The extent of my 'couponing' and our shotgun date

Coupon for 'buy one daily special, get one free' + coupon for free chips & salsa after doing phone survey = a lot of good food for just $6.35

And when I say 'shotgun date' I mean we went to the middle of nowhere to shoot Z's shotgun.   Check out that blue sky.

Handing me the gun as I start freaking out {I haven't actually shot this particular gun since he bought it about 8 months ago, so I got nervous, it's powerful}

 How cheesy am I?

Leftover shells from someone else else's shotgun date...and my shadow.

"Babe, stop taking pictures and listen to me teach you how to use this, this is important"

I loved my neon orange Idaho hunter's hat.  Seriously.

We don't own an mechanical pigeon launcher {is that what it's called?}, and sadly for Zuriel, I'm not too consistent at throwing them with our little handheld launcher. 

After getting home we went for a 6-mile run, the details of which I'll leave for tomorrow.  Now, we just got home from getting a redbox and shrimp cocktail--another documented 'non-craving' of Zuriel's...


*Disclaimer:  the only reason we brought our lil' red non-manly car off-roading to go shoot guns is because Z was having car trouble with his truck this morning...he just thought you all should know that.


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-Do you 'coupon'?  I've heard of people who do it as their part-time job.

-Do you like to go shooting?  Have you ever been?
Before Zuriel, I think I've gone shooting three times.

Every single one of us

The whole familia was together for a fabulous 24 hours before a few of them had to catch a flight home to Texas.  As the kids grow up and go to college and get married and graduate and have kids and get 'real' jobs in separate states...it only gets harder to meet up.  The last time we were all together was November 2011, and before that was December 2010.

Meet the newest granddog of the family--Sammy, the german shepherd mix.  What a good looking pup, I wonder how big you'll get.

And meet the girl in the jammies who gives me the title of 'aunt'.  She embraced Easter in all of its egg and candy-eating glory.

My mom was excited for these mini Easter cupcakes

Behind that red rose {thank you Jacob&Ashley} is the white rose I got from graduation.  The smaller bag of cadbury eggs is the bag I bought for myself a couple weeks ago to be sure I got some in case Z forgot to get them for me... The ginormous sized bag on the right is the one Z bought me lots of weeks ago to make up for forgetting to buy them last year...  I shouldn't have doubted you babe.

The calorie-loaded french toast, mostly thanks to its syrup.  I actually didn't have any, my stomach wasn't in the mood after my run that morning.  My loss.

Remember this post where I told you fun facts about Zuriel, including how he has sewing skills?  Well, we borrowed a sewing machine for a fews hours last weekend and Z took full advantage by patching up about seven pair of work pants.

And Monday morning, after the rest of my siblings and mom left, Tina curled into a ball and was out until the next morning.  

 I was looking for pictures of our egg toss we had in that 'dog park' area in our complex...can't find them.  But let me tell you, it was hilarious.  We also ate things besides sweets and eggs, I just forgot to take pictures for evidence.  

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-What's your favorite Easter tradition?  Do you eat food besides sweets?

I'm not sure on the first question...maybe a tie between the egg toss and the egg-coloring.  But this year I got eliminated in the first round of the egg toss, I forgot to take off my wedding ring before catching the egg.  

And some family members try to get away with sugary foods only, but my stomach is too weak-sauce for that.

Last Friday Night

cue Katy Perry...  

It was everything I thought it would be and maybe more--I was so excited to strut my stuff in that cap and gown and was also so nervous to trip or something similarly dramatic while walking.

Lining up for commencement and super excited about it

 I'm not the blonde girl next to the stairs, I'm behind her, getting my coveted diploma cover

So happy for 1) finally walking and 2) not tripping 

Proud mama, excited daughter

My little sister was there, but somehow disappeared for the group pic.

We ended the night by joining the rest of the town in finding a place to eat out.  At almost 9pm we found ourselves at a pizza, salad, and pasta buffet.  Good way to end the night before a 9-miler the next morning, we definitely fueled our bodies.

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-Did you walk when you received your bachelors/masters?  I'm happy to join the graduated gang.  For those dreaming of being apart of the gang, don't worry, it all goes by faster than you think--enjoy it!

-Anyone else a fan of pizza/salad/pasta buffets?  Don't lie.

I'm serious, it was good fueling for my morning run the next day.

Sorry, wrong number

After taking the pup for a walk, I did some errands that included returning stuff I shouldn't have spent the money on in the first place, buying a couple other things that could be argued to not completely be a 'need' but definitely not completely a 'want' {I can justify almost anything, it's a bad quality}, and getting groceries from Sam's club.  Silly me didn't pack enough snacks for my 'trip' to the city for errands, so I waited patiently in every line for the taste-testers at Sam's.  And don't pretend like that isn't one of the main reasons you shop at Sam's or Costco.  And because sometimes blog readers {mostly me} can't grasp that what they're reading actually happened or they get bored without seeing a picture, I took one of my cart while waiting for my taste-tester of marinated&grilled pork loin.  It was worth the wait.

Maybe this picture explains a few things about how our family rolls when it comes to food, maybe it doesn't.  But I hope you notice and appreciate the large tub of cottage cheese in the back left.  How proud of me are you?  By the way, I never mentioned how much I enjoyed the responses and suggestions to help my cottage cheese fear.  I'll let you know if I get the courage to broaden my horizon from my triscuits.  Some of the suggestions were: adding bananas & cinnamon & a sweetener to make it taste like banana pudding, or add blueberries, or add granola, or put it in a smoothie, or substitute it for ricotta in lasagna {I've actually done this one before}, or eat it with pineapple, and the most unexpected but funny one "Or, if you want to get realll funky, eat it on fritos. See how healthy I am??"  I loved that one.  And yeah, super funky, I just might have to try it.  What else is in my cart?  Because I'm sure you're so curious.  The big bag in the back is frozen strawberries for our daily shakes, underneath it is chicken breast, then you have your 5 dozen eggs {because between Z's egg fetish and my occasional baking, we finish them quicker than you might think}, grapes because they're delicious, pineapple because the taste-tester was beyond mouth-watering and the nice lady told me how to pick a good one, beef jerky because sometimes it just hits the spot {but mostly because Z almost can't live without it}, cliff protein bars because Z almost can't live without it, cliff mojo bars because I almost can't live without it, pita chips because they are bomb.com with the hummus next to the strawberries, the top of the bag you can barely see is chocolate protein powder, and lastly tortilla chips, because we're mexican and sometimes the only thing that sounds good for a snack is chips and salsa.  I can't believe how long that run-on sentence was, my english teachers would be so disappointed.

Now I have to document my attempt at going on a 'run' with my dog.  Yeah she may be tiny, but anybody who's spent 0.5 seconds around her knows she has energy to spare.  She's just a super happy, friendly, speedy energizer bunny who rarely stops and who would love to lick your face.  Z has always mentioned that I should take her on a mile run at the beginning or end of my runs.  So while I was walking her yesterday, I decided to give it a shot.  There were three attempts: 1) she stopped dead in her tracks after about 15 yards when she realized I wasn't going to stop running and she didn't see our home, 2) she stopped after about 4 seconds when she realized what I was trying to do to her again after she had clearly just let me know she didn't want to, and 3) she ran the last stretch home, about 25 yards, and I was so proud.  Not sure if she'll be up for it again any time soon, but it was fun while it lasted.

And I should probably mention my embarrassing moment that turned into just plain funny.  I have Z, my parents, and my siblings on speed dial.  Yesterday I dialed #5 to call my brother Jacob, waited for an answer, no answer, and then the nice computer-voice lady tells me his mailbox is full.  So I text him.

me:  You don't answer AND your voicemail is full??  Jeez.

him:  Sorry this just woke me up

him:  Who is this

me:  Wha?? It's Natalie.  Get out of here

him:  Sorry. What's up

me:  K just call when you're awake

him:  It's okay calling u now

I know I sound upset and not nice, but, I wasn't upset in the least and my siblings and I have this somewhat sarcastic-y 'tough love' kind of way we talk to each other {may not be ideal, but it works for us and we know we love each other}.  Then he proceeds to call me.  But, it's not my brother Jacob, it's someone named Monica.  Wha??  Luckily she was extremely kind and after a couple minutes of confusion, I realized I had called Jacob's old number because I never though to change it on my speed dial.  That just tells you how often I call my brother when he's had a new number for over a month.  It's okay, he calls me, so it works.  

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-Any Sam's or Costco goers?  What's your favorite thing you get from there?

-Please tell me someone has dialed the wrong number before...awkward but funny, right?

Recovery method: walking and eggs

Last night Z playfully and gently squeezed my leg...and it wasn't until that gentle squeeze that I realized how dang sore my thighs were.  The previous night, after I ran 5 miles that morning, I went to the gym with Z to lift weights.  Can I just say that I love lifting weights?  Especially free weights.  And especially in the are where the toughest of the tough lift weights.  Not that I'm as tough as them, but I like to be the girl lifting next to the tough guys just to show them that I'm not intimidated.  Ha.  I'm embarrassed just by typing it.  But while at the gym, I did free weights focusing on my legs and bootay.  Who doesn't want to firm up those buns?  This girl wants to.  It had been a while since I had focused all of my time with the weights on just my legs.  I got an awesome workout in just about 45 minutes and then called it a day and stretched and did some abs.

Then yesterday happened.  I woke up and felt a little sore, but nothing to keep me from running a few miles.  So I ventured out and ended up running 3.25 miles {every 0.0 and 0.00 counts}.  And I thought I'd incorporate a small hill to really use all those muscles that were sore from lifting to 'loosen' them up.  I don't know that I'd say they loosened, but they were definitely being used, and I could definitely feel it.  So I'm barely able to crawl into bed by the time the end of the day rolls around and I fall asleep rubbing my legs.  People, we're talking I'm more sore now as I type this out than I was after any of my road races {besides my very first half-marathon}.  I know.  Crazy talk.  And what may sound crazier, is I tried to run again this morning.  Yeah I got about 10 yards before stopping and realizing that for my morning workout, I'll be taking the dog for a walk.  But not till I have my breakfast for champions, consisting of egg whites and wheat tortillas as prescribed by Z himself...seriously, he said I had to have eggs this morning.  So I sent him these pictures of my breakfast.

At least Tina is ecstatic.  She's been on so many walks the past couple weeks.  Yesterday I went on a walk with one of my fav's and her baby.  Look how dang cute he is, sunglasses and all.  Not to mention his beautiful mama.

Thumbs up cool dude

Always giving the thumbs up

When it comes to exercise, I'm an advocate of rest days, cross training days, and walking days.  Sometimes walking days can work as your cross training.  I just have to remind myself to be  reasonable and smart about my exercise and to listen to my body.  And don't forget to eat your eggs.  Well, I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't mention that I don't really like eggs.  I rarely eat them {unless it's an egg cooked into a toast...I'll show you later} and I especially don't like egg yokes.  But that's another post for another day.

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-Ever been so sore it made you walk funny or you had to forgo a workout?

You better believe it.

-Do you like eggs?  What about yokes?  You can say yes.  What's your favorite 'recovery' breakfast?

Wonton soup, a good run, and a rough run

Man it feels good to be running in shorts and a t-shirt again.  Soon enough it will be even warmer, making  a tank top mandatory to keep as cool as possible.  

To be honest, I actually kind of love running in the snow.  There's something about a blanket of snow covering everything in sight that makes running a little more exciting and intense.  But running with the sun beating on your shoulders, creating the best tan lines of your life, inevitably trumps the snow when considering the wind chill and potentially life-threatening ice patches.  

Our intended 7-mile run on Saturday turned into an 8-mile run and we both felt great.  Z got his runner's high as we were in the last couple miles of our run, making it all worth it.  He's getting more excited about our upcoming race, especially knowing he can whip out an 8-mile after only running a few miles earlier that week.  What a stud.  

In other random news, Z had an interesting craving Saturday night.  Wonton soup.  Wait, I thought he didn't believe in cravings?!  Yeah, me too.  He lectures me on pregnant girls and their cravings being allll in their head.  I don't plan on getting much sympathy in the food department when I'm pregnant.  Unless I keep track of all of his cravings and remind him of them when he starts to roll his eyes at my cravings.  Genius.  Oh and we did end up satisfying his wonton soup craving--after calling a couple places in town to see if they had the soup and if it was 'good'.  Of course they'll say it's good, they want our service.

Yesterday I went for a 5-mile run.  I wanted to keep a moderate-easy pace after our long run just two days before.  In the first mile or two I felt the tightness in my shins...wonderful.  I have this history of frequent shin splints, unfortunately.  In the last six or eight months I think I got them somewhat 'under control' {meaning if I feel them coming, I can do a couple stretches/massages and have it go away} and have only had a couple episodes of real shin splints that lasted for a day or two.  I especially haven't had any issue since buying my most recent running shoes.  Anyway, I felt the tightness and it wouldn't shake.  It makes my lower legs feel thick and heavy and it eventually makes it difficult/near-impossible to keep good form and a good stride.  This created passing thoughts of wishing there was a shortcut home because I wasn't having fun and I just wanted to stretch for a million hours until the tightness went away.  And then another thought would pass, reminding me I couldn't think like that.  Then another thought chimed in to tell me how lame the tightness was.  It was a constant battle.  So I did the only thing I could--I kept running.  I thought, the tightness may not go away and my form may look awkwardly stiff, but I'll get home sooner if I just buck up and get home.  So I ran faster.