Under The Bridge

When I was in high school and finally old enough to drive, I remember playing two different songs on my drive home after softball games depending on the outcome.

I had either my "Winning song" or my "Losing song" to look forward to and can't honestly tell you which one I enjoyed more. I know I loved winning, but the losing song is arguably my all-time favorite and always gently lifted my spirits and brought me back from the ashes.

The reason I'm telling you this is that yesterday when I got in my car to head for home at 8pm, I felt like I'd just lost a big game.

The first three days of the month are a crazy time for my team and this was especially hectic with two new teammates who are still learning the ropes from me, who is still trying to find the ropes to toss them a line. I spent 14 hours at my desk and did my best to teach, educate, encourage and demonstrate - but found myself running out of time to do my own work which as you can imagine would cause stress for anyone.

Listen - I didn't even have time to even eat the lunch I'd packed. Where on earth is it okay for there not to be time for lunch?

The past two days I've been at the mercy of this work schedule and have brought back home an un-opened gym bag for both of them. Spending dawn to dusk at my desk (6am-8pm) has really put me down in the dumps and I'm looking forward to this weekend already. One more day of this crazy schedule, then back to the normal flow - but at least I'm in the clear until the start of May to be expected to put in all the hours it takes to get the job done.

All it took yesterday on the drive home was to crank on my losing song. It cleared my mind of worries and gently lifted me off the ground to prepare for a new day.

Under The Bridge

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwlogyj7nFE&w=420&h=315]

Fun Fact: at 0:43 you'll see the Portland skyline!

Wish me luck today!

Easter Weekend

This past weekend was unbelievably gorgeous in Portland and I fear that this week of spring sunshine will come and go - not to return until July like many spring/summer transitions here in the Northwest.

To kick off the weekend Dan and I joined Brad and Brooke for the Hoppity Hops 5k that circled the Willamette River along the Eastbank esplanade and back around with views of the Saturday Market and lots of puppies...45 to be exact! Dan and I like counting puppies on our runs - hate us yet?

It was probably the fastest I've seen Dan hustle on our runs together and I can admit that I was picking up my usual pace too. Brad was goofing off with an 'easy' pace for him and Brooke was right in line. Dan and I are going to have to put in some hard work to get to where we need to be for our big Tough Mudder 2013 race in June.

After the race Dan had a tee time on the West side, so he kicked me to the curb somewhere between home and the freeway by my request and wasn't a minute late. My afternoon was a little different in that I ran the 3.4 miles home to round me out to 100.5 running miles in March. It also gave me the opportunity to count 30 more puppies and enjoy a relaxing afternoon home alone to catch up on reading blogs, watch my bracket remain in the #1 spot and begin some food prep for the week ahead.

Saturday evening we had plans to stay at mom and dad's house and met them home at the same time as they had returned from the coast. I've always enjoyed how casual Easter is in my family and this was the perfect example of that fact. Lazy evening with BBQ - falling asleep on the couch - being woken up by ice cream cones and puppies. I wish every evening looked like this.

Easter morning we woke up to the sound of puppies upstairs ... Okay, actually I woke up and nudged Dan for about 45 minutes telling him to listen for the puppies upstairs. They got more ZZzz's than we did.

As soon as they shot out of their kennels they raced down the stairs outside our door and before I knew it there was a puppy pile on the bed, rays of sunlight beaming through the window and a kind of memory that won't be going away for some time.

The rest of Easter Day we played, talked, ate and played some more. I'll stop here and let the photos speak for me:

We had a sleepy growing sister around!

Oh, did anyone get pranked yesterday?

April's Eight Great Goals

If you were anywhere near Portland this weekend you already know how great I'm going to say my Easter weekend was. So that's a story I'll save for a different day - Tomorrow if you're lucky

Today our focus here is on April and looking forward to what it may bring.

First of all, it definitely will bring a lot of smoothies.

The trick? Toss any fresh fruits or veggies into a blender, add protein, sample, pour and watch that smile on your face grow! Some pinspiration for other smoothie drinkers here.

More pressure will be on us at work, coming upon the end of the fiscal year in 60 days and needed to be on my A game non-stop. This hustle at work will make the days go by faster and clearly will make the weekends more valuable. I plan on spending a lot of time doing what I enjoy and making certain that Dan and I are having fun together when he's not out teeing it up on the weekends and whenever the sun decides to poke out from behind the clouds.

Eight Great Goals

1. Always have fresh flowers in the house and at my desk. There's beautiful daffodils in my backyard that I've been clipping and looking at in my home - so I want to make sure that I am always changing it up, keeping it fresh, and getting signs of spring everyday of the month.

2. Keep a food diary where I write down every last crumb that I consume - I've heard that can help to keep you more aware of what you're putting into your body and ultimately help you to make better choices in dire moments of snacking and hunger.

3. It is a little sad that we have anxiety about setting this goal and it might sound like too many for you - but Dan and I like stopping for latte's in the morning on the way to work... really like. This month we are only going to have seven latte's each and hopefully can save a little money in the process.

4. Landscaping fun at our house to get everything beautiful and groomed for the summer. There's old plants to uproot, weeding to be done, raking of leaves that have fallen and plenty to keep us busy.

5. After dinner in the evening if the weather is dry Dan and I are going to put our walking shoes on and go count puppies in the neighborhood rather than watch re-runs or the 5th inning from our reclining chairs.

6. For the 6th goal, I'd like to run at least six times in the morning before work. Pack my outfit and lay out my clothes the night before, get up early, drive to work, run, shower, and be well prepared for my day. This should be easy to do next week especially as Dan won't be carpooling with me due to his 9 day vacation - so that's why the goal goes above and beyond what I can accomplish in one week alone. I also need to go to six NTC sessions this month - it's been a few weeks since I've attended.

7. Dan's birthday is coming up this month and I'd like to make his 28 on the 28th a special one. He will be representing his golf league on that day thanks to his victory last year so I'll have to find ways to work around it. However, I don't think he can imagine a better way to spend his day on the course hitting the links!

8. Oops - Dan chiming in here... "Your last goal should be to hit a golf ball 50 yards (in the air)". Looks like we're going to the driving range!

April is normally one of my favorite days of the year to get my prank on, so we will see what I get into with my family, my co-workers and of course - Dan! I expect to see several "fake" engagements on my facebook feed so just know that I'm ready for you!

Thanks for hanging around another month - look forward to hearing about the sunny weekend tomorrow!