Saturday, June 30, 2012

PepperTree

We are no longer PepperTree virgins :) Ryan was FINALLY able to talk me into going there for ice cream (and yes, this was after we went to Urbn for breadsticks and pizza, Mother Earth for art and beer, and then to PepperTree for milkshakes). Well, of course we had to document this monumental occasion.




PS Yes, it is just a Tastee Freez, but I won't ruin Ryan's dreams :)

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Thankful Thursday

Watching the Tigers while working out [This one may sound strange, but normally the Tigers aren't on TV out here. And if they are, it is normally a time when we are at home, without cable. So I count myself a lucky little fan when I walk into the gym Wednesday after work to see the Wednesday Night game on the ESPN. Watching something (even if it is the Tigers losing) makes the time seem to go by faster.]

PS. I do NOT work out with the mask on... It would slide off due to the sweat :)


Disneyland Annual Passes [We went up to Disney this past weekend and I was reminded at how thankful I am for the annual passes. Since we aren't dropping $80+ a ticket, we don't feel like we have to cram everything in during the day. We got up there (to check out the new Cars Land) around 9am and left by about 2:30pm. We were able to check out the new stuff, ride a few rides, grab some lunch, and head home. And oh yeah, Disney makes me SMILE.]

Me trying to do my Lotso face... I don't think I did it...


Camp Fires [The past couple weekends we have really been livin' up the sumer nights - bonfires (aka 'bomb' fires if you speak with Ryan's ""accent""), BBQs, etc. Thankfully some of our friends have yards (unlike our balcony) with firepits and they allow us to come over and enjoy their scenery :). We have had s'mores, banana boats, campfire cones, and other delicious, tasty treats. Not only that, but I feel like there is just something about campfires (even though I normally hate smelling like them) that is just lovely and nostalgic. I am looking forward to getting a house with a yard in the future and enjoying fires of our own one day.]

Maxin' and relaxin' in my beach chair at a backyard bonfire 

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Dexter Teaser



Showtime is out with a teaser trailer for the coming season of "Dexter," premiering September 30th.  The teaser doesn't give much away, but there are plenty of questions that Dexter fans are dying to have answered.  

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Haunted Heart Official Video

Working Out


Yesterday afternoon I went down to the gym with my ‘coach’. We set a plan for the next month. I am excited that he thinks I can still make my goal for my half marathon, which is just a couple months away. [Right now I am shooting for a 2.5 hour finish – but technically just being able to finish is a HUGE goal I think, especially with this recent IT band dilemma]

We scheduled my elliptical workouts – three times a week. One day of long intervals, one day of short intervals, and one day of just straight running. [In the past I have just been doing the straight running part – getting on the elliptical putting it on a steady level and then read my book for 45-60 minutes]  I am interested to see how the intervals will be. (I also have to figure out if my watch can do custom times like that, or I will be doing a lot of watching on the elliptical screen J).

We scheduled some weight/ muscle workouts – two times a week. Now I know this may sound super basic and lame, but I do NOT work out in the gym. I mean I will run on the elliptical or ride the exercise bike, but I am not in there lifting weights, do squats, etc. I think the last time I was doing things like that was back in college (which probably didn’t last long if I remember correctly, hehe). Since I am not doing the workouts to get huge and muscle-y, but more to work on my balance, strengthening the muscles I use when running, etc, I am doing a lot of everything on both days – abs, legs, back, arms. Yesterday we went over the exercises (but not the full set, just so that I could get an idea of what I needed to do, etc). I have to say, even with only doing it a little bit, I can already feel it in some of my muscles (mostly my triceps and upper body – since I have little to NO strength up there).

We also scheduled bike rides – once a week. I am hoping that Ryan and I can do this on Saturdays. I guess I didn’t even think of it, but Matthew’s thought is that I need to train my body to be going (even if it is using different muscles and doing a different type of exercise) for the length of time I will be running. That way, when I get back in running (and especially my longer runs), my body is already used to working for the longer times. So he said to start off around 1.5 hours and work our way up about 15 or so minutes a week, until we get up to about 2.5 or so hours.

Now that I’ve got my next 3 or 4 weeks planned out, here’s to hoping I can stick with it. I mean, I am sure when I put my mind to it I will be able to do it, I just don’t want to get discouraged if it is harder than I am expecting J

Puppy Update


If you are friends with my on Facebook then you probably already saw this, but just in case you haven’t been on there lately or don’t check it frequently, I figured I would post a quick update on the latest puppy that we had applied to adopt.

Ryan called on Thursday to see if there was any news (we had originally gone up there last Friday to meet the foster mom and pup and she said we should hear within the week). They told us we could hear by tomorrow, which was Friday. We waited and waited and no news. By the time Ryan got home from work and surfing (we both have ‘half days’ on Friday) it was about 4:30 and they had closed at 4. We called them Saturday morning right around the time they opened (10am) to see what was going on. They said that they ended up placing both puppies (the one that we wanted and his ‘sister’) together late the night before. When we went up and saw him last week, they did tell us that they would prefer to adopt them out as a pair, but if no one was interested they would split them up.

We were both (and still technically are) crushed. We had been envisioning for a week at that point of this little pup coming home with us and being ours – I know, it was probably our fault for getting our hopes up. I think for the time being we are going to hold off on any more puppy searches. [We have put in our application for 3 or 4 now and have been turned down every time – I am just tired of it right now] I am sure there is a perfect pup out there for us, and we will find him eventually, when the time is right.

Thank you for all of the prayers, encouraging notes, kind thoughts, etc about the puppy search. Please know that we truly appreciate you and your kindness!! 

Paws Mask

I went and checked the mail last night and had a package from my parents... It was a bubble wrap mailer, and I had no idea what could be in it. I opened it up and to my surprise it was TWO PAWS MASKS and a MICKEY PIN! My parents had went to a Tigers game a couple weeks ago when my dad was in Detroit for a conference (like they needed an excuse to go to a game :). I think they have been to 4 or 5 in a span of about 1 or 2 months) and they had a super fun giveaway.



So of course we had to try them on and send some THANK YOU pictures :)




Monday, June 25, 2012

Ride Pictures

We love that at Disney you can take pictures of the pictures that they take of you on rides :) [Cedar Point is another story, huh Mom?! They about chop off your arm if they see you taking pictures of their shots] Anyway, below are a couple of the ones we got yesterday (it also helps that we know where the cameras are).

Screamin' - Moose Ears

Tower of Terror - Check out the guy in the front row with the news paper :)

Tower of Terror - Owl Eyes

Buzz Lightyear - Tongue out (Ryan is always too focused to take pictures in this one)

Splash Mountain - Muscles (Ryan was a little too scared to put his arms up on this one)

Splash Mountain - The guy in the front was literally wet all the way through after the ride

Cars Land

Ryan and I went up to Disney yesterday morning. Our annual passes will be blocked out for most of the summer, so this was the last time we would be able to go up there. It had been about 2 weeks since Cars Land opened, so we figured that it would still be packed, but decided that we would at least walk through it and check it all out before the fall when we go back. [We are extremely happy we agreed on that plan, since when we got to the park around 9am, the line for Radiator Springs was already 4 hours and the other Cars rides were already at 2 hours.] We didn't bring our big camera, so the pictures are from Ryan's phone, but you will still see the AWESOMENESS of Cars Land (and if you haven't seen the movies, DO IT ALREADY!).













The rest of the pictures can be seen here. [We are excited to go back in a couple months - hopefully the lines have died down a little and we can ride the rides and see it at night when everything is lit up in neon.]

Saturday, June 23, 2012

#4002

What a milestone, huh?! (I know, I missed it by two, but I don't really notice the post numbers until after I have published them.) This is my four-thousand and second blog post. CRAZY, huh?! And to think I started it up thinking that I would probably not stick with it for more than a week or so... Six years later, and four thousand plus posts, I AM STILL HERE!! And hopefully one or two of my readers are too :)

New Shoes!!

Ry and I hung out at the pool most of the day (drowning our sorrows in the sun). Before church I told him I wanted to go to TJ Maxx for a little shopping spree (we had sold a few items on Craigslist and I had money burning a hole in my pocket). I got a couple shirts (1 sweater to wear over things when it gets chillier, 1 longer sleeve shirt, and 2 tshirts) and headed to the shoe section. Now it is hard for me to buy shoes. Not because I don't like them, but because Ryan works at a shoe/ sandal company, so I get LOTS of sandals and I normally ask for TOMS for holidays - which really is the majority of my foot wear. Well, we walked over and I saw two pairs of shoes that I HAD to get. Both of them are running shoes. They are actually more of the minimalist style (which I am interested and excited to try out).

The first pair were cool Nikes - Nike LIVESTRONG Free Versa Fit+ Womens Training Shoes. (The bright yellow color drew me in)




    Womens Training ShoesThe Nike Free Versa Fit offers a more barefoot feel with extreme flexibility in highly active areas of the shoe. Lightweight, breathable mesh upper, Nike Free technology in the sole and full length Cushlon midsole make up the key features of this one-of-a-kind training shoe. 

The other pair were awesome Merrell Vibram ones - MERRELL BAREFOOT PACE GLOVE.



  • Experience minimalistic running with the durable and lightweight Merrell® Barefoot Pace Glove.
  • Breathable mesh, microfiber upper with rubber toe bumper and contrasting overlays for a modern, sporty appeal.
  • Elastic collar provides ankle room while the Omni-fit™ lacing system provides a secure fit.
  • Microfiber footbed treated with Aegis® antimicrobial solution resists odor to keep your feet fresh.
  • 4mm compression molded EVA midsole cushions.
  • 1mm forefoot shock absorption plate maintains forefoot flexibility and protects the foot by distributing pressure.
  • Ball-to-heel drop keeps you connected to the terrain.
  • TC-1 rubber, Vibram® Trail Glove outsole provides durable grip on a variety of surfaces.
  • Wash as needed in cold water, gentle cycle and air dry.



I am pretty stoked on both pairs :) Now to wait the 30 days to let my IT band heal and to use them in full force!!

Fairy Friends

I took some pictures of the fairies while we were on the porch this morning.





Look at his fuzzy butt!










This is Chubbs. The one that is very protective and territorial over our feeder. You can see the mean look in his eyes. He would stab another fairy with his beak, I bet!

And I can't forget our gnome friends :)

Quite the family photo, huh?