Sporadically Sandra

Joseph and I went to Florida for the weekend to visit some family. My cousin had graduated high school and my aunt and uncle were throwing him a party. My mother had used some of my father's hotel points to get us a Hotel room at the Comfort Suites in Tampa.
We arrived at the Comfort Suites around midnight on Friday night. Walking into the lobby, my first thought was, "Gee, our fore fathers puked up patriotism all over the place."


After checking in, I practically fell into bed already asleep without taking in any more of my environment… Girl was tired! The next morning I got up to take a shower and was startled by the ugliest sight I had ever seen: Me, under the worst fluorescent lights in the world. They managed to not only turn my ridiculously pale skin even more pale, but also slightly blue and green and every single blemish stood out in sharp detail. I don't even want to discuss what that awful light did to my wonderfully highlighted hair.

Ignoring the mirror as much as possible, I climbed in the shower to try and scrub off the ugly only to emerge and notice that the lights still sucked all the pretty off my face.

Not even applying make up appeared to help with the horrible lighting so I woke Joseph up as I turned on every light in the hotel and opened the curtains in the hopes to get enough normal light to use the mirror in the room. If I sat on the dresser and tilted my head just right, I got enough light to discover the pretty.

I returned to the bathroom to dry my hair, and not even fluorescent lighting could combat freshly applied makeup. I snickered at the tag for the hair dryer.


I know that this is a common warning but apparently today I'm easily amused. Keep away from water? Well, I can keep it away from pools of water but I'm afraid if I keep it away from water then I won't be able to actually dry the water out of my hair. I'll just use my tagless dryer that doesn't deter me from putting it near water.

There were two good things about that room though. The first: the full length mirror was made to make me look skinny. And second: a/c that I could crank up and not have to worry about paying for.

The sign says it all!

We just started, we look so clean and energetic!

Finisher Medals!!

I think these photos do a nice job of summing it up. Sadly I couldn't get all my pictures to upload correctly so I couldn't include the one of me and Jazzy OR my finishing picture when I have my medal but I am still covered in mud and muck. I will reiterate that this was such a fun and awesome day.

Wow where has the time gone? It has been almost two weeks since I last updated. I guess that goes to show how sometimes, life just gets hectic.

But, I'm back with a doozie of an entry. Today at 2:30 I participated in the Georgia Warrior Dash in Mountain City, Georgia. Oh man was it hard! Besides the fact that it was a 5K, which is really hard enough on it's own, it had obstacles.

It is weird that the obstacles I thought I would hate, I loved the most. Wading through water, climbing the cargo net and jumping over fire were so much fun. I really disliked walking all the hills, and the mud. I had one obstacle I couldn't do, but I did the rest so I'm still super proud.

It was a really fun time. I did the race with my husband Joseph, his some of his family (Stephen, Jasmine, Bobby and Michael) as well as another couple he knows that he coaches wrestling with.

The absolute best part might just have been the awesome water slide, where I went super fast. I have to say that as crazy as I was for doing it, I am super proud of myself as well as surprised by how much I was able to do. I only hope that next year it is easier for me because I will hopefully be in better shape.
So, now that I've completed a 5k, What now?

Well, I've realized that even if it is only for the t-shirt and finisher medal, I want to participate in more races. Ideally, I would like to get to the point where I can run a 5K, then maybe run a 10K, but I honestly, really enjoyed this race. I see many more in my futures

Pics to follow when I'm on a real computer.

I started Rush Fit last Wednesday. The basic premise was do a dvd one day and cardio the next.

The cardio during the week was clogging, C25K W4D1, Touch Football and Zumba. The DVDs were Strength & Endurance, Abdominal & Core, *Bonus* Stretch and Fight Conditioning. Everything was accomplished except for Fight Conditioning. It was planned for Easter and, well, after two Easter Dinner's and some Touch Football, it just didn't seem that important to do a DVD.

The plan was to do the DVD tonight, but that didn't happen. I appear to be in super witchy, total brat mode and I just want to veg out on the couch and watch Eclipse (who else thinks Edward is creepy, possessive and controlling?) and eat way too many mini Reese Eggs (Working out tomorrow is NOT an option)

All in all, I'm very proud of my working out over the past week. I was active 6 out of 7 days. That's phenomenal for me.

Tomorrow starts Week 2 of GSP Rush Fit. I'm really looking forward to it.

When I first told Joseph in November that I wanted to join Weight Watchers (again) he was supportive but he was reluctant having seen me do the same weight loss tango over and over again. However, their Points + Plan is seriously the easiest thing ever and quickly jumped on board.

Joseph, although not the happiest with himself, didn't want to change anything. He didn't want to really start working out, he wasn't really interested in watching what he ate, he was happy with being complacent. But, when the primary food preparer starts caring about what they eat, it just so happens that the other people who eat the food are going to have some rather "trim" side effects.

It was only a month later when Joe jumped on the being healthy boat and really got concerned with what he ate and his workouts. We have become partners in being healthy. We do some sort of activity together 5 out of the 7 days of the week, encourage healthy eating and are great will power support when one of us wants to totally pig out on sweets.

I have to say that Joseph has totally slimmed down. He looks amazing but, even better is how him slimming down and being healthy has made him a more confident and happy person.

I fully believe that if you care about your health, then doing what you can to be healthier will make you a more complete person and I think Joseph has become the perfect example of that. I am so fully proud of him, his weight loss, his exercise habits and his continuing support of me.

So, some highlights (and pictures) of the weekend:

Besides having dessert every night, eating at Cow Licks a few times, having fried cajun shark at Aunt Catfish's and eating at Bubba Gumps, we did actually have time to visit the beach.

As well as visit the beach, Joseph and I climbed the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. This lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in Florida. We climbed it just over a year ago and it was hard. I thought I would die, I wanted to drop dead from exhaustion *and* I was sore for days. This time around, I felt like I could have climbed it more than once, I had plenty of energy to walk around and explore the historical buildings and nature trail *and* I was barely even sore the next day. It is amazing how much I've changed physically to where climbing the tallest lighthouse in Florida was a peace of cake.


Joseph and I also jogged on the beach together. So much more fun then jogging on the streets of Georgia. I mean, I ran in the water, testing out the Vibrams. It was nice and breezy and beautiful. Besides that, my grand plans to work out while on vacation didn't quite come to frutition, but, I did exercise twice. I also did a lot of walking on the beach, crab hunting and sitting on the beach covered in sun screen.

Yesterday, Joseph and I woke up early enough to see the sun rise over the water before making a Krispy Kreme run (hot sign, what!). Then, later that day, he did something truly crazy.

"We have some free time, want to go buy yourself an iPhone?"
What kind of question is that? Why, yes, I do want an iPhone!

This morning, before leaving, I made sure to snap a picture of the sun rising. So, this was my last vision of the gorgeous beach:

Sadly, that is the only beach picture I have since taking my camera to the beach didn't seem like a great idea. But, I think my brother in law got some pics. So, I migth have to steal some of his pictures.

Now, I'm back home. Meals for the week planned, groceries bought. I'm about to throw a load in the wash as I avoid life going back to normal.

But, I got a ton of reading done, some additional writing. My whole mindset has been refreshed and in a whole new good place.

And, as sad as I was to leave, I'm a little happy to be home.

Joseph and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary this past weekend. We headed to Atlanta and stayed the night there.

If you know Joe, you know of his intense *love* for the Atlanta Braves. He will tell you there are only 2 seasons, Christmas season and Baseball season. We started off our Saturday by going on a tour of Turner Field.

 We had a room on the "VIP" floor. Which I think is really just code for "Make them feel special" But whatever! The bed was comfty and as you can see, we were in a blueberry room! It was a super cute room and super cute hotel.
 We exchanged gifts and Joe got me a cute owl apron that I have been bugging him about incessentantly.





Then we went back to the hotel and watched a couple movies.

The next morning, I came out of the shower to this:

I love my husband.

I had a great time celebrating my anniversary with him and I hope everyone enjoyed getting to see a few of the pictures!

I think it is normal for people to always strive to better themselves. Whether it be with what you eat, how you move or the things you think, there is always a way to better round yourself out. I think it is why year after year people still make resolutions considering the failure rate. The same logic is behind why someone would set monthly goals.


I’ve never set monthly goals before, but I have some for February!

1. Get through week 3 of C25K

I’m pretty sure I have never actually completed week 3 of Couch to 5K. Completing week three would not only give me a sense of accomplishment, it is also something I can realistically hit.

2. Do a day of C25K outside (Weather permitting)

Especially considering the beautiful weather Georgia had this weekend, I would love to actually complete a run outside. It’s been years since I’ve bothered to run outside and since I know I can get my husband to go with me, that will make it more enjoyable.

3. Cook 1 new recipe a week

Sometimes my menus can become rather redundant. This way I will be a little adventurous each week with what we eat. Hopefully we will be lucky and have lots of delicious food.

4. Work out 14 days in February

I figure aiming to workout half the days in the month is manageable and something I should be able to accomplish without feeling overwhelmed.

5. Do something super special for Joseph once a week

I have a super great husband. Like, super, duper great. He does so much for me and he does so much to take care of me that I could brag about it all day. I know sometimes I can take it for granted so I want to make a real effort to do something every week so he knows how much I appreciate him.

6. Make the bed every day of the month.

There is something about climbing into a freshly made bed that is fabulous. Joseph and I got in the habit of making it every morning and sliding into the bed each night, under the crisp blankets, is just pure heaven. It is a quick and easy way that makes the whole bedroom look more put together.

Can anyone really say they don't love bacon?

You have Canadian Bacon which is delicious on any sort of McMuffin sandwich.

You have regular bacon. It's good by itself, on a sandwich, in an omelet and it leaves yummy residue to make delicious eggs in.

Then we have Bacon Bragg

So I had a dinner planned for tonight: Chicken, bell peppers and onions sauteed with Cilantro Lime Rice on the side. It was going to be delicious and nutritious (and taste just like chicken!) but then the sinus attack from hell hit.

It hurts to swallow.
My ears hurt when I DO swallow
It hurts to cough.
When I cough, green gunk comes up.
And I've had a wonderful sinus headache all day long.

Oh, and medicine isn't helping me at all.

There comes a point when I lose all optimism and just become pout. That point hit today. We got home and I couldn't find any warm pajama pants that fit. I was cold and I didn't feel well and all I really wanted was to crawl into pajamas. So my husband volunteered to go buy me some from Walmart (also helping him escape from cooking dinner which he had reluctantly agreed to do.) He offered to go to Taco Bell, but I was trying to be partially healthy so we compromised on Moe's.

I've been wrapped up in my slanket, with new fitting flannel pajama bottoms and sock slippers on my feet. I've swapped back and forth between Bones and Psych season 2 episodes. Needless to say even though I still have a headache, a sore throat, painful ears and coughing up green gunk, my day has finally started to look up.

A poem by Joseph:

She’s a snuggle at night, and small kiss as morning starts
She’s a “Hi” after a lengthy nap, and a morning shopping trip to wal-mart
She’s my home maker but not my home cleaner
She’s my rock and my shield when I couldn’t get much meaner
She’s the Pet lover but only when she wants to be
She’s the Person that I can’t wait to wake up to see.
She’s the Emo girl that is so far from it.
She’s the Computer Nerd that she’d never admit
She’s my better half and the one that makes me be a better me
She’s my shopping partner and loves to wear my men’s tee
She has the knees I want to hold as we sit by the lake
She holds every part of me, and my heart is hers to take.
She’s got messy hair in the morning that I love so much
She’s got a presence about her that when we’re in bed I just have to touch
She was there for me in my weakest time, when she had to carry me on her back
She’s held me together more times than I can count and never felt the need to pack
She’s thinks I’m cute even when I’m fat and hairy
She likes to hit me and “flail about” when my driving gets to scary.
She’s my country music fan, even though it’s not what she would choose
She laughs at me… but makes me feel better when the Braves lose
She understands me to the best she can,
She understands that time she doesn’t understand…it’s just because I’m being a man.
She loves me when I cry in theater
She loves me even if I don’t treat her the way I should treat her
What is my wife to me?
She’s more than I could list in a given day
And even if it’s a movie quote
She completes me in every way.