Break It Down

I'm currently enjoying my Christmas break from my couch. I believe this is the laziest I've been in a long, long time. No complaining here.

Christmas has come and gone and it was fantastic. The best part of the holiday was spending time with my family. We had a great time with my dad's side of the family-exchanging white elephant gifts and playing Minute to Win It. Christmas day was spent with my immediate family including my sweet future sister-in-law.

I can't complain about my gifts either. We surpised my dad with a signed Stan Musial jersey that he loves. My mom liked her Glee game but I was kind of outshown when she unwrapped her Kindle. I also got a Kindle (and a new laptop which allows me to blog from the couch!). I've already read two books and am starting a third.

One of the books I read was awesome. I'll be posting about it later.

Ok, off to figure out my outfit for the Wild, Wild West NYE party and continue watching Toddlers and Tiaras!

Christmas Time is Here!

And I can't believe it! Seriously, Christmas already? In about 10 days?!

I'm totally behind in my gift shopping too. I started off great with getting my dad's present in November! I have half of my mom's present down...shh..don't tell her but I bought her the Glee Wii game!

I hope she likes it!

I still have to purchase gifts for my brother and his fiancee. I believe my brother is getting clothes or some Cardinals stuff and Cara is going to get either some bling from Anthro or a gift card. I love that place. I wish I could afford to shop there more often.

I'll let you know what I end up with!

Love It/Hate It

Since I suck at blogging I thought perhaps I'd be forgiven if I did a little love/hate list. I'll list some things I hate (well, that is a strong word, let's just call it dislike) and then follow up with some things I'm love, love, loving right now.....Here goes:

Right now I'm disliking:

*cold weather-Perhaps if I lived in this huge house, I would like snow and cold weather a little bit more...ok, maybe not. I'm not enjoying this cold at all and we are getting snow this weekend and I'm so not liking it at all.

*inconsiderate people at work who print off a bunch of stuff and then never pick it up and have therefore wasted a huge amount of paper

*bread and sweets. Okay, I lie. I LOVE breads and sweets, but I shouldn't eat them and they just won't leave me alone!

*pretty much any song by Katy Perry right now. Overplayed and getting on my nerves.

*Pink. Not the color, the singer. She just irks me for some reason.

*people who go to Wal-Mart. It is like they have never been to or in a store before when they go there.

*celebrities that buy utterly ridiculous things for each other. Beyonce bought Jay-Z a car that is supposedly the fastest car available. First, I highly doubt he drives himself anywhere and secondly why does he need to go anywhere that fast? I feel like that is just wasteful. Donate the hundreds of thousands of dollars to some charity and help people instead of buying something so useless.

*finally, no list of stuff I dislike would be complete without.....KEVIN BACON! New commercial for Logitech? CREEPY!!

See how little I had to make it? That's in order to keep people from being creeped out.

I LoVe:

*Christmas-baby Jesus, cheery songs, the hunt for just the right gift, sweaters, overall jollyness (or is it jolliness, or is that even a word? Who knows? Who cares? Everyone is hap, hap, happy!)

*St. Louis magzine, the Post-Dispatch, and the Nate Berkus Show for highlighting an incredible person-my lovely and amazingly talented friend JOI!http://daveandjoi.blogspot.com/

*scarves-can't get enough of them!

*Gap's Really Skinny Premium Black Pants-I need to order like 8 pair of them right now. That is how much I love them. Like leggings only a little more structure, but comfy and classy looking. Go find them now.

*Keri Hilson's new song as well as Cee Lo Green's song (you know the one with the f word in it)


*friends and family-I'm so excited to see some great friends this weekend and catch up with another friend tonight. I think the older I get, the more I truly appreciate my family and my friends. I'm blessed to have such supportive people in my life!


Ok, must get back to work....later!

Busy like a bee...

The wedding has come and gone and I still haven't gotten any pictures from that weekend. As soon as my parents decide to send me some, I'll post.

The dress was comfy, shoes not too bad, and I managed to not get the giggles when I read, "My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag."

Ate WAY too much and paid for it, but am attempting to get back on track. I emailed the doctor's office and they gave me the ok to eat sprouts or legumes instead of meat!! Huzzah!

This weekend will be crazy busy!

I'll be home tonight trying to iron on some designs my students made for our Girls on the Run flag because.....the 5K is tomorrow morning!!

If you want to come, see the details here:http://www.girlsontherunstlouis.org/

Then I get to go home and rest for a while until the Chuck Figge Memorial Trivia Night. If you have nothing to do, come play some trivia! http://www.cfmgs.com/TRIVIA.html

Sunday, I have to teach Sunday School, perform with the puppet ministry Puppets For Praise, and then travel to a local nursing home to perform puppets again.

Sheesh...I hope I make it!

Wedding Attire

So.

I'm going to my cousin's wedding (like I haven't mentioned that a million times yet) and I need something to wear. I don't want to spend too much money since I have very little to begin with, so I've been scouring the internets for some options. My mom and I are going shopping either tomorrow or Sunday.

I found a couple of dresses at JC Penney that I really like. I'm hoping that they are as cute in person and on me as they are on the website. I've tried to post their pictures but Blogger doesn't seem to want me to...grrr.... Anyway, they are all three on sale for less than $30! Woot!

I also found a dress at Macy's but it is over $100 and a little out of my price range for now.

Kohl's also has some Lauren Conrad dresses that I like but sometimes her clothes are a little short for me...and that is saying something because I'm a short girl!

If I can get blogger to cooperate, I'll post pics of the dresses and let you help me decide!

Meat or No Meat

If you've read my last few posts, you know that I don't like meat. As a child, I remember not liking meat but knowing that I had to eat it. Now, as an adult, I really don't like it. Honestly, even the thought of meat sometimes makes me gag.

Part of the Page diet that I am now following, means that I have to eat three servings of animal protein a day. In case you are slow, that means I have to eat meat 3 times a day! I am really struggling with finding ways to hide meat so I can eat it. Everything I can think of is off limits due to having potatoes, bread, or pasta in it.

So, my question, dear readers, is this: Does anyone have a good recipe I can try out that requires some meat (no pork-it is off limits on the diet too!) but disguises it enough that I can eat it?

Craziness!

All I can say is I hope this weekend is a little safer and less scary than this past weekend!

I was a boring singleton Friday and crashed early in anticipation of Saturday's festivities. Saturday was my cousin, Shannon's, bachelorette party. She is getting married in less than two weeks now and I'm super excited to see my entire family. We haven't all been together in a VERY long time! I'm the reader for the wedding and was informed that one of the readings is a little funny. Great! Now I'll be fighting the giggles!

Anyhoo- I met the party at Fast Eddies (a local establishment known for its cheap food and cold drinks). It was well under way and I ended up hopping on the bus to continue with them. All was fine and good until we were headed to drop me back off and one of the bridesmaids decided to get off of the bus. While it was driving down the road. The bus wasn't going more than 30-40 miles an hour, I'm sure, but it was still one of the scariest things that I've ever seen. I was sitting backwards at one of the tables so I didn't see her actually leave the bus. The bus came to a sudden hault and the driver ran off the bus. By then we all knew something happened and two of the girls ran off the bus to help. She ended up being ok, I think, but it was still scary. Who the heck does that?

Here's hoping the wedding is slightly less dramatic!

The Page Diet

Yesterday I hinted at how I have to overhaul the way I eat. Dr. Dinkelmann of Dinkelmann Heath Center (http://www.dinkelmannhealthcenter.com/) did a hair analysis and found the following:
* I'm hypoglycemic. There is too steep of a fluctuation in my sugar levels.
*My body is not able to use the calcium and magnesium that I eat, therefore it is being deposited elsewhere.
*My thyroid activity is altered and my metabolism is very slow.
* I have too much copper in my body which is affecting many other mineral levels.
*I have very low iron and toxic metals aluminum and arsenic in my body.


This is just a tiny sampling of the long analysis. I just hit the big points. So, I am now following the Page diet found here:http://www.ifnh.org/lifestyle_diet_wholefood_nutrition.htm

This is rather intimidating since I HATE meat and LOVE all things bread and starchy. I'm making the best of it right now. My hope is that my metabolism is finally going to kick itself up a notch and I'll begin to lose some weight finally. And feel better finally.

I'll keep you posted- and offer my thoughts on some meals/things I eat.

Have I ever told you how much I love bread?

Alright, I know I haven't blogged in a while...ok more like a couple of weeks... but I've been waiting for some news. And I'm glad I waited because there is a lot!

1. My brother had some very exciting news but I'm trying to keep my big trap shut for once and not blab to everyone. I've been waiting for some FB activity about it but nothing so far.

2. My dear friend Joi has become a celebrity pretty much overnight. She was selected to be in St. Louis magazine based on her AH-MAZING decorating skills and beautiful home. Her home will be featured in the December issue. But that isn't all! She was also flown to NYC (cue Empire State of Mind) to be a guest on the....wait for it....Nate Berkus Show! Yes, Joi is now a print and television star! I could not be more happy for her! Read all about it here: http://daveandjoi.blogspot.com/

3. I had the opportunity to take a group of 14 students next door to the high school to meet James Dashner. Probably means nothing to the one reader who actually reads this blog, but he is a young adult author who I think is pretty cool. He did not disappoint and we got our picture taken with him.!

4. I finally figured out the answer to all of my fatigue and crappy moods. I know I alluded to it previously, but I've been feeling lousy for a long time now. Not only have I been tired but I was beginning to feel a little depressed. Not slit my wrists depressed, but I knew that something wasn't right and it wasn't just because I'm tired, stressed at work, overweight, or single (although all of those things didn't help, I suppose). Enter Dr. Dinkelmann from Dinkelmann Health Center. He's a lovely South African chiropractor who had my hair analyzed to determine why I feel so bad. Turns out I'm hypglycemic in addition to some other stuff going on. Now I must eat 6 times a day, eat meat (I don't even like typing the word meat much less eat it), take some supplements, and pretty much never eat a piece of bread, candy, cake, or any other sugary, carby treat again. This is devastating to me and I'm attempting to adjust.

Ok, so this post is getting extremely long and if you made it this far you deserve some sort of award. I'm going to continue with more info regarding my doctor's visit later....

These Shoes Are Made For Walking

So, I completed my second half marathon yesterday.

When I signed up for this race (Lewis and Clark Half-Marathon), I was all about training for a second one. I had such a good experience with the first that I was sure I could recreate it on my own without having to raise a bunch of money. WRONG! I've been so tired I couldn't manage to get myself up and run in the mornings.

Knowing this I went into the race with the intentions of running as much as I could and then walking the rest. Easy, right?! Wrong again! I started out strong and made it to the end of the first two miles in spite of an uneasy stomach (which led to an unscheduled bathroom stop on the way to meet my ride). Things went downhill from there. I got a side cramp, I was still worried about eating/drinking for fear of the stomach rearing its ugly head, I was too much in my head and started to doubt I could do it...

Let's just say that I finished. The last two miles felt like I was walking 15 miles and I was near tears for the last 4 miles but I made it. I am so happy that I finished in spite of myself and managed to only come in about 11 minutes over my previous time.

The problem is that I'm super sore...like way more sore than the last one in which I JOGGED a lot of it. And to top it all off, I have two enormous blood blisters on the inside edges of my heels. We're talking quarter sized. And they hurt. So wearing shoes feels like I'm dying. I'm trying not to get up at all if I can help it.

Moral of the story: TRAIN for a race and make sure to break in your running shoes before the race so you know exactly where to put moleskin.

Oh, and if you are wondering if I'd do this again...yes, I'm crazy and I'd do another...but I think I'll wait until next year.

aaaaahhhhh, FREAK OUT!

So, it just hit me that I've signed up to do 3 races in 3 weekends in October. A half the first weekend in October, a 5K the next weekend, and a 10K the following weekend. Now, if I had continued to run consistently after my last half then this would be no big deal. But reality is tapping me on the shoulder to remind me that I've BARELY run since then. I've run some long runs on the weekends, but not much during the week. I have no stinking clue how I'm going to do this. Ok, I lied, I do know what my plan is going to be:
1. Drink lots of water (starting now) so that I'll be good and hydrated for race days.
2. Eat as cleanly as possible so that I don't have a bunch of yuck fueling my body.
3. Get my rear in gear and start running in the mornings.
4. Prayer, and lots of it!
5. Focus on one race at a time and not run for a time. Basically, don't die and be able to walk across the finish line.

The good news is I have a wedding the first weekend of November so perhaps I'll be skinny, er, in better shape than I am now.

How Am I Supposed to Breathe With No Air?!

So, like I thought, my air went out again. Geez, can't a girl catch a break?

Luckily, my eyes just ended up needing to be hydrated a lot (read: Hey, dummy, why don't you just use some eye drops!) so I didn't need to get any medicine for them. But my air conditioner?! No dice. I called and they are coming out to assess the damage today.

Although it was a pretty sucky day all around yesterday, it ended on a high note with the return of Glee and playing with my well rested and fully cooled down doggie in my parents' basement.

Thank goodness today is Wednesday! I'm ready for this week to be over.

The 'Eyes' Have It!

Monday. Ugh.

I hate Mondays. It is such a letdown from the weekend. Although, this weekend was kind of a letdown. The highlight of my weekend was dinner with one of my oldest friends (no, she's not old, I've just known her a long time!), Aimee. We went to Cheese-ology for some yummy mac and cheese and then topped it off with some FroYo. I always enjoy getting to catch up with her and we are attempting to make it a monthly get together. Saturday my friend Sara and I were supposed to hang out and we ended up at Applefest, a local church's fair. I was expecting a big deal and got nothing in return. I had bad nachos and the entertainment that we saw left a lot to be desired. We managed to somewhat save the evening with dinner at Tony's. Sunday, I was supposed to go apple picking but Mother Nature decided to show us her ugly face and poured most of the day.

Today I get to go see my eye doctor, making Monday even less pleasant. I seem to have accquired an eye infection and haven't worn my contacts in days. So now not only will have to get medicine, but I'll have to get more contacts too. This comes just after I've had a sick doggie and a sick air conditioner. Oh, and last night it seemed like the air was starting to go out again.

Ugh, Monday.

I'm so tired...

Why am I so exhausted lately? I don't know if my body isn't fully adjusted to working (although it has been over a month since school started, how long can it take?!) or what but I am so tired lately. I can't even use winter as an excuse because it isn't even cold yet. I'm supposed to be running a half marathon, 10K, and 5K in the month of October and I'm slightly panicky that I won't make it. Hopefully things will begin to ease up and I'll start feeling more rested. Something has to give, right?

Feeling Wicked?!

Last night I took my mom to see Wicked at the Fabulous Fox Theatre! It was an amazing show and one I'd never seen before. It seems everyone I've ever met in life had already seen the show and they'd been raving about how wonderful it was. I was slightly concerned it wouldn't live up to the hype, but it did. The women who played Elpheba and Glinda were outstanding!

Perhaps more interesting and entertaining than the show were the people seated around us. One of the many reasons (and there are many) that I love my mom is that we both like to people watch and comment on what is happening around us. For instance, the lady sitting behind us was a musical, Fox, and all around theater virgin. And she was 51. How has a person never even been to see a play in all of their 51 years?! No idea, but she was pretty psyched. Moving on to the other people seated behind/in front of us was a couple seated with the virgin. They must have bought their tickets from a scalper (I don't really think this but they were pretty dumb) because they ended up in two completely different rows. And they couldn't figure out how this could have happened. Add them to the lady that walked around writing down row numbers and bugging people about their seats (so she could buy better tickets for the next time she came) and my mom and I were pretty entertained. Until.....

Enter the couple sitting next to us. We aren't sure if they were friends or a couple, but man were they funny. The guy told the girl that the dragon head was moving and making him nervous before the show even started. He even said the dragon shook his head no when he asked if the show would start on time. Then at intermission he exclaimed that the guy who played Fiyero was a terrible dancer. The girl with him assured him he wasn't going to be dancing any further and to "get over it." Seriously, the gems this guy kept tossing around made us giggle.

Finally, the row right in front of us held the jewel of the night. A mother and her children and their spouses. She had a Mary Poppins bag that contained at the very least: kleenex, floss, gum, fruit rollups, granola bars, water bottles, and something wrapped up in a napkin (we think it may have been a cookie or roll). My mom and I actually discussed everything we saw come out of that handbag on the way home. One of the men with her flossed his teeth during intermission. He was also not impressed with the musical, except for the song Defying Gravity. He liked that one. The other guy was really into it and at intermission wanted to go down and ask them to change the ending so that Elphaba didn't "turn bad." Honestly, I could have just sat and watched this family all evening.

All in all, 'twas a good night!

Summer, where have you gone?

I had every intention of spending this summer doing many things. One of those was to get my booty back into running full time and lose the rest of the weight I need to in order to reach my goal weight. Another was to faithfully blog about my summer. So far, I'm 0 for 2.

Since my computer at home is almost dead and I find it hard to blog on iPhone, I will attempt to be more faithful in my blogging. Also, I'm dedicating myself to running. I started my half marathon training on the 4th of July so that I can run the Lewis and Clark Half in October. My nemesis in this training will be the humidity. I may need oxygen but I will complete my training!

Some things I have managed to do this summer include reading almost all of the books on my list for the Truman Committee, hang out with some great friends, and work. Oh, wait, work was not something I was looking forward to accomplishing.

It seems like summer should be in full swing and I'm already looking at the start of the new school year! Crazy! The best part of my summer is almost here....my trip to DC and Philly! I get to spend time with Erin, Jered, and Baby Jude in DC and then hang with my brother and Cara in Philly for the weekend. I'm super excited to see everyone and explore some new cities. Hopefully, I'll be able to take some photos to share.

More later!

So much to do, so little time...

It seems like every time I promise myself I'll start blogging more, I fail. This time I feel I have a valid excuse...I've been training for a half marathon!!

The race is less than a week away now. YIKES! I'm definitely nervous, but I know that the training I've had will help me get through all 13.1 miles. I managed to get 12.5 done a couple of weeks ago and it wasn't nearly as terrible as I thought it would be so I know I can do it! Plus, I met some nice girls and ran with them which makes the time go by so much faster.

Today marks the one year anniversary of losing my grandpa. I can't believe that it has been a year since he was here with us. I can't wait to feel him with me on race day because I know he'll be watching and cheering me on!

Sorry this post is a little depressing, I promise the next one will be more upbeat!

Help Me Help Others

This was definitely not the blog entry I was planning to post next, but it is definitely fitting.

I have officially decided to run a half marathon! I've joined the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training to run the Go! St. Louis Half Marathon. I'm either crazy or really motivated and at this point I'm not sure which one it truly is!

I suppose this all started a few years ago when I was inspired to start running from a friend I worked with. She is awesome and has run the Chicago marathon twice! I had no intention of ever running a marathon or even a half, but wanted to get moving. Last year around this time I was convinced I was going to run the very race I'm training for now. Unfortunately, my grandpa got sick and I lost focus after he passed away. Not succeeding has been haunting me all year. I decided this year that I needed to actually do it for a few reasons:
1. I wanted to finish what I started.
2. The race is two days after my 30th birthday (what better way to end my 20s and start my 30s!).
3. Last year, when I was training, I mentioned to my grandpa my goal. He laughed because he didn't think I'd do it. In a way, I'm doing this for him as much as for myself.
4. I want to focus more on helping others and this is a great way to help myself and bring help to others-all through exercising!!


Part of training with TNT is raising money for LLS. They require that you raise a certain amount of money for their organization and in turn give you resources and a training schedule to succeed. For my race, I must raise $1700. That is a lot of money in a short amount of time! If I don't raise the appropriate amount, I will be forced to forfeit running in the race. I really don't want to let myself down or the people at the LLS who are counting on this money. If you'd like to donate to my cause please follow this link to make an online donation:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/gat/stlouish10/azakrzewsk

I'm nervous about the training because the race is April 11(!) but I'm super nervous about raising the funds. I'm trusting that God will provide, but also begging everyone I know just in case!

Gotta run (literally!)!