Happy Halloween!

Last weekend was the Halloween party.  We went as Mummy and Deady.  It was a hit.  We didnt win the prize though.  We were jipped by Dawg, the bounty hunter and his lovely wife.  Oh well.  Maybe next year!



I slacked off quite a bit this  week.  But I am gearing up for another intense 2 months starting tomorrow: Nov. 1.  The weekly mileage will be increasing to double digits.  Holidays are coming up.  I am going to start going to painting classes (I joined the Kingwood Art Society).  Paint a nursery. Bootcamps.  And I have this insane notion that I will always stay in control.  Stay on top.  I know. Definitely insane.

Back on Track

I feel like I am back in a groove again. I have a renewed interest in fitness and nutrition. I went to a birthday party 2 weeks ago and my friend is working on obtaining her license to become a personal trainer. I checked out her book and my interest is peaked. The thick book actually looked interesting. But I dismissed the thought as another Jenny fad, and after researching it some more, I decided not to pursue it.

Since that party, I have been reading about different nutrition plans and I found one on adding green smoothies to the diet. Now what is a "green smoothie"? It is a blended drink with spinach, banana and any fruit of your choice. Although it may look gross, it tastes just like the fruit you added to it. I drank it all week and boy did I get looks at work. I found it entertaining.

Tonight, at boot camp we had a substitute instructor. She was so cool. She is what I envision fitness trainers to be. She was very fit and knowledgeable. She teaches classes to pre-teen girls to boost their self esteem and educate them on nutrition and taking care of themselves. What an amazing way to make a difference. Especially with the high pressures of growing up in Kingwood. I am definitely inspired.

So I had an inkling to go for the personal training path but then I talked myself out of it (after the birthday party 2 weeks ago). Then tonight happened again, I meet Melissa (the boot camp sub), and now I have another strong urge to go for it again. Is this the universe giving me a nudge? I feel all lit up inside. Now seriously, if I am going to do this, I have to keep up the work outs. I can not be a trainer and be out of shape. If I am going to preach what I teach, I have to be the example to follow. If I really want this, I will do this all the way.

And speaking of signs, a lady at work wants to hire me to paint her daughter's nursery. The art always keeps coming. Even when one door opens, like the day care project (I was laid off so to say), another one always opens. I still need to start the drawing of the little boy. I hope to start this weekend. I need to start this weekend. I have to get back on track. I can do this.

Top 10 Things I Learned from IKE

Well, another long hiatus.  Hurricane Ike really knocked me off my rhythm. But I am slowly coming back.  Here is what I learned while being out of power for 13 days.

1. You really can live without technology.  I did not miss TV at night.  Playing scrabble and board games at night was fun.  We would eat outside until dark and then play games by candle light. I will miss that.


2. Kids do play outside.  I went for a run one night and I was amazed at all the parking lots filled with kids playing soccer, or football.  And many just riding bikes.  And the people on the greenbelts.  Everyone was outside.  It was beautiful.


3. Fans are a wonderful invention.  I actually did not mind sleeping with the window open with no air conditioning.  But the hard part was not having air move.  I sweat buckets.  And the night I had with the little fan, was such a happy night's rest.  Since we have recovered, I went out to buy battery operated fans.  It will be the one thing I will not go without next time.


4. Hubby turns into a bear during power outages.  My happy-go-lucky husband is a force to be reckoned with no power over 3 days.  I will be shipping him off to his family in New Jersey the next time a hurricane threatens Houston but he does not know this yet.  Hee hee.


5. Family is a beautiful blessing.  Charlie's family pitched in to buy us a generator.  They blew me away with their kindness and generosity.  I will always be grateful for their sweet thoughtfulness.


6. Go easy on the freezer.  We threw away so MUCH food.  It was ridiculous how much we hoarded.


7. Our house did not flood.  Our complex had over 2 feet of water, but not a drop touched our building.  And the river crested to 25 feet.  I need to buy rubber boots.


8. Next time we go bike riding after a storm, I need to bring a camera to document the adventure.  It was so much fun dodging trees and jumping branches.  Like a video game!


9. Gizzy can bark all night long at Mom's.  I have never been so embarrassed  of the behavior of our baby.


10. I missed sleeping with Charlie and having connection.  Since the power went out, it was too hot to sleep next to each other.  I thrashed and flopped to cool off.  Charlie had to sleep downstairs to find the coolest part of the house.   So we had to sleep separately.  I missed his little butt in our own comfy bed. I only appreciated him more once we were back in the townhome again.

So, yes, we are spoiled.  We have a new appreciation for power.  Now the economy is crashing.  But slowly the world is coming back together again.  I am still running and doing the boot camp.  Getting up at 4:55am isnt happening anymore though.  I am just going to the 6:30pm one instead.  Which I enjoy because I get to work out with the Continental group and they are a hoot.  Still gotta work on the eating though.  One of these days, I will be ready to focus on diet.  And I will start by longer eat Taco Bell.

Raining in the Living Room

Yes, for real. I came home from work today and found it raining in our living room. Our toilet cracked. How does a 30 year old toilet just crack? Beats the heck out of us, but it can and it has happened. Oh, and what a mess it brings. Sigh. Fun stuff. So tomorrow, I get to go shopping for a toilet. I should do a photo documentary of our toilet adventure.

We found out this week that Charlie will not be graduating until December 2010. 2 more years. I am happy that there finally is an end date. It feels good to know. Like the light at the end of a tunnel. Too bad Charlie does not feel that way. I believe 2 years will come and go before we know it and I will enjoy this time as time I will get to spend with him.

Ah, and politics war has begun. It is tough to be so liberal in a conservative state. I am definitely a minority here. I try to be open minded and hear the Repubican's point of view. I watched the Republican convention last night and it didnt do anything for me. All I heard was, military, military and more military. Sigh. It is going to be a long road to the election.

I joined a boot camp this month. Been getting up at 4:55am, 3 times a week. So now I am working out 5-6 times a week since I still have to keep up with my running training. Besides for a small injury that crept up 2 days ago. The working out part is not so bad. Now the diet part, oh, the diet part. That is hard. I get on the wagon, fall off the wagon, jump back on the wagon again. I am not giving up though. I did like the energy I had this week when I ate rabbit food. So there is hope for me yet.

Another drawing...

Well, I missed last Friday's post but we went out to celebrate me finishing another drawing. It was only on the drawing board 8 months. Tee hee! Next up, I want to do a memorial piece for a 18 month old boy that died of cancer last year. I need a short break from animals. And I would love to see the look on my friend's face when she sees it. It should be a nice surprise!

Guess who is BACK?

Back again. Jenny's back. Tell a friend.

Not sure why the long drought. But nevertheless, I am ready to start back up again for my Friday night rambles. We went to a wedding last weekend in New Jersey. It was beautiful. In the mountains, 78 degrees. It was so nice. We were stranded in Newark for a couple of days while trying to get home. That part was not so fun. But we made the best of it. We decided to go into Manhattan Sunday night and visit our buddy Sean, and that is where we watched the USA relay race live, when they beat those smack talking Frenchies. To hear the bar go crazy gave me instant goosebumps.

We had to go through Austin to eventually get home. I had to push a day of work to later in the month. But we made it back. And all is well again. My aunt Claire had a heart attack this week. Gave everyone a real scare. She is okay and recovering nicely. Thank goodness!

I am supposed to run 5 miles tomorrow. Yes, you read that correctly. The part I am worried about is I havent been able to keep up my conditioning runs this week. So I hope all goes well. I stayed home tonight from going to the Astros game so I can get to bed early and have plenty of rest tomorrow and I sure hope that rest will pay off.

Happy 4th of July!!!

One of my favorite holidays!  I just love watching fireworks.  We are in New Braunfels right now staying in condos on the river.  It has been such a relaxing break.  I have been keeping up with my running here (YAY!) but not so well on the eating healthy part.  Today we went swimming, took long lazy naps, watched the boys play football, grilled burgers and then topped the night off by watching fireworks.  :)  It has been such a beautiful summer!