DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FIVE - HALLOWEEN 2010

"Hold on, man. We don't go anywhere with "scary," "spooky," "haunted," or "forbidden" in the title." ~ From Scooby-Doo


Every year my sister and I take my cousin Mckenna out trick or treating. It is always a blast walking with her from house to house. Good exercise. Especially when I race her down the street. We went as cowgirl twins and my sister went as "I don't do morning's!!". My sister dressed in pajama's and a bathrobe. She carried a mug of coffee around with her and had her hair in rollers as well. One of the pictures below is her hair after she took them out. HA HA!! Too funny My cousin was real excited when a neighbor near my parents house gave out full size candy bars. Awesome!! We will remember that house next year!!

Time to try and get some shut eye!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FOUR - WEIGH IN #20

"Yabba-dabba-doo!" ~ Fred Flintstone


Today's weigh in did not go so well, but it could have been worse. I only worked out once this week because of being sick. I just can't shake this. I gained .60!! I need to get better.

Today we had my mom's really good friends Bobby and Jim visit from Indiana. Every other year they come up here and on the alternate years we go down there. While they were here we got a visit from the Flintstones. Chris was Fred, Sarah was Wilma, and Brooke was Pebbles. They were very cute!! We were joking that they should have figured out a way to dress Adia up as Dino!!

Very fun night, but now it's time to relax!!

Enjoy the pics.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED ADN FIFTY-THREE - SICK AGAIN!!!!

“I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.” ~ Fannie Lou Hamer



Why can I not shake this? I could not run again!! I have a huge sinus infection. My eyes are burning and I have a huge headache. Sometimes I can breathe through my nose and other times it is running like a faucet. I wish my weekend was not so busy. I don't know how much rest I will get.

Well I am going to head to bed.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO - WORK HALLOWEEN

"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble." ~ William Shakespeare (Witches in Macbeth.)

Today was the day we got to dress up at work for Halloween. We all dressed up like cowgirls. It was so much fun. I am mad about the fact I forgot to I forgot to take a picture. I should have done it right away in the morning. Oh well!!

Bowling went pretty good today. I won two out of three points for my team. I actually had a really good week of bowling. Above average series all week long.

Well I am heading to bed. I have to get up early to run!! Night night!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FIFTY-ONE - WEEK TWO DAY ONE

“Forget love, I'd rather fall in chocolate.” ~ Annonymous

I woke up this morning fifteen minutes before my alarm went off. It totally figures. I headed down to Y and got back on the tredmil. It went really well. The regiment this week is a five minute brisk walk and then alternating a ninty second run and two minutes walking for twenty minutes. I ran at a 5.0 pace which is about a twelve minutes mile, but I could only walk at a 3.5 pace because of my foot. I felt so good after I was done. I headed into the shower and took out my tolitrey bag. It was then that I realized I never put my shampoo and conditioner back in after refilling them. I could only use what the Y had and my hair has felt greasy all day long. I will not make that same mistake twice.

We celebrate Halloween at work tomorrow. I am getting excited!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FIFTY - RUNNING

"Perseverance is not a long race; it is
many short races one after another." ~ Walter Elliott



I am so looking forward to week two of running program tomorrow. It feels like forever since I went because of missing yesterday. It's funny how I feel when I miss working out. I think that it has become my stress relief. I needed an outlet!!

Who's ready for Halloween? I cannot wait. I love seeing all of the costumes. Does anyone have any good ideas for a cheap costume? It would be for my work, so nothing risky!! I have no idea what to dress up as.

Time to head to bed, so I can get up early.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-NINE - NO WORKOUT

"Not being able to sleep is terrible. You have the misery of having partied all night... without the satisfaction." ~ Lynn Johnston



I had such a hard time falling asleep last night. I think it was because I slept in so late to try to kick the start of this new cold!! You know when you hit the point of being overly tired and still can't fall asleep. That was me last night. When it got to the point of only getting four hours of sleep I made the decision to not run. I was so mad at my body for not letting me sleep. Now I have to reconfigure my running schedule for the week. I can't go tomorrow morning because of bowling I won't be in bed until 10:30AM and with the lack of sleep I don't want to push. Oh well, I will figure it all out.

I am going to head to bed now. Night everyone.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-EIGHT - SICK AGAIN!!

"There isn't a person anywhere who isn't capable of doing more than he thinks he can." ~ Henry Ford

Man I woke up today sick again!! I have no idea why. I had a headache and couldn't breath out of nose. I was so disappointed because I was going to do yoga today. After waking up this way I did not want to push it. Whats more important to me right now is my running program and I want to be able to run tomorrow. Well I am going to rest now and then go to bed early!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVEN - WEIGH IN #19

"Honey, I can't even remember my own name." ~ Grandma Weber

Today we had a "It's a boy" couples shower for my brother and sister-in-law. It was so much fun. We had brunch type food. It was fun to celebrate with friends and family. My quote for the day came about when we were playing a game where you had to guess the names of kids from tv/movie familes - ex: Fred and Wilma Flinstone's child's name. I asked my Grandma why she wasn't writing anything down and the above quote was her reply. Very funny.

After the shower I went to Jessica's house to carve pumpkins with Dave, Cammy, Jessica, Bob, and Grace. Bob carved a cat, Dave carved a special looking man (HA HA), Cammy created an original design, and I carved a spooky tree. They all turned out great. We then all went to a diinner and a movie. We saw RED and it was so good!! Very funny!!

Time to head home. I am quickly doing this blog on Jessica's laptop, so it will happen before midnight.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-SIX - WEEK DAY THREE

"I am slow I know Get over it" ~ A saying on a running t-shirt

I almost did not make it to the YMCA this morning. I had a personal issue I care not to describe that made me run about twenty minutes behind schedule. I told myself oh well I will just go and have to rush my shower to make up the time. My run was great. I am working on increasing my speed. I have increased .11 since Monday. I am really enjoying this. I can tell you that running is a mental game. I have a super busy day tomorrow!!

Time for bed.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE - BOWLING

"I could have done this job myself in twenty minutes, but as things turned out I had to spend two days trying to find out why it had taken someone else three weeks to do it wrong." ~ JL McCafferty

Work went fast this morning, but by afternoon it felt like forever!! I was excited to finally have it end and then head to bowling. I was feeling pretty good when I first started and then went downhill from there. I won all of my points which was great. I don't think the guy bowling against me was too happy. Losing to a girl!! How crappy for him!! HA HA!!

Now it's time for bed!! I have to rest, so that I am able to run tomorrow.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR - WEEK ONE DAY TWO

"My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So for today, I have finished 2 bags of M&M and a chocolate cake. I feel better already." ~ Dave Barry

Early morning start time!! Headed to the YMCA after packing all of my food for the day. It takes so much planning, so that I end up not overeating!! I did a little better today than on Monday. I made myself go faster than I have in the past. I don't want to over do it, but I want to get a better time eventually!! I know that when I get to the longer runs I might have to adjust my speed for a little while til I get stamina up.

Time to head to bed. I have a headache!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-THREE - REST DAY

"There ought to be a better way to start the day than by getting up in the morning." ~ Anonymous


Today I worked 9am to 6pm to cover a co-worker. I decided today would be a good rest day just because of the time frame. I didn't want to work out too close to running tomorrow morning. I also need to get to bed on time tonight.

Today we had a drug rep lunch of Olive Garden. It smelled so good and they had a couple of awesome looking desserts, but I was so good. I took my cereal and my milk and ate at a desk. It feels good to resist temptation. I feel like I am finally getting back on track from vacation!!

Time to finish up a couple of things before bed. Sleep tight everyone.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-TWO - WEEK ONE DAY ONE

"A word to the wise ain’t necessary, it is the stupid ones who need all the advice." ~ Bill Cosby

This morning I woke up early and headed down to the YMCA. I start my couch to a 5k program all over. This time I am working on running a little faster and actually running the lengths that I am supposed to hit. Week one is walking for 5 minutes, then alternating running for 60 seconds and walking 90 seconds for a total of twenty minutes. I did a mile and half in twenty-five minutes. I know I have a long way to go to a 5K, but I am going to make it.

Heading to bed now.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY-ONE - MARATHON

“The marathon can humble you.” ~ Bill Rodgers

I woke up early this morning to head down to the Metro Marathon. I got to watch Jessica run the half and Chris run the full. I saw them off at 8am. After I took their pictures I headed into the YMCA to lift weights since I had the time. I could not start until 9am, so I sat in a room they were letting people wait in and promptly fell asleep. I was lucky that a lady came in and told everybody that if they wanted to use the Y that day that she had free passes.

After lifting weights and taking a shower I headed back to watch Jessica finish. She did awesome!!!! Then I waited around for Chris to finish. Allie and I met up with Sarah and Brooke, so we got to play around while we waited. She was jumping (see pictures below) and running. It was very fun!!

My bed time is in One and half hours!! I need to wake up early and start my training program for a 5k over.

Enjoy the pictures!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY - WEIGH IN #18

"There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you'll be free if you truly wish to be." ~ Willy Wonka: [singing

I had a bad weigh in today. I gained two pounds. I have to look at this realistically. I actually had gained three pounds when I got back from California. So, Actually I lost a pound I had already lost :) Did you stay with me there? LOL!!
Surprisinly I am over it and ready to kick into the next gear.

I went for a fifteen mile bike ride this afternoon. I went on the White Pine Trail. It was absolutly beautiful. With all the leaves turning colors. I wish I would have brought my camera!! Best of all I did not get stung by a bee like the last time I was on this trail!! Yea!!

Time to head to bed. I am going downtown to watch Jessica run the half-marathon and to watch Chris run the full marathon!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-NINE - HAUNTED HOUSE

“Everything in this room is eatable. In fact even I am eatable, but that is called canabalism my dear children and is frowned upon in most civilizations.” ~ Willy Wonka

It felt good to be able to leave work on time on a Friday. I am supposed to get out at three,but I don't think I have yet to leave by that time until today. I got to take a nap before I went out tonight.

I went out to dinner to Cheers and Night of fear with my co-workers Annie, Kristen, and Cammy plus their significent others. Dinner was really good!! I don't get scared at haunted houses. This was actually three in one. The last one was super dark and that scared me more than anything. I think the characters are funny and I like to laugh at them, but I dpon't think they appreciate that. Cammy was a screaming machine!! Gotta love it.

Time for bed!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT - TIRED

“So much time, and so little to do! Strike that, reverse it.” ~ Willy Wonka

How I wish the first part of this quote was true!! I worked my butt off at work. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my work load. Better than that for the first time this year I have felt I can perform my job the way it is so supposed to be.

Bowling today went pretty good. I didn't win any of my points. The first game I got slaughtered. The second game I lost by ONE. The third game I lost by TWO. It was really funny for the last game because the guy I was bowling thought he had lost it by two and swore when he missed the pin he thought he needed. It was really funny!!

Time for bed a little later than planned.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SEVEN - A PLAN

“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams” ~ Willy Wonka

I have set up my workout plans!! I am starting it on this Friday. I am going to run on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in the morning. I am going to lift weights and do the elliptical on Saturday's. I am going to do Yoga on Sunday's. I am also going to Zumba on Friday night's if I do not feel burned out. I am writing this down because I need to stick to it. Since I have been back from vacation I feel like some bad habits are coming back. Not totally, but I know how easy it is to slip right back in. I also have been more cranky since I have not been able to work out as much. If I cannot make this work during this bowling season I might need to drop down to two leagues next year instead of three. As much as I love bowling I need to take care of myself.

Time for bed!!

Melanie :)

P.S. Have I ever said how much I love Gene Wilder!!

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIX - BIRTHDAYS

“Last week the candle factory burned down. Everyone just stood around and sang Happy Birthday.” ~ Stephen Wright

Today we celebrated my brother and sister's birthday's. They were born three years and one day apart. We ate dinner over at my brother's. We ate oven baked subs that my sister in law made. They were very yummy. Afterward we ate cake. Allie made Chris a nascar cake and it turned out awesome. My dad made Allie an oreo cake. I had a very small piece of both and they tasted as good as it looked. Then of course it was present time. I gave Allie luggage and a necklace. I gave Chris two seasons of how I met your mother. Very fun night. I guess I can miss exercising for family!!

Enjoy the photo's.

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIVE - GROSSED OUT

“Frogs have it easy, they can eat what bugs them” ~ anonymous

I kicked butt at work today. I scheduled 19 new patients today. It took the whole morning. I did not stop working until 5pm when I punched out. I was definitely in the work zone and gave 110%.

After work and before bowling I stopped at Subway to get a 6in sub for dinner. I started to order my sub and noticed two bug flying around. I didn't think anything of yet. When I reached the condiments I noticed a few more climbing on the glass. Then I saw about six or seven on the actually crawling on the toppings. I asked the woman if she knew they had bugs and she said yes we can't get rid of them. I told her that was gross and someone could get sick. I told her that they should keep everything covered then. She told me they will soon. I then told her I didn't want the sub and she looked at me like I was nuts for not wanting it. Man, that was so gross. I gag every time I have thought about subway since then.

I have to wake up super early for a staff meeting so nighty night - don't let the bed bugs bite!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOUR - LAZY BUM

"There he is! There he is! It's the Great Pumpkin! He's rising out of the pumpkin patch!" ~ Linus

Today I did not wake up until almost noon. I didn't not fall asleep until two in the morning. I had every intention of heading to the gym, but because I did not wake up on time I didn't get to. I went to Fruitridge Orchard with some friends. I went on a hayride and picked out some pumpkins for carving.

After the Orchard I went to a surprise birthday party for Richelle. We went to the Rio Grand. It was fun and her mom was so generous and bought all of us our dinner.

I need to get back on track with my exercising. I never got a real good feel for it once my bowling season started back up. I think I am going to have to work out Tuesday nights, Wednesday mornings, Friday morning and night, Saturday morning, and Sunday anytime. The hardest thing is when I have something going on any of those days it will be hard to get the actual exercise in. I miss summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE - WEIGH IN#

"I feel great and very, very proud of our football team." Mark Dantonio

Today I went to my Weight Watchers meeting. I have chosen to use my pass that let's me attend the meeting without actually stepping on the scale. I have a few reasons for doing this. I was on vacation, physicial, and mental issues. Plain and simple I needed a short one time break.

Tomorrow I am going to wake up and start my running program over. I feel like I have not ran in a while and don't quite know where I should start up on the program, so I will just start over and this time I will work more on distance. I am going to get fitted for my shoe insert hopefully this week and I am sure it will help with the pain I feel sometimes.

Now back to cross stitching. I am super behind and I know that I won't finish everything I want to.

Melanie :)

P.S. GO GREEN AND WHITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-TWO - TIRED

"I cna ytpe 300 wrods pre mniuet!"

I am super tired and had a long end of my day at work today. I went birthday shopping after work for my brother and sister. I also bought myself a new sweater just because :) I am now just relaxing and ready for bed. I have decided to start my exercise routine back up on Sunday. I have been hesitant to start back up because I have still a touch of a cold and with lack of sleep I didn't want it to blow up into something unmanageable.

Time for bed!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-ONE - BACK TO WORK

"Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he'll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he'll have to touch it to be sure." ~ Murphy's Law



Having only three hours of sleep at best I headed into work. I think I did pretty good for that little of sleep. I got alot accomplished for my first day back. After work I got my oil changed because I had been putting it off and since I came back with almost a hundred dollars of my vacation money I thought I should be practical for once. I then headed to bowling where I did absolutely awful!! Combination of being tired and not bowling for a week and a half. When I got home I gave my parents and Allie their souvenirs and told them a little bit about my trip!!

Now it's time for sleep!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND THIRTY - EARLY BLOG

“Close you eyes and tap your heels together three times. And think to yourself, there's no place like home.” ~ The Wizard of Oz

My flight comes into Grand Rapids at midnight!! Due to that fact I am blogging early. So far today I have accomplished a shower. That's about it. I am about ready to go pack my souviners in my suitcase. I hope I can fit them all in :) Before we leave Emily is going to make us brunch!! Sad to leave, but it will be good to get home!!

Time to pack :)

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE - SHOPPING

"If you change lines, the one you just left will start to move faster than the one you are now in." ~ O'Brian's Law

Woke up and went to the YMCA with Emily. I really did not work out that hard. I did the bike for about twenty-five minutes and then the tredmill for a little over thirty minutes. I did not push myself at all.

Today was shopping day. Jessica, Emily, and myself went to the Great Mall while Bob stayed home and watched all the kids. This mall was a part outlet mall. I did spend some money, but not as much as everyone else. Mostly I bought stuff for my niece and nephew for Christmas.

After shopping all of us went to Armadillo Willy's. It was this great BBQ place. It was very good!! We went to park afterward to let the kids wear themselves down before bedtime.

Now time for some hand and foot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT - ALCATRAZ

"Break the rules and you go to prison. Break the prison rules and you go to Alcatraz." ~ Anonymous

Today was Alcatraz day!! This is one of the things on my list of places to go visit. The tour was great. It was an audio tour. They brought you through the cell block's of general population. Than to the D block that was used for isolation for prisoners that were unusually violent or dangerous. The prisoners stayed in their cells for 24 hours a day. There was a stretch of D block that was called "the hole", which was used for prisoners with sever disciplinary problems. This sometimes included total darkness and a restricted diet. It was also neat to hear about attempted escapes. Best part is they had bowling on the island!! There was two bowling leagues for the guards and their families who stayed on the island.

After Alcatraz we went to another Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives recommendation. This restaurants name was Tommy's Joynt!! It was all different types of carved meats. Very worth the trip. Across the street from this restaurant was Mel's Drive-in. Kind of funny!!

Now it's time for me to enjoy a Kara's cupcake which we got tonight as well!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN - MUIR WOODS

“This land is your land, this land is my land, From California to the New York island, From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters, This land was made for you and me” ~ Woody Guthrie

Today we went to Muir Woods National Monument. It a redwood forest!! It was so beautiful there. Definitely the largest trees I will ever see in my lifetime. It was taking some photos in the park. On the way down from the woods we had to take a long and winding road. Surprise surprise but who gets carsick. Yours truly!! Not very fun!!

Enjoy the pics!!

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX - MONTEREY

“Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film.” ~ Annoynymous

Today we went to Monterey. We ate lunch at the Monterey Crepe Company and I had a nutella, strawberry, and bannana crepe. It was so great. We then went down to look at the water. The kids had a great time running around. After that we walked down Canary Row and looked at some shops. We stopped at the Nestle cookie shop. Very yummy.

We took a drive down 17 Mile rd. We saw Pebble Beach Golf course. On the rocks were a whole bunch of sea lions. It was fun to see and hear them. The view was spectacular. I have some photos below.

We then took the kids to Dennis the Menace park. It was such a great playground. The kids had a great time and I must admit that I did too!!

We ate dinner at a place that was featured on Man v. Food called Iguanas. The home of the five pound burritozilla!! I was disappointed no one in our group attemted to eat it.

Finished the night out at the San Jose municpal rose garden's. It was very beautiful and a great way to finish a day out and about.

Time to eat a nestle's treat!!

Melanie :)

DAY ONE-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE - ZOO

“I've actually gone to the zoo and had monkeys shout to me from their cages, "I'm in here when you're walking around like that?"” ~ Robin Williams

Today we went to the San Francisco Zoo. We all had a great time. I saw a giraffee for the first time ever and just seeing that amazing creature was worth more than the price of admission. It was fun to see the baby gorilla named Hasani. Very cute and playful. The chimpanzee's were fun too. One had a blanket over his shoulders and one of the others were rolled up in a blanket.

Everyone was great and let me go see the painted ladies from full house. I put the pictures up below. I was very excited!! I wanted to run up the hill singing the Full House theme song, but I didn't. I kind of still regret that I did not.

The last thing we did was go see the Golden Gate Bridge. It was huge!! We walked part of the bridge and those pictures are on here as well.

Not it's on to playing hand and foot!!

Melanie :)