Happy 4th of July!!!

One of my favorite holidays!  I just love watching fireworks.  We are in New Braunfels right now staying in condos on the river.  It has been such a relaxing break.  I have been keeping up with my running here (YAY!) but not so well on the eating healthy part.  Today we went swimming, took long lazy naps, watched the boys play football, grilled burgers and then topped the night off by watching fireworks.  :)  It has been such a beautiful summer!

Tired.

Well, I guess I hit my first slump of my exercise streak. I did not give up and I still went to the gym, but man, I really had to dig at finding the motivation. We went to Washington DC last weekend and both Charlie and I had very little sleep. I am curious, if the lack of sleep, is what caused my slump or drinking coffee twice in one week (I hardly ever drink coffee). Or could it be the 2 beers I had at the concert? It could be any of the above or all of the above. I just hope this tiredness gets out of my system soon…otherwise, training is not going to last much longer.

So what amazing things did I learn this week? Well, I read an article on raw foods and learned that cooked food is addicting. That is such an abstract concept to me. Cooked food is not good for the body. I am trying to be open minded but I just cant figure out what the pros are on that one.

I must say, I am enjoying the cooking aspect more than I expected I would. The www.e-mealz.com has done wonders for our dinners. It tells me exactly what to buy. The meals are super easy to cook, quick and very tasty. I love that I can just leave the directions for Charlie and he can help with meals too. Except for tonight, he just was not feeling well, and I know all too well how that feels.

Well, since I am so tired, I am headed to bed early for a Friday night. Till next time…

Happiest day of the year…

I overheard a girl at work today say that the first day of summer is supposed to be the happiest day of the year.  It is also the longest day of the year (and my brother’s wedding anniversary…Happy Anniversary, Bro! ).  Summer solstice.  It makes me wonder.  Who decided that this was the happiest day?  Isnt that a rather personal, and a relative decision?  It makes me picture, this little person, who stands up and declares, today, is the happiest day of the year, and everyone agrees and says, “Excellent, so be it!”

Although, I did laugh my butt off at work.  So it was a rather happy day.  I had a decent workout, and a nice walk with the hubby. I had the stomach flu this week, so after going through that misery, I cant complain about too much.  I am just happy to be ALIVE! 

Friday the 13th

Another long week, and I am happy the weekend is here.  Nothing really new.  Still running 4 times a week.  Been able to put in a couple of hours on the art.  I am going to start painting the day care tomorrow. Life is good. 

Back to reality again…

We came home this past Sunday, and I was ready to come home.  We had a wonderful time but it was so nice to just have one more day to sleep in our OWN bed.  We were able to start the week refreshed and ready to go.

Oh, but what a long week it was…I made some big changes in my lifestyle.  I joined a gym.  I worked out 4 days this week.  I am still trying to run a full 30 minutes.  It is definitely taking longer than expected, but I am not giving up.  I also (this is a big one) did not eat out all week.  That was the hardest act for me to follow.  It has helped to have a friendly competition with Charlie on who can save the most money by not eating out this summer.  The deadline is Labor day.  So far, I am beating him by $7.00. Go me! I just hope this challenge gets easier.  Making my lunch every night is taking some serious discipline.

We are also planning to cook more at home, with the weekends as a time to eat out if we so choose.  This week went well.  So far so good.  All we have to do is just keep it up. 

Cayman, baby, Cayman!

We are officially in the Cayman Islands!  It is so gorgeous here.  It is just what we need.  It is going to be a long hot summer, working our butts off and Charlie going to school full time.  I am just soaking up every minute of this…

The condo we are staying in is nice and clean.  The family we are staying with is absolutely wonderful! Charlie and I have been snorkeling like crazy, playing tennis every night and believe it or not, I have still been able to keep up with my running.  Today we spent the day out on the boat snorkeling and playing with the sting rays.  We had a delicious lunch on the beach and then napped on the boat on the way home.  Yesterday we went to a sea turtle farm and we were able to pet live sea turtles and have wild birds eat out of our hands.  The sunsets here have been breathtaking and the best part is…we still have 4 days left of this paradise. 

The gang (there are 6 of us total) has gone out for a sunset walk and I have stayed behind to keep up with this blog.  Marta, the lady who has graciously let us stay with her family has asked me if I am still keeping up with posting in the blog.  So I wanted to write a quick little post just to stay with it, so I can at least keep up with something that I said I was going to do.  So here it is…live from Cayman Island. Ciao for now!

Countdown to vacation!

1 more day until my vacation starts! I am so excited! We are going to Cayman Island for about a week. I am so ready for a getaway. Okay, so on now to goal talk. I feel like the lady on the old SNL skits and CAW-FEE talk. So, goals are still going. I am still using the planner. And I am still running. Although that has been a rough start. Really rough. But I am not going to give up. Must keep going. I photographed 2 birthday parties last week, and it went really really well.

Slacker.

Don’t let the title fool you…even though I haven’t been writing in my blog on my usual day, I have not been slacking off. I starting running again. I ran 4 days this week. I had my ups and downs but I am just so proud that I am out of the starting blocks. AND I started another drawing as well. And this weekend I am going to start painting the daycare. I know it has only been one week and that I do not have the longest track record but it is definitely a good start. Why all of this motivation, one might ask? Well, it just might be the haircut I got last week. I had my lady cut it just below my chin. Or maybe it is my pretty pink planner, so far, it is getting used, and daily too! 

We will leave for Cayman in one week. In one week!!! I am so excited. Although, we just discovered it will be cut short for a few days, nevertheless it is a well deserved break. Vacations are always well deserved! A time where we can all be true slackers…

Chicky Change.

Wow! I did not realize so much time has passed since my last post. And Charlie tried to tell me…whoops!

So what is new?

Mom has left for Tucson for her annual vacation. She will be gone 2 weeks.

I scored an awesome second job. My friend’s sister has built a new daycare building and GUESS who is going to paint it? This place is huge and I will get to paint something creative in all the rooms. My first room is the movie room and I am thinking of doing a Drive-In theme, with movies under the stars.

Man or woman was not designed to sit around and do nothing. So why is it so damn easy!!! I must get off my rump! And when I finally do, it feels good to do manual labor, to accomplish something and to get your hands dirty…

Speaking of doing, I bought a new planner this past weekend. And as Charlie jokes, I am motivated all over again…at least for another 3 weeks. I have visions of working on my 101 goals all over again. This planner is pink. And so pretty. So time will tell.

I am feeling the need for change. Like a little chicky poking out of its shell…slowly but surely the cage sets her free. That chicky, my friend, is me. I need to change…one poke at a time. And I think this change is going to start with a new hair-do this Friday. What is it about hair? You change your hair, you change your life.

Oh, if it were only that simple.

Wow! Record Broken…

Wow, thanks for checking out my artwork everyone.  I have a record of 50 hits in one day.  That is just so cool!  You have all just motivated me to start on the next one tomorrow.  Thank you for that!

Well, we just got the good news.  No merger for Continental.  Woo hoo!  It should be a happy day at work tomorrow.  I am looking forward to no more “doom and gloom” lunch conversations about merging.

We went to the I-fest today for Jenn’s birthday.  It was so fun.  The band Taj Mahal played while the sun set into the horizon.  It was a beautiful night.

We had our community clean up day yesterday and our first dodge ball game ever.  I am so sore today.  It was such a good weekend, even though I am hobbling around in pain.