Thank You Dusty!!!

...as Memorial Day is upon us and we're all enjoying our time at the lake and BBQing, our soldiers are in much warmer places fighting for us to be able to do the fun things we love to do on Memorial Day weekend.

Our good friend Dusty (middle in the picture) is serving his second tour in Iraq and will be home for good in less than TWO MONTHS!!! We're so excited to have him back in the States. Dusty has really matured and turned into an exceptional young man.

We're so proud of you Dusty and appreciate everything you and your fellow soldiers do for us. The countdown is on until you're home and we couldn't be more excited!

My 11 Miler with the Boston Qualifier...

...so as my Sun Chip Project was being posted to my blog yesterday, I was out running 11 miles with two-time Boston qualifier, Shelley. Holy "insert profanity of your choice"!!! Shelley just kicked my @$$ and I'm feeling it...soooo sore!!! No dead bodies this run, only a dead Rolex (okay so it was probably a Timex but Rolex sounds better, agreed?). Mile 5 was were all the excitement was going on...big hill, we were ahead of pace then Shelley almost tripped on a sewer and fell!!! Apparently some guy driving by gave us a thumbs up but I was too busy focusing on the ground so I didn't see it.

Technology Drive was nothing but HILLS!!! Good prep for next week but totally sucky! When we finally got back on K, I touched my forehead and could feel the dirt, grime and dried sweat-totally GROSS!!! I drank my entire water bottle and half of Shelley's (I felt bad for her as she can run a FULL marathon in almost the same time it took us to do 11). The only thing motivating me to finish was a nice tall glass of ICE cold water. We walked another half mile for our cool down where my legs were like Jello and all I could think of is that in one week I'd still have 2.1 more miles to go.

Things I Learned Today:
1. Semis, although frightening, create a great breeze.
2. Hills suck.
3. Ponytail and headband-fail! Look for me in pigtails next weekend, I promise I'm not 12!
4. Hills suck.
5. Realistically I should shoot for 12.30-13 minute miles which would still, barely, put us under the three hour mark-sorry Sherrie!
6. Hills suck.
7. If I'm crazy enough to do this again, I'm going on a major diet...lugging around all this weight is not fun!
8. Hills suck.
9. Ice cold water is DA BOMB!!!
10. No matter what, Hospital Hill is going to suck, I'm going to hurt, I may even cry but I'm going to finish it no matter what!!!

Ugh...I'm exhausted!!! Have a great Memorial Day weekend!!!

My Sun Chip Project...

...so I'm sure you've all seen the new Sun Chip bags that make enough noise when you open them up that even your neighbors are sshhing you, right? Well did you know that you can put them in your compost pile? Here is a (very bad) picture of what is shown on the back of the bag.

So after finishing off my delicious Garden Salsa Sun Chips, I took the bag outside, filled it with grass clippings, found a stick to put through the bag and secured it to the ground in our compost pile. I plan on watching this, hopefully disintegrate, and give you all full updates.

However, I'm worried that this little critter might be tempted to mess with the bag and ruin my project. I feel a lot of "NO SHADOW!"s in my future.

Matt has taken on the garden this year and I haven't done a single thing with it. I was just so discouraged by it last year because all we got were tomatoes, jalepenos and a little lettace and carrots. Here are the start of some tomatoes.

Here is Matt tending his garden.

I hope that my Sun Chip project works and I can give you full updates!!! Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Orange is my Signature Color...

...growing up in small town Cape, well it's actually quite large now, I went to high school at Central High School (go Tigers!!!). The school's color was orange and it actually consumed my entire closet when I was in high school and I think my love for orange began. Look I even got Haley loving orange (okay so I don't think she had a choice but coincidence? I think NOT! We'll call it fate.).

I look fabulous in hunter orange!My entire wedding was themed around burnt orange and even my dress had orange in it! Now that's some dedication to the color orange, don't you agree?

But my love for orange doesn't stop there...my car is orange, I heart orange Gatorade, I love oranges (the fruit), I have some orange paper sitting on my desk at work now...okay, maybe I'm stretching it but you get the idea, right?

So tell me...what is your signature color?

11 Weeks of Insanity...

...Monday started my 11 weeks of insanity AKA my busy time at work. The summer is always a stressful time for me and its easy to fall off the wagon and have a morning Mountain Dew and cookies for breakfast but I'm telling myself that I will NOT do that this year! I have decided my drink of choice for this summer will be...FUZE!!! Love that stuff!!! My half is 10 days away then I'm going to take a week off and start a new training program so hopefully that will break up my days a bit and keep me from the Dew and cookies.

I promise I'm going to try to continue to post as often as I am because I know that each of you out there would be lost without my daily ramblings, right? I'm also going to apologize if I don't comment quite so often or if my comments are lame...I promise I'm reading but being on call from 6:30am-6pm really puts a time constraint on what you can and can't do.

So please leave me a note now and let me know what you're doing this summer so I can live vicariously through you. While you're enjoying your pina coladas just remember I'm still here in MO losing my sanity and probably having my hair turn white!

What a Saturday...

...wow! I did more this past Saturday than I have all my May Saturdays combined! As you can tell from the post yesterday, I started my day off at the zoo for Luke's plaque dedication. Then I headed into Kirkwood to meet Katie for lunch at Dewey's. I love catching up with her and talking our wonders away. I really had to "twist her arm" into walking across the street with me to McArthur's. We each got a piece of Ooey Gooey Cake for dessert and I brought Matt a brownie that he described as "amazing."

I headed home for a quick outfit change then headed out to Sugar Creek Winery for my college roommate's bridal shower. HOLY MOLY!!! There were like hundreds (okay like 100-150) people there and I only knew her, her mom and our other college roommate, Shelley, who I hadn't seen since 2006 (FYI-she looked the exact same and I mean that in a good way). So every girl in a white dress, veil or pink sash I'd walk towards staring at her. Then I passed the main house and wouldn't you know that the custodian that just retired was sitting there enjoying a glass of wine! I stopped and chatted with him for a minute as he told me how "difficult" retirement was and then he actually pointed me in the right direction of the shower. Whew!

Can I just say that even in the 90 degree weather this was probably the best and most fun bridal shower I've ever been to? And no, it wasn't the wine...I only had one glass. First off aside from everyone's personalized wine glass, we all got our own hot pink hand-held fan!?! It was PERFECT for the hot, hot day!

We all chatted and turns out Aunt Vicky knows hubs' fam really well. She went on to tell me that she saw Matt holding the twins on FB and I told her, "Aunt Vicky! Those were my pictures!!!" Talk about a small world, huh? She also told me about the one day she agreed to babysit my BIL Daniel and I told her I was sorry, she laughed and said so was she!

After chatting, wine tasting and food (delicious cupcakes from the Cupcakery-it was my day of STL bakeries, wasn't it?), we played a few games. You just have to know Kim and this is probably why we got along so great when we lived together but she always has an explanation, and a crazy one at that, for everything! We played this game called, "Would you rather..." and it was crazy questions like, "Would you rather live in a giant comfy nest or in a burrow underground?" Of course, Kim picked a burrow because we all know that she's deathly afraid of birds. So they were fun, silly questions but if you knew Kim well then you could guess what she would pick.

Before I headed home for another outfit change, we snapped a picture of the old college girls of 31-06. L to R: Me, Kim and Shelley
After a 30 minute drive back to St. Peters, a 20 minute wait in the sobriety checkpoint (yes, I passed although I almost couldn't find my registration and the copper had to help me), another outfit change, I met up with the girls again at Trailhead to start her bachelorette party. I said my good byes and gave them my well wishes after dinner as I headed back home. Whew! What a day, I was exhausted and I slept in until 8am on Sunday-that's like SUPER late for me.

Side note: Funny when I started this post, I didn't think I'd have much to say and now that I'm finished I realize you guys will probably just skim it because its so long!

St. Louis Zoo Crossing Bridge...

...Saturday morning I headed to the St. Louis Zoo. Nine years and 4 days ago, a son, brother and child was killed by a drunk driver on a field trip with his class. I am so lucky to have this boy's mother be a part of my life. Angie was with her son, Luke, and his classmates when a drunk driver sped down the street outside the St. Louis Zoo and onto the sidewalk where he took Luke's life. His classmates, his mother, the other parents, and everyone in Angie and Luke's life had their world turned upside down on that May afternoon in 2001.

Almost nine years later, the zoo along with federal grant money and funds from Wachovia have decided to make the zoo a safer place so that no parent would have to take their child to the zoo in fear for their safety. This past Saturday, a wonderful plaque dedication ceremony was put on and I think Luke helped us out with the gorgeous weather that made a surprise appearance after a week of rain, rain, rain.
The weather has put the bridge process a little behind so it's not quite done but its pretty close. Luke's family were the first people to walk across the bridge and his classmates from the field trip were right behind them still showing their love and support. I think this picture pretty much sums up everything. A mother who has endured so much but has never given up the fight. Angie is a member of M.A.D.D. and helped to get the bridge at the zoo. So the next time you see this plaque after you safely cross the bridge and are about to enjoy a fun-filled day at the zoo, take a minute to say a prayer for Luke and Angie and the rest of his family and friends because not a day goes by that he isn't thought about and missed.
Angie, thank you for letting me be a part of this dedication and thank you for all your support and encouragement in my running endeavors. You truly are an inspiration for so many reasons and to so many people.

Family Friday...

...this past Tuesday, Matt and I grilled up porksteaks & chicken and took them over to Jeff and Josie's house. Their family has been coordinating people taking them dinner since they just had the twins PLUS the two older boys! Josie had a mother-daughter thing to go to so when we arrived, Jeff answered the door with both the girls and the two boys running around going crazy. I could tell he was waiting for me to take one so I took Miss Sophie who was wide awake and checking everything out. Let me tell you, it was kind of difficult to get plates, forks, cups out while holding a baby and trying to feed a family! Since it was nice out and the boys had already eaten, we decided to eat outside so that the boys could run around while we ate dinner.

Here is the one and only shot I got of the entire night, like I said babies, boys (both little and big) are a handful! This is oldest brother Cody with little sis Sophie:

I was definitely impressed with Jeff's skills as he took care of both the babies and the boys, he's got the whole double feeding thing down. Matt and I watched the girls and did the dishes while Jeff put the boys, well attempted to put the boys to bed. I think it was a little harder since we were there and they were showing off a little bit.

Matt did a decent job as well. He played tball with the boys while Jeff fed the girls and I cleaned up dinner. We were each holding a baby while Jeff read the boys a bedtime story and when Miss Sophie got a little squirmy and fussy, he kept shooting me "Help!" looks. When I asked if she was wet, he shrugged as though he didn't have a clue...I think he did, he just didn't want to change her diaper!

So anyways, the girls are officially one month old and still as cute as can be. It was fun to visit with their whole family, just missed momma Josie. I hope they enjoyed dinner and they've got PLENTY of leftovers!!! Have a great weekend everyone!

An Award!!!

...many thanks to Slam Dunk for the following awards! Slam is the only male reader of mine so the fact that he sticks with my blog despite my ramblings about bras, blisters and the girl doctor and sometimes uh...not so nice things to say about the opposite sex (i.e. my husband), I really appreciate his loyalty and comments.

This is the Happiness Award! To accept it, I must list 10 things that make me happy.
1. Hearing my niece's happy voice when she sees me and says, "Sissy!!!"
2. Hanging out with some of our favorite friends who keep us laughing for hours.
3. Cardinals baseball!!!
4. Having a good run, sweating a lot and not being out of breath!
5. Elvis Pretzely (I'm pretty sure this makes every happy list of mine!)
6. Emma laying her head on my shoulder when we're headed to bed.
7. Meeting up with girlfriends and both of us talking non-stop in fragments but totally understanding what the other is saying.
8. Fuze-peach mango-yum!
9. Comments!!!
10. Buying the perfect gift for someone and seeing their reaction when they open it (seems out of place in May but I have a picture from Christmas at my desk so that's what made me think of that one!).

I also got the Sugar Doll Award from him, yes someone out there in Blog Land thinks Slam Dunk is a Sugar Doll...wonder what his wife thinks of that, hmmm???

So now I'm going to tag five people to pass both these awards along to. Please tag the person who gave you the award (ME!) and then pass it on to 5 people.

My five:

1. Christy at Where I Am -super proud of her for finishing her first ever 5k!

2. Stephany at Stephany Writes-I feel like I can award her again, since her semester is over! Woohoo!!!

3. Adie at Almost Perfect-my blog BFF!!!

4. Hello Cupcake-I love the photo thing she's doing, go check it out!

5. Love, Imagine, Create-new blogger to me but she had me crackin' up at the thought of someone running with a pretzel in their hand!

The Running Outfit...

...okay so the half is less than 20 days away so I need to focus on what I'm going to wear!?! I know this sounds ridiculous BUT let's be honest here people, I'm a big girl...I have big boobs, big thighs, big butt so I have to find just the right outfit! I also suffer from "Chub Rub" this is where your legs rub together and leave a painful rash SO I typically run in capris but being that it's going to be on June 5 (hot hot hot) and 13.1 miles I figured I should find some shorts. Here are the two outfit options.

Wal-Mart: I like the top of this one because it is razor back which means cooler on my back but it is kind of skin tight when I wear it. When I got home though I tried on the bottoms and they are actually capris-grrr!
Target: Dry-fit top and bottom. Top is nice and doesn't cling to my body like the other shirt and it's very light. I'm just worried that I'll end up shoving the sleeves up my sports bra so it isn't hanging on my shoulders. Bottoms: now these are actually shorts that go to my knees, perfect for chub rub. Hubs denies that I have a panty line when I wear them or that I look super fat in them but I'm not 100% confident in them. OH! The shirt does cover my pooch(how I got lucky enough to have a pooch that looks like I've had a child even though I don't, I have no idea!)I also bought the off-brand wicking socks at Target and Wal-Mart (not to be confused with Air-Wick air freshener). The one thing I hate about these socks is one always gets lost in the laundry, without a doubt, it disappears to the laundry gnome. I wore a pair on my run on Saturday, stood at the washer, took them off and put them directly into the wash. Moved them all to the dryer then took everything out and can only find one!?! I picked up every piece of clothing and went through it and it's gone. This is so annoying!!! Grrr...

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to go with the Target outfit but please feel free to leave me your comments. And no, I won't try them on and take pictures for you-I mean I do WANT you to come back and keep reading!!!

Happy Graduation Amber!!!

...after the morning shopping spree, Matt and I headed over to Amber's parents' house for her graduation party. Amber is a great friend and co-worker and I must admit that I feel pretty old because when I started my job, Amber was just starting college and now she's all grown up!

I might mention that Matt and Mike, Amber's boyfriend, are in love. Every time we do something together, Matt always asks if Mike will be there and then vice versa. Then the two of them go off together to look at trucks or exchange fishing stories and usually end up with plans the following day to hang out. It's such a bromance!
Here is MK, myself and Amber...her parents had so much delicious food that we all left stuffed!
Here is Amber with her puppy Chico whose tongue doesn't stay in his mouth!
So congratulations Amber! You're going to be an awesome teacher!!!

Scholastic Shopping Spree!!!

...after my wet eight mile run on Saturday morning, I headed to Fenton where I met my mom and stepsis for our Scholastic warehouse shopping spree!!! Here is Jo and I with Clifford the Big Red Dog:
Ah, the fruits of our labor...oh, and we had another shopping cart just as full
We were there for almost TWO HOURS!?! Some of the stuff there was little junky stuff but some was SUPER sweet...they had picture books, board books, adult books, cookbooks, easy reader books and the list goes on! I think I was like in blogger heaven because I probably thought about each of you at least once...Super Nanny=Angie, horses=Sarah, Balls=Heidi....and I could keep going.

I bought stuff for the twins, for Candace's sweet baby Colin, for my niece, for the graduation party we went to, for work, for me and maybe even a little something for my blog! Yes, I got a couple of giveaway items but I'm just trying to wait until the right time to offer them. Hope everyone enjoyed their Saturday, this was definitely a GREAT way to spend the soggy morning.

Drenched to the Bone...

...yes, notice the post time...7:11 AM! Yep, I'm home from my 8 mile run and already blogging about it at 7:11 AM on a Saturday morning!!! I was supposed to do this run yesterday but when I got up around 6ish it was pouring rain so I decided to sit it out and put it off until today. Being the person that I am, I beat myself up all day about this because it cleared up later in the morning and I could have totally got it in before I headed to work at 1pm but I decided to be lazy and lounge around the house.

Those of you that are my friend on FB (the know all of real friendships, right? Totally joking!), saw that I posted something along those lines on Daily Mile which in turn links to FB. So my Daily Mile friend, Patrick (and he's kinda cute too!), totally called me out saying if it wasn't lightning or thundering I'd better get out there. So when the alarm went off at 5am this morning Matt to get to work, I was up, shoes laced and out the door!

The best part of this run? Mattie joined me for the first mile! He wasn't very happy about it being that he's told me on more than one occasion to not talk to him before his coffee but he went my pace yet pushed me and when he left me to turn around, he said, "You can do it babe! I know you." How's that for some motivation at 5:20 in the morning?

So I truck on after he leaves me and its kind of funny the things that go through my head as I run...trying to do math and figure out my pace, thinking about the rest of my day (Scholastic warehouse sale with momma!!!), thinking about the outfit I bought for the race (I'll post about that later), running over the creek and glancing for dead bodies (yes, I watch too much Law & Order), staring at the cow that dresses up for holidays and shaking my head (again, another post for another time), stubbing my toe and wondering if I fell and chipped my tooth what would I do (good thing White Castle is along my route and they're open 24 hours), wondering if Matt left the door unlocked like he was supposed to-he's been known to lock me out of the house while I'm out running (I had my I-Touch so I would have emailed my dad to call Matt-how's that for technology, huh???), busting out one line to a song because they pump me up (That's what you get for waking up in Vegas!), and those are just a few of the thoughts that raced through my mind...

Around mile 6, I could feel the storm blowing in...major temperature drop and sprinkles of rain that turned into fat, steady rain drops. My I-Touch started being all weird...I hope it's okay, I love that thing! I took it out of its case when I got home to let it dry out...cross your fingers that it's okay! Around 7.5, Super Freak came on, if only for a second, and I kicked it into high gear finishing very strong.

Good thing Silky's isn't open at 5am or I would have totally had to stop for an Elvis Pretzely. Did I mention that the 2 mile and then 6 mile mark is Silky's? How convenient, right?

I'm am SO glad I got up, yes even at 5am, to get this done now I can enjoy the rest of my weekend and I don't have to think about running again until Monday (7 miles...this week is going to be killer). I also feel 10x better about Hospital Hill which is only 21 days away. I finished the 8 today within pace and I didn't feel like I was dying PLUS I think when I'm actually running the race and have Sherrie beside me to push me and keep me at pace, I think I'll do a lot better. When I'm on my own sometimes I think I get caught up in La La Land and slow down without realizing it. Think of me this week as I'll be running 7 miles twice this week, 4 miles one day, 3.1 another and 9.5 next weekend!

Okay, I'm still in my wet running clothes and FREEZING so I'm off to take a shower and warm up. Hope everyone has a great, dry weekend!

Thursday Tidbits...

Haven't done one of these in awhile and I've got the time...

*My sister gave me one of those automatic Air Wick timer room fresheners...can I just say that this thing scares the bejeezus out of Emma and I not to mention it sounds like someone farting!? It smells really good but when you're home alone with just the puppies and you don't expect it...FREAKY! Emma runs out of the room when it goes off and hides in the basement.

*Monday I had a small headache at work, I ran and it felt better then as I left work OMG!!! THE PAIN! I don't normally get headaches and if I do get them I try not to take medicine, not against it just only want to use it when I absolutely HAVE to...Matt gets home and I'm in my red chair in the fetal position, he walks in the room and I say, "Drugs, give me drugs..." He brings me some ibuprofen, I head to bed with a ice pack on my head around 6pm and am asleep by 8pm. Tuesday I had the same headache off and on, I thought maybe it was from looking at the computer screen but I didn't look at it any longer than normal. I pushed my screen back at work and took breaks from it on Tuesday but we'll see....ugh, I hope that sucker doesn't come back for a long time!

*The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend I have to work and I also have an 11 mile run. I was figuring I would just run to work because it was probably 11 miles or longer...I tracked it today and it's only like 7 or 8 miles...well, crap, going to have to find another route and this is the LONG way to work! I didn't realize I lived so close! Actually I think I'm going to do a loop around my neighborhood THEN head to work.

*I have an 8 mile run tomorrow, let's hope the rain holds off because I plan on running to Matt's work and back, weird his work is only 4 miles from home. If it rains, I'll be running all 8 on the treadmill.

*This Saturday, my mom is taking me, my stepsister and her two daughters to the Scholastic Warehouse sale for basically a shopping spree! I'm sooo excited! We only have 4 hours...not sure I'll be able to get through that fast enough. Hmm...maybe I'll also grab something for a giveaway too...now I just have to find a reason to have one.

*We're making dinner two nights next week for our friends that just had the twins. Matt is super excited about grilling for them. I'm super excited to see the girls! I bet they're so big now!

Okay, that's enough randomness from the life of Alyssa for now. Hope everyone is doing well!

My Outfit....

...for those of you that know me well, you know I am not a fashionista. I am most comfortable, and usually seen, wearing jeans and a tshirt or hoodie. I am devoting an entire post to my outfit at the wedding because I am very excited about it, I pulled this one off without the help of Kristal or Ashley and I think I did a pretty good job if I do say so myself!

Here is the great outfit! Sorry about the lighting and my feet being cut off...one guess who took the picture...
Why I like this outfit? It has pockets!!! So handy to slide my hands in when I didn't know what to do with them or hold my camera (Matt was grateful for this). I promise the dress was ironed when I put it on but after sitting through a wedding ceremony and dinner, it got a little wrinkled. I also don't feel like my hips or butt looked huge as they have looked in most outfits recently. I also feel trendy and hip-and-with-it!

Why I don't like the dress? The seams came together on my boobs which made it look like my nipples were poking out, Matt kept trying to comment on that then would realize, oh it's just the dress. When I bent over to sign the guest book, I felt like my butt was showing but hubs assured me it was not. If you can't tell, there's a belt that goes right under my boobs. I think it was a mental thing but whenever I'd think about the belt, I would think I was losing my breath. I also felt like shots from the waist up looked exactly like this outfit I'm wearing below but that is only a shirt, not the same dress.
So there you have it, my friends, my one hip-and-with-it, I don't look like I'm 80 years old outfit for 2010. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did now! Now I'm off to change into my jeans and hoodie.

Another One Bites the Dust...

...this past Saturday, Matt's good buddy Ben got married!!! The wedding was in Clayton at La Chateau. Here is the happy couple:

Here is another happy couple, please disregard my husband's eyes that are shut. He refused to take another picture after this one.
"Look man, we have super powers with these rings!"

The wedding was very small but it was SO MUCH FUN!!! Matt and I didn't think we'd know any one there, and we really didn't but we ended up having the BEST time!!! Here are just a couple stories from the night...

*The ring bearer walked half way down the aisle then stopped, waited about a minute then walked up to Ben. Then the female pastor told him to go back to his dad so he sprinted back down the aisle to his dad where he asked for everyone to hear, "Can we go home now?"

*The female pastor started the ceremony by saying, "This is when we typically ask who gives this woman away but in today's world, women have the right to make up their own mind so we aren't going to ask that..." Nothing like women's lib to start off a wedding!

*They had the BEST cake!!! Super moist, the icing tasted homemade and the best part...there was this little chocolate ball beside the cake which I thought was like a truffle or something, oh no, it was like the hard shell chocolate over a scoop of ice cream and we all know how much I LOVE ICE CREAM!!! I was going to ask Matt if I could have his for half my cake but his was gone by the time I turned to him. Guess he liked it too.

Thanks for letting us share in your day Missey and Ben! I hope you two have a great time in Mexico this week!!!

Welcome to the World Colin!!!

...My bestie and friend forever Candace welcomed her baby boy, Colin Patrick to the world at 3:25PM on Thursday, May 6. He was named after his momma's maiden name Collins.
She went in Wednesday morning at 5am to be induced after an entire day and only getting to 3 they decided to stop trying until 4am on Thursday. When I spoke to Candace at noon on Thursday, she had to pause to have a contraction while we were talking and I helped her through it...he he whew...he he whew, she said the doctor thought he might be too big and that's why he wasn't moving. She called me at 4pm to tell me the little stinker came out the naturally way weighing in at 7 pounds and 15 ounces!!! I love this picture. The boy already has attitude and is giving his dad the finger saying, "Dude-stop taking my picture!"
I'm so happy for her and Chad!!! I just wish I lived closer so I could go see them but I'll be there soon enough and Colin will get to watch me, hopefully, survive and race my first half marathon! Chad and Candace are going to be wonderful parents, I can't wait to see them with their son over the years! Welcome to the family Colin! Aunt Lyss can't wait to meet you!

Would It Make You Feel Better???

...so this past Saturday, I got up early and headed to my sister's. We were supposed to be going to my niece's t-ball game but it was rained out so INSTEAD we had a couponing party!!! (14 Vitamin waters for only $7...yeah, I'm bragging!). In the meantime, Matt was left at home to tidy up, run some errands and then headed to a bachelor party which was a full day of bowling, paint balling and partying.

I come home from my exciting couponing and head downstairs to let the dogs out. If the direct path to their cages which is the only way in or out, one of them has pooped. I grr to myself, let them out, clean it up then call my husband. Trying not to be that bitchy wife that they are all going to complain about when you hang up, I wait for Matt to answer. Our convo:

Me: If I were to calling you and tell you I was pissed about something, would you know why?
Matt: No...
Me (raising voice slightly): Don't you lie to me Matthew G! There is only one way in and one way out to put the dogs up. I know you saw it!
Matt: Oh yeah...one of the dogs pooped in the basement.
Me: YEAH! There are paper towels in the basement, why couldn't you take the 5 seconds pick it up?
Matt: Would it make you feel better if I told you I stepped in it barefoot?
Me: (trying not to laugh) Just don't do it again...

I never answered him but yes, it did make me feel better and I could totally tell someone had to stepped in it, too so I know he wasn't lying.

Ending Our Relationship...

...Tuesday morning, I did. I ended our relationship. I broke up with my girl doctor. Remember this post where I told you that I got charged for a $1900 surgery that I never had and I wasn't even in town the day it happened? Well, I called my insurance company today because I looked online and didn't see the charges were reversed. Sure enough, two months later and STILL not fixed! My doctor's office told the insurance company that, "The check is in the mail." Well, they have two weeks and if the check isn't there then I'll be making a fraud claim. I'm so glad I was out of town at a conference for work so I have proof that I wasn't here.

After I got off the phone with the insurance company, I called the doctor's office and asked for the office manager. When she answered, I could already tell she sounded like a cold-hearted person and sure enough she was. I told her that I was no longer going to be using their office but I wanted to let her know why. The only reaction I got from her was when I told her that they'd TOLD me who was supposed to be charged for the surgery, I got an, "Oh my!" Other than that, when I finished, I just got a, "Well at this point the only thing I can do is apologize and make sure the money gets returned to the insurance company." OH! I was so fired up, I wanted to say, "Yes at this point, all you can do is apologize but I CAN do a whole lot more."

So for now I wait to see if insurance gets the check. I wrote a review of their office through Yahoo. It just really sucks because they are like their own people so they care that they're losing one client but I feel as though what they've done is 100% TOTALLY wrong and they don't even care nor have then done anything to correct it! A co-worker suggested I find out if they are part of the local hospital or group and write a letter to them. Any ideas? Suggestions?

I can't wait for the insurance thing to be done so I can officially wash my hands of them but at the same time they STILL make my blood boil AND now I have to find a new doctor-ugh!

18 Holes=a LONG Day...

...Monday was the big golf tournament through my work. It was a lot of fun but it was also a VERY long day, I think I was in bed by 8pm and Tuesday morning, I was STILL dragging a little bit...and I'd only had half a margarita!!!

My team was a little concerned with my skill after the first tee when my ball almost hit a passing truck on a local road-oops! It just took me a couple holes to warm up and, since it was a scramble, they used my ball a lot more than I expected! My goal was to give them at least 2-3 good shots but I definitely gave them more than that. I was on a team with three males so by the end of the day, I was one of the guys but not without getting a couple good pictures.

Here is Matt posing and *trying* to look sexy (this was like the 16th hole we'd played if you can't tell)

Oops! I hit my ball into these people's yard so Matt retrieved it for me. Hitting it into the yard is better than hitting the house which is what some people on my team did...three times.

Here are the girls from work that played, yes I was the lucky one paired up with the boys. Probably a good thing since I'm used to the rough guy talk thanks to my hubs and his friends.

My bragging moment: I didn't even want to hit but Jeremy offered me a ball so if it went in the water, no big deal. If you see the black arrow, I hit it from there, over the water and BAM! Right on the green (see the red arrow).

So there's my day of golf that I was so nervous about. It was a lot of fun and I actually wasn't too bad. We'll see if we play again next year.

Spring Has Sprung...

...yep, spring has sprung here in the Midwest. Most of the year, we have this dull, boring vine climbing around our flagpole looking like weeds but now that spring has arrived, check out how gorgeous this is!
Matt's not here as I write this but I think it's called a clematis, not to be confused with chlamydia which is what Google kept suggesting when I was trying to type clematis...I just can't stay away from Google!

Race Redemption...

...bright and early this AM, the race crew pictured below and I headed to Union Station in downtown St. Louis to run in the Delta Gamma Race for Sight 5K. After last weekend, I was really hoping for a good race for a confidence booster to get me back on track for the half.

As soon as we arrived, we hit up the potties because, as you know, the wait for the women's bathroom is always super long. When I came out, I saw Jennelle waiting in line, I looked at her and we immediately recognized each other (surprisingly because I try not to post bad pictures of myself on here or if I do, I keep them at a distance and I was NOT looking my cutest at 8am on race day). We chatted for a second and I saw her at the start line, it's always great to run into people you "know" even if it is only through blog land.

I was also supposed to meet up with Amy and her husband but I left my phone in the car so I didn't have to run with it. I walked around the entire morning saying to my race crew, "Do you see Amy or Chris?...Amy?...Chris?" Needless to say, if I ever had to describe a wanted fugitive to the police, you would all be suspects because my explanation of what Amy and Chris looked like basically described every person there...oops! Oh well, hopefully, we'll be able to meet up soon!!! I'm just glad you all had a great time (and by great I mean as great as exercising can be at 8:30AM on a Sunday morning).

Here is the race crew (L to R): Me, Trent, Stevie, Matt

So now for the race report...This was the first race I'd ever run in where you had to put a tag on your shoe. Seriously, the four of us on the "race crew" could NOT figure this out. We'd think we have it then we'd look at the diagram again and start over. Then we'd think we had it again and we couldn't tie our shoes, finally we said screw it, we'll see what everyone else is doing when we get there. We also reminded each other to be sure to look at the clock as we finished in case we royally messed these tags up...good news-we didn't mess it up and we all got timed properly.

As we waited at the starting line, I started listening to my Ipod to get pumped up. FYI-running a race with friends is so much better than running on your own. The horn went off and Trent was gone...see ya later! My goal was to finish in under 35 minutes and to "try" to keep up with Matt (the husband). He totally frustrates me because he doesn't work out a day in his life and then goes and runs like it ain't no thang. This is why when he asked if he could run the half with me, I said no. I politely told him that he could cheer at the half and point and say, "That's my wife!" but there will be no running it for him.

So we start off, my Ipod blaring "Super Freak" in my ears (don't ask-my sister and six year niece made the playlist) and less than 50 yards from the start line, I look at Stevie and point, "Someone lost their underwear!" Stevie laughs at me and lets me know that I'm super loud with the headphones on. Oops! I started laughing and thinking, it's going to be a long race if I'm already laughing and messing up my breathing.

Basically this course just looped up and down the streets of downtown St. Louis (I still haven't seen a map of the course). They changed it from last year and this year had a LOT more hills in it, sorry Trent we lied to you about it being fairly flat. So I make the first turn and Stevie starts to fall behind, I run a little further, turn around and see her about 30 yards back and make a big waving motion for her to come on...I never saw her again until the finish line.

Right before where I'm assuming mile 1 was (no sign for it, apparently they were yelling at us that it was mile 1 but I was on to Katy Perry blaring in the ears so I couldn't hear them), I see two guys that I saw Stevie talking to before the race run off course. I get to the cross street and I don't see them...hmm, guess they had to take a pit stop (after the race we ran into him again and he reluctantly confirmed my suspicions-must be nice to be a guy!). I'd lost Matt by this time but I could still see his bandana-ed head in front of me so I felt good that he was within my site.

I finally hit mile 2 and checked out the time, 25 miles after start time...no way was I going to meet my 35 minute goal. Instead of getting down on myself, I just shrugged it off because I was already having a great time with the "race crew" and I knew the race was for an awesome cause (they had some of the kids there that benefit from Delta Gamma and they were so stinkin' cute!). At about mile 2.5, I almost TOTALLY wiped out and while most of the course didn't have too many spectators along the way, of course, this spot had a TON! Thank goodness my headphones were on so I didn't hear the group OH!!! I actually started laughing and just kept running.

I was on the last road stretch before the turn behind Union Station telling myself I could do it when I just lost it all. I think because I knew how much was still ahead of me from running the race last year. There was a lady in all black, we'll call her the "Black Widow", ahead of me that I was trying to keep within distance but as turned the corner and was gone. UGH! So I kept truckin' on...

Now let me tell you this, I do NOT brag on myself for being a runner...at.all. On Daily Mile, I originally listed myself as a walker because I don't feel that my slow turtle pace classifies me as a runner. I DO, however, have one hell of a runner's kick. I would like to credit that to my many years of being a defender in soccer and having to chase down the opposing team. So I see the three mile marker and I...turn...it...on!!! I was running faster than I thought my little body had it in me, for a second I didn't think I would be able to keep it up until the finish line then out of no where this guy with a stroller shows up sprinting beside me (scared the bejeezus out of me since I couldn't hear him coming) and then I saw the "Black Widow" ahead of me (keep in mind I hadn't seen her for probably at least a tenth of a mile or more) and I told myself I had to keep it up. Seriously, this was like the last 10 yards of the race, so I kicked it up and passed her with about 4 steps to spare!!! I glanced at the clock and saw it said 34 minutes...I was so freakin' excited!!! I passed about 10 or so people (some may have been part of the walking part of the race) in the last .1 of the race, caught and passed "Black Widow" AND finished under 35 minutes!!!

It's almost 2pm as I write this and I'm STILL excited about this morning!!! It was exactly what I needed to clear my mind and get back on track for the last 30 days or so of training for the half!!! Tomorrow is a 5 or 6 mile run then golf tournament in the afternoon. It's nice to have the gusto back in me for running.

Final results for my "race crew"

Trent 27:05 (his first 5K ever!!!)
Matt 28:29 (shaved about 2 minutes off last year's race and ran in his brand new "princess" shoes for the first time, he totally credits the shoes for his awesome time)
Me 34:23 (WOOHOO!!! Last year's race time was 37.46)
Stevie 36.34 (she also shaved a minute off last year's race time)

Thanks for all the positive thoughts to get me there today! You all rock! I credit all the support from my blog, Daily Mile and real life friends and family plus the great "race crew" with me today and maybe even the chocolate PB thing I had for breakfast too...