Another Year Older

Wow it's been a long time since I've updated. In the time that has passed not too much has happened but I did turn the big 2-6. I can't say it feels any different than any other year. I feel like after 21 birthdays are birthdays. I do love birthdays because they are the only day of the year that is all about you. On my birthday I let myself eat whatever and don't feel guilty. I let myself buy a "me present" (I haven't done that yet). I was talking to someone at work today who said that their 25th birthday was such a memorable birthday because they were so sad and felt like they were getting so old. I haven't had that birthday yet but I'm thinking it might be the 30th that does that to me, but who knows, maybe it will never happen. I like birthdays because it gives me a chance to look forward to the next year of my life and wondering what will happen. I can't say too much happened during my 25th year of life. I was really looking forward to lower insurance rates, but then i wrecked my car three months after my 25th birthday so that went out the window. I love that fact that I share my birthday with one of my best and dearest friends Laura. It's so crazy because we have the same birthday and our brothers have the same birthday. I guess we were just meant to be. I'm so thankful for her and sharing a birthday is just an added bonus. We did have some good birthday celebrations in college (the memories might be a little "foggy"). I really wish I could have celebrated with her yesterday but we are planning a celebration once it gets warmer and I can't wait!!!

Running is going well so far. I do feel this week I have kinda hit a wall with training. I have done all my training but it has been torturous getting off the couch to do so. I keep telling myself that I'm very fortunate that I am able to go to the gym and run, some people aren't so lucky. TNT training has been such an inspirational experience and it really does give running a meaning. I feel like trainging wouldn't be so hard if I was losing some weight or inches but that definitely hasn't happened yet (i'm obviously frustrated). The most I have run (with some walking mixed it) is 7 miles but this Sat. i have 8 miles to do. SHEW! At least it's supposed to be warmer and the snow is FINALLY starting to melt. I have actually seen a couple of patches of grass today (they are few and far between) and the SUN was out today! WOO HOO

Other than that not too much else to report.

Snow Snow and More Snow

I have no idea what the total snow accumulation is for Columbus in February, however, it is A LOT!!! I have to compare it to how tall it is on Ries and basically just her head sticks out. I have never seen so much snow in my life (seriously) unless I was skiing. We had so much last night that I did not have work today, which was nice. It's nice to have snow day that doesn't have to be made up :) I will be digging my way out for quite a while!!

My parents came up for the weekend and it was nice to see them. We spent some QT with my aunt who is doing great! It's sooo good to see her doing so well! Please keep the prayers coming!!! I got in my five mile run on Sunday which was cold but I finished! I am starting to get nervous now about the runs because they are getting up in miles, basically every weekend I will add a mile (so this weekend I do 6 miles, next weekend 7, and up from there). I have been pretty consistent with my training (only missed one) so I'm proud of that. I joined a gym last week which is nice because it's brand new and they have tons of treadmills and machines so I dont have to worry about not getting one (considering my apartment has ONE treadmill and it's hit or miss if you will get it or not). I'm so excited about my new gym because it's only TEN DOLLARS a month!!! So far so good as the traning goes. I have raised quite a bit of money but I would like to raise 1000 more than my minimum so that's my goal!

That's really about all that has been happening around her. Snow, snow, and more snow!!! I hope everyone is staying warm and safe! Have a great week!

Good Friends, Good Times

This weekend some of my best friends from Lexington came up to Columbus. Todd also came up and it was such a fun weekend. We had a ton of snow on Friday (around 10-12 inches i would guess) so Ries had a great time playing in all that. It was almost too much for her, it was up past her stomach so she had to jump to get from place to place, it was funny. I took a couple of pics, not very good ones, that I need to upload and post! Saturday Todd and I ran errands then went and met up with everyone to watch the Cats win-woo hoo! I love when I can watch UK basketball up here! After that I went to my first Bluejackets game and had a BLAST! It was so fun! Then we went to a pub after that and finished the night off with a bunch of John Wall dancing. Overall, a successful weekend! It was so great to see Paige and Jarred. It made me realize that good friends are hard to find, and even if we don't talk everyday, we can pick up right where we left off. I want to try to make a better effort at keeping in touch with my friends who live all over!

I love love love snow and I'm glad we got a really good snow, however, now that I'm running I'm ready for it to warm up some so I can run outside. Running on the treadmill is so boring! I have to cover the screen up with a towel so I don't obsess over ever second I'm running (Then i spend most of my run looking and thinking, gosh it's only been 23 seconds-it seems like at lesat two minutes). Team in Training is becoming an obsession for me! I check my website every ten minutes and love when i check my email and there are donation receipts. I am SOOO thankful to everyone who has donated and I'm setting a new goal to hopefully raise $1000 over my minimum so don't stop donating!!!! We had our "kick off party" on Wed. and it was so inspirational and motivating. I just hope once I get up in mileage that I'm still as motivated :) haha Thank you so much to everyone for their support!

I hope everyone gets off to a great week, it's hard to believe it's already Valentines Day! I love being able to do "holiday" activities at work and when the preschoolers pass out their valentine's it's always soo cute!

Frozen Legs

I had my second group run on Sunday at 8:00 AM when it was in the single digits outside and it was not just cold, it was FREEZING. I did complete my four miles (run/walking, but i'm okay with that) but i could not feel my legs for literally hours after I finished. When I took a shower the water was like ice by the time it ran down my legs and got to my feet!!! However, I kept telling myself running in the cold is nothing compared to fighting cancer. It really is inspirational to have a "hero" and people to run for. It makes it so much easier to get through.

Other than that the weekend was pretty un-eventful. My cousin and I got some shopping done on Saturday (not that it's a chore for me to shop or anything) and I helped her with some wedding stuff. Working on wedding stuff is so overwhelming and I'm just a bystander, I can't imagine what it's like to plan a whole wedding (or how expensive it is)!!! WHEW!

This week is pretty busy, I hope it goes by fast!!!

Other than that not much new is going on! I'm jealous of all the snow my parents got-they got around 6 inches and we got NOTHING, just cold! I love love love the snow (and so does Ries)

Hope everyone has a great start to February!!!

No Voice=No Good

So I have been without my voice off/on for the past three days. I started having a scratchy throat over the weekend and Sunday my voice was going. Yesterday I worked 1/2 day and today I didn't work at all, I figured I should rest it and hope it comes back, I think it's working. It's pretty hard to be a speech therapist without a voice! Haha Let's hope it comes back today/night so I can get back to work tomorrow!

Todd came up this weekend and we had a great time. I love the time I get to spend with him and can't wait for the day when it's not just weekends! I had my work "holiday" party (a little late) on Friday at a local bowling alley. It was a great time! I won the award for "best form" because the judges said I had "the widest variety of forms" and I'm not sure that's a good thing. Then on Saturday I had my first group run and I completed 3 miles, I was pretty proud of myself I'm not gonna lie. I didn't run the full 3 miles but I ran the first 1 1/2 miles and then ran/walked the last 1 1/2 miles. It was a good feeling to get out and actually do something I used to enjoy. I was SORE this weekend, but it's all worth it. No pain, no gain :) I ran again yesterday on the treadmill. I hate the treadmill-it's so boring and your speed, time, and distance are staring you in the face. I did manage to complete a little over 3 miles and I ran more of it than I did on Sat so thats a step in the right direction I hope! I have realized that even though I kind of ran on my own during the group run (they split you up according to race, training time, etc) just being a part of a group is encouraging! Sat night Todd and I went over to a friend from work's house. We had a great time (and paid for it a little bit on Sunday!!!) Sunday was a lazy day of football and reading (which makes the best Sundays).

My jewelry from my jewelry party came in yesterday and it was such a fun surprise! I got some cute stuff that I can't wait to wear!

I have book club tomorrow-I just finished The Lovely Bones. It was hard for me to get through the beginning but it was a great book. I love my book club, it's so fun to get some girl time and to always have something to read. I'm so thankful to be a part of a fun group of girls!

I am starting to accept donations for TNT NOW!!!! You can visit my website at:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/coh/columh10/kmanning

Please help me make a difference, any donation will help me reach my goal of $1500.00!!!!

(all donations are tax deductible)

Run Baby Run

WHEW! I just signed up for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training (TNT). I will be doing my first group run on Saturday, everyone please pray for me! I'm so excited/nervous about this adventure. I wasn't sure if I was committed enough until I heard the bike coach speak tonight and his story about how it personally affects the lives of those living with these horrible diseases had me in tears and got me to sign up. I will be running in honor of my aunt, who is currently battling Burkitt's Lymphoma. I have seen her fight for her life and during all of these trainings and long runs she will be my inspiration. She is such a fighter and I hope that my contribution will bring the society that much closer to finding a cure. The race is May 1st so I don't have much time, but I believe I can do it! I will prob be running/walking and I'm okay with that, I just want to finish!!! I will be sending out emails/letters for donations soon so if you would like to help me make a difference a donation in any amount will be much appreciated. Raising the money is a little bit scary, but I know I can do it, I just have to put my mind to it!

Today was a slow day at work, I had a bunch of cancellations. Tomorrow we are having our "holiday" (in January) party at a local bowling alley. It's always a good time when we get together from work! I'm excited. I think Todd might be coming up too which is also an added bonus for the weekend. I'm looking forward to it!

Bling and Sing

BLING

On Thurs. I had a jewelry party at my apartment with girls from work. We had a great time (not to mention I got $250 in free jewels) It was so nice to hang out with girls from work, outside of work. Sara from work just started selling and it was her very first party. She did AWESOME!!! I'm so excited for her! I can't wait to wear all my new jewels!

SING (Happy Birthday that is)

This weekend I went home to celebrate Todd's birthday. We had a good time. I got to spend some QT with my family, Todd's family, and Laura and Chad. We had a great time on Sat. night and hit up some local "watering holes". It made me feel O.L.D. We went to dinner with my family and lunch with Todd's family so we did a lot of eating and celebrating. I love birthdays. They are one day that is all about you and I give myself permission to eat anything and do anything on my birthday (haha). I also generally buy myself "presents" (Just an excuse to go shopping). The drive home was crazy because it was soooo foggy. It was so weird, but it wasn't a bad drive. It's so funny how many cops are in KY vs OH. I can generally plan to see between 3-6 in OH and 0-1 in KY. However, on the drive home I only passed one total (In OH of course). I can't wait for the day when Todd and I can live in the same city and not have to do all this driving!!! Having Mon. off work was so nice, if only every weekend could last three days :) I love having the random day off every now and then.

I'm so excited because I just ordered Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I have read about it on FB and everyone says its such a good workout. I'm excited and can't wait for it to come in (it "claims" you can lose 20 pounds in 30 days, I'm hoping for 10). I also have my TNT meeting on Thurs. so I will find out more info about possibly running the half marathon in May. The thought of running it makes me excited and a nervous wreck at the same time. I used to run all the time and was decent at it, if only I can get back to that point. I just hope I can find the motivation!!!

Hope everyone is doing great!