Where's the Beach?

I wish I had some fantastic blog birthday giveaway to share. I don't. I truly just wanted to thank everyone who continues to read my blog. Four years ago I started this blog with no real clue as to where it would lead me. I had hoped to make extra money. That never happened. That's not to say the blog hasn't made me rich in other areas. I've made some incredible friendships here. I've been incredibly inspired by so many amazing bloggers. I feel like my life has definitely been enriched. There were times when I wanted to quit the blog. It's time-consuming. I don't always feel inspired to write. I've definitely been slacking with recipes. I don't even always share my workouts any longer. I may be blogging a little less frequently, that's not a bad thing is it, but I cherish the comments I receive. You guys make me smile with your support, encouragement, and just general conversation. If you had asked me where I would be in four years whe...

I wanted to write some fantastic, funny, witty race recap. I always enjoy those. Apparently I don't pay enough attention to the details during my races though. So, here's my race recap from the Soaring Wings Half Marathon as best as I can tell it. Saturday morning started off super early, dark, and cold. We woke up around 5:30. I wanted plenty of time to wake up, get breakfast down, and allow for any delays. Let's just say Jason can be hard to get out the door sometimes. After lots of debating, I ended up wearing shorts and a long-sleeved top and throw away gloves. It was about 40 degrees out, dry, little wind. I should have gone with short sleeves, but I just couldn't convince myself. At least I was able to push my sleeve up during the race. I also ditched my water bottle for the first time. I feared this would be my undoing for my time goal. PB & Bananas for the win The race was about 30 minutes away. Not a horrible drive, but just enough to make me...

Marcia (Marcia's Healthy Slice) did a fun post the other day - Runfessions . Her post definitely got me to thinking about my own running confessions. Rather than ramble on about nerves for tomorrow's Half Marathon, I thought it would be fun to share a few of my own Runfessions for Fun for Friday. Dumpster diving - I am always on the lookout for things I might be able to go back and get to take home and restore. Sunday it was a headboard. Sadly it was broken beyond repair when Jason and I went to pick it up. Wednesday I stopped long enough to try to peer into a dumpster in front of a house. It was too dark and I was too short to really check it out properly. I've gotten Jason and Amy both in on this one. Jason has brought home a chair and table on his own accord. The chair still needs painting and a cushion, the table has already been painted and is acting as my new office desk. No training plan  - nope, I didn't follow a training plan for this half, not in the...

I thought it would be fun to do a special Halloween workout. Things get a little spooky around Halloween and make you kind of jumpy. And so will this workout. Have you already had a few handfuls of seasonal M&Ms? What about those cute little candy corns. If you've already indulged, or you plan to, give this "jumpy" interval workout a go ... if you dare (said in spooky voice of course). Feeling Jumpy Warm up for 10 minutes with a brisk walk and dynamic moves. Complete as a pyramid where you'll move up the pyramid then back down. Begin with the first exercise for 15 seconds, then rest 15 seconds, move to the next exercise adding 5 seconds all the way to 40 seconds then begin moving back down. Rest 1 minute then repeat once unless you're not spooked, then repeat twice. 1/2 turn squats right - 15 seconds Low jacks - 20 seconds Air jacks - 25 seconds Squat jumps - 30 seconds Lateral hops - 35 seconds High knee jogs - 40 seconds Speed skaters...

I don't have anything for Tasty Tuesday, or even Taco Tuesday, so how about Taper Tuesday? Ok, it's technically taper week for me. But, Taper Tuesday sounds good together. Sorry for the weird smile, I take terrible selfies - any pointers from the pros? Saturday I got in my last long run - 12 miles - before my upcoming half marathon. Saturday I'll be doing my 6th half, Soaring Wings . This will be the 3rd time running this course. I'll be honest, this one is a tough one for me. The first year I ran it, I had not been doing hill work. The city is flat. Well, so I thought. They apparently found the only hills in Conway. The first 4 miles are reasonable, but then they just start coming at you. Mile 12 is literally on a hill. Thankfully the last mile is down and then flat, but it's the longest mile of course. Also, this tends to be the coldest morning of the fall. Right now the temps are looking to be between 40-45 depending on what meteorologist I follow. I...

How does Monday roll around so darn quickly? This weekend was a good one. We didn't do too much, just enough to feel productive. Friday, my sister came up with my niece so I could take her shopping at Justice for her birthday. I have never seen that kid more excited. She's really becoming a girlie girl. She loves purple and sparkles, and was like a kid in a candy store when we walked in. She ping-ponged from one side of the store to the other and back again. The first shirt that caught her eye was one that had a hear (shiny of course) and "Dance" in huge letters. But then she found the "extras" (aka accessories). Um, when did notebooks become $15 by the way? Thank goodness everything was 40% off. She had a mighty large stack going until I told her we had to add it all up and see how much it really was. She had a gift card from her mom plus the money from me. She had to make tough decisions on what to put back and what to keep. It was really kind of funny...

Happy Friday! I'm excited today because I get to take my niece shopping for her birthday. Well, excited and a tad nervous. Nervous probably isn't the right word; I just don't know what to expect. This year she's decided to shop at Justice. She's getting girlie girlie. It'll either be lots of fun or we'll be in there for a very long time. Ok, it won't be bad really either way because I get to spend time with her and she cracks me up. I love seeing her personality emerge and her excitement of getting to shop with me. Last year she wanted Toys R Us and warned me multiple times when we got there, "Aunt Heather, this could take a while." She was so very serious about it too. I'd rather it take some time vs just running in grabbing something and being done. The good thing is that I love to shop for clothes. Just not sure how shopping with a 9-year old will be. That brings me to Fun for Friday - Pros and Cons Edition. You noticed that there w...