Wow! It has been a seriously long time since I last wrote...2 months to be exact. So here is one of two posts.... It's not that I forget...I think about it all the time, especially since I follow other blogs and keep up with reading theirs....I think about what I want to write about and what I should say next, etc, but then the days escape me and I carry out my monotonous days at work and home. This post will probably be all over the place but the good is that nothing exciting ever happens to me so there probably won't be any "OMG!" moments.
Since my last post, Mike and I ran the Primal Mud in Warrenton, VA. It was about 4.5-5 miles of muddy obsticals and running and was so much fun! The only downside was that back in September 2011 I suffered a knee injury that still strikes some pain every now and then. It's completely unpredictable - hurts one day, perfect the next. Perfect for a month, kills for a week. I had been feeling pretty good about the run in the weeks leading up to it but I woke up that morning and on my way downstairs to make some coffee, I knew it was going to be a rough day. My knee was killing me. I was able to finish the race, but it took us over an hour which was kind of disappointing because I really wanted to complete it in under an hour. Either way, it was so much fun! I am so glad that I had Mike by my side to help with the obstacles because there is truly no way I could have completed some of them....There was a 20 foot rope climb that I attempted and only got about half way up when I fell all the way down, so I had to do some burpees to make up for it and to get to the next obstacle. I really need to work on my upper body strength. After the race we got a free beer (Natty Light.... it was rough) and hung out and had lunch and listened to this awesome cover band for about an hour and then headed home where I enjoyed a nice warm shower and a nap :-)
Since then, I've been working out sparatically -- no real pattern or committment, which ultimately means no real improvements either. In total, I've lost 8 pounds since January. I would really like to lose about five more but realistically, I just don't think that it will happen. I don't really diet, but I think about what I eat enough to know when to stop/what I shouldn't eat. I know a lot people focus on being "healthy" so they eat organic and non processed and no sugar, etc but (many of you might criticize this, and that's okay because I don't care what you think about what I eat) Mike and I tend to focus more on low fat, lower sugar, lower carbs, and lower calories. So just because a hot dog isn't "good" for you, it only has 40 calories and is 97% fat free. And frankly, (haha get it? Frank's Hot Dogs...) I don't care if it's not providing me nutritional energy -- it's helped me lose 8 pounds this year and look decent for wearing a bikini at the beach this year. And that makes me happy. So anyway, I've been running about three times a week. The other day I did 5.5 miles and felt pretty good, but I don't think a half marathon is in my future. I said at the beginning of the year that I wanted to do a half marathon, the Army 10 miler, and the Tough Mudder this year. After the Primal Run, the Tough Mudder seems impossible. 12 miles of muddy obsticals?? Yikes. I think if I stuck with running and amped it up to like 4 or 5 times a week, I could complete the Army 10 miler by Sept or Oct...whenever it is. I also started the INSANITY program about a week ago. I made it three days and stopped because I was going on leave. I want to get back into it though starting tomorrow (ha..it's always "tomorrow...") because I was already seeing results.... Right now though, I just feel like a slob. For some reason I cannot get into a work out habit. Since my work schedule changes so often and is never the same, all I want to do is get home, have a class of wine, and go to bed.... *sigh*
The semester just ended for Mike about two weeks ago and he is definitely relieved. So am I though because I was tired of editing papers. ;) I am really proud of him. He has been working on his degree for almost 10 years but has yet to complete it because of deployment and military duties. I can't imagine having the determination to follow through on that for a whole decade. Well, he has one semester left and is scheduled to graduate in December. He says he doesn't want to walk at graduation or celebrate at all because "a degree is expected. I need to have one." Basically he thinks that an undergraduate degree is so common these days and "everyone has one" so there is no reason to celebrate. I feel differently.... he has shown serious committment to stick with it for this long throughout his military career and I want everyone to know that I am married to someone with dedication, so I have decided we WILL celebrate it :-) I know he doesn't read this so I don't even mind saying that I am going to throw him an insane party when all is said and done :-)
Last Friday we went to the Nats/Orioles game at National's Stadium with our friends Jabbo and his new girlfriend. She was a hit and Jabbo was....Jabbo ;) . Since living in Maryland we don't get to see all of our friends as much because it's not convenient for any of us to make the drive out to each other so the game was nice because it was very close to us! Plus the weather was perfect and I got to debut my sweet American Flag shorts. I can't wait to wear them again for 4th of July!!!!! (my favorite holiday).
The next day (Saturday) we went to Virginia Beach to wish my cousin and her family a nice good bye as they venture off to Upstate New York where her husband got into grad school. His parents threw a great party with my favorite........OYSTERS! OMG I ate my face off and probably would have continued if Audrey didn't start acting like a crazy person. She was so funny though. She's always a hit! Unfortunately we didn't sleep at all that night because we had noisy, rambunctious boys next door who were drunk and obnoxious. Once home, we saw The Avengers which I strongly feel was a complete waste of $19 and 3 hours of my life. I am picking the next movie, for sure!
In preparation for our beach trip with my family, I begged Michael to buy new clothes and retire the cargo shorts he has been wearing since 8th grade. He reluctantly agreed. Khol's has some insane sales....let me tell you..... we saved $150 and that was without coupons. Brand name stuff for dirt cheap....then since I was jealous that Mike got new clothes, we hit Old Navy where I got a few summer pieces. And of course I had to buy something for Kayla and Tiernan because I love little kids' clothes.... Got Tiernan the cutest Fidora....
Mike was supposed to go to MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) last Tuesday (the 22nd) to sign a new, active duty contract but of course the Army F*ed that up, too, so he was scheduled to go today-tomorrow, but literally 20 minutes ago he called his recruiter to ask what time he was getting picked up to go and his recruiter forgot about him..... so now he's slated for next Wednesday. That really annoys me because they just post pone everyyyyyything! Can't they do anything on time? ...Ever? Please?
Now that I've completed this post, which I have actually had written for over a week but was too buzy (or lazy) to post, I will close and start a new post with more up to date information :-) happy readings, everyone.
xo,
L
A few hours later we finished our engagement pictures that we never completed from back in October because of the rain. Misty is just so wonderful and I love the work she does.... Here are the previews she sent us, as well as two of the photos she took back in October.
The following morning we left for Nags Head, North Carolina, where my grandparents rented a beach house for the week. It was AMAZING ... literally right on the beach and it was great to have most of the family there. My cousin Rachel and her boyfriend Gabe flew in from California and then it was Me, Mike, Beth, Josh, Audrey, my Aunt Joy and her son, Ian, and my Aunt Cheryle and Uncle Steven, and of course my grand parents. Unfortunately Lexi and her family and then my father and his family couldn't make it. We missed them very much! Audrey is just so cute... I loved waking up to her every morning. We played a few rounds of scategories which got pretty heated with Aunt Cheryle but it was so much fun. Mike and I got a lot of sun and I got to a total of 4 dozen oysters.... I was in heaven, to say the least. The weather was perfect the whole time and I really hope we can do it again next year! 
