Whewww! I’m currently HURTING today! I took a “red-eye” flight back from WA last night and everything was jacked from the beginning. My dad and I hit major festival traffic going over to Seattle making the trek about 3 and half hours. I got to the airport and my tickets wouldn’t print. Turns out there had been a change in my flight – no worries, since it would get me to Chicago earlier. Well, we were delayed since someone forgot to file a flight plan (whhaaa???) so I got in late. On the plane, I was put in an exit row, which sounded amazing but the woman in the middle seat kept stealing my leg room. NOT okay with this! Sleep was a bit hard to come by and then I had to BOOK it to the train into the city. From there I climbed Mt. Everest the stairs up to Clinton St (haha, they didn’t have an elevator – eek!) and made it to Union Station in record time. Oh yeah, there was a freak rain shower on the way there! I managed to grab some breaky/coffee and race back down to my train, which left about 2 mins later! Yep, this little comedy of errors seemed out of control at the time and kind of on the stressful/exhausting side but ultimately, I made it back to my furry little guy, Simon.
All in all, I had a fantastic time home with my family. I never stopped running from activity to activity, seeing friends and family and of course some shopping with my sister, Heidi :) Here are some fun pics
bananas don’t travel welloh yeah – just ran a wee little ways ;)got to spend a day and a half with these cutie “goils”! Sarah and I have been besties since before 1st grade and these are her little ones!worked on my photobombing skillzzz – this is my super radical grandma!discovered a little slice of heaven called “a wine walk”played tourist in my hometown – this is on the pier facing port angelesthe slug – the PNW’s official, umm… creaturehad me a bit o’ spumoni – delish!yeah… the height totally skipped me! these are two of my fave little “big” kiddies and they are only 16!my second mom and niece at my mom’s memorial bbqheid and I taking a break from making corn dogs at the party to pose all prettywhy YES, that is a horse head in my bed! my dad is a bit twisted and we do love our movies! I laughed so hard when I went to bed that night and found it, along with a note that said I had been “warned” by the mafia ;)
Haha, there you have it – a bit of my life/vaca in a nutshell! Actually, I left out a huge chunk – CrossFit. But that will be tomorrow and I don’t have any pictures of the carnage workouts. I do want to give you my little review though so stop back! OHHH! And of course some pics of my treasures I brought back with me!
Apparently, I have a bit of problem figuring out what is a dress and what is a shirt. I was at Macy’s this weekend and pulled out this really cute sparkly, ruffled number. The sales woman was standing right there and I asked, “is this a dress?” Sales lady, “uh, no, it’s a shirt”. Oopsie! She totally thought I was a floosie :) (great scott – do NOT check the definition on-line! I was trying to make sure I spelled it correctly and they are very harsh in their descriptions!)
But alas, I am NOT! However, two years ago, I did buy a dress or umm, shirt that I wore as a dress. My running partner at the time swore it was a dress so who was I to believe?! This year, I’m not sure my selections are as scandalous. Here are the ones I currently have in my possession
dress number one
Here is dress option number one. Yes, it is quite possible it’s a shirt but I decided not to ask and just go with it. Please know that I am short as in barely 5’2. So what may be “hoochie-mama” status on some people is “perhaps a bit short” on me! This dress didn’t photograph well but it’s really cute
dress number two
This one is totally not something I would have expected to be a contender and what my staff member thought would be a “brunch” dress. But it’s not. Just trust.
Then I have another one in the mail. It should be here soon. Until then I am looking HOT tonight. I am still wearing the shirt/flowered sweater combo I wore to work and then these
love the polar bears
Yes, I look like I escaped from someplace that only allows elastic wasted pants and had loads of locks on the doors.
Annnnnnnddddd, get this, I’M A SPONSORED ATHLETE!
Can you believe it? Anyone I went to grade school with sure can’t – they saw me in action. Although, I was a helluva dodgeball player, must have been some inner anger coming through. Oh and I could ROCK the parachute during PE too. Those two days I totally shined, the other days required hand-eye coordination… which is why I run.
For our Ragnar team, one of my teammates, Jamie (of RunningDivaMom) has been working her bum off to get us sponsors. When I first heard this was happening, I never dreamed anyone would want to sponsor us but they do and they have! Here is the list so far:
Blue Steel Sports – they are providing us with anti-chafe cream. Okay, when you are running upwards of 15 to 19+ miles in a 36 hour period, anti-chafe cream is pretty essential. Thankfully, Jamie thought of this because I had forgotten that chaffing was a possibility. Oh and get this, they are a WA company – high-five for a home state sponsor!
Given Brand Sports – they are giving us arm bands to wear to store GU, keys or whatever suits our fancy. Their website looks pretty hardcore – I feel more like an athlete already.
Polar Bottle – water bottles so we stay hydrated on our above mentioned journey. It keeps water cold and BPA free – love not getting extra hormones. Oh yeah, and I love polar bears, remember? I know they are mean but there is just something about them.
BondiBands – very pumped about a bondiband especially since they will be made from skull and crossbones material to go with our pirate theme. I know, I’ll look even more dangerous than I am! I wouldn’t be surprised if I am asked to join a biker gang
Chrissy’s Knee High Socks – hold the phone folks – knee highs!! I LOVE me a good knee high and we get TWO PAIRS! Wahoo! One will be skull and crossbones and the other will have our team name. Super excited for these puppies
Running Chics – first of all, their logo is way cute – go check them out. We are getting Running Chic totes to carry all of our business on our trek. Truth be told, I’ll probably carry this forever so if you think see me in the airport you’ll know it’s me by this tote.
Build A Sign – they are making custom decals and signs for our vans. YaY!
Again, I am just so thrilled, amazed, speechless (ok, clearly not but you get the idea) about all of this. My freshman year of high school I joined the swim team and we had to write our goals on a sheet of paper. My goal was to become an athlete. Look at me now!
*It dawned on me today that I have less than a week to find the perfect birthday dress. Since my luck has been so crummy lately, I wasn’t sure how it would turn out but I ventured to the mall to see what I could find. Now, if any of y’all need to be reminded my bank card number was stolen last Monday. What that meant for today’s shopping excursion was I had ONE check and my Macy’s card. I didn’t want to break out my credit card so I left it at home. I know, I totally live on the edge.
Okay, real quick, my new bank card isn’t supposed to be here for 5 to 7 days. Do banks realize how FREAKIN’ HARD it is to write checks these days?! I swear, I practically had to sign my life away and get a full body search just to make a purchase at Wal-Mart the other day. Couldn’t the bank put a rush on that puppy?
Rant over… I kicked off my shopping at Macy’s by taking back a purse I had purchased over winter break. Here are my shopping tips for finding the “perfect” ________. Start searching the store – in the section you need. Yep, sounds pretty elementary but I found myself getting sidetracked in the shoe department and had to pull myself out. I did my first round and picked up anything and everything that I thought might look cute. This is important, don’t focus on whether it’s “your style” or not. If it catches your eye, grab it. You just never know.
my arms were almost falling off!
I had an idea of what I was looking for when I first got there and I find anytime I have an important shopping trip, coming in with an idea of what I want is important. See that green dress? I thought that might be the one but alas it was too long.
the maybe's... but still part of the first trip to the fitting room
I find it helpful to try things on and put them either in “absolutely NOT”, “maybe” and “YAY!” piles. This way I can see if I am making any progress. Today was one of those “everything fits” days! As many of you know, these are the best shopping days :) Sometimes, it makes it hard to make decisions but there sure is something magical about them!
After the first trip to the dressing room, I went out and looked around again at the sections I missed the first time. Yes, I realize for some of you, this sounds like torture. This is typically why I venture out on these types of shopping trips on my own. But hit up sections that you didn’t go through the first time – petites, juniors, parts of the women’s sections – whatever. Also, really look through the sales racks. Especially at stores like Macy’s, everything is just shoved in there and you have to spend time looking through it all. Then I also end up trying the same thing on twice or in a couple of different sizes. I feel fit is important and women’s sizing is the WORST as far as discrepancies.
this was my third trip in the dressing room
I have also found it’s important to be brutally honest with yourself if you are having a “everything fits” shopping day. What do I really like rather than just enjoying how it looks. Then it’s time to come to some decisions. I found three dresses that were super cute and a few tops. In the third dressing room trek, I brought in some different of sizes of items that I had already picked out just to make sure I knew what I wanted. Again, I’m a bit obsessive about this part so if you like what you have the first time you probably don’t have to try it on again!
umm... don't forget to fix your hair before you leave the dressing room!
So? How did I fare today? One dress is not a birthday option but it is very cute. Not to mention originally is was $138.00 (I know, crazy!) and I paid $22.00 for it! Seriously! Actually, I didn’t pay over $28.00 for anything I purchased today, which was amazing to say the least. I found 2 dresses that I think are birthday party contenders but a fashion show is a MUST! At the register, I went through my pile of clothes again and cut a few things to make sure I was buying a) what I wanted b) what I needed (and yes, I use this term loosely) and c) items that looked the best.
Those are my best tips for successful shopping! It is time consuming but I have found it helps to ensure I don’t make rash decisions that will cost me – literally and figuratively.
When I got home, I did a Shape video since it was almost dark out and I want to put more effort into cross training. I also want to look GOOD on Friday. I have forgotten how tough the video could be if you put the effort in and my arms are a bit wobbly. After the video I was going to jump rope for two increments of 5 minutes. Ummm… I made it for a minute and a half. Haha, jump roping is hard work! I would like to create a circuit using the jump rope and few other moves but apparently I’ll have to build up to it a bit!
I’m going to leave you with this funny pic of my brother. My brother helped my dad put away the holiday decorations and I guess this is what happens
Amy's Recipe for Disaster 