You Spin Me Right Round Baby

Right round like a record baby, right round, round, round!!

That and one of Nebraska's favorite sons says "Tara...Git 'er Done"...thanks Larry the Cable Guy.

Those are the statements that were going through my head during my dreaded quality time with my neglected dread treadmill.  Its not totally neglected, hubby has been getting up and running 3-4 times a week in the morning and since he refuses to run outside for some strange masochistic reason, he runs on the TM.

I, however, have a definate, passionate hatred for the portable piece of road that makes me feel like the hamster in the photo above. 

Sidebar: IS that a hamster or a bear....if its a hamster, he needs way more time in his little wheel cause he is a bit bearish looking....but if its a bear, he is doing OK.

Anyway, because of a lack of time, 2 toddlers and a major test in my EMT class tonight, I had to suck it up buttercup, and pound out 3 miles on the dreadmill while Thing 2 slept and Thing 1 stayed out of mischief watched a movie. 

I dug out my compression sleeves because I always get shin splints after the DM, found my running shorts and tank top (none of which was readily available since I have been running in 20-30 degrees for 2 months now), my iPod (that I haven't run with in several weeks) and headed downstairs.

The miles went by so.slow.  Like crazy slow, I really felt like I was standing still.  I hated every minute and .10 of a mile but I got it done.  I had a great sweat going, which I love so I know I worked hard and being that I do despise it, I feel really accomplished.  Kinda like I did when I ran 5 miles for the first time.  I did something I knew would suck but I "Got 'er done" (Thanks Larry!!).  Suffering through the dreadmill does have its benefits, first and foremost being, I know I can run so if I quit before I hit my goal, I'm going to be furious with myself for the rest of the day.  And when I make my numbers, I feel really proud of myself because, well, because it sucked the whole time.  Just another reason why I love to run.....pushing myself past my self-imposed limitations.  That's whats its all about.

Wish me luck...this EMT test is going kick my ass.  If your my neighbor, pray really hard ;-)

Its a beautiful day

for a rest day ;-) 

I was completely unaware that we were supposed to get this junk today.  And by junk I mean that inbetween not-quite-snow-not-really-rain-misting-cold-so-the-roads-look-ok-but-then-you-spin-out-on-the-highway-and-know-they-are-not-ok type of junk.

So Im happy today is a rest day.  Hubby had a pickup that broke down this weekend so he is in need of some free labor assistance from me to get chores done.  Mainly caking/feeding. 

Cake is a little chunk of mineral supplement that we drop to the cows a couple times a week.  To bad for my husband that he needs the help because when you get me, you get the 2 boys as well.


Bran - he is in there, I promise.

Sage's job...he honks so the cows know its time to eat!

Anyway, we drive around the pick up, daddy stands in the back and scoops out the cake by the shovel full to the awaiting critters.
Usually this can be done with very little marital discussion, but occasionally, I hit a hole or hard as rock "cow-pie" and Shawn's life flashes before his eyes.  Occasionally, I may do it on purpose but never hard enough to knock him out....just throw off his balance a bit....dont be mouthy when momma is driving.

This moring, with the arrival of the "junk", it was really pretty so I took my camera along as well.  Enjoy a sampling of the photos of where


I live.....lots of cows, not alot of trees and miles and miles of hills. 

Enjoy this little photo-journey of my day today....the life and the critters that keep me going.

5-45 is a big of a pet as a cow can get....without being a milk cow!

Because of that, she is a giant pest as well!

 

Jingle Bell 5K Recap

PR!!! PR!!! PR!!! PR!!!

Yes, I am BEYOND excited because we have been waiting a week for results.  I forgot my Garmin (again, bad runner, BAD runner) so all I had to go on was that it felt like a fast race.  However that could be because of the blowing snowy and slick roads.

But let me compose myself and give a proper recap.

It was cold and windy and less then favorable conditions....as in 23 degrees with 10-15mph winds and a 90 mile drive so that we could run 3.1.  Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?  Thankfully, I had my partners-in-crime with me as Katie (the other sporting a tutu), Jamie, Heather and Sammy all along for the ride.  Literally...we piled into Heather's mega-cab at 630am for the drive to the race. 

Sidebar:  The race was not only 90 miles away but in another time zone, moving everything up an hour for us.....thats just how we roll in the sandhills.

Jamie made breakfast burritos (super delicious), the smell of them didn't make Sammy puke as she warned was possible on Facebook the night before (always a plus), and the tutus didn't get crushed on the way to the race (it was all about the tutus). 

Me, Heather, Jamie, Sammy and Katie

We made it, slipped and slide across the parking lot and seriously questioned what we were doing.  Jamie questioned what she was doing there and if a sweatshirt was worth it.  I didn't tell her till after we were already there that if she had skipped out, her sweatshirt would have been mailed to her anyway.  I'm pretty sure she considering strangling me at that time but we were in public town so might as well run, right? 

Sidebar #2:  Check out Jamie's race recap here....after reading it, I'm sure she was cursing me after finding out about the sweatshirt disclaimer, oops!

There were over 600 people at the race.....YIKES!!!  Conditions being what they were and the amount of people, Katie and I figured out hopes of a sub 27 were gone.  And really, I was OK with that......conditions were bad so I had an excuse if it all went down the snow covered drain.

Katie and I figured out that if we stayed to the shoulder and ran in the snow (versus the packed-down snow in the middle of the road) we would have better traction, which we did.  We did take off kinda quick and I wished we hadn't because I really wanted to pass on the news-flash to the rest of the ladies so that they didn't crash either, but it would have been more dangerous for me to stop in the middle of the pack of runners on snow-packed/icy roads then to just keep going....so I hoped they were all OK. 

Starting line...yep, told ya..snow covered roads!

We ran hard, and it wasn't so much to get a better time as much as we wanted that snow as fresh and non-stomped on as we could possibly get!  Apparently it worked well for us as we crossed the finish line.....to find out the clock couldn't be used in snow. 

No visible time.  No watch.  NOTHING TO GO ON....AHHHHHHHHH!!!!

With 600 runners I wasn't going to ask the guy poor soul  who was manually writing down the times that the other guy poor soul was calling out to him while yet another guy poor soul was taking our bib tags.  Nope, I figured we would wait till they were posted and get them there...no PR was possibly anyway so why worry about it.

Katie and I headed out to the corner before the finish line to cheer on our running buddies and it wasn't long before we saw Heather coming down the road!!  Not far behind her was Sammy and Jamie was a few paces behind her.  We all made it, no one slipped, no one WALKED and no one was injured!!

We loaded back into Heather's mega cab and headed back to work the high school concession stand as a fundraiser for the youth organization that we are all a part of and helps raise money for the kids in our tiny town to participate in sports. 

No, we didn't sport the tutus in the concession stand.

Fast forward a week....I emailed the race direction and asked if she had the time, could she please email me our results. 

Imagine my shock and awe when I read 26:11!! 

26:11.  We hit our goal.  We beat our goal....we smashed it into the ground and slipped and slid on our goal......as Jamie would say WOOT WOOT!!!

I wonder what we could have done in good conditions?  With my watch?  Probably not nearly as well, to be honest.  With the watch, I would have thought, slow down, you pushing to hard for the slick roads.  I may have been more conservative to keep from getting hurt and landing on my tutu. 

But I didn't have the watch and I wasn't more conservative and I honestly ran my tutu off and felt good.  I feel even better knowing my time.  I now know what I'm capable of doing.  I have no excuses.  I am capable of a 26:11 5 K, so I'm capable of a 25:59 5K, which is my new goal. 

I'm also capable of 13.1 miles, which is my next big adventure, May 6, 2012 in Lincoln.  So far partners-in-crime Katie and Heather are in, and I'm hoping Jamie also (I promised no peer pressure, but I didn't promise you wouldn't tweet her and pressure her).  Sammy should be but since she is the high school rodeo drill Sergeant coordinator, she should probably be there instead of trasping across Lincoln with us.  However, we are much more fun.

I love my new PR, but I'm so very thankful that I was able to spend a girls day with some great friends.  I'm very happy and proud of Jamie and Heather for sticking with their plans and running the race.  Its an accomplishment, for sure and they both rocked!!! 

Cant wait till the next one ladies!!!!

Tweet Tweet

Can you guess what that means?  I'm sure you can.....yes, it has finally happened.  I have taken the leap to twitter land. 

Yes, I have finally caved to peer pressure (morbid curiosity) and now have a twitter account.
My husband is considering disowning me.  He isn't really considering it.....he does love me but he is fairly embarrassed by the whole thing.  I find that amusing and something I should probably tweet about, right?
Anyway, I'm lost....I'm easily confused anyway so this whole twitter thing is really confusing to me but I figure there are alot of people out there who tweet and they have alot less brain cells then I have....at least, it would seem so after reading what they post, er, uh...tweet.
Took me awhile to find Jamie, but I did.  Well, she found me....after some emails back and forth that went something like:

Jamie: I cant find you, search for me.
Me:I cant find you either, did you search with the email addy
Jamie: Why cant I find you!!! 
Me: I'm not smart enough to tweet.

Rest assured, we are linked and tweeting away (to each other...follow Jamie too).
I also had serious issues uploading a picture, but I blame that more on my computer then myself.  I did, however, enter my first blog contest via twitter this morning...and that only took me 2 tires before I figured out hashtags and that other stuff.  I haven't really figured it out yet but copy and past is a beautiful thing ;-) I also am having serious issues (aka getting wicked you-know-what) at trying to get the link to post on my blog page.  But I did figure out how to add the link in text to follow me....just a subtle hint, of course.
So please, follow me on twitter (if you tweet) because you never know what shenanigans I may or may not put out there.  For instance.....I bought an at home eyebrow waxing kit today and I felt the need to share that in twitter land.  Might not have happened if I had more then 1 follower but its there....cant take it back now.

Happy Tweeting!!!

P.S. I did get a run in today.....roads were a bit slick, but I didnt land on my keister and neither did Katie (who because of an unfortunate-yet-could-have-been-much-worse incident with a wood splitter had to run with a sock on her hand).  4 miles...felt great!!!

Mrs. Grinch

Thats me....Mrs. Grinch.  Thats a had thing to admit to youself (let alone toss it out there into blogger-land) but really, its true.  Christmas is far and away my least favorite holiday/time of the year.  Always has been.  Well, not always.  Pre-1996 it wasnt my favorite, but it wasnt dreaded like it is now.
Yes, I dread Christmas...like I said, Mrs. Grinch.
Long story short is that my Grandma Katie passed away on October 6, 1996.

Christmas was always her show.  She LIVED for it.  The cooking, the decorating, the family time.  All of it, and it was all about her.  Really, it was her show and she put on one.  Grandpa would spend a  month decorating the outside of their house way back in the 1970's and 80's so that every inch was covered in lights.  Im talking every. single. possible. open space had a light or a piece of the nativity. Not in the "National Lampoon" style either...classy and beautiful.  I remember being 6 years old and sitting in the living room while Grandma would say her rosary after supper, and watching the cars drive by, just to look at the house.  This is long before it became a competition with neighbors and long before multicolored icicle lights could be set to music. Before it was super cool.
I will always think of Christmas as their holiday.  Grandpa passed away in 1992...on December 23.  Grandma, in October....and my dads father in November.  It was a long few years and sadly, it changed the holidays. 
Now that I have my own kiddos, I really try to get into the holiday spirit but thats just not me.  Im not a cookie baker or decorator, Im not crazy with lights outside (however Im forcing my husband to put some up this year.  We dont have neighbors to oogle over them but the kids will love it).  I dont meticulously fuss over our tree...shoot, this year I even contemplated NOT putting a tree up because there is no way Im going to be able to keep the boys out of it.  Nope, not gonna happen. Rest assured, there will be a tree in the Hanna family living room but no ornaments

I am doing the Daily Mile Secret Santa to keep some holiday spirit going, and (Just) Trying is for Little Girls Christmas card exchange, that Im really looking foward to.  We have an Elf on the Shelf (Freddy.....talk about P.O.W.E.R!!), Santa will be in town this weekend so the kids will (hopefully) sit on his lap and get their pictures taken as I have not manage to accomplish family pictures.  I have someone lined up to take them, but just wont pick a date.  Me, not her.  What is wrong with me!!!
Piper wont be here this year (which just adds to my grinchiness) so we will be holding off our family Christmas till after she gets back, in January.  2012.
I hate the commercialization of Christmas.  The only time being a stay at home mom bothers me is around Christmas because we dont have the dual income that would allow me more freedom to get my family the stuff they ask for.  My daughter asked for a Kindle for Christmas and Shawn wants a nice pair of $300 snowpants for sledding....enough said. 
My parents are in Michigan and my brother and his fiancee are in Colorado.  I just saw my parents but I wont see my brother at all. 
The hardest part, is pretending that none of those things bother me when they really do.  Im getting used to it.....its been 15 years and its better then it was before.  So far, it hasnt cost me my marriage, my husband isnt perfect, but he is perfect for me.  Even if he doesnt get it (which he doesnt) he just lets me have my issues and move on. 
Can you tell I didnt go for a run today......goodness!!!!  I guess Im just down, and needed to vent.  Why out here, Im not sure.....but something about it feels safe.  Thank for listening/reading.  I prommise, next blog will be running related and/or something amusing about my kids.....they always keep me on my toes and in a good mood (for the most part).

Its a little chilly these days.......

Its been cold the last few days....which means I have been running in the cold.  Saturday, Sunday and Monday.......Actually, I have timed it well and been able to be out in the 25-30 degrees which isnt terrible (unless you live in a Southern state, and you probably think Im insane).  Heck, my husband thinks I have a few screws loose but that doesnt stop him from "informing" me when I need to take a couple extra laps around the pasture ;-)

The Jingle Bell Run 5K was last weekend and it was FANTASTIC! The weather wasnt...it was cold (read 25 degrees) snowy and windy but without any major (or minor) injuries and no one landed on their tutus, I call it a successs.  Im waiting for the official results to be posted before I do my "official" recap.  See, I forgot my Garmin (I know, I know...BAD RUNNER) ANND the big clock that they usually use at the finish line was also broken....so long story short, I didnt want to wade through 600 people to bother the poor time keeper with looking up my results.  I also didnt want to wait for 600 plus people, to finish in the snowy and icy conditions.  So I wait....but Im thinking, it could be good :-)

Im out to go help work some cows now....which is good cause my kids are making me bonkers.  Its an off day for me, so Im looking fowarding to get outside in the (wait while I check) 21 degree weather.

Happy Running!!!!

I almost died.

Really, just a few minutes ago....32 years flashed before my eyes in a, well, flash. 


And I blame blogging. 


It all started because I have the Jingle Bell 5K tomorrow.  The one I am sporting my fantastic, amazing, crazy puffy because of 100 YARDS (yes YARDS) of tule handmade tutu.  Well, I have always wanted to do one to those posts where you show off your running "attire" before the race....sooooo I attempted a picture.


With the help of my 2 year old (and if you have any experience with a 2 year old you know that they are not nearly as helpful as they think they are) I got everything all laid out on my bed, a soft, comfy wake up with a backache every morning bed, grabbed the camera and realized, I needed to stand on the corner of the bed to be high enough to do the whole outfit justice.  So me, in all my brilliance, jumped up on the bed, which apparently meant that my 2 year old should start jumping on the bed also and he lands right on my tutu. 


I only panicked slightly, which he thought was so funny, he did it again.  Once I corraled the short person (aka banished him) I climbed on the bed, again, balanced right on the very edge of the very soft, plushy, pillow top corner for about .26 seconds before my lack of coordination, mixed with gravity tossed me right on to the barbed wire stitching on the rear pockets of my favorite pair of jeans. 


Thankfully, my cat-like skills (that apparently failed in landing me on my feet) did manage to keep me from hitting my head or, more imporantly, dropping my camera. 


Safe to say, you will have to wait till tomorrow to see the whole outfit, when I have it safely on my body (and Im standing on solid ground). 


But just for you...here is a teaser....