San Diego

San Diego is beautiful, period.  And I would move to Coronado Island in a heartbeat 1) if we had 3 million dollars to buy one of the super cute charming houses the island is filled with and 2)  My family and friends would move there too.

We flew out to San Diego on Thursday and came home Sunday and our trip was filled with great food, shopping, being tourists, relaxing, laying out, running and just having a great time!  

 I won't go into a play by play of everything we did but here are some highlights!  

 Seaport Village being tourists!

 The view from the condo we stayed in.  This was in Pacific beach and right on the bay.  There was an awesome boardwalk all around it.  It was perfect!

Pretty view from Scenic Drive 

We took a  boat road over to Coronado one day then took Segway tour of the island.  I have been there before but it was neat taking these instead of walking.  We literally pretty much went around half of the island  and got to see all the cute houses, get right under the bridge, lots of history, the famous Hotel Del Coronado, parks and beautiful trees and landscape.  

Helmets were not optional.  We all had bad hair the rest of the day!  The segway's were really fun.  I always looked at people weird who were on them, but we enjoyed them.  Great way to see lots of things without walking 15 miles and much quicker.  Fun to drive also, haha

Group photo before our Italian carb loading dinner the night before the race.  

Right to left, it's My sister Randi, me, sister Kate and my momma.  Aren't my sisters and my momma beautiful?  

 After our Italian dinner we went to a frozen yogurt place called Yogurt on the rocks and it was delicious!  We actually went back again before left.  The first time I had cupcake yogurt with a ton of toppings then the next time I tried cookies and cream they both were delicious.  I think my town needs one of these!

Our last day before we left did some driving up the coast a little and saw a few more beaches then went back to Pacific Beach and rented some bikes.  Yes I wore my purse around my neck I didn't have anywhere else to put it and my sisters loves crazy pictures me not so much I always just smile.  

Our last night and once again got treated to a wonderful dinner.  

Now that I've gained about 5 pounds from this trip,  I have some work to do.  Vacation always makes me go crazy with food and snacking, self control level was about a 1 the whole time!  

We had a great time, good weather, and lots of memories.  

I'm thinking we should make this girls trip a yearly tradition!

Have you ever been to San Diego?  If so, what was your favorite part?

High Five for Friday June 7th

             

1)  I joined Vine awhile ago but never really used it.  My sisters vined while we were in San Diego and I felt left out.  Since I give in to peer pressure easily today I spent some time adding some friends and made my first Vine's.  Search Jennifer Jones to add me.  Also if you Vine, comment with your name so I can follow you back.

2)  Got home safely Tuesday night!  Loved getting to see my boys.  Noah was extra sweet and hugged me a million times, then ran off  to play with his cousins, haha.

3)  Finally after this morning, feel like I have my life back together.  It's amazing what some cleaning and organizing can do for one's stress level, sanity, and ability to breathe!

4)  Got my first run in today since the race on Sunday.  It was only a 4 miler, but I haven't went 4 days without running since I started training so I was mentally ready and craving it.  It wasn't my best run.  My calves don't bother me until I started running, they cramped up a little and my dumb hips are still hurting a little too.  I feel like I shouldn't of been that sore but guess that's running life and my body thought 13 miles was a lot.

5)  My 29th birthday is Sunday!

Also head on over here where I'm giving away a $25 gift card to Old Navy this week.  I love Old Navy for kids stuff but usually find a few things for me too and you can always find coupon codes making it a great place to shop.  Want a chance to win, go enter!

Have a great weekend!

Preparing for a Little One Link Up

My friend Kaitlyn and I came up with a great idea that I absolutely love.

As you know, Kaitlyn is expecting her first child. This can be so overwhelming and I know that other first time moms probably feel the same. She has so many questions and would love to hear the opinions of moms who have already been through this a time or two before.

Because of this, we are hosting a weekly series to try and get some answers to some of the most common questions.


Here are the topics we still have for future weeks:


Friday, May 31: Cloth Diapers vs. Disposables

Friday, June 7: To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate

Friday, June 14: Tips For Quick Recovery After Labor

Friday, June 21: Struggling With Postpartum Depression

Friday, June 28: BabyWise vs. Attachment Parenting

Friday, July 5: What You Really Need In A Diaper Bag

Friday, July 12: Buying vs. Making Baby Food

Friday, July 19: Cord Blood Banking vs. Not Cord Blood Banking

Friday, July 26: Moving Baby To Solids: Ideas, Tips & Tricks

Friday, August 2: Shopping For A Little One: Favorite Stores & Shops

Friday, August 9: Introducing Your Child Into A Home With Older Siblings Or Pets

Friday, August 16: How To Stay Connected To Your Partner

Friday, August 23: Baby-Proofing Your Home

Friday, August 30: Baby-Proofing Your Marriage

So without further ado, let's get on with this weeks Topic
To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate

When it came to Vaccinations I was apprehensive when Noah was born which was 3 years ago.   There was a lot of talk about Autism being related to all the vaccinations kids receive so he did receive all of his shots until his 1 year and 18 month ones I had chose for him not to get them and I felt confident in that decision.

I know in the last few years the beliefs on that theory are not as strong.  However,  I have heard lots of information on shots and read lots of good articles for them and against them.  This is one issue I can totally see both sides and have never really made a good informed decision for myself or for our family.  Carson our second has received all of his shots except for chicken pox because Noah and him already have gotten them.  And when they both enter into kindergarten I will probably have them get current to what they are requested to have.  

The cold/ flu shots I have never done and never will for myself or the boys.   I just do not like the idea of them.   I don't believe they work and I don't like that we don't know all of the future side effects of them.  Those I do have a stance on.  

I think it's important when making this decision for your children to get vaccinated or not to read up a little about from both angles.  Take into consideration what jobs you and your spouse have?  What kind of environments will your kids be in, daycare or stay at home?  Then after you take those things into consideration and read some articles for you own knowledge you can make an appropriate informed decision for you, and your family.  

Here are few articles that could be helpful
One against Vaccinations can be found here
One for Vaccinations here

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Currently

This week I'm joining Harvesting Kale for the Currently Link Up

This week's themes are Coveting, Imagining, Asking, Saving of Saving For, and Fearing

Here Goes....

I am currently....

Coveting... I'm not actually supposed to covet but seriously my husbands ability to relax.  I'm on stress overload when  I get back from a trip or pretty much every day anyway.  I can't let go everything that needs done and all the catching up I have to just stop and breathe.

Imagining..... training for a full marathon.  I can't stop thinking about it.  I want to commit to doing one but scared at the same time.  The half was hard and that would be twice as hard.
And also that I was back in San Diego, it was seriously a great trip (more to come on that later)

Asking.... Noah to stop hurting his brother, Carson to stop whining and Noah to stop saying poopy. I missed them like crazy but didn't take them too long to get on my nerves today.

Saving for... A new vehicle for Matthew, a van for me, retirement.  Not sure on this one.  We have things we want but not actively saving for anything in particular.

Fearing.... That I will never feel caught up.  All our trips the last month and half have killed me.  Ready to get caught up and for some constant normalcy. And that it is going to take me forever to loose the 5 lbs I just gained on our  trip.  My eating was out of control and now I'm paying.  Darn junk food and  relaxtion!

If you want to join in on the fun, head on over here.

Half Marathon Update

Sunday I ran my first half marathon in San Diego with my mom (she actually ran the full) and two of my sisters!

This was for sure a day to remember!

Once we pulled up we took some pictures and let's just say my nerves started getting the best of me.  I wasn't really nervous until then.  After awhile of standing around, eating, going to the bathroom multiple times, I just started to get extremely excited and anxious.  We had to wait quite awhile before we even got to   line up to run.  The whole be there 90 minutes early is for the birds!

 This was a rather large marathon with over 25,000 participants between the half and full and about 60,000 spectators so it was crazy!

I was in Corral 5 to start and this is still how far we were from the Start line.

And this is the never ending people that were behind us.

Starting out was hard with that many people moving around.  It took awhile to get to where I could run my own pace and not be constantly cut off by someone.  I will never forget that feeling of starting and running amidst that many people.

I also started out with a 2:00 pace group but knew I wanted to be ahead of them because I wanted to finish under 2 hours.  I ran the first few miles with them then tried to run ahead a bit.  I never saw the next pace group which was 1:45 so knew I never got that much ahead.  My bladder stinks and I had to try and take a bathroom break twice which killed my time.  I couldn't believe there was a line at every porta potty stop.  It was torture standing there waiting while everyone was running by.  Next time I will really try to avoid that time waster!

I couldn't believe how many water stops there were and all the random people who had set up tables with food and snacks for you to grab.  I only got one cup of water and at one point grabbed a Gu pack  they were handing out which was perfect because I got it in right before a little section of hills.

I loved reading all the signs but honestly didn't take in much of the scenery.  I  was a little too focused on running and watching the people around, I had no idea where we even ran.

Some of my favorite signs were
 Mind over Matter
Pain is temporary- Internet stats and race times are forever
This is the worst parade ever!
 I'll be honest, this is not your last hill.

There were lots of creative ones but those are ones I remember!

I felt great until about mile 10 where my calves really started to hurt, and they did hurt the rest of the way.
When I saw that mile marker 12, I was ready to get to that finish line and really pushed that last one.  The last section I even tried to sprint.  Crossing that finish line was AWESOME!

Now that I've felt that feeling.  I understand.  I understand why runners push themselves so hard for these marathons.  I understand why they run over and over again.   I know why  they go through the training.  I've felt the runners high.  I've ran through pain and oddly enjoyed it!
It's fun.  It's unexplainable.
And I for sure plan to do it again, and really thinking about going for the full marathon!
It's in my blood now!

After the race we changed into clean clothes but kept those sweet medals on, haha I wasn't letting that go yet.  Since it was a Rock and Roll Marathon they had a concert after the race inside Petco Park and we were lucky enough to score some VIP tickets so we got to go to an inside area ( perfect because we were freezing) in the park and enjoy some awesome food for free!  Inside we snapped a picture that I just love, because we worked hard and earned those medals and had a great time doing it.  I've looked up to my mom for years for running and always wanted to be a part of that area of her life and we all got to at the same time.  She may of ran the full but we got to be a part of the day and accomplish goals of our own!  Unforgettable!

Speaking of goals, I wanted to finish in under 2 hours, which I did but was really hoping to beat my dad's time on one of his halves which was 1:56, and I got so close with a time of 1:57:28.  Those darn bathroom breaks ruined it!  That's okay though next time, I'm breaking that one!

My average mile pace was 8:58
I finished 3756 out of 17983 overall
My gender overall was 1305 out of 10988.

For my first half marathon and just starting running earlier this year, I'm proud of the results!

I've learned a lot through this experience and plan to continue running and figure out which race to do next!  

I'm Weird

I'm still in San Diego and so here is something different then a menu because I have no idea what we are eating this week!

Reasons why I'm weird.....  ( one of them should probably be because  I decided to write this list for you, haha)

I suck all the water out of my toothbrush after I rinse it out

I'm a picker of lots of things, constant wedgies, fingernails, toenails, eyelashes, skin.  Gross I know!

I used to write down what I wore everyday.  I finally grew out of that one a few years ago.  It was a problem.

I put powder on my face at least 3 times throughout the day even if I'm just home, I can't stand an oily feeling face.

I can't drink water out a glass, has to be a bottle.

I never spit out my gum.  And I mean never, can't remember a time I have.  I'm thinking my parents never taught me to spit it out or something because I don't even know I swallow it until I realize minutes later my gum is gone.

 I can fall asleep incredibly fast.  Be talking one minute and out the next.

I daydream a lot, or more like I just make up scenarios in my head and think  I daydreamed them.

I don't like a full fridge or freezer.  It can't seem organized to me when it's full.  Leftover containers and duplicate of things drive me crazy.   I love cleaning it out because I love it empty!

 I can't hardly ever let myself sleep in, it makes me feel guilty for some reason.

Toilet paper has to go over the roll, not under.  I know a lot of people are with me on this one, but I'm for real about it, like if it's wrong at your house,  I will probably change it.

I don't like watching things over again, once I've seen it I'm usually done.

Not good at asking or letting people help me.  I feel the need to do it all by myself all the time.

I'm a neat freak and an obsessive cleaner  of the main floor in our house but everyone once in awhile just don't care or am not bothered by random things like dusty light fixtures or the dead huge mosquito that has been on my wall in the living room for 3 days now.  ( true story, looking at it right now)  And the basement that's a whole other story.  It's pretty much the boys playground and it sometimes stays a disaster for weeks at a time.

I push snooze multiple times pretty much ever day and I always set at least 2 alarms, yet I love mornings.

I love fruit when it's anywhere but at my house.  I can't explain it.  If it's at a restaurant, cookout I'm all over it but at home I have to make myself consciously eat it.

I'm terrible at replying to emails and hate a cluttered inbox=  however they stay there until they are taken care of.

I'm always stressed and high strung to some degree.  I just don't know how to not be stressed.

Put chapstick on in the car every morning.   If I don't go somewhere I don't put any one.  It's weird.

Always have things to return.  Like I always have multiple bags in my trunk of items to return.  Usually I put it off and then realize it's been way too long and I'm embarassed and forget about it.

I work better under pressure and closer to deadlines.

I don't like  dishes in the sink or washing dishes.  I put everything  I can in the dishwasher.  Then sometimes when I unload the dishwasher and something is still dirty, I leave it in there for another round.

People think I'm a terrible driver, something about accelerating too fast and not breaking soon enough.

Find a shirt I like and buy it in multiple colors, did it again last week with a tank top.  I got it in black, mint, and white then in the same day got a different shirt in grey and coral.

Wear a tank top under pretty much everything.

Have a crazy sensitive nose.  I smell way too much!

Most people don't like getting the mail once they are out in the real world.  I still do.  Not so much the bills but the junk and just getting anything makes me feel worth something.

Used to think  I could beat box.  Now I realize I had no talent in the area and completely embarassed myself by thinking I could.

Am the most non-confrontational person I know unless it's my husband I have no issues there telling him what I think.

Now that  I have wasted 5 minutes of your life, have a great Monday!

Are you weird like me about any of these things?