I Want To Buy A RV

I have wanted to buy a RV for about 3 years now but I could never hit the go button and spend a big chunk of my savings.  I recently decided that I should save just for that and I’m trying to go hardcore on my savings for it.  So look for me to buy one soon!

Everyone thinks I’m crazy to buy a RV, but I don’t care!  I don’t want a white trash trailer, I want a nice RV.  My long term goal is to live in it for a few years and save up cash for a piece of property.  Eventually I would either sell the property or keep it and build a house, all the while living in my RV.  I also want to travel around the country on road trips, and a RV will be perfect.  I have researched RV parks and just renting people’s land to park on, and it’s about $400-600 a month.  The RV will be MINE to decorate how I want and I can sell it later. 

No, I don’t have a way to pull it at the moment, but you can pay people to do that or my family has trucks!  I can get an apartment but I can’t paint or do much to make it mine.  I also can’t sell it later. 

I understand it is a depreciating asset, but this is my plan!  My friend Spencer lives in a refurbished AirStream and loves it.  AirStreams are super expensive so I am not sure about those!  We’ll see what God brings me. :)

I know I am the LAST person that you would think that would buy a RV, but I am excited.  This is something I’ve been dreaming about for a while now, so it’s not a new thought. Sometimes when people don't have the same dreams as you, they try and squash your dreams.  My dreams and MY dreams, and it's OK if they aren't yours.  

Wish me luck on my hustling skills while I finish up my savings!!!  I want to pay cash for it so I won’t incur any debt.  I hate debt!

Here are some of my ideas from my Pinterest board that I have been pinning.  I think I want a pink, purple and grey theme in my living room.  I’m debating on the other areas.

Goal: Read More

I had heard that you should strive to read 12 books a year (1 a month) at the minimum or even 52 books a year (one a week).  The idea of reading a book a month overwhelms me because I have started so many books in the past few years, but never finished them.  Partly because I get so bored halfway through that I quit, but that is another topic.

I heard the other day that if you read just 10 pages of a book a day, you could get through 30+ books a year?  Only 10 pages a day?  That is so doable and I can usually do that within the 30 minutes it takes me to fall asleep.  

I can carve out 30 minutes in a day to read 10 pages of any book, but it would be especially helpful to read 10 pages of books that will help grow my mind.  Self-improvement books are interesting to me lately.  You will be in the same position at this time next year as you are this year if you don’t take time to improve yourself.  The books you read, the people you associate with, and the arenas you spend time with all determine where you will be this time next year.  It’s true.  The skills you learn by books and people are some of the most important things that will move you to a higher level in your life. 

 

This is my not selection of books.  I found it on "the google". :)

If you can’t stomach the idea of reading 30 self-improvement books this year (I honestly don’t think I can either), switch each one when you finish.  Read one “fun” book that interests you, but then one leadership book or parenting book that will lead you to become a better person.

I’ve heard it said that some people call living the same 80 years over and over again, have only 1 year experience, not 80.  If you go to work and come home and then go to work and come home every day for your entire life, you have lived the same life.  Change it up!  Read a new book, think a new thought.  Meet different people that challenge you. 

This is partly where my 30 under 30 list and my Bucket List came from.  I was living the same life for 29 years before I WOKE UP and started living for ME!  I used to be a “one day” and a “if someone goes with me” type of person, now I am a “see ‘ya later” and “come if you want” kind of person.  I have a selfie stick, I can use that sucker all by myself. 

You only get one life.  Just one.  Don’t look back with regrets that you didn’t do what you wanted.

Soooooooooo I got way off topic, just read 10 pages a day! :)  See where that takes you.  You can do it!

Cruise Booked

I am sooooooo excited!!!  I just booked a cruise with my friend Clarissa in May!  I have never been on a cruise before and this has always been a bucket list item!  We booked a 7 Day Western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean cruise line.  We will be going to Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel during our trip.  I have already been to Roatan (my aunt has a vacation house there), but never to Belize or Cozumel.

Does anyone have any cruise tips for us?  Want to come with us (friends only please, no internet strangers!)?  Our trip cost $571 each with taxes and fees, which I think is reasonable.  We still have to pay for excursions once we dock, but everything else (like food and on ship entertainment) is included.   It works out to be about $82 per night, which is about the same if we were to pay for airfare/hotel/etc for a domestic trip.

Now on to the weight loss part of the trip.  I have gained sooooooo much weight in the past year due to various things and I need to get back on track!  As you can see on my countdown clock I created, I have 3 months (ish) left!  I figure if I can hunker down and really focus for the next 3 months, I can lose some serious weight for the trip.  My plan is to eat at home more (I’ve been doing better) and do a few cycles of the 21 Day Fix.  21 Day Fix focuses on portion control (see the below picture with the colorful boxes), 8-30 min workouts that focus on different areas (so you will only do the same workouts a few times), plus other stuff that I don't remember.

 

I have had the 21 Day Fix for a few weeks now, but I haven’t fully committed.  I am a person who needs a major goal to strive for (like a marathon) before I kick my booty in gear.  I have created a tracker for my workout area (another post to come) to have a visual reminder with.  I will tell you that my tracker involves colorful stickers, a calendar, and gold/silver sharpies.  :)

Anyone want to do the 21 Day Fix with me?  My friend Krista can hook you up with it.

One week

It has been officially one week (well, technically over one week) since my marathon and I think it is time to regroup and figure out my new fitness plan.  After this past week I am itching to get back out there again to set new goals, for me, 1 week has been plenty of time to recover from a marathon. 

I have to have big goals that scare me to pieces for me to get my butt off the couch.  First, it was my half marathon and then it was my marathon.  Those two races where so huge to me at the time (and still are!) that I worked my booty off to make sure I completed them.  Honestly, it wasn’t the distance that scared me; it was stating my goal out loud for all too hear.  What if I failed and everyone was watching?  Just so you know, I am not really big on failing, but who is right?  They say that if you haven’t set a goal and missed a goal, then you’re not setting goals that are big enough.  Slowly, but surely, I am learning to accept that phrase.

My goal for the marathon was to just finish, because if you finish within 6 hours (or whatever the time limit is for the race) you are considered a marathoner.   However, my double super secret goal was to finish at 5 hours.  I knew that 5 hours was pushing it for me, but I thought I could hold my half marathon PR pace for 26.2 miles.  Pshhhh.  Apparently not!  I had missed my goal time by A LOT!  I finished at 5:45, which was super close to the 6 hour cut off timeline.  I didn’t tell people that my goal was 5 hours though. I had said that based on my ½ marathon time I could finish at 5 hours. (BUT I will complete that goal one day…and soon!).  Maybe if I had told people that my goal was 5 hours, I would have made sure I came in closer to that time?  I didn’t though because it was my double super secret goal.

Which brings me to my next big goal, a goal that I am shouting from the rooftops.  What is my next big hairy scary outrageous goal?  A half Ironman. Yep.  Gulp! Originally, on my bucket list I had added the item 'Complete an Ironman', and then I did the Bridgeland Triathlon and completely nixed that idea!  I was not a fan of triathlons at all, but backing down from a challenge drives me nuts.  So, as Bill Murray says in What about Bob, we will take ‘baby steps’ to get to that Ironman…In 2013 I will be training for a Half Ironman 70.3 which is 1.2 Miles of Swimming, 56 Miles of Biking, 13.1 Miles of Running.

That is nuts! Let’s break these down:

1.2 miles of swimming-some people cannot even run 1.2 miles without stopping much less swim it.  I am scared of the open water so I will have to work on this one a lot.  I will have to spend hours in the gym pool to completely train for this. Hours.  I need to find a gym pool.  In the Spring I will look for a gym or facility that has pool access.  My last gym’s pool was so gross that I never got in it.

56 Miles on the bike-Ok, TMI alert…My lady bits were hurting after 12 miles on the bike during my first triathlon, I can only imagine what they will be like after 56 miles!  I didn’t train on the bike that often though so I will have to do that a lot more this training cycle. Maybe I should get one of those bike trainers that you attach your bike too and just spin at your house? I am afraid of getting hit by a car when I ride near my  house and it’s a pain in the booty to take the wheel off your bike.

13.1 miles running-I think I got this one down, but it doesn’t hurt to improve.  I will have to work on getting faster at running and I will also have to do more brick workouts so I can be prepared.  The transition of getting off my bike and then running seriously kicked my booty during Bridgeland.  I was not prepared!

I am telling everyone so it will happen!  I am still working out the details, logistics, and training plans, but I need all of you to keep me accountable.  If I don’t say it out loud (er, type it outloud?) then I will let the year slip by and not complete the goal.

So, what do you guys think about my big scary 2013 goal? 

Marathon...the Day After

Spoiler Alert: I FINISHED A MARATHON!!!!!!

I am still in the process of writing my recap post and processing the fact that I actually finished a MARATHON, but I will update soon. I took off of work today to go get a massage and relax so that is where I will be if you need me!

Thank you's go out to everyone who gave me encouragement in person, via emails, texts or Facebook.  You guys rock!!  Without your encouragement I do not know if I would have had the guts to attempt it.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Congrats to all my friends who finished either the full or half marathons this weekend!!

Onward and Upward! Goals for 2013

Last year I made a long list of goals for 2012 that I didn’t even come close to completing. Oh well, there is always 2013!  So, if you guys can PLEASE (!!) keep me accountable so I can move in a new direction for 2013.  I am excited about the New Year and I can’t wait to share it with you.  Looking back at how different my life was just a few years ago is so weird.  This years list is a lot shorter (and more manageable than last years list).

Onward and Upward!  Goals for 2013

Complete 5 items on my Bucket List (experience, travel, or meeting a celebrity)

Lose 35 lbs (no, I will not be telling you what my current weight is!)

Get 3 new medals for my medal rack

Get to a 28 minute 5k (or faster)

PR in two different distance races

Meet new friends

Travel to 3 different places I have never been

Blog at least 5 times a week (hey, I have been doing great lately!)

Try 4 different workouts (classes or DVDs) that I haven’t ever done

30 Days to go...

Yikes!  We are down to the wire.  There is only a little more than 30 days to go until my first marathon!  I haven't even started to plan what I will wear yet.  OK, that's a lie.  I know I will be wearing a red shirt and I have three ideas of what to put on it.  I just have to narrow down my options. :)

No races this weekend, just running with my training group.  Next weekend (the 23rd) is the Santa Hustle Half Marathon in Galveston though so I will be gearing up for that soon.

4th Place

I was looking at my Athlinks profile today and I noticed that my last 5K (the Houston Wellness 5K), where I set a new PR, I actually came in 4th place in my age group. 

I know that may not be exciting to any of you, but it is to me and this is my blog so it's pretty cool. ;)  So, now I know that if I came in 5 minutes faster I would have been in the top three for my age group which is one of the goals I set back in January.  (Side note, I don't think I completed ANY of my goals for 2012 so don't look at that post. haha).

We shall see if the next time I do that race I get faster and I still place that high.  That's my new goal after I finish my marathon in January.  I want to get speedy and podium at a race!  I want a race plaque or trophy.  Anyone want to do track workouts with me?  Maybe I will run the 2013 Driving Jacks 5K and I will win. :)



Toughest 10K-Kemah Race Recap

This is my second year to do the Toughest 10K-Kemah and also my second 10K ever (read last years recap here).  The Toughest 10K Kemah is put on by Running Alliance Sports that also does the Texas Bridge Series (which I am doing!). 

I spoke with my friend Debra about running the 10K and she said that 10K’s hurt because of the speed.  I asked her to explain and she said that 5K’s hurt the worst, then 10K’s, then ½’s, then full marathons.  She said you should push your pace to get done faster.  I said I only have one speed-slow.  I wasn’t aware that you were supposed to have different paces for different lengths of a race. Haha.  Oh well.

This race is one part of a three part race in the Texas Bridge Series.  First you run Kemah (10K), then Galveston (10K), then you run LaPorte by the Bay Half Marathon, and once you complete all three you get a fourth medal.  I <3 race bling!

 Last year the Galveston race fell on the weekend of Homecoming (it does this year too) and I choose to attend Homecoming instead of going to that race.  Honestly, it was because last year the Galveston didn’t have any race bling and I wanted race bling (2012 all three races have bling, then you get a fourth medal if you complete all of them), so it wasn’t so much about the homecoming thing last year. Haha.

My Uncle Roger and my Aunt Laura are running all three races with me and I am super excited! 

I woke up at my usual time at 5:15 am via a bratty cat that wanted to be fed and I was out the door by 5:30 am to head to Pearland to meet up with my aunt and uncle.  I got to their house around 6:20 am and while I was driving I noticed all the changes in my old part of town (they lived 5 minutes from me).  A lot has changed in the 7 months since I have moved.  I got to their house and I picked up my race packet that had a maroon technical shirt race tee and a hat.  It was supposed to have some coupon for the Kemah Boardwalk and the Galveston Pleasure Peir, but it didn’t.  :/  Oh well.  We left their house in Pearland to drive to Kemah and looked for a parking spot.  The race director had emailed us and let us know that they expected to have a record turnout this year (1,575 people) and to get their early to find parking.  Did we? Nope!  Haha.  We made it to the starting line about 7:25 and I really had to go to the bathroom, but I knew that if I tried to make it to the porta pottys I would never get to the race on time.  I held it. (Sorry, TMI).

The race director started the race on time, but I was so far back (so  many people) I didn’t cross until about 3 minutes after the timer went off.  For the first mile or so I was going weaving around people (some people were walking in the first mile) then I settled in a steady pace.  When I hit the bridge I cringed for a second, then I started climbing up it, slowly but surely.  As I was coming down the first pass I looked over and saw all the people on the other side already and thought ‘I have three more of these bridges to go.’  Woe is me at this point, but then I got my head in the game and trudged ahead.  Also, as I was towards the top of the first bridge I saw really fast people run by me and I figured out they were almost done!  I hate fast people. Haha.  I stopped at the water station under the bridge and drank a Gatorade and hit the overpass again.  I also took a gummy block for extra energy at this point (throughout the entire race I ate a half a package). 

The next three bridge passes went by fairly quickly.  I kept looking for my aunt and uncle and I saw them behind me on the other side of the bridge.  I REALLY had to pee but I kept telling myself that if I stopped my time would be off and I wanted to run this one as a PR.  I only ran at the water stops so I wouldn’t get sick while I garbled down Gatorade and water.  I finished the course around 1:18 on the clock, but I knew that I didn’t start until 2 or 3 minutes later.  I knew I had PR’d but I would have to wait for my official time to be put up for my exact PR. 

My official time was 1:15.22 beating my previous time by just shy of 7 minutes!!!!  This 10K is the only 10K that I have ever ran, and it happens to be on a very hilly/bridgey course so I am not sure what my actual time would be if it were a flat course without 10 million 4 bridge passes. 

 

The bling for this race is awesome!!  It has glitter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh, glitter you are the best.

See ya at the next race.

Driving Jacks 5K

Oh my gosh!  Yesterday was the Driving Jacks 5K and it turned out so much better than I could have ever imagined.  God blessed us in a huge way!!

My original goal was $5,000 (250 participants ish), but I am very proud to say that after expenses we are estimating the total amount raised to be just over $3,000 and with an generous match the total should be just over $6,000!!!


"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us." Ephesians 3:20 NIV


I will post a recap of everything (hopefully people will  post pics since I didn't get ANY!) that happened since Friday morning probably later today.  I am off to church on this beautiful Sunday morning.  Praise God!

2012 Goals!

Every year you hear of people who are making their New Year’s resolutions and plan on sticking to them no matter what!  Then by Valentine’s Day they have slacked off and often forgotten about them.  I have been known to be one of those said people and this year I have decided that I do not want one goal throughout the year, I want several!

I can have a broad goal of getting more physically fit or paying down my debt, but if I don’t have a plan to get there then I won’t ever get there and I will slack off.  Plus I am a list person so manually checking something off hopefully will work wonders for me.  So I have broken down my ‘big categories’ of goals and will work diligently to complete all of them! 

I have my 30 Under 30 list that I am doing for fun, but these goals will help me with making my life where I want it to be.  I don’t want to be where I am at currently this time next year.  I want to go and do and be.  Oh, and BTW feel free to make your own list and send it to me (or send me the link to your blog) and we can keep each other accountable.

Ready?  Let’s go!

My Goals for 2012:

Running/Fitness

-Complete a marathon

-Complete a marathon in another state

-Run at least one race each month-and race to compete not just complete

-Place in my age group and get an award

-Run more with friends (and convince more friends/family to start running)

-Make new running friends and have ‘running dates’ with them!

-Complete a triathlon

-Work on speed work workouts at least once every week

-Log every workout and post a weekly/monthly recap

-Run a 28 minute 5K (get fast lady!)

-Beat my PR for the ½ marathon

-Get 5 new race medals (I <3 bling)

Financial

-Pay $5k down on my student loans

-Save $5k for a house

-Have a $5k emergency fund

-Go out to eat only once per week-save more money that way

-Choose a realistic budget and stick to it

Romantic

-Go on dates!  Maybe sign up for eHarmony or match.com

-No settling!  If I wouldn’t marry him, don’t waste time with him.

Jabba

-Get Jabba down to 20 lbs

-Spend more time with Jabba

-Leash train Jabba for more exercise

Spiritual

-Have daily quiet time

Cooking

-Cook at least one new recipe each week

-Blog about said recipe each week

-Create a personal cookbook of recipes to have on hand (the ones I like)

Family

-See my family more often.  Go on a trip with them.

-Schedule more time with close friends

Misc Personal

-Finish my 30 Under 30 list-5 months to go!

-Finish one new self improvement book a month

-Blog more!  Be consistent with posting

Travel

-See a new state that I have never been to (and not just ‘driving through’-see the state!)

-Run in at least a 5k in that new state

-Travel out of the country (cruises do count if out of the country)