Tomorrow is Replay Day!!!

Well, tomorrow is the start of week 3 (again!!) of my running program.  This is the day that sent me into the backward scramble game of catch-up. 

So, I rested up today.  Levi and I watched the Skins WIN!!

He had his head turned when the Packers were close to taking it...he has very little faith!!

Happy Friday

The week is coming to a close...is it just me or did this week seem to take FOREVER!!

So, I have a question.  One of my snuggly little brown friends (I won't mention any names)

continues to eat poop!  YUCK!  I've heard several things.  I know if there is something missing in their diet they will do that (but they all get the same nutritionally balanced diet PLUS vitamins PLUS antioxidants PLUS some veggies PLUS Omega III!!!) And he's the only one that does it.  I've also heard they could resort to that if they are bored (sometimes 'only dogs' do it when they have limited people interaction).  Mine are crazy, they always play, always attack each other.  I don't think he is bored (although that may be it during the day when he eats my rug....but I think that's anxiety - those of you that have met him know he is very special and has some, what shall I call them, ISSUES.  MAJOR ISSUES.  Anyway, I digress. 

I don't want to resort to having to follow them around and pick up every time they go (mainly because I am lazy and like picking up the yard 2-3 times a week instead of 2-3 times a day and I HATE the cold so the fenced yard is such a blessing to have this winter!!).  I want to find a way to make him not like it anymore before I give in and resort to just not caring anymore (very close to this right now).

I have heard putting hot sauce on the poop makes it undesirable (like it's not already????? and if I'm going out there with the hot sauce, I'm just going to pick up the poop!!!).  I have also heard that feeding them a few pieces of fresh pineapple or a few spoons of canned pumpkin daily will make it less yummy (again...really?  but ok, I'm not a dog so I won't judge).

I'm going to try these...just curious if anyone has tried them or if there are any other suggestions out there?

Sweet Potato Fries and Why It's Tough Being a Woman

Well, here they are.....TRY NOT TO DROOL!!!

Don't they look delicious???  They were!!!  Ok, enough of that...go make yourself some :-)

So now I know you're curious about the second half of that post title.  I wanted to share something pretty funny with you.  I started a class Monday night with my friend Megan and 28 other women on the Book of Esther and the subtitle for the class is "It's Tough To Be A Woman".  The funny part is the survey.  If you aren't familiar with Beth Moore, she is SOOOO funny.  Before putting this study together she took a survey of 400 women and asked what they considered the hardest part of being a woman to be.  The largest response by a MILE was...

Do you know?  What do you think?

HORMONES.  I thought that was so funny.   It was some overwhelming 80+%

What would your response be (you can't use hormones...)  And guys, no silly answers :-)

I also have a confession to make.  I am skipping running tonight.  I KNOW!  But, it is what it is, I'm beat.  I am going to rest (see my previous post on rest!!!) and prepare for my conference call tonight.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable evening (and works harder than me tonight!!!)

What I'm Thankful For

I am very thankful that I came upon Girls On The Run and decided to give coaching a shot.  The lesson yesterday was on being thankful.  The run portion actually ended up being a silent run where the girls were told to think about the things they are thankful for as they run silently.  Up to this point the run portion has been very social, but we wanted the girls to think about how running made them feel - they aren't always going to have 16 other girls jogging along with them.

While I am thankful for SOOOOO much in my life, last night I was particularly thankful for my sweet potato fries.  They were delicious.  The only thing I regretted was NOT MAKING MORE!!

I will have to share the picture I took with you a little later today, can't seem to get it sent to myself!!

So simple - I cut up a sweet potato - tossed it in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary and baked at 375 for 20 minutes...PERFECTION.

Have a wonderful Fall day!

A Time For Rest

A typical weekend for me is "catch up".  I tie up loose ends from the work week, I organize my business plans for the following week, usually getting in a few appointments I wasn't able to pull off through the week, I clean the house, etc., etc., etc.  That's not to say that I don't take it easy sometimes, but usually as I do, my mind is thinking of the 40 other things I SHOULD be doing.  That's not really rest.  But yet I still do it all the time.

Well, not this weekend.  I actually rested and enjoyed my weekend.  Of course now my house needs cleaned :-)  But, oh well, it won't cave in!!

Friday - pizza and wine and TV snuggled under a blanket
Saturday - WONDERFUL dinner ( http://www.chart-house.com/ )
Sunday - lunch, shopping, redskins (yay!! Go Skins!)

Read about some of the benefits of getting enough rest : http://www.natural-health-restored.com/rest-and-sleep.html

So, now it's back to work.  I feel refreshed and ready to have a great week!!!

Levi and I are Running Partners!!

I always knew Levi loved the treadmill and of course he likes outside walks and runs, but he has jumped the obsession line!  Since tomorrow is a rest day in week 1 (yep, that's right, started over in week 1, remember?), I guess I can officially say I made it through.  Levi has joined me a little this week, but the last 2 days he has taken on the commitment.

He jumps on and takes off and goes the ENTIRE 40 minutes (5 min warm-up, 30 min plan and 5 min cool down).  He starts to pant a little at ~ 25 minutes, but he is such a trooper.  Even when I'm done, and I'm stretching, he sits and waits JUST IN CASE I might decide to hop back on.

What impresses me most is that he adjusts and changes his speed when I increase and decrease the speed of the treadmill to alternate between walking and running.  A few times he thought we were done when I backed it down to walk, but when he got to the back of the treadmill and realized it was still moving, he worked his front feet a few strides and then hopped right back up there!!

Of course he blinked with the flash :-)

I hope everyone enjoys this BEAUTIFUL day!!

Check Me Out...I'm Famous

 Ok, maybe not famous, but it's very cool just the same!

When I started posting Operation Beautiful notes, I let Caitlin Boyle know.  She asked for my blog name and wanted to feature one of my notes. Sooo, I am the top pick on her 5 of the notes for the day...check me out HERE.  Each day she picks a few submissions to highlight.  I knew there was a reason I had to share my story with all of you, what I didn't know is that she would read it and post it for others as well.

Gotta follow your gut!