The weekend that my emotions were compromised....& I may have had to pull out my Superman strength....

Hello Monday... my old friend...

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. For once, around here, it was perfectly beautiful & all-Spring-like.    It's about time.  Now let's see if THIS is the one that finally sticks.

Around here, all the talk was about Thunder Over Louisville - just the biggest firework show in North America. True story.  But because of that - the HUGENESS of it all - we stay far away from it. I dont dig big crowds like that.  Especially in the Downtown area.  I'm not all about that.  & honestly, once you see fireworks for about 5 minutes, the other 25 minutes just seems like repeat to me. I'll just stay home, comfy in my house - thankyouverymuch.

But my weekend was still full of excitement, even without fireworks... here's a little gander.

Friday

... Stopped at the grocery... & had a total freak out break down moment. No, not over the food in the store, though I do get disturbed walking by the meat section every time (How much meat is in ONE store - think how many stores there are - SO MUCH MEAT- NOOOO!!) ... I digress... but my knee was hurting so bad, I literally started crying while Ricky was reading ingredients to me over a lemonade he wanted to try.  It was hitting me that I may not actually make it to the start line Saturday for this half marathon.  (I'll talk more about this tomorrow) ... You know its bad when you just start crying walking through the grocery.

... Tried a new Starbucks drink. The Mango Black Tea Lemonade. OH MY WORD - delicious.  It really is going to give my Green Tea Lemonade a run for its money & y'all should know how much I love that stuff.

... Sat on the couch the rest of the night having a pity party about my knee catching up on The Vampire Diaries.  If I'm going to be sad, I'll be sad with the Salvatore brothers.

... Finished up my latest Etsy store cowl... if I could ever have time to sit & open UP my Etsy store, that'd be great #OfficeSpaceReference

Saturday

... ahhhh - a cool breeze coming through. I honestly love sleeping with the windows open & a cool breeze... especially when I dont have an alarm clock to wake me up. Saturday sleep is the best.  Even if Saturday sleep has me up at 7:30am

... usual Saturday morning Bible Journaling time

... Ricky is still on his cleaning spree & he's starting in the basement now for my work out area.  We went through all of our board games. We love our games.  We've picked about 25 board games to go to Goodwill... & still have about 25 board games left.

... put together my race shirt for Saturday. Holding out hope that I'll be using it in real life on race day.

... Soooo... I pushed myself.  I wrapped up my knees with my KT Tape & set out to do 5 miles. I had to see if my knee was going to hold up to even try to do the race on Saturday.  I told Ricky I wouldn't push myself more then I can handle... to which he laughed at me & reminded me I stood in the grocery store crying about my knee pain. Even attempting to get out & even try 5 miles was already pushing it.  To which I responded, "Ahhh - what do you know?"

... I DID IT!  I got in a little over 5 miles. & while not the best feeling my knee has been, I did it! & felt like I could have done more. Was it the tape?  Was my knee getting better? Who cares - I did it. It gives me hope for Saturday.

Anyone notice the 444's :)

... ran down to take a load to Goodwill. We are their best clients right now with all this cleaning. Dropping off great things that have never even been open - brand new items.  Sell it well Goodwill.  Just glad to get room in our house.

... Took more pictures for my Etsy store of some hats.  Because everyone wants a good warm wool hat in Spring & Summer!

Sunday

... I forgot what a long day it is when you go to 1st service at church & then serve in 2nd service in youth.  But man, I've missed it. It was our first day actually being in small groups again & it was wonderful.  Ricky & I have so enjoyed meeting the other leaders. Everyone is just so welcoming & NICE!  It's something we both comment on every time we leave that church - how friendly everyone is.

... Doing a human pyramid with 7th grade girls where I'm on the bottom, with my knee, on concrete floor.  Yeah - not smart.

... I left straight from church to go over to Chasity's house for our next JOY Bible Study group.  I just love this time with these ladies.  .. & these babies.... it's been an extra blessing to not only spend time with amazing women, but to see their babies grow up too.  & Caden being our latest baby in the group, gets to enjoy being the only boy.  That little stud.

... Got a phone call in the middle of Bible Study from Ricky - which I knew something had to be off for him to call.  Found out our Mr. Harvey Dent had been up to no good again. He got my glasses, our TV remote, a folder full of paper work & a few odds& ends ... & destroyed it all while we were at church.  Someone wasn't too happy with us leaving him.  That dog. Good thing he's cute.

... Made a stop to Old Navy to pick up a new pair of capri's for the race Saturday. (Still hanging onto hope)

... Picked up some pizza for dinner.  Who wants to cook on a Sunday evening?

... Came home to find Ricky under the lawn mower - in the world's most unsafe position ever.  I stood next to him with my phone ready to dial 911 .... or wait for my Superman skills to kick in if I needed to lift the lawn mower off of him.

... Got to spend some time chatting with our neighbors.  They just put up the cutest little fence for their dog so we talk over their fence now. I need to give it a name - something that refers to Home Improvement. What was that guy's name?  Wilson?  ... I'll need to say we were "Wilsoning" with our neighbors.  Makes sense, right?

... Wrapping up my night to get a phone call from my credit card company to find out someone had been using my number for a dating site. WHAT?  Oh mercy... nothing is safe anymore is it?  I just dont get people that feel like its ok to just STEAL from other people. I can't wrap my mind around it. Luckily, the credit card company was all over it.  Whew!

... & that's a wrap. A hectic, emotional weekend...

leading up to what I'm sure will be a hectic, emotional week.

RACE WEEK!  Here we go!

How was your weekend?

Ever been to Thunder over Louisville?

Ever have someone steal your credit card number?

Friday Favorites

Favorite Chair



My dad sent me this & said he could make it...
Ohhhh... I basically want every chair in my house to look like this now


Favorite Running Playlist
DISNEY INSPIRED!!!!!
Oh yeahhh!!!!




Favorite Inspiration





Favorite Book List



LINK
I went through these & had my Library web site on another page
& loaded up my wish list. I can't wait to dig into some of these

Favorite Beauty & the Beast

Y'aaaaaalllllllllll!!!!!!
If I dont get it & wear it every day - something is wrong in the world!

Favorite Reminder

Favorite Song

We sang this at the end of the sermon Sunday - the message on "Holy"
.,. this song just summed it up so beautifully & gave me chills.
I've been singing it all week!

Favorite Funnies

... when someone tells me that Monday's don't bother them

... when someone offers me dessert after dinner

... when I see how fast all my friends time are in the races we run together

... me at 4:00pm

Happy Friday Y'all!!!

Dizzy pills, tennis, baby pictures & the cutest Frozen song EVER ... all for Thankful Thursday {Link up #68}

This week I am Thankful for:

(The numbers refer to my journal for the One-Thousand Gifts... in other words, just ignore them)

325 / Vertigo medicine left over.  Whew. I was so dizzy last week that I thought I was going to DIE.  I couldn't get things to stop spinning for ANYTHING. I had to hang onto walls to walk from place to place.  I felt like I was on a ride from Hades.   Luckily, I have some extra pills my doc gave me from my last episode of it & I took one & it helped me make it through that little spell.  I hope this doesn't happen often. I'm going to have to keep these pills near me at all times apparently.

327 / Nothing to do when I'm sick.  I have to say, I dont know how you moms do it.  On days I dont feel good (having that vertigo) I am reminded that I have it easier than you moms that have to take care of kids even when you feel bad.  I get to tell my dogs to hold on, lay down in their bed & toss them a bone & I'm good for a few hours.  While it makes me a heart broken 99% of the time that I never had children of my own, these 1% days where I'm glad I can come home  & crawl in bed with no responsibility, I'm thankful.

328 / Seeing my niece play tennis.  I have said it many times here before - I don't get into watching or caring about most sports. Basketball? Nope. Baseball? Could care less.  Football?  Just give me a half time show for the Super Bowl is all I know... but tennis?  I'm ALL ABOUT!  I love playing it, love watching it... & now, I'm excited my niece is getting into it.  She's not the kind of kid who takes discouragement well so I thought she may give it up if she didn't match up well with others - but she really likes it & is sticking with it... & has a REALLY good back hand too!  I'm excited to see her progress in it!

329 / Ice packs for my knee.  Thank you baby Jesus.

331 / Taxes done for the year!

332 / Ricky's lost phone found. I mentioned this on Monday & told you it would be on the list.  So glad he found it & no one walked off with it in the tax office.

333 / Time to OPEN THE WINDOWS!  I love when I can open my windows & my back porch door & just let all the bugs in the air in.  Sleeping with the windows open? The BEST thing to me.

334 / Ricky got our garage clean. Like CLEAN CLEAN. Like I would have a picnic on the floor in there.  Like, I dont have to fear for my life anything is going to fall over on my car as I drive in!

336 / Got to see some of my aunts.  I could listen to their stories all day long.

338 / Started our new adventure in middle school ministry at our new church.  I think the Middle School Minister there is just fantastic. & I got to meet his wife & their new baby. She is all sorts of adorable too. Can't wait to get to know them & the whole MSM team better.

339 / Familiar youth faces. It made it so much better being in a HUGE room full of middle school kids & look up & see some faces from our last church. It just instantly makes you feel more comfortable to see faces you know & love.

340 / Got to do Grand buddy #2 pictures.  & he was a perfect baby. Seriously. Perfect.

341 / Spending time with Emerson.  Usually when I'm around Emerson, she's surrounded by people she loves & that loves her.  So it was great getting to spend some one on one time with her this past Sunday.

Check her out singing "Do you want to build a snowman"... ALL THE CUTENESS!!!

342 / Good health news for my daddy.  My dad has been having some chest/heart issues & had some tests done the past week... & the results came back in & its nothing serious. Whew!  So thankful for that one.

344 / Watching the Boston Marathon from work. ... & ever since that tragic bombing, I'm always thankful now when the event is pulled off safely.

347 / Sitting outside finishing up reading a book. Just note - any time I get the time & the weather to do this, it'll be on my Thankful list. I love being outside with a book.  I will say, I have a hard time going on my front porch in my rocker & reading since I lost Sydney. She was my partner in that reading spot. Oh mercy - how I miss her.

So what are you THANKFUL for this week?

Adulting is hard, feeling stupid, & was my crazy showing? {Confessions}

... when May Designs have a sale on their notebooks, its the biggest struggle not to go buy more. Like I need more notebooks to go with my ever expanding shelf of empty notebooks... but mercy, one more doesn't hurt - right? ... sigh.... I go on their website & design a new one that is just the prettiest one I've made yet & then I have the internal struggle on whether to order or not.  Let's just say, if they have a mega sale one day, I already have like 15 notebooks already designed in my cart ready to go.  #nevercangetenough

... I have been obsessed with the pictures of Will & Kate on their latest outing & travels. Are they just the cutest couple in the world? ... & get those brothers together & I'm swooning.  Did you see Will & Harry with the Star Wars gang? So fun! ... if you didn't know, you can follow photos & videos directly from Kensington Palace that follows Will & Kate as well as Harry with the user name: kensingtonroyal ... if you are a Royal fan, then you gotta follow!   #andtheylivedhappilyeverafter

... I totally zoned out yesterday driving back at lunch to work.  I was on the expressway & all of a sudden I look around & I'm WAYYY past my exit to go back to work. I was on my way home! OOPSIE!  I had to get off the next exit & turn around. I was 10 minutes late getting back. DOUBLE OOPSIE!  ... see how my brain just refuses to accept work some days?  #justwanttogohome

... editing these baby pictures I took on Sunday, I'm dying of the cuteness. I cant wait for his mommy & daddy to see the pictures.  #sweetbaby

... I think everyone that reads my blog was totally taken back by my post on Monday & the food I have an aversion to. I can't be the only one in the world that gets sick about a food item - right?  I just happen to pick the one EVERY ONE ELSE loves.  I'm special like that.  #youallaretheoddones

... I'm having to sit myself down & have some serious talks about this race & how my knee is going to handle it.  I am swinging so back & forth on what I should do.  I'm not good with decisions anyways - but especially when I have to make my own adult smart decisions in life.  #cantadult  #hanginginforamiracle  #comeonknee

... its in the mid 80's & we haven't turned on our AC yet. I'm scared to death it's not going to work.  By the way, we never get did our heater fixed properly.  See why I'm worried about our AC? ... I figure we'll wait till its like 95 degrees & miserable before we find out its not working. That's how to do things, right?  #cantadultagain  #sweatisgoodforyou

... & not to say its been hot in our house, but we have a bowl of Hershey Kisses. I went to open one yesterday. Its was like chocolate mush. #stillyummy #lickyourfingers

... I think the best invention ever is that app that shows you who deletes/unfriends you from Twitter or Instagram.  #byefelicia

... So I took a bunch of pictures for my Etsy shop... but when I did it, the hubs saw me with the camera set up & remote & came by & was like, "What are you doing?"... it instantly made me feel stupid. I felt stupid being in front of the camera anyways.  Needless to say, I ordered a dummy head & a upper body form & going to post pictures that way.  Ricky said he didn't mean anything by it, he truly just didnt know what I was doing changing clothes & scarves/cowls/hats... but nope, I felt dumb by that point.  Game over.  #modelcareerover #beforeitstarted

... I've missed doing confessions. I need to jump back on the Wednesday bandwagon.  #cleartheair

All about the support.. of the knees... & the worst week of working out EVER! {Training Tuesday}

Knees & running... some people don't think they mix.

I know a lot people see my knee issues & say, "See, you shouldn't run" - but in all honestly, I've had knee issues my whole life.  Or at least it seems like my whole life.  I was fairly young when my knees starting having troubles when I was in martial arts & messed up my hamstrings.  Like really messed them up - on both legs.

Injuries that had me on crutches for months & then in physical therapy to learn to bend my knee again.

I always say, I've had knee issues for so long, I just dont know what its like to have good knees.

Does running hurt or help?  I'm not sure.  I think its more muscles throughout the whole body that bothers the knees. Most people dont realize that a lot of sore knees are from the muscles in your hips & quads more then the actual knee, but its easy to just blame running & impact.

Let's just put it this way - there's LOTS of reasons for bad knees.  You can pop your meniscus in your knee from just turning funny... & you don't stop walking, right?

Life is about pushing yourself through limits ... & pain...

But what I was going to talk about today were the things you see me wear a lot of times on my knees when I run.

... & please note - none of these things are CURES for any knee issues. They are all just intended for comfort & living a more pain free life.... ok. Moving on.

STRAPS

This seems to be the one I wear mostly lately.  It just always feels good on my knee. They are made to help spread pressure across a larger area & take stress off of sore areas of the tendon on the bottom of the knee.  That's where a lot of runner's knee happens.  But you can also wear it above the knee cap if you have IT Band problems.

I also read before that it helps give signals to the brain to keep the muscles that support the knee on a heightened level of alert.  Like a good pressure point thing to say, HEY, watch out for me!  Be careful!

These are mainly used for runner's knee, IT band issues, patella issues.

Braces

I usually wear a brace when my knee hurts the most or when I need extra support. I really dont like to run in them because they aren't very flexible - which is kind of the point of them.

& there's so many braces out there now - ones with holes - some with gel pads, some with straps - some you just pull on.  For me, its been a trial & error thing.

The kind you pull on & is super tight is great for compression, which helps with a little swelling & keeps blood flowing to the muscles around the knee.

The kind with the hold in the knee cap is more helpful in supporting the kneecap - which I like.  My knee always seems to like 'slide out of place' - gross - but these sorts of things will help keep the knee on track where it should be.

You can use these mainly for swelling around the knee - or a bruised knee - or even mild arthritis or minor sprains.

Kinesiology Tape

I know this is the one most people don't really know about - or can appreciate.
I LOVE THIS STUFF... & have sworn by it for years.

This stuff is made to mimic the elasticity of human skin & gives full range of motion but still gives therapeutic benefits.  It can help in overactive muscle pain, reduce swelling, provide support, or as I say about it, it basically holds me together.

I have used it on my knees, on my back & on my shoulder - & it has helped in every instance.

Now there is a learning curve with applying it because some times, it will stick on for 7-10 days through sweat & showers... & others? It doesnt even last 10 minutes in the workout. That's frustrating to me - but when it works, it works.

Look up videos on how to apply it - http://www.kttape.com/ - you can see all the different uses on their site "how to videos"... I have seen it on people's hands for carpal tunnel - wrapped around feet - & like I said, I use it on my shoulder when my bicep tendinitis is unbearable.  It really is amazing how it makes a difference.

The cool thing - its even at Target now - making its way into stores everywhere - but you can always find some really cool colors on line. I'm all about color coordinating life.  But there's also a nude color that I'll use on my shoulder so it blends in more with short sleeves.

Have you tried any of these or prefer them?

______________________________

Half Marathon Training Week #14

Monday - Walk 3.05 Miles

Tuesday - Les Mills Combat

Saturday - Kickboxing Jillian Michaels

OH MY GOSH...
I am under 2 weeks to my half marathon & this is the saddest week of working out EVER!!!!

I'm going to be honest here - its a little bit of life & a little bit of nerves & a lot of pain.

1. I was really busy this week.  I had a lot going on & made the decision to take a night & go see my niece play tennis & by the time I got home, I didn't feel like working out after I got all the other things I needed to do done. It really shows me how you have to make working out WORK OUT in a daily life ... & some days, its hard.

2. My nerves are kicking in about this race. Since the 10 mile race & my knee hurting, I'm just wearing myself down mentally. Feeling like this race isn't going to happen or I'm going to be miserable in pain doing it.  I've got to start thinking positively here. Building myself up this next week.  I need that motivation to get these last few workouts in!!

3.  Pain - says it all. This stupid knee. It does feel like its getting better & then I go to run or walk & YEPPPPP ... its still there.  I so appreciate all the kind works & well wishes & good thoughts about my knee. I am so thankful for caring people that are lifting up my spirits in this.  If only my stupid knee would listen. It'll get better - it always does. But I need this better in 12 days... uggghhhh!!!

I'm going to push it more this week. That's a promise.
I gotta see how I'm going to hold up in 13.1 miles...
Wish me luck!

PRESSING ON!!!!