I Couldn't Take it Anymore

So if you know me, you are well aware of a few things:
1. I'm a terrible liar - I don't like to do it, I'm bad at it, and I don't like when others lie
2. Sometimes I get over excited which leads to how I...
3. Can't keep fun secrets

This means Christmas is always a very hard time for me. The joy of giving someone a gift makes me feel so warm and fuzzy inside and I want that feeling, well, as soon and as often as possible. That's why when Seth braved the blizzard and made it down to Des Moines this weekend, I couldn't take it anymore.

I had bought his gift on Black Friday and stocked it up until I wrapped it this week. There it was. Waiting in the corner to be opened. I swear Seth only shaves when he visits me so when I catch him off guard and he still has to shave - I jump on it. He presented the perfect opportunity to use that gift of his within the first five minutes. I begged him to open his present. And kept begging and begging. He did reluctantly, just to shut me up. I had tricked him and put the surprised gift in an even bigger box so he would have no idea what I got him. Here it goes....!!!!


He likes it!

I know it is only December 11th, but I am never any good at waiting for things. He still has yet to buy my Birthday and Christmas gift. Now I have set the bar for the both of those events :)

In other news, not a ton has been going on here. I invested in a Verilux Happy Light 6000 to try and for-go my seasonal blues. Who doesn't get a little down when you have about 9 hours of daylight each day and are inside for ALL of it?

Well, let me tell you, this puppy works! I could skip around my office all day after a few hours in front of my happy light. I should move it closer so I can get a face tan while I'm at it... You do have to sit in front of it for at least two hours a day.

I also ordered my first batch of Pampered Chef items since I am now a real cook. Soon I will have three paring knives, an apple corer and a meat/potato smasher! Thanks for the great party, Krystal!

Seth and I were also able to successfully run the Living History Farms race a few weeks ago. No dressing up this year, but next year for sure!


I have no plans for my 24th Birthday next Saturday yet but hopefully I can stay up past 10:00 pm with this geri body.

Hopefully everyone's Christmas shopping is going well. I've been doing a lot of shopping online. Great way to avoid the crowds and lines. The plans for the rest of today involve doing some baking and hopefully dragging Seth to Love and Other Drugs. I hear it's a good one!

Stay warm out there and DRIVE SAFE if you have to go out. It sure would be a nice time to have a CR-V... :)

For the love of Honey Crisps

How can you not love this season? Football is on (and I finally understand it!), the feeling of the crisp air in your lungs, and the best apple time ever! To indulge in the season, I suggested to Seth we visit an apple orchard. Since he's never even heard of an apple orchard, it was a must that we went. After scrounging through our limited orchard options, Seth and I settled on Center Grove Apple Orchard in Cambridge, IA. We had to be directed where to park and the flow of traffic was steady. Low and behold, we were the only ones there without kids... Our first step was the giant store which had samples of jellies, apples, dips, sauces and sweets. Since we couldn't decide what to get, we tried the peanut butter chocolate fudge, apple pie with ice cream and a warm glass of apple cider. YUM! Then, after a quick trip to the potty barn, we were off to check out the other goodies Center Grove had to offer. Among them: a corn pool, apple slingshot, giant bouncing pillow, and a hayride, just to name a few. The attraction we decided to conquer was the corn maze. I've never been in a corn maze which is sad knowing how many years the Field of Dreams had one to offer. The corn maze we went out had a game which you could find 10 items located throughout the course. Every time you found an item, you got to punch what you found and in the end you could take it back to the store for a prize. Seth and I took it among ourselves to make sure we didn't stop until we had every item punched. Literally 3 hours later we came out of the 4-acre maze exhausted, but with a win.

We limped back to the store to get what I really came for - the HONEY CRISP apples! Oye these things are just too much awesomeness to be so healthy. You pay for what you get, but it is so worth it. We ran into Deb there and she convinced me to get the caramel dip too... hmm, ok, talked me into it. I have been eating 3-4 honey crisps a day with the decadent dip since Sunday and I could use another one right now. The biggest thing I'm going to miss about the summer and early fall seasons are the fresh fruits and vegetables. Going to frozen and canned items for the next 6 months sounds disgusting. I hate winter.

All in all, it was a great weekend. I'm glad you can't get a good look at my shirt - I had to break down and buy an Iowa State shirt for tailgating, but I made it pink! It was great to feel like a kid again, indulge on some sweets and go on the corn maze challenge. There won't be too many more days to spend outside, just enjoying the weather and the colors of the season. Now who wants an apple?!...

There was a lot of Thrusting

And pumping! I'm talking about Zumba!!! Tonight after my (almost regular) Tuesday and Thursday body pump class, I stuck around another hour to figure out what this Zumba business was about. The same instructor who leads the body pump also leads this class and she mentioned it was a great cardio workout so I wanted to see for myself. Oh, and the fact that I had 2 pieces of pizza from Sam's Club and a giant pop for lunch left me feeling a little guilty. But it was only $4.88 for all of that! Anyway, Zumba is a dance class that incorporates different styles of dance moves into easy-to-learn but fast-paced steps. Here's an example:


My instructor was absolutely right. Our warm-up started off with us "pumping" our hips - I actually had to stop and giggle, loudly. Apparently this is normal because everyone else looked at me when I did. Let me tell you something else: this white girl CAN'T dance! But it sure was fun to try! Over my two hours of body pump and Zumba, I burned just over 900 calories and I had a great time doing it! I'm sure with anything, practice will make me look like less of a fool. I was also surprised to see that many of the people in Zumba didn't know what they were doing so I fit in great. I stood next to the man weighing in at over 200 pounds for added security, but I sometimes lost sight of how much space was around me and ran into him once or twice... whoops. My favorite parts were dancing to the songs on the radio that I really like right now since I sometimes jam out on my own. I'm going to try and make this a Tuesday/Thursday night ritual to try and put less stress on my body while running. As the weather is cooling off (65 degrees outside now!) I am going to need another outlet than the treadmill every day. I'm proud of myself that I tried something else new since I usually avoid dancing because I'm self-conscious. Time to get out of my comfort zone... slowly but surely! I'd recommend it for anyone who wants to break out a little and just have fun, especially because no one cares how silly you look!

I've Been a Bad Girl

In the last few weeks while I was abandoning my blogging... I was out shopping. I'm not sure what got into me but boy did I BUY!!!! Among the goodies:




A ROCKIN' new iPod and Nike Fit!!! This is what I've saved up my tax return money for. It took a long time picking out which color I wanted. The Nike Fit is amazing and it talks to me. I've also been putting my songs on shuffle more lately and have been discovering many goodies I've been missing. Love my iPod.

On July 17, Seth and I got slightly impulsive. We/I decided to see O.A.R. in Davenport. Not only is O.A.R. my favorite band EVER. It had been a full two years since I've seen them in concert!! Show #5 proved to be just as amazing... oh, and wait for it...









I GOT TO MEET JERRY DEPIZZO!!!!!! Seth and I wandered around Davenport for a while following the concert and when we were too hot to walk any more, we decided to head back to the car. We saw a crowd gathering around the bus and low and behold - Jerry stood. I blabbered to him that "This is my, uh, fifth show... heeheehee" and "I played the sax in high school so I know how hard it was" - ner. But he was nice enough to stand next to me and take a picture before I panicked.





Once we got back from the concert, I was feeling the need for some healthy cooking choices. I destroyed my body in Davenport at the Filling Station - dessert and all. So it was time to jump back on the wagon. After scrounging through many good options, I found "Healthy Cooking for Two" which was full of healthy things I never heard of.




It took a while to find something in the cook book without going out and buying all the ingredients from scratch. But I did it! My concoctions for this week were:


Quinoa, peppers, mushrooms and onions








Marinated chicken, sauteed cucumbers and sweet potatoes. All had different seasonings and all were delicious!!









Lentils and leeks. First time buying both of these ingredients. I made this tonight after I made the above meal. Directions say to eat it over a fresh green salad but I may just warm it up and eat it with something else tomorrow. But I made my breakfast for tomorrow tonight - Green Monster! This beast has handfuls of spinach, a banana, blueberries, almond butter, milk and ice in it. I'd like to make it with Almond Breeze and whey protein sometime for a meal. Delicious!


BAM! Check out this guy!! Splurge number 15 for the month. My blow budget is all but gone. I have been eyeing this beauty for months and finally broke down and got it. This tumbler from Starbucks allows you to create your own tumbler. I've been itching to have some more creativity and wanted to check this out. I have yet to finalize my plans for the design but I'm sure it will be glorious. Since I've been cutting back on my caffeine and coffee consumption, I've been drinking water and crystal light. I've encountered some headaches but know it will be just fine!











In other sad news, I had to say goodbye to Brenna this weekend. They had a nice going away party at Pat's partents' house. Pat was accepted into medical school at USC where he'll be there at least the next three years. Brenna isn't too excited about it and neither am I. I did, however, have the best (and only) salmon burger I've ever had. I went right out and bought myself a package to try myself.

There's been a few changes at work in regards to Active with Asthma. We still only have 11 kids registered which is not 100 like we were planning. I really hope the day turns out ok and things flow as needed. I've also been trying to work on the Asthma Educator Institute more so make that a successful program. I'm enjoying my job better and feel like I have a better handle on it lately. I need to keep up my self confidence which makes a HUGE difference.

This weekend is RAGBRAI weekend!! There will be a big extravaganza including a fish fry on Friday and a hog roast on Saturday. It will be great to be home and see family again for another special occasion. Wooo!!!

Cookie Monster

I did it! My first attempt at "Thier Family Cookies" was a complete success! But holy cow the recipe never mentioned that it yields 1,000 cookies. Looks like I'll have to freeze some and save for later...

With an open Sunday and me trying to delay starting anything to have to deal with work, I decided to pick up trying something new. Sarah provided this excellent recipe to her bridesmaids during the rehearsal dinner and it has been sitting in my room since. So after a 3 mile run on the treadmill, I thought I was in the clear for a few extra calories. I ran to the store to pick up a few extra ingredients I didn't have laying around the house. This batch of cookies cost about $24! I was excited to use the new mixer Mom got for me a few months earlier too. In the recipe of Thier Chocolate Chip Cookies:
-1 lb butter or margarine (4 sticks) oye!!
-2 C dark brown sugar
-1 1/2 C white sugar
-2 tsp Vanilla
-3 eggs
-6 C Flour
-1 1/2 tsp Salt
-1 1/2 tsp Soda
-4 Cups Chocolate chips (2 bags)
-3 dashes of cinnamon (optional)

Cream butter and sugars (I had to call Sarah for this part since I didn't fully know how to cream these ingredients. She mentioned I needed to warm the butter up for 20 seconds first before mixing... whoops). Add eggs and vanilla and beat 3-4 minutes. Add all dry ingredients until mixed. Add dashes of cinnamon and chocolate chips. Mix well. Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before taking off pan. Secret: Do not over bake!

After wads of cookie dough and 3 cute little perfectly baked delicious cookies, I feel ill. Last night I went to Wellman's with Bobbie Jo and a few of her friends (which was lame) and didn't go to sleep until 3:30am. I'm feelin a nap! Seth is here, determined to watch more James Bond movies. The 4 he watched last night with Martha and Jill were not enough... haha.

I've also been tossing the idea around of getting a new ipod. Seth teases me that whenever I get something new I have to blog about it... so.? :) But the ipod I have now has been dying within minutes of when I start my runs. I bought it refurbished 4 years ago on ebay and it's finally pooping out on me. I also want one of those Nike fit things that help me track mileages of my runs. I couldn't decide between an ipod touch-screen and a nano but I think I want to go with the nano. The only thing is... that's a lot of money to fork out! I always debate with myself if I can afford it or not...

Ok, time to clean the place up and start thinking about the work week again... ew. I should be thinking about what to make for supper but that is the last thing I want to worry about now. In the meantime... MMMMMM COOKIESSS!!!!!

New Running Shoes Make Life Better

Last week, I convinced myself and indulged in a new pair of running shoes. It's been a good year since I allowed myself to buy a decent pair of new shoes. The $50 ones at Kohls did NOT count. You get what you pay for. There is something incredibly motivating about having new shoes. Although hesitant to get them dirty, I know hitting the road is much easier and I am easily persuaded to go farther. That actually goes with any new running clothes that I buy... which explains why most of the new clothes I get are workout clothes. Tonight Seth and I ran for a solid 20 minutes non-stop. We started directly at the independent living center next to me and ran to the skateboard park (our normal turn-around spot) and continued again until 86th street. It felt great! Actually, it was so humid and I was sweating so hard I couldn't see through the sweat in my eyes. The new shoes gave me wings though. I really want to get into the habit of exercising in the morning but I am SO not a morning person. This morning I woke up at 7:15 and practically had to get drug out of bed. I am so grumpy in the morning up until I have my coffee finished by 10:00am. I need to start my IV of coffee at 5 in the morning... Going for a run right in the morning before work would give me tons of extra free time in the afternoon to do other things I wanted. Making one goal at a time...
Off to bed! I'm going to read a little more of my book "Loose Girl" about a promiscuous girl who finds true love in herself. On the agenda for tomorrow... handing out more Active with Asthma materials to Parks and Recs around the area and continuing (starting) my work with the Asthma Educator Course. That thing is a MONSTER! I avoid it at all costs but now it is getting down to crunch time. I also need to confirm a speaker for next week's BBC. AHHHH! Ok no more thinking about work. Only think about work when I'm there or I start to panic.

Yay!! I'm a blogger!!

Well, well, well. I finally joined the rest of the world on this whole internet thing. Here's where I'm going to write about my exciting - and not so exciting adventures in this lovely place we call world. I'm going to have to think of another name for the blog - something that suits me more... One of my favorite blogs is from an ALA staff member's sister-in-law called "Iowa Girl Eats". She writes about cooking glorious food, traveling, and running. I'm inspired that she can do so much and still blog. I will need to write more outside of being at work. Stay tuned...