Fabulous Run

I'm not usually real big on resolutions. But...I know there's a lot of things I want to work on in the new year. So here's a list of things, not resolutions, that I want to do/get better at in 2014. Run 1000 miles in 2014. A girlfriend of mine, one of my college teammates, had this goal for 2013 and she made it! Neither one of us were distance runners, but now both run half marathon and she ran the Marine Corps Marathon this year! I really want to try and make this happen. Finally learn how to use my expensive camera. I love my Canon Rebel T3i. But at the moment it's basically a really expensive point and shoot. I must learn to use the settings. Leave the country. I haven't been on a great trip since London 2012 and now that I have my passport back I want to go somewhere! Keep a journal. I realize I have a blog, but this would be somewhere where I am free to write without fear of judgement. Turn off my phone at dinner. I rarely unplug. This w

We're getting closer. It's almost time for me to pack up and get the heck out of dodge for the holidays. Now, usually I leave packing til the last minute. And I mean the very last minute, right before it's time to run out the door for my flight. But not this time. This time I want to be prepared. I have presents to worry about packing. They should all be in my carry on. I won't be home long, but I still don't want to forget anything. Ok. I started this post on Monday. It's now Friday and guess what? I haven't started packing yet. I mentally have a list going - gifts, black skinnies, sweater, holiday dress, skirt, matching top, gap sweater, boots, wedges, buttercup hair dryer (the twin is dying to try it), running clothes (ha, like I'll wear those), my laptop, toiletries...that's about all I've got at the moment. Hopefully I don't forget anything.  OMG...there's only five days til Christmas. Are you ready?

Here's what I'm obsessing over this week... Christmas is in less than ONE week and I could quite possibly be done with my shopping. I have bought gifts for everyone on my list, but I still might pick up a few more things.And I leave for home Saturday morning. yay. After Kym's post last week of things she was afraid to share, she challenged her followers to do the same . I agreed with so many of her things and decided to share a few of mine... Things That I've Been Too Afraid To Publish... I might be one of the most self conscious people you will ever meet. I've been this way as long as I can remember. I have never thought I was beautiful or even slightly pretty. It's been over two years since my last relationship ended and it's been a struggle to move on. I haven't been really happy in a long time. I'm close to the highest weight I have ever been and it makes me seriously uncomfortable in my own body.  I'm afraid I will never f

Ok, I'm finally getting my stuff together and getting my post done for the day even though it's almost 8pm! There is only ONE more week til Christmas and 31 days until race day and I could not be more busy. Anywho, on to the blog.   Kym over at Travel-Babbles hosted a Secret Santa this year, and I was super excited about the chance to participate. My Secret Santa was from Kate over at Thoroughly Modern . Check her out. Thank you so much Kate!!  The Essie holiday set and some chocolate...just what I needed. I could def use a mani/pedi right now. And who doesn't love sweets? I accidentally ate the truffles before I took the picture I was so excited. Oops. I'm so thankful for her thoughtful gift. 

No, not for me. I would love to plan a party for me, but I just don't think it's going to happen. But my parents are hosting a party and inviting three other couples. Talking to my mom Friday night, she wants it to be special and my dad wants a fancy dinner. And I asked/begged if I could plan it for her. She said sure, although I'm not sure she knows what she's in for. But I think she's cheating on me! Later that night Twin text me to show me a few of the things she bought from Anthropologie for their party! But I'm going to do it anyway. Mom wants to go all out and that means some decorations are needed. Their china is white with silver accents, so I think a white, silver, gold with some green in with the flowers is a good idea. Twin already picked up a few things (shown in here). And I think the balloons are an easy, cute and cheap idea. Surf and turf is my parents favorite dinner combo, so that is definitely part of the menu. They want to start

I had a relatively stress-free weekend, which is nice considering we're just over a month out from race day. Friday night I made a Target run and, among other things, picked up Fast 6. I love those movies. And, though I feel weird saying it out loud bc it's not like I knew him, I was so sad to hear of Paul Walker's death. Saturday i had some work errands and some holiday shopping to do. Everything was going easy until I wanted to go to Macy's to look for mom's gift. Parking was a nightmare and the mall was packed. What did I expect at 1pm in the afternoon? But I got in, found what I was looking for and got out. Only to find out after leaving the parking lot that the twin had already picked up that particular gift for our mom. Ugh. What else did I do on Saturday? Umm...nothing? If I can't remember it, then it didn't happen. Early Sunday afternoon I went back to Target for some baking supplies and then, because they didn't have cake flour, I also went

Less than 40 days away from race day and work just keeps getting busier. Anywho...Here's what three things I'm obsessed with this crazy week... Did I tell y'all I got into the Nike Women's Half Marathon in DC this April? Well I did. And so did the twin, an Aunt and a friend from Olympic world. I'm very excited. It's been years since I ran a Nike Women's race and I'm really looking forward to it. Which will hopefully push me to train for it! This amazing blog post by Kym at Travel Babbles.  Maybe one day I will have the courage to post the things I filter out of my blog. There's less than two weeks left until Christmas. I am not done my shopping yet, in fact, I am maybe only half way done. I've bought more presents for myself than I should have this year. Including finally replacing my stolen iPhone. Did I really need the 5s? And I would love to host a brunch in my apartment before I leave to go home for the holidays, but I don'

The Holiday season is here. And there is so much to do. Below are some of things I've stolen off of Glitter Guide's and Kate Spade's lists and put on my to do list along with some of the things on my to do wish list. Trim the tree Host a holiday brunch (complete with donuts and mimosas) Book a holiday mani/pedi with family Send holiday cards Create a holiday playlist Christmas movie marathon  Make January 1st resolutions and break them while I still have the chance Fill my apartment with fresh flowers Bake Christmas cookies

I actually went out! Friday afternoon G text me did I want to go to dinner. Obviously the answer was yes. I have a great time with him and we can talk track for hours. I'm always early when I go to dinner with G bc I don't want to go home first, but we don't usually meet until 6:30pm. So I was early again Friday and sat in my car, with the heat on, reading. When he got there, I got out and we started to walk in only to see a sign that said closed for private party! You have got to be kidding me. I feel like their facebook should have mentioned that. So we walked across the street to some bbq place. BBQ in Texas is different. And, I think, not in a good way. I've been a few times and I don't think I need to go again. But it was a small place and we were taking up a needed table, so a while after we were done we headed down the road to Starbucks. And were there until they closed. Saturday morning I had an appointment at a local salon for a facial (sorry mom). For

So happy it's Friday. Even though my plan is to work all weekend, at least I will be able to do it in my pajamas with a glass of wine...

OMG. I can't believe it is December. Yikes. 16 days til I go home for the holiday, 20 days away from Christmas and 44 days until race day. Anyway...here's what three things I'm obsessed with this week... We all know I love Scandal. And this article - A 7-step guide to 'Scandal,' the most bananas show on TV - is pretty spot on. But I was so mad, so mad, to see yesterday that because I live in Texas and the Texans are playing tonight that the game will be on in prime time tonight and Scandal will air at 2:22am. Say what? I can't even. It's Christmas time and if you're a blog lover like I am, that means one thing. Gift guides. They're everywhere. The Glitter Guide just did Holiday Gift Ideas from Kate Spade .  There's the amazingly comprehensive Holiday 2013 Gift Guide by To & From . The Everygirl is posting at least one gift guide a day right now. The list goes on. AND it's almost Christmas. Love this picture.

"Feeling my way through the darkness, guided by a beating heart I can't tell where the journey will end, but I know where it starts They tell me I'm too young to understand, they say I'm caught up in a dream Well life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes, Well that's fine by me" I was reading A Day in the Life of a Hockey Wife the other day and found myself nodding in agreement when she spoke of why she hasn't been blogging lately. Now, clearly, I am not a hockey wife. But once upon a time I thought I might end up one (and it was during that time that I found this blog). But that's another story. And one that I've never shared with this blog. And it got me started thinking about what I don't share with this blog. I share a good deal, some of it extremely personal, but most of it not. To an extent, I know who reads my blog. Family, friends, people I work with. I've always been a very private person. But living so far aw

I've said it before, I'll say it every time. I love long weekends. Even if, or maybe especially if, I don't really do that much. Thursday morning was the TXU Turkey Trot. I had zero expectations for this race since I've barely been running 20 mins a few times a week. So I met up with E and we waited around for our boss to show up so we could give him his bib. As we were walking to the start line, the race had already started. With over 15,000 people in the race, I was hoping that meant the crowd would thin out some. No such luck. E set the pace and it was under 10min/miles for the first three and over 10min/miles for the last three. Overall, a pleasant race. Oh, except it was freezing! I couldn't feel my toes for the the first two miles. Yuck. I knew I should have taken a nap when I got home, but, well...I had to finish The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. Really, once I get into a book it's hard for me to put it down. So I finished that and then went ove

For the first time ever, I will not be spending Thanksgiving with any of my family. Last year was the first year I didn't make it home, but the twin was able to visit. This year I will be spending Thanksgiving in Houston with E and her family. Which begs the question what do I take with me? They said I didn't need to bring anything. But it's a holiday and I feel like I should at least take some sort of hostess gift if I don't have to make a dish. Here's what I think my options are... One of my favorite candles from Anthro Goodies from my favorite bakery More goodies Flowers from Fresh Market of Central Market, they always do a good job Standard bottle of wine

I'm not even sure why I do weekend recaps anymore. I almost never do anything exciting and this weekend was no exception. I finished reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and started and finished The Girl Who Played with Fire. I can't even remember if I did anything else on Friday which probably means I did nothing. Saturday I wanted to get my errands out of the way before I started working. So I went for a run and did a quick workout before heading over to My Fit Foods to pick up a few meals. I did really well this weekend, food-wise. No soda, lots of water and no processed food. For the rest of the day I alternated between reading and working. And was quite productive. Sunday was more of the same. I got up and ran and did the same workout again. Then I ran over to Gap and was more than a little disappointed with what I heard was supposed to be an amazing sale. But I did get three sweaters for a pretty good deal. My next stop was AT&T. Oh AT&T. You are re

I know, I know. I'm still slacking on my blog posts. At least I am aware of the problem. I'm working on it. Anywho...here's what three things I'm obsessed with this week... I got to see The Hunger Games: Catching Fire last night, which was awesome since the movie isn't even out yet. K had some sort of connection from UT, a Big Brothers Big Sisters program was doing a fundraiser by showing the movie at a Studio Movie Grill. The movie was amazing, but you know it's always different from the book and they did leave some things out that I thought were pretty important. But, since none of you have seen it yet, I won't talk about that. Just tell you that I still thought it was really well done and probably was better than the first movie. Apparently there are 33 days until Christmas. But that's ok. Because I think I've got at least half of my shopping done. And I already bought my flight home. For $10 (+40,000 miles). Seriously considering gettin

I was pretty bad at blogging last week, I hope this is not a sign of things to come when I get busy at work in the next two months. But I will try to keep up as we head into the busy season. It was another slow one. Just how I like them. I was a little concerned about Saturday. I was going back to Visible Changes to get a hair cut. The place where they basically gave me a mullet the last time. But I went with a recommendation for a stylist this time and he was fantastic. As he had better be for $60. Paying that much for a cut to me defeats the point of going to a place like Visible Changes - big chain in the mall - but I got a cut that I am happy with this time and I had a gift card that paid for half the cut. (Sorry, no picture.) Sunday I went back to the mall to pick up a pair of jeans that Nordstrom was hemming for me. And of course because I didn't try them on, or even really look at them, when I got home I noticed that they never did the alteration! Awesome.I did get a l

My personal computer at home is an HP netbook that I bought, geez, at some point when I was living in Indianapolis. So at least three or four years old. And while I really only use it at this point to back up pictures, it has def seen better days. A lot of the time I just take my work laptop home and use that. Prob not the smartest thing.  I'd been planning on purchasing a new laptop for myself once my tax check rolls in. But, after having a few issues in the last few weeks when I actually needed to use it for something other that storage, I'm thinking now maybe the time to charge it and I can pay it off when I get my tax check. Especially since Macs are on sale right now at Best Buy! I really want a Mac this time. I think I need the Macbook Pro, not Air. (The Air does not have a cd/dvd drive.) Because when I splurged on Rosetta Stone I got in cd form. And I really should put that on my personal computer, not work.So ya, haven't been able to use it yet. What to do

Ya, ya, I'm late. It's getting busier and busier at work now that we're 10 weeks out from the race. So...two weekend recaps in one this week.   Parents visit recap I love long weekends. I love them even more when I have visitors. Friday night and most of Saturday were slightly boring. I lounged around, went for a run and made sure the apartment was clean.I stopped at Target on my way to the airport and the mobile guy told me I could add a line to my account for $10/month so that I could get the new iPhone for $200...it would be cheaper in the long run than buying a new phone for $650. (More on that later) I picked my parents up at IAH and we just hung out for a while at my place Saturday night. Sunday morning I somehow talked my mom out of going to church so that I could stay home and watch the NYC Marathon on ESPN. It was a great race, but literally the second the male winner crossed the finish line I was hustling them out the door. We had brunch reservations at Ma

I have been so busy and so tired since my parents left after our long weekend together, that I haven't had time to get my shit together and write a post. I'll have a recap of our time together tomorrow, in the meantime...here's what three things I'm obsessed with this week... I'm loving this Strata dress at Anthropologie. I think I may need to get it for Christmas. I really need to get back into running, working out and eating better. For the past few weeks I have completely let myself go. I ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, have barely been running and there have been no workouts in sight. That has to change. I need to get back into it. I feel like a total sloth. ugh. I'm thinking maybe I can finally go in for another hair cut. This is the one I wanted last time, but it definitely not the cut that I got. Maybe after two months the layer that crazy lady put in my hair is finally long enough to be the length of this cut.

It's Friday! And the 'rents get in tomorrow night!! And I have off on Monday!!! It's going to be a good weekend. If I could only figure out what we are going to do the whole time. Being a good host is stressful! I stocked up on my mom's favorite drink. I have more snacks than normal in the house. I have some plans made, but not many, for while they are here. I really want to buy fresh flowers, but I am terrified that the fruit flies will come back. It has taken me 3 weeks to get rid of them. Is it tomorrow night yet?!?

Here's what three things I'm obsessed with this week... My parents get here in two days! I still don't have everything planned out like they want me to, but I have a few things I know we're going to do. Like brunch at Max's. Yum. Ok, so maybe it's not three things this week. Just this one. But I'll count it as two at least. My dad. And my mom. I can't wait for them to get here. It's what's getting me through this ridiculous week. It's not so bad I guess, but at the same time it is. Anyway, they get here Saturday night. So close. And yet so far.

While the twin was in town I arranged for us to have out picture taken by a professional photographer. The excuse was we were doing it for our mom. But really we just wanted some nice photos. We don't have a lot of recent good ones of us bc we live so far apart and are only together mostly on holidays. And I'm always looking for an excuse to get a blow out and my make up done. Like I need one. Who knew I could be so girly? Anyway...it's been four weeks since she was here and we finally got our pics! Here are some of my favorites.