Mass Exodus at the Office

Another coworker put in her 2 weeks notice. I knew this was coming because she had told me a while back that she wanted to move back to California to be closer to family. She's the sixth person that'll be leaving in the past 2 months. Meanwhile, I'm approaching my seventh year work anniversary in October.

I needed to get some steps in, so I marched myself to the gym this evening. I made myself a deal...you only have to be there for 30 minutes and then you can go home. I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and then ran on the treadmill for the other 15 minutes. I was kinda surprised of how crowded the gym was on a Friday night. Anyway, afterwards, I walked around the block to DSW and browsed. I saw that boots were coming out...fall is just around the corner!

Treadmill Day

My fridge was feeling pretty sad this morning, so I went to Costco this morning to get some fruit and I'll get the rest of my groceries after going to spin class tomorrow morning. I also went to Target to get some shampoo because I'll be needing a new bottle soon. I found some Pantene on clearance and one of the Target clerks asked me if I had used it before because she wanted to buy it for herself too.  Nope, haven't used it before.  When I checked out, the cashier handed me the Pantene coupon that the registered spit out.  Meh, I won't be needing it so I walked back to the cosmetics aisle where I found the clerk and handed her the coupon. She was appreciative.  Yay, random act of kindness of the day. :)

I made another batch of the oatmeal that I made on Monday when I got home. Then off to the gym!

I cranked out 2.6 miles in 30 minutes (this is quite an improvement from my previous "PR" of 2.45 miles). YAY!  I wandered around some of the stores around the gym: CVS, Marshalls, and Ulta. I found these cute mugs at Marshalls, but I didn't buy them.  I don't have any more space for that kind of stuff in my cupboards.

When I got home, I cranked out a FitnessBlender workout...Kelli's Superset Total Body Strength Workout: Calorie Torching, Muscle Building, Fat Burning Workout.

Healthy Oatmeal Recipe

I really enjoy having oatmeal for breakfast because it's filling and easy.  I usually get the instant packets from the grocery store, but they can tend to have a lot of sugar. While I was looking online for some healthy recipes yesterday, I found this one that includes smashed bananas in it and no sugar. I made a batch of it this morning and scooped a portion of it for breakfast and included a scoop of peanut butter. Yum! (I guess I could imagine that it's a smushed oatmeal cookie or something...).

I went to the gym to do some running on the treadmill. I cranked out 2.43 miles in 30 minutes.  Ugh, so close to my current record of 2.45 miles. I came home and eat some more of the oatmeal that I made this morning. In addition to the peanut butter, I threw in some blackberries. Extra yum!

In addition to the run this afternoon, I also cranked out a FitnessBlender workout: Kelli's Superset Total Body Strength Workout: Calorie Torching, Muscle Building, Fat Burning Workout. Lots of deadlifts in this one!

Treadmill Day

YAY, Saturday! :D

Time to go to the gym!  I told myself that I just need to go for 30 minutes.  It'll be over in a snap.  ithinkicanithinkicanithinkican. In an effort to work on my 2015 running goal, I wanted to see how far I could go in 30 minutes.  My previous best distance is 2.41 miles and today, I made it to 2.45 miles.  It's not much, but any progress is progress!

I came home, ate some lunch and then went back out to get some iced coffee at Panera (free with Panera rewards program) and some strawberries from Costco (surprisingly the line wasn't bad at all, given that tomorrow is Easter and Costco will not be open).

I cranked out a Fitness Blender workout before dinner too: Strong, Lean, Toned Arms, Chest and Shoulders Workout - Lift Like you Mean It!. I have a feeling that my shoulders are going to feel it tomorrow.

Ebay Sales Update (May and June 2014)

The Vera Bradley laptop bag that I bought for $4 last Sunday sold for $29.99.

I sold a set of 24 DVDs, seasons 1-6 for $23.99.  I wish I had gotten more for them, but oh well, at least they are out of my closet!

I also sold a set of 6 punches that I wasn't using anymore for $9.99

I sold my dad's e-reader that he got as a retirement present.  I used it mostly since Dad got an iPad.  I thought the thing was a piece of junk.  Nothing compared to what an iPad could do.  That went for $9.99 as well.  As long as the buyer is happy with it, that's fine with me!

I also went for a run today...the first road run in a while (maybe more than a year, I'm ashamed to say).  It was a nice weather outside and I didn't want to pass it up.  I also wanted to try out the tracker feature on my Fitbit app.

Fall-To Layout #235

Fall-To Layout #235: This card probably took about 5 minutes total because everything I used was some sort of scrap, even the sentiment flag (which was leftover from a recent office order).
Card Specs: 
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Pumpkin Spice, Yellow Citrus, French Blue, Charcoal
Paper: Chatterbox, My Mind's Eye- Fly A Kite
Stamps: Fiskars- Put on Your Party Hat (present, confetti), The Paper Company Studio- Cupcakes (sentiment), Stampin' Up- Fox & Friends

Other stuff from today:

I got some udon from the local Asian supermarket the other day...yum!

The weather was very lovely today, so I went for a run...with my new running shoes.

New Running Shoes

At the office: My office mate informed me around lunch time that people were setting up food downstairs in the lobby.  Whoa, what?  That's exciting!  Not long after that, we got emails saying something about a "spring fling."  We all jumped out of our seats to get to the elevator.  Other colleagues beat us to it and were already waiting for the elevator when we got there.  We were greeted with colorful leis (I got a pink one) and lots of food: burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, chips, popcorn, sodas, and cookies.  I got a veggie burger and a thing of cookies (that I ended up giving away to some friends in the other building).  Another non-food related thing that I got was a hula hoop, which I tried when I got home.  It has beads inside that made noise, so RJ zoomed under the table.  I can't say that I'm the best hula hooper, but practice makes perfect!

New Running Shoes: With the weather warming up slightly this week, I thought it'd be a great time to get my running legs back in gear.  The first step is to get some new running shoes.  The last time I got new running shoes was back in 2011, and the Mizunos are so comfortable that yes, I used them for running, but lately, they are my go-to sneakers.  I went to DSW after spin class tonight, armed with a $10 off coupon.  They had a larger selection of Mizunos but none of them were "support" running shoes, which I need because my feet are rather flat than arched.  I went with my friend Meg's brand, which is Brooks.  I looked up which ones would be support shoes on my phone and saw that DSW had one of them in two colors: yellow/grey or white/periwinkle (Ravenna 3).  I went with the yellow/grey.

Recipe #3 of 2013: I was inspired by this recipe for Guiltless Banana Ice Cream. I took the 7 frozen bananas, chunky peanut butter, and some chocolate chips and ran everything in the food processor.  I was a little skeptical before, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was so yummy!  Now I have something to satisfy my sweet tooth without feeling guilty later. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone out there that's celebrating Thanksgiving is having a wonderful holiday with loved ones!  My day started out with sleeping in and then going for a run.  The weather was too nice to pass up.  Plus, I wanted an excuse to eat an extra slice of cheesecake.  This was the first time I ran since June (eek).  I jogged about 2.5 miles and walked the last 0.25, so not too bad considering my hiatus.

When I got home, I took a shower and then went straight to making green bean casserole, stuffed mushrooms, and baking crescent rolls for the dinner tonight at my parents' house.  Here are highlights from the big feast!  The cheesecake was a big hit.  If I could get a handle on how to make a red velvet cheesecake, I wouldn't need to go to The Cheesecake Factory anymore.  Julie brought pecan and apple pies from a local bakery, too. Yum yum yum!

Mmm, turkey!

And other goodies.

My plate...1st round.

Me and Julie.

My pumpkin cheesecake, 1st round.

Family :)

Sisters, again.

Cousin line up by age.

Cousin line up by height.

Pink and Silver Nails

At the office: My office roommate has finally come back to the office after some travel and being sick. It was nice to see that she was looking and feeling better.

Running: Running with Suzie last Friday has inspired me to find my running legs again. The weather was also nice tonight, so I didn't really have a good excuse to skip a workout. I also put new music on my iPhone this morning so that I would have new stuff to jam to in my head while running up and down the hill tonight.

Nails: I tried out a new Sally Hansen color today (yes, I'm building up quite a collection of Insta-Dri colors, heh), Presto Pink. I think the name should really be Pepto Pink since it kinda reminds me of Pepto Bismol. I was pleasantly surprised how opaque the Silver Sweep color is for the stamping. I can't decide in the stamped image looks like clouds or the start of a camouflage pattern. Base coat: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Presto Pink. (2 coats). Silver: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Silver Sweep. Bundle Monster plate #222.

St. Patrick's Day 8K

Meg's birthday: Last night, Robyn and I went to hang out at Meg's place...a) to celebrate her birthday and b) so that we could leave together to go to the St. Patrick's Day 8K this morning. We went to a grill place for dinner. I got a chicken wrap, which wasn't really all that exciting. The more exciting part for me were the tater tots that came on the side. They bring back memories from my elementary school cafeteria days.

Robyn and I put on Thor (I gave Meg the DVD as a birthday present), as Meg prepped her race wear: a sash that alluded to her birthday and a shirt that she decorated with a Sharpie. Robyn bought a birthday balloon which served 2 purposes- Meg's birthday present and a good marker for us running the race to see Robyn cheering.

The Race: The race was fun. I love seeing all the decorations and costumes that people put on. I wasn't able to beat my time from last year, but I hadn't really been training outside too much so I didn't really have high expectations. I clocked in at 54:20. Last year's time was 52:43. After the race, Robyn and I went with Meg and some of her running friends to a nearby place for brunch. The place looked really nice and I thought we were a little underdressed with our running tights and t-shirts. When we got inside, it turns out many runners from the race were there to eat too. For brunch, I decided on a buttermilk biscuit with pear butter and a serving of fresh fruit.
RJ: UGH, dumb cat. I woke up from my nap this afternoon after I got back from Meg's house and RJ was nowhere in sight. I got out his food from the fridge and still nothing. I put in a load of laundry. Still nothing. I started to get worried. Did he some how get out of the house? No, hah, that's stupid. I went back upstairs, and I heard him stuck between the wall and the washer. I guess he was scared of the running noisy washer and didn't want to jump up. I was going to give him a scolding, but his pathetic meow saved him from that. He was rather dusty, yuck.

CPS #255

Etsy: Finally, after almost a month without sales, I got a sale today...an origami fox birthday card to some one in the UK.

Two-a-day: I went to an hour spin class this morning and decided to get another workout in this afternoon for a 3 mile run. In between workouts, I had gone to my parents' house to figure out what to do with some of my old stuff (throw away, donate or keep) and ended up also consuming a bunch of ice cream there. I guess the afternoon run balances everything out.

Card: Here's my take on CPS #255. I stamped the floral image once for a full red effect and then immediately stamped it again for the faded image.Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal.
Paper: American Crafts- Dear Lizzy and Botanique
Stamp: American Crafts- Ginger (alphabet), Stampin' Up- Garden Silhouettes (floral)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Martha Stewart- Classic Butterfly, EK Success Postage Stamp border punch
Brads: American Crafts- Medium Jewel Brads (Earth Tones)

Fall-To Layout #180

Julie's birthday card: I forgot to take a picture of the birthday card that I gave to Julie this year, so I had to wait for her to send me a picture of it. Who doesn't like an animal themed birthday card, right?

Rummage sale: There were two rummage sales that I wanted to go to today. One was at a church near my old high school and then the other was a used book sale at my old high school. At the rummage sale, there was a lady selling many of her Stampin' Up sets for $10 each. Some were still unmounted and unused! She also had some punches too. While I liked many of the sets, I decided to buy only two. I figured both of them could be used for masculine or feminine cards, depending on what colors you used. I bought a border punch as well, but when I tested it out on some scrap paper in my purse, the punch got stuck! The lady was nice enough to give me my money back. I was a little surprised that she wouldn't give me a deal on the 2 sets that I bought, but I did a little research when I got home to see how much these sets would be from StampinUp.com. Oh, wow, they are expensive! Whew, I got a deal!

The used book sale didn't go so well because when I got to the door, I saw the sign about a $5 entrance fee. Eeeh. Nah, I'll pass.

Card: The floral card below is my take on Fall-To Layout #180.

Running: Julie IMed me earlier today to report that she officially joined the CrossFit gym that we went to last week. I was inspired to go for a run after all that talk about working out. The St. Patrick's Day 8K is next week, eek!

Book: I was able to snag The Help from the library this afternoon. Yay, now I can pick up where I ended.
Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Red, Rose Coral, Yellow Ochre
Stamps: Inkadinkado (leaves), Savvy Stamps (sentiment), Martha Stewart- heart and flower clear stamps (everything else)
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Nana's Kitchen
Clay: Sculpy Clay in Red, Dusty Rose. Premo Sculpey Clay in Cadmium Yellow Hue
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Martha Stewart- Classic Butterfly
Other: Liquid Pearl in Buttercup

Baby Shower Card

I went to return the movie that I watched last night with my friends (Rio: it was cute and funny, but it wasn't something that I'd buy to watch over and over again) and Just Dance 3 at the local Redbox and I picked up The Black Eyed Peas Experience for Wii. I was a little skeptical because there were mixed review, and I had to agree with some of the negative feedback. Don't get me wrong, I love BEP music, but the graphics of the video game left much to be desired.

I decided to skip out on spin class this morning under the condition that I would go for a run this afternoon. I was able to crank out 4 miles as the sun was going down. It seems like we're getting more daylight these days, which is nice.

I was asked to make a baby shower card for a co-worker. She's expecting a baby boy in March. I hope she can hang on that long. She kinda looks like she's ready to pop! I love how there are different dimensional elements to this card: buttons, rubber duckies, and baker's twine. Glossy Accents definitely helped me out in adhering the chipboard letters and buttons. Because this card will be passed around at the office, I can't risk anything falling off.
Card Specs:
Paper: American Crafts- Botanique
Punches: EK Success Postage Stamp border punch, EK Success (rubber ducky)
Other: We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy Fancy Floss in Lemonade
Stickers: Basic Grey Dark Chocolate Chip Chipboard alphabet stickers

Off to watch some Real Housewives. :)

Run, Eat, Dance

The weather was so nice today that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go for a run this afternoon. It looks like my pace improved a little bit from last time. :)

Earlier tonight, I invited Meg, Robyn, Beth and her friend Emily over to the house for some pizza, junk food, and Wii Dancing. Of course, we had a lot of fun acting silly. It's SO nice to have my own place so that I can have get-togethers like this.

3 flowers, 2 butterflies, and 1 bird CARDS Magazine Challenge

Running: Seeing as the St. Patrick's Day 8K is in approximately 3 months, I thought it'd be a good idea to get my legs in gear. My last run was in September, which is horrible to say, but after that race, I thought I just needed a break from running. I wasn't really feeling it. But nothing motivates you like a little pressure, right? I downloaded the iMapMyRun+ app onto my iPhone and went for a run. The feature that I like most about it is the voice feedback, where it'll tell you at a certain interval what your running stats are (I set it for every 0.5 miles). I had thought about getting a Garmin watch a few months ago, but I'm glad that I didn't because this app does what I need for $1.99. I felt surprisingly pretty good after the run. I wasn't sure that I would because of the hiatus, but I guess I found my running legs faster than I thought.

Food: I cooked up some falafel for lunch today. Yum yum. I think this counts as Recipe #1 (out of 25) for my New Year's Resolutions. I followed this recipe (minus the cilantro). I like the little kick the cayenne pepper gives. I was happy to see that 2 cans of chick peas produces quite a few patties. I buried the falafel patty in a pita pocket under some romaine lettuce and a drizzle of thousand island dressing.

Etsy: I got my first order of Valentine's Day off of my Etsy store. I love this time of year! Valentine's Day is definitely my season.
Card: I decided partake in this week's CARDS Magazine challenge: making a card that has 3 flowers, 2 butterflies, and 1 bird. My first thought was to make a Christmas tree out of these elements, but since the holiday season has passed, I make a cupcake instead.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal, Warm Red, Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Chipped Sapphire.
Stamps: Studio G (sentiment), Fiskars- Friendship Garden (flower), Inkadinkado- Nature (butterfly), Inkadinkado (bird)

September 8K

8K: Whoo hoo, the day is here! I got to the race site early to ensure a parking space and I actually saw my Executive Director, his wife and kid walking by across the street when I parked my car. I honked my horn and he hesitated and waved. I opened the car door and stuck my head out, just in case he couldn't seem me clearly through the windshield. I can see how it'd be weird to be waving at someone that you didn't really recognize.

The 2 mile challenge was first and it was funny to see all the little kids just runnnnnnning down the street. The 8K runners lined up about 45 minutes later. My parents were there to see me start, and we actually ran into the dad of one of my grade school friends (I went to elementary, middle AND high school with her). It's probably been about 10 years since I've seen him, so it was good to catch up. The Executive Director and his kid did the 2 mile challenge and his wife did the 8K. It was cool to see him cheering on the course and at the finish line, and it was also nice to see my parents there as well. It was really cool to see the community come out to support the runners and the schools that the race was fundraising for.

The race went well. I was happy to see that most of it was flat. There were a few hills towards the end, but I managed. My final time was 51:35/10:23 pace, which was better than my March 8K time of (52:43/ 10:37 pace). Meh, better, but not by much. I've been toying with the idea of doing the 10K that's held on Thanksgiving. Hmmm.

Yard sale: After the race, I went to my parents' house to pick up some things and chat. I also went over to my cousin's house to say goodbye to my aunt who is leaving on Monday to go back to Taiwan. Then I went to a nearby yard sale, but didn't find anything that I wanted. I was too tired to go to any other yard sales today, so I basically went home to shower, eat lunch, and take a lonnng nap.

Wee Memories Challenge #68

Running: Last week, I went to see the HR director to see if she could provide some insight as to what to put in my performance plan. Before that part of our conversation even started...

HR director- "Tina, how's your training program been going?" (She's the one that drew it up for me.) "The race is coming up next week, are you ready?"
me- "Well, I know I can run the 5 miles. It's just a matter of if I can do it faster than I ran the 8K in March."
HR director- "I run in the area that the race is. Let's run part of it together on Tuesday. I usually run there for 90 minutes. I can meet you there at 7 if that works for you."
me- "Ummm (panic...does she mean 7 AM or 7 PM?). Sure, ok."
HR director- "Let me sent you an Outlook calendar appointment as a reminder."

Later on in the conversation, I realized she meant 7 AM. The run this morning wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it's very clear that she and I are not on the same level. She actually won this particular 8K race last year. I'm just going to be happy if I run at a pace below 10:37 min/mile, which was my pace during the March 8K. While I appreciated her willingness to draw up a training plan, my motivation's gone downhill over the past couple of weeks because I haven't been able to achieve the times that have been outlined in the training program and I've gotten lazy. I think I'll have a renewed love for running once this race is over and I don't feel compelled to have to follow a training plan that I can't keep up with. Blah. Anyway...

Card: Here's my take on Wee Memories Challenge #68: No Pattern Paper projects. "You can make your own with stamps but you can not use any pattern paper for this challenge." For some reason, the word "merry" was sticking out in my head, so I decided to create a card that had "merry" in the sentiment. The sentiment "be merry" came to mind even though Christmas is months away. I used the Hero Arts background stamp again and used red in for a tone-on-tone effect. I used a border punch on the green strips of paper. To create a smooth curve on the white cardstock, I used Nestabilities circle die and some tape to make sure that the curve was right in the center. While I could have used stamps to create the sentiment, I dug out some alphabet stickers that I bought at Archivers and used them instead. The finishing touch was creating the winter scene and adding the faux stitching.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Green, French Blue, Warm Red
Stamps: Hero Arts- Cling Classic Fabric Design (background), SEI- Winter Song (tree, snowflake)
Punch: Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
Stickers: Lily Bee Design- Picket Fence Collection - 12 x 12 Cardstock Stickers
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large
White Gel Pen: Uni-Ball Signo Broad White Gel Pen
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Pearl

A Not-So-Smooth Saturday

Ugh, so much drama today. My morning didn't start off the way I was hoping with going to an hour spin class. I got to the gym only to find a sign posted, saying that there would be no 9:30 AM super spin class due to the holiday weekend. I should have checked the holiday schedule before I left the house. So, instead of getting my workout in before going to a rummage sale, I went for a 5-mile run before dinnertime (59:41, 11:56 min/mile pace). I had to walk some of it because my legs felt like lead. Of course, I'm not really happy with the time, but at least I got a workout in.

Anyway, back to the rummage sale. It was at a local church near my parents' house. There weren't that many things there that were of interest to me, i.e. clothes, toys, books, but while I was in the kitchen section, I found 2 crock pots, a mini one and a regular sized one. The mini one was only $3, but I figured since the bigger one was $10, it was a better deal for when I need to cook things in bulk to last me the work week. This find was timed perfectly because I need to go to the grocery store tomorrow, and chicken is on sale, as well as other items that would go in a chicken stew. I can't wait to try out my "new" kitchen appliance!

I made the mistake of taking the e-collar off of RJ this afternoon, thinking that everything was healed up. I took my eyes off him for a second and he went back to licking where he should not have been licking. All the healing that had happened over the last few days flew out the window. I wanted to tear my hair out, RAWR! Between the sneezing and the healing that needs to happen at the neutering site, I'm going to be one happy cat mama when all of this is resolved!

I'm so thankful for the long weekend. I have two more days to make up for all the minor craziness that happened today.

East Coast Earthquake

Earthquake:
Dear Mother Nature-

Earthquakes do not belong on the East Coast of the United States. We can handle snow in the DMV area, but not earthquakes. Just something to consider the next time you want to surprise us.

kthx,
TINA

I was IMing with my sister who's at school when the earthquake happened.

Sister,13:53: oh man, the building just starting vibrating really badly... i have no idea what just happened
me, 13:54: mine tooo!
Sister, 13:54: really?
me, 13:54: YES!
Sister, 13:54: earthquake?
me, 13:54: maybe?

Mmmyeah, not quite the way that I thought I'd be spending my afternoon. At first I thought it was construction going on, but then when I got up and my purse fell from my desk to the floor, I started to get a little freaked out...along with my office neighbors. On one side, I heard, "explicative, explicative, explicative!" and on the other side, I heard "WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Sigh. Thankfully, the earthquake caused minimal damage. Whew, that was close! :P

Productivity, hooray!: On another note, my day started out really well with getting one thing off my non-work-related to-do list. My car headlights went out recently, even though my high beams work. Isn't that weird? I remembered Dad talking about an auto shop conveniently near work so I went over around 7:45 AM and by 8 AM I was going to work with functioning lights. YAY!

Running: I went for a 5 mile run today and achieved a 11:21 min/mile pace. I was supposed to do 6 miles, but the sun was going down and I wanted to get home. During my run, I noticed a family (parents, stroller, and dog) walking in my direction. I noticed the dog first and then I looked up at the parents. OMG, I know the lady! She's my co-worker! I recognized her right as I was running by so I turned around and yelled hello. She said, "Hey! I didn't know you lived around here." I told her that I had recently bought a townhome and was trying different running routes. She's a new mommy, so she's been out of the office on maternity leave. It was nice to see her with her new cute addition to the family.

Man, oh man. What a day!

Song of the day: "Just a Little Bit"- Kids of 88

Estate Sale Fail

The search for a night stand continues. I decided to go to an estate sale near my old high school to see if they were selling a night stand, and unfortunately, they weren't. One funny thing that happened was that when I was walking out of the house, there was a woman approaching the house and she said "Oh, no, I don't like walking into an estate sale and seeing people leaving without stuff." Yeah, well, lady, you can't win every day. I already had some good yard sale karma earlier this weekend, and I'll take what I can get and be thankful for it.

After the estate sale, I went to the high school track and did the workout that was really for yesterday, but moved to today. I actually manage alright considering the heat and humidity. Who's ready for Fall? ::raises hand:: ME!

A potential large Etsy order is in the works. I worked on samples tonight to send to my contact. I hope she likes them! ::fingers crossed:: Earlier this evening, I worked on making more polymer clay flowers with my MoldMuse molds.