I Like Having My Hair Pulled

The best part about going to a salon to get your hair done, is when the wash your hair! I have been going to the same salon for years, I knew the owner before she even went to hair school and now she is the successful own of two locations, one a high end salon, the other a salon and spa. It is awesome! She is awesome.

I have incredibly thick, naturally curly hair. Most hair cuts don't take off much length of hair but take out a TON on width. I literally would have a white girl Afro without her help. The thing is...I don't like to actually fuss with my hair. I've had the same blow dyer since 1993, it is still in good condition because I never use it. I go to work with wet hair every day. My stylist cut my hair in a way that allows minimal product, no fuss, and ends up laying the right way with no effort by me. This is a scenario for curly haired girls only, I realize this, but it takes a great stylist to make it a reality. The catch is...the style is the style. I can't change it. No biggie but sometimes it's fun to mix things up a bit.

Back to the point of the story. After my color was in, my stylist takes me back to the shampoo bowl and starts washing my hair. I love that. It is so relaxing to have someone run their fingers through your hair. Then she always deep conditions. While she does this, she give a full head and neck massage. Awesome. Finally she takes full hands of hair and runs her whole hand through my hair....best.thing.ever. As we are walking back to her chair for the final cut, I sigh and tell her..."I love it when you pull my hair." She immediately replies..."you have really good hair to pull." We think nothing of it, but I noticed two different ladies look up from their magazines as we walk by. My stylist and I give each other a glance and then both giggle at what we just said.

When we sit down she says.."oooh., want me to really pull your hair!! Let me straighten it". My response..."OK!"  45 minutes later I walk out of the salon with shiny, straight, Pantene commercial hair. I love it. Tomorrow it's back to the curls but sometimes a change of pace is good.

If you need me...I'm in my bunker

Check out this great MSN video: Weatherman Freaks Over Thundersnow In Chicago Blizzard

"All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy"

         It has happened. Winter has officially sucked the life out of me.

         I can't take being inside any more.

         I can't take bundling up myself and small children into winter
          coats any more.

Remember the movie, The Shining, and the wonderfully insane
Jack Nicholson. When I first saw this movie I was too young to fully
appreciate it. Now....It's a favorite of mine. Now....I get it.

Even the snow is tired of being here!

Yesterday was ground hog's day...to be honest I have no idea if the chubby little bastard saw his shadow or not. Phil can get bent.

My friend, the same friend who sent this snowman pic, said she heard an old wives tale that said if it thunders in February then there will be snow in April. All I can say about that....If we actually have a Thunder Snow Storm...I will be in my bunker preparing for the apocalypse.

I realize that this post is kind of a Debbie Downer type of message. I apologize. To end on a more positive note...I had a great run this morning. I kept up a quicker pace, worked hard, and it felt great! Leaving the gym to go into a -3 degree actual temperature is what sucked the spirit right out of me. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for Sunday. I will be leading my first group training session for Team In Training. I am really excited about it...keep your fingers crossed that the weather gods smile on the runners this weekend!

Why Do I Want To Be A Barefoot Runner?

   A fellow blogger, Pepe Le Pew asked why I wanted to run bare foot. It made me start thinking about my running, why I run, and I why I train for these insane events.

 

Eric was very sick, and if you've followed along you know that I lost my son when he was 15 months old. During the time we were obtaining medical treatment for him, we got sent out to the GI and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit of Children's Hospital in Cincinnati. We lived in a small hotel room; me, my husband, and my other son, for a total of 10 months. We celebrated a Thanksgiving and a Christmas in a hospital room and had our holiday feasts in a hotel room. Dave and I worked very hard to maintain some form of normalcy for my other son, Wes who was 2 years old at the time, while we went through all of this. Dave was fortunate enough to be allowed to work remotely and we found a decent daycare close to the hotel for Wes to attend during the day. I would do the daytime rotation at the hospital while Dave worked and Wes went to school. We would meet up for dinner, then Dave would do a night rotation at the hospital while I cared for Wes. Needless to say the winter months were rough. I picked up a jogging stroller and started jogging as a release for myself as well as a way to get Wes out of the hotel room for a while. I fell back in love with running and decided to take an item off my bucket list....a triathlon.

When we came home after Eric's death I honestly didn't know what to do with myself. My job had dissolved the dept. I had worked for so I had no job and no longer had the routine of spending my days in a hospital. So....I started working out. I found a job. Then I got a flyer for TEAM In Training, I decided to go to a meeting. That meeting changed my life. From that day on, I began training to run a marathon in memory of Eric. No, Eric did not have cancer but he did go through Chemo and had a bone marrow transplant so I could relate to what other people were going through who were helped by TEAM In Training. That was key...I could relate. I didn't need a shoulder to cry on...I did enough crying on my own. What I needed was someone to grab my hand and say.."let's go" and that's what TEAM In Training did for me.  They also gave me the final push I needed to do a triathlon! I completed my first triathlon in July 2010.

I trained for and completed a marathon October 2010, with October marking the first anniversary of our loss. I did it while wearing Eric's name on my race bib.

While training I ended up getting plantar fasciitis in my right foot. It sucks! After lots of research and talking to other runners I learned about the barefoot revolution taking over the running world. When you read about it, it all makes sense. In order to get over my foot injuries I need to strengthen my feet and calves and realign my running form. Ultimately we have turned ourselves into wuss' by having structured, cushioned running shoes. As people, we have weak feet and ankles now because our shoes take over and provide the support our bodies used to naturally give us. So I am starting to do a little barefoot training. I want to be naturally strong, I want to tune into my run, I want to be in sync with the rhythm of my run. I am looking forward to getting stronger and more in tune with myself and my environment. I am looking forward to doing all of this while continuing to proudly wear Eric's name across my chest. 


If you are interested, here is a good resource for bare foot running.  A good source for beginning training.

Even better....check out this link.... http://www.teamintraining.org/ne/ find a chapter near you!

Another Five Finger Run day!

I got another run in while wearing my five fingers! I went to body pump class, wearing the five fingers. There is a noticeable difference when doing squats and lunges when wearing the five fingers. It takes a lot more balance and coordination, it made the moves much more difficult. I am pretty sure it made me much more stronger doing them in five fingers as well. There are 2 women in the class who I can tell are runners, one I've actually seen on the trail, the other has the shape and the gear of a runner. I noticed them in the mirror whispering about me. For my own ego and sanity, I am going to say they were giving me runner cred for showing off my fiver fingers....I'm pretty sure that wasn't the case, but I'm sticking with that!

I hoped on the treadmill after class and did .75 miles. That is 1/4 mile more than last week. My calves could tell. My goal is to slowly increase my distance in the by 1/4 mile every week, paying close attention to how it all feels. If I'm not feeling it one day, I am not going to push it. So far, I really like the feel of running in them. It takes more time to find that sweet spot of my gait but I'm working on it, it's still new.

Anyone else out there just getting into bare feet running?

Any bare footers have any tips?

As a newbie...I would love some advice, guidance, or camaraderie!

Rocking Weekend!

 Friday, "Izzy" had a visit with his biological parents! Super excited they are back in the picture! When I went to pick up Wes from school that night, I saw the sign that our preschool has been voted the "Best Of Omaha" for 2011! I am really excited about that, it makes me feel better about leaving my son there all day and also to know that the children we do foster care for will go to an outstanding place!

 We did a group training run on Saturday. It was the first training run as a group out at the lake due to the cold and ice. There were a couple slick spots still on the trail but all in all not a bad run! By the time I had gotten done, frost had formed on my gloves due to a combo of cold weather and sweat! Fun times for any runner!

Saturday night we took the kids and met up with another couple and their kids to The Amazing Pizza Machine...it's a pizza buffet/arcade/kiddie crack house! Seriously...there is so much cool stuff for kids to do. Plus my geeky husband can play video games without me making too much fun of him. The above pic is me and Wes on the insane merry-go-round-spinning-puke inducing fun ride! Wes got the thrill ride gene from me. I took him on his first upside down ride when he was only 3 years old. He was actually too small for the seat belt so I had to hold on tight!! HE LOVED IT! It was one of those carnival rides where you control the cart you sit in to make it swing or it locks in place to allow you to go upside down....I did one upside down rotation and he giggled so hard he went completely limb from laughing....he managed to get out "mommy...do it again" in between bouts of laughter. He is such a cool kid!

Lunch Dates



BBQ Squid for an appetizer



For part of my resolution I decided I would
spent more time with friends, socially...not just to train!

Golden Rolls!

Last week we went to a fave place of mine, Hiro and ate our weight in rolls and appetizers. They had the best green bean appetizer that I have ever had in my entire life!



Tempura Cheesecake

 Today we went to a place I had never been before, Okinawa Sushi Grill. It was good. The grilled squid for our appetizer was a little too "authentic" for my typical palate, but it was still ok. The golden rolls were outstanding! I normally avoid fried sushi....but this was worth it! The dessert was good too, normally I don't order dessert at lunch, but like I said....it's ok to cut loose at a girls lunch date!
 

 

 Last night, I taught my spin class like usual. I decided to make it a climb heavy day. Lots of resistance loading! We went out to dinner afterwards, with me all sweaty...I wore all black so you really couldn't tell but rolling into a restaurant in workout gear is always a little odd. By the time I got home, my legs were so tired! I completely zapped myself of all energy. I sent a text to my buddy who takes my class asking if she felt the same way....her reply...."I'm drained"....."you should do that again". I'm glad it was a good class! I'm glad I worked hard. I feel bad for my husband when I got to bed before 10pm!!



Today was a hills day for my run training.
So, I did a slightly slow pace but did some long hills. I would do .5 a mile at
1% incline and then do .25 a mile at 4% incline. I repeated this for a total
of 3 miles. I was winded. I kicked my own ass the last 2 days in the gym.
I suppose this is a good thing that I keep pushing myself but DAMN...I am
tired!
 
Any fellow runners/athletes/active peeps who read my blog....
 
Do you prefer hills or speed work?
Do you cross train...if so what do you do?
What events are on the horizon for you?

Looking forward to your responses!!

Workplace Wellness

I am the chair person for the Community Outreach Committee at work. I volunteered to put together a group of people interested in getting out in the community to do good deeds as well as organizing these events. Over Christmas, I organized a day of ringing bells for the Salvation Army Red Kettle Program. I had a great response from co-workers and we rang bells for an entire day for the Salvation Army. I was pretty proud of my work peeps.

For the new year, we decided to focus on our own office community for our next "event". So, we set up a 90 Day Wellness Challenge. We invited our office mates to participate in a challenge to change bad habits and make healthy lifestyle changes. We ended up getting over a dozen people to sign up for the challenge.

Each Wednesday is Wellness Wednesday and the start of each challenge. Participants are sent a challenge via email by a Community Outreach Committee Member outlining the challenge for the week. The following Tuesday participants are sent an email asking if they completed the challenge. Responses are tracked and those who complete at least 85% of all challenges win a prize! Last week, our challenge was to cut soda intake in half....so far I am down to only 1 soda a day. This is big for me....My name is Nikki and I am a diet coke addict (everyone in chorus "Hi Nikki") 

This week, I am leading the weekly challenge. I am challenging the participants to add exercise into their weekly routine. I am actually leading activities throughout the week to help get people on the right track. Tomorrow, I booked a conference room and have invited all the participants to come and do office friendly exercises. I am hoping for a good turn out. More importantly, I am hoping for everyone to actually get something out of this whole challenge!

Dead Weight

When I woke up this morning, I became acutely aware of the fact that yesterday was the first time I had lifted weights in a while. My normal routine of Monday being a strength day had fallen wayside. Well today I noticed the consequences of my actions. I woke up with tired muscles, then when I hopped in the pool to swim....that was a whole other story. My arms felt like dead weight in the water....McFlabby Arms. I managed to swim about 20 minutes, but it was a tough one today! I managed to rip my swim cap too.  Sigh.

Wes has swim lessons tonight which are always fun to watch. Kids always have so much fun in the pool, Wes is also a very animated child which makes things even more fun to watch. He teachers at preschool always tell me how sweet he is and then immediately follow up with how silly he is.

Popping the Minimalist Cherry!!

 I DID IT!! I did my first run in my Vibram Five Fingers! I am super excited! I went to a body pump class this morning, cardio weight lifting, and then after class I headed over to the treadmill. I started out slower than my normal pace and limited myself to only doing 1/2 mile. Everything I read says start slow to avoid injury. There were moments where it was very awkward and then there were moments when it was very fluid! I think I will give it a week, I have hills tomorrow, and try again adding more distance! My calves and  feet are tired, but not sore! Even better!!

We got some snow again.

The weather man said only 3-5 inches.

He is a liar. 

Five Finger Friday

Friday's are casual days, so I wore my five fingers today! My right foot and ankle has been giving my a little bit of the blues the past couple weeks. I have been off my game trying to get over a virus and really slipped off the bandwagon. I think I am good to go. I have re-grouped and re-focused. I think it is going to be my goal to actually run in the five fingers at the gym next week! I am not sure how next week will go, Dave is going to be in New Jersey for work so I will be a single mom for a couple days, but hopefully I can still squeeze in some good gym time!

I have officially registered for my Spring 2011 events. So far I plan on doing a 10-K...The Leprechaun Chase
I have also registered for my Triathlon....The Omaha Women's Tri, and I will officially be doing the Lincoln Half Marathon with TEAM In Training.

I have also been assigned a group of athletes from TEAM In Training that I will be mentoring for the spring season. I have about 5 guys and gals that I will be supporting! I am super excited. It sounds like we have a pretty great group lined up for the Spring! The TEAM also contacted me in regards to their triathlon team. They are working with the YMCA that I teach at to give the tri team in for some group trainings during the cold months. I have volunteered to teach a spin class for the tri team in February.

All in all I have had a pretty good week! I even started studying for my Personal Training Certificate!

Fabulous Fortune Cookies

Last night we got Chinese food from a near by restaurant.Wes has always liked rice and chicken nuggets so it is easy to convince him to eat sweet and sour chicken minus the "candy sauce". As we were finishing, I opened up my fortune cookie and read to everyone at the table. Dave passed Wes his cookie and reminded him not to eat the paper inside. Wes opened the cookie and took out the fortune. He looked very intently at the tiny piece of paper and then he reported...
  "It says, I love my mom. Give mom a kiss." I of course immediately lean in for a smooch and he quickly looks back at the piece of paper, looks back at me all puckered up, and states..."after dinner."

Motivation and Fun Stuff!!

Sometimes motivation comes from outside sources, sometimes internal. This past week I have needed some outside motivation, especially from women. While watching GI Jane is great and all....makes me want to do sit ups, real women are even better motivation!


My friend Ms. Blonde Ponytail is doing a giveaway on her blog that I totally want to win. It is a cool running shirt, some nuun, and her very own bumper sticker! How cool is that to have your very own bumper sticker! I am so jealous I am turning green!

I follow another woman's blog, Barefoot Angie Bee who is sponsored by nuun, a barefoot runner, and a mom! Both of these women have great blogs that give me motivation to hit the trails, the treadmill, and dare to take on running in bare feet!

Wintery Run

 We had decent temperatures yesterday so I headed out for my first outdoor run of the year. All in all it went well, there were only a couple spots that still had a thick layer of ice that I had to walk over. The sun peeked out during the last mile of the run, I definitely needed some sunshine! It felt amazing!

My ankle was a little sore after the run on the same foot that caused my trouble last season. So I think I am going to up the lower limb conditioning a notch to make sure I don't get hurt again. I've got a lot planned this year and I am really looking forward to it....train smart while training hard! I must have weak feet and ankles. I've got to get up the courage to run in my Five Fingers!

This morning I swam, climbed some stairs, and then did some bare foot work. I stretched out pretty good too! I think I have finally conquered this pesky virus I've been struggling with and am ready to kick it back into gear!

It's finally here!

It is finally here...my ACE personal fitness certification program! In 12 weeks I will be taking the final exam and become a certified personal trainer. I am still not sure how this will all play out in the long run and I intend to take things slow and with counsel from the hubby. But I am still super excited at all the possibilities I see laying out before me! This also gives me new motivation! I DO NOT want to be one of those "do as I say, not as I do" people. I will leave that saying for parenting!

Inspired by Art

I got inspired by Pepe to think about art today, so I thought I would show off my own art..or at least one of my artworks.

I got this tattoo after Eric, my youngest son, died. He was only 15 months old when we lost him.

The lotus flower, according to Buddhist thought, represents the perseverance to survive a dark place and make it to the light as well as the strength of family bond, the red of the flower represents love and compassion. The symbols blossoming from the flowers are Eric and Wes's zodiac symbols. The symbol in the center is the symbol for "Zen" which is the Buddhist philosophy I most closely associate myself with as far as religion goes...I got that part of the tattoo when I was 19 years old so it is a little more faded than the rest of the piece...OK, maybe a lot more faded. This picture doesn't do the color of the tattoo any justice, it has very bright, vivid colors.

Any blogger buddies all inked up and wanna share?

Friends and Strangers

Every day I look at my Blog stats to see who is reading my blog, actually to see where in the world my blog is being read. Everyday I have pageviews from the US, which is no surprise; but everyday I have pageviews from Slovenia. I have no idea where Slovenia is or who reads my blog from Slovenia...so I looked it up. After some research I have decided that I should visit. I mean look at these pictures...

 What I really want to know...is what in the world is this dessert??? It looks utterly fantastic!

Through the blogger world I have found Ms. Happy Frog and I look forward to her positive, warm fuzzy notes! I have reconnected with a buddy from High School, Ms.Blonde Ponytail, and found Mr. Pepe...who honestly makes me laugh out loud in my little office.

So if you are from Slovenia and you are reading this....It is nice to meet you!

Dogs and Popcorn

Is it me...or do all dogs love popcorn?

Here is a picture of Maggie...yes...her ears are always like that...one straight up, the other flopped to the side. Like I said, we got her at the Human Society and have no idea what kind of dog she actually is. This is a picture of her intently begging for popcorn. She doesn't beg for anything else the way she does for popcorn. She may throw a sad, fore lorn look at you when you're munching in front of the TV...but when it comes to popcorn, that is a whole different story. She sits directly in front of you, ears at full attention (the Maggie  version of attention), and does not move until the popcorn is completely gone. She actually gets a little frothy waiting for a piece...I think Pavlov would have been proud!

I have decided to start working on increasing my speed for my next race. I got a little inspired by Ms. Blonde Ponytail to ramp it up a little bit! So last night, I increased my speed on the treadmill and help it for a least a mile. I'm hoping to get a couple PR's this year! Considering I only did 3 events last year, I'm hoping to rock it hardcore this year! My feet are a little tender from the increased pounding last night, but it seems to be subsiding quickly! I'm starting to get more and more excited!

Snow Day!

 WE had a big snow storm that start last night and hasn't quite stopped yet. I'm not sure what the total amount of snow was for this round, but they say the wind is supposed to pick up overnight. Schools were canceled today and a lot of schools have been canceled for tomorrow.

 I am beginning to see the perks in working for a school! I get snow days too!!

 I had a good, lazy day keeping the boys home. We spent about 30 minutes outside playing in the snow this afternoon. It was about all we could handle, it was pretty cold.

I pulled the boys around in a sled through the yard this afternoon. Izzy and Wes both giggled until the sled tipped over and both boys face planted. Izzy was done...wanted nothing more to do with anything that was cold. Wes on the other hand was just getting started! He loved it!