oops....did I miss the Wednesday challenge update?

Why, yes I did miss it!  Truth is, work is very hectic right now; I'm working on an upcoming deadline and work has taken priority over everything.  I go in early and stay late.  That's just how it has to be until after Labor day.

I was, however, able to get to complete my workouts last week.  I skipped Saturday and I may even possibly skip today and I'm okay with that.  I found that I figured out how to fit my workouts into my schedule so I am not so concerned when I skip a day.  It happens.  Still, I know now how to jump right back to it the next day.

September's challenge will be really challenging because of a busy schedule but I will get it done!

Weekend Update

This has to have been the most relaxing weekend for me in a very long time.  Which is quite bizarre since I still had to do laundry and house cleaning.   I was able to get all my chores done on Saturday -- I even had time to run to the mall to get my "free gifts" from my favorite cosmetic counters.  Still, I feel very relaxed and stress free.  

It may possibly be because Friday night I sat and put a plan together for the next few months.  With football's regular season about to start, our next few months are going to be busy.  When we have a home game, there's lots of tailgating prep that has to happen on Saturday and then the entire day on Sunday is spent at the stadium.  Last year was a bit overwhelming for me because of it.  This year, I have my cleaning schedule in place, my holiday decorating marked on my calendar and I synchronized our family get togethers with my sister and are now marked on my calendar as well.  September, October and November are busy birthday months for our family.  In November alone, we have five birthdays.  I am pretty excited about having everything mapped out.  I have a clear, detailed plan.  I know it sounds obsessive, compulsive, that's   because it is.  But that's how I operate; I always need to be in control.  

I was also able to work on our September budget yesterday.  I have this great binder that I bought at Target a few years ago.  It's spectacular.  It's called the "organizher".   I want to believe it was created by a woman for women because it's a great tool for organization.  It has a sleeve for all 12 months to keep monthly bills in.  It has monthly budge planner sheets and a calendar in each section.   Although I keep my budget electronically (and on a thumb drive so I can access it at work) I still love the organizational capacity of this binder.  As the mail comes in I put the bills in the monthly pocket so I can always locate them with ease. 

I love my Organizher!

After my house cleaning was done, I ran to Macy's to get Lancome's gift with purchase, then I walked over to Dillard's to get the Estee Lauder gift with purchase.  I have used Estee Lauder for many, many, many years.  I love their products and always take advantage of the gift with purchase.   My friend at work recently introduced me to a few Lancome products that I love so I also had to get the Lancome gift.  You may think it's excessive -- trust me it's not.  Okay, it is, but I have a cosmetic bag fetish and I just love the travel size products that really come in handy.

The rest of the weekend I will spend just relaxing and reading.  Sweetheart finished the Hunger Games series last weekend and I am still on book one.

Have a great week!

30 Day Challenge - August

How's my 30 day challenge going?  Crash and burn, my friends.  CRASH.  AND.  BURN.   

Yes, it's true.  See the treadmill in the picture below?  That is how it has been sitting for the past two weeks.  So much has happened in the past two weeks.  One day of not doing my workout turned into two days, then three and well, now I am at two whole weeks of not working out.  

Excuses are for the weak so I won't make any.  At this point, all I can do is follow the words of wisdom of Alfred Pennyworth:  "Why do we fall Sir?......so that we might learn to pick ourselves up".  And so it is with me.  I have to pick myself up and get back on the treadmill.        (Do you know which movie that is from??)

So after a two week, non-planned hiatus,  I am back to my workout on Monday with a new plan and a new motivation.

Come back for a mid week update on Wednesday.  Have a great week! :)

Preseason 1 - Cards vs. Raiders

It's that time again! And we are definitely ready for some football!  We had our first home game (preseason) this past Friday.  New season, new seats for us:

Our new seats are on the "home" side one section over from the tunnels were the visiting team enters and exits the stadium.  We should get some great photo opportunities here.  The picture below is the QB for the Oakland Raiders.  There is no particular reason for my taking his photo...he was just there so I pulled out my phone:

Sweetheart and I always get to the game as soon as the gates open so that we can watch the guys practice:

 I love Big Red and will follow him all around the stadium until I can get a good picture of him:

Sweetheart didn't want to bring the camera with us for this game because it was a preseason game and we were playing the Raiders so all the pictures were taken with my iphone.  Not too horribly bad but they could have been better.  

This is a shot of the Cardinals entering the field:

Number three -- Jay Feeley, the kicker.  I sort of have a crush on him.  A tiny one.

When the players are announced and enter the field, a group of players always run to the end zone and take a knee and pray for a few moments.  It always touches me:

They also pray at the end of the game but this time players from both teams take a knee and pray together:

And then there are the fans.......the detail on this guy's face was awesome.  

Our next game is against the Denver Broncos on August 30th!

Go CARDS!

30 Day Challenge August - week 1

The 30 day challenge for August is in full swing!  I started my challenge on August 2nd because I sorely needed a break.   As I mentioned on my last post, I have added a distance goal to my workout.  I'm running three miles a day.  As I type it I know that it doesn't seem as vigorous a goal as it could be, but I need to take baby steps.  The July 30 day challenge really helped me develop the will power that I lacked -- doing something for 30 days straight especially on days I really didn't want to proved to me that I could do it.  Now, with my August challenge I am hoping with help build my endurance so that I can move on to the next level. 

This is going to be a tough 30 days.  Although I did decide to give myself Sunday's off, the six days that I have to put those three miles in seems harsh to me at the moment.  I can barely make it to the end (mind you it's only been three days).   I dread tomorrow evening in some way because I know how hard I have to push myself to do it.  At the same time, I am excited about the challenge.  

Tonight, I plan on nestling into my comfy chair and watching Army Wives sans any type of activity and I am so looking forward to it.  

Three days strong.  I'll need the encouragement from my BFF and my Sweetheart so that when I post another update there will be six days marked off as complete.  

fuzzy picture because I used my iphone

Sweetheart and I had a great weekend.  We ran errands yesterday and did our housework -- me inside and Sweetheart in the back yard/front yard.  Today, after breakfast we escaped to the living room and read, pretty much all day.  I did loads of laundry between chapters.  We are reading the Hunger Games trilogy.

I am reading the Hunger Games, book one:

Sweetheart has already read book one and he is now reading Catching Fire, book two.  We seem to be reading at the same speed so when I finish one, I can jump to two and he will start three.   I adore the fact that we both enjoy the same type of reading -- when we take breaks we discuss the book; it's like our own little book club!

Have a blessed week!

Are you ready for some football?

Preseason is just around the corner.  I absolutely HEART football season!  Our tickets came in the mail a few days ago but we just opened the package today.  Sweetheart was on a camping trip in Colorado so I waited for him to return before tearing into the package.  

Our first pre-season game is on August 17th!  We are soooooooo ready for this!

I can't wait!

Last year I got a little behind on posting our game day pictures.   My hope is that I will be a little more organized this coming season.  Last year was a little overwhelming because it was our first year and between prep work for the tailgating and the clean up after the game and spending an entire day at the stadium....well you can only imagine.    This year, I have a plan.

BTW about the 30 day challenge for August, I have a new goal.  I gave myself a break yesterday because I felt I needed one.  This challenge will include a distance goal.  I will still workout every night, except on Sunday.  I'm giving myself a day off so that I can recover.  My distance goal is a little ambitious but I know I can do it.  I will log my progress but I won't do it daily.  I'm thinking of a weekly update because updating my blog takes about 30 minutes or more and that just adds unnecessary stress to an already stressful evening.  And if I learned anything with the last challenge, it is that I need to prioritize and work smart.

So I'll start my workout tonight. Wish me luck!  Meet me back here on Sunday when I post my progress.

Go CARDS!