Feeling Great!

Joe and I are still going strong on the Couch to 5K program.  We are finished with intervals and running 25 mins straight with no walking.  Tonight the air was cool and it felt great.  I am really looking forward to the 5K on May 14.  Right now, it looks like little brother will fly in and mycousinamanda and Maia will be here, too.  I have no delusions of running along side my brother.  I'm sure he will finish at least 5 minutes ahead of me, but it will be a fun experience to run with Joe and Will and have Amanda and Maia at the finish line (maybe/hopefully).

In other news, I got a new ride.  I'd been lusting after the Acura ZDX ever since Vandergriff gave us one as a loaner when we had the MDX serviced last fall. Their evil plan worked-- hook, line, and sinker.  We found a loaded new one at a great price (last 2010 on the lot and GM's demo). They made us an offer way below MSRP, and we couldn't refuse. I like it because I don't see a ton of them on the road-- admittedly it's because it probably doesn't appeal to everyone. Yahoo! put it on its "Ugliest Cars of 2010"list, but Yahoo! can Suckit!  My brother said it resembled a "crouching panther," so that's what I'm going with.  Rawr.

I like all the new techie stuff, but my favorite is probably the Bluetooth.  It detects and plays my iTunes from my phone when I get in the car.  Also nice are the air conditioned seats. No more schwetty back and legs in the summer! Bonus!  We had a great car buying experience, and the folks at Vandergriff Acura in Arlington are great.  We've always had pleasant dealings with them.  Needless to say, we're happy customers.

B is for Big ol Bows

After seeing several pictures of sweet little Maia (mycousin Amanda's new bebe) in very cute, but very small bows, I decided to take action.  Homegirl needs a whole big-bow arsenal.  I bought ribbon in white, red, black, light pink, and fuchsia.  Hobby Lobby didn't have any brown in 2 in. size ribbon. :( But I think this will be a good foundation for her.

See?  Maia needs a bow to match the scale of her fabulous glasses.

Since I don't have a baby model, I just use this monkey (which Joe said looked like Aunt Jemima with the bow).

Corker ribbon fresh off the dowel and cut.

Voila!

 The korker bow was fun.  I've always wondered how the ribbon curled and stays curled.  Well, as it turned out, all I needed was a wooden dowel, a couple of wooden clothespins, and my oven. And ribbon, of course.

You just wrap the ribbon around the dowel, secure with clothespins, and bake at 275 for 25 mins.  Easy!

I've seen many cute uses of the korker ribbon, so I'm anxious to try it again.

Also in the works, a custom bow holder. I'm drawing my inspiration from this little number.

C25K: Week 6

A 20 minute run and our last interval behind us? Wildfires? Dust clouds? Gale force winds? Good grief.  This week really tested us.  The good news is that we passed. 

Over the past several weeks I've learned that temperature and humidity make a world of difference in my enjoyment level whilst running.  When the temperature climbs above 70 degrees, I'm toast.  With summer rapidly approaching, I'm feeling a little apprehensive, but I guess it will be like this whole process has been. We'll just get used to it.

Less than one month till the 5K.  I checked out the top times in my age group in last year's race.  The good news is that I think I can place in the top three.  But let me be honest:  I will be happy to cross the finish line and not pass out, puke, or die.

That is all.

Love to Eat & Run (and Vote!)

On May 14, the day Joe graduates, we are running our first 5K together here in Midlo.

My school district hosts a 5K to support the Midlothian Education Foundation, which provides scholarships and grants for students and teachers.  It's a really great organization (they awarded me a scholarship last spring!)  ;)

There's a classroom participation award for the teacher who coerces  motivates the most students to participate, so I've been pestering my students to sign up.  I want that iPad for my classroom, dangit!

May 14 is also the day of the bond election, so the plan is to run the 5K, vote, and then come home and clean up and go watch Joe walk across the stage. Hooray!  It will be a day of victory!

Lately

I've been busy lately, so here's the quick and dirty run-down.

Joe's eye fully recovered. No more pirate Joe.  Yarrrr.

Last Friday Joe sent me these purdy flowers for  the anniversary of the day we met. TEN YEARS AGO!  Ahg!  I can't believe it.

Saturday I spent most of the day working on my paper for my writing class and watching the Rangers.

Sunday we went to my dear friend's birthday cookout in Dallas.  Yummy food and plenty o' wine.  Have you ever tried panzanella?  Seriously, I ate the best panzanella I ever had in my life at Kim's cookout.  Okay, so it was the only panzanella I've ever had in my life.  But I've gotta get that recipe.  It rocked my face off!

Today:
Joe got a call from TCU inviting him to an interview for admission to their MBA program.  He's got a big decision to make between UTA and TCU.  Practical Joe wants to stick with UTA.  He can use several credits and graduate in about 12-18 mos.  Fancy Joe wants to go with TCU.  They have some awesome 8-day study abroad programs (spouses can tag along!)  and a great alumni base, but it will probably take closer to 24 mos to complete, but that's three or four trips abroad earning credit.  ;) We need to set up a poll.

Tonight Joe and I ran Day 1 Week 5 of our Couch to 5K program. 

It wasn't so bad. Walk 5 min. Run 5 min. Walk 3. Run 5. Walk 3. Run 5. Walk 5. 

The last 5 minutes of running were uphill with a headwind and kinda sucked, but we made it.  Since we've jumped up to longer increments of running, I've started to get a teensy bit sore in my quads and calves, but I think having a rest day between has helped.

I wish the weather would always be this nice for running.  I know that heat and humidity are imminent though. :(