I work OUT

Been trying to get back on the fitness wagon lately. Here's a recap of my workouts from last Friday:

Friday:  3 mile walk/run on the treadmill
Saturday: 30 Day Shred Level 1
Sunday: Shred Level 1
Monday: Kickboxing
Tuesday: Zumba
Wednesday: I cleaned house - no gym
Thursday: Shred Level 1

Next week I think I am going to start Shred Level 2. I've done it before and it's pretty tough! But I think I'm ready. I am considering getting up in the mornings and doing these early before work for the next 2 weeks in addition to my other workouts. I am going cruising in a few weeks and want to feel like I gave it my all before I leave! The reason why I like the Shred is because it is a short 30 minute workout from warm up to cool down. It's tough but you know mentally you can do anything for 30 minutes. P90X wore me OUT. I know it's an awesome workout, but I started dreading it like I was having a beating at night. Some of the workouts are over an hour long. The Shred is doable and works great with my schedule. It's great as an added workout also. So even if you do this in the morning and you do another cardio workout at night, you don't feel like you want to die.

Happy weekend y'all! Drink LOTS of water because as y'all well know, it's gonna be a scorcher this weekend.

Speaking of hot...who's going to see Magic Mike??? :)

Help our friends out west

The pictures and stories from the fires out west are just breaking my heart. And one of my twitter/blog friends from Colorado has put together a list of ways you can help. I know I can drop an easy $50 just by going in to Target and thinking nothing of it. Instead of Target, won't you help her with supplies?

Check out Jenn's blog here:
http://www.biggest-blessings.com/

All photos from cnn.com.

I can't imagine leaving my home knowing that I may never see it again. If you can't donate, please say prayers that these fires will be contained soon. Such a tragedy. 

Happy Thursday from My So Called Life

Some of you may not remember this show because you were *cough* too young, but if you DID watch this show, you will remember this scene. Ahhh, loved this show. One of the best ever.



Sigh. I will always love you Jordan Catalano...

Peach Enchiladas

This weekend I stopped and bought a peck of ripe, local peaches at a truck stop out in the country. I was trying to decide what to make with them. I love a good peach cobbler but I wanted to do something different this time. My friend Shannon has talked about making peach enchiladas before and how delicious they are. So I googled the recipe and and made them yesterday for my family.

Y'all. They are so good. Go get some good peaches and make this asap!  Plus, there's a fun secret ingredient :) I served with vanilla ice cream...of course. I also cut the recipe in half since there were only 3 of us and it did fine.

2004 PEACH RECIPE CONTEST WINNER
First Place Winner – Hettie Wilkerson, McBee, SC
Peach Enchiladas
• 2 8-ounce tubes of crescent rolls
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• firm McLeod Farms peaches, peeled and quartered
• 1 12-ounce Mountain Dew (Sounds weird but go for it!)

PREPARATION:
Melt butter; add sugar and cinnamon. Unroll crescent dough and place one peach quarter on each crescent. Roll dough around peach from large end to small. Place in 12x10x2-inch pan. Pour butter mixture over the rolls and then pour Mountain Dew on top. Bake at 350º oven for 45 minutes. Yield: 16 servings.

Recipe Courtesy of McLeod Farms, www.macspride.com.

This is Crazy! Blog Me Maybe?

That song has been in my head all dang week! Along with Starships...are meant to fly.... (now it's in your head...moohahahhaha)

Time for a random Friday update. Here we go:

• This morning I turned my alarm off by accident and woke up at 10 til 8. I still made it to work on time and I even showered. VERY QUICKLY but it happened. 

• If you follow me on twitter you know this already because I'm quite obnoxious with my SC baseball love, but...my boys are in the College World Series again! And we had to win 2 games yesterday to stay alive. Boom. We did it. We still have a chance for the championship. GO GAMECOCKS!
  
  
  Michael Roth. You should google him. No really. BEAST of an athlete. Also: adorable.

• I have exactly 30 days (from yesterday) til I go on a cruise. So I started the 30 Day Shred last night. Already sore. Ouch. I can do anything for 30 days right?

• I'm obsessed with neon. I have some neon running shoes but I want some neon laces to go in them. I bought a neon tank the other day at Old Navy. I realize I probably should not be wearing neon at "my age" but oh well. YOLO. 

• Father's Day was fun. My dad and I are rarely serious. We have a lot of fun together and are always cracking jokes. He's such a good dad and still to this day slips me cash from time to time like I'm 16 yrs old. He chats up everyone he sees. The man never met a stranger. So cute. I love him. Happy Father's Day dad! 

And just because... :)



TGIF!

Say what?

The other day I was pouring myself some coffee at the office and realized I was out of my liquid creamer. I loathe the powder stuff so I looked in the fridge for other options. Low and behold there was a bottle of whip cream. Score! My mom does this all the time with cool whip or whip cream. She love to put it in hot chocolate too. While this was all going down my coworker had walked into the kitchen also. We are both in a Biggest Loser contest together at work, and I mentioned that I had not been having much success lately with my weight loss efforts. She looked at me pouring the whip cream (keep in mine I only used maybe a tbsp but still, it probably did look bad) into my coffee and she says loudly "Well, I can see why!" I felt like I heard screeching brakes in my head. "Say what? Oh no you didn't..."

Here's the thing. It was funny. I laughed. She laughed. I get that she was joking. But for some reason I can't get it out of my head. It's been a week later and it still bugs me and I think about it every time I see her. DUMB I know. Stupid little things like that always get to me and I know it shouldn't. Eventually I'll forget about it. Do y'all let little dumb things get to you also?

So I've decided to let that little annoyance just motivate me to work out harder. We have all decided to continue our biggest loser challenge a few more weeks so hopefully I'll put my money where my whip cream is! ;)

The Circle of Life

In the past week, two of my coworkers/friends had babies. It's really given our office some joy. And they are the cutest sweetest babies! I was so happy to meet them finally. And baby Sawyer was really happy I stopped singing One Direction songs to him during lunch while he was in the womb. (although secretly I think he liked it...) :)

Welcome to the world little ones!

Thank you!

First, thank you for all the kind words on my blog, twitter, facebook, texts, etc. They have really been a source of comfort this week! It's been really tough getting through each day knowing that I'll never see my friend again. I kept reading back through her last text messages, emails, etc. But after her services yesterday, I was reminded that we will see Cindy again someday. She had a strong faith in the Lord and always encouraged me in my faith. She's the one who encouraged me strongly to try the new church I've been going to. I have no doubt that her mansion in heaven is a very large one. And until the day I get to see her again, I know she's looking down at all of us who are missing her dearly, and smiling. Or maybe shaking her head. ha! There were times when I know we drove that poor woman crazy at work. But she loved us all like we were her own.

On a happy note, another friend of mine had a baby yesterday! I'm so excited to see Sawyer this afternoon. Somehow knowing that a new life was coming into the world yesterday made everything feel a little better. I think Cindy would have wanted it that way. The circle of life. Babies bring about hope.

Have a great weekend everyone! TGIF. I leave you with a portion of a note that I received from my friend the last week she was in the hospital. She was battling for her life and still took the time to send me a handwritten note. It makes me smile through my tears. I miss you friend. But I will see you again...

I don't like goodbyes.

Today I went to the hospital and told one of my dearest friends goodbye. Well not really. We were supposed to but I couldn't do it. She is losing her fight with leukemia and my heart is breaking into a million pieces.  I had a feeling this day was coming, but I didn't know it would come this soon. I'm just not ready to say goodbye.

When I first met her almost 4 years ago, I was intimidated by her because she was one of my bosses here and we didn't speak much. But over the last few years, she's become such a good friend to me. She has become a rock. A person to confide in and lean on. We have played rounds and rounds of Words with Friends. She texts encouraging things to me all the time. She has become more than a coworker...she's become family. She always ended our conversations with "I love you!" And I knew she really did. She has become so special to me. I can hear her voice in my head right now. She was always full of great advice.

I have selfishly prayed all day for a miracle to happen. But also part of me knows how tired she is. I know she doesn't have any fight left in her. And I don't want her to have to suffer anymore. I want her to have her healing. And feel like her old self again.

So instead of saying goodbye, I just told her that it was her turn in Words with Friends and oh yeah...as you've said to me many times, I love you friend. Always...

Update: Five minutes after I posted this, I learned she passed. Please pray for her family during this tough time. I know she is dancing in heaven now and that makes me smile! 

Ordering at Starbucks

I never know what to order at Starbucks because it's all so darn confusing. But I think I finally figured it out...

Ahh, getting "old"

I hear it from women all the time on facebook, twitter, and  in real life "I can't believe I'm turning xx age this year." I'm just as guilty at times. Who isn't? I am friends with so many fabulous ladies of all ages. And I learn so much from you all; we all have so much to offer no matter our age. And obviously, we all go through the aging process, well..if you are one of the lucky ones that is. The unlucky ones? They don't get the opportunity to age. It's weird to think of getting older as an opportunity but it is. Aging is a great gift .. the gift of life. It's hard for us women to see that sometimes. Especially when all the shows we watch show women injecting all kinds of crap into their faces in an effort to turn back time.

In less than 2 years, I'll be turning 40. I won't lie. Thinking about it doesn't make me want to break out into a dance and sing a Katy Perry song. But in a weird way, I am looking forward to it. My 30s were SO much better than my 20s. So shouldn't that mean my 40s should be even greater? Oprah said the 50s were the best years. All I know is that I hope I have the opportunity to see my 50s and beyond. To grow old gracefully. To be wiser and experience everything that life has to offer.

This post is in honor of my mama who turns 70 this weekend. I wish I knew how to explain where the time went. I hope I am half the woman she is at 70. She can run circles around me on any given day. She's an amazing mother, faithful wife of 40 years, loyal sister of 9 siblings, Christ-follower and devoted friend to many. And she's not only my mother, she's my best friend.

Happy 70th Birthday mom. You truly are the epitome of aging gracefully.

"There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age." –Sophia Loren

How much do you sleep at night?

Last night I slept for almost TEN hours. And the night before I think it was close to 9 hours. And yet when I wake up each morning it's still such a struggle to wake up. I don't understand how people pop out of the bed every day. I truly don't. I'm so exhausted every morning to the point where I feel like Im fighting to come out of a coma. I sleep as long as possible and then of course I'm running behind every single day. I'm pretty certain I could sleep 12 hours every single night and still be tired in the morning. Sad. I feel like I NEVER get enough sleep and I live for Saturday mornings where I can sleep in. Which never happens of course.

I have also considered a no pets in the bedroom rule. I tried it once, but of course I ended up letting them in because they were either meowing or pulling on the door. And I kind've enjoy sleeping with them. But if it's messing with my sleep, maybe I should rethink it.

How much do y'all sleep? Or how much do you need to feel normal? My old boss slept on average 3-4 hours every night. That is INSANE to me. Well, he was insane so that pretty much makes sense.

Sincerely,
Sleepy Dwarf

PS Y'all. I just googled sleepy dwarf and there is a legit "sleepy dwarf personality" haha! Yep that's me...