this training thing is really coming along.
i feel a lot better this time than i did the last time i attempted training.
i mean, i'm not in the double digit runs yet, but i'm feeling great.



which is good, because there's only a month and a day
before the big day.

i honestly think the big difference is the cross training.
i've never really done much of that, and i can tell that it helps.

last saturday, leslie and i did a 7 miler.
michele was out of town - but she and landon got in 7 miles too!

auburn is hilly, in case you've ever wondered.



this morning, michele and i will tackle 8 miles
while leslie is out of town running a 15k race,
or something crazy like that.



here's a sign you're training for a half marathon -
i had to go buy a couple extra tops and capris because i couldn't keep up with the laundry.
no worries, all on sale.
this running thing could break your budget if you let it.
for instance, the above jacket was on clearance at old navy for $1.97
and i had some super cash, so i'm pretty sure it was practically free.

i also had to invest in some new shoes.
i'd run too many miles in my others...
i mean, i could probably make them last through the training,
but not the race itself,
and i wanted to do my training in the same shoes i'll race in.



same shoes as before - brooks pure cadence - just the newer model,
and in a much better color than my old ones, not that the color matters.
except, it totally does

to get me through the long runs, i've got michele and leslie,
plus an 81 song, totaling 296 mins, playlist.
not that i'll be running that long, but it keeps things interesting when it's on shuffle.
plus, just being outside has its perks.

but, these treadmill runs can get a little boring.
i just can't go outside and run at 4:30/5:00 in the morning
when it's in the 20s and pitch black dark.
spring is coming soon, right?
we'll pretend that's what the groundhog said.
in the meantime, treadmill it is.
it's going to be a sad day when i don't have anymore episodes of
pretty little liars left to help me pass the time.

because i may never update this blog again unless it's easy,
and there's nothing easier for me than a list.

1.  saturday, we went to touch-a-truck in downtown opelika.
have i mentioned i love our town?  because i do.









we saw lots of cool cars, trucks, buses, construction/farming equipment,
a helicopter, and the kids made their own screen print shirts and scored lots of other swag.
so, it was pretty much a success.

we went to the community garden after that and did some harvesting and weeding.
then it was pretty much a normal saturday of chores and outdoors.

2.  father's day, we met granna, big daddy, bubba, and emily at superior grill in birmingham.
we had lunch then loaded the kids in the car with the grandparents for a week in athens.
a whole week with no children.
a whole week of not having to get anyone but myself ready in the morning,
watching whatever i (and sam, of course) want to watch on tv,
only having to worry about feeding myself (and sam, of course).....
but, we do miss them.  promise.

3.  i've started reading a new series of books.
tess monaghan by laura lippman
they're about a former newspaper journalist turned private investigator.
so, pretty much fits in with the callahan garrity series by kathy hogan trocheck
and the alphabet series (kinsey millhone) by sue grafton.
clearly characters who make the pi business their second career intrigue me.
anyway, i found these books because another one of laura lippman's books,
"every secret thing" is going to be made into a movie.
so, of course i had to read it.
i'm really enjoying the books, and there are 11 of them,
so i have at least a couple of weeks of books in my lineup.

4.  speaking of new, sam and i started a new netflix binge - scandal.
there are 3 seasons, and it's signed on for a 4th in the fall.
we're in the middle of season 2 right now,
so we'll be beyond ready for new episodes when the fall rolls around.
i'd heard a lot of great reviews, and i'm glad we started watching it.
we're hooked.

5.  and, speaking of netflix binges, there are only 3 episodes left of 24: live another day.
i have a theory.  there is absolutely no way they can wrap this thing up in just 3 hours.
it's going to have to be a cliffhanger, and then they'll announce the next 24 event to finish it up.
and my theory better pan out, because i'm not ready to give up jack bauer forever.
just sayin'.

6. i've been meaning to make a "summer fun" list with the kids -
you know, things they want to do this summer, we just haven't gotten around to it.
of course, last year we made one with like 2 weeks of summer left,
ok, maybe it was a little more than that...
so the fact i'm thinking about it in june is progress.

7.  i have two awesome vacations lined up the middle-end of july,
and they really can't get here quickly enough.

8.  while the kids are out of the house,
i promised myself i was going to do a massive house and car cleaning.
because, while neither are fun, they both desperately need to be done,
and with the kids gone, i might be able to enjoy both for more than 30 minutes
before the destroying duo get their hands on everything.
but, then, we discovered scandal,
and that's how we've been spending our free time.

9.   i'm 2.2 pounds away from my new goal weight,
which is 5 lbs less than my original goal weight.
i'm pretty proud of myself.
and pretty frustrated with my belly fat that just won't go away as fast as i'd like.

10.  i just realized the redbox movies i rented saturday are still riding shotgun in my car.
i hate redbox. by the time i return these things it would have been cheaper to rent them on demand.
with y'all as my witnesses, i'm breaking up with redbox.

until next time!
xoxo

ahhhhhh!

i'll totally update you on our weekend tomorrow.
but today is the day after jack came back.
and, that my friends, is worth mentioning.



it is a totally different experience watching it
at the same time as the rest of the world.

it was fun, because i was able to see responses to stuff on twitter.
it's always fun to follow along with a show on twitter.
people on the internet are crazy.
plus, there was all this build-up and hype leading up to it.

however, it's a total bummer to have to sit through commercials.
or to have to wait for a commercial before you can do anything.
netflix, you have spoiled me.

i was never really concerned about it being as good as the
first 8 seasons until right before it came on yesterday.
then i started wondering if the "new chloe"
would still be like the old chloe i know and love
and if jack has aged too much to be realistic.
and, who are all these new people trying to get in on the action?
plus, throwing audrey and heller back into the mix?
was that really a good idea?

but, it was perfect.
bringing back the show wouldn't make sense if audrey and heller weren't in it.
jack is still as awesome as he's always been.
chloe is still chloe.
a little rough around the edges,
but still the same chloe that has jack's back no matter what.
and omg what has happened to her in the past four years to make her this way?
i mean, seriously! i need some backstory pronto. 
morris better be ok or i'm going to be livid!

now, as far as the new people?
there's one guy that reminds me a lot of milo.
so that was a little sad, but comforting.
benjamin bratt is fantastic,
i'm not so sure about this cia girl,
mainly because i think she is going to be jack's love interest
and i really don't like audrey's husband/heller's chief of staff.
he reminds me a little too much of charles logan.
not really, but i could see him turning out like him.

that's all i can really say without spoiling it for everyone.
having 2 hours this week for the premier was a fantastic idea,
but i'm going to be mad when it ends after an hour next week.

and, basically, i'm waiting for tony to come back
and david palmer to appear and say he's been in witness protection this whole time.
that's totally reasonable, right?

ps: if you've seen the show, or don't care about spoilers.
check this out:

The 24 Best Moments from the '24: Live Another Day' Premiere

a few of my favorite things this week (in addition to alliteration):

i bought this on amazon back in february.
the kids absolutely love "playing" it.
some of the questions are a little advanced, so i change them up a little,
but they are a great way to get to know your family better.
we've gone through most of them already, and some twice,
so i'm thinking i need to invest in another box.

4.  24: Live Another Day
there is finally a new trailer for 24,
which is fantastic because as much as i loved the one made for the super bowl,
it was getting kind of old.
but, that's not why this is on my favorites list.
it's on my favorites list because there is a countdown clock to the new season.
now i know how long i have to watch the remaining 53 episodes i have left.
at least one per day... the stress level is rising.

5.  speaking of countdowns...
there is only one more week and roughly 6.5 hours until i'm officially on spring break.
hallelujah!

i didn't really have ten things, but five on tuesday just didn't sound as good...

1.  granna visited this weekend! we tried to buy some spring clothes for the kids.
carlie ended up with 2 outfits because that is all we could agree on.  luke is pretty much set,
and he loved everything we got him.  boys = easier than girls.

2.  i'm not the only one obsessed with girl scout cookies.  i feel validated.

11 Delicious Facts You Never Knew About Girl Scout Cookies



3. sam's not a fan of downton abbey, so i have been nice and haven't been watching it.
also, we're still on our 24 kick (only 94 hours to go!) so we've been watching that.
i''m slowly, but surely, working on catching up on the show, but in the meantime,
this has been keeping me in the loop and making me laugh.

If Downton Abbey took place entirely on Facebook

if you don't like spoilers, i suggest you don't read it until you've watched the episode.
i, on the other hand, love a good spoiler, so i'm all caught up on the facebook version
even though i'm only through episode 2.

4.  i just finished 3 books:
sharp objects, gillian flynn
gravity, tess gerritsen
call after midnight, tess gerritsen

i read the gillian flynn book because she only has 3 books,
and i read and enjoyed the other two.
they're a bit twisted, but they definitely keep you in suspense.
they remind me a little of the girl with a dragon tattoo books,
but maybe not quite so, i don't know, disturbing?

tess gerritsen writes the rizzoli and isles series, which has been made into a tv show,
yay for a new season starting next week!
but she also writes other books, mostly medical suspense stuff, which is what gravity is.
i really liked it, but between the book and 24, i had some strange dreams.
i might have worked for the cia in another life.
call after midnight was pretty good too, but some parts annoyed me.

i'm trying my best to get through winter's tale.
i feel like the middle and end of the book will be good,
but the beginning is dragging on and on....

5.  tomorrow, the kids and i are skipping school and work to go to dothan
for the boys' basketball 5a southern regional finals.
russell county won our area, and then won the sub-regional finals.



we're so proud of sam and his team!  go warriors!

it's an exciting time in the moates house:
1. girl scout cookies!
2. olympics!

the whole girl scout cookie thing has gotten a little ugly in our house.
i have a tendency to buy at least one box every time i see a girl scout.
they're like ninjas and creep up on you out of no where
and force you to spend your money.

i've done a pretty good job of hiding the cookies from the rest of the family.
don't judge me
until the other day when carlie was with me at the grocery store
and i made a detour to the girl scout table to restock on thin mints.
poor kid thought they were for her.
of course i felt bad and bought some for her and luke.
then sam found out we had girl scout cookies in the house because one of the kids told him,
and he went and hid the ones he likes.
and, as i type all of this out, i realize how ridiculous we all are.



anyway, in the midst of all this craziness,
there is also our obsession with the olympics.
not that it's anywhere near the level of our summer olympics obsession,
but we have been enjoying our fair share of the festivities.

i think luke's favorite is hockey.  he also liked speed skating last night.
carlie, of course, loves the figure skating and ice dancing.
i've always thought those were my favorites too, and i do still love them,
but this year, i'm a little in love with snowboarding.
regardless of our favorites, we've watched it all. even curling.
and, at this point, i still have no idea what curling is,
but i would like to invite the us team over to my house to let them clean practice.

i also need to take a second to discuss bob costa's pink eye.
please tell me i'm not the only one who feels like he is infecting me through the tv screen.
bless his heart.

for posterity, i feel like i should include a few other of our current favorite things.
mainly, my favorite things.  but, i'll throw a couple of others in there too.




i got these popcorn containers at the dollar tree for $1 for a set of 2.
they make popcorn even more fun.  and, we love our popcorn.



sam and i are still on a 24 watching marathon.
the olympics slowed us down a bit, but we're on season 4.
i've started having conversations with the characters.
sam either thinks i'm hilarious or i'm losing my mind.
i need to put in a plug for president palmer real quick-like.
his bromance with jack bauer made the first 3 seasons.
i need him back.
tony's doing a pretty good job as a stand-in,
but i have a feeling it won't last much longer.

and, finally, is anyone else as obsessed with the buzzfeed quizzes as i am?
i would guess yes since people are always posting their results on facebook.
i mean, how else would i know what food, princess, hogwarts house, harry potter character,
friends character, grease character, pixar movie, 80's band, hunger games character, i am?

until next time, friends.

our second outing was to frog legs.
we were there 3 hours.
i'm not even exaggerating.



between those times, i rotated between playing referee, reading, and watching netflix.

i wish i was one of those moms that could come up with fun activities to do at the house,
and who could see free time as an adventure and not a pain,
but i'm not. it's one of the things i've come to terms with.

i need a schedule; i need my job to be productive.
the rest of my life runs more smoothly when i have a set place to be and a schedule to maintain.
and whether it's by nurture or nature, my kids are the same way.
none of us handled being at home with nothing to do very well at all.

i'm hoping i remember this next year so i can go ahead and set up a schedule for us
during our 2 week break.



and, because i know you're dying to know what books i read and what show
i'm currently obsessed with, i'm going to tell you. :)
seriously though, i do this for myself. i can't tell you how many times i've
referenced my blog to remember what books i've read and if i liked them. 
i'm a dork, remember?

1.  the secrets of the immortal nicholas flamel
this is one of those series that was on either my amazon or
online library's recommendation page based on other books i've read.
i texted bess, cause that's how i roll, and she thought she'd read at least part of it and liked it.
that was good enough for me.
there were a few slow parts, but i loved the adventure, magic, and combination
of mythical and real people used in a fictional way.
it's worth the read if you like those types of books, which i do.

2.  callahan garrity series
these books are written by mary kay andrews under her real name, kathy hogan trocheck.
they remind me a lot of sue grafton's books but with mka's southern flair.
i've read them all and am disappointed there aren't any more, nor does it look like there will be.
one of the librarians and i actually had a conversation about it.
she just quit writing them when she started writing under the pen name mka.
fun reads if you like mystery, mka, or sue grafton.

3.  alias
back when i lived with laurel, we watched alias.
that was when it was first showing on tv.
now it's made its way to netflix.  i made the mistake of watching it one day and got hooked.
i'd forgotten just how good it is.
and, it's been long enough since i first watched it that i've forgotten some things,
so every once and awhile it's like it's new again.
then, i figured out that the guy who created this show also created lost.
j.j. abrams knows how to make a good tv show.

thankfully, we are back to our regular schedules,
and we are loving it.
i'm looking forward to what 2014 holds for us!

aka my newest obsession

i have to admit, even i like this one