Monday, June 30, 2008

From one extreme to another

So Friday when we did our C25K workout it was blazing hot, and today it was frigid. Ok, not really frigid, but it was cold. Like 60 degrees cold and the wind made it colder. It made it harder to run than the hot weather I think. But we made it successfully through Week 2 Day 1! I set my pedometer today. It doesn't measure completely accurately because I measured my walking stride and not my running. But I'm also not going to take the time to reset my stride every minute and a half. So, for now it's good. We do more walking anyway. When we move to solid running I'll remeasure my stride.

Now I'm rewarding myself with an hour long episode of Jon & Kate plus 8 and some relaxation time on the couch.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

The Fugitive

Brunswik just went outside by himself. No leash, no mommy or daddy, just walked out the front door on his own. Andy had left the door propped open briefly to take the trash out (we had an excessive amount after our cleaning marathon today). It wasn't a big deal because Brunswik had been safely tucked under the bed in the other room. I guess he decided to come out and visit and when he saw the open door he took advantage of it. I was in the bathroom cleaning his cage and Andy comes in and says, "Your bunny just went outside by himself." I thought for a second he was still there and was getting ready to demand to know why the hell Andy was in there with me and not outside trying to catch him. But he told me he had already gotten him inside. he just hopped out, sat on the front stoop and when Andy tried to pick him up he turned around and hopped back in the house.

I guess this is his way of telling us that he would like to go out more often. We had been giving him a break from his leash because he really doesn't like it. But I guess we are going to have to suck it up and put him in it. Eventually he'll understand that outside means he has to wear it. I'm just glad he didn't go any further than the front stoop. Silly little bunny.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

New look

I got bored and decided to try out a new color scheme and a different layout. Let me know what you think. I can't decide.

We took Brunswick today to have his nails clipped. He's never had it done before and he was long overdue. Andy and I have lots of battle scars to prove that. I meant to take pictures, but it went so quickly I didn't even have time to get the camera out. And he was surprisingly well behaved. He sat completely still and let the lady at the pet shop hold him and turn him every which way and he didn't fight her one bit. It was quick and painless. He never ceases to amaze me. He's such a good bunny. But he hates the car and he's been hiding under the bed since we got home. He has only come out to eat his evening vegetables. He won't even give me kisses. Oh well, it was a necessary trauma. He'll be over it soon enough. Until then, I'm going to go see if I can make a peace offering with a bunny treat.

The everything post

Week 1 of C25K is complete! We finished day 3 yesterday after I got off work. Usually we go later in the evening when the track is in the shade. But Andy wanted to have a "guys" night with one of his friends so we went as soon as I got home. It was MUCH hotter than what we're used to. By 10-15 degrees. I say "used to" as if we've been doing this for a long time, but when you're first starting out, that added heat can be rough. Luckily about half way through the clouds came in and brought a breeze with them. We finished the workout, but we didn't get to cool down properly because it had started to rain. So we packed it in for the day, but not before taking some pictures of the end of our first week.

A nice picture
Though, it doesn't do justice to
how red my face was
This is how I really felt
I don't know why Andy made such weird
faces. The sun wasn't out
Andy picked a daisy for me
and I
put it in my hair

In other news, Brunswik is is officially an adult. Bunnies are in adult hood at 6 months. His six month birthday was this week. I can't believe we've had him long enough to be a big boy bunny. He isn't as big as I thought he would be. He seems to have grown into his back feet a little more so I don't know that he really has anymore growing to do. He still acts like a baby though. Bunnies don't grow out of young behaviors until after about the first year. So he has a little way to go. As a matter of fact as I'm typing this he's running around my feet trying to catch my pajama bottoms. I love my little bunbun.

The first night we had him
All grown up.
Grown up bunny tail
And finally, some more mountain majesty for you. Here are some pictures from the sunset yesterday at our apartment. Ignore the power lines. Maybe one day we can get all those underground so there isn't so much interfering with the view.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Week 1, Day 2 C25K

We completed our second workout this evening. I don't know that it got any easier, but the time seemed to pass more quickly. Also, I didn't get a stitch in my side until the end of the workout and last time I had one half way through. Progress, no?

My muscles still hurt. I'm trying to stretch more. Hopefully they will be stronger soon and not hurt so much.

But I'm not giving up and that's the most important thing.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Enjoy the view

I meant to post these a long time ago. Andy and I went to Blowing Rock a couple weekends ago and took the parkway to get home. I made him stop and took some pictures because it was such a beautiful day! My camera died, but I managed to get a few. It's days like these that remind me how much I love this place. I hope it doesn't take so long to be spring next year. It was so gloomy this spring I was beginning to wonder if the trees were ever going to be in bloom. But the wait paid off!

A view of the mountains
You can see he road in this one.
We were almost at the viaduct.
The view behind us.
Andy got in the way a little.

Finally some pictures

Here are pics from the birthday party.

Some of my decor.
I put 3 of these on each table.
I had about 30 different pictures of him.
The cake.
I got an edible image cake
from Lowes' food.
It was really good!
Getting to the party. He had just realized he'd been duped.
Getting food!
Terry with Annie Lou
(His mom)
Mom & Terry.
He's wearing the "Looking good at 50"
hat that I made him. It has googly eyes.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Week 1, Day 1, C25K

Andy and I started the C25K program this evening. C25K is a fitness program that slowly (over 9 weeks) works up to making you fit to run a 5k, or 3 miles. You can find more information here.

Tonight we did a 5 minute warm up walk. Then alternated 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking. I did it, and I feel like I'm going to die. Andy was shocked to find that he is in better shape than me. That has never been the case in the length of our relationship.

But since we graduated college, I really haven't had any physical activity in my life. Working retail and being on my feet was kind of physical, but not what I was used to. In college every day was a workout. The campus was one big hill, so no matter where you went you walked up hill at least one way. And you also walked... a lot. The campus was small and it didn't make sense to drive anywhere. I even walked to work. And I carried a toddler around on my back 3-4 times a week for an hour or more. If I wasn't carrying him, I was pushing him in a stroller up all those hills.

But in the last 3 years, my physical fitness has drastically declined. Andy's, however, has stayed about the same. He continued to ski and participate in all sorts of outdoor activities.

But I'm doing something to remedy my lack of fitness. For myself, and for my future family. I'm not ready to give up on this C25K thing. It's only been one day and it wasn't any harder than I expected. I would like to go to bed immediately though. I've been limping across the apartment since we got home and Andy is eating it up. He thinks it hilarious. Yuck it up buddy, I'll be lapping you on that track before you know it!

And in a Freaky Friday moment, Andy has taken quite a liking to all things sweet. Normally I have the sweet tooth and he is the one asking if I'd really like to have that extra scoop of ice cream. But lately, he joneses for a sweet every night, and if we don't have something in the house (which I've been trying to avoid) he goes and gets something. I can't tell you how many trips he's made to Boone for his new favorite sweet, the Frosty Float. He's an addict. And last week he wanted pie. So, we got pie. After our run tonight and our dinner he announced that he wanted a sweet. So he is out now, getting a sweet. I'll be interested to see what he comes back with.

The lost weekend...

This weekend flew by so quickly. And there was so much jam packed into it, I feel like I need another weekend to recover. I have felt like that a lot lately. Thankfully, as far as we can tell, this is the last hectic weekend that we'll have in at least the next month or two. Finally, our lives are our own again.

That isn't to say that we didn't have a good time this weekend.

Friday and Saturday we spent all of our time getting ready for Terry's surprise 50th birthday party. The party was Saturday at 5. I really had a lot of fun planning it, and I think Terry was really excited and kind of flabbergasted that we did this for him. It was a good day. The weather stressed me out a bit. The forecast was calling for thunderstorms in the afternoon. Of course it held off all day until about 15 minutes before we were supposed to leave to go to the park. Did I mention the party was outside? Oh, yeah, it was. But skies looked clear over towards the park, so we set out. Andy went to get ice and I drove to the park. When I got there the one and only shelter was occupied. It wasn't raining, but the skies didn't look promising. That is when my near meltdown happened. But then I realized (ok, I asked) that the party was leaving. Perfect timing! So everyone got there. The birthday boy was surprised and delighted and he even wore his "Looking Good At 50!" hat that I made. It did rain, but the wind wasn't blowing so we were safe under the shelter. And the rain stopped just in time for us to load up the car and go home. Now I have six months to plan something for my mother. I'll post some pictures later. Keep your eyes peeled.

Sunday I woke up and felt like I had been run over by a steam roller. I don't remember the last time my body ached all over like that. It was supposed to be the first day of C25K for Andy and I, but we postponed considering that I couldn't move. I guess I just haven't been on my feet that much lately. But even my arms and back hurt. I'm feeling much better, thank goodness. Much thanks to my wonderful husband (remember him?) for rubbing my aching muscles for about an hour last night. I'm still thinking of how to repay him for this weekend.

That afternoon we went to Lenoir and had lunch with Andy's grandmama and dad. It was a nice lunch and really good to see her. We don't get down there enough. She invited us to call her anytime for Sunday lunch, but I'm afraid we won't be able to go down too often. With the high cost of gas we're hoping to hang around at home for a while. We've driven so much lately and we would like to just stay put for a while. Maybe we can go down once a month. We should probably try to do that until the ski season starts because once the mountain opens Andy belongs to Alpine and he won't be going anywhere for a while. Anyway, it was an enjoyable afternoon and we hope to go back again soon.

Although, I could have done without knowing that Penny's ashes were sitting on the hearth. Penny is Grandmama's dachshund that had to be put down. There she was in her little box, with he leash on top. Grandmama said she had planned on scattering Penny's ashes in the back yard, but then the box came all nice and sealed up so she just put her there on the hearth. I don't know if I would have opened the sealed box either, but all the same, I would have been fine not knowing what was really in there...

Andy is taking PTO from work this week. He is working instead with another Alpine employee in his landscaping business to make some extra money. I think he's looking forward to it. It won't be an extremely restful week off from work, but at least he can get away from the shop for a while. It's been crazy lately with so many people resigning and new people coming on staff. I know it will be a welcome break from the world of Alpine.

And tonight (hopefully) we will start C25K!! We are going to get our lazy butts in gear if it kills us!!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Sorry ladies, he's taken...

Can I just take a moment to brag on my husband and tell the world how wonderful he is? I know I say a lot of things about how he annoys me and he is ridiculous and sometimes like a small child. But really, he's no more child like than any other man. I think it's genetically built into them. But I digress.

He is the most patient person I know. Which is a complete 180 from me. I'm the most impatient person I know. When I was small my mother used to say to me, 'Joanna, patience is a virtue." I didn't know what a virtue was at the time and my slim understanding of the word patience extended to know it meant waiting on something to happen. Well, I didn't want to wait. I didn't care that patience was a virtue. I wanted something NOW!

This attitude really hasn't changed much in my adult life. The only difference is that now I can appease my impatience by doing things myself. I don't have to rely on others as much. But you can imagine, that Andy still has to put up with quite a lot from his impatient wifey. And through it all he stays calm, cool and collected. What a guy!

Since the summer has started it feels like we constantly have something to do. Really, something for me to do and drag Andy along. But in the last few weeks I have really come to appreciate what a wonderful man I married.

We went to Whitney's wedding where he only knew a handful of people. There would have been others, but extenuating circumstances kept them away. Shannon and I had so much to do that day he found himself alone for most of it. And when he did have contact with us it was to do something for us. "Take this to the car please." "Take that picture please." "Go get me some water please." "Take us to the reception then go to the ATM please." No, I'm not kidding about that last one. He really was a trooper that day, and he didn't complain once. Not until the end of the night when we were ready to go, but I decided I needed to use the bathroom before starting the long trip home.

And since then we have hit the ground running planning Terry's party for this Saturday. He has helped me plan and offered to do things that I never would have thought of until the last minute. I think he is having fun with it to be honest. Maybe not as much fun as I am, but he is excited to smoke some pork this weekend. He's been talking about doing that for a month now. His grill is his second love.

I guess it has just hit me all of a sudden how blessed I am. Blessed to be married to my complete opposite. We balance each other out. He has just the right amount of chill and I have just the right amount (probably too much) of neurotic control freak. And he's mine forever. And I'm his, God love him.

I'm going to have to do something nice for him after this weekend when things calm down. I'm not sure what, but I'll figure something out.

But someone do me a favor. Next time I'm ready to kick him to the couch, please remind me to come back and read this. Thanks!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I'm being courted...

by my bunny?

So for a long time now Brunswik has done this cute little thing where he runs in circles around my feet. He also follows me when I walk around the apartment. He sometimes does it to Andy, but not as much as me. I think it's because I spend a lot of time with him. I get down on his level a lot more than Andy does and play with him.

He has also taken to licking us, or giving us "kisses" on our noses. He licks our whole face, but he really likes to lick our noses. Sometimes he nips, but I think most of the time his teeth just get in the way because they are so big.

Tonight we got out the "bunny bible" (the book I got when we first brought him home) and looked in there to interpret his various behaviors. Here are some of his behaviors and definitions.

Tongue kisses - showing affection by grooming you
Thumping hind legs - scared; angry
Scattered droppings - marking territory (he really should be done marking his territory at this point)
Nudging - pet me; feed me
Lying on ground, legs sprawled behind - very relaxed
Happy bunny dance - kicking up heels, jumping, twisting in mid air, racing around, leaping on and off furniture
Circling feet - courtship; sexual behavior

So now whenever Brunsie runs around me Andy makes some remark about how he wants to hump me. I seriously doubt it. He's not a dog. He just loves him momma and Andy is jealous.

A baby and a bride

Wow, what an exciting weekend!

Tuesday, June 3rd, Jenn had her baby. Michael Coleman came into the world that night. He weighed 5lbs 13 ozs and was 19" long. Of course I had to go see the little peanut. It worked out perfectly because Saturday I went to pick Shannon up from the airport for Whitney's wedding this weekend and we stopped in on the new family.

Cole is such a little cutie. And man is he ever little. He's so tiny he almost doesn't look real and then all of a sudden he moves his head. It's so cute. And his cry sounds like a little cat. It's so tiny. I'm sure Jenn and Jeff don't think so, it's probably pretty loud to them. Jenn's sister Laurie came by also with her girls, Jordan and Peyton. They are growing up so fast and they are so much fun!

We had planned to only stay an hour or two so we didn't tire them out too bad. But we didn't get out of there for about 5 hours. Wow. It was so great to see everyone though. It's crazy that Jenn and Jeff are parents, but I can already tell that they are going to make great ones.

Cole was snuggling with his daddy when we got there
Cole and Mommy
Looks like he's a snugglerTiny baby feet
Jordan wanted her picture taken,
but she wouldn't sit still so she's fuzzy.

Peyton is fuzzy too It's good to be together again.
Even if it's just for a few hours

This is what Cole was doing when we left
Sunday we spent the morning lounging and eating Bojangles (you're welcome Shannon) and then we started getting ready for the wedding. Shannon and I were guest registrars. We did the guest book and programs at the ceremony. And then at the reception they had a special picture guest book. So we manned that one too. We had to take the guests pictures and have them leave well wishes in the guest book. I'm not sure that everyone understood what was going on, but we got the job done. Some of the elderly guests thought we worked there. One lady asked me where our restrooms were located and an elderly couple told Shannon that they didn't have any money for her to take their picture. She had a hard time making them understand that we were friends of the couple and doing this per their request. No charge!!

After our duties were done we commenced enjoying ourselves. Much food and wine was consumed and I actually found some wine that I like to drink. Shocker! There was lots of organized dancing and I think that was the best aerobic workout that I've had in a long time.

All in all, the day was wonderful. The bride was beautiful, the groom was handsome and they were the very picture of the happy couple.

MOB (Cindy) Putting on the veil.
Whitney wore her mother's wedding gown and veil.

Looking in the mirror.Trying not to cryThese are our "corsages " So cute!!Nobody's getting past us!
Shannon is laughing at me for being stupid.
Giving the bride awayThey're Married!!Cildress Vineyards The reception site was beautiful!The "cake" They did cupcakes like Andy and I.
The topper is the small cake they cut.
Table centerpiecesReady for guests to arrive at the reception.The happy couple! Posing with the brideCutting the cakeCake in the face!Seated at our tableShannon and I were dance partners.
Andy isn't big on dancing.Cutting a rug!In the conga line!Last dance of the night!
"New York, New York" was the song.
Kind of a strange choice,
but it was fun to sing along.
In the car ready to go home.
I was a hot mess, literally.
Shannon passed out on the way home.
She doesn't look very comfy does she?Oh yeah, my car hit the 200,000
milestone on the way home.
Wow!

Congratulations to Jeff & Jenn and Daniel & Whitney. It's such and exciting time for you guys! I can't wait to see what the future holds for all of us.