More Birthdays, the Perfect Cookies & Pre-Race!

Last weekend was Jason's birthday! He wanted to celebrate by painting little figures. He does this as a hobby and very often! It was the perfect gift. It took all weekend (lots of steps) and we loved it. We got to spend some quiet time together and enjoyed it!

I've been pretty busy lately (working out and family in town). I guess it's tired out a certain little boy. He always sleeps with his butt in the air. It's so cute! My little jelly bean.

I had some strawberries in the fridge that were about to go bad. I only had one more day before I had to throw them out. I searched online and found some awesome strawberry sugar cookies. I haven't found the best sugar cookies, yet. Until this day! These are great. So chewy and just a hint of strawberries. Just the perfect sugar cookie.

My Spartan workout has been going great! I feel stronger and better than when I first started training. My arms have changed (in a great way) and my thighs are getting skinnier. My running is getting faster and easier. I'm not where I use to be (before Lars), but I'm still getting there. 

Saturday is race day! I'm running the Disco donut on Saturday. I can't wait! Disco music while running a 5k, and donuts!!!! Yay!! I've hear there's a YMCA dance at mile 1 and a donut hole eating station and mile 2. And, of course, a party at the finish line! Saturday is going to be so much fun!!

A Little This & That

I was able to do a little relaxing & errands this weekend. Since it's been a little cooler at night, I've been having some warm chair tea with my homemade snickerdoodles. Yum! I love cinnamon and I can't wait until fall when I can make the house smell like it all day long!

When I was making the snickerdoodles, I didn't know that they would expand so much. When I pulled them out of the oven, I entire cookie sheets were completely filled with one big cookie. I had to cut them apart.

When I got home from work on Friday, I had a package waiting for me. Premier Protein sent me some goodies that I can't wait to try out!

We had some family friends over this weekend (to them some progress on the house). They brought Jason a birthday present. Beers from around the world. He can't wait to try them out!

This weekend, I did some things to get ready for Jason's party in a couple of weeks. I personalized a few cases of water for him.

I'm going to have a hard workout week. Since I'm taking next week off of the gym (I'm going to be super busy getting things ready for the party), I'm going to push myself very hard this week. It all starts tonight with ripped class and a 5k (I'll probably try to push it to 4-5 miles). 

How do you push yourself?

Birthday Weekend & Meeting New Friends

I have the best husband, he always knows exactly  what to get me for any special occasion. He spoiled me for my 30th birthday last year and bought me the best present this year:

That's right, a new laptop. I've been wanting/needing one for a very long time. Now, he gets to take over my pc (he desperately needs one, too).

He treated me like a queen on my special day: after we got off of work, he had me sit down and relax while I watched my favorite shows, while he made me a drink:

And, a great dinner:

Before getting starting, the next morning, we relaxed and enjoyed a cool morning

I found a new friend while watering,

 

and, Jason worked his butt off putting our rock wall together. Once it is stable, I come around and clean all the cement off (a lot more difficult than it sounds). We're almost done (completely).

 

While I was waiting for my turn to work on the wall, I made something else. I made a candle holder out of cement. It's nothing special, but it will be nice to have something for those outdoor parties, and to hold down the table clothes (and it's cute with the pressed leaf on the side).

It was such a cool weekend, that I decided that I wanted to run outside, no matter the temp. So, after work yesterday, I hit the streets. I ran 3.04 miles in 37:22 minutes. I guess that isn't so bad since I'm  not use to running in the heat. I'll run outside on Wednesday, too.

I'm not going to any of my usual classes at the gym this week because I have my own at home workouts this week. I need to shovel rock hard dirt (with lots of thick tree roots) and fill in the inside part of the rock wall (my part of helping with the wall). I need to get all this done this week (after work) because we're going to start planting out flowers and catus this weekend. Lots of arm workouts here. 

While I was filling in dirt, I was also watering. This is when I met another new friend. I've named him Phil. Isn't her adorable!

I can't wait for yoga tonight. I really need to stretch out after all that digging!

What's your favorite type of bug? I usually hate any type of bug, but praying mantis are my favorite, they are so cute!!

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Happy Birthday to Me!!

When Jason got home last night, he had picked up some things for my dinner tonight (that he's making). One thing he bought for last night, was some beer. It's a funny label...WTF, a jobless recovery ale.

Dinner was all veggies, but I did add in some bacon for Jason. This is called Italian Veggie Skillet. It did have a lot of flavor.

At 7:01 pm today, I turn 30. I am no longer in the 20's. I am proud to join the new racing age group. My first race in this age group is for my next half, on Oct. 2 (I finally registered yesterday). I am so happy to be 30 and I'm not one of those women freaking out about it!

What age group are you looking forward to racing in?

Fitting Into My Pants

If I don't say so myself, but dinner was pretty darn good last night. I made chicken and cheese tortellini, fresh green beans and home made garlic bread. The bread was so easy to make. It took longer to make the tortellini (boiled in chicken stock) than the bread. Recipe: 2 c Bisquick mix 2/3 c milk 2 t basil flakes 1 egg 1/3 c melted butter 1/2 garlic salt (large granules) Combine everything, except the last 2 ingredients. Pour into buttered 8x8 pan. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Combine butter and garlic salt. Pour over mixture (once out of oven). Let sit for 5 minutes.

I had 6 miles on the schedule this morning. I was listening to my foot this morning. The main thing is that it needs to heal so I can run my long run (12 miles) Tuesday. I was able to get out 4 miles before any notice of my toe. It didn't hurt, it just wasn't comfortable.

After my run, I worked on weights on the legs and arms. The worked 1/2 core. I had a total of a 2 hour workout this morning. This will be my new Saturday morning schedule.

This afternoon, I had a birthday lunch date with my mom. Her b-day is on the 5th. Since I work that day, I took her out today. Just me and her, no boys allowed. Getting ready, I saw some capris that I haven't worn since last summer. They fit last year, just a little snug. This year, they fit prefect. I feels so good to see small progress here and there. It shows all my sweat (literally) is paying off.

My mom wanted Mexican food. So, we tried a new place. It was ok. The place is called Cabos. It's about 15 minutes away. I wouldn't say the food was great, but not bad. Just ok.

Does anybody have any b-days this month? My main b-day month is August: mine, brothers, dad's and a few others.