Three Things Thursday

1. How do I clean my Camelbak water bottle? I mean, I know how to wash it, but I can't seem to get the "spout" of it really clean and it looks like there is mold growing inside both of my bottles! YUCK! I drink out of them all the time and actually end up drinking more water when using these! Help!!!



2. I have been rocking the workouts this week! Anything to keep me away from my darn project! No, just kidding. I have been pretty consistent this week and feelin' strong! Especially knowing that starting next Wednesday, I don't know what I will be able to get done while away on vacay. Here's what I've been rockin':

Monday -
Run 3.62 mi (AM)

Strength, Stretch, Core (SSC) - 2o min - 35 pushups, 40 tricep curls with 8# ball, 60 side crunches with 8# ball, 70 sit-ups with Bosu ball, stretching

Bike - 21.61 mi (PM)

Tuesday -
Swim 1600 Yds - 600 Yds w/u, 250 Yds swim with paddles and pull buoy, 50 Yds streamline kick, 250 Yds swim with fins, 50 Yds streamline kick, 250 Yds swim with paddles and pull buoy, 100 Yds c/d

Wednesday -
Run 3.61 miles

SSC - 20 min - 60 pushups, 80 side crunches with 8# ball, 100 sit-ups on Bosu ball, stretching

Today -
Bike 10.05 mi
Run 1.1 mi (Brick)

Bodypump Class - 60 minutes

Tomorrow?! - Probably a rest day. I said I would help a friend that just got married move some boxes and such... (some rest day, lol)

3. My mind has been consumed by Autism Spectrum Disorders, due to my grad class. This week I have been listening to audio powerpoints, reading articles, and working on my final project. Symptoms of autism consist of difficulties in three areas: communication, social, and repetitive behaviors. Symptoms can usually be observed by the age of 18 months, so parents, please be aware of what your child should be able to do at certain months of age; early intervention is key!

Asside from that, I have a perfect video that shows the difficulty children with ASD have making friends (social skills/communication). How many of you watch the Big Bang Theory? Sheldon is definitely somewhere on the Spectrum - possible Aspergers. I love how he talks! Watch this video... it's great!

The Big Bang Theory - The Friendship Algorithm
(via YouTube)

Summin' it up in with a picture

Someone asked me to keep them posted on things as I checked them off my original to-do list... and Monday's productivity was insanely awesome. As much as I would like to bring you the bullets of what got done yesterday, I won't bore you because most of it was spent working on my project.

However, I did get in a good swim in the morning and then allergies attacked me at full force. A couple short naps were required, a load of laudry was done, and I was still able to work on my project a little bit while enjoying my dinner and a little of this....

Getting Shtuff Done

Yesterday, I posted my to-do list that consisted of a number of large things that I need to get done in the next week or so. It helped immensely to put it down in writing and out there to get the ball rolling.


One day down and I was able to get the following things accomplished, in this order:

• 3.62 mile run in the AM- it was sweaty, stinky, and I had a tomato face... but felt good when it was done! Followed it up with 20 minutes of strengthening, stretching, and core work!


• Listened to 2 audio powerpoints to prepare class chat on Wednesday (totalling 100 minutes - FO REAL!) - this was not listed on the to-do list.... kind of forgot about it.


• Cleaned out oven mess by hand - this too was not on the list, but I got most of it done while listening to the 2nd audio powerpoint. It's all about multitasking, peeps. (Side note: in attempt at making two pans of monkey bread at 5am Saturday morning to take with for the wedding party to nibble on that morning, the caramel sauce poured over and almost started my house on fire. Needless to say, the monkey bread did not get finished and smoke filled the house. Scary. Currently looking for a more accurate monkey bread recipe.)


• I THINK I figured out my topic for my final grad paper/project/lesson plan... and did some searching for articles/references.


• Measured spare bedroom.


• Did dishes. It's never-ending and it's only my dishes!


• Went to Lowes and looked at flooring options. I decided I probably won't make a decision on this until after my vacay. Too many choices!


• Looked at paint while at Lowes. Figured I would give that room a fresh coat of paint before putting in new flooring. I want something neutral like a light gray but need an accent color for the half wall on two sides. Suggestions?


• Biked 21.61 miles in the PM ... at the gym on the upright bike. I needed to read 4 articles for grad class and I was sick of just sitting and working, so I did it on the bike! ☺


• Enjoyed my evening watching the Twins game and did a little bit of reading for fun.

Today is another day and more time needs to be spent on this grad paper. Blech. Marlene made a comment saying how she works better under pressure and that I probably do too. So TRUE.. so true, indeed!!

"If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything
done." ~Author Unkown

Checking Things Off...

In 9 days, I will be flying out to California with the BF, but I can't let the excitement get in the way of what needs to be done before then. And boy, there is a ton of things that need to be done... big and little. So, in typical Stacy-fashion, I made a to-do list and look forward to crossing things off as I go...

Here is what needs to go down:
(in order of priority)

☆ Finish this ... my final grad project that is due next friday, but must get done before I leave for vacay ...

☆ Finish emptying this room...including removing the rest of the carpet and padding ...

☆ Try to organize this mess ...

(most of the furniture and crap from spare bedroom mentioned above)

☆ Mow the lawn ... x2
(possibly this Wed and then next Tues again...weather permitting)

☆ Measure spare bedroom (mentioned above), possibly look at flooring options (laminate vs. carpet), get estimates, pick out paint, look at window covers, etc.

☆ Replace vent cover (for bathroom exhaust fan) on outside of house

☆ Scrub the floors in bathroom and kitchen and vaccuum the rest of the house

☆ WORKOUT!! - I don't know how much "training" I will get done during our trip and the triathlon is only 4 weeks away. Plus, this is a great stress reliever!

☆ Start packing for trip! yeah!

So, who wants to help me get this all done? Takers? Anyone?

Three Things Thursday

1. A week at home - I just spent the last week at home, in the Biz, and it was great. While home, I was able to get a lot of homework done for grad school, sleep in, workout, see my sister and bro-in-law, attend a couple of the BF's softball games, help decorate for my cousin's wedding, relax a bit, and do some pleasure reading (asside from grad textbooks) on the patio in the sun... A little manual labor was done as well - helping my parents clean out and epoxy their new two-stall detached garage. I guess I can't stay there for free that long without putting in a little manual labor. It was hard to leave the Biz and head back to Fgo yesterday afternoon.

2. Weddings, weddings, WEDDINGS! - Last weekend the BF and I not only went to one wedding, but TWO! He had a family friend getting married early Saturday afternoon, and as soon as the ceremony was over, we high-tailed it out of there and drove 20 minutes to my mom's hometown (where he is from as well) and attended my cousin's wedding, reception and dance. In two days, a friend of mine will be getting married, lake-side in Minnesota. It's going to be a small wedding, but I am super pumped. After this weekend I will have attended 4 weddings between June and July and have a couple more before the end of September!

3. LOVE my sisters - Just wanted to point out that I have two wonderful sisters that constantly remind me of how blessed we are to have each other and our family! My youngest sister who has faced her own challenges and difficulties growing up (health-wise and educationally) has been working minimal hours in a nursing home but has worked her way up to almost a full-time employee! I am so proud of her! My other sister is facing a challenge in regards to her health as of last week, but in the midst of learning more about it and trying to figure things out, she appears to be quite a trooper and continues to stay pretty positive. I know she is worried about continuing to train for our triathlon which is less than 5 weeks out, but I reminded her that she is a natural athlete and should focus on her health first, and see where she is at in a couple weeks, then decide. I don't know if she wants me to share with the blogworld what she is dealing with, but please send positive thoughts her way.

(me, baby sis, middle sis)

One of my Favs...

I have been home for the past 4 days and am loving the fact that work doesn't start back up until the end of August... *sigh*

All this flexibility will allow me to come back home a bit more and stay longer. It sure helps when you are in a relationship with someone who lives 200 miles away.

This past Thursday morning I took my parents puppies out for a run. I knew it wasn't going to be anything fast as they seem to have only one speed, and that's super slow. The weather was warm, and I knew there'd be a lot of walk breaks so I grabbed my camera. I figured I share with you all a little piece of North Dakota in July..... all these photos are taken near my parents house, just outside the city limits. Spaces are a little more open and very green.

Gotta love summatime in Nodak!

Three Things Thursday

1. Where does the time go? The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. I don't know where the time has gone, but it's been crazy busy. Why is it that when you have more time on your hands, you seem to have more things to do and struggle to get them done? I think I only have 5 weeks until my next triathlon and less than 3 weeks until we go to San Diego!

2. Do you believe bad things come in threes? Do you believe that good things can come in threes? Last week I noticed wet carpets in one of the spare bedrooms in the basement. After fixing the discharge hose on the sump pump on the outside of the house, calling carpet cleaners (hard to get anyone's help unless it's an emergency), watching them rip my carpet back, rip out carpet padding, put holes in the sheet rock to see if it's moldy and insulation is wet, pay a hefty bill to have them do that and set up 5 turbo fans to dry it out... I am not liking this homeowner business. In addition to those fun things, I bought a car the same week. Crazy.

3. With the flexibility of having the rest of my summer off, I am taking advantage of it in full force. I will be in the Biz for a while, probably a week or so... watch the BF's softball game tonight, cousin's wedding saturday evening, possibly squeeze in another wedding with the BF before then, if time - help the 'rents epoxy the new garage, and if the weather is nice Monday I might try and take my god-daughter to the water park.

Half Over

2010 is already half over. Can you believe it? Let's take a look at the stats for the month of June.


Month in Review: June 2010
Swim - 5,200 Yds ............. 6,000 Yds in May
Bike - 96.19 miles ............ 67.10 miles in May
Run - 31.79 miles ............. 28.65 miles in May



Total Number of:
Swims - 4
Bikes - 7
Runs - 12 (including short runs off the bike)
Bodypump class - 2
Pilates - 3
REST days - 12



Highlights of the month:

• Completed my first triathlon of 2010!
• Taught summer school with some pretty good kids!
• Weekends with family, friends, and the BF!

Lows of the month:

• I can't think of any lows related to working out and training. I guess that's a good thing!

Goals for July:

• Find balance between training and nutrition (with some help from Marni),
• finish yet another grad class with a positive attitude,
• enjoy a month of absolutely NO work (one of the reasons why I love being a teacher),
• and enjoy all the fun festivities: trip to the cities this weekend with the fam and BF (and take in a Twins game...finally), cousin's wedding, friend's wedding, and a trip to San Diego at the end of the month with the BF!!

Year-to-Date Stats:

Swim - 48,200Yds

Bike - 593.25 miles

Run - 202.15 miles

This month, like every other month, has gone by super fast and I know July is going to go buy just as fast with all the things going on! How was June for you? Anything exciting coming up this month? Any challenges you are participating in?