Where's the Beach?

Happy Hour on the Deck After work, we met my cousin and his family at a place called Cajun's Wharf to listen to a band that he used to jam with. Cajun's is notorious for their awesome deck overlooking the Arkansas River. Even though it was incredibly hot out, there was a nice breeze that kept us cool. We had such a nice time catching up with my cousin and his wife (and 2 kiddos). My cousin and I are only 7 months apart in age and are really more like brother and sister. We actually lived together for a while in the early college years. I am really rallying for them to move here ;-)           Pizza Friday & Pool Party Prep We got home around 7:30 and got to work on pizza for Pizza Friday. In other words, a pretty typical Friday evening for the most part. However, we did spend some extra time in the kitchen prepping for today (friends over for pool time). We put together my Black Bean & Corn Salsa for starters. Black Bean & Corn Salsa Ingredie...

4-Legged Guest Well, so far our four-legged guest, Miss Bella, is doing just fine. I was honestly a little nervous because anytime we've seen her, she's been a spastic ball of energy. We have enough crazy to deal with from Maddie. But, Bella is actually pretty calm at our house. Maybe she's shell shocked?! She actually climbed into Jason's lap while we were sitting on the couch and just zonked out. Of course, Maddie was a little peeved since that's "her" spot. But she'll get over it.      She minds us pretty well, though she loves to just barrel through the flower beds. Speaking of bed, our friends had mentioned previously having issues crating Bella at night. So, Jason and I were prepared for some Beagle howling to happen. But she was a perfect doll. She went right into the small kennel we had and didn't make a sound all night. We have her again tonight before her parents come pick her up tomorrow. We'll see if she has gotten more comfo...

Morning Run = Another To-Enjoy Item Checked Off I feel like I'm no a real roll with this To-Enjoy List Challenge . This morning I knocked another item off the list: Enjoy early morning runs. I guess I shouldn't say checked off completely, this list is more of an on-going list, kind of like laundry, only better. So I should say checked off for the week perhaps. Last night was half hoping my friend would back out of our run date scheduled for 5:30 am today. Yawn. I've not been sleeping well and my legs are pretty heavy from spin, run, spin. But, he was gung-ho. Turned out to be a good thing. See, sometimes I need someone to keep me in check too! So we meet at the Big Dam Bridge at 5:30. We did 4.2 miles then 3 x 1-minute hill repeats on the bridge. Yowzers. It was a great workout, and I'm so glad I got my lazy butt out of bed. I didn't see any bunny rabbits ( Jessica ), but I did see a young deer. I also got to enjoy watching the sun rise and great conversation a...

To Enjoy List Follow Up I am loving your comments about the To Enjoy List ! I am going to try to remember to do a follow up next week to see where you guys are at on your lists. I did knock off one thing from my list already - enjoy gardening. After dinner, I got outside and let the rose bushes attack me...I mean, I tried to trim them up ;-) Scratches or not, it was nice to be out there doing that sort of thing. It was hot, but it was better than sitting and watching TV or being glued to the computer. Tonight I am adding "enjoy grilling out" to my list.  Were you able to knock anything off your To Enjoy List ? Teaching Spin Today I had planned to knock off another to-enjoy item - workout with my friend. We were going to meet for spin after work, but she's getting ready to go out of town and wasn't able to meet after all. So, I decided to go during lunch and just stay later at work. I was in for a surprise. I walked in and the first thing I was asked was, ...

Early Morning Run I had really hoped to go for a run with my friend, Thad, this morning. If I plan on running at all, I'm going to have to really get focused on getting up and out by 5:30. He wasn't really up for a run though, which I totally understand. I don't want someone to feel like they have to run with me of course. Since it's not completely light by 5:30, I am a bit leery of going to the river trails alone. It's pretty empty at that time of the morning. I thought today may end up being either a rest day or maybe a leg day. However, I found myself up and awake at 5:30, so I did something I haven't done since the fall - I ran in my neighborhood. After my IT band injury, I stopped running in the neighborhood because of the severely cambered roads. And of course, once I got going, I remember all this. It wasn't the best run for me, but I really enjoyed watching the world wake up around me. It's just so peaceful at that time (too bad I'm not ...

Sunday Weights Sunday morning we got up early and headed to my sister's to pick up the pups. Maddie was a crazy loon, but both of them seemed happy to see us. When we got back home, I headed to the gym to meet up with a friend to do weights. I had really wanted to run, but the heat index was already in the 80's by 7:30 am. Not fun. We started with about 15 minutes on the elliptical then hit the weights for back, chest, and triceps, followed up with some ab work. We did trisets as 3x8. TS#1 Underhand barbell rows Chest flye to press Double-arm overhead triceps extension TS#2 Pullovers Staggered chest press Lying triceps extensions TS#3 Single-arm row Pushups with feet on bench Double-arm kickbacks After some ab work, I hopped back on the elliptical for 10 minutes. My friend had to leave and get home and cleaned up. I know part of it was how the workout was set up, but man did I feel fatigued with the weights. Definitely not a strong day for me. Pool Time ...

Since I didn't do Fun Facts Friday, I thought I'd do a Fun Facts Vacation List as a recap. Especially since my Saturday won't have been terribly exciting. I mean, I left the beach behind and spent 8 1/2 hours in the car...kind of depressing. Today will be picking up the pups (more driving), laundry, errands, and just trying to get back to reality. While it was nice to shower in my own shower (especially after a long day on the road) and sleep in my own bed, I'm certainly going to miss the beach and my lazy days on the white sandy beaches of Perdido Key, FL. But was I really all that lazy? Yes and no: I ran 25 miles. I walked up 81 flights of stairs. I finished 2 books. We killed 2 cans of spray on sunblock. I did 4 loads of laundry. We spent 6 out of 7 days on the beach (minimum 4 hours each day). We went through about 4 gallons of water. I enjoyed breakfast on the balcony every morning. I never slept past 8 am. I never stayed up past 10:40 pm. We enjoyed ...