It's been a while...

.... that's for sure.

I haven't been on here in over 3 months and I don't even know where to start. I can honestly say the last 6 months have been a whirlwind of an experience for me with a wide variety of emotions, changes, and so forth. I don't even know if I want to blog anymore, as I don't want this to be something that I feel I have to keep up.

For those of you I am not friends with on FB, yes, I just recently married and am enjoying married life very much so. Love it. Work is crazy, but it's a job and I am greatful. I am not doing what I love, but I am working in the teaching profession. Every day I count my blessings and think about my high school students often outside of school. Not many of them have it easy, or good.

I haven't been training for anything and can't remember the last race/event I did. Sad. Workouts have been few and far between, but I THINK I am getting back into the swing of things. Like I said, I am not training, but just enjoying workouts here and there, changing things up and bit and trying to try different things.

I will leave you with one of my favorite wedding photos. We haven't gotten all of them back from our photographers, but I do have a handful and this one reminds me of how happy I was that day!

Testing testing

Is anyone still out there? I know it's been quite a long time, but I am thinking about getting back into blogging...

... my peeps still there?!

Wordless Wednesday: Monday's Stormy Sunset

 

Three Things Thursday

1. Just keep swimming! I absolutely love how swimming makes me feel. The feeling of jumping into the pool and just gliding through the water. It get this sense of clarity, as I often spend a lot of my swim clearning my mind. Something I feel I can do more swimming than running or biking. But, after a mile or more of swimming, I am sometimes left with a feeling of complete exhaustion. After Monday's swim workout of 2400 Yds, I came home and fell asleep for a half hour. After waking I felt so groggy and out of sorts. Anyone else deal with this and how can I overcome this? Is it something with nutrition?
2. Running with the fiance.... J and I have ran together in the morning before he heads off to work a handful of times. These runs have been some of my favorite runs this summer. This morning was absolutely gorgeous - 58*, cool, no humidity, and we got to witness how beautiful our surrounding neighborhood is with the sun coming up and pink skies. I look forward to more runs down the road. I wonder if I am going to be able to get him to join me for outdoor runs this fall/winter as the mornings will be dark and cold?!
3. Hills ... I have never really been fond of hills. I mean, who is? Over the past 10+ years, whether I was living in Grand Forks or Fargo, there were minimal hills to run. In all honesty, I don't think there was a single hill in either city, unless you count a bridge going over the interstate or railroad tracks. Now that I have moved back to the central part of the state, there are more hills, trees, beautiful scenic views.... And in our neighborhood? You can't run a mile without going up or down a hill. And I love it! There's a hill a couple blocks from our house that I couldn't run all the way up today, but I am bound and determined to conquer that hill this summer!

Weekend in the cities & Twins Territory 4K Run

My fiance, J, and I spent the weekend in the cities with my sister and BIL. Saturday afternoon, we did a little bit of shopping and Steph and I found shoes for me for my wedding! I was so excited when I found something that fit, that I liked, and were comfortable for only $34! So pumped!

That afternoon, before heading to the Twins game, we hit up a restaurant that was new to all of us... Psycho Suzi's! If you are ever in the cities and looking for something to try I highly recommend it! They have some crazy drinks and awesome pizza! J and I decided to "create our own" and had chicken and BBQ sauce on ours. It was delish! Afterwards we headed to the Twins game and watched them lose. Booh. 

Yesterday all four of us participated in the Twins Territory 4K Run. My sister and BIL participated last year with my parents and enjoyed it, and I was sad I missed it,  so J and I decided it would be fun to do this with them this year.

Prior to the start of the 4K, my tummy was not happy with me. In fact, it had been bothering me for almost a day and I think a lot of it had to do with the icky food I ate in the past week. Steph and I made one last pit stop at the porta-potties before the race start, choosing the slowest line ever. It was so gross and I couldn't believe there was NO hand sanitizer in my stall what-so-ever. To top it off, when I was exiting the potty, TC was standing outside my stall, pointing to his imaginary watch on his wrist and shaking his head. Everyone started laughing and I was totally embarassed!

A few minutes after that we were at the starting line, ready to go. This was to be J's first race ever and I was super pumped to be running with him! The race started at 7am, and as we all complained about getting up so early, it was a nice, calm and cool morning, with a beautiful sunrise.

The course was laid out, starting just behind the metrodome (home of the Vikings), and finished at the new Twins outdoor stadium. There were markers for each kilometer that we ran, first base, 2nd, base, 3rd base, and home plate across the finish line. I missed the first base, so I didn't even notice until the 2nd base showed up. By this point, I had been running most of the first half of the 4K run, but my right knee started bothering me. I was so frustrated and spent most of the 2nd half of the 4K walking/running. booh. The outside of my right knee was feeling icking, like my ITBand was tight. I was frustrated, but finished strong across that finish line. It seems like I never know when my knees are going to act up.

At the finish line, we grabbed our metals, water, fruit, and snickers protein bars! I had never tried them before, and I really enjoyed it! We took some photos and walked the long walk back to the car!

I am looking at some other races or events in the near to distant future, but fear I won't have much time to train with wedding planning. There's a 5K in September that I might check into.... we'll see!!

Three Things Thursday

1. All moved in! This past Saturday, with the help of many friends and family, we were moved into our new home! We are still working to figure out where everything is going to go. Not working right now has allowed me to spend most of the day unpacking, organizing, re-organizing, and cleaning at my own pace. Pictures to come soon!
2. Still Jobless.... yes, I am still looking for work. In fact, it seems like more positions are opening up as we are getting closer to the start of school, but still really no jobs in my area. It's so frustrating, but I am trying to make the most of it and hope something good will come of this situation.
3. Workouts have been sporadic, but I am still trying to get in 5 workouts a week. The past week has been a little crazy with moving but I am doing something. I just wish I had something I was training for... hmmm..

Friday Fun Facts

Once again, it's been a while since my last post.... life is still crazy busy. Here's an update:

• Finishing up my grad class for the summer. Don't know if I will be taking my last grad class this fall, since I don't qualify for the traineeship scholarship without a teaching job in place for the fall.
• I have my fifth interview of the summer this afternoon. It's a different position, so I am still weighing the pros and cons, but will have to wait and see if I actually get offered the position before I decide if I want it for sure.
• Wedding plans are still going: wedding dress is in and fits wonderfully, just ordered a couple pairs of shoes online and hoping one of them fits perfectly, flowergirl dress has been ordered, still working on decreasing the guest list, wedding bands have been picked out, groom's and groomsmen's tuxes have been figured out... all and all things are going well. I have designed my own invites and the paper has arrived - I am looking forward to putting them together. We haven't figured out our honeymoon plans, as it kind of depends on my job situation - teachers don't get much personal leave.
• We move into our house in a week and I can hardly stand the wait. I am so excited to get into our home.
• Looking forward to a weekend in the Twin Cities with my sister and brother-in-law in two weeks. We plan to go to a Twins game Saturday night (against the White Sox), and then take part in the Twins Territory 4K! I missed out on this last year due to other committments so I am super excited! Check out this Swag! Love it!

What's new with you?

Bigger Update

Sorry it's been so long, peeps, but things have been crazy busy around here. I can't believe how much has happened in the past couple of months. It's been quite a ride.

In May...

... I did work on the house, painting door frames and had a new door installed to apease a buyer that was interested in my twinhome..
... Many meetings with the Fargo Marathon Committee. Had a great turnout for the Youth Run. Walked the 5K with family and friends. Was designated photographer for those running the half marathon Saturday morning, as I was not up to par to run.
... My fiance closed on our new home, but we are not in it yet. We said they could rent it from us until August 1st (at the latest) to allow them to finish building their home. We are renting from his roommate who bought his house.
... My parents, with the help of many friends and family, began fighting for their home along the Might Missouri River. We built a dike around the house, moved things upstairs. Then we decided to move more things out - including all appliances and other larger furniture.
... still on the hunt for a teaching job in Bismarck/Mandan
... finished up my 4th grad class... working towards my ASD credential. 2 more to go!

In June....

... I finished out the school year, tears and all. It was bittersweet to leave my team at school, and my kiddos, but I was ready to move back home and be with my fiance and family.
... Kicked off my summer by participating in the Tour De Cure Bike ride with my sister, a friend, and brother-in-law. The Fiance came along to witness such fun and took some great photos. It was a perfect day for a nice 28 mile ride to fight for a cure for diabetes!
... I stuck around a couple weeks to pack up the house. My parents and fiance came and helped me move things out. Fortunately, we were able to find a couple storage units in Mandan to store all my crap for a couple months - since most were taken by those displaced from their homes with the Missouri River Flooding...
... I closed on my house in mid-June and walked a way with a sense of releive and a nice little check form the title complany.
... I moved in with the Fiance and we are enjoying the fact that we are able to see each other every day - unlike every weekend when we were 200 miles apart.
... Started my 5th grad class working towards my ASD Credential...
... My parents took a two-week trip to Germany with my sisters and brother-in-law. I chose to stay back and watch their dogs. It's like training for kids. I also took it upon me to check in on the house from time to time... Things are still dry - thanks to the dike that was built around our neighborhood. It still may be another couple months before my parents get to move back in...
... I am still wedding planning... but there's a lot to do. Trying to figure out invites, cake, flower girl dress, and guest list as of right now! It's fun tho!
... I have had a couple interviews this month. One with the state - that I didn't get, but I was glad I got an opportunity to interview. The other was with Bismarck Public Schools and I am still waiting to hear from them.. Cross your fingers, I hope this is the one!
... I have no training plans or races scheduled as of right now. But I am getting back into the swing of working out on a regular basis again. Unfortunately, Bismarck Y does not offer BodyPump but I was thinking about trying a couple other classes... maybe Kick Boxing?!
... I am thinking about the Bismarck Half Marathon in September... or maybe just the 5K. They don't have a 10K. We'll see.

What have you been up to? I am hopefully going to get into some of your blogs in the near future. We don't have internet at the house so I get to enjoy my time at starbucks each day, working on homework and a little web surfing if there's time!