Girl in Training

So it's officially that time where I need to reign myself in and stop eating cupcakes for breakfast (yes it's happened, don't judge). When I train for a long distance race, I find that it's best to just cut out all of the bad crap cold turkey. Cold pizza for breakfast? Nope. Skipping runs because of bad weather? Nope..deal with it girl. Oh and I pretty much live in running tights and sports bras for the following eight weeks or so. #Runnerlife.

I'm pretty sure I have more sports bras than regular ones. Before my half marathon, I have the Chicago Quarter Marathon (which will be a breeze when I look at my overall training plan) my Soldier Field 10-Miler and THEN my half marathon in September. This is what my half marathon training plan will be like starting this summer. Just look at all of those glorious miles....I'm going with more of an intermediate plan this time to push my limits and finish strong...with the help of Beyonce blaring in my ears. Legs don't fail me now...

 I'm loving this training plan because it has me running more than 13 miles, it definitely makes a difference if your training plan doesn't go the full distance or for longer! My playlist is being compiled as we speak and I'm pumped!! Now if Chicago would just get its shit together and stop it with this ice storm. I need to run, not ice skate. Okay Mother Nature? Thanks.

Until then....

Do you have any songs that just HAS to be on your running or general workout playlist? Anyone who says Kanye will be beaten with a kettlebell. JK JK...maybe...

Things That Make Me Go @#^%!

Wow guys I'm really living up to the name of this blog lately aren't I? But really, this whole week has been a whirlwind of expletives thanks to insurance and medical billing companies. I swear, sometimes I want to ask them if they got certified in medical billing via Groupon for how ridiculous they are. The following conversation occurred approximately two days ago and I'm still salty about it:

Me: I got billed for twice the amount without my insurance benefits being applied....

Billing agent: We have yet to receive the explanation of benefits from your insurance.

Me: So...you just billed me without connecting with my insurance?

Billing agent: Yes ma'am, if we don't have a contract with your insurance, then any discounts may not apply to the services you received.

My head: Wtf does that even mean?

Billing agent: You should conduct a conference call with your insurance and us.

Me: Shouldn't YOU be doing that with my insurance?

She went on to start talking about things that made zero sense to me...and I'm all...

 Source

 The conversation went on a little more but I'll spare you. I have a headache and I'm sure you do too now. We were talking in circles for more than 30 minutes and it all came down to me bitching at my temp health insurance so they would send over - yet again- my explanation of benefits.

 Source

When I have to do someone else's job for them, I just want to scream all day long. I already have a job. I don't need yours. Thanks. As if that wasn't enough, this past weekend I went grocery shopping. I whipped out my debit card to use it and BOOM it was "not allowed."

 Source

It turns out that my card was "compromised" and while they're supposed to send out a new card before closing the current one...they just decided to close my current card without sending anything out. Thanks guys. OH and since it was Sunday, I had zero access to my account. Things that make me go @$%#.

Source

When this happened I really just wanted to give up on life. But first, I needed to go home and freak the fuck out calmly explain to the hubs what I had to go through at the damn grocery store. Just give me my Kiefer yogurt and turkey burgers guys. But as usual, he calms me down in record time and I decided to burn off the rest of my adrenaline with a run despite the brutal wind. For ONCE something went right. I got to try out my new Underarmour Infrared running jacket I got as an early birthday present and I'm LOVING it. Training for my two 10-miler races starting in April will be SO much easier with it. It doesn't even feel like I have a jacket on it's so lightweight.

The battle of dealing with my med bills and insurance company has yet to be resolved, but I'm determined. Bring it on!! I've even gotten the go-ahead from Josh to start my book. He's still supportive despite my many disclaimers of including his fam and mine in it...and my brutal honesty will surely shine through. Shocked...this just might happen this year folks....really...let the brainstorming begin!

but first...

What do you guys do to de-stress when everything that could go wrong just does? Do you scream in a fit of rage? Attack your bank account with some therapy shopping? Curl in the fetal position and sing Katy Perry tunes until it all stops?

 

Weekending: Hitting The Pavement

Hey guys, guess what?!

There really is nothing like a weekend to yourself to decompress. Cats, reading, getting a lot of my freelance work done and wine by the bonfire to close out the summer? Yes please! Luigi always loves our bonding time. Can't you tell?

Oh and did we all hear the news that my liquid crack in a cup is going to be available as of August 25th this year? Well played Starbucks. I've been doing so well cutting back...

Source

Who am I kidding? I was never out. The 25th will be the only Monday I'll look forward to all year. Mark your calendars fellow pumpkin spice latte fiends. But in the meantime, I have to say, I've been on point with my runs. It helps when your new running/workout gear is a huge win too. 

Fabletics redeemed themselves from the shipment mishap and delivered my new fav workout outfit. I'm shocked that they're so long on me too since I'm very leggy and capris are always a little shorter on me. WIN.

The humidity was horrid, yet I still averaged a 9-minute mile for 7 miles Saturday and Sunday. But hey, I had the help of the The Rolling Stones, Iggy Azalea, Charli XCX and JT to keep my pace on track. I'm really excited for this Chocolate Run in November. I mean come on, the medal is a fricken chocolate bar! 

I also FINALLY got my new social security card with my married last name and got to go to the DMV and bank to start changing all of my account information. The most entertaining thing about that was that my banker's name was Hans. However the photo on my driver's license is pretty awesome. I don't look hungover, have three chins or have a shiny forehead. #winningatlife. 

Source

Meanwhile, has anyone been watching Shark Week? Specifically last night??? What in the hellio is UP with that submarine shark? Scarred for life. Good luck ever getting me back on a boat in the ocean. Ever. The rescue they had on film...I about peed myself. 

Source

And because it's not like I have a million other books on my shelf that I have yet to read, I finally decided to cash in my credit with Barnes Noble and downloaded the first book of the Breathless Trilogy by Maya Banks. Has anyone else read these? I've been looking for a new smut romance series to dive into.

How was everyone else's weekend?? What's your favorite book series??

Race Weekend!

This weekend was so packed full of amazing wonderfulness, I even forgot to post about it all yesterday...so let's do that shall we? Friday after work I had to trek it all the way out to packet pick-up for my race on Sunday. Why do they always have packet pick-up in the most inconvenient places? It took me over an hour to get home from there and I FINALLY made it over to see the hubs. I opened up the door really moody and upset and what do I see? My hubs with a bouquet of roses for me. For no reason at all. Can I get a collective "AWWWW?"

Those flowers even came with mint chocolate chip ice cream (my fave). We've been going through a rough time with the house hunt and I've been really discouraged. He's pretty much the best man ever. He set up ingredients and dough for us to make our own pizzas too! I struck gold with this guy.

The following day was a pool and barbeque day. The weather was fantastic! However I forgot that my coupon for a free Shutterfly photo book was going to expire that night so I spent hours upon hours putting one together while enjoying Summer Shandy. Rough life, I know.

Sunday morning...and I mean MORNING...arguably it was still Saturday night for some...I had to get up at fricken 4:30a.m. for my race. Of course it had to be an hour away and lord knows parking is always a bitch in downtown areas. I made it in time and waited around for the race to start. If that's not the face of an awake person...I don't know what is...there's going to be Starbucks at the finish line right?

Despite looking like I haven't slept in days, I was excited for this race. (IggyAzalea may have everything to do with that). Thanks to my awesome playlist-making skills. Race time was at 7am and I landed a new PR people!! There really is nothing better than that. Despite the course being riddled with the steepest hills EVER...I pushed through thanks to Calvin Harris, Ariana Grande, Neon Trees, Florence + The Machine and more.A good playlist is absolutely critical when you feel like those hills are never going to end.

I crossed that finish line quite strong and by that time it was HOT. I felt so bad for the half marathoners out there since it was probably about 90 degrees. Boss. You can almost smell all of that sweat coming off my forehead.

After I stretched out and walked around, I walked on over to Starbucks for a victory iced latte. I was home by the time I would usually wake my ass up on a Sunday and then of course justified eating like a horse since I just burned 500+ cals during the race. I need to cut that out...also shorts like these annoy the effing hell out of me when I run...is it just me or do you find yourself running like an idiot so they don't ride up EVERY SINGLE TIME? It's not a good look.

I was victorious in running the race, however the Blackhawks weren't so lucky....they fell to The LA Kings after a tough game 7. Better luck next year guys...now there's just...baseball....yawwwnnnnn....don't mind me while I take a nap.

My next two races are in July and August so I need to step up my game since they're longer distances. But heyy-ooo for awesome swag and medals! This woman ALMOST convinced me to sign up for the Chicago Marathon too in October...free entry and free pro training? Can't really beat that...but my knee swiftly reminded me that "hey girl, I'm going to jack you up hardcore if you decide to do that." Sigh...training team or not, I think my knee just can't handle it. Womp...but anyway...

The Fat Trap

That's it, I'm one step closer to smacking the next coworker who brings in donuts, bagels, pizza, cookies and whatever the hell kind of food will stick to my  hips and stomach! I know they're just trying to be nice, but the aroma of pizza and glazed pastries have me clawing at my face in resistance....especially when shark week is about to hit. It's even worse when I have to pass by it to get my tupperware full of yardwork out of the fridge. You can jazz up a baby spinach and kale salad all you want, but you'd be lying your face off if you said you wouldn't want to dive into that box full of assorted Girl Scout cookies someone left behind. See what I have to contend with? I have willpower stronger than Khloe Kardashian's Spanx.

Source

Whenever I feel like I want to fold a whole pizza in half and eat it like a taco, I usually have to take a step back and say to myself, "hey girl...do you REALLY want to do this? Remember that dress? Remember ALL of the sweat you put into getting where you are today?" The voice usually wins and my waistline doesn't suffer the repercussions. Also ummm I have Barbados and bikinis to fit into in two months...

Source

 I have yet to sign up for some more runs in addition to the Rock N' Roll Marathon Series in July, but I'm confident I'll find some good ones. I'm a huge cheapskate these days, so I'll have to catch early bird deals. Some races are just WAY too expensive. I know a lot of these races are for great charities and causes, but sometimes I wonder how much of the fee goes toward the cause. The Spartan Race I did last year cost $90 and I registered early! Charity for Miles is an app I've downloaded and have come to totally love. It's a free app you can download and open while you run so it records your miles. A donation is given to a charity of your choice with each mile you run. How awesome is that?! The only problem is that there are glitches from time to time. It would also be nice if you could see how much you've helped donate to the charity!

There are plenty of other apps that have surfaced since I downloaded Charity Miles. Does anyone else use something different? The organizations for Charity Miles are great and you can pick whichever one you want. The only difference between running a formal race and these apps is the swag...admit it...we've all done that race for the awesome medal or hoodie you get for registering!! Mainly so we can walk around with our medals and swag on like, "yeah I just ran a 10k bitches and kicked SO much ass!" Now give me a bagel...and a nap.

The one race I've considered going above and beyond for is the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. Excuse me? Running throughout ALL FOUR of Disney's theme parks AND you get awesome Disney running swag? Sign me up! It's like my inner five-year-old and adult self have met! I've been debating this one for a LONG time.My fiancee has a hard enough time understanding me wanting to get up at 5am on a Saturday to run a race an hour away let alone going out-of-state for one. I'm sure he'd just laugh in my face.

What do you do to stay on track with your fitness goals? Do you face any "fat traps" in your life? Sometimes quarantining myself at my desk or drinking enough water to the point where I don't have ANY room for anything else works like a charm. Or I could always watch that clip of Lady Gaga getting vomited on again...that will rid anyone of their appetite...for days.

 

Fall Into Insanity

So now that I've blown off blogging since late July, it is now my favorite time of the year...FALL. No, it's not just the pumpkin everythingness (pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin patches the Great Pumpkin etc.) it is the weather, layered clothing, the beautiful trees around my house changing colors and it also means that the holidays are just around the corner. Oh and that my wedding is now seven months away instead of two years from now. Since my engagement, I know of four other people who got engaged and married so it's safe to say that I'm ready to fricken get hitched already! Of course having said that, I feel like my world is upside down as I go through all of these major life changes all at once.

They say that the three most stressful things you can experience in your life include moving, changing jobs and your relationship status. I am now experiencing ALL of those things at once since Josh and I need to look for a house, we're planning our wedding and he's now in the middle of gaining a great opportunity for himself regarding his career path. I'm surprised I'm not on a million anxiety meds right now to calm me down. I mean really, this is a lot for one person to handle and sometimes I'm on the brink of a psychotic break.

Right now it feels like my life is at a point where everything is in limbo, but I do like to think I have my shit together to a certain degree. I mean, I've gotten through months of serious wedding planning and haven't severely injured my mother yet so that's got to count for something. I am also reminded that dealing with one like mine should be considered an Olympic sport (it really should). Move the hell over Michael Phelps, I have 25 gold medals that should be coming my way.

I am also reminded that I really should be grateful for where I'm at with my career right now and mind you, I am. Things can get pretty crazy, but I can honestly say that I LOVE what I do for a living and that's the best feeling. Succeeding in my career is one of the most important factors in my life and having done that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I frequently reward myself with pumpkin spice lattes (very dangerous when my wedding dress should be ready for alterations soon). Crap.

Since my blogging hiatus, I've finished some more races including the Chicago Women Rock 5k, 10k and Half Marathon. I ran the 10k course with some friends and my mom and Josh's mom walked the 5k. I was SO proud of them considering my mom is approaching the big 6-0 this week. To motivate everyone toward the finish line, they had a bunch of hard bodies handing us our medals.

 The race benefited charities dedicated to women and this was by far one of the most fun races I've done. You even got to celebrate with champagne afterward. Because everyone feels like consuming alcohol after a race right? Well yes, that's what I did. Two glasses. Like a boss.

 

 My mom thought she couldn't do it and was starting to make excuses to get out of it, BUT she rocked it just like I knew she would. Now I have my Perfect 10 race at Navy Pier to look forward to in November. This one is especially very dear to my heart since it benefits cancer research.

 

One of the best things about fall is that it provides perfect weather to run in and it makes me feel better about my pumpkin spice latte consumption. Until next time...

Sunshine On A Cloudy Day

For the past week, it's been a monsoon around these parts. Enough already! Luckily the rain stayed away for most of the day so my mom and I could go to the local Farmers Market and go shopping at my favorite shops downtown. We were a little late to the party, but we got some great jarred honey, dill pickles and apple turnover yummies. I'm all for supporting local businesses and call me weird...but I LOVE pickles - especially these. I'm a honey nut too. It's great for you and gives me a great energy boost before my morning runs. (I usually just have a spoonful and go.) Highly suggested!! Putting honey in tea is another great energy booster instead of snagging a sugary soda.

 

After we got these goodies, we had a delicious lunch at Benedicts La Strata where I feasted on a lovely veggie white omelet with deliciously made lemonade. It definitely hit the spot after my morning run. It was a long run day (7 miles) and did it without music. I figured I should start running sans iPod since I won't be able to run with it for the Spartan race. I thought I was going to have a tough time since my master running playlists really motivate me through each and every mile, but to my surprise, I did great without JLo blaring through my earbuds! Running without my music really enabled me to listen to my breathing more and improved my pace! Refueling was in order!

After lunch we headed over to do some more shopping and to my surprise, we ran into some amazing Blackhawks throwback jerseys. Being a HUGE fan (but jersey-less) I was salivating at the mouth. My mom told me to try on a Hossa one and I fell in love even though it was way too big. She took it from me and handed it over to the cashier...I was in awe and disbelief. I'm definitely spoiled. It came just-in-time too so I could sport it for game one of the playoffs against the LA Kings. I knew it would bring me good luck.

And guess what? IT DID. Hossa even scored a goal in the second quarter (all because of me sporting his jersey of course) and the Blackhawks won 2-1. That Stanley Cup is that much closer, Chicago!!!

Get Your Fitness On

So once I started going to college (while everyone else binges on beer and pizza) I decided to make some lifestyle changes by being more conscious of what I eat and drink and making exercise a daily occurrence. I even hired a personal trainer to give me a kick in the ass whenever I needed it to make sure I stayed on track and didn't fall off the wagon. Once I lost 30lbs and went down three sizes I was confident enough to part ways with him....especially since a personal trainer costs money...money that is now spent on paying back student loans and saving up for other costly things such as...a wedding...and a house....ya know, other big people things. Now that I've been on my own for quite some time and achieving many fitness goals, I can say that there are some people who just don't get it when it comes to staying healthy and being fit. Sure I'll be the first one to tell you that I'm no Jillian Michaels, HOWEVER I do have some common sense and have learned from many amazing fitness trainers who have helped me along my fitness journey. Shout out to Elite Warrior Training (EWT) and Title Boxing Club!

Before and After

 1. The Calorie Counter

Sure it's fine to count calories especially if your calorie intake is really high, but if you log every little item into your iPhone without understanding WHERE those calories are going...you could be setting yourself up for an epic failure equal or greater to Kim Kardashian's first marriage. I think all of us have that friend who says, "OH! It's okay if I have this since it's just 100 calories!" Little do they know that the 100 calorie pack of whatever might just be filled with fat or sugar.

2. Dieting

If you want to keep the weight off for good you should just throw the word "diet" out of your vocabulary along with the Oreos and Pringles. Diet means temporary and I know when I wanted to kick that extra weight, I wanted it gone for good which means I needed a lifestyle change that included balanced meals and getting my ass to the gym or doing some kind of physical activity each day. Sure they always say that you should never deprive yourself of something so you don't end up eating a whole container full of cookies later, but the whole idea is just being more conscious of what you're eating and cutting unnecessary calories out. I for one was devastated when I found out that I was pretty much drinking half of my calories with Starbucks lattes in the morning and wine on the weekends (a lot of it). Moderation is key...and consuming a whole bottle of wine is a bit of a stretch.

3. The Excuses

Just shut up already and exercise. I don't care who you are, if it's important enough to you, you will make time to workout or maybe you're just not motivated enough? When it comes to me personally, nothing motivates me more than thinking about how good I'll feel AFTER the workout and how I'll feel if I don't.  Especially now that my wedding dress is thrown into the mix, all I need to see is a picture of it and I'll be damned if I miss core day at the gym. Even when my knee injury hit me I still managed to work around it even though it would have been a fantastic excuse to stay at home all day watching Hoarders re-runs.

4. Skinny vs. Fit

Another pet peeve I have is when girls confuse being skinny with being fit. Being skinny doesn't necessarily mean you're fit. I remember when I ran my first 5k and passed some 95lber on the first mile and at that time...lets just say I still had a significant amount of weight to lose. I think we all would be a little happier if we focused on being more healthy and fit than striving to fit into a size 00. I mean lets get real here, especially if we've practically killed ourselves at the gym for a month and we see that the scale doesn't reflect our hard efforts....get ready for World War III right? When I first started losing the extra tires I had around my midsection I for sure was one to rely on the scale weight WAY too much and felt like I wanted to stab it every time it said I gained anything. Liam Neeson had nothing on me. Now that I incorporate a lot more weight training into my routine, if I were to base my goals around what the scale said I would cry myself to sleep each night. Exercise, eat clean and be healthy. Done. Now go do it.

5. Am I There Yet?

If you're overweight and have big goals, obviously you won't go to bed after an intense workout and wake up the following morning 10lbs lighter. This shit takes time so slow your roll and stay focused. You don't need to go all crazy sauce and drink protein shakes and go vegan but once I spent more time realizing what was in my food and avoiding things that would clearly disrupt my fitness goals, you just feel better even when you're not working out. You can live at the gym and it still won't matter if you suck down Big Macs everyday.

Okay, I'm stepping off of my soapbox now so I can start doing box jumps with it. The moral of the story is that I've struggled with fitness goals, achieved them and anyone who is actually focused on their goals can also be successful if they spent more time doing and stopped trying to avoid exercising any way they can by doing ridiculous liquid diets and starving themselves.

Now that I just finished my fitness rant, I almost forgot to mention that I finished the Get Lucky 7k race with one of my fav ladies on St. Patrick's Day weekend. It was freezing and we even had to run along the lakefront in snow and misty rain crap BUT we did it and conquered all. Laura even beat her best personal record which is a major win!

Monster Dash Half Marathon

So today, I did the impossible...well for me that is haha. I ran my first half marathon EVER. The Monster Dash. The half marathoners started at 9 a.m. and then there was also a 10k and 5k going on as well that started later on. I've been training for MONTHS and today was the day where it all paid off. My mom, Josh and his bff Spencer came along to be my team of cheerleaders. Josh was an amazing supporter and was the one to drive us all. I would have driven but ummm yeah...not too sure that would have been possible post running. We arrived at Grant Park a good hour before start time to allow for proper stretching, photos, and to check out the hilarious costumes since it was a Halloween-themed run. I opted to wear my Monster Dash swag and skeleton gloves.

I haven't been in Grant Park since the Polar Dash where Josh proposed almost a whole year ago now in January :) . It was great to be back and to conquer a challenge I set out to beat for quite some time.

Of course I've been training for months but other than being physically prepared I needed to mentally prepared as well. How did I do this? Creating the perfect playlist to keep my motivated to run 13.10 miles. The following is my playlist that kept me pushing through even when my right knee started to throb in pain (thanks to a basketball injury from way back when).

1.) In This Moment- Adrenalize
2.) Savage Garden- I Want You
3.) Eminem- Lose Yourself
4. Neon Trees- Everybody Talks
5.) Rihanna- Diamonds
6.) Hole- Celebrity Skin
7.) Ke$ha- Tik Tok
8.) Coldplay- Princess of China
9.) David Guetta f. Sia- Titanium
10.) One Direction- Beautiful
11.) Adele- Rolling in the Deep
12.) Rihanna- Where Have You Been?
13.) Lady Gaga- The Edge of Glory
14.) Lady Gaga- Bad Romance
15.) Shania Twain- Man! I Feel Like A Woman
16.) Justin Bieber- As Long As You Love Me
17.) Eminem- 8 Mile
18.) Michael Jackson- The Way You Make Me Feel
19.) Coldplay- Paradise
20.) Adele- Skyfall
21.) Marilyn Manson- Personal Jesus
22.) Cobra Starship f. Sabi- You Make Me Feel...
23.) Blink 182- What's My Age Again?
24.) Eminem- Til I Collapse
25.) Janet Jackson- Escapade
26.) Janet Jackson- Runaway
27.) Disturbed- Down With The Sickness
28.) Blink 182- All The Small Things
29.) Britney Spears- Till The World Ends
30.) Calvin Harris- Feel So Close
31.) Flo Rida & David Guetta- Club Can't Handle Me
32.) Shakira- Waka Waka
33.) LMFAO- Sexy And I Know It
34.) Eric Clapton- Layla
35.) Young The Giant- My Body
36.) Guns & Roses- Sweet Child O' Mine
37.) Aretha Franklin- Respect
38.) Led Zeppelin- Black Dog

Every time I felt like walking it, a new song came on and lit some more fire into me to keep going and to push harder than I have ever pushed. I must say, I was VERY proud of myself. I did my best and really, you can never be disappointed in that. I crossed the finish line strong leaving many Batmans and Thors in the dust. I finished in 2 hours and 30 minutes. I met below my estimated goal time so I was beyond ecstatic. Victory was mine and I had my team of cheerleaders waiting for me at the finish line while I crossed it listening to Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog" ummm awesome? Yes.

I got a medal and an amazing North Face quality reflective jacket that I can add to my Monster Dash swag. I'll definitely never forget this race that's for sure. It was not only physically challenging but mentally challenging as I said before. Also, my friend Cortney made her famous chocolate chip cookie/brownie/cupcake things. They were my victory nom noms once my stomach settled the eff down. During training, I didn't run more than 10 miles all that often but when I did, it seemed like my stomach would go into a state of shock. "I'm thirsty!! No...you're really hungry!!! NO...you'll throw up....SIT DOWN...STAND UP..." It took about a good hour and a half before I felt like I could actually stomach food and more than a sip of water every so often. Being in the back of a car and stuck in traffic didn't help at all either but I got through it and when I did...I broke into that bag of chocolate chip cookie/brownie/cupcake yumminess.

It really was a beautiful day out though for the race. It couldn't have been better. It was chilly in the morning though and warmed up throughout the race which made it difficult running with a long-sleeved shirt and track jacket. The wind felt SOOO good though and I definitely took advantage of those water stations. I'm sure they slowed down my pace significantly in the end but oh well, I was more than happy with my performance and time. :) We went to Red Robin for a victory lunch and I gorged myself on a cheeseburger with sweet potato fries and I think it might have been three or four strawberry lemonades. I figured these calories simply didn't even matter since I probs just burned more than 2,000 running a fricken half marathon.

It tasted soooo good. And might I backtrack a bit and say that getting out of the car after sitting in the car for awhile was quite a task. I felt like an old lady who just had hip surgery. I had to limp along due to my right knee and my hips and legs were definitely not fully functional after what I just put them through. I suspect that my heels will see the back of my closet this week since I'll be rocking flats for this whole work week. I don't even want to know how sore I'll feel in the morning if I'm this sore already but I can still say that I would never take any of it back. I feel achieved, victorious and proud that I kicked so much ass.

Spice Up Your Life

It is the start of a new work week...hooray...*yawn. Before this week is reported on, I shall recap this past weekend's events since it was packed full of family wonderfulness. Saturday was my cousin's fabulous bridal shower so I finally got to rock that new dress I bought (also one of my cousin's colors for the wedding).

My mom hosted the venue at this amazing restaurant where we reserved a private room. The food was AMAZING and I'm pretty sure I gained 10lbs post lunch. We played a bunch of really cute games that my aunt came up with including matching up famous couples (Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson were included....oops!) My cousin is also a pastry chef so there was also a game where we needed to guess the price of some baking products...I had no idea...it's a rare occasion when my ass is in the kitchen to actually bake something....if I am, it's to snag a bottle off of the wine rack or to throw some stuff in a pan and pray that it turns out somewhat edible. The third game we played was really cute. There was a list of candy on one the right and wedding terms on the left to match the candy up with. For instance, airheads were the bridesmaids and the groomsmen matched with the three musketeers. 

After we handed out the prizes for those who won the games, it was time for the bride to open up the gifts! Since my cousin and her fiancee already live together, they had this awesome idea of having more of a honeymoon shower where they suggested things we could get them for their honeymoon. They're stopping at various places on the West Coast so they made a website so people could actually get them certificates for a rental car for a day, things to do on their trip like going on a winery tour, etc. The last gift was of course my Aunt Heidi's (my cousin's daughter). She started to unwrap the box and BAM all of us ladies saw that signature teal color. Tiffany & Co. for the win. My cousin always wears these keys around her neck and just loves keys in general so my aunt had this necklace personally made for my cousin that was made up of three keys on a necklace. SO PRETTY. We gasped, we applauded and my cousin was speechless.

After the bridal shower I got to spend some quality time with the bride-to-be and my other cousins and aunt from out-of-town. The weather was gorgeous and called for margaritas and enjoying them poolside....so we did. After that, (since I obviously hadn't consumed enough calories that day) we got Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza. Go big or go home right? At least it was veggie? :p

Since I was recently outed by my lovely fiancee that yes I have a problem with shopping, I've been keeping the addiction at bay by focusing on running and mentally preparing myself to run for 13.1 miles. Luckily I was due for my long distance run the following morning of my calorie fest. I ran seven miles which didn't seem too bad (I swear by my personally-crafted playlists). There's nothing like still feeling that alfredo sauce sloshing around your stomach though when you're running in humid weather and only halfway through the run...

After my run I retreated downstairs which is my cool-down haven. However, this is Apollo and Luigi's lair during the summer as well so I had the pleasure of having their fluffs stick to my sweaty bod as soon as I collapsed on the couch....awesome.

The weekend came to a close with going to a family birthday party for Josh's cousins and watching Hoarders/ the closing ceremony for the Olympics. I don't know about you, but I instantly regressed to my childhood and freaked the hell out when I found out that The Spice Girls were reuniting and going to perform. Oh.My.God. It was perfect and everything I would have hoped for. Josh was a trooper and watched it with me while I pretended like I wasn't 24 going on 12. Now if only Nsync could reunite....