13.1 miles....because we're only half insane

I’m pretty sure my sister hates me.  See, she’s motivated and I’m not.  So she goes out and runs a half marathon, while I run a 5K.  I was okay with my time, but not totally.  But instead or letting me train to do better on a 5K or just up the ante to a 10K, my sister (we’ll call her Thing 2, since I’m obviously Thing 1, oh yea, btw, we're twins), asks me if I want to do a half marathon.  Well I’m way too proud to say no.  And I have this nagging feeling that I need to be healthy.  It could be Pinterest and its fitness category or every magazine that I own or the celebrities that self-esteem experts tell us not to compare ourselves too.

Whatever it is, I accepted the challenge.  I completed a triathlon this past summer and on Saturday, my fiancé (who from here on out will be known as “RSG” for Real Southern Guy) ran our first 5K.  I think this picture best describes the experience

image via Pinterest

I had a lot of fun at the 5K, but it was still harder than I thought it was going to be.  It was my first experience running with that many people around me.  And let me let you in on a little secret...kids will out run you.  Get over it, they have a lot of energy.  I don't.  They don't share their energy very well.  God Bless them.

So, RSG will be my coach for the half marathon.  He'll also be my running partner along with my sister.  I have no idea if they'll actually stay by my side in the race, and it really won't matter since I won't be able to breath well enough to talk to them.  Anywho, RSG was a runner in high school and still out runs me no matter how much more I exercise than he does.  I blame it on his long legs.  He beat me on the 5K by more than 6 minutes.  But he made sure to meet me at the last 1/10th of a mile and encouraged me to finish strong.  He's a keeper. 

RSG found this workout schedule for us to train by.

The circuit that I'm doing:

image via Pinterest

 

The plan is to do this for 2 weeks.  Week 1 is 2 sets and week 2 will be 3 sets.  I will probably find a different circuit to do for every 2 weeks.  Check back with me Sunday and I’ll let you know how that 7 mile run goes……YIKES

Love and health,

Meredith

Trash to Treasure #1: Coffee Table

I hope that this can be a series of posts.  I am super thrifty and have found so many online tutorials about how to revive old worn out pieces, that I think it’s going to be a habit that I try to stick with.  The plan is to only buy essential pieces for our home, and everything else will be hand me downs that have been refinished or thrift store finds that I bring back to life.  A lot of this will depend on Jason’s patience with me and my creativity.  I get the feeling that the first one will wear out quicker that the latter.

But  anywho, here is our first project: a revived coffee table

Backstory: Jason owns a beautiful cedar chest that we will NEVER part with.  We used it as our coffee table for the first year in our house.  But after 12+ months of fighting with the remote signal to reach the cable box over the coffee table, I have had enough.  Plus, this is about the time that I started reading a bunch of craft blogs.  Funny how that works, huh?  So one Goodwill trip, I come home with what has to be the ugliest coffee table in the history of America.  JASON COMPLETELY AGREED.

BUT IT ONLY COST $4!!!!!!!

$4! YEP, LET ME SAY AGAIN, $4!!!

So it was mine.  It sat in the shed for a month or two and after a recent trip to Lowe’s, aka, my favorite store ever!, we had supplies to bring this baby to life.  (Sorry I don’t have pictures of the before)

But here is the after:

What we did:

      1.       I hated the grove around the top that you can still kind of see.  So we filled it in with wood filler and sanded that down after it dried

      2.       All of the legs, the frame and the top were sanded down

3.       The legs and frame received about 2 coats of primer

4.       I painted the legs and frame with Krylon Hotel Vanilla spray paint.  The top received a total of 4 coats of a mahogany stain and then a couple of coats of wood sealer/protector

5.       Jason cut me a second shelf and fit it in.  This is why he’s super handy to have around, and as long as I let him play with power tools, he doesn’t complain about my crafting quams.  Plus, he normally gets a new toy out of the venture.  I have a feeling that will eventually come to an end.  But then again, those guys at Black and Decker are pretty innovative.

6.       The second shelf was painted and sealed

       7.       Everything was put together

The end result:

Oh yea, I did distress it a little.  I kind of wish I had done a little more distressing.  But it was my first project and didn't want to go overboard.  Live and learn

You're dagum right I straigtened up and dusted and even lit a candle before I took these pictures

Zeus got nosey, so he got to be in the picture

Yes, we do have a subscription to both of those magazines.  It's my attempt to be both fashionable and fit at the same time.

Hahah!!  Both of those are gift subscriptions, who am I kidding?

BTW: When Jason called his dad, who is a manager at a furniture plant, he said the following: “I’ve been making a coffee table.”  Pssh!  WTF, I did the hard part, I spent the $4!!  (Love you baby, thanks for the help!)

At first we thought: Gosh! It sure it short.  The cedar chest was so tall and that was the problem, so it took a little while to get used to, but I love it.  And after the inital reaction, I haven't heard Jason say anything about it's short stature, so I guess he's become accustomed to it to.  Just food for thought.

 What do you guys think?  Are my trash to treasure ideas good or should I just leave the furniture making/painting/reviving to the professionals?  AKA: Target and Bed Bath and Beyond

Love and Seasons Greetings,

Meredith

Christmas Time

Okay, I'm going to try and post a little more often in December.  But everything I want to write about is what I'm making for everyone for their presents.  It's going to be a handmade holiday for Me and Jason. 

But to start off the Christmas spirit, I'll start with this Christmas survey.  I found it at this blog site: The Sunset Lane.  It took me a minute to figure out that it originally came from this site though: I Rock So What.


So here goes.  I would love to see everyone else's answers too!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate on 99% of my winter days, but I always make sure to get at least one cup of Egg Nog with a little something special to top it! 

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa most definitely wraps presents under the tree.  Stocking stuffers are left unwrapped though.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White is so pretty.  So definitely white.  It helps the colored ornaments stand out more.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No.  Jason said you have to shoot it down from the trees, which is both tricky and unnecessary.  We do have a pretty holly bush or two outside the house.  Maybe I should bring some of it inside.

5. When do you put your decorations up? When I can get me house clean enough to junk it up again.  So probably right before the girls come over next week for a early Christmas get together. 

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Grandma’s sausage casserole and the orange juice that she makes you drink.  I love both, but it makes me laugh that Grams makes sure we have OJ on Christmas morning.  I guess it makes her feel good knowing that at least one day a year she can help with our Vitamin C intake.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Lying in bed with my sister and poking her until she woke up and swearing up and down that I just heard Reindeer bells.  She thought I was crazy, but I KNOW WHAT I HEARD!!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? The one year that mom and dad forgot to sign some of the presents from themselves.  But I should have realized it when I was about 6 and we caught mom and dad still putting the toys out when Sis and I got up to go to the bathroom.  They did good though, claiming “we were just seeing what Santa got you before you did.  So hurry up or he’ll turn around and take them back since you’re not asleep.” Ha!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Oh yea, we go to Grandpa’s every year on Christmas Eve to exchange presents and stories there.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? It’s a mix of purple and gold ornaments (for ECU, Go PIRATES!) and hand me down ornaments (since I apparently didn’t own any when I was 21, thanks mom….I think) and funky ornaments given to me by friends throughout the years.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Dread it!  It’s pretty for the 10 minutes that I want to be outside in it.  Then bluh!!  Get rid of the awful stuff.  Besides, when in NC do we EVER get just snow?  Too much ice and bad drivers for me.

12. Can you ice skate? I guess.  Been a few times, but we don’t have many rinks in driving distance around here and the lakes don’t freeze with thick enough ice to skate on.  I went with my best friend Em once though and played freeze tag.  She was taking a break and I didn’t know it until I was already going up to tag her.  She saw me and next thing I know, I slide tackled her.  It wasn’t very nice of my 15 year old self.  Oops.  Sorry lady!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Not really, because I like all my gifts.  The boom box with the Alan Jackson CD when I was 9 was pretty kick ass though.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Trying to stay focused on what the Holidays are really about.  It seems that every year, it gets harder and harder.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Snow Cream!  Does that count?

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Well, we can’t do it anymore, but calling and talking to my great-grandparents in Iowa and Arkansas was always really special to me.  And when I was a little bit older, seeing my Grandpa hand out money envelopes.  We always joked that he was the God Father.  It was never about the money, but the smile on that old man’s face when you gave him a kiss on the cheek.  Aww…shucks, I’m starting to tear up now just thinking about him and all my grandparents that aren’t here anymore.  I SURE DO MISS YOU GUYS!

17. What tops your tree? A star.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Of course I prefer to give presents.  But I would be lying if I didn’t say that receiving presents isn’t totally awesome too.

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? They make pretty decorations, but otherwise….Meh.  They take too long to eat.  Small candy canes are a good alternative though.

20. Favorite Christmas movie?  National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation!!

Here are a few of my favorites quotes too:

            I hope no one I know sees me standing in the yard in my pajamas!

            Shitter’s full

            Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanakuah, Kiss my ass, Kiss his ass

            Why is the floor wet Todd?! I don’t know Margo!!

And of course the best quote from the entire movie:

I don’t own this movie, but sure would love to have it in my collection *hint* *hint*

21. Saddest Christmas Song? Silent Night

22. What is your favorite Christmas song? Little Drummer Boy

I would love to hear everyone else's answers.

All my love and here's to a wonderful holiday season!

Meredith