Happy Thanksgiving!

Can I make a Thanksgiving resolution? Yes? Ok, I resolve to blog more.

I'm Thankful for:

My husband, Zach. He puts up with a lot of my crap and still loves me. Plus I think he's pretty cute too :)



My Missy Dog
Aka: "The Crazy Banana" and "Miss Moo"



My George Cat
Aka: "Mr. Furry Bottoms"



Plus I'm thankful for my family, friends, health, new home, good job, happy life and everything else that I've been given.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Louisburg Cider Mill

A few weeks ago, Zach and I went and did something I've always been pestering him about doing - a small little outting. It was a beautiful day and due to a complete entryway painting failure we had a free Sunday! So we hopped in the car and headed to Louisburg to go to the famous Cider Mill.
The drive was nice, the trees had all turned and we enjoyed the ride out there. The Cider Mill, and the whole area was a lot smaller than I had thought it would be. But, it was packed! We weren't really sure what we were supposed to "do" since they don't have tours on Sunday (figures), so we went and peeked in the glass window and watched a few apples be pressed. Kinda boring, and really, not sanitary.

So then we went in the store and Zach was feeling extra nice and everything I said I'd "always wanted to try" he bought for me! It is very rare that his reply when I say something seems mildly expensive is "so what, we came all the way here, buy it!" OK! So we got some cider (duh), apple bread mix and apple butter! We also had to get some hot cider and apple cider doughnuts! De-lish!

We sat outside and sipped our cider and swatted the bees away (Ok, we never swatted the bees, just got up and moved every 10 seconds. Bee's 1, Zach & Stephanie 0). The whole time I sat there there was one pumpkin that kept calling my name. I told Zach and he bought it for me! Yay! It had character.

We didn't stay long, but enjoyed our time there. After that we went and had lunch at Red Robin with Kristy and James, then made the drive back home to watch the Chiefs blow yet another lead.
Oh , apple butter is yummy!

KC Marathon - The 5K Version

All week I've been fighting some sort of weird cold thing. I've been exhausted, stuffy and my head feels like it's about 3x bigger than normal. So I hadn't worked out in exactly one week when the time for my 5K came around yesterday.

I went back and forth and back and forth on if I should even go or not. The thought of waking up at 5am to drive 45 minutes to crown center then stand in the freezing cold for an hour then to try to huff and puff my way through 3.2 miles didn't sound all that exciting. But, once I hit packet pickup on Friday, I knew I had to go. There's something that gets me every time I go pick up my race day t-shirt and 'champion chip'. I knew I had to do it.

So I went to bed early and got up at the crack of dawn to make the trip to Crown Center. I love the atmosphere before a race. All the excitement and the fact that there are thousands of other 'crazies' like me who love the thrill of race day and will work so hard just to get there. It gets me really pumped up. The music, the crowds, the focus on everyone's faces. I LOVE IT. I think that's why I keep going back and keep training to get better and go further. I want to be one of those 'awesome' runners.

I felt pretty lame doing a measly 5K at the KC MARATHON, I won't lie. I wish I would have been more focused this summer and been able to attempt the half, but I wasn't. I was just worried about finishing my 3 miles.

The Marathon and Half Marathon kicked off at 7am. So after sending them off, I had a good half hour to try to stay warm and loose before my race started. I did some stretches, some fast walking and a lot of jumping. I was pretty pumped for the race.

It was a good course. Pretty flat, not a lot of uphills but a good amount of downhills. I've gotten much better at pacing myself. I've also learned how to 'coast' the downhills. I felt awesome the whole race, even with my tight chest due to my cold.

The downtown race went from crown center, down grand to 17th street. East on 17th to the Paseo. North on the Paseo to 18th Street and we headed west back to Grand. North on Grand to 13th street then south on Main and a few quick turns to end at the Freighthouse.

Here are my stats:
Time: 29:40
Pace: 9:33
Overall 422/1169
Division (Female 25-29) 60/173
Females: 169/731

So not super awesome, but definitely not bad at all considering how I felt. I was pretty happy with the results.

After the run, I got my 'champion chip' cut off, went through the food and drink line then hiked it from the Freighhouse back to my car at crown center. Nothing like a long hike after an exausting race!

Getting back home was a total nightmare. Every single road I tried was closed for the marathon. I think it took about an hour and a half to get home.

But it was worth it.

Next up: Jingle Bell Run 2008 - 10K baby!

Secrets DO make friends.

On the eve of my 1 year wedding anniversary I got some really sad news. I still haven't really been able to shake it. My friend Michelle said it best here.....

'OJ' and I had big plans to become running partners and train for the 10K together. I met her (in real life) for the first time on Friday and I was super stoked to have a new running partner. I'm pretty sure she won't be up to the training right now, but I'm still going to run it. If not for myself, but for her.

It's strange how my "secret society" friends (as Zach calls them), have really managed to become such a part of my life. I suppose in this age of online dating, why not do "online friending" as well!

So here it is. I'm a "realie".

Shhh. Don't tell.

I'm still alive!

Well it has clearly been a while since I last posted. I don't generally like to write at work because I get really distracted. Then by the time I get home I've lost all motivation to write or Zach is monopolizing the computer doing "homework". Stupid school. He does have straight A's so I guess I shouldn't complain.

So what's new....

The Crazy Banana (Missy dog) is 7 months old now! She's still sneaky and a bundle of energy, but we love her to bits. Who can't love a face like this...

We love her even when she gets into the mud and comes out looking like this.....

We have started leaving her in the kitchen all day like a big dog and she's doing well! They grow up so fast! *sniff sniff*

Our 1 year wedding anniversary is on Monday!! I can't believe it's been that long already. It's been a good ride and I'm looking forward to many fun years to come. Love you Zach!

My current obsession is getting back into shape. Before we moved to our new house I had quite the routine going on. I worked out pretty much 6 days a week for hours at a time. I was in fantastic shape (even though I thought I wasn't). Since we've moved I've gotten a little more lax on my schedule. It takes longer to get to the gym and after a long day of work and riding the bus home the last thing I want to do is drive to the gym. But that has to stop! I've started training for a 10K race that will happen in late November. I'm not a runner by any means. I actually pretty much hate running. I only started doing it because it's the only thing that gets me to shed pounds quickly, that's the main reason I run. The next reason I run is the way I feel afterwards. There is such thing as a 'runners high'. It's awesome! I feel so refreshed and calm. Plus it's when I get in my best 'thinking'.

So I found a 10K in Lee's Summit on 11/22. Yesterday I went to sign up and the damn thing was canceled!! I was super pissed. But I found a few others to choose from so it looks like I'll still hav my shot. The training isn't easy and it's definitely going to be a lot of work, but I need to focus on something. If I can do a 10K this year I might, just might think about a half marathon next year.

Yeah. I'm crazy.

Summer Time!

I knew I'd be bad at keeping up with this thing. There's been lots of times where I want to write, but can't seem to find the time to sit down and do it. Here's a brief recap.

I completed the Hospital Hill Run 5K. I had planned on doing the 10K, but slacked off on my training. I'm pretty mad that I couldn't do the 10K, but there's no way I could have even completed it. Plus it was my birthday so I wanted to be able to enjoy the rest of the day. I went on a shopping spree. Zach bought me a DQ ice cream cake and we hung out at the Lee's Summit Downtown Days festival and watched some of the Eve 6 concert. All in all, a decent day. Plus I got to spend some QT with my new buddy, Missy girl!

We went to Zach's sisters wedding two weeks ago. It was nice. Not as dramatic as we thought it would be, so that's always nice. It was a pretty simple wedding and sometimes I wish I would have done the same, as I'm still paying for my own wedding that was 9 months ago. Anyway, I helped out as much as I could with Alicia's wedding and had a lot of fun doing the day-of coordinating bit. I think it might be something I'd want to do as an actual job some day, but we'll see.















I've also started a new exercise regimen. I'm trying the Jillian Michaels "Making the Cut" program. I feel like I've gotten into a huge rut as far as working out goes. Since we've moved I don't feel like I've had the time to work out as much as I did before, especially now that we have Missy. I hate feeling fat and not looking my best. I've struggled with how I look for my whole life and this is probably the worst I've felt about myself since college. So it was time for a change. I started a www.sparkpeople.com membership and that's how I'm keeping track of my caloric intake. According to Jillian, I'm only supposed to be eating around 1400 calories per day. That's not very much, but so far I've been doing alright (ignoring the 4th of July weekend that is). I also have been doing Jillian's workouts. It's a 30 day plan and I'm to do cardio 5-6 days a week along with 4 days a week of her workouts, which so far have mostly been weights and strength training. I like it so far. It mixes things up a bit. I just need to up my cardio. It's going to be hard, but I'm pretty determined. I'll update my progress as I go. Hopefully I'll look like Jillian some day! ha!


Other than that, things have been pretty normal. Zach started a new job, so he's loving that. My job is alright, very busy right now, but that's ok. The house is still here. We (Zach) just got a big ol' TV today. We were 'stimulating the economy'. I still have major landscaping, painting and decorating plans so look for those things to come.

I'll leave you with this sweet face:See ya later!

Meet Missy!

So here she is! Our new little furbaby!

Her name is Missy!


She is very loving and sweet, but she has some allergies. We noticed that she was scratching a bit the day after we got her but figured it was just a dog thing. The next day she was scratching even more and that night she barely slept (and neither did I). When morning came I noticed she couldn't go 20 seconds without stopping to furiously itch something. So we called the vet on call (it was Sunday). He told us to give her some Benadryl and we should be good to go. Well then her eyes looked a little puffy, then her nose looked swollen and finally her ears puffed up!

So I got all freaked out and hysterical and called the vet back. We took her in for her first (and hopefully last) emergency visit. We went through everything that she ate and the vet seems to think it's a food allergy. I really believe that it's the two hundred million weeds in our grass-less back yard. But anyway, she got a cortisone shot, some prednisone pills and we were told to give her benadryl a few times a day. Poor puppy!

The swelling went down by the end of the night, but the Benadryl completely knocks her out. I hate giving it to her, but if this is the only way to make her better, then so be it. I just hope it works. She still scratches every so often, so only time will tell.

In the mean time, she's busy becoming friends with George. He hated her at first, but he's coming around. He puts up with a lot, so he's being a great big brother!
Training has proven to be difficult. Especially house training. Especially w/ prednisone pills that make her drink like a camel and pee like a race horse. She also likes to bark a lot, jump and is extremely stubborn when it comes to "Come here Missy!". She won't do it.

But just look at her. She's so cute. We just love her to bits.


Get better soon Missy! We want to start playing!

See ya around!
-Stephanie