W Girl Weekend

This last weekend was one of the weekends I look forward to the most and is always over way too fast! It was one of the weekends where my college girlfriends came to visit, and I loved every minute of it. And can I just say how much I love having a house big enough to hold my friends?

Even though everyone rolled into town Friday night and we stayed up late talking, the festivities didn't really kick off till Saturday! I have been really into Jamberry lately, and I agreed to host a little Jamberry party! We had a good time trying on wraps and just having some girl time. I bought 12 Krispee Kreme donuts to the party because I'm the hostess with the mostess.

It just so happened that Lark and Jana's birthday were in the upcoming week, and they were turning 30. In fact, by the end of May, we will all be 30 (I'm the baby)! That is crazy, knowing we have all been friends for 12 years now. Where has the time gone?

So before we headed out for some shopping and dinner, we stopped to get the birthday girls some birthday crowns (and "I'm 30" buttons of course). They looked so cute.

We shopped for a couple of hours, and then we stopped to get dinner and drinks at Bar Louie. Adam joined us. I assumed he would dress up, since we were dressed up, but I guess that never occurred to him (ha). I had never eaten there, and it was so good! They had quite an extensive menu of drinks, we each tried something different, and just passed them around.  The food was awesome too.

For dinner, I took them to one of my favorite local spots, Steel City Pops! They loved it just as much as I always do, that makes my heart happy.

The whole point of the weekend was to see the show Mamma Mia. Personally, I have seen Mamma Mia twice, and it has never not been amazing! It is hilarious, the music is awesome, and one of the best parts comes after the show wraps, when everyone is dancing in the aisles. I could see it again and again.

Sunday morning, I took Jana to Pure Barre, which is one of my work-out passions, and one she had been wanting to try. Of course, we took a Before & After picture. It was definitely a tough class, but I think she liked it!

We had pizza before everyone left for home. It was such a great weekend, I can't wait to do it all over again!

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Five Things

Notes from this Week:

Monday is usually Trivia night for my mother, Adam, and me at a local Mexican joint. And this week was one of those rare weeks where we actually took 1st place! We were on a roll all night, and we knew most of the questions (that is a rarity). While we often will come in third, it always feels so good to win first place! Go Team Blueshell! 

I really am still loving Jamberry, and this week I gussied up my nails for Valentines' Day. I'm loving the hearts, red, and silver. I have gotten so many compliments on them, and it makes me happy every time I see them. I heart pretty nails!

Oh my gosh, how cute is our Linkers? There is basically no room for him to sit with me on the new recliner. But does that stop him? I think not. He still insists on cuddling with me, with his nose under my neck! It may not be entirely comfortable for me, but I kind of love it anyway. He adores his Mama. 

I did Pure Barre for the first time in a couple of months last week. I got so busy with marathon training, that I let that slide a bit. Not only did I forget how hard it is (hello, 3 days of soreness), I forgot how much I loved it! I love the challenge, and because it is so difficult, I always feel accomplished when it's done. I'm looking forward to spending more time at the Barre! Plus, cross training keeps things interesting! 

So this morning when I was getting ready for work, I bent over to pick something up and when I popped back up, I felt a sharp pain in my lower back. For the first time ever, I threw out my back. I was in so much pain, I couldn't even straighten up, and I was walking around like the Hunchback of Notre Dame! I had to call in sick to work. I've spent the day on the couch with muscle relaxers, netflix, a heating pad, icy hot, and Link sleeping on top of me. I feel a little better tonight, but it's been a long day. I guess now that I'm 3 months from age 30, it is all down hill from here.  

P.S-I recently purchased a new domain due to my old one expiring and being more expensive than I wanted to pay. Old address was http://www.one-by-land.com. New address is http://www.one-if-by-land.com/

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The Weekend Report

I'm pretty sad this week is over, but I'm grateful that we had a nice relaxing weekend. Although the majority of it was spent hanging around the house and playing Lego Jurassic Park with Adam. But I did manage to get out and do a few things on my own.

Saturday morning was my usual Saturday morning Pure Barre class. But I could tell even before class started that it was going to be tough! The instructor insisted we use the 3lb weights instead of the usual 2lbs, and wowsa that made a difference!  We also used the tube for warm up and ab work. I was happy to have gotten though it, and I am so sore today! After class, I went to the bistro next door, and got a Pineapple, Mango, & Pear smoothie.  Yum.

Sometimes I just love wearing those bright yellow work-out pants! And I was really feeling my "What the Tuck" socks, after that HARD work-out.

On my way home from class, I made a stop at the Athens Saturday Market (Summer Manifesto #1), and I got some Piper & Leaf AppleCart Blossom tea in the mason jar. I also got a bag of Macaroons from Oh My Macarons by L.C.! They were both such good treats, I love a good farmers' market.

My mother dropped off  her lab for the week since she will be out of town. So we have been playing fetch, and then going on family walks. Having these two together is always a lot of fun, but a lot of work. So it should be an interesting week, it is such a full house.

I finished two books I was in the middle of Dead Mountain & The Princes in the Tower), and I started a new book that is intriguing me, The Night Circus.

I didn't get my long run in this weekend because it is so freakin' hot! Like over 100 hot, so I'm going to get up super early in the morning and run 7 miles, it's going to suck! I hate getting up early, so I hope I can pull it off, and get my lazy butt out of bed.

Only 3 more weeks left in our summer program! I will be so happy when it is over, I'm so exhausted!

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Five Things

I made this hummingbird cake with homemade cream cheese frosting via this Southern Living Magazine recipe for our last book club. It was sooo, sooo good. Probably the best cake I ever made. Everyone went back for seconds, and that never happens. So proud of how this one turned out. It was the crown jewel of my baking career.

These two are so funny. Link has only met his Aunt Carlee three times, and each time he does not understand why she doesn't want to play with him, but he just keeps on trying. He used to be scared of her, but he has been emboldened by his time in doggie daycare, and Saturday, he just kept barking in her face, like he was saying, "Hey! Play with me!" We finally gave them bones, and they settled down, and ignored each other for the rest of the afternoon. 

I bought my mother and I tickets to see Garth Brooks in Birmingham in June, and I'm so freaking excited!  I have always, always loved Garth Brooks, even since I was a little girl. I have fond memories of "The Thunder Rolls," and "Friends in Low Places." I just can't wait. We also got a room at the Sheraton for the night of the concert, and it will be a nice mini getaway.

I've really been trying to cook more weight loss surgery friendly recipes, and I made this recipe for taco casserole from bariatric foodie over the weekend. I can't believe how good it is, I ate it all week long! Color me surprise about how good Greek yogurt is as a substitute for sour cream.

I'm still super in love with Pure Barre, I've already been twice and I'm going tomorrow morning. It is such a hard work out for me, I guess that is why love it. When I complete a set, I feel strong, and powerful. And I just can't wait to get better and stronger. I want to learn to plank!  I learned at my last appointment with my surgeon/nutritionist that I had lost a lot of muscle strength in my stomach, and my nutritionist wanted me to work on my core strength. I think this will do the trick.

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Trying Pure Barre

I've been looking for a new way to add a little cross training to my running routine for a while. I've been hearing about Pure Barre for a while through the blog world, and I decided to google it to see what it was all about. It turns out it is kind of a yoga meets ballet type of fitness class. I discovered there was a studio not 20 minutes from me. A class for first timers was just 10 dollars, so I decided to give it a whirl. 

This was a big deal for me. First of all, I can truly be painfully shy, and the whole idea of struggling through a work out class in front of a whole bunch of people terrified me. When I was 300+ pounds I quit yoga in college after the first class because I just couldn't do it. It was mortifying.

Now that I have lost so much weight, and I am a regular runner. I felt like I was finally ready to attempt another group fitness class. I wore my  princess half-marathon shirt to the class to make me seem more legit. Ha.

When I got to class on Saturday, I was super nervous. I bought some Pure Barre sticky socks to work out in, and then I gathered the work out supplies (tubes, ball, & hand weights). I was shocked to run into an acquaintance at the class. Which of course, just added to my insecurity, because now I would bumble through a work-out in front of someone I knew (and it would keep me from making a run for it).

Soon, we started the work-out. It was pretty fast paced, with little to no down-time.  I did pretty well during the warm-up stage, but I of course had to modify some positions, mainly the plank position. Because I've never have been able to plank ( future fitness goal). The instructor had to help me several times adjust my posture, but not as much as I would have thought.

I actually ended up loving it. 

I chatted with the instructor a little after class, and told her how I'm a runner, but that the class was super challenging. It obviously works different muscles than running a half-marathon. She told me about how she was a runner, and the only thing she did was add pure barre to her running routine, and it shaved 20 minutes off her marathon time.

I do think that working on my muscular strength can only make me a better runner. And I am ready for a new challenge, so I signed up for a month of unlimited classes. 

Finishing the class made me feel pumped and strong in the same way running does. That is why I'm excited to keep going. I can't wait to see how I'll improve.

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