Looking forward to the future

Tonight was filled with happy thoughts about my future.

I am so glad I am pursuing this career in nursing. I know I have a long way to go, but I really feel like this is what I was supposed to do with my life. I never felt this positive or good about getting my journalism degree all those years ago. I am definitely excited about nursing school (when I get in -- still have two pre-reqs to go) and I can't wait to be an RN so I can truly help people. What a change in perspective from the world of journalism, where everyone is convinced you, as a reporter, are out to get them and make lives miserable.

Anyway, I had lots of warm fuzzy thoughts while using the elliptical tonight. Maybe it's the endorphins talking, but things look bright for me and my family. It's a nice feeling. :-)

We're going to a birthday party in the morning. It starts at 9 a.m. and it's a 20-minute drive for us. Geez, that is unnaturally early for a Sunday party! They'd better have cake!

Oh, and anyone needing a good laugh should check out David's blog entry about farts. Seriously. It's a gas. ("Boo!!! Hiss!!!! Get the hook!!!")

Today's stats:
Elliptical:
Time: 30 minutes (body toning program)

False promises

I know, I know. I promised vacation pics, yet it's now FRIDAY and I still haven't delivered the goods. I keep getting sidetracked and haven't really made time. Plus, I hate how horrifically long it takes to upload pics to Blogger. I seriously feel like my life is ticking away as I sit and wait for the stinkin' thing to process.

Well, I am making time right now to get these pics up! The kids are both napping (RARE event!) and I just finished an hour-long workout, so I have nothing better to do right now. LOL!

So here we go!

Our motel, which was right across from the Disneyland resort:



The Tower of Terror as seen from the street:



Entering Disneyland:



Main Street and the horse-drawn carriage:



Tim looking on with the Matterhorn in the distance:




The Haunted Mansion:



Waiting in line for the Finding Nemo ride (yes, the seagulls actually say "Mine? Mine" while you're waiting in line -- too funny!!):



Mickey's Toon Town:





Has Tim been working out?:



I love Mickey Mouse:



The Mad Hatter Tea Party. Tim's not a fan of spinning rides, but he humored me and we did go on it once:



Sleeping Beauty's castle at night (so pretty!):



OK, that took FOREVER! Seriously, it took me 40 minutes just to get those stupid pics uploaded! I will post pics from California Adventure, the newest Disney park that's literally steps from Disneyland, sometime this weekend.

Today's stats:

Bike:
Distance: 10 miles
Time: 37:50

Elliptical:
Time: 25 minutes

Pics coming soon....

I will try to post some vacation pics tonight. I just need some time to do it.

I actually had a few hours today to myself. I ended up doing yard work for hours (blah) and I took the garbage to the dump. Now I'm all itchy and sneezy and need a shower -- BADLY.

I ran after I did my yard work. My legs certainly didn't feel fresh like yesterday. I am calling today a recovery run.

OK, I will be back later.

Today's stats:
Run:
Distance: three miles
Time: 34:18
Pace: 11:26 minute/mile

Slacker

I had intended to do a nice long post today, complete with pictures from our vacation. Yeah, that's not gonna happen tonight. I just got Matty into bed and it's 11 p.m., so the vacay pic post will have to wait until tomorrow.

But I will say I had a record-setting run this evening following my elliptical workout. It was my first run in 15 (!!) days, and I ran a lot faster than I thought I would. I have a two-mile race in less than two weeks, so I wanted to see if I could set a new PR for the distance (my goal for the race is a sub-20-minute time). Well, I started off slow for the first 1/4 mile or so, but turned it on and ran two miles in, get this, 19:58! That may not sound fast to a lot of people here, but for me that is smokin'! I know now a sub-20 is VERY possible for this race.

I will probably do one more "race pace" run before race day. And I will probably run tomorrow, since the kiddies will be at school in the p.m. and I don't start summer school until June 16. Yes, a few hours of "me" time!

Today's stats:

Elliptical:
Time: 20 minutes

Run:
Distance: two miles
Time: 19:58 (PR!)
Pace: 9:59 (first sub-10-minute overall pace EVER!)

I'm back!

And I'm beat!!

We drove home today, and what a long day it turned out to be. I am just wiped out. I will probably head to bed in a few minutes so I can be nice and rested for my workout tomorrow. I haven't run in about 10 days and I miss it. We did walk everywhere while at the Disneyland Resort (and it certainly is a resort now), so I did get some exercise (along with sore legs).

I'll put some pics of our trip up later. :-)

Good night.

Adios!

We are leaving for vacation tomorrow morning.

Chances are REALLY good that you won't see me here until after May 26.

Good luck to all my buddies who have races coming up!!! Can't wait to read all the race reports when I return!!

For now, the Magic Kingdom is calling....

Today's stats:
Elliptical:
Time: 20 minutes

Bike:
Distance: five miles
Time: 19:39

Can't wait!

We leave for our vacation on Saturday morning!! Yay! I have almost finished washing the ginormous pile of laundry, so tomorrow will be focused on packing our stuff. I can't believe it's almost time! :-)

Today was the hottest day we've had here since we moved back almost four years ago. We live very close to the coast, so we usually average summer temps in the 60s to low-70s. On a rare occasion we'll get to 80. Well, today got to 95 here in Fortuna!! Holy crap! It was so hot the kids couldn't play outside after 11 a.m. until after 7 p.m. Poor Matty was just hot and cranky as anything. Kara does a little better in the heat, but after a while she wanted to go inside, too. Oh how I wished we had a kiddie pool today! Tomorrow is supposed to be hot, too, so there will probably not be any running happening then. I used the elliptical tonight after the sun went down (we have no A/C in our house, since you normally don't need it, so indoors eventually became oven-like after several hours of sun beating down on us).

Today's stats:
Elliptical (I need to add a stats box for this exercise):
Time: 30 minutes
Program: Body toning No. 1