Outdoor gal!

HAPPY SATURDAY!

I am in one heck of a wonderful mood!
I started my morning with a tortilla spread with this beautiful baby and some banana:

obsessed.

I don't have any other meal pictures for you, friends. I'm finally at home on my desktop computer, where I can effectively open pictures and save them and load them into blogger! I've tried blogging on my phone, but can't load pictures in...I've tried blogging before/after school, but can't get into gmail to get my pictures, so they end up lopsided and weird from my school email. It's an issue, and the obvious solution is for me to not be so LAZY and just use my home desktop...but it's just not my favorite computer.
...and then I found $5.00

This has been a great weekend so far!
Yesterday I got home from school and snuggled on the couch with Izzy for awhile, waiting for Ben to get home. We watched a few episodes of the creepiest show on t.v. and I decided that for my sanity, I need to stop watching crime shows. I woke up 3 times during the night, thinking about the episodes I'd watched and how scared I was. I'm a baby...and I need to stick with sitcoms and MTV reality shows.
Anyway, when Ben got home we decided to have Qdoba for dinner! I got a HUGE vegetarian burrito, with loads of guacamole and tons of lettuce and corn salsa! SO GOOD! I ate about 2/3 of it, and Ben helped me finish the rest.
After dinner, we went to my favorite place in the world, where I got my favorite dessert in the world, a cheesecake ice and strawberry custard gelati! Rita's officially opened for the season yesterday, and I was SHOCKED that there were no customers in the store when I went in! My gelati was amazing, and I saved half for later...which I'll probably go grab in a few hours for a yummy evening snack!
Friday night ended in more snuggling on the couch and discussing future plans...which include going back to school for Ben! We got really excited talking about our plans. It makes me feel so grown up! :)
...and I brushed the siamese...

...while she chewed on her scratcher! <3

Saturday started (like I mentioned above) with a peanut butter/banana microwaved quesadilla, and 4 hours of tutoring!
After tutoring I headed over to a local park to meet up with two of my friends, Alyssa and (her sister) Sarah!

I'm readyyyyyyyyyyy!

hey pals!

We did some really fun exercising this morning! There was a pond with a trail around it, as well as an out-and-back trail in the woods. We ran around the pond (1 mile), then walked around it part of the way again to take pictures near an old water mill. Sarah is super into photography (she has a serious camera!).

very historic watermill...and can you see Alyssa? :)

After taking some senior-photo-esque photos, we headed back towards the parking lot, where we planned to run out on the other trail....and then I realized that my car key was missing!!! I was wearing Nike running capris, which have a zipper pocket in the back on the waistband. Apparently, I was absentmindedly playing with the zipper, because when we got back to the car, I discovered that the pocket was empty! UGH. We retraced our steps out about 1/4 mile and back, but didn't find the key. Thankfully, we have a spare at home, so Ben came to the rescue with the extra key!
Since we were planning on running some more, I asked Ben to wait a bit before he came to unlock my car...and thankfully he didn't have plans, so he was flexible!
We ran out 1.7 miles and back, though Alyssa tripped and hurt her shin on a stick, so we did a little interval walking.
It was wonderful! I had such a great time running in the woods! It was about 65 degrees out, sunny, no wind...perfect running conditions! I felt like I could have run for miles and miles...though I think I only totaled about 3.5. I realized today how much I enjoy running outdoors on a trail! I've run in my neighborhood plenty of times, and really dislike running around a subdivision. Every time I think about running outside, I almost dread it, since I really don't have many options for places to run after school, besides my subdivision or the gym. Today's run made me realize how important it is to find places to run where I will ENJOY my run! It didn't hurt to have my girlfriends running with me...the conversation was fun and helped me keep going!

Super Saturday with my bestie!

After our runs and walks, we decided to grab a late lunch/early dinner at a local brewery. I had an awesome boca burger on a wheat bun, topped with cheddar cheese, guacamole, and jalepenos...with lettuce and tomato, too! I also had a side salad in place of fries, which was a poor choice because it was ice berg and a half of a tomato...the fries on my friends plates were way better! Ben came along for the girl's lunch, and after I heard him order a draft beer, I really started craving one! So, I had a bud light draft with my lunch...and it wasn't too bad! I'm sure I could have ordered a fancier beer, but bud light went well with my burger...and reminded me of my college days. :-D

Now, it's time do our taxes and relax! Happy weekend, friends!

mmmm CUPCAKES

me, originally uploaded by foxamyl.

This is just a test post...trying to figure out how to use Flickr to save pics and use with my blog! :)
(I made cupcakes on Sunday...german chocolate, with coconut pecan icing, to be exact. And then I ate one after I showered. My hair is wet and clean, FYI.)

OK, I need help.
How do you all post pictures to your blogs?
Do you use a photo-sharing website to upload pics and edit before blogging? Or do you just upload onto your computer and go from there?
I just can't seem to find a solid solution.

8.2 miles and T-T-T

Hi friends! It's Tuesday! WOOHOO! It's so nice to have a teacher workday on Monday, so that even though today is the first day back with students, it's TUESDAY, not Monday! Make sense? Just go with it.

These past few days have been LOVELY in Raleigh! The weather has been warm and sunny, yesterday the high was 78! But hoo boy, it was wiiiiiiindy! We opened our windows to air out our house, and the wind knocked around our curtains all night.

Yesterday, because it was SO nice out, I decided to head out for a really nice run/walk in my old neighborhood. I had to tutor at 5:30, and I knew the route was around 8 miles, so I figured I should give myself a solid 2 hours to do the down-and-back. WHOA it was windy! But so warm, I loved it! I wore my running tights and new champion tank top, plus my running shoes, watch, and ipod with holder. I also stashed my drivers license and car key in my pants zip pocket. I think that if I start running outside more (which I really want to do!), I need to get a road ID bracelet! Safety first!
I ended up running about 2 miles of the 8...my lungs were sore and tired, probably from being so sick last week. I was able to run 5-minute chunks, broken up with minutes of walking. Though I had planned/wanted to run more of it, I am just so glad that I had the time and the route to do 8 miles! When I got home, I google mapped the route, and it's 8.2 miles! No wonder I was EXHAUSTED by the time I got back to my car!
The totals: 8.2 miles, 1 hour, 50 minutes. 
Tonight I'm going to do a part of that big route with my friend, Alyssa. We're not running until 6:00, and I think it will be dusk-dark by then, so we'll probably just do a few miles down and back. We're both trying to up our endurance for outdoor running, so I'm excited to run with her! I haven't had a running buddy since college!! :)

Oh you guys...the pictures are NOT uploading right.
They're all rotated to the side, so you would have to tip your head to the right to see them correctly.
I'm sorry this blog has become picture-less. That was not my intention!
I need to find my real camera and stop taking dumb iphone pictures, so that I can upload them the right way, instead of sending pictures to my email.
I'm sorry. :(

It's Triple Tangent Tuesday!
Here are a few randoms about me and my life...

1. I hate wearing work pants. Not like I don't wear them at all, I just hate professional, career-wear pants. I do love sweat pants, and mostly don't hate jeans. For work though, if given the option, I will ALWAYS choose a skirt or dress. I do like capris, so I think the issue is that I can never find pants that fit me exactly as I want them to, length-wise. I'm 5'7", and am in a weird in-between height...not quite regular, not quite tall.
Today, for example, I'm wearing a bright pink skirt from Old Navy, with a black floral tank top tucked in, topped with my favorite black Banana Republic 3/4-sleeve sweater. And black flats, of course. Because this giant can't wear heels without towering over everyone else.

2. I love watching shows/reading books start to finish. I got the entire set of seasons 1-6  of Sex and the City for Christmas in 2009, and have had a few marathons, in which I hunkered down and watched all BILLION episodes from start to finish. This happened on Christmas break in 2009, and again last summer. Obviously, times when I don't have school! I'm a little creepy about starting and finishing movies/shows/books. If I start a show, I have to watch all the episodes...definitely can't wait until after school or on the weekends! Same with a new book! When the Harry Potter books were coming out every few years, I did some serious reading marathons!

3. Veggies. I love them and I hate them. I love them stir-fried or in a giant made-for-me salad...but I hate to prep them and eat them raw, just as a snack. Carrots with pb? Good. Celery and Laughing Cow? Delish. Salad from Panera? YUM. But at home, making salad, soup, etc....just doesn't get me really excited. I need to develop more enthusiasm about eating veggies. Any suggestions?

I hope you all are having a wonderful week! Pics soon, hopefully! I have a great picture of the eggplant Parmesan that rocked my world on Sunday. :)

Super Sunday Goals

Happy Sunday Funday!
I hope you're all gearing up for a fabulous Sunday!

Here in Raleigh, we've beem mega-spoiled with several days of warm and beautiful weather!! I feel so lucky to live in a temperate climate where spring comes in February.

I have a few goals to post for today...hopefully seeing them in writing will help me accomplish them!

1. Clean my bathroom. Ew.
2. Paint my nails. Fun!
3. Go for a run with Benjamin. Nervous! Its been over a week!
4. Make eggplant parmesan. I made it last week, but didnt pre-cook the eggplant so it was gross...but I got a pep talk from my friens Shani, so I'm going to try it again!
5. Make some healthy muffins! Carrot? Berry? We'll see!
6. Grade papers. Ugh. I love my job and love my kids, but I haaate grading papers!

Ok, here I go! Grocery shopping and brunch with my manfriend before getting to work on that list!

Random, really.

Well. It's been a weird week. I've been all kinds of sick. Seriously, the worst. I've never ever EVER felt this bad...well, not in YEARS, anyway.
I stayed home from school Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I slept a TON. I ate next to nothing. I drank so much water. And I faithfully took my Z-Pack, hoping to kick this sinus infections behind.
I'm feeling way better today! I still feel a little less than 100%, have a cough and sniffly nose...but my energy level is much higher, and I can deal with work!

I'm trying SO HARD to get some of my random pictures uploaded, but my pictures are not transferring right from my phone to my computer email to blogger...I have no idea what's wrong with it, but there won't be many pictures for now. They're all rotated around and won't stay saved...so the few that are posted are the ones that didn't rotate the wrong way. So dumb!

Here's a cute picture of my mom and sister in the hotel room from our trip last weekend..

beautiful Foxy ladies <3

They were loving their Kindles...and of course I left mine in NC, thinking I'd be SO BUSY I wouldn't have time to read...what a joke! I spent the entire weekend surrounded by tissues and water bottles and cough drops.

My best friend and husband, Benjamin, bought me several boxes of chocolates for Valentine's Day, which were a nice surprise when I got back to NC on Monday afternoon.  I also returned to this chunker, looking big and bad as always...

Daaaaaaad!! PUTMEDOWWWWWWN!

Here's something I NEVER thought I would say...
I miss running.
My legs are itching to get moving! I don't miss working out in general, just running. :-D
I wore my new Brooks all weekend, as I had packed them in anticipation of squeezing in a few runs in Michigan at the hotel...well clearly the runs didn't happen, but I wore my new running shoes when I went to urgent care and to Walmart to get my prescription, as well as on the plane home...and those babies are COMFY!
I know I need to give myself time to recover; I think a teeny bit of my illness can be attributed to pushing myself so hard last week, with 4 early-morning workouts and lots of late evenings tutoring and working. So, I know I want to fully recover before I hit the streets...but speaking of hitting the streets, it's supposed to be a GORGEOUS weekend in Raleigh! Today's high is 76! Tomorrow is close to the same! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to head out to Umstead State Park and run/walk with a girlfriend.
We'll see. I don't want to get sick again, after missing 4 days of school! Being out is really hard.

I hope you all have plans for a wonderful weekend!
I'm feeling better, and hoping to get back to my daily-blog posts! I've been following along with my favorite bloggers, and really missing contributing!

I did NOT see this coming.

You guys.
Michigan has it out for me.
Last time I visited (Christmas break), I got sick the SECOND I got back to NC.
This trip, which was for my grandpa's funeral, I got sick the day I arrived.
Fever, coughing up a lung on the plane, sinus headache like you wouldn't believe.
So so bad. :(
Thankfully my sister and I stayed in a hotel with my mom, who took care of me on Friday night and yesterday.
Worst part? I had to miss my grandpas funeral because I'm so sick.
I flew alllllll the way to Michigan from North Carolina to spend the weekend with my family...and have only left the hotel room to go to Urgent Care to be diagnosed with an upper respitory infection (sinuses, mainly). I then took my sick self to Walmart, where the pharmacy had no erthromycin...so then had to go to Kmart, such an ordeal.
I feel better today, aside from the yucky side effects of the meds. I called the doctors office and requested they call in a prescription for a z-pack, which I know doest effect me so harshly. Fingers crossed!
So I'm still in the hotel room, flying back to NC tomorrow...thankfully my sis is here keeping me company. <3

Moral of the story/weekend: take your vitamins, friends. Drink lots of water, and keep yourselves healthy. Being sick stinks. Being sick on a trip stinks more.

A timeline, of sorts.

Here are the makings to a great day:

step one: order new shoes on Monday, receive on Tuesday because zappos.com rocks my socks off.

hellooo, lovers.

step 2: put on shoes on Tuesday afternoon...run .5 miles on treadmill at home, hate it and stop. admire shoes in a seated position, in front of Criminal Minds marathon.

tip your head..my computer's being a pain and wont save the rotated pic. 

step 3: If at first you don't succeed, try try again....at the gym, this time.
Put shoes BACK on (this time at 4:45 am), admire how cushy and squishy and comfy they are...
Then 4 mile run at 10 min mile pace= 4 miles, 40 minutes! Plus a 10 minute cool down.

get it get it GET IT!

step 4: reward yourself with a delightful banana blueberry protein smoothie. $5.75 but well worth it. Food rewards aren't ideal, obv...but I'm just so proud of myself, and also forgot my breakfast...oops.
(Ok, it's another sideways photo, but not worth posting...you all know what a smoothie looks like. )


And there you have it...4 simple (ish) steps to a great Wednesday. You're welcome!