Storms Are Rolling In

We are sitting in our hotel watching season 1 of Dawson's Creek. We went out to the beach this morning and the storm clouds came rolling in. We're hoping it will stop soon so we can get back out there. There's something so relaxing about storms at the beach.

Vacation All I Ever Wanted!!

I am in love with the beach.

Thriving

This morning, I started a pilot workout program through work. I was selected as a group of about 12 of us to see how the program works and how it can be improved. For the next 9-10 weeks, I'll be working out with a personal trainer for three days a week doing strength training and doing cardio on my own three days a week. I'm really excited about having someone show me exercises and help hold me accountable.

We also have a nutritionist that is working with us to help us come up with a meal plan. I know that I have been eating horribly and I know it needs to change. But, I'm not excited about having to count my calories.

We'll see how it goes! Hopefully there will be good results!

Vacation...PLEASE!

I am in desperate need of a vacation!

Tonight, Emily and I booked a short vacation for the end of the month. I really don't think it's going to get here soon enough!

Panama City Beach, here we come!

First Day to First 5k

I. DID. IT!!!!

I ran my very first 5k.
I've been running most of it, but walking about 1/4-1/2 mile somewhere around the middle. During my training, it has been taking me about 46 minutes plus to run the whole 3.1 miles.

This morning, I had several things against me. It was early - the race started at 7am. It was hot! July is not the best time to run your first race!

But, my playlist kicked butt! I felt like I walked A LOT. But I think I just started out WAY too fast. By the time I hit mile one, I thought I was dying. So I realized really quick that I started off too fast. I didn't feel like I was recovering.

I finished in 43:56 which was much better than I was expecting.

It All Started With A Keychain...

My heart is broken a little. I don’t think the death of a celebrity has ever truly affected me or made me feel so weird. I wonder if this is how our parents felt about the death of Elvis. A true icon, a legend. Sure, he became increasingly weird over the past years, but I can’t imagine a world in music without MJ’s influence.

Michael Jackson is a part of some of my earliest childhood memories. When I was about three or four years old, I remember wanting a Thriller keychain from my parent’s store. My mom kept telling me that I didn’t even know who Michael Jackson was and she didn’t understood why I wanted it. But I insisted, and after much persistence, I finally was the proud owner of one amazing keychain. At such an early age, I knew that I needed it…and I knew that Michael Jackson was amazing. I kept up with it for a while, but somewhere along the way, it was lost in the shuffle of toys and playthings. About five years ago, I found a replacement in my mom’s garage. I was so excited, and my mail key has been on it ever since. Now, the Off The Wall keychain is not quite as amazing as the Thriller keychain, but it definitely makes me smile when I check the mail.

As a child, I was absolutely terrified of the Thriller video. I LOVED the dancing, and the song itself, but I always peeked through my squinted eyes when I would try to watch it with my cousins. Especially the part where he gets crazy eyes.

I loved the Pepsi commercials – The Choice of the New Generation. I had The Wizard of Oz taped from tv that I would watch over and over and during the commercial breaks were the series of MJ Pepsi commercials. I loved those commercials!

I remember putting on the Thriller album and dancing around the house.

I remember watching him moonwalk, thinking it really was a magic trick.

I remember the debut of the Black and White video and how cool it was when the persons face would mold into the next.

There’s just something about his videos that are still amazing to this day. They story behind them all is genius. Even as I sit here now and watch them, I’m truly amazed. I seriously think I could watch them all night long, or as long as they keep playing them.

I will remember Michael Jackson as the person he was, not who he became. As a truly great artist. The King of Pop. The inventor of the moonwalk. Not for the media circus that surrounded him.

Oh MJ, Thanks for the memories! If you need me, you can find me in my office tomorrow morning blasting Billie Jean, Thriller, Bad, Man in the Mirror, Black and White, PYT, and You Are Not Alone at full volume on my ipod.

I'm Going to Run a 5k!

Today I registered for my first 5k!

Tonight I had a breakthrough!

I'm on week 7 of the Couch to 5k program. Today's work out was supposed to be:
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then run 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).

I am three weeks away from running my first 5k and I've been wondering what time I should aim for. So, instead of doing the 2.5 miles, I was scheduled to do, I decided to do 3.1 and see how long it would take me. I knew that there was no way I'd be able to run the whole thing. Last week, I was able to run a full mile without walking for the first time.

So tonight, I ran the first mile without walking, did intervals for the second mile, then walked ran 1/4 mile intervals for the last mile. It took me 50 minutes to complete the whole thing. That also includes my five minute warm up walk. I wasn't running very fast, and I walked a lot. So I felt like it was pretty decent. I still have three weeks to continue with the plan to get to a point where I should be able to run the whole 3.1.

I am very proud of myself for being able to get this far and for actually sticking with it!

Flooding Is Not My Friend (Part 2)

So, after realizing there was water in the hallway and trying to clean that up as best I could, there wasn't much else I could do besides go to sleep. Except I couldn't really do that either.

The next morning, I made a call to the HOA to see if it was something that was covered. We'd just gotten a new property manager a few days before. He was incredibly nice and made a call to a plumber. He called me back with the news that I needed to watch for Arthur and that he'd have a blonde ponytail and a goatee.

While he totally resembled Hulk Hogan, let me tell you that Arthur did not mess around. He came in and snaked the drain. He had to try several different things, but was able to unclog it in about 30 mins. He even made sure that the washer would drain water before he left. He told me it was definitely a plumbing issue (which was a relief since the HOA should cover it).

Soon after, the new property manager brought a dehumidifier that I've been running since. He took a look at the hallway. He said that they'd have to bring someone in to look at the floors and try to match it. But I'm guessing since I have to go through them that I'm going to have to wait it out.

So, I guess we'll see...

Flooding Is Not My Friend (Part 1)

Also known as: Why My Week Has Officially Sucked (Part 1)


I was able to take Friday off work last week, head to Kentucky for a couple days, and just relax a little. I had Coldplay tickets for Saturday and spent most of Sunday at the pool. It was absolutely a much needed weekend.

I was looking forward to walking into work Monday morning with a much lighter work load and a better attitude. That was definitely not the case.

As soon as I got to work my laptop wouldn't boot up. Apparently over the weekend, something in it knew that it had been worked to death and couldn't go on. So, they had to bring me a temporary computer to work from until they could get mine fixed. In the three hours it took to get a temp to me, I started making a mental list of everything I didn't back up on the network. That 13 page spreadsheet I spent hours updating. Those emails that were too big for my Outlook. The list went on and on. OUCH. We'll chalk that up to lessons learned the hard way.

Tuesday I had some things I wanted to take care of in the afternoon and got permission to leave work early. I was planning on heading out around 2ish. I was still at work at 3:30 putting out fires. I was finally able to leave only getting a call 20 mins later saying that something HAD to be taken care of. So much for a mental health break.

Tuesday night, I got home around 9:30. I was catching up with an old college roommate and I believe I was talking about how I've been in desperate need of a vacation when I heard gushing water. I walked to the kitchen to see water running toward me by the gallon. I turned off the washer and it immediately stopped...but by that time it had already engulfed the small utility room/pantry where the washer and dryer reside and was creeping through the kitchen towards the dining room. I grabbed some dish towels and threw them down so the water would be stopped before it reached the hardwood. I ran to the bedroom and grabbed all the towels that I could find in a matter of .2 seconds. I ran back to the kitchen and thew them all down. I'm not incredibly sure where the logic in that was. There were about seven towels, but about an inch of water had already taken up residence throughout the kitchen. At that point, I grabbed the garbage can and took the trash bag out and slung it into the other room. And at a pretty rapid pace started wringing wet towels out into the trash can. About an hour and a half later, my hand were completely rubbed raw, but I could finally see progress. I called a friend to come help move the fridge and stove to get underneath to make sure all the water was up. I left no spot unturned. My friend left and I finally finished cleaning up around midnight.

Somewhere in the midst of all of this, I figured out that the drain that drains the washer was clogged. So the washer still had a load of clothes and a full washing machine of water. I decided to wring the clothes out as best as I could and put them in the dryer. I started wringing things out and came across my bathing suit. I didn't want to dry it so I took it into hang in the guest bathroom so if it dripped, it would drip in the bathtub (instead of on my floor if I'd hung it on my drying rack). As soon as I stepped on the rug in the bathroom, I realized that all the water was defintely NOT cleaned up. It had seeped through the wall and into the front part of my guest bathroom.

I grabbed the sopping rug and threw it in the bathtub. I turned around to see what other damage there was.

I stepped out in the hallway.

Then, I cussed.

I could see water in the hallway...on the hardwood floor. I got down on all fours to examine it. As soon as I put pressure on it, water came popping up out of the seams between the boards.

Now let me just say that by this time, I was completely over this whole fiasco. I'd spent the last three hours wringing out beach towels full of water. I was exhausted. Emotionally. Physically. Mentally.

I got the water up the best I could, but I could already tell that there was definite damage to the hardwood and a lot of it would have to be replaced.

I haven't been a homeowner for long. And being a condo owner, I wasn't incredibly sure what was covered and what wasn't. So I prayed. A LOT. That somehow it would all work out and I wouldn't have to pay for it.

I feel like the rest of the story deserves it's own blog. I'll give you a little tease of what you can look forward to:

Waking up to warped boards in the hallway

Arthur the plumber

Crying in my new bosses office

Trying to find a dehumidifier

Working it all out


Let's just say that this week has been ROUGH!

And this post only covers Monday and Tuesday.

Love Me A Good Playlist!

You know those days where your mood is completely reflected by a really awesome playlist? Today has been one of those days. I absolutely love making playlists. It combines music with making lists. Two things I love to do.

I have become fascinated with listening to Pandora at work lately. I absolutely love it. Now, it does take the fun out of creating my own list, but it gives me great options on just listening without thinking. I love it. Today I pulled it up and clicked on the Bon Jovi station.

Best. Playlist. Ever.


Knocking on Heaven’s Door – Guns N’ Roses
Hungry Like The Wolf – Duran Duran
Every Rose Has Its Thorn – Poison
Hit Me With Your Best Shot – Pat Benatar
Open Arms – Journey
Hotel California – The Eagles
Always – Bon Jovi
Working For the Weekend – Loverboy
Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty
More Than A Feeling – Boston
I Want To Know What Love Is – Foreigner
Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses
Take It Easy – The Eagles
It’s My Life – Bon Jovi
Jump – Van Halen
We Will Rock You – Queen
Something To Believe In – Poison
I Hate Myself For Loving You – Joan Jett
What About Love – Heart
Just What I Needed – The Cars
I’ll Be Alright Without You – Journey
Here I Go Again – Whitesnake
Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
Jack and Diane – John Mellencamp

I mean, seriously…could it get any better?

June 1 is behind me!

It’s a day I never thought would come fast enough, but in reality, it came too quickly. It was a MAJOR deadline in my world, as it was our submission date for an accreditation for my company. I felt like over the past couple months, I’d been gathering all the information and working hard to ensure everything was getting done. But as June 1 began getting closer and closer, I began working harder and feeling we were miles away from where we should be. It has been a very busy, very tiring, very frustrating last couple months. I stayed at work really late and worked several weekends. This past weekend, I worked late on Friday, worked about 7 hours on Saturday, and worked 13 hours on Sunday. Oh, I forgot to mention that I missed the very first amazing pool weather weekend and was cooped up inside. While working 50 hours a week plus weekends is definitely not fun, it’s something that had to be done. I feel like the last two or three weeks, I’ve been in complete survival mode. I knew that everything had to get done and there was no other choice (unless I wanted to start looking for a new job). I feel like I’ve been living in a complete whirlwind. I’ve been forgetting things (I remembered this morning that I’m going to see Coldplay on Saturday!), neglecting my condo, and neglecting my fridge (I swear it’s been over a month since I’ve been to the grocery). But there are plans to change that tonight! And on top of that, I was having really crazy dreams and not sleeping well.

But, now that it’s behind me, I can get motivated again. I can relax, hang out, enjoy the weather, fit my workout plans back into my schedule without feeling so rushed, and stop eating crap three meals a day.

I’m excited about summer. It’s my favorite time of year! I definitely think it’s safe to say that my world is a little brighter today! And my goodness, it’s about time!!

Bring on the vacation!

Reclaiming Your Innocence

I'd like to think that I'm more spontaneous than I am. I'd like to think that I love more with my heart and think less with my head. I'd like to think that I'm way less cynical than I actually am.

But truth be told, that's just not me. I'm a realist, a cynic, and somewhere along the line, I became somewhat jaded.

This isn't a recent discovery by any means, it's just something that has been blatently obvious in recent months.

I have friends who dive whole heartedly into new relationships. Who take chance after chance. Who repeatedly get their heart broken over and over...but they continue to put themselves out there. They don't mind doing it because they know that in order to reap the reward, they have to be able to.

While I, on the other hand, take three weeks to decide if I want to switch cell phone providers.

The sermon this weekend was about "reclaiming innocence." George spoke about how there are two ways we can approach life:
The way of innocence
The way of cynicism

My mom says I've been cynical my whole life. Is it something you can just change? Can you truly reclaim your childlike innocence without being naive?

A Much Needed Getaway

Do you ever have those days or weeks where you just need to get out of town. The kind where it doesn't really matter where you go, or what you do, but you just have to leave. That's the way I've been feeling for weeks. So desperate to just get out of here. Work has been crazy. Then I get home and just feel clostrophobic.

My mom has been in Kentucky for a couple weeks, so I decided to go visit. It was just what I needed. A getaway with no real agenda.

I got into town Friday night and my mom had ordered us Chinese from one of my favorite places. We just sat around and ate and talked. And it was delicious.

Saturday morning I woke up and decided I would do my run before it started raining. As soon as I got about 10 minutes from the house, the heavens opened up and started pouring buckets of rain down on me. I had no choice but to continue to run. Either way, I was soaked. I didn't do the whole thing, I just kind of made a loop and headed back to the house. I walked in the back door and my mom was standing in the kitchen. I had water dripping off of me like I'd just gotten out of a swimming pool. She looked up from the sink with a funny look on her face. I looked at her and said, "You didn't even think to come get me when it started pouring?" She started cracking up. "Well, I didn't really think about it."

While I was in the shower, she decided to be nice and fix me a bagel. I took one bite of it and almost gagged. It was absolutely disgusting. I quickly glanced over at the counter. Wait, that container wasn't cream cheese. It was SOUR CREAM! Yes, my mother put sour cream on my bagel.

Saturday after the bagel fiasco, my mom told me she had a surprise for me. And let me just say, it was the best surprise EVER. I'd told her I wanted a pedicure and it had been since last August when I last had one. So she made me an appointment and that was big surprise. And it was seriously the best pedi I've ever had!

Great weekend. Great for the soul! It was definitely what I needed.

And to top it off, I got to have coffee with one of my favorite people on my way back into town.

C25K Update

I just wanted to provide a little update on the couch to 5k workouts.

First off, something must be working, because today, two people asked if I have lost weight. SCORE! I've decided that for the rest of my life, I will be wearing the black pants (that are no longer hugging my hips the same as they were a few weeks ago) and this purple short sleeved shirt. So, if you see me day after day...get used to it. Because if it makes me look skinny, I'm wearing it forever.

Also, If I lose 6 more pounds, my wii fit will stop telling me that I'm overweight! And that will be a day to celebrate. Probably with a plate of brownies. Or something equally delicious.

I haven't been eating any differently at all, but for the past 3 weeks, I have been doing the C25k plan...hardcore.

Here's today's workout (Day 1 of Wk 4):

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)

I was telling a friend that I was probably running a 20 minute mile. When he laughed at me and told me that a normal person walks a 16 minute mile, I decided I was probably running a 15 minute mile. :) The point is...I'm doing it. And that's a feat in itself.

Pat on the back for me. I rock!

Tweet Tweet

Last July, I spent a week in the Dominican Republic with about 25 other people. During that time, I heard Twitter mentioned about a bazillion times. My pastor LOOOOOVES Twitter. He talked about it so much that when I got back, I signed up for my own account. At first, I didn’t understand what was so great about it. I mean, it’s really just another status update. Why would people care to know “What are you doing?” It seems a bit narcissistic…but hey, isn’t blogging? :)

I didn’t start using it consistently at first. I found out that I could link my Twitter updates to my Facebook status which seemed like a much better way to manage my status instead of updating them in separate places. I started using Twitter mostly (and became addicted) when my cell phone wasn’t letting me access Facebook during one of the upgrades. For some reason, I couldn’t get on the Facebook mobile website at all. And that was no good. I had grown accustomed to letting the general public know my every move. I mean, who didn’t want to know that the man at the Kroger gas station had a creepy Chester mustache, or that I started a hoedown at the Dave Matthews concert, or that I sat next to a Kid Rock look-a-like at a festival in Louisville. I mean, anyone who knows me needs to know these things. Or so I like to think.

I love reading people's statuses. And not just my friends...people I don't even know. You can follow whatever or whoever you want on Twitter. Friends. Celebrities. Events. Bands. Authors. It's awesome. Some fun people I follow: Ashton Kutcher, Miley Cyrus, Seth Rogan, Oprah, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Paul Feig, Butch Walker, Joey McIntyre, Andy Davis, Dave Barnes, Mocha Club, The Ryman, Grand Ole Opry, Cross Point Community Church...

A lot of people have asked me recently why I do it. I can't give you many more reasons that what I've listed above. But I love it.

Follow me: amymthomas

You will love it too. I hope.

iphone envy...yes, me!

I've wanted an iphone since before they even came out. I've been trying to assess my situation with my current provider, but haven't been incredibly motivated to figure it all out financially. I am no longer under contract and my phone could use an upgrade. Now, of course, I don't need one, but I'm ready for a change. And recently, I've had several friends who have gotten iphones. I am suffering from iphone envy.

Tonight, I spent some time trying to figure out the difference in prices and what I'd be paying monthly. I would actually be saving money every month if I switched, but I'd have to pay for the phone up front.

My big dilemma comes from my beef with AT&T in the past. In 2003, I had their services and got completely screwed, so I'm a little hesitant to go back.

Oh...what to do!?!?

I DID IT! Well, kind of...

Dear Day One of Couch to 5k,

I kicked your butt!

Love,

Amy

I did it. Okay, well...the first day of the couch to 5k. But they say the first step is the hardest. I have my red pen ready...and day one is CHECKED OFF! 9 weeks to go!

Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop...

Today has been one for the books.

Like it wasn’t bad enough that it was a Monday. OR that I couldn’t sleep at all last night because of that dang BBQ I decided to eat at 8:30 last night. OR the fact that I overslept by nearly an hour. OR that I really have many clean clothes options to choose from. OR that the coffee at work tastes like dirt and I didn’t have time to make my own. OR that stopping to get coffee wasn't even an option because of how late I really was.

But to make matters worse, once I finally got to work…uncaffeinated, tired, and cold. My day continued to bring disappointment.


10 minutes after arriving, I was finally able to get my stupid computer to cooperate. After logging in, frustrated and rushed, I clicked through emails that were waiting from me. One from the boss, one from a co-worker, one corporate announcement, one from one of our accreditation agencies. Wait a minute. There was no reason we should be hearing from them right now. WHAT?! THEY WANT TO COME AND DO AN AUDIT?! Well, actually, an “onsite review.” But it means the same thing. I sat staring at the screen, then I threw up a little in my mouth. Need. Coffee. Now. I walked to my boss’ office. Nowhere to be found. Um…I needed someone. Anyone. I wanted to burst into tears. It took every muscle in my body to hold the tears back. For the next 10 hours, it seemed like everything that could possibly go wrong did.

How many shoes are there left to drop? I mean, I only have two feet.

We Will See How This Goes...

I started a journey over the past week. One I wasn't really excited about starting, but I knew it was something I needed to do. I'm not quite sure where I'll end up...or how long it will take me to get there.

It had been four months since I'd been to the gym. That's a long dang time. And I was able to pull myself out of bed on Saturday morning to start my journey. But surprisingly, it wasn't painful. I met a friend, hopped on an elliptical and went to town. Of course, I'm sure it helped that Rookie of the Year was on tv and it's one I could probably quote most of the movie from watching it every day as a kid. But I felt good afterwards. I felt like it was 11 am on a Saturday and I'd already accomplished more than was on my to do list.

Sunday afternoon, I found myself back at the gym on the same elliptical watching The Goonies with my friend on the machine next to me. And Monday, I was back. At this point, I felt like a regular!

By Tuesday after work, I was actually looking forward to getting to the Y. Now, I'll admit that I was pretty excited when I walked into the cardio theater to find one of the best movies of all time playing...TOP GUN! Now if I hadn't had plans, I might have walked 21 miles by the end of the movie, but I settled for the 30 mins I did get to enjoy.

There's a lot of people encouraging me to try the couch to 5k program. I've never been much of a runner at all. But I'm contemplating giving it a try. I'm hoping to continue a few more workouts, then maybe I'll be ready to jump into it. I've even heard there's a podcast that you can download so you know when to run or walk...so I'm thinking maybe I'll check it out. We'll see what happens!

Any runners who can offer advice? What would go on your workout playlist?

Hanging Out With the Homeless

Monday night I had the opportunity to participate in a homeless outreach event. A friend from work was leading it that particular night and invited me. Some of his friends started it by just wanting to provide meals to some of the homeless community in downtown Nashville. Because of its success, it has sense become a weekly event. They get together on Monday nights to pull their money together to make meals and take them downtown.

It was kind of cold on Sunday night and I found myself kind of dreading it. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks…I realized that I was complaining about it being cold outside, but they’re the ones living outside, trying to find warmth. I have the ability to put on extra layers of clothing, and wrap up in my scarf and gloves. I felt like a complete jerk! So, I changed my attitude and by Monday afternoon, I was actually looking forward to going to hang out with the homeless.

I left work a little early and met my friend at the store. We picked up 40 hot dogs, buns, chips, and water. Then we headed over to one of his friend’s house to cook and pack everything up into little brown bag dinners. Each bag had a hot dog wrapped in aluminum foil to keep it warm, a bag of chips, a bottle of water or soda, a banana or an orange, and some type of dessert. We also made a large cooler of tea, and a large container of clothes to pass out.

Then we headed downtown to set up shop. It was my first time participating, but most of the others are regulars. As soon as we walked up, the homeless men and women started flocking. The coolest thing was witnessing the relationships that had already been established. Some of the homeless men were asking where some of the regulars where. Some of the regulars were asking about things that would have happened in their lives over the past week. It was neat to see that just by passing out a meal, true community was actually happening. I had several incredibly interesting conversations. To listen to these men tell me stories about old jobs, their sons and daughters, broken relationships, old jobs, growing up in East Nashville. I realized that they just wanted someone to talk to…someone to invest in them. Probably even more than that hot meal.

I haven’t stopped thinking or praying for the people I encountered Monday night. I’m hoping to be able to go back when I’m able. I heard someone say recently that when we volunteer, most of the time we are benefited just as much, if not more. I truly agree that my heart definitely needed a reminder this week.