Currently!

Well, I woke up at 2am 
so I may as well write a blog post!

Current Running Situation: I'm running mainly for mental sanity at this point with a couple of trail runs with climbs thrown in there to get myself ready for Hyner in a couple weeks.

Current Sleeping Situation: So much better than what it was! I think it's mainly because I'm sometimes being a little irresponsible and staying up really late. I know sleep debt isn't a good thing, but oh well. When I remember, I still take my trazodone.

Current guilty pleasure: Running a lot.

Current drink: Sangria with a shot of vodka. Don't judge.

Current favorite TV show: We cut cable! I'm watching Survivor via CBS All Access but I'm having a hard time getting into this season. I'm also rewatching The Office on Netflix. Did you know I used to look like Pam when I was younger, fatter, and had long hair!?

Picture me with the Pam deadpan look on my face...

Current triumph: I figured out how to transfer music from a CD, into itunes, and onto my phone. Ever since they re-imaged our work computers, Windows Media Player (the program I knew how to use) wouldn't work. It only took me a couple months, but I finally did it. Infuriating!

Current indulgence: Instead of drinking from my water bottle at night, I put two cans of seltzer water on my bedside table to drink. I'm a DIVA!

Current food: Quiche for life.

Current excitement: Less than 35 work days until summer vacation!

Currently listening to: Not a whole lot! Currently, many of my drives and runs are without music and even without  podcasts! Too much noise. I need solitude.

Currently needing: New wireless headphones. I lost mine. But I know as soon as I buy some I will find them again! It is a BITCH having to use my old headphones with a cord. Should I just bite the bullet?

Currently thankful for: Supportive friends, family, and colleagues.

Currently enjoying: Warm morning runs in shorts! I am always surprised when spring actually arrives and I feel like we don't deserve such nice whether. But after enduring a PA winter, we DO deserve good weather!

Tell me something current about you!

A Day in My Life

My day started much earlier than I anticipated. The cats woke me up at 2am and I could not fall back asleep. At 4am, I decided I should get up, make coffee, and snuggle on the couch with Colbert and Jelly.

I haven’t been spending much time with the cats lately so the time with Jelly was much needed. I even brushed Christmas’ teeth and threw some treats to both of them. Let’s just say that morning, I was the best cat mom ever.

Then I went for a 6 miler in my hood. I was slow but I enjoyed the run. After all, I had a new episode of my favorite podcasts to listen to.

The workday started off with a flute lesson. I love my flute students!

The 4^th graders are playing ukuleles. They’re at the point where I can set them loose and they can jam with a buddy. They love it and I love not having to do direct instruction all day!

At lunch I went outside and drank my coffee on the loading dock. One of our custodians donated some picnic tables and placed them there in case teachers wanted to eat outside. It was so beautiful! I don’t normally get outside during the day but I want to start taking advantage of the opportunity whenever I have it.

The afternoon was full of classes and then my favorite (kidding) part of the day… crosswalk duty.

Loook, I match! Hahahaha!

After work, I went home to teach four piano lessons. It's a long night but it's good money!

When my lessons were over at 6, I quickly showered and headed over to Bree's house to hang out!

I got home kind of late for a school night and ended up going to bed after 11. I was so tired, but unfortunately, I woke up at 3:30am and could not fall back asleep. FREAKING A! So I started my Wednesday the same way I as Tuesday... with coffee, Colbert, and Jelly. 

Is today going to be Groundhog Day!?

My New Bedroom!

My life is about to be full of new beginnings. One way I helped myself be excited to start fresh is by redoing my bedroom! For the past 10 years or so, the walls of our room were a bright blue and all of the artwork, bedding, and curtains were brown. It was cool in 2010 but not so much anymore. It was time for a change!

I wanted to transform my room into an oasis. I wanted it to be relaxing, stylish, and fun. But 36 year old fun... not 20 year old fun or anything like that!

My vision was grey with yellow accents and a light pink as the secondary accent. I thought that would be perfect for me.

I got lucky when my friend Katrina offered to help me paint. She is really good at painting as she did her whole house! She is also pretty handy and DIY in general, so I felt like I won the lottery when she seemed excited to help! She even met me at Lowe's and helped me pick out the perfect grey color for the walls.

We spent the afternoon painting the walls a light grey. Then we went back to the store to get a white paint for me to do the trim at a later date. The trim is currently white but it is a really dull, sort of eggshell white. Katrina thinks something brighter will make everything pop and I agree. So doing the trim is on my to do list...

The next two weekends, I went out and about looking for the perfect bedding, curtains, and decorative items to make my dream room into a reality. Luckily, I was able to use some items I already had as well. Here is what I ended up with!

Bedspread/Sheets/Pillowcases: Clearance from Kohl's for $59.99. I always forget how much bedding costs until it is time to buy bedding. Sadly, that is a really good price for what I got. The thing is, bedding can COMPLETELY transform a room, so it is an important part of the redecorating process!

Throw pillows: I got these at Wal-Mart. They were super cheap. I saw some cute pillows at Home Goods but they were like $15-$20 each. That is insane. These were $6 each.

Grey Fleece Blanket: $20 from Wal Mart. I get cold at night so I like having the option of more than just a bedspread. So far, it has done a good job keeping me warm!

Yellow Throw: $19.99 from Amazon. This is totally for decoration and to tie some more yellow into the room.

Lamps: $19.99 each. I loved them the minute I saw them at Ross and I thought the price was right. However, I didn't buy them right away and ended up going back later to pick them up. I like how they have very clean lines and are simple.

Curtains: $19.99 from Kohl's. All the right colors and such a good deal!

Mirror: Kohl's, $18. (Thanks to Kohl's cash and a 30% off coupon!) I thought I would get a smaller mirror and feared this one would be too big. It ended up being perfect for the space

Resist Artwork: I bought this from Etsy a couple years ago to commemorate the Women's March on DC I attended with my mom and my friend Andrea. The colors go perfect with my room and the art is something very meaningful to me. I moved it from our living room into my bedroom. This is where it belongs.

Shelf: $14 from Wal Mart. Paul hung it for me!

Knick Knacks: The little sprout was from Ross for $5, the pink jar has a candle in it and was a gift from a student.

Flower/Vase: I am super proud of this creation! I basically saw something just like this at Target for $30. I thought to myself... I can make that! So I went to the Dollar Tree and bought the vase and two sprigs of yellow roses. The little tie I put around the vase is from the decorative balls I have on my other dresser. Look at me! I can make things!

Wall Hangings: These are from when Paul and I decorated back in 2010. They are from Wal Mart. They were brown but I decided to spray paint them white. I wonder what the Chinese symbols mean? Anyone know!?

Candles: Both are from Ross and they smell divine!

Coasters: Another Ross find. I decided I needed coasters because I drink a lot of wine in bed...

AT Art: I got this at a craft show several months ago. I moved it into my bedroom because it totally went with the decor!

Vase w/ Decorative Balls: Marshall's! The vase was $8.99 and the decorative balls were $6.99. I guess that is a little pricey for something that is just for "show" but I wanted more yellow and I wanted something on the dresser for height.

Grey Decorative Box: I had this in our breakfast nook and just moved it into my bedroom.

More Wall Hangings: Another item from when we decorated our room in 2010. They were originally yellow and I spray painted them brown. I simply spray painted them back to yellow!

There you have it! My tiny little bedroom! I want to incorporate one or two more pink accents. Suggestions? I don't want to do a pillow. Possibly more artwork? There is a lot of space left on the walls but I want my room to be simple and not have a ton of "stuff". Perhaps it's perfect the way it is.

I also want to show you my furniture and my thoughts on possibly updating it, but I will do that in a future blog post! So stay tuned for that because I really want your opinion!

What was the last room your decorated?
Is your bedroom and oasis or... something else?

I have a trail race coming up!

On April 20th, I'm running the Hyner Trail Challenge at Hyner View State Park. Click on that link to see pics... it's going to be GORGEOUS! There is a 25k and 50k option. I chose the 25k because I didn't feel like running super long or formally training. My brother Tyler chose the 50k option because he is a beast!

I haven't really "trained" much at all. I mean, I am running, but it's a lot of road, treadmill, and speed work... That's not going to help me too much on a course that has 3 major climbs totaling 4,000 feet in elevation gain. Yeah, this is going to be a BEAST!

Two weeks ago I ran 10 miles with Allison on the AT. We parked at Sherwood and ran nearly toRoute 850 and back. That section of the trail has 2 big climbs, so by doing an out and back you can get 4 good hills in just 10 miles. Allison was killing it (she did 20 total!) but I had to walk up every hill. I had no energy. It wasn't good.

I planned my comeback for the next weekend. Allison and I ran the route again, but went a little farther so I could get 11 miles in. My goal was only to walk at the "steps", which is the steepest section of the first climb. The purpose of this run was to give me not just physical training, but the mental training to know I still got it. The good news is I ran the whole thing (besides the steps) and finished strong. I was so relieved!

Allison 22 that day! She is training for a 50k and she is going to crush it!

This past weekend I ran 12 miles on the AT with my dad and my brother. We parked at Clark's Ferry and went to Peter's Mountain and back. There was a 1.5 mile climb at the very beginning which I crushed. The rest of the run was a mix between runnable sections and rocky sections. I had a great time with my family!

This coming weekend I am thinking about doing about 8 miles on the trail with two climbs and then calling it a day. I'm not looking to break any records at Hyner and I am envisioning I will be power hiking up many of the hills. That's fine with me. I'm just there for fun and to experience the beautiful course!