#fail and #winning

I thought I was helping Ryan Christopher sell art and find beta readers. The result was an unhappy husband. #nevergonnawin

I finished myfitnesspal diary yesterday and I was under my calories. Too far under. The app yelled at me (not really) and refused to tell me my projected weight loss. #rude

#winning. I made it to the gym in time to catch the sunrise and a good workout. #anklegate is still an issue but it doesn't hurt that much. 

#winning I'm still on track with my 7 day challenge. Blogging, tracking calories, and reading the bible. I haven't gotten registered for global entry but that should be tomorrow. 

iPhone photo fun

I've seen bloggers post their last few photos or random things of that nature. It's my turn to copy the idea because it's brilliant. 

Today's breakfast included this taco and watermelon. And a giant unsweet iced tea. 

Last nights fire was bomb. I totally smell like smoke. 

Last nights dinner from Big Truck tacos did not disappoint. #alltheprotein 

And of course Chomps makes his appearance on my blog. He's my little angel! 

Half marathon training update

My Last night I ate Argentinian pizza and empanadas to prepare for today's long run. 

Heaven in my mouth!

My Argentinian friends are big fans of cheese. I am too. 

I was worried about blisters from Thursday's running. I had blisters on both heals. I made it to the end but realized that the blisters hasn't healed all the way. 

I still had a funny smile on my face. I may have lost a toenail on my right foot. That toe is unfortunately swollen and leaking. You're welcome for not showing that to you. 

The half is on October 4th. I'll probably have to run in an older pair because of this toe situation. That's why old shoes stick around. My body heals quickly but I am concerned. 

A 12:41 pace and 11 miles in 2 hours and 19 minutes. I think that would put me at a sub 3 hour half but not 2:30. I will be a happy camper once I've crossed the finish line. 

After the half, I plan on walking a 5k for active recovery and for beer. It's called runtoberfest and its sponsored by Red Coyote. I may regret this decision on Sunday October 4th. 

Chomps is distracting me so I better wrap this up. Tomorrow I'll be brewing beer. Maybe blogging too. We shall see how the weekend shakes out. 

Thoughts (list edition)

1-We just returned from the Bahamas and I did some soul searching. 

2-My blog needs to be more beer related and less on the weight loss. 

3-The first half of the fall season is nearly here and I skipped two long runs. Am I ready?

4-My dreams for my life include: travel, writing, piano, photos, beer (brewing and drinking) and making a difference. 

5-My dreams do not include the suburbs and having children. 

6-I can't help but to wonder if I'm doing enough to make my dreams a reality. 

7-I don't want to live in Oklahoma any longer than is necessary to make my dreams come true. 

8-I plan on multiple Bahamas recaps. I'm not done with this blog thing. I just needed some inspiration. 

9-When I'm not blogging I am:playing the Simpsons tap out game, crocheting, learning French, running, and cleaning the house. 

10-Can there be more time in the day? I guess not. 

Upcoming on the blog

Actual posts don't happen when there is a 5am wake up call. I will have a post on the vegetarian dinner at Picasso cafe and the Red Earth Brewers May club meeting. 

I call this superman Chomps. 

Thankful Thursday

I am always trying to focus on the good things and staying positive. That's why this is such an important post. Today, I am thankful for my new temporary schedule at work. It gives me time to take morning classes at my gym and blogging time. It gets so busy at work, that I often don't find the time to blog or read blogs. Blogging is an important part of my life. 

The blogging community has given me support and friendships. While I may be slow at getting posts up, because life happens, I am not ready to stop blogging all together. I definitely don't put blogging ahead of family or work either. Its just one other aspect of my life. I do want to thank everyone for the sweet comments yesterday. It encourages me to keep moving forward on my weight loss journey.

So its your turn now. What are you thankful for?

Tip Tuesday

At this time, I am pondering how I can make this blog better. I love interacting with all of my blogger friends but I have not found enough time to put out quality posts with quality photos. Plus I haven't participated in any blog hops or swaps and I am finding not enough time to keep up with everyone's posts. Bloglovin has not been kind to me.

What time of day is the best time to work out?

First and foremost, basic movement is so good for you. Trying to walk everyday should be your goal. Morning workouts are excellent for boosting metabolism and burning more calories throughout the day. At the same time, adequate sleep is critical to weight loss success. So if you aren't able to get a good nights sleep with a morning work out, you are better off with an afternoon or evening gym date. I have read in Cosmo (clearly not a strictly fitness resource) that evening workouts help you to have a better nights sleep.

As an athlete, I workout 6 days a week in the mornings. I know that my metabolism has never been fast but I can keep it burning more with these regular workouts. I am up to 3 days a week of strength and 3 days of cardio, with one intense cardio workout a week. Last Saturday, I went 9.01 miles in 2 hours and 16 minutes. That's what has been working for me. Do you workout regularly?

Thankful Thursday

At some point along my journey, I thought making money from blogging would be great. It still would be cool but my heart has changed.

Today, I'm thankful for blogging, blogging friends, and the encouragement coupled with support from all the amazing people I have met in this blogging journey.

Your stories inspire me. Your struggles remind me of my own. In so many ways, blogging is a blessing. As some bloggers have noted it is also cheap therapy, which I concur.

My life is enriched in ways that money could not accomplish.

I considered shouting out to my friends but I also contemplated two problems: 1-there's an overwhelming number of awesome bloggers (some don't even know how I've been blessed) and 2-what of all the new bloggers I have yet to meet?

If you are new to blogging and need a friend, email or comment (with your email all no-reply bloggers). I'd love to be your support.

Guest posts are currently open for "Make A Difference Monday" and "Weight Loss Wednesday".

The giveaway for $40 to Target continues until the end of the month. Please stay tuned for High Five For Friday!

Thankful Thursday

  Welcome to Thankful Thursday, a beacon of positivity for myself and anyone else who wants to join. Last week's comments were filled with fantastic reasons to be thankful. Today, I am thankful for the blogging community. Everyone is gracious, kind, and supportive. I'm thankful to be a part of such a beautiful community. 

I would like to thank you for joining me on my blogging journey. Everyone who leaves a comment on this post is entered in a drawing for a $5 Starbucks card. The drawing will be held on Saturday and I will use a random number generator to pick the winner. This should be a lot of fun!

Jus' thinkin'

I'm thinking that it would be great to be back in Australia. This photo was somewhere along the east coast of Australia in 2004.

I'm thinking that was a long time ago and my last international trip was January 2011. I love to travel and see the world. I'm getting back out there in September.

I'm thinking that we are overdue for a wild trip too. Fiji, Tahiti, Turkey, Nepal, Iceland. So many places that I need to visit.

I'm praying and thinking about my work. Hopefully my hunt will yield positive results.

I'm thinking that blogging is so much fun and I gotta get more consistent. I'm working my way towards more writing and posting my photos.

Since I'm still thinking about vacations, tell me about your best trip! I love a good story!

Work

I am working on many things. Blogging is not really one of those things tonight. Please enjoy this lovely photo of cake batter dripping off of the hand mixer. The cake was delicious.

Blogging for me

Today’s rating is Positive.

I am blogging to keep myself honest about how I feel. When I look back at 2010, there were not enough positive times in my life. I couldn’t laugh, I was stressed, I had headaches, and I hated just about everything in my life.

I am learning about myself. After reading some books, I can see where I run into problems. I’m a first-born and I’m constantly looking for perfection. I’m hypersensitive to most everything that goes wrong. Add in some loneliness and there’s the recipe for 2010’s misery. Now I can see where I’ve gone wrong. The true test is if I have learned how to get past these innate personality quirks. The test isn’t over yet but so far I am doing good. THANK YOU GOD!