30 Day Blog Challenge!

Thanks to JENNA for this awesome idea!!

30 Day Blog Challenge

You are to post a picture to go along with the list. This is going to start March 1st so you can link up when we start and share with your friends.

THE LIST:

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts
Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show
Day 04 - A picture of your night
Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory
Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most ****** up things with
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate
Day 12 - A picture of something you love
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 19 - A picture and a letter
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
Day 25 - A picture of your day
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

ABC's of ME!

I've seen this post all over and decided to join in, especially since I don't have anything super exciting to post about. I ran twice this weekend, BOTH outside and both early in the morning. HUGE step for me! And yesterday my run was pretty easy...never thought I would say that about a 22 minute jog! Today I run 10 minutes, walk 2, run 12. And tomorrow and Thursday are both 25 minute jogs. Sounds like fun! Tonight is dog class with Tuff and Red Hot Ruby...yay!! Also some much needed food and drinks with a few friends. Only 8 more school days till spring break!!

 

(A) Age: 25
(B) Bed Size: Queen
(C) Chore You Really Dislike: LAUNDRY. It's never ending...I can't imagine how behind I will get when I have children
(D) Dogs? Tuff!
(E) Essential Start Your Day Item: Toothbrush and toothpaste. And coffee with Sweet Italian Creamer
(F) Favorite Color: pink
(G) Gold or Silver? white gold
(H) Height: 5' 8" ish...I've never really known exactly how tall I am...sports rosters in school exaggerated it A LOT to make me sound more intimidating lol
(I) Instruments You Play: None, unfortunately...
(J) Job Title: Teacher, Coach
(K) Kids: None yet!
(L) Live: The greatest state in the good ol' USA...Texas!
(M) Mom's Name: Karen
(N) Nicknames: I don't really have any...I hate when people call me Meg, and my dad is the only one who gets away with calling me Liz...short for my middle name.
(O) Overnight Hospital Stays? None, ever. Knock on wood!!
(P) Pet Peeve: People who drive slow and won't move over...
(Q) Quote from a Movie: Umm...I can recite the Wizard of Oz word for word. Not kidding. I freakin love that movie.
(R) Right or Left Handed? Right
(S) Siblings: 1 younger brother
(T) Time You Wake Up? The alarm goes off at 6:00, I'm usually not out of bed before 6:45. My snooze button and I are in love.
(U) Underwear: Uh, yes please.
(V) Vegetable You Dislike: Brussels Sprouts. Disgusting.
(W) What Makes You Run Late: I'm usually on time...or I try to be. My dog is also an explorer, and sometimes I lose him and have to go hunt him down before I leave the house.
(X) X-Rays: wrist, when I was 7
(Y) Yummy Food You Make: I like to think I am a pretty good cook.My beef stew is pretty good, and chicken and dumplings. And chocolate caramel cake. Oh, and cheddar bay biscuits (the Red Lobster kind). YUM!
(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal: I haven't been to a zoo in a very long time, but I always liked the monkeys.

Fill in the blank Friday!

Thanks Danielle!!

1. I am currently obsessed with ...Strawberry Powerade Zero. I discovered it by accident last week and bought our local grocery store out of it 2 nights ago. I've tried to keep it to one per day, and I usually drink it right after I run. I LOVE IT!!
2. Today I am annoyed because...my shoulder is KILLING me. I tried to play with my 8th graders yesterday (I'm a volleyball coach) and hit a few balls and was a little sore last night. THEN I hit at my 6th and 7th graders this morning, thinking I might be able to work the soreness out, but it only made it worse. Getting older SUCKS.
3. The age I am is 25 and the age I feel is ??? If you ask my feet and my shoulder, they will tell you they feel 60. But my energy level has increased drastically since I started running, and I feel great!

4. My favorite place is ...this is a hard one. Probably the lake when we have all of our friends and family there. You just can't beat a glass of wine, guitar playing, and good company while you're sitting on the deck at the lakehouse. In case you can't tell, spring break can't come soon enough!!

5. Something I have been procrastinating is cleaning my car out. I swear my backseat is under all that junk somewhere, I just need to find it! Oh and I could make a very fluffy pillow with all of the Tuff hair that is in there...

6. The last thing I purchased was a red bull this morning...last night was a late night and I knew I would need it sometime today!

7. The thing I love most about my home is that it's always warm and comfortable. It may not be spotless, but I know at the end of the day I can relax on the couch with my 2 favorite boys and enjoy the simple fact of being home... 

8. What are your plans for the weekend?I don't even have a weekend this time...track meet tomorrow, and working for a little while on Sunday. Can March 11th PLEASE hurry up and get here??????? :)

Outdoor Obstacles

So, I will admit it. I was more than a little scared to do my running this weekend while we were at the lake. Literally, as I was driving in on Saturday, I was evaluating the path that I knew I would be jogging and saying things to my dog like, "Well, this hill is gonna be a fun one", and "Maybe I should turn around before I have to run up this small mountain." Eventually, Sunday morning rolled around and I was surprised to find that I was actually looking forward to getting outside and seeing how it was going to be. Or maybe I just wanted to get it over with. Whatever. I was awake before anyone else, so I changed and was lacing up my shoes when Seth drug himself into the living room. This is how the conversation went:

Me: "Good morning!"

Seth: "Why are you awake?" (Grumpy voice)

Me: "I'm going to run. I told you I was going to."

Seth: "Well, I didn't think you were serious. You always talk about relaxing at the lake. Running is the opposite of relaxing. (Still grumpy. Like he's mad because I'm going to run. WTH??)

Me: "I really want to keep up this workout I've been doing. Want to come with me?"

Seth: (Blank stare...) "You are REALLY running right now?

Me: "YES." (I'm hooking Tuff up to his leash, Seth is still staring at me like I'm crazy.)

Seth: "Seriously???"

Me: "I'm going now. If I'm not back in 30 minutes come pick me up off the side of the road."

Seth: "Seriously??"...



So I started my first 8 minutes, and ran in the direction of a cove that is about a mile down the road from the house. With a few hills in between, I actually did better than I expected...Tuff wasn't happy with me because he couldn't stop and pee on every stump and bush though. So during my first walking interval, I unhooked his leash so he could go explore. Bad idea. As we rounded the curve and the cove came into view, I noticed about 8 deer on the bank. Guess who else noticed them? See, Tuff doesn't just start chasing things on a whim. He thinks it's a game if other animals run from him. So they hightailed it for the fence and he ran after them. I yelled and chased until he finally came back to me, tail wagging and tongue hanging out with a big grin on his face. By this time, my 2 minute walking interval had been spent splashing in 45 degree water and jumping over driftwood trying to keep my dog in sight. So we hiked back to the road (leash securely fastened) and started the next 8 minute jog. About halfway through, Tuff was dragging behind me and trying to wriggle out of his collar, so I reached down and unhooked the leash again. I reached the cattle guard, which is about a mile and a half from the house, and turned around. Tuff was keeping up pretty well as we rounded the curve by the cove again. No deer in sight this time, and as I looked at the mist coming off of the water, it occurred to me that I was actually ENJOYING this. I wasn't checking my watch every 30 seconds or thinking about how bad my feet hurt. I felt good!! As I finished and got closer to the house, I felt really good about spending the rest of the day relaxing, and I realized I might actually be looking forward to running again tomorrow morning. What the heck is happening to me????? Monday's run was actually better, because I decided to leave Tuff sleeping so I could focus on nothing else but my running. Here's what I found out:

1. Running downhill is FUN.

2. Running uphill SUCKS.

3. There are LOTS of animals to see...in addition to the deer, I saw turkey and raccoons.

4. Running uphill SUCKS!!

So, I feel like I overcame a little bit of my fear of running outside. I still don't feel like running outside today...maybe it's because there is nothing to look at here in Flatland. I do know, however, that when Spring Break rolls around (12 school days!!), I am now looking forward to running at the lake instead of thinking of excuses to get out of it!

Corgi Camera!

I thought I would share a few pics of my Tuff today...he is such a great dog!!

Tuff relaxing after a hard day! Ha!!

We LOVE the lake...

And the pond...actually any water. Here he is chasing the ducks! Haha

Modeling in front of the fireplace at Christmas

Look at that smile! On the deck at the lakehouse, one of our favorite places to relax!

In the bluebonnets at the lake last spring...

Another lake pic...he likes to explore the bank and see what he can find!

A baking mishap...told you I couldn't bake. I was trying to knead bread dough, and I knocked the spoon with flour on it off of the counter. Luckily, Tuff's head caught most of it! Lol

Chasing more ducks...

Fetching a stick at the lake...

First snow this winter! He's not a big fan...like his mom, he would rather be on the water.

This is his lakehouse bed...it stinks like wet dog and lake water because this is where he passes out after a long day of swimming!

Tuff and one of his best friends, Sadie. This is a GIGANTIC chair that our friends got as a wedding present.

(Sadie May is a Weimaraner...Tuff is in love with her!)



Today's running motivation

Today's run was pretty good. I ran for 22 minutes, walking 90 seconds twice. This is not anywhere near the runs of the other bloggers that I am following, but if you would have told me a month ago I would have been able to do this today, I might have laughed at you. I really want to be able to do a 5k this summer...maybe if I stay on this track I will be able too. Of course, I will have to get over my hatred of the outdoors...actually, I LOVE being outside (especially on a day like today...84 degrees! perfect) as long as I'm not running. Walking my dog, playing sand volleyball, or doing any activity on the lake makes me happy. So WHY does my body go into super stress mode when I try to jog a mile and a half around my school? It's a mental block, I know...but I still hate it.

Speaking of the lake, THAT is my motivation for running for the next 3 1/2 weeks. That's right...16 more school days till Spring Break!! Although I won't be doing any of this...

(Not me...I wish!)

I WILL be doing plenty of this...



At the lakehouse. Reading, sleeping, eating (not too much!) and drinking the week away with these 2



awesome girls!

We might drink some of these...



And we will watch some of this...



Yes, it's Gossip Girl. Don't judge...





So, there's my motivation. I don't want to look like a beached whale while we are laying out on the dock...and I'm determined to keep my running routine up while I'm there. The only problem? There isn't a gym within 20 miles. I will be forced to run outside, and I'm not gonna like it. AND it's not the flat-see everything for 50 miles-watch your dog run away for 3 days terrain of West Texas. Oh no, this is hills and trees and humidity galore. Shoot me now. But I suppose I can sacrifice 30 minutes per day...because the other 23 1/2 hours will be pure bliss!

Tuff at the lake, a couple summers ago. He was asleep in this chair and looked exhausted, so we propped this bottle up next to him!! I love him!!



What's up with my title?

2 coworkers today have questioned my title...so I think an explanation is in order. Another passion of mine I forgot to mention is Texas music. The town I live in recently got a new radio station, and all they play is Texas Country...I'm in heaven. The song my title refers to is "Threadbare Gypsy Soul" by Pat Green. It's an old Pat Green song that he released long before he sold out and went Nashville...I'm not a fan of his anymore. But this song is great...

I've got myself a threadbare gypsy soul

Likes to dance and drink and go

Wherever the wind blows.

Got a little threadbare gypsy soul

Got a little threadbare gypsy soul.

I like to hear the highway sounds,

And I don't think, I'll ever settle down.

I can't change, and it's a sin

Hope St. Peter's gonna let me in,

Come on Pete, won't you let me in...

Anyway, there are several songs I think describe my life...this one, not so much anymore. But back in my wild days my best friend and I listened to it all the time while taking random road trips to any roping or rodeo we could find...we didn't think we would ever settle down. I did, she still hasn't! (Love you Lace!)



This was taken about a year ago, in the bar of my dreams(haha) in our hometown. We grew up going to this bar, both celebrated our 21st birthdays there, and have danced on the tables more times than I can count...

Oh, one more thing...the scarletpistol is in reference to the tattoo that I probably will never get. I've always said if I get one, I want a scarlet and black pistol on my hip, with a '09 right below it. That's the year I graduated from Texas Tech...and I am a proud Red Raider and will always bleed scarlet and black!