Update on previous blog: BUSTED!!

Boy oh boy, did I get busted! I guess I didn't take into consideration that my cousin that has me training for this 5k might actually read my blog! Well he did...and I got in trouble. I received this message on facebook from him this morning:

"Alright there missy. Looks like I am gonna have to whip you into shape. So I read your blog that you posted on facebook. I'll tell you the same thing I told Becca. If you are wanting to lose weight, you got to watch what you eat. Especially if you have low metabolism. Count the amount of calories you can eat per day, and read the back of labels for nutrition facts. Veggies, Whole Grain, water not soda......And no chocalate covered peanut butter eggs! Now, with that said, you need to get online and register now. That way you are committing yourself to doing the race. No excuses. May 8th, you be running that race. What may help you, since you and Becca are going to be running the race, call her up (or facebook her), and set a time where you all can go running together. That way, if you all say you are gonna do a 3 mile run, you all can push each other, and won't let the other one quit. No more talk of having second thoughts. You are completing this run! Now stop reading this and register online."

This message was followed by another message with the link to register for the race. Shew....committing to this and registering is almost as hard as running my fat @$$ through my neighborhood. But I'll do it! Ya hear me Steve!?!?! I'M GONNA DO IT!!!!!

To run? Or not to run?

Of all the cardio exercises out there, running is my LEAST favorite. I'm not a runner, never have been and more than likely, never will be. Not even when I was my most physically fit in high school when I had cut up arms and 4-pack abs. The only running I remember doing back then was during cheerleading practice when we would have to run laps around the gym while yelling the words to our cheers.....it's a lot harder than it sounds especially when you're gasping for air and yelling at the same time. So if I hate running so much, then why am I training to run a 5k? You heard me.....I'm training to run a 5k. I had the idea at the beginning of the year, kinda as a new years resolution, but then I never thought twice about it. I have a cousin that's a runner. A dedicated runner. A few weeks ago his sister ran her first 5k and that inspired me. So I got online and looked up the upcoming races. It just so happened that there was a race in 6 weeks that really peaked my interest.....the Thin Mint Sprint! It seems fitting that my first race be named after a cookie. So I email my cousin and basically said, "Ok, I've got 6 weeks.....can you send me a training schedule?" This is what he sent back:

Week 1: 3 runs, each for 1/2 mile

Week 2: 3 runs, each for 1 mile

Week 3: 3 runs, each for 1.5 miles

Week 4: 3 runs, 2 for 2 miles, 1 for 2.5 miles

Week 5: 4 runs, 2 for 2.5, 1 for 2.75 miles, 1 for 3 miles

Week 6: 2 runs for at least 2 miles but can go farther if I want, then the race on May 8th

Then he goes on to talk about other stuff like doing other cardio during the days I'm not running, doing stretches several times a day, eating healthy and blah blah blah.

OK so I haven't exactly paid my 20 bucks and registered for the race just yet. I want to at least get half way through my training and see if this is even going to be do-able. Maybe if I go ahead and register, then that will force me to go through with this. But what if it rains that day? What if I wake up with a headache or horrible cramps? What if Tippy would rather I stay home with her and play fetch with her purse or high heel shoe? You just never know what might come up!

One of the main reasons I wanted to do this is because I want those extra pounds to just melt right off of me! Let me just say that I've completed 2 weeks of my training and I've not lost ANY weight! I've exercised 5 days a week for the last 2 weeks and no change. Ok, so maybe my diet hasn't been greatest but I thought that when you become a "runner" you can eat whatever you want and brag to people that you just can't seem to keep the pounds from dropping off of you! It COULD be because I've only been running 1/2 mile to a mile. But this week I'm running 1.5 miles so watch out! I'm going to go dig out my box of "I'm-too-fat-for-these-clothes" clothes.

Ok, all this staying fit talk is started to get to me. So I will share with you what I ate over Easter weekend. My mom orders these for us every year from the church. They are filled will peanut butter. And it's the kind of peanut butter that's mixed with powdered sugar. (Hmm??? Could this be part of the reason of my lack of weight loss?)

The Office Quote of the Day:

Ryan: Kendall from corporate H.R. is on line and Holly's on her way in too.

Michael: What the only thing worse than one H.R. rep?

Ryan: Two H.R. reps.

Michael: You get me.

I'm gonna be a HOMEOWNER!!

I've been looking forward to the day that I could post a blog about being a homeowner! I haven't really talked too much about me searching for a home because I thought I might jinx myself. At first I was looking at a house. I wasn't too fond of the area and it needed some cosmetic work but it was only 3 years old. I put an offer on it but it wasn't accepted and deep inside I was glad but I was in such a hurry to find SOMETHING because A) my roommate was moving out at the end of April and B) I wanted that $8,000 tax credit! So then we started looking at duplexes. Luckily, there was one right up the street from where I live now that had one side vacant. So my dad and brother came and checked out the place and they really liked it. The next morning, we made an offer and by 6pm that day, we found out that it was accepted! They didn't even counter my offer! It's funny how things just fall right into place. My closing is April 28th so I hope to be moved in by the first of the month. The building is a ranch (Yay! No stairs!), 3 bedrooms, 3 walk-in closets, 2 full baths, a whirlpool tub in the master bath and an open floor plan. Another plus is that it is 0.18/mile from where I live now!

Home Sweet Home

I can't wait until I can add my own touch and show some "after" pics!

A huge THANK YOU to my dad and brother for ALL of their help on this process. There is no way that I could have done this without them. It helps to have a brother that is a loan officer(with an awesome realtor) and a dad that won't sign off on something that isn't up to par for one of his kids. He only wants the best for me and he said several times over the weekend that he was so happy that I ended up with this place.....that makes me very happy :)

If you are in the process of buying a house or refinacing your home, contact my brother, Casey VanHoose! He works with My Mortgage Pro in Lexington. He just saved my cousin $400 a month on her mortgage. He's the best! ;)

The Office Quote of the Day:

Oscar: I'm sorry you're offended by my shoes but I'm not going to drive home to change.

Toby: I can loan you a pair of socks.

Oscar: No.

Toby: No, they're clean. I was going to wear them to volleyball practice.

Little bit-a-this....little bit-a-that

I know, I know....when it comes to blogging, EPIC FAIL! I'll try to give you an update over the past few weeks.


Last week was St. Patty's Day and what's a St. Patty's Day without green beer! I made it myself. All I could find was gel food coloring and if you look closely, you'll see dark clumps in the bottom of the cup what wouldn't quite dissolve. Oh well, at least I had green beer!

Here are some pics that I took a couple of weeks ago at my brother's house. The sky looked so cool and it gave everything a pink glow so I had to pull out my ole' trusty camera.

This past weekend, we had our Challenge Course facilitator training on the low course. I have to say that I was impressed with the facilitators and I'm going to have some good folks working for me this year! If you're wondering what in the world is a Challenge Course, click here. Who says I can't use this blog for marketing? :) Anyway, here are a couple of pics from this past weekend. The high course training is this weekend so hopefully I'll have a couple more pics to post next week.

Two things I wanted to talk about when I started this blog was A) craft projects and B) reality shows, hence "The Crafty Bachelorette". I mentioned a while ago that I was working on some crafts. I finished them over the weekend but I'm giving them to someone as a gift so I can't post them on here until they're outta my hands. Hopefully you understand :)

As for reality shows, I had TONS to talk about while the The Bachelor saga was going on but to be honest, there was soooo much to say that the thoughts of blogging about it made me mentally and physically drained. So I just talked about it to anyone that would listen. If you seriously believe that everything you saw on The Bachelor was 100% true (or even 50% true) then HA! Joke's on you! If you really wanna know what truly happened, check out Reality Steve's blog.

NEXT! American Idol: Overall, I'm not REAL impressed with this season. I have a couple that I like but I don't have that feeling when I anxiously sit on the couch before their performance with my fingers crossed hoping they do well. I just don't feel it. I'm hoping that it's still a bit early and I will get that feeling in the next couple of weeks. More on Idol later.

I just watched the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars. I have to say that I have never been more excited (and nervous) to watch a season of DWTS. Fifteen minutes before the show started, I was thinking about the cast and felt so nervous for them, thinking about what was going through their head 15 minutes before going live! Is that weird? Here's my brief review of tonight's performances:

Aiden Turner (soap star): Most people don't know him but I was hoping he did well because he was on "All My Children", the soap I've watched since I was in elementary school. So he wasn't the greatest but did they really have to give him the same score as the 80 year old? Come on, he was better than that!

Buzz Aldrin (the 80 year old, walked on the moon): Poor thing, he's 80! Nuff said.

Ochocinco (NFL player): Sorry, I'm not much of a Bengals fan and he seemed a bit cocky to me. As for his dancing, I think he has potential.

Erin Andrews (ESPN newscaster/victim of Peeping Tom): Long legs + pointed toes = nice lines.

Evan Lysacek (Olympic figure skating gold medalist): Looked great from the ankles up. He can't seem to move across the floor very well without blades under his feet.

Jake Pavelka (The CHEEZY Bachelor): Oh geez! If I never see his face ever again, it will be too soon! I am so sick of seeing him and seeing Vienna in the audience looking all giddy makes me wanna pull my hot glue gun out of my craft box and hot glue my eyes shut. Thinking of him dancing takes me back to seeing him dancing in the street with Gia (Mia, as Kristen calls her...lol). a.w.k.w.a.r.d. I was so embarrassed that I had to cover my eyes. Poor Jake. If he gets any more nervous/embarrassed, that vein is going to pop out of his forehead. Did they reeeeeally have to have him dance to "Kiss From a Rose?" I guess they couldn't figure out how to work the Waltz into "On the Wings of Love!" Since Jake has been on TV, ABC has kicked up the cheese factor 145643215 notches.

Kate Gosselin (Do I really need to tell you who she is?): I really feel for her. She has no experience with acting, performing, nada. The only experience she has on TV is folding laundry, loading her pack in and out of that mini-bus and yelling at Jon. I really hope she gets better and loosens up a tad. Len could've been a little easier on her if you ask me.

Nicole Scherzinger (Lead singer of Pussycat Dolls): Clearly the best dancer and she better be....she dances as a PCD! I don't know if it's fair that she's even on the show but I guess they needed to find someone hot to dance with Derek since I can't think of one partner he had that wasn't very attractive.

Niecy Nash ("Actress" on Reno 911): She's a lot of fun! I liked her performance and I think her "jiggle" is gonna last at least to the mid-point of the competition.

Pamela Anderson (Baywatch actress/infamous for her video with Tommy Lee): She looked like she just wrapped up a wild romp in the sack! I'm curious what she's gonna be like when they throw a ballroom gown on her, with her hair in an up-do and she's gotta bring out her "classy" side....wonder if she has one?

Shannen Doherty (actress on 90120): Boy, has she aged! Honestly, didn't really care about her or her performance. However, I would have loved to see her break out in hives. They must have given her an antihistamine shot beforehand.

Whew! There ya have it folks.....my DWTS wrap-up. I think I just did enough blogging to last me through April. Just kidding....I wouldn't dare leave my avid readers hanging like that :)

The Office Quote of the Day

At Dunder Mifflin, there is a very strict "no lunch with the boss" policy, and I don't know who instituted it. I think it started right after my predecessor stepped down. But at the Michael Scott Paper Company, I really enjoyed having lunch with Pam and Ryan every day. So rules be damned, I wanna have lunch with these people.

~Michael

Homemade Fortune Cookies??.....Who knew!!

After dinner last night, my roommate said she was going to make us a dessert that really wasn't THAT BAD in fat and calories but she wouldn't tell me what it was. I couldn't resist it any longer and I had to run in the kitchen and see what she was cookin' up. To be honest, I had no clue what it was. There was something in the oven that looked like blobs of batter so of course when I spotted a bowl of batter, I HAD to stick my finger in it. I told her that it didn't taste like dessert because I tasted flour. At that point, she said, "Um...rewind that!" Apparently, pretty much all desserts have flour....who knew! Have I mentioned that I don't know my way around a kitchen? So I still had no idea what she was fixing until she brought me THESE!!!

They even included a fortune! She knows how much I've been stressing about not finding a house. Love.Her.

On a side note, I think they were the best fortune cookies I've ever had. For 1) they didn't break my jaw when I bit into it and 2) the flavor was much better. Cross your fingers that my fortune comes true!

The Office Quote of the Day:

"Ronni was 'blah'! Things were at an all-time sad here, but then I got an e-mail from Ryan that he was coming back to town and I called the temp agency and I told them, I will pay you any amount, just give me Ryan Howard. Give him to me. I want him. I need him."

~ Michael

Me?....A Vintage Shopper????

As bad as I hate to admit it, I've never enjoyed shopping in vintage thrift stores. There's just something about them that kinda grossed me out. They seemed dirty, smelly and full of junk and I really wouldn't even want to touch anything in fear of my skin getting infected with some type of fungal bacteria. I can't explain the love my roommate has for these types of stores and it was almost torturous for me when she would drag me in one of those places. Well this blogging thing has corrupted me....thanks to the blog Centsational Girl, I find myself wanting to check out these "junk stores" and finding that perfect piece of furniture or some accessories that just need a little facelift. A couple of weeks ago when I was in Paintsville, my mom and I went into a little store that we had never been in before. You don't know how many times I blurted out, "Mom, look at this pair of candle holders for only $5!" "Mom, look at this lamp for $15!" "Mom, look at this vanity for $10!!" What had gotten into me!?! There were so many things I wanted to take home and transform into something UH-MAZING.....but not before properly disinfecting it first :) I refrained from buying anything since I'm in the process of finding a new place to live. I have to find out how much space I have to play with in my new home but you can bet your britches that one of these days I'm gonna go on a thrift store shopping spree and work some magic....Stay tuned!

I'm obviously a couple of weeks behind on blogging which is why I'm blogging about things that happened (you guessed it) a couple of weeks ago. The day after Valentine's Day we had a SNOW DAY!! It was nice to have 3 day weekend, stay at home, not shower and work on crafts all day. However, Tippy had other plans. She literally layed in bed ALL DAY LONG! She would only come downstairs when we sat down to eat breakfast, then lunch and of course to go outside and pee-pee. Other than that, she took advantage of her snow day and slept under the covers until 4pm!

You see that hump in the bed? That's Tippy....and please notice the time on the clock in all pics below.

The Office Quote of the Day:

"Well, you lost zero pounds....No change. One the brighter side, you gained zero pounds."

~ Darryl

WHO DAT!!

I realize I'm a few days late on this post but THE SAINTS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!! Don't get me wrong, I like Peyton Manning but he's been there and done that and this is something that Nawlins' needed! I had this song in my head all week long before the Superbowl and now thanks to this blog post, it's baaaaaaaack!

The Office Quote of the Day

"Well, here we all are, alone but together. No flowers for us. Relationships, we don't need no stinking relationships! I think we should all go around and tell our worst relationship story and then get past it. Just blow through it. Yeah? Kelly, what about Ryan? He treated you pretty terribly."

~ Michael