I've been very busy

I think I have mentioned it before, I love to clean, I know it sounds crazy but I do. I plan my day around workouts and cleaning.  I have organized my cupboard, bleached the kitchen floor, and now I am scrubbing all the appliances. Maybe because it has been in the 60s this past few days, I feel like spring cleaning.  I seriously am this happy when I clean.

This past week at the gym I actually ran for the first time in a week.  I am trying to let my right calf completely heal before I attempt too much.  I spent many hours on the spinning bike, which is so BORING.  Saturday I did a double class, with an older man teaching in spandex, let's just say, everything was showing. I actually gagged a few times, it was horrible.  I am feeling stronger as each day passes.

I have been cooking what I like to call "lazy meals."  What are lazy meals, you ask?"  It is when you open something from a box and put it in the oven.  I don't usually eat said meal, I try to stick with a salad.  Poor Zachary gets stuck eating it.  He loves my cooking, sometimes, when you suffer from depression you really can't do much.  

Tonight I am making my famous potato soup.

It is my own recipe, however I will share because it is delicious.

First I peel about four pounds of potatoes (I like to make extras)

I put enough water in the pot to cover the potatoes and then add Lipton Onion soup mix about 11/2 packages.  

I let the potatoes cook through and then add pepperoni about a six ounce portion chopped up.

Then let it simmer for 10 minutes.

I then add half a pint of cream and about a cup of sharp cheddar cheese.

Let that simmer until the cheese melts.

Serve immediately with green onions on top.

It is very easy to make and is absolutely my favorite homemade soup.

It is so nice outside today and Zachary is out of school for MLK day, so we are going for a walk later.

There is a deer rescue center about 1/4 of a mile from our house, we go there often because the deer are so beautiful to look at.

Make sure you spread some sparkle along your days journey.  It is effortless to smile at someone, or say hello.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Have a great Monday!

What activities do you do when you are on the injured list?  Spinning

How was your weekend?

Do you spread a little sparkle throughout your day?

Things I can't live without

1. My children.  I have three sons, Jordan 21, Marcus 20, and Zachary 11.  They are my pride and joy, each one has a different quality that makes them unique in their own way.  Raising them has not been easy but I would not change a thing about them.

2. Candles.  I am always burning a candle.  I love the way they look and smell.  I particularly love the ones from Bath and Body works.  Right now I am loving their pumpkin caramel swirl.  

3. Internet.  I love the internet.  I can keep in touch with family and friends, conduct business, and explore endless opportunities to create new things.

4. NUUN.  I absolutely drink too much of this, but it is delicious.  It is a drink for active hydration and it comes in a variety of flavors however my favorite is the tri-berry.  What is better than this, being an ambassador for their company!!!!!!

5. Running.  I love running.  I actually hated running when I was in the Army.  How did I get into it?  Chasing suspects down.  It was like this awesome high when I could catch someone younger than me.  I always said "suspects run for freedom, police run to catch."  Suspects have more to run for.  I won't even tell you the hell a suspect would go through if I caught them.  I would use my age, sex, the fact that I was carrying at least 25 pounds of extra gear to taunt them.  I then realized that running could possibly save another officers life if they were in trouble.  So I always stayed in shape.  I started to run competitively in 2012. Now I run for sanity.  

6. Nature.  I enjoy anything nature.  Trail runs, birdwatching, walking in the woods, the smells, the sounds, the peace.  My father loved to be outside. I am a lot like him.  When I was younger I would spend as much time outside with my father as I could.  This was difficult because he was disabled from cancer when I was younger.  He instilled all my great values.  I miss him everyday, however feel like he is with me when I am outside.

What are your favorite things?

Have you tried blogging?  if so what is the name of your blog?

What motivates you?

I'm back!!!! Pet peeves at the gym

I took a little break because I was not sure if anyone was actually reading my blog.  I got a sweet message from a high school buddy Jenny Kreider who said she missed it.  That made my day so I am back to blog.

PET PEEVES at the gym.
The reason I am writing this is because I spent two hours spinning this morning and was completely grossed out.

1. Does working out really require you make "sex like" moans?  It makes me feel weird when I hear men moaning at the gym.

2.  Do you really have to wear makeup and fake eyelashes to a spin class?   When I go to the gym, I may wear mascara, however I know that I go to the gym to work not look good.

3. I think at some point the "older" population just needs to not wear spandex.  I was so grossed out by the second instructor because he was "older" and decided to wear spandex shirt and shorts to teach.  I beg the lord to remove that image from my head. Let's just say it made this guy, look sexy,, LOL.

4. Please for the love of GOD, wear deodorant.  It seems like every gym I go to the smelliest people sit right next to me.  I think it, in this case, was a cultural thing.  I mean when in Rome, welcome to America, land of deodorant. I thought the following were fitting:

5. The classes were full of people, no bikes available.  Why on earth would you take a class depriving someone else of working out, when all you do is complain and half ass it.  

On the bright side I was awarded a 15% off Buffalo Wild Wings coupon for working so hard in class.  I had to make the difficult decision to cancel my marathon next weekend in New Orleans, as my leg is still bothering me.  So for now my next race is scheduled on February 14, 2015. You get the mug full of snacks when you cross the finish line as well as the awesome ribbon.

Zachary is growing like a weed, my older two are back to living their lives.  Prissy is doing well, spoiled as always.

Have you ever run a hot chocolate run?

Do you have any pet peeves at the gym?  I DO

How is your new year going?  mine is great

Post Christmas run, time to relax

Ran a quick 8 miles this morning.

I am loving this new watch, taking a little time to get used to.  But I love this watch.

I have a race on the third, which I would love to place in, however will be happy just finishing it.

Spent Christmas night watching movies and hanging with Zachary.  Went to Eat Well for dinner.  I refused to cook both Christmas eve and Christmas day.  It is becoming a tradition to eat there for Christmas.  I enjoyed the shrimp tempura, and scallops.  

Came home from Eat Well and poured myself a glass of Kinky blue.  It is such a relief for it all to be over.  I always worry if my kids will be satisfied with their gifts. This year was a success.

Have I ever mentioned that I love to clean.  I am a cleanaholic.  I bleached down the kitchen today, cleaned up from the last two days, time to relax.  

I hope everybody had a great Christmas with those they love.  Time to start working on setting goals for 2015.  I will reveal my list next week.  I have a lot planned.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone.  Today has been an awesome day already and it is only nine in morning.  Santa was very good to me this year.  My sons were equally as giving. I never ask them for anything, however I received the most thoughtful gift.  I received a package yesterday from my son, there was a card inside that made me cry.  This is my twenty year old son, picked out a pandora bracelet, with three charms.  Once charm was for having boys, a heart with a blue crystal, one charm was for nature because I love anything outside, and the third was a pearl to signify our birthdays.  I never knew he cared so much.  I am so proud to be a mom to all three of my sons.

Probably the best few days of my life have been the past few days.  I don't know if my medicine is finally working, or maybe I have finally let go of things that were making me feel horrible. I take my good days very seriously, and try to make them last as long as I can.  

I hope everyone is having a great Christmas, and spending time with the people that matter the most to them.

I got up early to make breakfast from scratch.  I made bread dough by hand, yeast packets, etc.  I then tore it apart and made monkey bread.  

Have you ever wondered how plants know when it is Christmas?  I have been patiently waiting for my Christmas Cactus to bloom and what do you know I woke up and it was blooming, so pretty.  

I am going to test out my new Garmin Forerunner 220 today, which I am super excited about.  I feel like this is the training tool I need to perform better.  

After my run I plan on drinking some Kinky, blue in the tub. Sounds like a good plan.

Have a great evening, eat, drink and be merrry

Was Santa good to you?he was good to me

Do you  have a Christmas cactus?  did it bloom yet?

Are you having a good Christmas?  why? or why not?

Baking, running, and donating

I have a Christmas tradition of baking tons of cookies, and giving them out as gifts.  When I say tons, probably about 15 different types.  It feels bettter to give something that you spent time and love on.  Plus, the easiest way to a persons heart is through the stomach.  I've heard that for years.

After buying all the supplies which took about an hour, I get home and my oven stopped working, it refused to heat up.  I tried switching the breaker.  It was like it knew it was getting ready to be used for an insane amount of time. I had to call the repairman.

They were not able to "fix" it so they rigged it for now.  

The days are just not long enough lately, between cooking, running, blogging, hanging out with Zachary the day is gone.   Did I mention that he will be out of school for two weeks?  I wonder how many times I will be beckoned to the kitchen because he is hungry? I really do not mind though.

I have two weeks before my first race of 2015.  It is an eight mile race called Hill and Dale, which in itself leaves me to wonder what I was thinking registering for a race with the word Hill in it.  I was going to do a race near Nashville, but changed my mind.  

Well today is my long run day 15 miles so have a great Friday.

What keeps me motivated

Several years ago, I hated running so much that if I looked at someone running I would start having trouble breathing.  I'm not sure if it was because for eight years I was forced to run every morning.  I remember taking my U S Army pt test and falling to the ground after two miles. How times have changed.

When I became a civilian police officer, I realized how important being able to run was.  My fellow officers needed me to be there for them. Many of them did not feel the same way, once they made it out of the police academy they let themselves go.  I specifically remember when I was in field training, jumping out of the patrol car and tackling a man who was running from us.  My training officer was so proud of me.  What did that do to me? Well now I had a reputation to uphold.  I began running regularly mostly for physical fitness, not racing.  When other officers said they would not chase perps on foot, I thought they were weak.  I loved it when the bad guys ran and I caught them.  Not only was I usually older then they were, I also had about twenty pounds of gear to carry.  I usually always caught them!!!!

After I got out of law enforcement, I thought well maybe I can run competitively. Wow, I was winning ALOT.  Then I thought I wonder how far I can run.  Well turns out I can run far!  So I fell in love with running for necessity, to test my limits, and for the improvement of my mental health.

My favorite motivational movie is The Gabby Douglas Story.  I can watch a few minutes of that movie if I am in a rut and find myself pushing myself further then before.

The admiration of my children always gives me a boost.  I have the most appreciative children.  They are my biggest fans!

Knowing that I have a full race schedule in 2015 is very motivating.  I find that if I have races scheduled I will push myself harder.  2014 proved to have a great start, followed by several cancelled races because of injuries. I finished a few difficult races CUMBERLAND PLATEAU STAGE race was by far the most difficult race of my life.  I had not trained for it at all. I was happy with finishing even though I came in third. 

I am fortunate enough to have my own workout room, which I love...

What motivates you?

Do you have your own workout area? 

Have you ever hated something and then turned it into a love? 

Great run, no device thursday

I purposely slept in today I have been waking up at 0544 everyday for weeks.  Very annoying, so I took a sleeping medication and slept in until 0930.  Immediately went for a run upon waking up. That extra sleep really helped.  I ran 9 miles in just over an hour which I am satisfied with.  Found 46 cents along the way!!!!!! 

When I am running, or just walking through a store I always say hi to everyone that I can.  Some seem shocked, some seem to be happy that they were noticed.  I feel that if I can make one person smile everyday then I am spreading joy, love, and sparkle..  Don't ever change who you are to please someone, you are only hurting yourself.  

Last night I made potato soup. Two separate pots lol. One with sausage and one with kale.  It was delicious I couldn't stop eating it.

I am making Zachary chocolate chip cookies for when he gets home from school. I have implemented a no device Thursday.  This applies to me as well.  No phones, tablets, video games, or computer for the entire evening.  I love technology, but,,,, I feel like quality time has been taken away and replaced with electronics.  Zachary agreed, and we shall see how well it goes.

I have used these excuses, have you? 

Do you have a device free day at your house?

How do you spread sparkle?