Celebrity Sitings

On our way back from Crockett after Christmas we stopped in West Monroe Louisiana.  You know to visit with our good friends Willie, Jase, Jep, Uncle Si, Phil, Mrs. Kay……  Trey hates reality television.  I LOVE reality television.  Not all reality television-not Bachelor/Bachelorette, Big Brother, Real World, etc.  I'm a Real Housewives, Vanderpump Rules, Duck Dynasty junkie!  We just switched from Dish to the local cable and we no longer will be getting Bravo.  I almost went into full panic mode.  Then I realized my new gym has Bravo-crisis averted!  When Trey thinks I'm at the gym for a ten mile run--it will really be for back to back episodes of Real Housewives.  I'm so glad I switched gyms.

 The boys are showing off their expert Duck calling skills.

Thirteen hours remaining in the road trip-Duck Calls just make the ride more peaceful.

 Trey with the boys in front of the tour bus.

Me with the boys-they were so over the photos at this point.

We went close to closing time-and the entire store was still packed.  I have no clue how they shoot the show in the warehouse.  Maybe they shoot it offsite and use good editing?  Maybe they close the area and keep tourists out for the day?

Daily Workout:  I'm going to post my daily workout at the end of each post.  I've been hitting the gym regularly for seven weeks.  No pounds are gone, but the inches are going away.  The first two weeks I went two times a week with the goal of going two more days and not working with the trainer.  The next four weeks I went three days a week.  For the next four weeks I'm going to go four days a week.  This week  is pulling out the dedication-I have to leave the house by 4:45 in order to get the workout in and get home to get Drew out the door to school!  Monday and Tuesday I ran three miles and did my training. (Arms, abs, legs, squats, lunges, self defense moves).  Today I ran FIVE miles--I heart treadmills with televisions--and did my training.  I need to work on my diet--but getting back into working out is the first move in the right direction--baby steps! 

Sand in My Shoes

I grew up in the Lowcountry.  I love the beach.  Though I am at least three hours away from the beach both of my boys have my love of the beach.  We had hoped to be able to spend a week at the beach last summer but the time didn't present itself.  I've run the Diva's Half Marathon in Myrtle Beach the past two years.  The first year we stayed at a hotel with an indoor waterpark; last year we stayed in a two bedroom condo in Litchfield.  Both years it was extremely cold-but my boys still wanted to play in the water!  We were able to make an overnight trip to Beaufort last August and that Sunday we packed the boys up and headed to Hunting Island.  It was really crowded-but I loved it and the boys loved it.  We just ignore Trey's opinion otherwise we wouldn't be there:)

Jac fell asleep as soon as we got in the car to drive home-but I couldn't travel all the way there and not bring everyone to the Lighthouse.

Views from the Lighthouse.  Jac and I had to stay on the ground-he didn't meet the height requirement. Drew and Trey climbed to the top.

Trey and Drew with the Lighthouse in the back.

Any day at the beach is a good day!   

Things That Blogging Makes Me Do….

I have a shopping list a mile long due to the various blogs I read and the items that they blog about!  Every Tuesday I'm going to try to spotlight a new must have item.

 I'm on my third cup of coffee; which is really like my sixth cup of coffee according to the measurements on the side of the coffee pot.  I probably won't make it to the office on time.  It won't be the traffic's fault.

I've been up since four.   I've driven to Cheraw to workout with the trainer and run my three miles.  On the way home I pass it all-Sonic, Hardees, McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, and Bojangles. Did I leave anything out?  Gas stations with donuts and other yummy goodness.  I have this in the back of my mind:

No lie-this Clif Bar tastes like a girl scout cookie.  The Coconut Almond Milk as my new creamer is just icing on the cake.  Try it--you'll love it!  The Clif Bar also goes with our shift to try to eat cleaner/healthier.  I really could just eat one for every meal. They are so good!  I'm having to limit myself to one a day.

I'll be back next Tuesday with another purchase I've made due to blogging!

Catching Up

I have many thoughts for a blog post--pictures, computer, time to write are like a magical moment in my world.  I've been up since 5 a.m.  I drank my coffee, I ran my three miles, I worked out with my trainer, I put away some laundry. And I still was late for work.  Yes, I was late for the .2 commute with no traffic….. Here's my Christmas decor.  Read back through my 2013 posts.  I was done or almost done with the bathroom.  I had a DECORATOR coming to finish it all up.  He's still not finished!  He's suppose to make my life easier-ha!  My Christmas tree didn't get up until like the second weekend…the decorating was a "bonus":)

Here's the Christmas Tree.  I love how he did the ribbon/mesh stuff.

The stocking's didn't make an appearance-this momma paid too much money for these fancy hangers:)

Our Santa's.

 Our Nativity.

Our Frosty's.

I heart our Nativity!

Angel's we have heard on high.

PS-There will be no Christmas jammies posts.  That will just confuse the year.  Momma needs new pi's:)

Birthday Dilema

I have a problem.  I have been through ever photo I have.  The are no photos of Jac blowing out birthday candles.  Second child failure!  Do I photoshop a party?  Yikes!  I am that mom.

Both years around his birthday we went to Myrtle Beach.  I ran the Diva's Half Marathon.  The first year we stayed in a hotel that had a neat indoor water park.  We went to eat at a really yummy Italian restaurant.  The second year we stayed in a duplex in Litchfield and got treats from the Fresh Market.

Little guy's reaction to his mommy's failure.

Don’t Call me Betty

I think I’d be a really good cook.  If I had time to cook.  If I lived in an area with a decent grocery store.  I read other blogs with envy of their menus!  I’ve been to the Piggly Wiggly in town when there were zero avocados -0- zip none.  This wasn’t the get your bread and milk the snow is coming shopping trip so the store is empty-this was just an average everyday trip to the store.  

I wish I knew how to keep certain ingredients on hand to whip up some yummy healthy concoction.  I wish I knew what those ingredients were!

I love finding recipes.  I loved planning, shopping, and preparing the meals for Thanksgving 2012 and Christmas 2010 and 2013.  Planning. It’s all in the planning.

If we keep yogurt, bananas, grapes and apples on hand the boys tend to eat those rather than Goldfish, pretzels, fruit snacks.  I try not to keep cookies, cakes, and candy in the house because I’ll eat them. 

I think Trey and I are in agreement to try to eat a cleaner diet.  When I stated we needed Peanut Butter this past Sunday at Target, he grabbed the Natural kind.  We buy whole wheat bread and skim milk.  From time to time we try to go to Fresh Market on Sunday afternoons; I think we just need to make it a mandatory trip.  The food in this town just isn’t worth shopping for!

I’ll keep you posted on any new menu items I make.  Currently my staples are Taco Soup and Spaghetti.  Momma needs to get more creative!  I pinned a clean spaghetti sauce-maybe I’ll give it a try.  Has anyone done their own canning?  That is the scary part to me.  I need to make our taco seasoning from scratch instead of purchasing the packets-we go through too many packages not to take a stab at making my own.  I've even seen some desserts made with beans--they say don't knock it until you've tried it.  I might need to take a month off of work to tackle these big ideas!

Two things to keep it real and end with:

1.  My trainer got his membership terminated from the YMCA.  There is no rule or policy that states that he can't train people or even that I can't bring an outside trainer in.  I tried to get the CEO of the YMCA, the attorney/board member, as well as the local head of the YMCA to forward me said policies/rules/procedures--they don't have any!  I felt like the right thing to do is cancel my membership-I even posted about it on Facebook and before I went to bed at least 4 other people wrote that they were canceling their membership.  I don't like that I'll now have to drive to Cheraw if I want to be a member of a gym, but I have to drive for everything else in life!

2.  We eat out more than I'd like to admit.  However, we're on the go a lot.  The following photos are my boys misbehaving at a restaurant on Murrell's Inlet.  We had to meet a client of Trey's to execute some paperwork.  It was an exceptionally beautiful October Sunday afternoon and we were able to eat on the patio.  Dining on the river-now that's my idea of pure bliss!

Exercise

BC....Before Cockrell I had all the time in the world.  It was all about me.  I ran a marathon-yes 26.2 in 2006.  I was at the gym doing body pump or cardio a few times a week and pounded the pavement.  I was in shape.  Awesome shape.  Eat everything you want to eat and still look awesome in clothes shape.  Then I met Trey.  Then we got married.  Then came Drew.  The excuses go on and on and on....At the end of the day, I've lost my mojo.  Let's be real-if I really wanted to exercise my a*$ would be at the YMCA every morning when they open the doors.  Oh, that fancy and expensive elliptical in the corner of the guest room would get used.  Sleep.  Oh I need sleep.  Sleep v. exercise--sleep wins these days.

Last year I made some silly resolution to run like 35 miles a week.  I made that resolution when I was on vacation.  Now at the beginning of last year I was able to pound the pavement.  Then I just don't know.  Somewhere I gave up.  I don't know why but I did...

I was always a self motivated.  I never had to have a workout partner.  Ya'll don't need to know how many days I go to work in workout clothes with the intention of running at lunch, leaving an hour early to run, etc.   I don't run and then come home and sit on my lazy bones.  Our YMCA closes at 9.  Really--that's about the time maybe I could go.  Think boys asleep, house straightened up, dinner cleared.  

Now don't get me wrong.  I'm not sitting here weighing in at 200+ lbs.  I'm fit-I'm just not in the shape I want to be in.  I don't like the way my clothes fit.  I don't like the mommy tummy.  I've even run 6 half marathons in the past two years.  I just wish I had more hours in the day.  I just wish the guilt of choosing to run for an hour at night rather than spend time with my kids didn't exist.

Things are looking up.  I bit the bullet and found a trainer.  I've been going to the gym three days a week for about 5-6 weeks now.  I even exercised one extra day last week! My goal is to get to where I exercise 5 times a week.  Then I'll start to work on my diet....

Just keeping it real--this is me smiling in the Sesqui State Park Trail.  I'm smiling even though I'm sweating like crazy and just a little bit lost.  Think the run where you take a wrong turn and 3 miles turns into 6+ miles.