College Station

This weekend was SOOO much fun! As I mentioned last week, I headed to College Station for the weekend to see Della and Dave. They have lived there almost a year and I have yet to make it down to visit (WORST FRIEND EVER)... It ended up a bunch of our old college friends were down there as well and we had such a great time!

Friday we went and saw Reckless Kelly... a great show.. but not the same w/o our favorite band member Jimmy who has moved on from the band and now they have a new bassist. That's ok... we'll still love them!

Saturday we got up and went to the basketball game (after my favorite lunch in College Station... Laynes). We watched the Aggies BTHO OSU (haha Sarah) and headed to northgate after that! Now mind you, I am getting old, and I can't "party" like I used to. We were at the bar from 4pm until 2am... Allison was (and stilll is) TIRED!!!!

It was all and all a great weekend... good friends, good food and a lot of good fun!

Needless to say - my training was obsolete this weekend... that's ok though I'll start again today... I got my bike this weekend so if you see me crashed on the side of the road... keep driving I don't want to be embarrassed... I'll be ok... but if you drive back by and I'm still not up... call 911 please!

Me and Ciearra at the game

Old Friends and New Friends...

Ciearra, Della and Me at the Game

Me and Del

I think I've gone crazy...

I spent two (2) hours at the gym yesterday... and burned 1300 calories AND didn't want to leave! What's wrong with me.... it's become an obsession...an addiction...but I guess a healthy addiction at that..

Today I went and swam 400 meters and had to force myself to rinse off, change and go home to have a nice meal and watch some tv... deep inside I wanted to stay longer..

I guess it all comes in waves... some days I can barely pull myself out the door to go the gym, other weeks I want to sleep there... ah well... I guess it will work out (no pun intended).

My training is going good... yesterday was the first time back in the gym in a week. I did a little weight training, a nice run and some cycling... I left feeling amazing!... I woke up feeling like I was going to fall over from pain. I hadn't worked out in so long I got sore! I haven't been sore since I started this process; so I hadn't felt that in awhile...by the way... IT HURTS!

If you are a member of 24 hour fitness I highly recommend the 24 LIFT class... EXCELLENT but you will be hurting the next day.

On another note: (maybe a little personal)

Do you ever wonder why life doesn't work out like the movies (or tv, or books for that matter). You think you do everything right, live a good life, make good, responsible, mature decisions and it doesn't turn out quite like it did on Grey's Anatomy or You've Got Mail or a Nicholas Sparks Novel.

I guess you have to make your own movie (boy readers I don't mean that kind of movie).. write your own story, paint your own picture... you get my drift. It's a beautiful thing... life... you can have a different story, book, painting every 24 hours...

Allison's piece of advice for the day: HAVE NO REGRETS....

I'm headed back to good 'ole college station this weekend to see Della and her fiance Dave so I won't be on the blogging front but when I get back I'll post pictures and tell you how FABULOUS my trip was!

Have a great weekend!

Busy Busy...

Hi ya! Well it's been crazy around here the last week or so... I was traveling for work last week and then went out of town on the weekend... I was literally home for one day last week until Monday! It was fun and the weekend went by WAY to fast!

Last week I got a new fence! YEA!! If you have been to my house you know the awful shape my fence was in.. falling over on all three sides, two inaccessible gates and slats down throughout... well I buckled down and gave in and got a new one and I love it! I can't wait for spring to be here so I can start making over my back yard! Sod, new flower beds, flagstone... I can see it now!

It is FREEZING here tonight! It's dropped into the low 20's and sleeting like crazy... the rooftops in my neighborhood are already all white and my front and back yard are blanketed in ice and sleet as well. At about 2pm this afternoon I received an email that work was delaying opening until 10 if that gives you a clue to the madness of this winter weather Texas is experiencing. You know us Texas, it gets below 70 and we freak out and break out with parkas, not to mention we don't drive anywhere either!

Deuce (my dog) HATES any kind of precipitation... he literally will hold going to the bathroom for days if it is raining... he also hates the cold so this is a lose/lose situation for him. He hasn't stepped outside since this afternoon before the sleet hit...hopefully I can get him outside for like 5 seconds to pee before we hit the sack! I hate to tell him that Thursday is bath day ... he hates that too. He probably will hate me now... it's cold raining/sleeting and he has to have a bath... and get his teeth brushed..poor Deucey!

Well we are going to hit the hay... I hope you all have a great week!

Ciao!

stupid html

Hello my lovely blog readers... I was keeping track of how many hits my little blog was getting but something happened with that html code and now I refuse to start over again at 0!

Training for the tri has been lax this week... I've been traveling for work so it's been hard but I'll get back in the swing of it next week.

Today I want to dedicate my post to one of my sisters, Anna... For Christmas I gave her cake decorating classes. She had taken an interest in cake decorating awhile ago and is really good at it. So I figured I've give her some professional lessons to enhance her already natural ability. She just finished her third week in class.

This is what I have discovered:

1. She makes a better butter cream icing than any professional cake I've ever eaten... and I've had a lot... I do pride myself as a cake connoisseur..

2. She faced her fear of clowns... this week in class she had to make a clown cake... sorry sister I wasn't aware of that when I signed you up

3. You should totally hire her out to make your kids birthday cakes...

So that's it... she's really good and it tastes REALLY GOOD!

Keep checking back for further updates :)

860 Calories Down.... 101 Days to go!!!

This week marked the re-start of my tri-training. I was L-A-Z-Y during the two week holidays between Christmas and NYE... but I made myself get back into the swing of things this week.

I was not starting off the week very good on Monday because the weather was bad and I didn't want to get out in it and my friend Tommy came over because his power was out at his house (ice from tree branches fell on to the power lines and completely knocked out his power). So there was no gym time for me on Monday...

Tuesday I decided I MUST go - so I took Deuce out for a run... it was hard getting back into the "groove"... but Deuce always makes it a much more enjoyable trip. He was really scared though because this crazy woman walking down Kelly kept hissing at him and putting up cat claws. I seriously thought Deuce was going to jump up into my arms and I was going to have to carry him home...but instead we turned it up a notch and sprinted.... good for Deuce to not see the crazy lady... good for my heart rate and endurance!

Today (Wednesday) I went to the gym to cycle and run ... I still haven't gotten my road bike but hope to have it soon. Ciearra went with me and we had an AMAZING work out! We cycled on the spin bikes for 25 minutes ( I made C go an extra 5 minutes with me... I thought she was going to kick me in the face)... then ran for 20 and did an abs class for 15... so after an hour of working out I burned nearly 900 calories!!! It feels so good.... my "operation get fit" girls are going to be jealous!

I can really feel myself changing... my endurance has certainly picked up... I feel stronger and clothes are starting to fit better. My weight has stayed steady over the last month.. no gain but no loss either... I hope since I'm turning up my workouts now I will start to see results on the scale.

I heard at the gym today abs are 80% diet and 20% exercise... something to think about ....

OH MY GOODNESS!!

I have so much to blog about... I haven't had a computer (or the time since the holidays) to sit down and blog so I'll try to do a December 2008 recap...


1. I got a job! AWESOME! I'm so excited I start on Monday, January 5... at Cambridge Integrated Services Group. I am going to be an Account Manager in the Client Services division. My new office will be about 10 minutes from house and I hopefully will have the opportunity to travel. I will have a book of business that I am responsible for once the initial sale has been made by the sales force... this will include implementation, problem soliving, benchmarking and other stewardship reports and meetings, continued education, etc. I am so very excited about this awesome opportunity! I truly know this position was worth the wait! The job and the people completely fit my personality and my goals and I'm so fortunate to have found a job with such an amazing company!

2. FAMILY PICTURES - It was so nice to get the WHOLE family together to take pictures for the first time. Our pictures included - my mom, me, My sister Paige and her family (nick and shelby), and my other sister Anna and her family (Randy, Kaylee and Cooper)... NINE of us... six girls... you can imagine the chaos that ensued...

It was wonderful and we were able to get a ton of awesome pictures from our AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHER STEFANIE!!

3. I was able to be a part of an AWESOME friends wedding right before Christmas. Laura was my roommate in college and she married her handsome little husband on December 21 in Georgetown, SC. It was an amazing weekend filled with wedding festivities and reconnections. I was able to see a few friends that I hadn't seen in a long time and catch up. I also was able to meet all of Laura and Jaime's wonderful friends and family. Their wedding was beautiful and I so enjoyed being a part of it.

4. CHRISTMAS! Christmas was so fun this year. It was my niece - Shelby's - first Christmas and so much fun! She loved tearing up all the tissue paper while opening her presents and playing with all of her fun toys. She has started crawling and is now officially on the move! Kaylee and Cooper also had an amazing Christmas... they are so fun as well and Cooper really "got" Christmas this year. Kaylee is the best big sister ever and helped him with opening his toys and playing on the wii with all of their fun new stuff!

5. New Years - WELCOME 2009!! I welcomed in 2009 in Houston with my friends Kristin and Nick. They hosted a party at their house fully equipped with lots of food, drinks and rockband! I'm just about the most amazing rockband singer ever...

This holiday season was filled with family and friends. This was definitely the best way to end a great year and an even better way to begin a better 2009! I hope each of you had an amazing and BLESSED holiday season as I did.

4th photo challenge

I was tagged by my friend Kristin of www.kiersserendipity.blogspot.com/ to participate in what I have deemed the "4th Photo Challenge".

Instructions:

1. Go to the place where you store all of your pictures on your computer and open up the 4th folder.

2. Open the 4th picture

3. Post the picture and give an explanation

4. Tag 4 people

The photo above was taken on my 27th birthday at Sherlocks in Addison, Texas. I am enjoying a nice refreshing Vodka/Tonic w/ 2 Limes... I'm not sure there's much more explanation than that!

I tag:

1. Erin - http://www.benavidesfam.blogspot.com/

2. Kristi - http://www.kyndallandavery.blogspot.com/

3. Desiree - http://themoellenkamps.blogspot.com/

4. Johanna - http://deloplaybook.blogspot.com/

Happy Holidays!

1 week down... 18 to go...

I finished my first real week of "Operation Triathlon". It went well... I have increased my biking to about 6 miles (give or take dependent on time) each work out and 1.5 mile run. I should be good in no time.. haha j/k!

By far swimming is going to be most difficult.. I think I said this in the earlier post... but seriously I swam for the first time this week in a real lap pool at the gym and about died.... so close to death in fact my heart rate monitor stopped... which instantly made me panic and say (in my head... b/c if I said this out loud then I really would be crazy)... "OH MY GOD I THINK MY HEART STOPPED!" Seriously I said this and then realized it was just because it doesn't work in the water...

I was pumped when I saw the pool and thought 50m ain't bad... until I went to confirm the distance with the guy at the gym and he said "no ma'am our pool is 25m" - DANG I thought I had swam 200m and I really only swam 100m!

Seriously though - I may have to switch up strokes in the middle of the lake - yes I am swimming in a lake on tri day - does doggie paddle count as a stroke? Or if I start drowning and they rescue me do I automatically get to continue on the bike portion b/c I might have a chance at winning if this is the case.... Here's my plan:

Hop into the water - swim for about 45 seconds "play drowned" get whisked off by the med team - get a quick once over - they see I'm ok and I hop on my bike... maybe my sights aren't set on first place with this plan but a solid top 10! haha j/k

I'm also really excited not only b/c I completed one week of tri training but I have a big week coming up this week! I have 3 interviews! YEA GO ME! I hope one pans out - because I seriously need a job.... I have surfed the internet, watched tv and done laundry as much as 1 person can...

In addition to my 3 interviews I leave on Friday for my friend Laura's wedding in South Carolina! I'm so excited to see her and so honored to be a part of her wedding... standing beside her on her wedding day is going to be a blessing! Laura and I were roommates in college and had some pretty fun times (and lived to tell about them)... we also probably didn't always make the best decisions... but we learned from them and had a dang good time along the way.

She is going to be a beautiful bride and I'll post pictures upon my return ... I know you will all be on the edge of your seats for that!

If I don't get around to blogging before Christmas I hope you all have a WONDERFUL holiday season. I hope you all get to spend time with your families and the people you love most. And as you get whisked up in the wonders of the holiday always remember what we are celebrating and why we celebrate!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

xoxo

19 weeks and counting...

I got this idea in my head a few weeks ago that I would start training for my first triathlon in April... I set lofty goals what can I say...

I have absolutely no desire to run a marathon or even a 1/2 marathon for that matter... I get bored too easily running... but I thought I can do something where it changes and isn't constant repetition of the same sport so I thought "Hey Why Not a Triathlon"... So I did some research and found one in April... April 19 to be exact... in McKinney, so close to home to where I can come home and puke my guts up afterwards.

Don't let me fool you - it isn't an Ironman or anything but it should be a pretty good starting point for me and an attainable goal for which I've set.... to simply finish! It is called "My First Tri" a division of the King Tut Triathlon on the same day... it consists of:
300 Meter Swim
6 mile Bike
2 Mile Run
in that order...

I've got the biking down so far and the running actually (my cardio endurance came back rather quickly as I routinely got back into the gym) but the swimming... HOLY CRAP ... it's hard.

It's way different than just splashin' around in the lake with a beer (which I typically consider 'swimming') but I will survive (hopefully there will be life guards just in case) it's only 6 laps in an Olympic size pool after all... this sound ridiculous as I type it...

So keep checking back for my progress on my tri-training... I actually must be a pretty good sales-woman I've roped three friends into doing this with me - SO -

POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS WHO MAY BE READING THIS... I HAVE GREAT SALES SKILLS!!! WHO ELSE COULD TALK SOMEONE INTO DOING A TRIATHLON??? HIRE ME!!!

and come support Me, Cayla, Kristin and Ciearra as we try to complete our tri on April 19... put it in your calendar people!

Thanks for reading!

(sing Jefferson theme song here) Movin' on up.... or out ... whatever

Ok Ok Ok... I am finally sitting down to update ....

If you had the slight chance last week to catch my blog before I deleted the post you may already know what I am going to tell you... but if you didn't I'll tell you briefly what has been happening over the course of the last few weeks...

My last post (that I deleted) was much more eloquently written but I found myself after posting it struggling to decide if I should leave it up... so I figured if I was struggling about it I should take it down...

Bill and I have decided to take some time away from each other... and by take time, I mean for no better words, break up and move out... he has moved his stuff out of my house and into his own house that he is in the process of purchasing... a lot to digest in just three measly weeks.

I guess this time in my life fits the old adage "if you love someone set them free; if they come back they are yours, if they don't they never were"

With all of this that has been going on I have run the gamut of emotions - sad, angry, bitter, lonely, happy (yes even happy)... but I finally feel peace. I am at peace with the decision... I still get angry and sad and bitter and lonely and happy... but through all of it I am peaceful because I know that I will be ok.

Bill was/is a huge part of my life but our relationship didn't define who I was or what I was it only enhanced me and my life...so I know that I will be ok... because I am strong.

So with this new place I find myself at - I feel lucky to have a new beginning... and a new time to focus on me and my goals... to find a new job that is perfect for me and a new chapter in my life that is still unwritten (I totally just referenced the Hills theme song)

Thanks for taking time to read my little blog...

PS - we took family pictures today that were AMAZING!!!!! Hopefully I'll have them in a week or so and can share them with you. CHECK OUT OUR AWESOME PHOTOGRAPHER HERE