Are you up for the challenge?

The 'group class' division of our gym is running a couple competitions right now and I am participating in one of them...Cross Train to Win. Very simple really ~ Whoever takes the most group classes between 11/15 and 1/15 wins the pot of money (It was $10 to join the competition). The catch is that you have to take at least 3 different types/genre's of classes each week or you are booted out of the competition. This was my week in summary:
Monday ~ 1 hr Body Sculpt & 1 hr Kickboxing
Tuesday ~ 1 hr Kickboxing
Wednesday ~ 45 min Body Sculpt & 45 min Step
Thursday ~ 1 hr Pilates
Friday ~ Everyone needs a day off, right?
Saturday ~ 1 hr Step
Sunday ~ 1 hr Beach Body Sculpt & 1 hr Step

So I'm off to a good start...hopefully I can maintain it for 2 months. My question to you is: What are you doing to stay active and healthy? I will admit that I probably don't have the best nutrition(although I have gotten A LOT better since living with Mike) but I do enjoy being active and taking on a challenge. My goal earlier this year was to complete a marathon and although I didn't run it, my goal of training for it was met. And my goal over the next two months is to win this competition...I could use some extra money!

I challenge all of you to GET ACTIVE! It doesn't matter if you're 500 lbs or 100 lbs...GET ACTIVE! Set a goal for yourself and after you reach that goal, set the next one...walk for 15 minutes over your lunch break, take a walk with your family every night, join a gym, get a personal trainer, join Jazzercise, find a partner to work out with, ride your bike for 30 minutes a day...just get moving. Start out slow and build up as you achieve your goals. We all hop on and off of the fitness bandwagon(including myself) but I encourage you to jump on and see how it makes you feel...you'll have more energy, you'll feel better about yourself, and maybe you'll lose those extra pounds you've been carrying.

Life is TOO short...do you want to make it even shorter because you're "too busy" to go on a 30 minute walk each day? GET ACTIVE people! Don't wait until 2010...start NOW! That's my challenge for you!

P.S. Mike says that if you're up for the challenge, please don't join our gym. :) Apparently he's anticipating an over crowding of gym equipment after the first of the year. :) (I'm sure he's joking!)

healthy skin

I went to the dermatologist today because I had some weird looking moles that I wanted checked out. The doctor gets to this new "mole"(not really a mole at all but some other type of "growth" she named off) on my knee and she asks me if I've ever had anything frozen off. I say no and she grabs this gun looking thing and proceeds to tell me that it will sting, etc, etc. I say, "You're going to do this now?" She's says yes and that it will just sting a little. :) I have a low tolerance for pain and typically my immediate reaction is tears and panic. If she would have compared my blood pressure when I got to the doctor's office versus at that moment, it definitely would have been elevated. This coming from the girl that cried the first time I had my blood taken out of a vein in my arm when I was 17 or 18.

But I just looked away and it really wasn't so bad...no tears shed. She zapped it a few times, check my entire body for irregular moles/spots, gave me a lecture about tanning in a tanning bed(which I officially swore off after the wedding due to this), zapped it a few more times, and I was on my way. I was in and out in about 15 minutes with no additional irregularities found!

family, family, and more family

I got back to Maryland yesterday to a freshly vacuumed home and a jumping bean of a Stuart.

It's nice to be back in MD but it's always bitter-sweet to leave family and friends.
Speaking of family and friends, I got to see both my dad's family AND mom's family on my trip to NE. Although the gathering together of my mom's family wasn't under the happiest circumstances, it was still fantastic to see them. We also had our annual family fall festival on my dad's side so I was able to see most of them as well. I did spend one evening out with some girlfriends and worked from the Lincoln office on Thursday and Friday so I was able to see some friends too.

While in NE, I also got my Christmas shopping done for my two nieces and two nephews. That was pretty impressive for me...usually I wait until closer to Christmas to do my shopping. But buying in NE saves on shipping costs. ;)

When I got home yesterday I asked Mike, "So can you live without me?" He shrugs his shoulders. I realize that men don't "get it" sometimes so I typically give Mike two chances to provide the "correct" answer. I say, "Let me try that again...did you realize over the last week that you can't live without me?" He says, "Well I can live without you but I wouldn't be happy." BINGO ~ Nice recovery Mike...dang he's good(even if it does take him two tries to get it right)!

Next on our agenda is a trip to Mexico with Mike's parents that Mike booked last week while I was gone. I'm feeling pretty blessed this holiday season...I was been able to see my side of the family last week and get to see Mike's parents in December.

A+ wife / backpacking trip

Not to toot my own horn or anything :) but I earned the "A+ wife award" yesterday!! Mike even said so! It started out that Mike texted me on Sunday that he was hungry for meatloaf. So I thought meatloaf is easy enough that I could do that for his lunch/dinner on Monday. When Mike wakes up at 3:30pm to get ready for work, I'm still at work but meatloaf is quick and easy to throw into the oven. So, he woke up to meatloaf for his lunch before he left for work at 4:30pm.
THEN, yesterday Mike said "We are having a food day at work tomorrow...could you make the pasta salad?" So I made that last night and I decided to throw in an Amaretto Bundt Cake that I've been wanting to make also.
All the above leading to my A+ Wife Award yesterday! YAY! (well I'd like to say I'm an A+ wife every day but Mike may have a different opinion :))

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We survived our overnight back-pack trip last weekend. We arrived on Friday evening to the A.T. It was pretty late, since I worked Friday and it was an hour's drive, but we were able to get in a pretty difficult 4 mile hike before it became too dark. Then we were grateful to get a shelter for the night...it was kind of rainy that night and I don't think I could have survived in a tent, especially if I would have been cold and wet.

We hiked to Annapolis Rock...pretty good view of the colors even though it was pretty foggy and getting dark out.

Here is the shelter we stayed at...whoever thought of the "shelter idea" is a genius! Now if they could install some cots to have a better night sleep, I would be in heaven.

Boulevard came with us and Stuart was boarded at the vet. We tied Boulevard into the shelter with us and he snuggled with Mike all night. At about 1:30am(while I'm trying to get some sleep on the uncomfortable hard floor), Boulevard let out a ferocious growl. My head was in the sleeping bag and I decided to leave it there and hope that whatever was out there would be scared of Boulevard. :) In the morning, Mike said that two hikers came near the shelter which caused Boulevard to growl...I felt kind of bad especially if they were wanting to share the shelter with us but grateful that Boulevard was ready to attack if he had too.

We left around 9am on Saurday morning.

What did I learn from this experience? 1) I need a lighter sleeping bag to carry, 2) I need a sleeping pad and a more supporting "pillow" to achieve a better sleeping experience, 3) I don't think I could survive overnight hiking without Mike.

Can you believe it's November already? I think it's about time to whip out the Christmas music!

October is almost over already

Here's the happenings in October for the Carpenter family ~
Mid-October: We've been in Maryland for a year already...crazy how time flies!
October: It is amazingly beautiful out here during this time so Mike and I have been enjoying riding the motorcycle and enjoying the beauty of Fall.
October 18th: Celebrated our 1 month anniversary...well not really celebrated but recognized due to Mike reminding me. He even had to say "Do you know what today is?" After not catching on right away, he had to follow it up by saying "Remember what happened 30 days ago?" Then I remembered! ;)
October 25th: Marine Corps Marathon - I have been training for this marathon since the end of June or so and I decided about two weeks before the 25th that I wasn't going to run it. Surprisingly, it was a pretty emotional decision. In summary, I went on a 17 mile run about 3 weeks before the marathon and it was incredibly painful physically. I've battled IT Band issues on my left side, which causes pain in your knee, since about one month after I started training. The 17 mile run caused pain in my right side as well so...as a result, I didn't want this to be the end of my running career so I decided, with many tears shed, that I wasn't going to run it. :( I did go and watch and it was AMAZING. 30,000 runners!! Phenomenal experience just to be a spectator!!
October 28th: Stuart's 2-year anniversary of his adoption. He certainly doesn't like to remember his days in the Humane Society as "Tyler." (what a silly name - Stuart is MUCH better!) We are grateful to have him in our family!!
October 30-31: To finish off the month, we are going on an overnight back-packing trip on the A.T. (Appalachian Trail) I've never been on an overnight back-packing experience but I'm excited to use my pack I bought this summer and I'm sure we'll come across many thru-hikers so it'll be fun to hear about their experiences.

I think that about sums it up. Shhhh...I'm off to sneak some of my belongings into Mike's pack without him knowing. :)

girls

Before I begin, I just want to say that I'm madly in love with my husband. If there was only me and one other person left on this earth, I would, hands down, want it to be Mike.

That said, there is something to be said for some quality girl time. Yesterday it was rainy(I think it was the fourth straight day of rain here) and it would have been very easy for me to just lay on the couch all day, read, eat some food, watch TV, etc. But I emerged from my blanket cocoon to go to lunch with two of my close girlfriends. Lunch was followed by a mission of shopping to find some boots for Kate, which was followed by 5 hours of talking and laughing at Adena's place. It's so refreshing to the soul to chat about the normal girl stuff...boys, shopping, perfume, clothes, etc.

It was a great 10-hour Saturday with "the girls."

a great start to my morning *insert sarcasm here*

My typical morning was disrupted today with a spill down the first section of stairs in our townhome. I usually wake up and head downstairs...grab my work laptop on my way to get it fired up(it takes numerous clicks and one restart each morning to get me up and running for the day) as I take the dogs out, start my breakfast, and make my tea. With my work laptop in hand, I head toward the stairs and whoosh...legs fly out from under me, laptop crashes into my face, my work planner flies out of my hands, Stuart bolts downstairs, I thump thump thump down the stairs on my back side, and scream bloody murder.

**Last night was Mike's short night so he got home around 3am and was still sleeping**

Within seconds, Mike was bolted out of bed, threw Boulevard in the bedroom, and was sitting on the stairs next to me asking me if I was ok as I was moaning and groaning and crying. AND...yep I'm ok, my lip was a little swollen and my already "bad back" is a little sore but I'm healthy and alive with no broken bones. :) I proceed to gather up my laptop (by the way...there were no injuries to the laptop either because I never let go of it) :) and head downstairs and poor Stuart is cowering near the front door. I'm guessing he probably thought my screams were directed toward him(because typically when I raise my voice, I'm yelling at him). LOL! But we all survived!

Mike later told me that I probably woke up people 5 blocks away with my screams! Ooops!