My First GIVEAWAY!

I want to start this post first and foremost with a heart felt thank you to all those who helped me win the Cutting Edge Stencils Facebook fan contest. I started this blog just a mere month ago and have been so excited to see that people are reading it and participating! Now it's MY turn to give back to you!

As some of you might have already seen in my previous post (here and here), I was working on a stencil project in our master bedroom that seemed to take forever to complete, when the company that I purchased my stencil through decided to do a customer photo submission contest via Facebook. I of course hurried to take a picture of my work and enter the contest for my chance to win. Much to my surprise, with the help of YOU, I won 2nd place! What did I win you ask? I got a credit to the Cutting Edge Stencils store.  I decided that since I couldn't have won without your help, why not host my first giveaway? After all, everyone else seems to do it.

So without further ado, below is your chance to enter to win the Moroccan Dream all over stencil. (The same pattern I used on my feature wall)

Photo credit: Cutting Edge Stencils

You get 2 chances to win: follow my blog and/or leave a comment telling me how you plan to use the stencil.  It's that easy! The contest ends on Friday so hurry up and enter!

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Weekend Update

We meet again, Monday. Don't you feel like Monday's come waaay too fast? I shouldn't complain because this weekend was filled with family, food, and fun! Not to mention a little work and productivity as well.  All of that combined makes for a GREAT weekend!

I started my weekend off with a haircut.  I love having short hair but I hate that it needs to be cut every 6 weeks. Oh well....makes for a good hair day!

 

No Friday is complete without our weekly (ok sometimes I have been known to go here a few 3 to 4 times a week! But Friday is mandatory) trip to El Vaquero West (AKA "Our Little Mexican Restaurant"). They have the best white queso and $5 big beers! How big you ask? Is 36oz sufficient? I know....perfection!

Running was another item on my to do list for the weekend. I was scheduled to run 5.5 miles and I DID IT! I haven't run in a few weeks, but I was determined to get my long run in no matter what. I was able to do the run in 52:38 which is about a 9:34 mile. I'm happy with anything under 10 min miles...SUCCESS!

My in laws came up to drop off an old pump organ we bought from an antique store. We all went to dinner (both sets of parents) and had a great time! It was a little taste of our cruise in March! We are so excited to finally have the organ in its permanent home! Doesn't it look great?! Can't beat the deal we got, $150!

Late night Olympic viewing of gymnastics and swimming was the perfect end to a perfect weekend. Can't wait to watch some medal events later today! Let me know how YOUR weekend was and what you did.

Check back tomorrow for my first ever GIVEAWAY! It's my way of saying thank you to all of you who voted and helped me come in second place for the Cutting Edge Stencils contest!

High Five for Friday!....Already?!

Happy Friday y'all! I can't believe it's already Friday! I hope everyone stayed cool and had a good week, and hopefully an even better weekend ahead!

1. FINALLY home from 2 weeks of travel!
2. My neice Hadleigh looking all cute while we had the whole family over for dinner.
3. I found this clock (matches my colors perfectly!) at Kirklands on super sale. It was $40 but I got it for $6!!!
4. I am working from home today AND Monday, so here is a picture of my home office. Makes me happy. :)
5. Last but definitely not least, the opening ceremonies of the summer olympics start tonight!!!!

        Linked up here

I'm Alive....

Whew! It's been quite a while since my last blog post, where to start?! (I promise my neglect does not go unwarranted.  See, I was on travel for work from July 9th until July 20th and I am just now catching my breath!)

Besides traveling, not much has been going on in my life so it's time to jump back on the bandwagon and get my butt in gear.  While I was away, I managed to gain 4lbs and ran only twice (major fail). I'm supposed to be in week 4 of marathon training and have only compelted week 1! That won't stop me though! I am determined to stay on course, so this week's plan is two 30-45 min runs with a 5.5 mile long run.  No big deal right? (I have a feeling I will regret my laziness while I was away). Let's face it, I had all the opportunity and tools to get my runs in, I was just being a MAJOR slacker!
Last night I was going to run, but the husband and I had my family over for dinner.  My cousin is in town auditioning for the exclusive U.S. Army's Ceremonial Band! He is currently a saxaphone player for the Army and decided to audition for the a saxaphone position that opened up in the ceremonial band. (There is only 1 slot to fill, apparently people stay in these bands until they retire or die.)  About 30 people auditioned yesterday and he was one of 8 called back today! (UPDATE: He didn't make the spot, but I'm happy he made it this far!) Needless to say, I was visiting and entertaining so I didn't run. :(

Tonight is my night though....4 miles! Then tomorrow I'll do 4.5 so my Saturday 5.5 mile run won't be so bad.

I will do the rest of my two week update through pictures. Happy Hump Day y'all!

Showing off my vintage Lilly from the 70s!

Obligatory cat picture

Found this little gem in the Home Depot Parking lot.

Some wall art I'm considering purchasing

Hotel room view in Tampa at a tradeshow

My most favorite thing about Tampa....Champagne Sangria!

Driving to Nemacolin in PA found the town Paw Paw

Nemacolin's mascot! The Fat Bird, he's my fav

Couldn't resist!

Mr. Wolf at Nemacolin

 

Lions too!

What I woke up to Saturday morning, creepy Milo

Wegman's newest addition....I love these bottles!

 

My neice Raelynn at the Nats game

Little neice Hadleigh trying to stay dry at the game 

Making the best out of a cold and rainy baseball game

High 5 for Friday!

I can't believe it's Friday again! Thank goodness for holidays during the week. (Althought it would have been nice to make it a long weekend, but it was a holiday nonetheless!) Below are 5 highlights to my week.

1.  Watching movies on the lawn right outside our apartment complex with my niece!

2. Going to Six Flags with friends for the 4th of July! You can read all about the trip here!

3. My DIY workout shirt! I found the instructions at Rabbit Food for my Bunny Teeth. It took about 15 min to do and felt great to run in!

4. Losing power during a big storm and being one of the fortunate ones who was only without it overnight. Others in our area were without power for days!

5. I promis this will be the last time you have to hear about it, but I'm so happy to be so close to winning the Cutting Edge Stencils photo contest with my submission! Only need a few more! We have until 4:30pm! Make it count! (I promise it will be worth it in the end!)

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July yesterday! I didn't post because the husband and I (along with some other friends) went to Six Flags! Despite the heat, we had a TON of fun. Unfortunately since it was so hot, we didn't last long enough to see the fireworks.  We got there bright and early to beat the crowds and realized everyone was at the water park area and not the main park (go figure) and so we were able to ride everything by 2pm!

When we first got there, I kinda felt like I was cheating on my beloved Disney World. I was able to get over it by realizing the two parks are very different from each other.  Disney is a Theme Park while Six Flags is an Amusement Park.  What's the difference you ask? I am here to tell you there is a HUGE difference.  You see, Six Flags prides itself on roller coasters so if chills and thrills are what you are after then Six Flags is the place to be. Plus, you can't beat the price of admission! Being such an avid Disney fan and not a huge roller coaster fan, I had a hard time getting over the fact that it's not a Theme Park. I want my rides to tell a story and give me something to do and look at while I'm waiting in line, instead, at Six Flags, you just wait under a metal awning with very little to look at.  Oh well, you can't have it all! Overall, it was a great day spent making memories with great friends! :)

WARNING: Do not, for any reason, no matter how hot it is outside ride Penguin's Blizzard River ride.  It looks like an innocent raft ride that will offer you some relief to the tortuous weather and concrete, but don't let looks fool you! This ride quickly became known as the Penguin Ride of Doom! It makes the Tea Cup ride in Disney look like child's play. The amount of spinning and time it takes to get to the bottom of the slide is hell! At least with other spinning rides, you have some control as to how much you want to spin. Not this one, boys and girls.  No control whatsoever!
After a day in the sun. we were EXHAUSTED when we got home and the idea of going somewhere to watch fireworks was not an exciting one. Instead, we stayed in and nursed our sunburns and called it a night. Share your fireworks pictures with me since I didn't see any!

Training Update:
Tuesday was Day 1 of training as you all know and I think I did pretty good.  I ran on the treadmill (it is just too hot, even at 8pm to run outside) and felt great! I ran for 30 min and did 3.3 miles (with no walking) which is about a 9 min mile.  I walked for another five to make it an even 35 min work out and to cool down. Here's a picture of my workout when I was done. Not too shabby! (Please note: the calories burned are in no way accurate. I can usually figure 100 calories per 10 min of running, so this would be more like 350)

Today is day 2 of marathon training!  I am supposed to run for 30-45 min.  This time I'm going to try to get 4 miles in and do a 45 min work out.  It will be another treadmill run because of the heat, but I don't mind! Saturday is an easy 3 miles.

Oh yeah....Don't forget to "like" my photo here so I can win the Cutting Edge Stencils contest and be able to do my first ever giveaway! Polls close at 4:30pm Friday!

Let the Games Begin....

Today is day 1 of my marathon training! On one hand, I'm so excited to embark on this adventure but on the other, I'm nervous/scared of what the next 28 weeks might bring. This is where my love/hate relationship with running comes into play. I know that once I start training the sense of accomplishment and pride will make it all worth while. (Not to mention what it will do for my diet!)

So why do this? Who would ever want to run 26.2 miles if they didn't absolutely LOVE running? After the half marathon (13.1 miles for those of you who aren't good at math), I wanted more. I wanted to be able to say "I'm a marathoner!" Even if you only do it once, and no matter how long it takes, you are a marathoner until the day you die. I know I'm at a point in my life that if I don't do it now, I might not get the chance again. Then I will always have to ask myself, "Could I have done it?" Who knows, maybe it becomes something I do every year! (OK let's not get ahead of ourselves shall we?)

Here's where this blog will come in handy.  I need something to hold me accountable.  I feel that even if no one reads this, at least it is documented here and if I miss runs I will have to face the reality that I failed for that day. Good news is the training program doesn't seem too hard, it's only 3 days a week. I can totally do that! People have asked me, "How is only 3 days a week going to get you ready?" As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm following the Jeff Galloway program and I don't want to run more then what it directs you to for fear of getting burned out.  This happened to me before when I was running about 5-6 days a week.  I got to a point where that's all I did after work. Work, run, eat and sleep.  I didn't give myself off days and if I took a day off, I felt like I wasn't supposed to so instead of enjoying time off from running, I just felt guilty.  This way, I think I will be more successful with a set schedule.  I will plan social events and date nights on my off days.  It's as simple as that!

Here is what this week's training schedule looks like:
Tuesday - 30-45 min
Thursday - 30-45 min
Saturday - 3 miles

I can TOTALLY do this! One week at a time, right? :)

On a completely different note: Please click here and like the photo so I can win! (more details in this post) Voting ends at 4:30PM Friday, July 6th. Thanks to all who have liked so far! I'm in 5th place!

Ok stop procrastinating....off for a 30 min run!

Help Me Win! (please)

The stencil that I did in our master bedroom (you can see the related blog post here and here) was entered into the Cutting Edge Stencils contest! AHHH this is so exciting!

I have until 4:30PM (eastern time) on Friday, July 6th to get the most likes on my photo. What's in it for you? I thought you would never ask! If I win, I will do a giveaway on my blog for you to win any stencil of your choice! (You can see them all at Cutting Edge Stencils) It's a win win! All you have to do is click here and get to liking!

Ready?....Set....GO!

THANK YOU!

New Opportunities

Ever since we purchased our first home in January, I have developed a new love/respect for home decor.  I just can't seem to get enough! I also have this small problem of wanting everything right NOW! Spoiled? Nah, I like to blame it on my generation. In a society where everything has become instant, my expectations have become skewed. What can I say? I don't want blank white walls or empty rooms and nooks.  I want my house to be complete right this second! This of course does not bode well with the budget and I am forced to wait for certain things that I want now.

Realizing money doesn't just grow on trees, I have been forced to try my hand at some DIY projects around the house with the help of Pinterest. (examples below) I already have my next project pinned!

Stencil is from Cutting Edge Stencils

My DIY bow holder!

Swapped mirror and light fixture

Pinterest (as many of you already know) is a great source to find just about anything you need (along with other entertaining less useful things).  I get recipes, DIY projects, decorating tips, and of course my verison of the funnies. You can see some of my boards/ favorite things here!

If I'm not trying recreate something I found through "pinning", I am at Kirklands, a local home goods store (this is not a sponsored post) looking for a new idea, inspiration, or just the right piece that will fill an empty hole.  I love this store because the inventory is always changing and I can always get a good deal.  (Never pay full price, there is always a coupon out there!) Fun fact: I recently landed a part time job there! Not only can I share my love of home decorating with fellow shoppers, but now I'll be able to buy even more items for my home at an even cheaper price! (I know what you're thinking....BRILLIANT! Ok, some of you are thinking I'm crazy, and I respect that). 

This past weekend was my first weekend working, and boy was it busy! Good news was the time flew by and I got to talk to so many people who were just like me, looking to furnish their new home. I managed to work two days and not buy anything, which if you know me, is definitely a good sign. :) I look forward to making a little extra fun money to use on my new decorating hobby.
To close, I will leave you with some pictures of our house (as it is now) in hopes to give you inspiration for your next home project. Leave comments below telling me what you're up to!