Decorating on a Dime (Halloween Theme) and Texas State Fair

Aren't these guys just ADORABLE?!?

Glowing Mummy Jars

And super easy to make!!

Materials:

1. Buy glass jars from a supermarket like WalMart

2. Buy tea light candles

I got mine from the dollar store in a Cinnamon Apple Spice scent which reminds me of Fall!

3. Buy Gauze (~$2 for two yards)

4. Buy 'Googly' Eyes at your local craft store

Instructions:

• I used pieces of black duct tape to attach the eyeballs first so that way the jars aren't ruined with glue and I can use them for a different project after Halloween.

• Tape the end of gauze to the back of your jar (the side you didn't put eyeballs on) and begin to wrap the gauze around the jar.  Don't overlap too much or the candle won't be able to shine through!  I think you kinda get better at this as you go... the first one I made (on the right) turned out looking a bit like a Ninja Mummy. 

• When you're done wrapping the gauze very tightly cut the length you needed and pull end over the bottom of the jar and secure with duct tape.

• Add tea light candle in jar and light.

VOILA!! Glowing Mummy Jars!!

You could also use these jars to package things like jam or candies and give them out as presents.

I was in the decorating mood and also re-did (is that a word?) some glass vases with a Fall Theme.

I used Fall colored leaves picked off one of those fake plant vines you can buy at craft stores, river stones, glass stones in a burnt orange/burgandy color, fresh cinnamon sticks and a few black spiders for that Halloween Spook ;)

After Halloween you can simply remove the spiders and the rest is perfect for Thanksgiving Holidays!

What I love about these glass vases is that you can fill them with anything for  quick change-of-season decorating.

And what would Halloween be without some spooky lil' ghost buddies??

Tissue Ghosts! 

Materials:

Tissues

Black Sharpie

String/Thread/Curling Ribbon

Instructions:

• Take a sheet of Kleenex (Or Puffs, or whatever brand you prefer) and pull it apart if it has two layers stacking them criss crossed over each other instead of directly overlapping.

• Take a piece of napkin and roll it into a ball and place in the middle of your tissue.

• Fold the tissue over the ball and secure with string or ribbon at the 'neck' of the ghost.

• Draw on eyeballs and hang wherever you please!!

Last year I used very thin thread so my ghosts looked like they were floating.. I wanted the black ribbon to give a more 'Goth' vibe this year, but I may like the string idea a bit more!

Speaking of all things Halloween... they had HUGE pumpkins at the Texas State Fair!!

AND I know the State Fair is known for deep fried food... but I found a stand dedicated to healthy eating and teaching the nation about eating a balanced diet!!

{The BFF and I}

{The Lil' Sis and I}

Tried to get a good shot of the Ferris Wheel and Fair in the background!

AND

Possibly the most exciting moment of the State Fair trip was when I met my new best friend...

Kitty Kitty!!!

They had 5 month old kittens in the Greenway Greenhouse next to the Pumpkin Carver and I was smitten.  She was so calm and just snuggled in my arms! 

I apologize for the strange look on my face... I was just overly excited.  I did give the kitten to a young girl of about 6 after a few minutes or so.... although, I contemplated hiding her in my shirt and taking her home with me!  The kitten.. not the little girl.

Then it was off to CELEBRITY KITCHEN where I saw Chef Kenny Mills from Chop House Burger.

After watching the presentation and how they make their 'Secret Sauce' we all got mini Chop House sliders!!  FOR FREE!!

How cute is that lil' guy??

After spending my Sunday at the State Fair with the sis and bff it was difficult to motivate myself to get in another workout but I did...

You love the sweat band, eh? I know.. it's really in style right now... 1980's fo life.

That brings my training schedule to this:

So other than never running on the exact day.. I am pretty proud of my workouts.  It's definitely more defined to running than I've been before, and I chose to bike this week instead of one of the scheduled runs because my legs were feeling really sore and needed to recover -- most likely because I tend to to most of my working out on the weekend since work has been so hectic.  Seriously, my job has never been more stressful... but learning to balance this is just helping me be more well rounded, right? :)

And my littlest sister shared this gem with me:

Please tell me that made you laugh out loud as much as it did me!!!!

Questions for the Day:

What's your favorite thing to do at the State Fair?

Will you be carving a pumpkin this year?

Oh Monday... Wishing the Rain Away

Okay, Okay.. so I know we've really needed rain here in TX

Yep, like I said... Texas was really in need of some rain, BUT Mondays are hard enough to get through without it being all rainy and humid outside.

Only plus was I got to bust out my knee high black BCBG boots for the first time this season. 

I ALSO got to bust out this little black headband bc humidity does crazy things to my hair...

{Thank you RunningOffTheReeses for that one!}



So this weekend was rainy, and that messed with my plans of completing another Long Run outside.  I had 5 miles to log this weekend and they were trapped to a treadmill and Sunday I was just not feeling my workout.  I kept staring out the window thinking how I missed the perfect weather earlier in the week... I was completely ADHD and knew there was no way I was going to get in a good straight 5 miles so instead I knocked out a quick 3 (9:10 avg pace with 1min walk breaks between miles) and finished up my time on the eliptical on 65 resistance (my eliptical goes to 80... so whatever that means). 

Then, I kicked my own butt in a random circuit of whatever strength training I thought of including planks, a row back exercise Mike set up for me, and some of my favorite strength moves  --- finishing strong with 5 min ABS that went like this:

Running Tips - You Get What You Work For

The other day I stumbled upon a post from Women's Health Magazine on the 101 Greatest Running Tips.

Here's a few I liked... I mostly related to the beginner tips.

1. Accept the challenge

"Everyone is an athlete. But some of us are training, and some of us are not." --Dr. George Sheehan, runner/writer/philosopher

2. Shoot for this (at least)

"Running 8 to 15 miles per week significantly increases your aerobic capacity, and positively effects many of the coronary risk factors." --Dr. Kenneth Cooper, aerobics pioneer

Wow! Just 8 miles a week, regardless of speed, will better your health :)

3. Be a minuteman

"The biggest mistake that new runners make is that they tend to think in mile increments--1 mile, 2 miles, 3 miles. Beginning runners need to think in minutes, not miles." --Budd Coates, four-time U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier/coach

4. Wear good running shoes

"Spend at least $60. A good pair of running shoes should last you 400 to 500 miles and is one of the most critical purchases you will make." --John Hanc, author of The Essential Runner

6. Take the "talk test"

"The 'talk test' means running at a pace comfortable enough to converse with a training partner--but not so easy that you could hit the high notes in an Italian opera." --Runner's World editors

10. Make time for a quickie

"If 15 minutes is all the time I have, I still run. Fifteen minutes of running is better than not running at all." --Dr. Duncan Macdonald, former U.S. record holder at 5000 (set when he was in medical school)

16. Listen up!

"You must listen to your body. Run through annoyance, but not through pain." --Dr. George Sheehan

17. Create your own running creed

"My whole teaching in one sentence is: "Run slowly, run daily, drink moderately, and don't eat like a pig." --Dr. Ernst van Aaken, renowned German coach

19. Take what you can get

"So-called 'junk miles'--those slow miles done on easy days or during warmups--do count. They burn calories as effectively as fast miles; it just takes longer. Regardless of pace, each mile you run burns about 100 calories." --Hal Higdon,

62. Get over it

"If you have a bad workout or run a bad race, allow yourself exactly 1 hour to stew about it--then move on." --Steve Scott, coach and U.S. record holder in the mile

71. Stay on pace

"It's better to run too slow at the start than too fast and get into oxygen debt, which is what 99.9 percent of runners do. You have to learn pace." --Bill Bowerman, renowned University of Oregon coach

99. Find a reason why

"We run to undo the damage we've done to body and spirit. We run to find some part of ourselves yet undiscovered." --John "The Penguin" Bingham

100. Feel the magic...

"For me, running is a lifestyle and an art. I'm far more interested in the magic of it than the mechanics." --Lorraine Moller


Questions for the Day:

What is your favorite exercise related quote/mantra?

Do you prefer to work out alone or with a friend?

It Just Feels Good to be a Gangster

Accepting the Challenge.

{if you don't feel like a serious read just skip down a lil' ways for the FUN stuff}

Any time you set a new goal or decide to try something new it's a little scary. 

Doubt can fill your mind "What if I can't make it? What if I fail?"

But you have to stop and think "What if I succeed?"

I mean honestly, say you do fail.

 (although I would really only consider it failing if you never got off your butt and tried in the first place)

What is the worst that has happens? You tried something and it didn't go as planned.  You're no worse off than you were before and you probably learned a valuable lesson in the process.

Having a Running Plan terrified me at first.  It was something to hold myself to -- and I had lots of doubts about not being able to do everything the plan says I should be able to do.  I am not the strongest runner... but from the plan I've already learned I'm a much stronger runner than I'd given myself credit for.

Like the 5 mile run I completed Tuesday... without having the plan, I probably wouldn't have attempted that distance yet, and when I was able to surprise myself and complete the run in record time I felt so proud. 

I appologize for being so mushy today, but it's just that I felt I should share something that becoming a runner has meant to me.  It's built confidence in myself and each little planned workout is a checkmark on my list to becoming a better runner.

I think this is very important.

Setting little goals on the way to make your big goal.

Our big goal can sometimes seem too large or far off in the distance, but checking off the little goals can help you track your progress and visually see the distance between you and your end goal becoming smaller and smaller!

{View from Last Night's Run}

Snapped that shot as I was almost home.  Running in the dark used to terrify me, but honestly it's not dark when I start running at 7pm and it's finally cool enough that you can breathe easily and not glisten with the dew beads of one thousand pansies after a light autumn mist. 

That's the nice way of saying 'you finally don't sweat your bawls off even though you didn't have any to start with bc you're a girl'. 

LADY! Watch your language!!!!

I knocked out 3 miles with an 8:55 avg pace.

I had a .5 mile warm up walk before I started running and a .65 mile cool down.

IT'S AMAZING!! (so amazing)

IT'S AMAZING.

I'm the reason, that every body's fired up this evening.

I'm exhausted, barely breathin'

Holding onto what I believe in

And no matter what you'll never take that from meeeee

Sorry, 'bout to recap my LONGEST PROUDEST RUN TO DATE and just can't seem to get that little ditty out of my head.

Here's the Training Plan I've got going from Runner's World:

As you can see I'm not very good about following the plan.
The plan is mostly striked out where I've missed runs and the bright colors are what I actually did.

I can't seem to run on exact day they want me to run... work has been crazy with people gone on vacation these past few weeks which means double triple one million times the work for me.

I was supposed to complete the 5mi run on Saturday but that didn't happen because I woke up late and had to rush to meet my mom {hi mom!}  but I certainly made up for it on Tuesday!

My plan said to complete the 5 miles averaging a 11:33 pace... I was honestly nervous thinking I wasn't even sure I could complete the run without having to stop.  I was super stressed from work and in a terrible mood since I hadn't been fitting in workouts like I typically do but I mapped out a pretty scenic 5 mile loop with Mike around his place.  I paid attention to where each mile marker was, and he stuck a flashing runners light on my back since it was already 7pm when I was trying to leave -- thanks for worrying about my life honey, but there was probably a higher percent chance of me dying from running than there was for a car hitting me! 

COOL thing is that once I got started my SoftRace App started talking to me! 

I had forgotten I got a 30 day free trial run of their Premium features... I might buy in.

ANYWHO - at Mile 1 it told me I was at Mile 1 and 9:35... sweet!  The first part was basically uphill so that was awesome, I was nervous this meant I'd burn out soon but the weather was so gorgeous and my legs were feeling good so I decided to keep up the pace.  The next mile was more so down hill and flew by minus a short stop at a traffic light. 

When I made it half way through my 5mi run it was right overlooking a mini lake and I got SO excited because I still felt great! 

That's when my phone flashed at me "Only 15% battery remaining"

WTF PHONE?!?!

you had 90% when I left 28 minutes ago!!!!! no!!!!!!!!

I realized between SoftRace Pro GPS tracking and my Pandora Station it was killing my battery way to quickly.

Long story short, I switched from Pandora to my Music Player and it made it the rest of the journey (Thank God)

That was a close call.