First Day of Boot Camp

Yep...you read that right. MK is going to boot camp. Not like military boot camp, though. Exercise boot camp. It's called Best Body Bootcamp and tonight was my first workout. So far...I think this is going to be awesome! I mean, every ounce of my body hurts, except maybe my toes. But no pain, no gain right? I have to be honest though, I didn't complete the full interval training. I did half of it and thought I was going to fly off the back of the treadmill and since tomorrow is a running day, I decided to take it easy. But aside from that, I did the whole workout. My hip did start hurt a bit but I think it's because I haven't been doing as many squats or lunges as I did tonight. I think over time it will get better. Check it out...you may want to do it the next round...

Less than 6 weeks until my first half-marathon. I can't believe it's almost here. I'm not quite ready for it but am really going to buckle down with my training. Looking forward to seeing all my friends in Memphis again...especially at the finish line!! What a great way to finish my first race. Plus my dad will be there so that will be nice as well. Last week, I was in DC for work. It was a great opportunity and I got to hang out in the city again. Of course, you know I can't go to DC and not have an "incident". This time, it wasn't the bicycle that got the better of me. It was the layout of the city and the stupid rain. So Monday night I decided that I would go to Legal Seafood for dinner. My favorite seafood place. Anyway...I was staying in a part of town I'd not been in before but I figured I could find it anyway and would walk there. Yeah...I should learn by now. So I started walking and 10 minutes later, I was back at my hotel. Yep...walked around the block. Unintentionally of course. So I pulled out the GPS on my phone (what did we do before GPS on phones?) and followed the little blue arrow. Luckily...I was a good Girl Scout and had my umbrella with me because shortly thereafter...a downpour. 45 minutes after I started I made it to the restaurant. I decided to take the Metro back to my hotel. It was better that way. I also got to see my cousin, Sarah Lynn, I haven't seen in 15 years! It was fantastic. I got to meet her fiance who is a very nice guy. Then I got to see Jess (my Princess half marathon buddy) and her baby Gwyn who just turned 1 and I hadn't met her yet. What fun!!

The surprise of the weekend was that our hotel was hosting the Miss Adams Morgan Pageant which, contrary to my initial thought, was NOT a traditional pageant. It was a drag pageant which led us to have some great conversations and great people watching! It's been a long time since I've been around the drag circuit so it was so much fun to be around those people.

So this week, I'm off to Milwaukee for a few days and then my mommy arrives!! WOO HOO!!! So excited to see her! Plus my Halloween/House Warming party is Saturday so lots of stuff going on! Have a great week!!

The Joy of Being Sick

Yucky, yucky, yucky. The good news is it's not strep throat and it's getting better. The bad news is I hate being sick. I wasn't going to go to the doctor (because no one that works in healthcare is a good patient and goes to the doctor when they should) but while on travel this week, I was sort of "forced" into it. We were having a meeting about partnerships with Indian Health Service and Tribal clinics and we had our vendor for tele-health equipment doing a demo. For those of you who don't know what tele-health is, it's basically medical appointments done via video-conference. It's great for rural health because patients don't have to drive 3 hours one way for a 15 minute appointment. So...he was doing a demo and taking pictures of moles and such and I made a joke about having a sore throat so he could use the camera to look at my throat. So he hooks up the camera/tongue depressor and sticks it in my mouth and every clinician in the room at the same time said "Please go to the doctor" and other such phrases. So I went to the walk-in clinic and was told it's not strep. Just tonsilitis. And then I came home and slept for 17 hours. Guess I was tired too. But last weekend was lots of fun! One of my good friends from Memphis came to spend the long weekend and we headed north to the Keweenaw Peninsula. Had a FANTASTIC time! Just a few pics...it was GORGEOUS! The colors were amazing. And we learned all about copper mining. Of course, we were going to try to look at some camps I had found but of course, they didn't exist where they were supposed to exist. We had a great time though!

Also this past week...I experienced my first Native American sweat. It was AMAZING. It is hard to desribe why it is so powerful but it really is. It helped clear my psyche after all the drama that's been going on. I'm not fully over it but definitely not as upset as I was. I would really like to do another sweat sometime. It really was a cool experience. This week's lesson: This town really is small and you never know who you are going to meet.

Fall has fallen

You can tell by the corn mazes and all the pumpkins everywhere. Did I mention I LOVE FALL?! Especially here in the U.P with all the colors!

I don't often say this about pictures of me, but this is actually a great picture!

I'm focusing on the positive these days. Turns out, there are crappy people everywhere including small town U.P. But...I'm going to stay positive and enjoy what life has to offer. Here are my positive outlooks today... One of my good friends from Memphis is coming to visit this weekend. I can hardly wait!! It will be so fantastic to have her here! We are heading north (can you believe it's possible to go further north?) because apparently the colors up there are more breathtaking than the ones here. It should be spectacular. Positive outlook number two...I had a fabulous idea today and it's going to work out. I am in DC week after next for work and my friend Jess who I am running the Princess Half Marathon with lives 3 hours away. I have yet to see her baby (who will be one this month) so they and her sister-in-law (who is also so much fun!) are going to come to the city and we are spending the weekend in DC! WOO HOO!!! It will be such fun! I haven't seen Jess in at least 2 years. So no pouty face for me. I refuse to let the yucky people win!