Date Night, Errands, and Tennis

Mondays are usually hard because I mean, let’s be honest, who wants to go back to work after the weekend? Well, today is a good Monday because Ryan and I are both off of work! I am looking forward to a seven mile run, waffles for breakfast, seeing my friend Brittany for a bit, and maybe some disc golf with Ryan and my Dad! Oh, and maybe  we can finally put our Christmas tree up today… Oops! At least it’s not February yet, right? 😉

Even though my weekend is not over yet, I will go ahead and do a recap. Everything has been marvelous so far, so obviously I need to link up with Katie! 

Friday night was a perfect start to this weekend! We have a couple of Chili’s gift cards we got for Christmas, so we used part of one to buy dinner and bring home, and we got a red box movie. We ate in the living room while watching “Olympus Has Fallen”. Oh, and I was in my pajamas. Perfect date night!

Seriously, I know sometimes it is fun to go out and dress up, but Ryan and I love ordering food from a restaurant, bringing it home so we can eat and relax in our own home, all while watching a movie in our sweats or pajamas. If you have never done this, you should!

I had the mango chile tilapia from their lighter choice menu, and it came with broccoli and rice. This dinner was delicious, and didn’t leave me feeling stuffed, which was a major plus.

Saturday I got up about 6:45 to get ready for my long run, which was 13 miles.

I got to use my running belt that Ryan gave me for graduation for the first time, and I loved it! It didn’t bounce or bother me, and it was nice to have water when I needed it. I felt great during the run, which was a big encouragement since I have many more long runs to do that are much longer than 13 miles!

I refueled after my run with some healthy spinach blueberry pancakes.

 

I ended up topping them with half of a banana, some peanut butter, and a little bit of pure maple syrup. I was using my own recipe for this, and I enjoyed it, but I need to work on tweaking a few things before I can share the recipe on here. If the green scares you, don’t worry, I promise you can’t taste the spinach! It’s a great way to get some veggies in at the beginning of the day!

For the rest of the day Ryan and I ran some errands. We got my oil changed in my car, went to the bank, and drove to the closest James Avery to pick up my charm bracelet. When we got home I started cooking dinner, and then we dug in! We had black bean veggie burgers, green beans, and sweet potato fries.

After dinner Ryan and I finished our Scrabble game that we started last weekend but never finished. Unfortunately I lost. 😦 But it was still fun, and I am determined to win next time!

Sunday Ryan and I went to church, then came home and had leftovers for lunch.

I had quinoa with barbecue tempeh on top, a salad, and green beans.

After lunch I went grocery shopping and then came home to change into some athletic clothes so Ryan and I could play tennis.

I have mentioned this before, but tennis is my favorite sport, and it is something Ryan and I both love playing together. The weather was so beautiful, we had to enjoy it by doing something outside! I love that it’s January and I was able to wear shorts outside and be comfortable. 🙂

Once we got home I started cooking dinner, and boy oh boy, it was a good dinner!

I made this butternut squash Mexi-Bake from Danica, and it is a new favorite! The husband and I both thoroughly enjoyed it!

I topped both of our bowls with 1/4 of an avocado, and Ryan put some tortilla chips in his. This meal is full of veggies and is meatless, but I think even the meat lovers will still love this recipe!

Afterwards we relaxed and watched Revenge.

After our busy, non-stop weekend last week, it was nice to be home this whole weekend. 🙂

Questions:

1. What did you do this weekend?

2. Have you ever ordered food and brought it home for a date night?

3. What is your favorite thing you ate this weekend?

4. Favorite way to exercise besides run or lift weights? Tennis or volleyball for me. 🙂

5. Are you off work today? If so, what are you doing?

 

 

8 Things to Never Say to a Runner

Since I have considered myself a runner for about 8 years now (I started running and enjoying it my freshman year of high school), I have heard a lot of comments and questions from other people about running, and I’m sure all of you runners have heard these comments too. Thinking about these comments and remembering the circumstances under which I heard them makes me laugh. If you a runner I hope these comments make you laugh or smile, and if you aren’t a runner, I hope you learn some things not to say to your running friends. 😉

1. Running isn’t a sport.

Excuse me? Have you ever been to a race? It is full of people who are constantly looking at their watches to maintain a certain pace, looking behind their back to see if someone is close behind, and constantly trying to pass that person in front of them. Running is competitive, and even if you aren’t competing against other people, you are competing against yourself; you are trying to beat your best time and push yourself harder than you ever have before. Runners don’t train for nothing! Oh, and what about the olympics? I wouldn’t dare tell Usain Bolt he isn’t an athlete or what he does isn’t a sport.

2. Wouldn’t you rather sleep in than run in the morning? 

Until you begin to run or workout in the morning, you will never understand how someone could answer this question with, “No, I would rather run first thing in the morning.” I’m not saying it’s easy to get out of bed at 4:45 in the morning; it’s always hard and I pretty much always consider setting my alarm for an hour to an hour and a half later. But once I get up, lace up my shoes and start running, I never regret it. Not only does getting up early make sure I get my run in before my day gets busy with other things, but it gets my day off to a great start! Whenever I run or do any form of exercise in the morning, I have much more energy for the whole day. I know it doesn’t make sense, waking up earlier and having more energy, but just trust me on this one.

3. You run in the hot/cold/rain/wind?

The weather is never perfect. As a runner, you just have to get over it, remember why you love running, and push through the less than ideal circumstances.

4. Running that long can’t be good for you. 

A runner never wants to hear this. Yes, whenever someone begins to run more and train for long races, such as a half-marathon or a full marathon, he or she has to take good care of his/her body, but that doesn’t mean running long distances is bad for you. Our bodies are capable of so much; we just have to train and work hard to see what all we can accomplish. And of course while training we have to listen to our bodies and rest when we need rest. But don’t judge someone’s situation and tell them something is good or bad for them when you really don’t know.

5. So you run for no reason?

I hear this way too much, and I run for MULTIPLE reasons! I wrote a post that you can read here about the reasons why runners love running. But to give you a little idea, runners run to be happy, to enjoy the moment and everything else in life, to use their bodies to be active and be thankful for all that their bodies can handle. Running can teach you so much about yourself, and I believe it gives you confidence.

6. Why didn’t you sprint harder at the finish? 

When someone who didn’t run a race is screaming at me as I finish to go faster, or someone asks me after a race why I didn’t push harder at the end, I just want to look them straight in the eye and say, “I’m sorry, did you run at all?” Don’t tell someone to go faster at the end; when someone finishes a race they are usually tired. They have most likely been pushing themselves their hardest, and by the end of the race, they are just ready to finish. Also, they probably are sprinting as hard as they can, but again, your sprint at the end of a race probably isn’t as fast as your normal sprint.

7.  Why would you pay for a race if you can run for free?

This takes me back to #1 on this last. Running is a sport, which is why runners want to pay for races and compete. Runners train and push themselves so that they can perform on race day. They want to race against others and enjoy the running community, which is honestly a very special group of people. And I mean, who doesn’t enjoy the race t-shirts and refreshments at the end of the race? 😉

Finally number 8…I hate when I hear this…

8. I saw you  jogging the other day.

You what??? You saw me doing what??? Let me just correct you right now, you saw me RUNNING!!! Nothing is quite as demeaning to runners as telling them they were “jogging”. Funny story, Ryan actually told me this my freshman year of college before we even started dating. We were in a science class together (natural disasters), and we went to the same lab. I went to lab one day and Ryan said, “I saw you jogging earlier!”. Oh, if I had only known him better I would have corrected him, but instead I just smiled. Little did I know that was my future husband saying a statement I hate to hear, but he thought nothing about it. Don’t worry, he wouldn’t say this to me now. 🙂

Questions:

1. Have you heard any of these statements?

2. What would you add to this list? 

3. And just for fun, what are you doing today? I am trying to finish my book and going out to run some errands! I am still waiting on my fingerprints to go through so I can start my new job!

 

 

Running, Family, Friends, and Food.

Hello friends! Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are ready for a great week! This is the week I get to start my first teaching job! I was supposed to start today, but there have been technical problems with certain things going through the state (it’s a very frustrating process), so I will be able to start Wednesday or Thursday this week. Luckily, my principal has been so understanding and nice through this whole process so that makes things easier.

Anyways, back to this weekend’s recap. I had such a wonderful weekend (obviously based on the title of this post); I would definitely say marvelous. 🙂 Thanks for hosting MIMM Katie!

This weekend started early Saturday morning with a race with my Dad and Aunt.

My Dad and I did the 10k and my Aunt Nancy did the 5k. Nancy was going to do the 10k with us, but she had a long run for her half marathon training the next day and didn’t want to do too much.

As always, this handsome guy got up early and stood in the cold to support me and cheer me on. 🙂

From left to right, this is my cousin Nikki, my Mom, me, and Ryan. Nikki was going to do this race with us, but some things happened and now she is running in a marathon at the end of this month! She was doing a 20 miler the next day so she didn’t want to run Saturday. Totally understandable! I was glad she still came and cheered us on. Also, somehow I never got a picture with just me and my Mom, but for my whole life she has always suffered through whatever weather conditions to support me, and she continues to do this for me and my dad now! She is the best!

I was so proud of my dad; he really pushed it and totally sprinted in the end! He finished in 59 minutes and 19 seconds, which is like six minutes faster than his last 10k! He is rocking it!

I can’t say enough on this blog of mine how proud I am of him, and just how much fun it is running in races with him!

I was really happy with my race too. My time was 50 minutes and 21 seconds, and my average pace was 8:03 a mile. Before the race started Ryan challenged me to run below 8 minute miles; I almost did it!

Oh, I forgot to even mention that I was so excited because this race was only $10! I wasn’t expecting much since the race was so inexpensive, but there were a ton of people there, and the best part was there were free bananas!!!

Score!

We stayed afterwards for the awards and my aunt and I both placed 2nd in our age division!

We were both excited! Oh and side note, what do you runners do with y’all’s medals from races? I am not sure where to keep all of mine. They are just kind of everywhere now…

After the race my parents, Ryan, and I went back to our house so we could all change and then the women left the guys. My dad and Ryan went back to my parents’ house (Ryan had a friend he was meeting in the town where my parents live to play disc golf), and my Mom and I went out to go shopping! I had some boots I got for Christmas that I wanted to return for another pair, and I ended up getting these in the pictures above!

I really like them. I kind of wanted more of a pointier toe at first, but these were so comfortable (key for being on your feet all day as a teacher!), and I ended up really liking how they looked!

After we got these shoes we were hungry so we went to find a place at the mall to eat. We saw Luna De Noche, and since my Mom and I are both big Mexican food lovers, we were all for eating here!

We split a meal that came with one taco, one enchilada, rice, and beans, and then we also split a bowl of tortilla soup.

I had a spinach enchilada, half of the rice and beans, and then of course half of the soup.

It was all so good! And their chips and salsa was amazing!

After lunch we headed over to Anne Taylor Loft because I had a gift card to spend, and I really need some more teacher clothes. I had heard great things about this store, but had never shopped there myself. I am now a huge Loft lover! I highly recommend this store to anyone who wants cute, nice clothes. If you get the clothes full price, they are pretty expensive, but they have good sales, which makes it totally worth it! I didn’t buy anything full price, but instead went back to the clearance racks and I got a haul from that store! I ended up getting four dresses, three cardigans, and a nice t-shirt that I could easily dress up or go out casual with. I got all of this for $113, and my gift card was for $100, so I only spend $13! I was so excited! I still need a few more dress pants for teaching, but I will get those eventually. I know building up my teaching wardrobe will be a process.

After Loft, my Mom and I headed back to our house so I could shower and get ready for a party Ryan and I were going to that night with our friends. My mom was the sweetest and packed up most of our Christmas decorations for us while I got ready. The party I was going to was in the town where my parents live, and since Ryan was already there, I just rode back with my Mom and she dropped me off at my friends’ house on her way home. My mom and I didn’t get a picture of us together shopping Saturday because since we went out right after my race, both of us had some pretty crazy hair and neither of us really wanted a picture. 😉

Saturday night it was so nice to get together with some of our best friends from college! We hadn’t all hung out in such a long time, so this get together was perfect! The girls were me, Ruth, and Chelsea. (They came over to our house last month for our little Christmas party.)

It was a little harder to get a serious picture of the guys…

Finally all of the guys are smiling…except my husband…gotta love him. 🙂

This was at Bryan and Ruth’s house, and they were wonderful hosts! There was a ton of food that we all enjoyed and we just all had fun together all night. We played a short, late night game of Taboo which was fun. I always love games though.

Ryan and I stayed the night with full intentions of getting up and going back home early to go to church. Well, it was after 2:00 a.m. when we went to bed so…that didn’t happen. We slept in and ended up leaving their house a little after 10 a.m. We got home, ate some lunch/breakfast, and relaxed.

I had two tofu fritattas (recipe from Peas and Thank you), one piece of cinnamon raisin Ezekial bread, left over roasted vegetables, blueberries, and a banana with peanut butter. Oh it was exactly what I waned for lunch/breakfast. 🙂

I went to a bridal shower for a girl in our Sunday School class that afternoon, and then went to get something to cook for dinner.

I ended up making homemade salsa with an easy recipe I got from Peas and Thank You.

We really enjoyed it, but I didn’t add jalapeño to it, and I think I will next time to give it a little more kick. We still really enjoyed it though!’

For dinner I made some lentil enchiladas (again from Peas and Thank You, can you tell I am loving this book?), which were another success!

The recipe called for red lentils, but the grocery store I went to didn’t have red so I had to get brown. I think the enchiladas would have been even better with red because the texture would have been different. We still enjoyed them though!

We had them with some bell peppers and homemade guacamole! I also smothered my enchiladas with homemade salsa and guac. You should do this too.

After dinner Ryan and I relaxed and face timed with his parents for a bit. Perfect ending to a wonderful weekend.

This weekend was very busy, but it was busy with fun, friends, and family, so we had a blast! Today I will finish planning our meals for this week, go grocery shopping, have lunch with Ryan at his work, get my fingerprints done for teaching, and workout. It will be a busy day so I better go have some breakfast and get today started! Make this week a great one!

Questions:

1. What was marvelous about your weekend? 

2. Have you ever shopped at Loft? Where is your favorite place to get affordable, nice clothes?

3. Do you ever still see old friends from college or high school? 

Time to Reveal a Little Secret

So there is this thing I have been keeping from y’all. I have really wanted to write about it on here, but I have been scared. But today is the day I come out and share my little secret.

It’s about these feet and these shoes. They are itching for a new adventure…

I have run a mud run.

I have run three half marathons.

I have run in numerous 5K’s and other small races for fun.

I run every week because it’s my happy place.

I even now have a running belt and a running backpack for long runs.

I need a new challenge. That is why yesterday was training day #1 for my first full marathon!!! 

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Yes a full marathon! I am so excited! Many of you runners out there have inspired me and given me the confidence I need that I can do this. I have wanted to do a full for a long time now because I wanted to challenge myself more, but 26.2 miles just sounded so long. I have been thinking about this for a long time, and I can’t let myself not run a marathon because I am scared or intimidated. I would regret that decision for the rest of my life. I am confident that I can do this! I made up my training schedule Wednesday night and started my training yesterday. The race is April 6. 🙂

I would appreciate any advice from all of you marathon veterans out there! I made my long run for this week yesterday since I am running in a 10k race with my Dad, Aunt, and cousin tomorrow. I did 9 miles yesterday, and next Saturday I will run 11 miles for my next long run. I am very excited about training for this race and I had to share my news with all of you! 🙂

I hope you all have a great Friday and a great weekend! I should have a fun, busy weekend. After my race tomorrow my Mom and I are going shopping, and then Saturday night Ryan and I are going to one of our friends’ house for party. Sunday after church I have a wedding shower to go to, and then I will probably spend the rest of the afternoon meal planning for the week! I’m excited for all of the family and friends I get to spend time with this weekend!

Questions:

1. Have you ever ran a marathon? If so, what are some tips you have for me?

2. What has been your favorite race you have ever ran and why?

3. What are you doing this weekend?

4. Are all of your Christmas decorations put up yet? Mine aren’t. 😦 I have to finish that; it’s just not nearly as fun taking them down as it is putting them up!

Jogger Egg Nogger Race and Marvelous Family Time

We actually had a full weekend of activities, but I hardly got any pictures! I know, total blogger fail (I feel like I have to write this too often…). So I know people say if you didn’t get a picture, it didn’t happen. Well just trust me, everything I say actually happened. 🙂 I will add in the few pictures I have to keep you entertained. And surely Google images can help me some. 😉

Saturday morning began with the Jogger Egg Nogger 5k and 15k race with my Dad. The weather definitely wasn’t the best though; it was cold and raining the whole time we ran. I was a little nervous because of the weather, but the race still ended up being fantastic! Since the weather was so bad, my Dad and I never got a picture outside after or before our race, so the only picture I snapped of us was in the car after the race. (Just ignore how dark my eyes were. I’m not quite sure why I wore eye makeup when I knew I was going to be running in the rain. Not my smartest decision.)

Since Ryan is an awesome, supportive husband, he got up early and and supported us in the cold and rain. Best husband ever!

My dad and I were both pleased with our times. I finished the 15k in an hour and 18 minutes, with an average of 8 minutes and 24 seconds a mile. As soon as I finished my Dad, Ryan, and I went into the warm car to head home. My dad dropped us off at home, and we showered and had lunch before heading out to meet my brother and SIL at the movies. We saw Anchorman 2.

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The movie was funny, (how could it not be with Will Ferrell as the main actor?), but I don’t think it was as good as the first one. I am still glad we saw it though because I had been wanting to see it ever since I heard they were coming out with a second one!

We had a blast getting to go with Ben and Kaleigh (bro and SIL) to the movies and getting to talk with them some. We all agreed we needed to make that happen more. I was so mad at myself when we left the movie theater because I realized we didn’t get a picture together! 😦 So this reused picture from Thanksgiving will have to do!

The rest of me and Ryan’s saturday night included eating delicious leftovers for dinner, watching the Mavericks play (this was more of Ryan), and reading (this was more of me), all while relaxing on the couch.

And obviously while we relaxed we wore warm, fuzzy socks. Okay, so maybe it was just me wearing the fuzzy socks.

Sunday morning we went to church and then headed to Cheesecake Factory to eat lunch with Ryan’s family. We spent the whole afternoon with Ryan’s parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle, and cousins. This time was truly so special. I don’t have any pictures I took from yesterday, but the pictures couldn’t have captured how special yesterday was anyway. Family is so incredible and something we should never take for granted.

This weekend was very marvelous because of the fun race my Dad and I got to run in, but it was mostly marvelous because of the wonderful family we got to spend time with on Saturday and Sunday. Because my family is so marvelous, I am going to link up again with Katie for some Marvelous in my Monday.

Take some time today today to tell your loved ones and family members how much they mean to you. If you can see any of them today, try to see them and treasure every moment.

I hope all of you are ready for Christmas! We are two days away! So crazy! Tonight Ryan and I will be celebrating our own Christmas together and exchanging gifts. We will also be enjoying some homemade pizza. I can’t wait! 🙂

Questions:

1. What did you do this weekend?

2. Did you see Anchorman 2? Did you like it? Did you even like the first one?

3. What are you looking forward to the most this year about Christmas?

4. Tell me one reason (or more) why you love your family!