My new ride! 

On Saturday, Dan and I ran six miles in preparation for our Kilometers for Cam 10K this coming weekend. It was nice to get a long run in, especially since my running lately has been totally sporadic. I'm excited to race this weekend since I haven't done one since June. AND, this is my first ever 10K, despite running two half marathons prior to this! 

After we showered and drank amazing banana chocolate peanut butter spinach smoothies, we headed out to look for new cars for me. I've had my beloved silver Honda Civic since I graduated college in 2005, and while she has served me well, it was time to upgrade to something bigger (literally) and better. I absolutely LOVED my Civic, but last winter's commute to work was SCARY, and I wanted something with a little heavier body. But, being the cheapskate I am, I was also worried about gas mileage, and had to take that into consideration. 

Going in to Saturday, I was most interested in the Mazda CX5. I liked the look of it and the stats were great too! My second choice was a Honda CRV, which I've heard wonderful things about from pretty much every CRV owner. We started at the Mazda dealership where I test drove a CRV first, followed by the CX5, and I was shocked to find that the CRV felt better to me. The ride was roommier and smoother, and both Dan and I commented that we felt very at home during that first test drive. 

So, we switched gears a little bit and headed over to the Honda dealership instead. I drove three or four more cars there, but ultimately had my eye on a 2011 CRV with only 12,000 miles on it. A brand new car scares me a little bit (what if I mess it up?!), but a slightly used newer car is right up my alley. We talked numbers and settled on one we liked with our salesman, and even got a great trade in on my little Civic (I miss her, a little!). I almost cried when it was time to turn her keys over, but THEN I got the keys to my shiny new car and the smile quickly returned. 

The one downside to my new baby? She smells. Like smoke. Which is the EXACT problem I had in 2005 when I bought my 2004 Civic. 

I don't know what it is about me that attracts me to cars smokers have used! But, apparently, I am attracted. Annoying. 

So, I've been spending the past few days Febreezing my car and stocking it full of fresh air fresheners. The September heat (90 degrees, what?!) is only helping to intensify the smell, but I'm hoping it will dissipate sooner rather than later. At least, that's what happened in my last car (I think. It was eight years ago! I don't remember how long it took!)! 

Here's hoping! 

Sickety sick sick

Today, I'm writing on a beautiful Labor Day. The sun is shining. The weather appears perfect. And I am writing from the couch. With a sinus infection. Sickety sick sick. 

This weekend was supposed to be one of those ultra productive weekends where you accomplish absolutely everything on the to do list. In short, we were going to clean the entire house, run a whole lotta miles, buy and sell a car, and get some wedding planning done. Ummm, yes, well... 

...pretty much none of that happened. Instead, perhaps THIS week will be the week we get all of those things done! 

We were able to drive to a few car lots today, but the two we were most interested in were CLOSED while most of the others were open. Harumph. I know I'm in the market for a small SUV, as the drive to and from work last year was a bit dicey in my little Honda. We most like the look of the Mazda CX-5 and the Honda CRV, so I think that will be our jumping off point. 

Okay, soup's on, Vitamin C popped, and papers need some grading. Here's hoping for some relief soon. 

Question of the day: What's your secret to getting better faster? 

Off and running

School year number nine (NINE!) for me as a teacher kicked off last week, and there's been no slowing down ever since. Our teacher work day was last Monday, and the kiddos arrived on Tuesday. 

I forgot how excited I get for the first day of school. I absolutely love meeting my kids. There's something really great about that first day that I don't know if I can describe in words. There's just...a palpable energy that surges all day long, until I come home exhausted. 

Last week went especially fast because after spending Tuesday and Wednesday getting to know my kiddos and talking about all things English related, I took off Thursday and Friday to be a bridesmaid in my cousin Amanda's wedding in Detroit. I absolutely ADORE our family weddings because, well, my family rocks! Seeing Amanda and Jacob tie the knot just makes me even more excited for the next nine months as Dan and I get to plan our day. Mostly, I just can't wait to celebrate with the people we love the most! 

And speaking of off and running, last Saturday, I ran six miles. It felt AWESOME to get slightly higher mileage in, and I was even able to run my last three miles faster than my first three. Total win in my book! 

So now, I'm gearing up for another great week at school while I try to remember that grading is a time consuming and necessary part of the job. But it's 9 p.m. on a Monday, and the thought of correcting newspaper interviews right now isn't nearly as enticing as making my lunch for tomorrow and going to sleep. I wish students understood that teachers need time to adjust to the school year too!  

All things expensive

I simply cannot believe that today is the last Friday of summer vacation. Eleven weeks ago, I remember thinking there was So. Much. Time. to get lots of things accomplished. I thought there was so much time in front of me. 

Fast forward to 10.5 weeks later, and I'm having a hard time believing the summer has gone so quickly. I did so much this summer -- two weeks at the ASNE Reynolds Journalism Institute, completely overhauled my home to make it our home, stood up in my best friend's wedding, saw my college roommate Abby get married, found THE DRESS, logged some miles in my running shoes, taught tons of Jazzercise classes, and, most importantly, spent time with loved ones. It was an absolutely amazing summer, so in that respect, I'm sad to see it end. 

But, on the other hand, I'm ready to get back to work! There's a LOT I want to accomplish this year with my newspaper and junior students, and I have lofty goals in place for them (they'll be working their tails off, poor babies). I'm ready to get back to a routine that I can stick with instead of losing hours (or a whole day!) to who knows what. 

Besides school, I'm currently working on all things expensive, it seems. As I type, I'm going back and forth to invitation websites to look at Save the Dates for our wedding. I had no idea there were so many choices. And if you think I'm kidding, Google Save the Dates (not STDs, as that will bring up something else entirely), and see how many there are. I think I've narrowed it down to two, but want to decide quickly since there's a sale through Sunday (yay for a sale!). 

I'm also looking at getting a new vehicle. I have loved, loved, loved my Honda Civic, but my little car had a hard time last winter with open highways and icy roads, so I'm looking for something a little heavier for this winter. I like the look of some of the small SUVs, specifically the Honda CRV and the Mazda CX5. So, it's time to get test driving and shopping to see what we can find. 

I'm so grateful that this summer has been so wonderful. I just know this school year is going to fly with all of the wonderful things going on. It's especially weird to think that this is the last year I will start school as Miss Saoud. But I'm so looking forward to becoming a Putt. :D

The great body shift

A funny thing happened when I turned 25. Everything sort of... shifted. I remember waking up one day and feeling like things were just... saggier. Shortly thereafter, I found running, and everything sort of fell into place. 

And now I'm 30. And things are shift-y again. 

I don't really know how to describe it. My weight hasn't changed very much in the past few years, but things just don't seem to be sitting where they used to. Things are moving, people. Anyone know what I mean? 

I can attribute this to a couple different things. 

One, around the time of my birthday, I stopped teaching the Jazzercise Body Sculpt class. While I'm still teaching the same amount of times every week, I'm doing more cardio and less strength training. 

Two, I've been running less. Since my year of 500 miles, I haven't focused much on the mileage, and just tried to get a few good runs in every week. Sometimes that means, like, two miles. But two is better than zero. 

Three, I'm THIRTY now.  I'm way far away from my eat anything and never gain a pound teenage years. 

Dan and I have decided it's time to clean up our diets. No more junk can be brought in the house. If we want ice cream or other junk, we have to go out to get it, and, let's face it, that often takes a LOT of motivation, especially after a long day. I'm hoping that, coupled with more strength and a running schedule I can actually stick to will help things shift back. I'd like to feel less junk in the trunk and a little more muscle heading into wedding time (t-minus nine months!)! 

On why Pinterest and I have a love/hate relationship

Since the first time I signed on to Pinterest, I was pretty much in love. My MOH Shannon had been telling me about this site for months, but it wasn't until she showed it to me that I really understood it's awesomeness. I signed on about a millisecond before it gained a ton of popularity, and have been pinning ever since. I've found gifts to buy, great recipes, and awesome home decorating ideas. 

I've also messed some stuff up big time. And who hasn't, right? Basically, Pinterest links you to sites that are anywhere on the internet. And, as we know, the internet always tells the truth, right? So, when I tried to make those dehydrated strawberries and it told me to bake them for two hours? That was wrong. And that's just one example. 

Luckily, I'm not the only one who has suffered these same fates. Have you ever seen some of those Pinterest fails out there? Here are just two.

So, clearly I'm not alone in my failures. Today, though, was not a failure day! 

Recently, I pinned a whole bunch of stuff about recovering and re-purposing furniture. I got a hope chest as a gift from my parents when I was in middle school. It was a beautiful piece of furniture, but as years past, I grew to be not the biggest fan of the color of the fabric seat cushion. It was a deep evergreen color with little stitches of red and gold intermittently. It was pretty... but, sort of old looking. I'd been wanting to update it for a long time, and on Pinterest, I started to see all sorts of beautiful chevron fabrics. 

Ding ding ding! We have a winner! 

So, today, my mom came over (momma Monday!), and we took the seat off to recover it. Now, I have THIS!

I love it so much, I think I'll even end up using it more! It's amazing how just changing that one thing has updated the entire look of the bedroom. 

Hope you're having a crafty Monday too! 

Five miles of suck

Although I got in a lot of runs in Missouri, I haven't been running... at all... since I got home. This morning, Dan and I decided to head out on a five mile run. Or, five miles of suck. 

Let's go over what we did wrong: 

1. We started too late (9:30 a.m.).

2. We overdressed (it was cloudy and in the 60s when we left and sunny and in the 70s when we finished).

And perhaps, worst of all, 

3. We didn't take any water (and, as a person who doesn't go to the grocery store without a water bottle, I should've known this was going to be a problem). 

We decided to run slowly so that we wouldn't putter out early on in the run. The first mile and a half felt really great. But as we approached mile two, I felt myself getting really thirsty. I told Dan if there was a sprinkler we ran past, I was going to run through it with an open mouth. He laughed. I was serious. 

During mile three, I contemplated picking up a discarded water bottle on the side of the road and risking a few sips of whatever was in it. I declined, though. 

During mile four, I got a serious case of the grumps. Dan was trying to encourage me. I returned his support with grumpiness. Great. 

When we finished mile five, I was just happy to be done. It was not a pretty run. But maybe the next one will be.