He Said Yes!

Yesterday I was checking my email and ran across this courtesy of the MapMyRUN app on my phone.

I don't know what happened, but as soon as I saw Disney I started clicking. One thing led to the next and before I knew it, I was looking at dates for the Disney Half Marathon. I've been training for my upcoming 5k for all of a week and a half. I have no business even looking at a website for a half marathon. How did I get here?

But...the more I read the more perfect the idea sounded. I would already be in Central Florida for Christmas and could easily stay until race day (January 7). My 5k is in September which would put me in the perfect condition to start training for a half marathon immediately following. Plus, the race is at Disney World...great weather, flat as can be, and plenty of oxygen to go around. Seriously, I don't know what came over me, but the next thing I knew I was Google searching running plans.

On the way home from work I called my brother Sam. I started telling him about my training for the 5k, the run at Disney, and half way through my spiel he interrupted me and said, "Are you calling to ask me to run with you?" I told him I was getting to that part and he promptly answered with a resounding and definitive "Hell no!"

Ok, so no dice with Sam. Now on to J.J. who conveniently was sitting right next to Sam when I called. All he could do was laugh. I had no prayer of convincing J.J. this was a good idea. Dad pretty much gave me the same reaction mixed with some excuse about bad knees and being old. All three of them told me I needed to wait until Josh got home and talk to him. The family consensus was he was my best bet.

Desperate times call for...a phone call to Mom. There was no laughing or cursing with Mom, just a flat out no. She also suggested I call Josh.

I anxiously counted down the hours until I knew Josh would be home. I called him and started down the same line of logic I tried with Sam. To my complete shock, Josh could not say yes fast enough. He was so on board. He started asking me all kinds of questions and wanted to start training right away. He could not have been more excited. No convincing needed.

Josh and I both decided to think about it over the weekend and then call each other on Sunday or Monday after we had time to consider the huge commitment this would take.

Today Josh sent me a text to let me know he ran five miles.

It looks like we just might be doing a half marathon....

A Very Biased Book Review

Since I drove across town like a crazy person to get it, I figured I should probably go ahead and actually read Timmy's book. After the whole book signing (or lack there of) fiasco, I have to admit I started the book with a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth. Plus, let's just be real for a minute. Athletes don't always make the best authors. Have you seen post-game interviews with football players? Not always the most...umm...maybe ESPN could look into subtitles.

That being said, I was pleasantly surprised with Through My Eyes. I really enjoyed it, truly. In fact, it's settled. I'm marrying him.

The book really did help me get a whole new perspective on Tim as an athlete and a person, which leads me to...

Through My Eyes SUPERLATIVES

BEST LITERARY MOMENT

Every chapter title is immediately followed by a Bible verse. Chapter 18 is titled A Promise Fulfilled which is in reference to Tim's infamous press conference promise to work harder than any other player following the Mississippi State loss. However, the verse following the title is John 3:16. Think about it. Nicely done.

WORST LITERARY MOMENT

This book reads more like a blog than anything else. Some of the thoughts seem a little misplaced. Although I love the random stories mixed throughout the book, it doesn't help to create a lot of chapter or theme development. Like I said before though, this guy wins his awards on the field. I'm sure he didn't write the book with the expectation of a Pulitzer to put next to his Heisman.

BIGGEST BAD A MOMENT

Tim's had a lot of bad a moments over the years.

However, none seemed to top the Kentucky game of 2009 where Tim suffered a concussion. What I did not know about the game however, is that he was playing with Swine Flu. In fact, he would run off the field between plays to have fluids pumped into him via IV. Are you kidding me?

STRONGEST PERSONAL CONNECTION

Tim started as QB1 his sophomore year at Nease High School in Jacksonville, Fla. That year wasn't the best for his team. In fact, according to the book, six of their away games were homecoming games. Wait a minute...my high school played Nease for our homecoming game when I was a senior. That would mean...I saw Tim play in high school. My high school won, but I wish I had paid a little bit closer attention to that visiting team's QB.

MOST ANNOYING

I realize you have to do something to make the autobiography of a 23 year old stretch 256 pages, but was it totally necessary to highlight every single game he has played in for the last five years right down to the play call? Any college football fan watched these games live. I already know who won and how it all went down. Even for this football fanatic, sometimes the play-by-play got to be a bit much.

MOST RANDOM FACT

Tim's favorite movie is Braveheart. I was a little surprised it wasn't Rudy.

MOST SHOCKING

The mysterious Angel Gonzalez is mentioned in the Acknowledgement right after Tim's family members and BEFORE Coach Meyer. Apparently Angel came up with the name for the book...big woop. Who helped you get two national title rings and a Heisman, Tim? For real, how did this guy...

beat this guy?

FUNNIEST MOMENT

There were a lot of times I laughed out loud reading this book. I wasn't expecting Timmy to be so funny, and even sarcastic. However, by far the best was a description of the Tebow family in NYC for the Heisman ceremony. There they are, sitting around a table in a nice restaurant and missionary father Tebow asks his Jacksonville Jaguars player, son-in-law to pray for the meal. Why? Oh, because their family likes to pick the person who would be most uncomfortable praying in a public setting, ask them to pray, and then laugh at how awkward the whole thing is. Thank you Tebow family. I was laughing about this for days.

BIGGEST VALIDATION

There is just no redeeming quality to LSU fans. No other fans find it appropriate to publicize an opposing quarterback's cell phone number so his voicemail can be constantly full of threatening and explicit messages. No other fans are able to sleep at night after verbally harassing Pam Tebow. LSU fans are straight up classless.

BEST QUOTE

The Tebow's were a baseball family before they were a football family and Tim could have gone pro in baseball right out of high school. His Dad spent a lot of time with him working on his hitting and throwing. Very touching...until we get to this line.

"Apparently, some people have even commented of late on that throwing motion.

Dad's fault."

BEST USE OF THE "GOD CARD"

I was nervous about what I refer to as the "God thing." It is no secret the Tebow's are a Christian family, but then again isn't Jessica Simpson's Dad a pastor, and wasn't Katie Perry a Christian artist before she kissed a girl and liked it? Let's be real, there are a million college, pro, and even high school athletes who do things like this after a big play, thank God after a big win, and then get arrested for beating their baby's momma after a night of too much partying.

I'm sure this is just because I'm a cynic, but sometimes I watch the Tebow family and can't help but think, "Are these people for real?"

I was interested to see how the book would address Tim's faith. Would they talk about God but not mention Jesus? Would they talk about Jesus but in the most watered down way possible as to not offend anyone? Would they throw down the "God card" in the middle of a chapter and make it super awkward like they do in most Christian movies?

The answer to all of these is NO! I would say this was just as much a Christian book as a sports book. You can't read three sentences without Tim mentioning the Lord. The crazy part is, it feels so natural and so genuine. Reading this book honestly feels like any other night that I'm sitting around with my small group talking about what the Lord is doing in our lives. Tim did not waste one opportunity to talk about his personal relationship with Jesus and all the while giving the Lord every bit of credit for his accomplishments. For the record, I truly believe this family is the real deal.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR OUR FUTURE RELATIONSHIP

I, like the rest of the world, have seen Tim cry.

Playing football with your friends on Thanksgiving is "just a game." Dedicating years of your life to championship games and then loosing, somewhere in there it becomes more than a game. I get that. I'm ok with the shedding of a few tears after a tough loss.

However, after finishing the book, I have some big concerns for me and Tim's future together. Timmy is a full fledged crier. He knows it too. I mean he cries all the time. I am not a crier and I get pretty awkward around people who are. I just don't know how to handle the tears. Hopefully after 23 years of crying, the family can give me some pointers.

THE BEST PART

We get to see a lot more of this guy in just a few weeks. The lockout was lifted and rumor has it Kyle Orton is packing for Miami. It's Tebow Time!

First Week is DONE, Son!

I did it! I'm honestly pretty surprised, but proud to say, I finished week one of my running plan. That means I've run three times in the past six days...and no one was chasing me any of the three times. Not impressive (even to me), but it's a start. Is it getting more fun? No! Is it getting easier, definitely no!

Right now my iPhone app has me running/walking in 1.5 minute intervals with a five minute warm up and a five minute cool down. By the way, I really need a name for the voice of my personal trainer on my app. After all, we spend at least an hour and a half together each week. Many weeks, that is more time than I spend with some of my closest friends. I am open to any suggestions. It's a man's voice, sounds like he is in his early-mid 30's, and he kind of has a deeper voice than most men I know.

So here are the highlights:

Day one a sweet old man who was working in his yard stopped working to tell me I was doing a great job as a passed his house. That is when I knew I looked like death was inches away.

Day two I started to explore some trails by my house. Seriously, if I have to torture myself like this, there is no better place to do it then on a dirt trail with a background of the Rocky Mountains. The only downer, did I mention the lack of oxygen? But for real, the scenery is unbeatable. Day two is when I started to get discouraged. I pulled up my run on my MapMyRun app to see how far I went...only 2.8 miles and that was with the warm up, cool down, and intervals of walking. I maybe ran 1/4 of that and was struggling at a few points. That is when I discovered that even if I ran the whole distance I covered that evening (and there is no way I could have), then I still would not have completed a 5k. Let's just say, I have some work to do.

Day three went well, but it started to rain at the end so my cool down ended up being the hardest part of my run. However, I did make it inside just before the real downpour started.

This week, while I was running, I thought back to my very first year of college. I had just started dating my very first boyfriend and he asked me to go running with him at some trails near my parent's house. I was so excited, until the actual running started. My mom said that is how she knew I really liked him. In fact, I think that was the very first time I did something to impress a boy. It didn't work for long because after a few runs, I don't remember how, but the cat got out of the bag that I genuinely detested running for the sake of running. Turns out, he still wanted to date me and we went back to playing basketball and going to workout classes together instead. At 19 my parents knew I liked a boy because I voluntarily went running. Here I am again, several years later, no boy, but same desire to impress.

As if I Haven't Had My Fill of Cabinets...

Last weekend Glen Eyrie had a garage sale to unload some of their old furniture and random supplies. I convinced by friend Megan to go check it out with me during lunch on Friday. Just convincing her to go on this treasure hunt was no easy task. I believe her response, even as we were walking to the garage sale, was something along the lines of, "I don't need any treasures."

I was pretty thrilled to find a cabinet for $10 that would fit perfectly in my bathroom. I've been looking for something like that since move-in day and all the ones I liked were $100+. No thanks. The hand-me-down, make-shift, storage thing my roommate gave me would work just fine. She needed the extra storage at our townhouse, but now in her new bathroom she didn't need it anymore.

My bathroom, on the other hand, has been a complete disaster area since day one. Not only is it small, but it's a complete mess due to lack or organization and lack or storage. How does one acquire so many toiletries anyway? My bathroom seems to be busting at the seams with soaps, gels, creams and a few things that frankly, I have no idea what they are used for. Yes, the cabinets and drawers under the sink are completely filled and yet, I was still in desperate need of additional storage. Out of control, right?

The cabinet did need to be repainted, but after the month-long kitchen cabinet saga, what's one more?

I painted the whole thing white and then painted a coat of left-over bond coating that was left over from my kitchen cabinets in a box.

It turned out pretty great if I do say so myself.

And now, my bathroom feels clean and organized for the first time...well, ever.

So what about my friend Megan? I'm so glad you asked. Ms. I Don't Need Any Treasures may or may not have purchased a PIANO. It was $50. No, for real. I may have had a slight hand in pushing her toward the purchase. It wasn't until the deed was done and we were heading back to work that I let her realize we had no way of getting her new treasure back to her apartment, or even let her remember she only has a one bedroom apartment that is pretty full already.

No worries though, within an hour of being back at work she had devised a plan to get her treasure home. The whole thing was just too easy, like it was meant to be or something...

In fact, it was so easy she decided to push her luck, return to the garage sale on Saturday, and purchase treasure #2. How can you expect a music major to pass this up, especially when it has a $12.50 price tag? It's just not possible.

Officially Out of Excuses

I love the idea of running and it would be awesome to be one of those people who can just wake up on any given day and run 3 or 4 miles without it being any big deal, but the truth is, when it comes to actually physically running, I am not so much of a fan. I just don't get how this is fun. It's so boring and by the way, what is this "runner's high" people keep talking about? Is there any chance they are confusing it with cardiac arrest?

A few months ago I was talked into entering a race in the fall. To be fair, it didn't take all that much convincing. You can ask my parents, despite my best efforts for practically my entire life, I am not athletic! The problem is I just love the whole competition aspect of athletics. I love trying to out due myself (or at least the guy next to me). I love trying to see how far I can really push my body. Plus, it's nearly impossible for me to do anything half way. If it's worth doing, then it's worth doing with excellence. That being said, since I agreed to run this thing, I might as well really give it my all, invest some time, and go for it.

For the last few months I've been pretty faithful about using my pretentious gym membership. I love the classes and I can feel my strength and endurance growing every week. However, I learned a long time ago there is simply no substitutions for just getting outside and running. You can do as many Zumba classes as you want, but it doesn't make you ready for a 5K, with obstacles, in the mud, in Colorado. Did I mention there is no oxygen here?

I knew I had to start running, but how can you expect me to run without first doing some research on running plans? If I don't have a plan I could be doing it all wrong. Obviously it's going to take about a week's worth of research to find the right one. Then I needed at least another week to find the right iPhone apps so that I could track my runs and get an audible coach training me. Oh, and how am I supposed to run without one of those sweet arm bands to hold my iPhone? You can't expect me to hold it, and you can't expect me to just go buy an armband without researching them to death. You wouldn't want me to over pay for it or get one that will fall apart after the second time I used it, would you? Plus, I have small arms so I need to get one that will fit right.

Well, Saturday it arrived, the new iPhone armband, and with it I came to the end of the road with my excuses. Not to worry though, I still had a few excuses up my sleeve to get me through the weekend, but here we are at Monday and that stupid armband was just sitting there on the kitchen table making me feel all guilty and worthless. So today was the day. Today, I started.

I would love to tell you it was awesome, that it felt great, and that I found my new favorite hobby. No, actually, I felt like I was going to die about half of the time. Plus, one of my apps didn't record my run properly so I have no idea how far I made it. But no pain, no gain, right?

I just have one question. At what point does this start to become fun?

Team Leach

By far, the best news of my day was the release of Swing Your Sword, a book written by Mike Leach in response the scandal surrounding his firing in December 2009. Mike was the football coach the whole time I was at Texas Tech and I love the guy. Don't get me wrong, he is totally crazy but the fact that you just never know what he will do (or say) next was part of his charm.

Check out the USA Today article about the book. An email from Sally Post, the Director of Communications and Broadcast Media, is quoted in the book's excerpt. Sally was my boss when I interned in Communications and Marketing for Texas Tech. I almost fell over when I saw her name.

We can only hope Leach will do a book signing in Colorado...and that if he does, he can learn from the mistakes of Timmy Touchdown's people (meaning brother Robby and company) so I can actually buy the book at the event (if my Dad had not already pre-ordered it for me) and wait in line somewhere a little classier than Sam's Club.

Thanks for the memorable wins coach! There is a strong chance my wedding day will fall second to that one time we beat #1 ranked Texas!

Wreck Em Tech!

One [Wo]Man's Trash...

A few months ago I was having dinner at my friend Sarah's house and everyone was really impressed with this awesome dresser she refinished and was using in her dinning room. Turns out she bought it at a junk yard in Denver. One thing led to the next and because we are all constantly looking to save a few dollars, before we knew it, me, Sarah, Kaci, and Mandy were standing over the calendar and planning a trip to Denver.

Yesterday was the day we picked and at 9am we met up, along with a few other friends, to make the 40 minute drive north in hopes of finding a few new pieces for our homes. I had no idea what to expect from the whole experience and as I set my alarm clock the night before, I had a million questions running through my mind.

• What does a junk yard even look like?
• Am I going to look like one of those kids in National Geographic rummaging through piles of garbage?
• My last tetanus shot was after that one time I gouged my eye with mascara. I think that was in the fall of 2009. Is it still effective?
• What do you wear to a junk yard?
• How much should you pay for something at a junk yard?
• What if I run into Tim Tebow?

After all, the only visuals I have for a junk yard are those few scenes from Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's timeless classic, It Takes Two.

So for those of you, like me, who would have no idea what to expect from a junk yard visit, everything was pretty dirty, but semi organized into piles. We quickly found when it came to pricing, it was a lot like this one time I went to Mexico in that nothing is marked with prices and everything is negotiable.

As much as I love Hobby Lobby, I was excited to find some unique pieces for my house that don't make my living room look exactly like every other living room in the neighborhood. Usually great conversation pieces are acquired through world travels and life altering adventures. Since I have very few of either of those, I resort to HGTV for inspiration and junk yards for uniqueness.

originally $15 each and we got them for $10 each...master negotiators.

Unfortunately the plan of having unique pieces kind of bombs when you go to these junk yards with your closest friends. At least my pieces will be unique with my work friends. Kaci, Kim and I all got matching windows for $10 each. Kaci and Kim are going to use theirs as displays at their craft shows. I'm going to refinish mine and use it as a headboard for my guest room/office.

Sarah and her treasure, a sign she is going to refinish and display in her living room

Next up on the tour of Denver junk yards was this place. It was more of an antique warehouse than a junk yard, but it was much cleaner and the items were easy to find and sort through. Plus, you didn't have to watch your step or wonder about prices.

Unfortunately though, this meant the prices were just a tiny bit steep (insert sarcastic tone). However, it did make me feel good to find that a cleaner version of my $10 window was $35 at this store. Up until that point we really had no idea if we found a bargain or were getting totally ripped off.

We did manage (and by "we" I mean "me") to find one reasonably priced item. These cabinet doors were only $5. Once they are refinished they will look awesome hanging on the wall with a verse or something on them. Again, mine would have been so unique, but I'm pretty sure every single one of us bought at least one and I think everyone except for me already knows exactly what crafty masterpiece they will make of it.

Mandy and her $5 bargain

Can anyone tell me what these are? They were at both places and I still have no idea why I would want these or what they are used for. My best educated guess is something with boats.

After a long morning in the heat, it was time to head to Park Meadows Mall for some lunch. To say I hate the mall is the understatement of the year. Most of my friends talked about how they would love to have more time to shop or money to spend on clothes. I have plenty of time and a pretty generous clothes allocation in my budget, but I still can't seem to find this joy they speak of. I'm glad there won't be money in heaven, mostly because that means there most likely won't be malls.

After lunch and a few mall purchases, we loaded up our treasures and headed back to Colorado Springs. I don't know if any of us were ecstatic with our finds, but I would count it a memorable experience and a morning well spent with great friends.

La Cocina

After I finally finished my kitchen cabinets, I knew the next step in creating my Mexican kitchen was to paint. I am a neutral kind of girl. I could paint the whole house tan and be totally happy with it. But I'm young, single, and I have a house that I can decorate any way I choose. This is not the time for Better Homes and Gardens and play it safe with earth tones. This is the time to go a little crazy.

After googling photos of Mexican kitchens for weeks, it was time to go to Home Depot for some paint samples. Usually this only takes two trips and two samples. This time, not so much. After four trips to Home Depot, evaluating countless color swatches...

...and trying five paint samples (including experimenting with faux finishes)...

...a decision was made. To be honest, I wasn't even close to 100 percent sold on it, but it was as close to my vision as we were going to get.

This is my kitchen before the painting project.

Growing up I was told that something is better than nothing, but in the case of the baseboards in my kitchen, that is simply not true. The baseboards were terrible, cheap and reminded me of something you find in an office building.

I'm not sure if I am going to leave the kitchen baseboard-less or add baseboards later on (hopefully something unique like tiles) but either way the existing baseboards had to go.

Thankfully they came off easier than expected.

Finally, it was time to start painting. Most of the time it seems the prep work takes twice as long as actually painting. First up was the blue paint above the cabinets.

before the blue:

I had to get a little creative with the light. I needed to take it down, but didn't want it to dangle for fear the weight would snap the wires. The wrapping paper holder and cook books did the trick just fine.

after the blue:

The light above the sink hasn't worked since move-in day. The thing is totally ugly, but it would be nice if it worked until I developed a game plan for replacing it with something a little more Mexican, and eye appealing. I bought some new bulbs and reworked some wiring and vow-la! I was probably more excited about the light then I was the whole paint job.

My freshly painted Mexican kitchen!

Just to recap the transformation of my kitchen so far....

move-in day

microwave install, new dishwasher, and refinished cabinets

removed base boards, freshly painted walls and a working light above the sink

I can't decide if I want to take a break from the kitchen and move on to the living room, or continue the kitchen transformation.

Still on the to-do list for the kitchen: painting the ceiling and trim white, shopping for (and hanging) accent pieces for the walls, purchasing and installing new light fixtures and a new fan, finding and hanging curtains for the windows, and re-doing the backsplash (I'm thinking about doing stainless steel).

What do you think?