What do you get at Dave & Busters?

Dave & Busters
Personally, I have never experienced the joy that is Dave & Busters.  Always wanted to emerse myself in the air that is D&B, but whenever friends were going I was never of age.  I have however heard stories of the adult Peter Piper Pizza-like atmosphere and I would like to walk in and feel the adult glory of winning skee ball while drinking an ice cold XX. 

Thanks to my cousin's wives (who were all in town for Christmas this year.  Praise the Lord there are other females around!  I can only handle so many years of hunting and fishing DVDs.) I have finally learned that skee ball is in fact the game that I have loved since childhood....just never realized the proper name.  Thank you ladies.

So I was on my 5-miler, the beginning of my 20 miles for the week adventure, and I didn't vomit OR die so I consider it a success.  I'm not use to running in the hill country so I ran as slow as I possibly could as I trudged my heavy body up and body hill after hill! 

You may wonder what does the 5 miles of hellish hill work have to do with D&B, just hold on, I'm gettin' there.

After my day of lovely mileage, I slammed myself onto the couch to cool off.  When I looked down I noticed I had a logo on the socks I was wearing. 

My dog was also shocked about the logo, and the flash of my camera.  She's not very photogenic.  Anywho.  So I found out that the socks I had jacked from my brother-in-law's drawer were D&B socks.  I just wouldn't think when you went to D&B you would turn your tickets in for....socks?  Hm.  Maybe his feet were cold that night.

Pain-free 3!

Guess Who's Still Got It

Sunday afternoon I geared up and went on my first Christmas holiday jog since the not-so-fabulous 2 miles in San Marcos a week prior.  I was nervous.  Whenever I don't run for a while I become concerned that for some reason my legs will forget how to move at an anything but glacial pace and crumble beneath my body. 

Since I haven't lived in the valley in, what 5 1/2 years, I don't have a nice route I like yet. So instead of heading down the street with no end of the running-route in site, I choose the safe alternative, a track. 

This way I know exactly how far I've run and how many more laps I have to push through before the run is complete.

I pumped myself up as much as possible,

gave the old legs a good stretch, and then started on my merry way.  Three miles later, I felt great and once again proved to my body that I can jog 3 fabulous miles without any pain after a week without jogging. 

SUCCESS!

I Must Resume my pre-Christmas 6
The week prior to the Christmas break Reese's and I were pushing out 6 miles every other night at a decent time.  It was painful though.  My legs needed an extra day to recover so I missed out on total weekly mileage that I hoped to gain in December.

October mileage:  45 miles
November mileage:  36 miles
December mileage:  40 miles


I wanted to be at 75 miles by the end of December, but what can I say, the holidays get the best of me.  This week's goal:  hit 20 miles.  Now, what should be my starting day to best set myself up for 20 mile success?  I did run 3 miles on Sunday, but that means I would have to finish my 20 miles by next Sunday.  Hmm.  Or, I could start my 20 mile goal today and have until next Tuesday to finish.

I'll start today.  Lets see if I can give the streets a mean 5 miles today!


Golden Ticket
So while I sit here and ponder how my 4 mile run will be through the hills, I've decided to turn on The Office.  Only in the past few months did I really find a true appreciation for this show and now I can't get enough.  I have replayed this clip atleast 3 times and it's still just as funny as the first time I saw it.



....now go tell somebody a knock knock joke. 

VE VILL ASK THE QUESTIONS!!

Goodbye Nursing Career

Santa is a good man.



















Little did he know that what I wanted more than anything in the world, a red Wii, could potentially crush my nursing career.

Christmas Eve:  I receive the red Wii.














Christmas Day:  I successfully pull a muscle in my right arm from slaughtering all the little Wii people in tennis, bowling, and baseball.

December 28th:  My arm is heeled and the Wii is successfully plugged in at my sisters house.

Goodbye nursing.

Hello Holiday Snackage!

Wait
So I'm sitting here watching Celebrity Rehab and it's a little hard to focus while Janice Dickinson is screaming the f word at all of her group members struggling to beat their addictions.

....but I will attempt to tell you about the fabulous holiday snacks that I've encountered since leaving Corpus Christi, Texas.  It's like the bubble that is Corpus blinds you from these magical snacks!  Trust me, you'll want to make my favorite snack.

Oh Yes
Oh, yes I forgot to mention, I ran today for first time since my successful 6-miler on Friday.

I was initially excited about the run since I have upped my mileage steadily the past few weeks and felt no pain or repercussions.  Oh, and being in central Texas is such an amazing change from the Corpus Christi humidity I just assumed I would run, oh I don't know, 5 miles and feel AWESOME.

I was incorrect.  Between sun and self-initiated dehydration, after 2 miles of yogging I had one thing to tell the road this afternoon.  Pardon the visual, but...

My legs hate me and I'm not too sure why.  After reading a Runner's World article on injury control, I think I'll back-off on upping my mileage for the rest of the week and get comfortable with 5 miles before I push on anymore.

Joy In a Bag
Naturally, after returning from my somewhat/not-so-successful jog, I decided I wanted to eat something nice and tasty.  Hannah, my best amigo, made a batch of.... of goodness I will call it.  Wait, no no.  We shall call it.....Joy In a Bag!!

If I were to harness the feeling you have when you're so happy, you jump in the air and click your heals on a cool summer day....

....and put that joy in a ziplock bag, it would go something like this.

1.  Purchase the goods
-  1 box Cap'n Crunch
-  1 bag of pretzel sticks
-  2 packages of white chocolate squares
-  Wax paper (NOT FOIL)




















2.  Mix it up holiday-style

3.  Melt that chocolate

Yes, I realize it looks like scrumptious butter ready to be melted then inhaled like water after a good work out, but refrain from doing so, no need to go into sugar-shock.

4.  Mix it one more time.  Don't be nervous, pour that beautiful butter-looking chocolate over the mix and stir until your heart is content!

5.  Here's the best part.  Act like you're a child, pour the mix all over wax paper, go to bed and let it harden.  If you want more speedy results, place it (with the wax paper) int he freezer.  Then snack snack snack.

Enjoy :)

This Killin' Time....

...Is Killin' Me

Thank you Clint Black for coming up with a tango of words that we each think of, and relate to from time to time.  My killin' time moment happens to be waiting patiently/frantically for my final grades to come out for the fall semester.  I am officially one tenth of a point away from a .....wait for it

A 4.0!!  I have 3 A's under my belt and I'm waiting to clarify that the 4th A is officially in my pocket.  I'm nervous but I'll get through it.

In the Mean Time
I'm cruising the streets and fighting the Christmas hustle and bustle.  Oh, and RELAXING!  Something I haven't been able to do since, eh, August.  1 thing I haven't done in FOREVER-literally is go out to lunch...solo.  One of my favorite things. 

I have a peaceful, quiet, lunch with a magazine an ice-cold drink.  Hmm.

Little did I know, that after a creeper "waiter" touched me on the back and let me know he could help me with ANYTHING, I found a mysterious drink I MUST try, hidden within the pages of Women's Health.  If you happen to have the November 2010 issue in front of you, flip to page 24 and unfold the magic of the recovery beverage!

8OZ
 1.  Recovery:  Apparently runners who drank 2 10 oz bottles of tart cherry juice a day for 2 weeks had less pain after a race, in comparison to a control group. 
2.  Melatonin: The enzyme that promotes sleep.  People who drank this juice fell asleep 20 minutes faster than those in the control group.
3.  Carb-load:  One of my favorite things to do (carb-loading).  There's a ton of glucose and fructose in the drink that can spur you on during a workout.

So
Guess what I'm loading up on at H-E-B tonight?  You guessed it!  Juice.  I'll let ya know how well the juice helps my legs recover from a race!

Birthday finals? Wait, those don't go together.

December 14th
What a glorious day to be born! Yesterday was in fact the 14th, and thus my birthday! Now since I have been in college, for more years than I would like to admit, my birthday has fallen during the week of torturous finals. This year was no different.

Thankfully, I find a few amazing friends wherever I move and they help me celebrate my birthday, even though I'm stressed out beyond belief. Reese's did a wonderful job at cheering me through birthday finals this year! I almost hung myself on her decor when I walked out the door to take Maddie on a walk yesterday morning.



Reese's is also a phenomenal gift-buying little devil!



What more could a girl ask for?!

Last but not least, dinner and margs were necessary to complete the birthday celebration process!



Happy birthday to me! (Now it's time to panic about how these exams could make or break my future as a nurse!)

Go Time
At 11 a.m. this morning I will be grilled over Pharmacology, which has been an amazing class.



Then at 4:30 p.m. I will recall all of the 100 ridiculous questions I memorized that will be on the Lifespan final from previous exams...a Psyc class, and basically, a waste of time. No offense to Psyc people, I usually enjoy the subject, especially when there's anatomy involved, but our outdated textbook shared outdated information with our class for a solid 4 months this semester. Whew, I'm glad this class is over.



Naturally, I'm blogging rather than studying. Wish me luck.

More Importantly
I will see if my legs can handle a 6 miler this evening. I'll say a prayer before I attempt this one for sure.

Not a Good Night for a Run

1st Post-Race Run
Last night was Reese's and my first run since the American Bank Center 1/2 Marathon & Relay. Let's just say we went from a strong 6.55 miles on Saturday...



To a pitiful 2 mile run Monday night. It was definitely a running "fail."



Lets just say neither of us were "feelin' it" before we started our jog, so when we hit 1 mile and it felt like we had been running for an HOUR....I knew the run was going down hill. So instead of finishing our scheduled 5.5 miles, we detoured to a gas station and then walked our heavy, achy, legs home!

Post-Run Failure
Reese's still had a half bottle of vino open back at her apartment and we decided we each deserved a glass since we had been working so hard this past week. After the wine was poured, Reese's brought out her latest running gadget. A foam roller!


There are several different ways to roll. You can roll any muscle, even your back! It's suppose to sooth tight muscles. It's somewhat painful, but it's the good kind of pain! Naturally, we found a way to roll and wine...all at the same time!



Work that roller Reese's work it!

Decisions Decisions
Reese's and I have made leaps and bounds in our running since we started. She has already run the Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon in SA, but I'm not quite that far along. We're doing great though and we have a good 5 mile base. So! We decided if we stay running the way we are currently, we could pull off the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Marathon! next December.



Anddddd, if we do what we usually do and freak out the night before a race then make tons of poor dietary choices...or just don't feel like running 26 miles, we can just run the 1/2 marathon instead!

Hotel is officially reserved!! Watch out Vegas, team Grunt & Sweat are comin' to town!

Ice Is So Nice

Rise and Shine it's Runnin' Time!
This morning my alarm shocked my heart back to life at 5:45 a.m. to get up and get ready for the American Bank Center 1/2 Marathon & Relay. It was a pretty good turnout and had some pretty serious runners involved. I did what I do best and found a guy to run with who is NOT looking to break any records, but merely to survive.

We ran a 10.5 minute mile for 6.55 miles for a total time of 1.08.50. It only took this running man 1 try at speaking to me to realize....



I don't utter a word while running! At least he's a quick learner.

PreRace Panic
Reese's and I have a bad habit of psyching ourselves out the night before a race. We make bad dietary decisions and think that the booze fairy will somehow increase our race pace. This past week we have been determined to avoid the bad food and booze train.

Last night....we had...



We had two large bowls of pasta with a glass of water.

Great Success
Other than the fact that I was running Against the wind, staring at the sun, and hauling my hefty body uphill, it was an amazing race!

6.55 miles.....CHECK!

Can't wait for Austin!



ICE ICE BABY
So after 6.55 miles, I'm home....icing my legs for a full 40 minutes. Hmm sweet Heaven! No pain for me tomorrow!

Finals

15 Days Until Christmas
Between wrapping gifts, running, and listening to the new Taylor Swift cd, I haven't quite made adequate time to study for finals.

Time to panic!


Wait, I'm not ready to panic just yet, I have to share my newest joy in life....



Monograms.

My life and gift-giving habits have officially changed! You can slap a monogram on a crappy bag and voila! You have a stylish bag.

Ok....now it's time to panic.