my little princess...

...just one of the many reasons why I love my dog so much, she is just too darn cute :)

And how can you not fall in love when she does things like this?!?

weekend recap...

It was a busy weekend! Saturday, I headed to Stillwater to tour a winery with Brooke, Taylor, AJ, Steph and Kristin. We had so much fun drinking wine and catching up. And baby Taylor is getting so big but is as cute as ever!! We went to the St Croix Vineyards (it's near the Hwy 36 and Manning intersection)...would recommended checking it out. It's also an apple orchard, I would love to go back this fall! On Sunday, we headed to Maple Grove in the morning...Joe found some used folding chairs on craigslist to use for his football draft, so we picked those up. Then we stopped at the Running Room to pick up some shoes for me. Seriously, these shoes are awesome. I will never buy running shoes elsewhere ever again. We also got Joe some much needed workout shoes at DSW with my birthday gift certificates. Then we headed to Dick and Wanda's house, Joe's grandparents were down from Winger and we spent the afternoon and had dinner with them.

Today was day #2 in my couch to 5K workout...and so far, so good! I'm still alive and able to run the amount of time I'm supposed to be! I'm also not super sore, this might be the best training plan ever :) I also get a kick out of my c25k app I'm using...it tells you when you are supposed to walk and run...the voice sounds exactly like Greg Thunder from the KS95 Morning Show...it just makes me giggle when I hear it. I'll hear a *ding, ding* and a "RUN"...I should write them an email, they'd probably read it on the air...but I don't really listen to them anymore (CAN'T stand Melissa, ugh!).

Tonight we are watching Wipeout Blind Date...it is freaking hilarious! It brings me back to my college days and two of our favorite shows. We watched Blind Date ALL the time and we also would watch this Chinese obstacle course type show, where these people would be dressed in ridiculous costumes, doing ridiculous obstacles. They would have English speaking commentators over the actual ones and they "explained" what was happening...well this show is the combo of both...SO funny. On Tuesday nights on ABC all summer, so happy I found this show!! Joe and I have been seriously LOL-ing since we found it :) I needed to laugh after the work week I've had so far, much needed!!

c25k...

I got an email today from my favorite local radio station advertising for the Dave Ryan's 5K for MN Special Olympics on September 18th...and thought why not? I could probably get in shape again since it's still two months out. I've been looking for some motivation to get to the gym more and it's for a great cause that has always been near and dear to my heart. So I googled 5K training plans and came across the "Couch to 5K" program, which consists of 3 workouts per week, ranging from 30-40 minutes each. The workouts are walking/running intervals, with more walking at the beginning and less towards the end. And I also downloaded this awesome iphone app that has the workouts programed and alerts you when you need to switch from walking or running. All you need to do is load your favorite music and you are set! Pretty excited to see how it works. I start tomorrow morning, wish me luck (I'm gonna need it those first few weeks are h-e-double hockey stick)!!

I do need to invest in some good running shoes. I trained for the Twin Cities 10-miler a few years ago but got planter fasciitis in both feet when I got to the six mile mark and couldn't finish my training...so I know I'll be able to run the 3.1 miles for this one...granted, I was a few years and pounds lighter back then...but I only need to do half of that, so I should be able to do it :)

Anyone want to join me?!?!? I promise I'm a very slow runner...it's even a stretch to call it running, it's more like jogging :) Let me know, it $25 to pre-register and you get a free t-shirt!!!

where has the summer gone?

It's hard to believe it's past mid-July already, the summer is just flying way too fast! I think we have something every weekend from here on out until Labor Day. This weekend I'm meeting up with some of my girls for lunch and tour a winery in Stillwater. We started the tradition last summer, I hope it continues and we can visit a new one each year!

It's been a few weeks since we heard about Joe's job and we still don't know anything...he's hoping this week he will find out something. For the past week or so, he's been working 4-hour days, alternating days with either 9am-1pm or 1pm-5pm shifts. He's been keeping busy at work by playing cribbage with his co-workers...needless to say, he's getting quite bored and I don't blame him. As much as I complain about being swamped at work, it at least makes the days go faster. But he's been able to get some yard work done and has been chipping away at the honey-do-list while he's not working, so that has been nice. I also think his Xbox gaming and craigslist searching have increased lately as well :)

My job search is still going...I interviewed with one company a few months ago and I was overqualified for the job, which was irritating that they posted for someone with 5+ years experience, when they really only wanted 1-2 years...I got selected for an interview with another company a few weeks ago but when I started to research them, I quickly realized they are not doing well at all and had quite a few large layoffs over the past few years...it just wasn't worth the risk leaving what I have right now. The last thing I want is to be in this chair again 6-12 months later. I'm hoping something opens up soon though, I'm really sick of the 70 miles I drive every day...I just hope that changes before winter rolls around, not sure I'll make it through another winter with that commute!