Stuff and things

I'm linking up with Kristin at Stuff and Things and Joey at Hodges Podges for the weekly Stuff and Things link up. Yes, I'm late. 

I'll be in this bloggers forum on Saturday and I am soooo excited! Here's the link to the full expo schedule: https://rt66run2015.sched.org (just copy and paste). 

The half marathon training is going well and I'm confident Sunday will be great. I'm not sure about the weather. 

Tonight was a full night of the Pack Pint and the burger/shake. 

The it was off to the Red Earth Brewers club meeting where we discussed brewing beer and upcoming events. 

Me and the champion of last quarter's competition. My beer didn't win. It was my second attempt. There will be future competitions. 

Beth made cupcakes. 

Don't forget, I brew my beer in small batches and bottle it in pink bottles. Apparently people don't like the donut beers from Rogue. I do, especially the maple bacon donut ale. 

I've turned down cupcakes twice this week. Winning! My weight loss has plateaued and turned into maintenance. I struggle with that though because I am sure my bmi is on the high side and sometimes I feel like a busted can of biscuits in my clothes. 

Now is not the time to lose though. Holiday season is not friendly to dieters. I am thinking of picking one thing, maybe baked goods (maybe) to help battle the bulge. What are you doing to make it through the holidays?

Stuff and Things

-I'd like to thank the bloggers that commented on yesterday's post. Your sweet comments always help me out!

-The half marathon training is back on for Route 66 in Tulsa. This time, I'm running by myself on purpose. I'll be running intervals because those hills are mountainous. 

-My nutrition has not been spot on. Thankfully, I'm not the only one with an expanding waistline. Misery does love company. 

-Tomorrowish, will be a legit post on this beer and the Red Earth Brewers club meeting. I say -ish because I hate commitment and body pump starts at 5:30 am. 

Hair and bloggers

I walked into Flux Salon with a lovely French braid, done by me. My stylist took the pic for me. I walked out of the salon with a fresh color and it feels wonderful!

If you're in Oklahoma City, April owns the salon and does a great job. When I got home, I had a box waiting for me from Kristin at Stuff and Things. Actually the box had been waiting on me for a few days because I hadn't sent Kristin her box yet. 

She did a great job of spoiling me with treats and she didn't forget the kitties. 

The magnet from Manitou Springs graces my fridge next to my prized bumper sticker from Portland Oregon (a place I like to call home.)

The colors mug fits marvelously in my "you were here" collection from Starbucks. (Side note:I used to live there and have a mug from the prior collection. The new collection stacks.)

The bracelet looks cute next to my Nike fuel band. I keep the fuel band on at all times. I love using it!

The notebook is so cute with the arrows. I'm deciding on how I'll use it, I dug into the peanut butter cups right away and then stuck it in the freezer for future enjoyment. I think Kirby likes the toys. I didn't write a little note. I just shipped the box off and I meant to buy a Starbucks gift card but didn't get a chance. #bloggerfails Next time, I'll have to do better. 

Final note: I'm working with April at Flux Salon to see if she'd buy one of Ryan's paintings. She asked that I tag her on his instagrams and I did. Ryan was not pleased with me because some of his instagrams are not for sale and he doesn't like his early paintings. So, if you get a chance, check out ryanchristopherart on Instagram and peruse his posts. I think his work is great and maybe you will too. 

My top 10 Instagrammers

While everyone is hyped up over the Oscars, I decided to compile a list of my favorite Instagrammers. All thanks to Rachel at the Rachel Emily Blog. (There's no links because I'm blogging on my sweet iPhone 6 plus on the blogger app.)

Awesome fitness account. 

Soon, you'll see what I like:beer. 

If I'm not liking beer, then I'm hearing cats. #catsofinstagram

Hello cute kitty!

This is one of my favorite bloggers. She's so inspiring!

Favorite brewery in Oregon!

Hi cute kitty!

Since I have bengals, I just love Bengal cat accounts. 

I love kittens!

My favorite all inclusive resort of the Caribbean! I'll be there in 40 days! Woot woot! And there you have my top 10 Instagrammers. There's plenty of beer, food and cats in my feed. I could probably get to 20 or more. I hope you get a chance to enjoy these accounts as much as I do!

Shocker, I lost weight

1 - I started a post yesterday and the blogger app deleted it. Awesome. 

2 - I lost 4.8 pounds in one week. Redemption from the last two weigh-ins? The scale was a jerk for two weeks? Yes and yes. I'm happy to proclaim my holiday weight gain is off. 

3 - I successfully limited my beer drinking to two beers on Friday, two beers on Saturday and two beers on Sunday. That is not counting the mixed drinks, by the way. 

4 - The weekend had glorious weather for a backyard fire. 

5 - My half marathon training has been great! Saturday, we ran 8 miles! Boom! No post run selfie this week. I forgot. Here's my sweet breakfast. 

6 - My volunteer work consists of playing worship music for high schoolers and dealing with feelings of inadequacy on multiple levels. And trying to rein in my inner control freak. Every week, I come and struggle and I have seen no improvement (surely there must be some improvement but I can't see it.)

Half Marathon Training and Travel Tuesday

Hello Friends!

This is a scheduled post, which is unusual for me because I'm usually blogging on my phone or iPad. FYI, there is no option to schedule posts in the lovely blogger app. (Dear Blogger, please fix that and allow html in the app too.) All of the links are to the different Sandals resorts.

It is only 94 days until our Sandals trip and I thought I would reminisce on prior trips and share a few photos. Above, is the gorgeous white sandy beaches of Exumas Bahamas. It was stunning and the service was top notch! This was our first reunion week experience and it was totally by lucky chance. We have made it our goal to go to reunion week every year now. The reason for this is two fold: tons of extra goodies (free little side trips and swag) and the crowd is not your typical honeymooners (read, a more fun crowd!)

Here I am enjoying a lovely bike ride through the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. We went in January and while it was not "hot" enough for the pool, we had a great trip. This was where we first stumbled upon Sandals Select and all the fabulous rewards.

This was us in St.Lucia La Toc and this may have been my second favorite trip to Sandals because my sweety discovered the joys of being a pool hound!

Today's half marathon training is an easy 3 miles and I will have no problem getting in those miles. I may consider some strength training at the end. It depends on how I am feeling. Lastly, I'm picking up my new phone from fedex! I will have to show off that beauty tomorrow.

#500 High Five For Friday

This post is dedicated to 500 because according to blogger, it's my 500th post. I'm pleased to report that I've passed my state exam. I'm back at work and besides having a million questions I'm doing great!

500

I'm pretty excited about this little milestone.

On a less than stellar note, husband commented that I've gained weight. (Ugh, it's true & I've already known. It stung to hear it from him at 6am. Perhaps his timing was really bad?)

Finally, visiting Alaska was fabulous but now I'm struggling with homesickness. I miss my family in Oregon. I miss the family in Alaska. I have friends here in Oklahoma but its not nearly close to the same. Even the band I am in, feels like a second rate version of the awesome people far away.

Sigh.

I'm praying.

500!

I couldn't end this post on a sad note. I'm off to twitter. Next post is make a difference Monday unless I find motivation for the weekend.

500!!