you win some, you lose some...

It’s been quite busy the past few weeks. My sister flew home from Arizona last weekend and my parents and brother came over for the weekend. It was so much fun. We ended up going to the casino about an hour away in Hinckley Saturday night. The place was crazy busy, Alan Jackson was performing at the outdoor amphitheater. We waited an hour for the buffet before the AJ fans headed outside, so we gambled before we ate, had dinner and then gambled a little before we left. Everyone but Joe walked out with emptier pockets. He won close to $400 on the Monopoly slot machines!! It was much needed, our cell phone contract was up and we had both got new phones earlier that day so it paid for those and the rest will go towards a plow for the 4 wheeler. Seriously, that boy wins EVERY time he gambles. At least he makes up for the money I lose every time :)

We got the news we’ve been dreading and hoping would never come…my renter is moving out at the end of October. I’m thankful he’s stayed as long as he did. We’ve been month-to-month since February so I am looking forward to not having the suspense each month of whether his next rent check will include his move out notice…that extra stress and not knowing will be nice to not deal with anymore. But I’m not looking forward to two mortgage payments in November and beyond until it’s rented again. We’ve decided to go with a rental mgmt company this time around. We might end up losing a little more each month than we do now but I’m not in the mood (nor have the motivation or energy) to advertise and search for a new tenant. The ads should go up today, so hopefully we can get it filled soon! The company has been averaging 2-3 weeks of filling their openings but things will slow down quite a bit around mid-November so hopefully we got in just in the nick of time. Time will tell, I guess.

We both continue to job search and each have had a few interviews over the past few weeks and are waiting to hear back what the next steps will be. Really just hoping something comes along for us but I’m also very thankful for the jobs we do have…the next few months are going to be extremely tight for us and I don’t know how we’d make ends meet if we both weren’t still employed.

Otherwise, not much is new. I feel like I was just writing about my 5K, not realizing it’s been almost 2 weeks since my last post. I hope you all have wonderful weekends! Joe is heading north with his brother to put up their deer stands and have some male bonding time. I’m heading to Dick and Wanda’s on Friday night to celebrate Dick’s 60^th birthday. Then on Saturday, I’m attending a self defense class with Wanda in Oak Grove. I’m excited to see how it goes, I’ve always wanted to sign up for those classes but never knew where to look or go. I’ll let you know how it goes!

5K...check!

I ran my first 5K today and ran the whole time!! It was such an awesome experience, it was really hard at times to keep pushing on but it was completely worth it when you cross the finish line! It was insane, there were SO many people that showed up today, I know they raised thousands of dollars, which is awesome! (ETA--they had 969 participants and raised almost $37K!!! Way to go!!)

Here is a shot of the people before the race:


Here is me waiting in line at the for the bathrooms and freezing my butt off, it was so cold!


I had flashbacks to Country Fest when I saw these:


Dave Ryan & Lena Svenson from the KDWB Morning Show (the people who keep me sane on my long commutes):

The view of DT from Boom Island Park:


Off we go towards the starting line:


Here are the cheerleaders waiting for us just before the finish line, SO cute (even if they were in purple and gold)...also before you got here, just after the 3 mile marker, there were about 15 Special Olympic athletes waiting along the side of the road for us and giving high 5's and thanking us as we passed by....seriously, that was worth more than I can even put into words, just incredible.


And after 3.1 miles of running, I finally arrive at the finish line!!


In hind sight, I should have timed myself on my ipod...I know for next time! The number I did see was not the best of times but it really wasn't about that for me this time. It was only about finishing and running the whole time. I also wasn't able to see what time I actually started but I know for sure it wasn't 0:00 (due to the mobs of people funneling into a walking path where we started, it was insane). And then the people with strollers and the walkers were supposed to wait for the runners to start first...but of course they didn't, so it took quite a while to get onto the path and then have room to pass them. There were so many people out for the event, we ended up starting 30 minutes later than scheduled....the registration line was still super long at 9am, we didn't start until close to 9:30. There was no official time keeping done but Joe got this picture a few seconds after I was done, it said 42:01 when I crossed.

SO happy to be done!
(I hate the pic above of me but it was the best out of all the ones Joe took, I look chubbier than normal but I'll blame it on the two heavy t-shirts I'm wearing ;)


In other news this week, Shiloh turned 3 on Wednesday. She got her traditional pig toy I get her every year, along with a few new ones. Of course the $10 fox (and the most expensive one) lasted about 5 minutes before she chewed through to the squeakers...but she loved that toy while it lasted, she barely put it down! The pig and rope are still in tact, let's hope they last a while longer yet!

sunday funday...

I started the day with a 2 mile run...I have no idea how I'm going to run 3 miles next weekend, I'm so exhausted by the time I get to 2, I can't imagine going for another. After that, Joe and I headed out for brunch with his friend Mike and his wife and son. Then we headed home to watch football, SO flipping excited this time of year is here again...it makes Sundays way more bearable. I seriously love my lazy football Sundays and cooler weather, life doesn't get much better than that! My fantasy team did well...time will tell if that holds up though, my opponent has a player playing tomorrow yet. But the Pack WON, not the prettiest of games but still exciting! And a it's GREAT way to kick off the season, starting with a WIN. Bummed about Ryan Grant though, hope it's nothing too serious :o/

Not too much else is new, just doing some laundry now and getting ready for the work week, so glad it's a short one! Hope you all have a wonderful week!!

week 7 and life in general...

I finished week 6 over the weekend and started week 7 today...and let me tell you, it was a tough run tonight...I didn't want to run at all, I was over it at 10 minutes in...but I made myself go to at least 15, then told myself I could quit at 20 but when I got there, there was only 5 minutes to go, so I pushed through. I ended up going the full 25 minutes but it was SO TOUGH. Normally when I get past the 5-10 minute mark, it's smooth sailing...no such luck tonight.

We had a wonderful Labor day weekend, they always go too fast. But at least it's a four day work week, although it's screwed me up...I kept thinking today is Tuesday. SOOO glad it's actually half way over!

We don't have too much planned for the weekend, Joe works Saturdays now so we are limited to when we can leave. He had hoped to get back to WI to fish one last time, not sure we'll get that chance now. I do need to get to a pet store this weekend, our baby girl turns 3 next week. And I can't remember the last time she got a new toy, she has her rope from her last birthday and her usual rawhide bones...I think she's way overdue for some fun new toys!!

Joe and I continue to job search and pray something better comes along for both of us...although Joe has four wheelers on the brain. I think he's been spending more time on craigslist than monster lately.