Quick and ... easy?

After taking a solid week off of running (pathetic, right?) I finally trekked out again and ran a mile. One. Uno. I know I know its so impressive but my goal was not to kill myself. My goal was to jump the dreaded mile hurtle and leave it at that. Whenever I take a hiatus from running, it is always hard to start up again because the first mile is always the worst. I find that once I get through a mile I can usually run quite a bit more. Its just that first mile that gets me! It's like a horrible uncomfortable dragging on and on warm up and my body never feels "ready" to run until after its over. With me being so out of shape right now, I knew that I needed to run it straight through to get my mind in shape. I'm telling you, running is completely mind over body. I knew  that I could run more than a mile, but my mind would just interfere and insist on stopping before my real breaking point.

Its done! I ran a mile tonight, just before the sun went down, and will be up running again tomorrow morning at 5:30 a.m. Why, you ask? Because I start work next week, and I am freaking out (like can't fall asleep at night and am constantly making lists in my head of a bunch of random things all the time) about going back to work next week. I have been planning out how the morning will go, what I need to bring to daycare, what I will do at work when I get there since I will have to breast pump at work and that's new. Plus I will be doing a different job, will have my own office, and will have a bunch of emails and policy changes to catch up on. All of this means that I need some test runs to calm my nerves with as much as I can.

I will get up at 5:30 a.m., pump quick, run, shower and get ready, feed Josie, and "pack everything up" all before 8:30 a.m. That's the goal. I have 4 days to accomplish this before the weekend is here. I know its manageable, but I am just worried about packing everything up and not forgetting something obvious.

I've already been regulating when I pump and making sure its at the same time everyday for about a week. That should work out fine. It's so nice to know that something is already under control. I know that once Monday comes, I will be a wreck already just from having to leave Josie for so long all of a sudden. And don't say that I should practice leaving her for a while. It's not going to happen because I want every second with her I can get and I might possibly bite your head off if you suggest it. :) <-- that smile is only a small one.

I also realized on my run tonight that I probably need new shoes. Two reasons.

1.) Even though my mileage is low for these shoes, I wore them when I was pregnant and stretched them out so now they don't fit me perfectly and I can feel the difference too much. It's just obvious that they aren't helping me.

2.) I want to run the 5k for the Oktoberfest run on October 8th. Just typing that right now was me making up my mind that I want to do it. I actually hadn't solidified the decision in my head until I started writing this post but now that it's out there I am so excited. I love the excitement of a race and 5k isn't too long. I know I can be ready for that in a month. I would love to be able to run it in under 32 minutes, but we'll see. I have quite a ways to go!! New shoes will be exciting (oh the things I live for) and beneficial for training. Maybe that's something I can do this week with my few hours of free time before chaos starts next week.

Goodnight my bloggy world!

Engagement story

I don't remember meeting Michael. I know about the time period and where we met, but he was just another guy in one of my classes, another guy amongst a bunch of them at the tech school with a 6 to 1 ratio. In a way we became friends by default. He didn't know anyone in class and had no other classes with any of the other students. I had just transferred to this school and needed someone to just joke around with. Over time we became better and better friends, and I remember the day that I really noticed him.

We didn't start dating until a year had passed by. I knew right away that he was the guy I was going to marry, and looking back now I just can't believe I was so sure! I had no idea who this boy man was. What I learned about him and who he truly was over the next year showed me that he was a completely different person than I had thought when we started dating. It truly just shows how God's plan prevails over anything we could possibly plan for ourselves. I shouldn't have known with my heart that he was "the one" but I did.

We'd talked about getting married before he proposed since he had graduated and looked for jobs in other cities. I knew that it was coming eventually, but didn't have any reason to think it would be a particular time. Little did I know that he was in communication with my best friend, Denise, about what kind of ring to get. They had gone ring shopping without me even knowing it. The best part is that Denise is even worse at keeping secrets than I am and can hardly ever keep something in when she's excited. The fact that she didn't give it away is a huge thing in itself! It helps that she avoided me from that day until the day he proposed.:)

At the time, Mike was working about 2 1/2 hours away and I only saw him on the weekends. I had bible study at my apartment every Tuesday, and that week  he had decided not to go back until Wednesday. Because I didn't get to see him as often, I was completely on board with going with him down to Wahpeton (my hometown) after bible study with him for one of his jobs. I didn't think anything of it that we left town at 9:30 PM to talk to someone about a job he was going to do (turned out to be Denise's parents, although they had no idea they were his alibi).

On the drive down, we talked a little bit about where we saw ourselves in the future and how we felt about each other. It was sweet, but didn't scream "proposal on the way" like you'd think. What did scream to me was the fact that we drove right past the turn to go to Denise's parent's house. When I asked about this, he said that he thought we should drive through the park first.

Back story: When we first started dating, we went on walks in the park a couple of times and it was truly romantic. It was when I really started to see his sweet, more serious side and showed me that he wasn't just a goofball. I had some really great memories with him in this park.

So once we got there, we got out of the car and walked up to the pond to watch the ducks (something we'd done before). He was getting nervous at this point and I have to admit that I kind of knew what was about to happen. It still didn't take the fun out of turning and seeing him on one knee!! The ring was beautiful and of course I said ''Yes!" I believe my original answer was, "Is this really happening?" but he got the answer he was looking for.

Since we were in Wahpeton, we had to stop by my parent's house, even though it was 10:45 PM. My parents groggily said "Congratulations" and I was a little surprised that they weren't more excited. I was thrilled to find out that Mike had taken them out to dinner the week before and asked them for their blessing! See what a true gentleman he is? Now my sister, she was excited. She was jumping and laughing and shouting. You can always count on the sista to keep things fun.

On the drive back, I called my future bridesmaids and shared the news, except Denise. Because she was such an integral part of this, we decided to stop by her apartment and let her know in person. I ended up sneaking into her room and jumping her while she was sleeping. It certainly surprised her!!

So that is the story of how we got engaged. Another memory I don't ever want to forget.

Friday fun day

So much is going on all of a sudden! Life is about to get crazy.

1. Friends Allison and Mark are hanging out with us tonight. Grilling and socializing=love love!

2. Lunch with my ladies and Mike's old bible study guys since friends Tab and Andy are in town and we haven't seen them since Josie was born. What??

3. Game night tomorrow night!! Oh right. I need to make dessert of some kind. You know for once I might just make something out of the box, but I kind of feel like that would be betraying something (who knows what).

4. For the long weekend we are heading out to the lake!! It's not our last weekend or anything (please we are completely addicted) but its the last weekend before Fall is here with the wind and the leaves changing and the busy work life. Mike will get his fill of fishing and I will get my fill of being outside as much as possible!!

5. I lllove the weather lately. This is my favorite. Remember this post? Well I still feel that way. Maybe even more so this year because I have a little peanut to dress up and play with in the beautiful weather and upcoming holidays. Don't remember my peanut? Here she is, just resting from a hard play time.

6. Next week we have a bachelorette party to celebrate. I'm planning it (which is saying something since in the past I've always been the one having the showers and parties..weddings, babies... so now it is my turn to plan one. I'm pumped. But also a little nervous that it will royally suck).

Off to clean more of the house! I know right? I'm being productive. Unheard of.

By request

How unfair of me to mention things and not share the fun with you? Here are what my exciting comfy new shoes look like. I'm sure you've seen them before since a.) they are cheap b.) they are truly comfortable and c.) there is a target on every street corner these days.

Excuse the poor photography. Apparently Target doesn't sell them anymore... not on the website from Monday to today.

For the mani/pedi, I really want to find a nude color that I will like enough to buy. Last time I went, the color I got (saw it on the other nail lady) was not right on me and I didn't like it right off the bat. It was like a white color more than nude.

The first color is more pink, and definitely lighter. The second one is a lot closer to my skin color and isn't so girly pink. I know that it is hard to see on here, but tilting your screen might show the contrast more. If I'm going to spend $8.50 on a nail polish I better like it! (don't you love how cheap I am?)

This is the color (or close to it) that I got on my toes. Dark blue with a hint of green. LLLLOVE IT. I don't know if I will just get this again since I know what to expect or try something new again. I say again because I hardly ever do anything but red or reddish pink on my toes. This was really stepping out of my comfort zone. But come on. You knew this already.

I googled if Josie is too young to be in the bumbo chair. I didn't really find anything helpful, but I am guessing it wouldn't be a bad thing as long as she is supervised. She certainly has the strength to hold her head up for long periods of time, even though she's so young. She always lets me know when she is done with something. Thats one thing you don't have to worry about. She knows. and tells. She's really developing her cry to a perfection these days. Nice and loud, strong and ear piercing. :)

I learned this today from a friend that is a dental hygienist:

... I just thought I would let you know that you CAN get cavities from Diet pop (I know, it sucks! I LOVE DIET POP!!). If it has acid in it, It will still make you more susceptible to cavities. But, if you were to drink it fast and get it over with you would be less likely to get them. It's not the amount but how long you sip on it! Plus, because you were pregnant that also made you more susceptible to cavities, becuase your saliva changes and becomes more acidic! Just thought I would let you know...

Fascinating right?? And so disappointing. I do drink diet pop at least once a day, but hopefully me brushing/flossing more often will help out. I don't think I can just say good bye to diet coke yet and if I did I'd probably just replace it wil coffee or something else that isn't good. Oh corrupted world how you continue to get me with your chemicals...

I may or may  not be drinking a diet coke right now.