36.  I had to SLOW down.  So, I ran by my lonesome and added another minute to each mile to finish my run.  Danielle and Tayler have decided to run the BIG D marathon in Dallas in April.  They're rockstars! I'm just gonna play along and see how far I get.  I'm still trying to build up my base mileage and speed up my pace.  That stinkin' knee injury really set me back.  It is so hard to get back into the rhythm. 

After the perk, we headed to Einstein's Bagels.  It was a first for me and mine was really delish.  Apparently, I was so famished from my run, that I didn't want to take the time to snap a pic.  Then a quick trip to Academy to pick out items for our personal Christmas list.  Santa, I have been a really good girl this year!

Enjoy your first day of  winter!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Christmas Fun




This has been a crazy week full of Christmas fun.  On Tuesday, we had our staff Christmas Party at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants.  Nothing says we are almost out for Winter break like margaritas and quesadillas!
Wednesday was our Biggest Loser party (we had to DVD because of our staff party)  It is a great chance to pig out and watch people who have lost more than I weigh.  It is also great motivation to run.  After all, you don't want to find yourself participating on the Biggest Loser!  I think Ada did a fabulous job running that marathon.  It almost made me decided that I should really give it a try!

Saturday we went over to John & Tayler's house for their annual Hideous Christmas Sweater party.  My mother-in-law was nice enough to loan us sweaters!

Don was the big winner! 

Sunday - we had Christmas with my husband's Grandfather after church & his Grandmother this evening!  Mexican food at lunch and pizza tonight....I see a very long, hard workout in my future. 

Monday, December 13, 2010

Frozen Noses & Being Accountable

Saturday morning was a beautiful day for running, but silly me chose to rearrange my bedroom instead.  So, when I got a text from Tayler saying she was hitting the hills at 8am Sunday morning, I knew I had to make myself join the fun.  It was around 24 degrees and I don't care to know the windchill.  I ran 4.5 at a 9:38 pace.

Before my injury, I had told myself I wouldn't run less than 5 miles and would do at least one long run a week.  So, I am starting my New Year's resolution early!  No work next week equals more running time for me.  No excuses.  AND, I'm heading back to the gym or P90x.  Watch out Zach's Club, you haven't seen this girl in a long time!  Body Pump - I'm ready to feel the burn.  Don't worry Kerry, I promise to do my stretches so I don't have to spend my afternoons with you and all the teeny boppers.  I might even do something really crazy like sign up for another half marathon.  I'm working on my running goals for 2011.  Any suggestions?  Austin 3M in January, Austin Livestrong in February, RnR Dallas in March, Big D in April?  Dave says I gotta get this in the budget! 

Friday, December 10, 2010

Happy Birthday! Wine Shopping TGIF

Although my day at school was CRAPPY, CRAZY & CRUDDY...it was a FANTABULOUS day because today is my Grandmother's 84th Birthday.  She is the most wonderfully, amazing woman I know, and everyday with her is a blessing.  My kids call her Bea and she is the reason they have such great vocabularies.  She is the BEST story reader/teller in the world.  Bea spent St. Patrick's Day in the hospital recovering from open heart surgery.  She bounced back very quickly and was home moving around in less than a week.  We took a 9 day, 3000 plus mile trip to Glacier this past summer.  Bea has a passion for history and traveling.  So to celebrate this glorious day, we headed out to eat Mexican food.  Happy Birthday Bea! 

Side note:  I made it by Sam's Club to get 3 bottles of the most wonderfully cheap wine as recommended by Tayler!http://wannabeskinnieminnie.blogspot.com/2010/12/wind-and-dine-o.html

I really wanted to purchase a pallet case of the wine, but I was afraid they would accuse me of being a wineaholic bootlegging!  I think no one will notice if I buy 3 bottles a day until I have a nice stash!

Peace & Blessings

Thursday, December 9, 2010

So many Channels & Nothing to watch!

I rarely watch TV, but Thursday is my night.  BUT, this is on..Sorry Oprah and Barbara Wa Wa,

but I would much rather see
repeat or not.  I love me some McSteamy!



Followed by Private Practice because although Taye Diggs is not the best actor, he is pretty sexy.  But maybe not as sexy asShemar Moore from Criminal Minds.

I will enjoy watching
Bachelor Brad in January instead of my hubby's new redneck find

Hillbilly Handfishing other wise known as noodling for catfish!  I am so thankful for multiple TVs and my DVR!
Happy Almost Friday!  I can wait another night to catch up on my shows, because tonight it is early to bed after a nice Wine and Dine with the girls!

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Big 12 Championship

Who says I have to cheer for OU just because they are from the Big 12 South?  I think those people are crazy.  That is like saying you have to cheer for UT because they are from Texas.  Nope. Nada.  Not gonna happen.  I know Nebraska's coach isn't well liked by everyone, but the same goes for Stoops.  Someone should tell him visors are meant for summer.  From my personal experience (former employee of the  TTU Athletic Department), Nebraskans are much more friendly than anyone from OK.  So, Go Cornhuskers!  I am doing my OU sucks cheer just for you guys.  If you are a Tech fan, you know what I am talking about.  Two minutes and Cornhusker ball on the 40.  My glass of Moscato has made me sleepy but I just can't go to bed without knowing the winner.  Darn the bad luck.  It is off to the Fiesta Bowl for the Sooners.  No Boomer Sooner from me.  I only do that when they are playing UT.  Congrats to my bro-in-law, the only Sooner in the family. 

Carol of Lights - Making Memories

I love Fridays.  I love that I have a weekend away from my classroom.  I love looking forward to eating out.  We are on the Dave Ramsey plan so Friday is usually our one day a week to indulge in such foolishness.  The best part of Friday is eating at 5 with the blue hairs and then being in my pjs by 6:30 and bed by 8!  BUT not this Friday....My hubby who has grown up on the South Plains has never managed to make it to the Carol of Lights on the beautiful campus of Texas Tech University and of course we have never ventured out on a cold Friday night with small children.  It was a balmy 80 degrees Friday and so the 52nd Annnual Carol of Lights would become the first for the family.  We arrived a little early and the kiddos ran around playing tag and trying to knock over anyone in their way.  Maddie doesn't believe in wearing anything that remotely resembles fall or winter wear.  The weather was perfect and the kids loved seeing Raider Red and the Masked Rider all aglow.  We did have a Santa spotting, but the kids didn't see any reason to waste their time visiting with him.  I mean he isn't the REAL Santa.  The REAL Santa is busy preparing for his deliveries, not making guest apperances!  Afterwards we stopped at SUBWAY.  There we discovered that my darling husband failed to get his debit card back from the ATM machine, I was purseless, the cash was at the house and they don't take discover.(sorry Dave we still have a cc but I promise it is always paid off!)  No worries, he quickly drove the short distance to the house to get my purse.  Jaxx knocked his meatball sub out in half the time!  Then I had great joy preparing for our garage sale.  Midnight is not my Friday night bedtime of choice!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

A Fresh Start All About Me

I started a blog about 5 years ago....we had moved away from our immediate family and had two small children.  All the cool kids were blogging so the families could keep up with the little ones and those of us who are parents know that once you have kids, nothing is about you any longer!  I failed miserably at my attempt and have done a much better time keeping everyone posted on facebook.  This time, I am trying again, but my blog focus has shifted.  More about me less about the kiddos.  Since I am basically an only child, I do pretty good with the all about me concept!