what to blog about...

The superbowl? Nah... didn't really care this year. The weather? it has been exceptionally nice... Oh! LAS VEGAS!

MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas, NV!

Sweet. We were there from January 23-27th... had a blast. Drank too much, ate too much, but that's what Vegas is about right? We gambled a little (very little), and won nothing. One thing about Vegas is you walk and walk and walk and walk... Then walk some more. We went up and down the strip, just kind of looking into hotels and you think the next hotel is so close, but it's farther than it seems!
We ate a lot of Mexican while we were there because our hotel (Bally's) had a Mexican place in it with some good cheap food. I'm not the type of person to go to a fancy restaurant and spend $50 on something I can't pronounce, so it seemed reasonable to eat cheap.

Inside the Mirage- a dolphin pool, and lions and tigers, oh my!

Las Vegas is full of weirdos... people are trying to hand out a bunch of "business cards" of prostitutes. It's crazy. And I see people walking around with their kids? I am not sure Vegas is a place I'd take my children until they're adults. Too much weird stuff. I think parents probably have to answer questions before they're ready! ha!

Getting back to work is hard after vacation... Yuck. Well, that's about it for my blog post. It's been a while, and it will probably be a while before the next! Adios.

running pet peeve #1

Sweaty ear phones. Seriously, running along at a good pace on the treadmill, probably about 2 miles into the run and all of a sudden the earphones are all sweaty and gross. Inside my ear. What? Disgusting.

Anyway, not much you can do about that unless you wear a sweatband, which I'm definitely not going to do. Today I worked out twice. Yep, twice. Had the day off, so I went this morning and worked with my trainer lifting weights, etc... Then this evening went for the treadmill. The weather is miserably cold today so I decided against any type of activity outside, except sprinting to and from my car. I was also a little afraid of going outside after the gym as I was all sweaty and thought my head might freeze off. What a great story that would be!

Anyway. I'm drinking wine now as a reward. Sounds legitimate, huh?

Week 2 done.

I missed one run, but that's OK. I ran 4.5 miles on Saturday after work. Outside. In January. In North Dakota. Whaaaaaat! I can hardly believe it. It felt amazing. about a 50 minute workout. I felt like it was 60 degrees when I was done.

Getting the right amount of clothing on is a tricky situation. I wore my new outdoor running pants, which worked awesome... a long sleeved t shirt and then a hooded zip up sweatshirt. That was pretty good for that day. My arms were kinda warm but I think any less and I would have been cold. I also wore a stocking cap. The last few runs I used little gloves but my hands got pretty sweaty fast so I ditched those this time. My only complaint would be that my cheeks and my neck get cold... I hate wearing a scarf because it never stays right, and I don't want to wear something that covers my mouth otherwise I can't breathe right. I'll be on the lookout for something a little more impressive.

Well, fabulous Monday, I'm just enjoying my coffee.

Week 2 of training

I am just starting my second week of training for the half marathon. Today's run was not so great. Yesterday's run rocked my socks off, and last week's were pretty good too. I worked today, so that's probably part of the reason why today's run suuuuucked.

I actually walked for a few minutes during today's run. My legs were screaming at me to stop, so I listened. It's hard when you work all day on your feet dragging patients out of bed, etc. and then to have to go to the gym after work? That sounds like insanity to me. But even more insane is the thought of getting up at 4:30 to run. Yuck. That definitely doesn't sound appealing.

I have joined a weight loss challenge at my gym, too... hoping that will get me going in the right direction. The past couple of days have been pretty good. Just really trying to watch what I eat and not snack so much. Seems easy, right? Until you're at work and have a bazillion salty and sweet treats in front of you. People are always bringing something. But, that's a soapbox for another day. I did say no to the chocolates today. Pretty impressive, right?

I really need to start adding pictures to my blog but I don't know what pictures to add... I'm not losing weight fast enough to add skinny pictures, and who wants to see my sweaty self after a run? So not exciting.

Well, here's a picture from my New Year's Eve weekend... had a fun time filled with dancing and drinks. Two of my favorite things (guilty as charged).


Me and the hubster

 Not the greatest picture, but... oh well. Jarrod always squints, and I look sweaty. End of story. Peace!

Not quite new year's...

What's my resolution? Well I wouldn't quite call it a resolution but more like a goal. I really want to run a half marathon. I set out to accomplish this goal last summer, but a string of ridiculously hot, humid weather bummed me out and I quit. Now, trying to run a half marathon is going to consist of a few challenges.

1. Running.
2. Long runs.
3. Not dying.

I'm reading a book right now (you can order it here, if you'd like) and it's really getting me motivated. In the book she talks about wanting to take naps on park benches during long runs, peeing in bushes without anybody seeing, and other funny things to get you really into running.

So I'm on week on. So far I have gotten in 3 runs. Monday and Wednesday I ran 35 minutes, about 3 miles each time. Today (Friday) was my "long run" of the week, 45 minutes and I managed to get in 4 miles. I think the gal that wrote that book must have been a pretty slow runner, because in a couple weeks my long run is supposed to be 4 miles. I don't know. I'm just going to try and follow it and not die, and not quit. So I'm really going to try and blog about my training... If I have the energy :)

Candy

This time of year the candy and treats... are... everywhere... Seriously. I work at the hospital, and patients bring it to thank us for the care we give, other nurses bring it because they don't want it at home, and sometimes it just appears randomly out of nowhere (OK, the carolers brought it.. but seriously, a giant box of candy?)...

I ate way too much of it yesterday and today it has left me feeling pretty crummy. But today is a new day and I'm not going to let a little chocolate get me down.

So I'm telling you this, candy: Today I will not give in to your temptations. Yes, you look and taste pretty delicious but despite what my taste buds are telling me, you are not worth it. Love, Katie.

Ha... I hope I can follow through on this. It really is annoying the amount of candy that's around where I work. Ugh.

a new plan...

So Weight Watchers has unveiled yet another adjustment to their classic "points" program. Last year it was the new PointsPlus, and this year is PointsPlus2012. So, my daily points allowance went from 29 to 26. Boo. But, it has given me kind of a new start so I'm trying to be on track better.

Spent some time last Sunday baking a couple of goodies with Sarah that would be WW-friendly. We made Pumpkin Cheesecake and peppermint bark fudge.

The pumpkin cheesecake I've made before and I find it to be delicious! The sour cream topping is soooo good, and the cheesecake is really creamy, for being so light. The peppermint bark fudge, however, I really wasn't crazy about... I thought it had a really "gummy" texture, and just kind of reminded me of overdone brownies. I don't know. It is good for a quick chocolate fix but I don't think I would make it again. I'd rather have the real thing. Yummmmyyyy fudge... But, I guess that's better to have in the fridge because it's not so tempting and at least if I eat it I know how to count it correctly.