I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for months – it’s the weekend of my 5k!

Tomorrow I need to run a few errands, including getting our t-shirts to wear during the race, and picking up our “goodie bags” and bibs for the race. We then are meeting up with friends for a celebratory pasta dinner before coming home early enough to get a nice rest before the race on Sunday morning!

Running BFF and I got in one last run this morning before Sunday’s run and my body was pretty tired. I was able to run the 3 miles on Monday no problem so I hope with plenty of rest and water that the 5k won’t be too bad.

Work is really busy today but I wanted to take a moment to blog since it’s been a few days. I hope everyone has a great & safe holiday weekend!

After watching a Broadway Nails tutorial on Elle’s YouTube channel, I was anxious to try the product!

I used to get my nails done all the time until I developed a type of Eczema and am now no longer able to get them done due to chemical irritation.  I miss having beautiful french tipped nails!  I picked up two boxes of Broadway’s real short french tips to try.

You glue each nail on with super glue that is supplied in the box and then twist off the tiny tab when you’re done.  I actually just used fingernail clippers to clip it off.  The whole process could not have been easier!  I ended up filing the nails down a bit because I like my nails REALLY short so they don’t interfere with typing and iPhone-ing.

The nails lasted for about 5 days before they started to come loose.  I am pretty hard on my nails so I was surprised they lasted that long!

I plan to use the Broadway Nails for special events – at around $6 a box at drugstores, it’s quite the deal!

Our old dishwasher was from the 70s and had a handle you would slide to lock and unlock.  We used that to tell if the dishes were clean or dirty – if they were clean, we would leave the handle locked if we got something out of it.

Enter our new stainless steel dishwasher.

It is so sleek and cool but we soon found out there is no way to tell if the dishes are clean or dirty. (I don’t always have time to put them away as soon as the cycle is done.)

Thanks to my cute little magnets that Yahoo! sent me years ago – now we can tell!

We picked two of the magnets and one indicates that the dishes are clean and one that they are dirty.  I just swap the magnets out when I unload or run the dishwasher!

What clever ideas have you had around the house?

I did it!

Today I did my last run on the Couch to 5k Running Program! 

The best part is that I wasn’t even anxiously awaiting for the voice on the app to tell me I was at the halfway point!  She said “halfway!” and I couldn’t believe that I’d already been running for 15 minutes.

Three more runs next week before our 5k on Sunday!  Then we are going to start the Bridge to 10k Program.

I love this new part of my life!

My alarm went off at 6:30 this morning and I admit that it was really hard to get up.  I think I’m just not a morning person and that’s all there is to it.

We started our run at 7 and I love that it was so cool outside – it’s been in the 95+ range for the last few days.  We tried a different route and I am surprised at how quick the second half of the run went.

I was supposed to run my “graduation run” tomorrow, but because this week got a little off course, we’re going to run it on Saturday morning.

I am still trying to decide what training program I am going to use after this one.  I know there’s a Bridge to 10k program.  Maybe that?

I also signed up for DailyMile.com and am logging my overall mileage there.  DailyMile.com offers some great stats: I’ve gone about 55 miles so far in my training, been running for over 12 hours total, and I’ve burned enough calories to earn 54 donuts! lol

Starting today, you can go to the App Store on your iPhone and download the free Netflix app!  When loaded, it let’s you access your Instant Queue and you can watch any TV show or movie in their Online Catalog!

I tested it out this morning and am excited to report that the movie I picked loaded quickly and the quality was great!

This is great for use at the gym!  I love the idea of being able to call up any show or movie without having to pre-load it to your iPhone and wait for it to download!

Browsing through Etsy, I can’t help but find a ton of great items that I would love to own.  Here are some of my favorite finds:

1. Grizzly Bear Bean Bag – what is cuter than a bean bag shaped like a SLEEPING BEAR.  My heart!

2. Mini Teal Rosebud Pins – being that my nickname is Rosebud, and I love teal (GO SHARKS!), I couldn’t help but add these to my want list!

3. Race Keychain – while browsing for a gift for my running BFF, I came across this little keychain and think it’s such a great way to commemorate a 5K/Marathon.

4. Hoot Owl Shirt – this owl shirt is so cute!  It says he’s wearing a fedora but I like that it also looks like a cowboy hat!

5. Surprise Keychain – select which one you want (I LOVE THE ROBOT!) or be surprised and get any of the cute little keychain charms!

6. Pharaoh’s Vintage Key – I love anything Egyptian and I love how this old key was given a new life!

What are your favorite Etsy finds?

Week 9 started today with a great 30 minute run with Chris & my Running BFF.

We’ve got 2 weeks left until we run our 5k and I’m really excited because I feel like I’ll be able to run the whole thing.  I’m researching stretching right now and want to make sure I do all I can to get through the 5k as easily as possible.

Looking forward to letting my body rest before Wednesday’s  run and Friday’s GRADUATION RUN!

I’ve made a few playlists in iTunes for my runs but I always come back to my old faithful – Rob Thomas’ Cradlesong.

Very rarely do I find a CD that I love in it’s entirety.  I don’t skip any of the songs and each has a great beat that is perfect for my level of running.  I’ve been a fan since Matchbox 20′s Yourself or Someone Like You and I and am enjoying Rob’s solo career music just as much!

My favorites: Give Me The Meltdown, Someday, Snowblind, and Getting Late

I’m back from my Week 8 Day 2 run and wanted to blog before starting the craziness that is today!

Due to scheduling issues, I was on my own for today’s run.  Just me and Rob Thomas.

Today was a big deal because after I hit the 28 minute mark - I KEPT RUNNING!  I ran an extra two minutes because.. well.. my legs were going and I didn’t want to stop them.  I could have kept going, but I didn’t want to overdo it.  This makes me so excited because next week is three 30 minute runs before I graduate the program and now I know I CAN DO IT!

I can’t believe I only have four runs left before I graduate the Couch to 5k Program!  Thinking of starting this program?  DO IT.  I highly recommend it.  If I can do it, you can too!

Over & out.