I Bought Christmas Cards

... but I didn't send them out, sorry bout that. But instead I will send them out into the world to all my readers. Its a cute little ice skating penguin with a purple sparkly scarf. 

I also may have put a sweater on my cat, he did not enjoy.

Merry Christmas Everyone! 

Love, 

North of 10th 

Not Sew Fast

Sometimes I have to take a moment and be completely amazed by the ingenuity and evolution of human beings. Tonight in my Holiday sewing class as I struggled to, in a semi-coherent pattern, ladder stitch a 4" gap closed by hand, it struck me.... people used to completely sew ALL their close BY HAND! I'm about 50% capable of sewing a straight line with a machine. Just amazing. Any dress I would have made back in the day would have probably ended up looking like the scene out of Sleeping Beauty when the fairies don't use their magic.


Last week was the first week of holiday sewing, we made a rice neck wrap with lavender smells. Kinda hard to tell from the pic but basically it's sectioned off, filled with rice and sprinkled with lavender. Put in the microwave for 1-2 mins and boom! Heated neck wrap.

This week was the highly anticipated Nook cover, it required some hand sewing, for real how did people make entire dresses and beautiful quilts without machines? And this is literally a big rectangle, thank goodness for simple sew projects! 

Also I went and saw Skyfall, the new James Bond movie and it was AMAZING! I would go see it again it was that good, plus I heart Daniel Craig as James Bond :) 

WOO HOO

I happy to say that if you get with the program and stick with it, it works. Today after what I thought would be a terrible week I was down 2.2lbs at weigh in for a total of 7.6 lbs! Which is totally awesome! 

I kinda feel like this year has come full circle a bit. I started off the year with such good intentions, as most do, then fell off the wagon over the summer. But the cooler weather has given me back the ambition and Weight Watchers has helped tremendously these short 3 weeks. That's all it took apparently. It appears that I have an attention span of a week, so weekly goals are more my speed. A few weeks ago at our meeting, yeah they really kinda like "Hi my name is Heather, I eat too much"... "Hi, Heather" we were talking how it's only about 6 weeks until Thanksgiving and think of all you can accomplish in 6 weeks. I hope I can keep up a lot of the same, it would be nice to get some confidence back.

I'll post some more recipes soon! 

Just So You Know

Only In a Small Town

Only in a small town do you get excited about something as redneck as a Lawn Mower demolition derby. Which can only mean one thing... it's fair time! There's a first time for everything...

Sweet Summertime

Tomorrow, June 20th is the first day of summer, I'm pretty sure it's here already based on the recent temperatures. So here's the deal, we have until September 21st to add and cross things off our Summer Bucket List, that's 93 days. I think we can do this...

Here's what's on the list so far, plenty more to be added I'm sure, but this is a good start:

* Volunteer

* Go Fishing

* Read 10 books

* Take a random class and learn something new

* Take a day trip somewhere

* Take a week off from technology (well I'll keep my iPhone)

* Make something I saw on Pinterest

* Dress up for a night out on the town

* Cubs game

* Start a good habit

I've spent several days thinking about this list and that was about all I could come up with. It's a start but I need more ideas. Anyone got any good ones?

Happy Summertime!  

Warrior Dash 2012

The Warrior Dash is not for the faint of heart. First let me give you the brief backstory. I signed up for the Warrior Dash back in December, it was always in the back of my mind and I had good intentions. Time spent training for the Dash? I was on it good for the first few months of the year then nada. Dumb, sure, shoulda/coulda etc etc. Final time was 1:18:06.50 as BWurm put it, I left room for improvement.. um clearly, thanks captain obvious. Since I know how to play the blame game, it's always someone else's fault, I would like to place blame of todays time on the heat... that is all. But I wasn't last, and that's always the default goal.

First timer observations:
* $20 for parking is slightly redic
* People in way less shape then me- check. Makes a girl feel good
* People wearing way less than I wanted to see their body type in? check
* The website lied. Obstacles listed on website not accurate nor does it fully prepare you for them. Seriously, the firepole was not listed.
* Runners are the nicest people. Everyone was friendly and offered to help at obstacles. Much appreciated.
* The barbwire is in fact real.
* Don't keep eyes open and smile at the fact that you are going down a hill on a slipn'slide.
* The mud pool at bottom of said slip n' slide is in fact deeper than thought, you will be submerged.
* It is possible for your eyeballs to be saturated with mud water, you will have blurred vision.
* Knee pads would be a nice suggested item to bring, that or at least throw sand or something soft so I'm not crawling through a dried up field. Knees are all scraped up.
* I was unprepared for the high vegetation I would be "running" through (when I say run, I mean walk)
* Wear appropriate footwear... for real (see accompanying story below)
* Do make your dad an awesome shirt, he likes the compliments (although he did say "this was fun, but one and done")
* When you fall on your butt (or face) people will in fact ask if you are ok before they laugh. Runners are nice.
*If you stay at the back and walk, you will make friends with fellow "slow runners" (when I say slow runners I mean people who walk)
* If you are a slow runner (walker) you will most likely get passed by the next heat behind you. Oh well.
* Why "run fast" (walk at normal pace) when there is a line to get though the obstacles. Clearly not a race made for speed where there is a line.
* You will get mud in places there should not be mud
* I think I took the longest shower I have ever taken in my life and still found mud when I was done. May need to shower multiple times.
* The sun knows when you miss a spot with sunblock
* A sign posted on the course "Make up for the other 364 days" will make you hang your head in agreement.
* Mud on my face makes my eyes stand out like bam! Creepy ice blue eyes basically.

So the story of my first warrior dash goes something like this...

I don't remember the order of the obstacles just know there were several and the website was not entirely accurate. Here are the stand out obstacles for me. The first being the slip n' slide down a hill. Seems innocent enough right? WRONG! I scoot down thinking this isn't too fast and assuming I'll be able to just scoot off the slope into the mud puddle at the bottom and wade through some mud and go on my way. EEEEEENNT! Wrong! The slope steepens and the water was deeper than anticipated. Mouth was open I was not prepared and I fully submerged, gross. I had mud water on my eyeballs. The next obstacle I believe is called "Storming Normandy" where you must crawl under barbed wire. way too long. Yikes, tore up my knees decently. Every obstacle seemed to be just far enough away or the foot holdings just a little too small or the fire pole just a little too tall, but I conquered them all, one by one.

The shoe story. I knew not to wear nice shoes because they would be drenched in mud. I also knew they have a place where you can toss your shoes at the end of the race to be donated and used for something else. I knew the perfect pair to wear... or so I thought. My Blue Nike Air Max shoes have been with me for awhile... like since sixth grade awhile. I paid $180 for them, it was a big deal, Gma paid for half as a bday present. My first expensive pair of shoes, but I loved them so much. They shit and died on me before the race even began. By the time the race had ended the entire sole of both shoes were off, they died a noble death and shall be missed.

I fell a few times, poor dad fell a few times. I fell through a cargo net and have a lovely bruise/scrape, A.Drama got a fire pole burn. If you come out injury or without a "bite" from the big WD, then I feel you were doing it wrong, or maybe I was doing it wrong, who knows. The one thing I do know, if your going to fall... don't fall where there are people and cameras. If it's not on film it didn't happen, however dad was not so lucky, his spill was caught as he neared the finish line. The announcer called it to every ones attention and complimented him on his graceful faceplant.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, however a few things to note. Take note of the distinct technique differences in the fire jumping (leave your vote for favorite, the ninja, the rockstar or the leaping gazelle) Also note the picture of our poor father biting it, tuck that away for future inheritance decisions, note the daughter that is assisting and note the daughter laughing. Everyone loved dad's shirts and he got lots of compliments, I think he liked the attention. Note how creepy blue my eyes appear with mud on da face. And a brief history of mine and BWurms shirts. He and I both have motorcycles and talk about how badass we are and how we should have a biker gang (watch too much Sons of Anarchy, probably) so we call ourselves the Rural Renegades we don't murder or run guns, think more 'Wild Hogs' than Hells Angels... but don't lie we look BA in our shirts.

Without further adieu I give you the photo story of the 2012 Warrior Dash, a North of 10th followers exclusive...

... until next year! Props to the other blog world warriors!

Six Down, Six to Go

Has anyone else noticed that twenty-twelve is half over?! That means it's been six months since January.

3,864 hours
231,840 minutes
161 days

..and I feel I have accomplished nothing. The only big thing of note I can come up with is making a small step towards change. I posted for a new job in my unit and got it. I spent three months in training which totally drained me of wanting to do much else other than cope with the self induced stress that came from being a new person and not knowing what I was doing. It's getting better but I'm still clearly the new person and I don't like being new.

I have been a terrible blogger too, only 24 posts in 161 days?! Terrible, and one of my 2012 resolutions was to blog more. I had 122 posts last year, I've got time to get that one done. Looking back at the beginning of the year I was slightly on top of it, going to the gym and working with a trainer. That all stopped when I started getting stressed with new job and got lazy. I signed up for the Warrior Dash in December and will probably die Saturday.

The saddest part is I have no excuses. Not a one, just me. I got in the way. I'm scared to try new things and I'm unmotivatedly lazy. I'm trying to fix it but just can't seem to get over the hump.

But Summer is coming and I'm bound and determined to make a good fun one. June 20th is the official start to summer, that's 103 days until Fall. I'm in desperate need of getting out of my funk, although I don't feel as much in a rut as I have in the past, it's still a looming feeling. 

I'm working on a Summer Bucket List with the main goal of getting myself out of the house and changing stuff up. I started with changing the blog design, I like it, makes it feel a new. I'm thinking of changing my hair up too I think it will help to look in the mirror and there be a physical change looking back.

Any suggestions for a Summer activity to add to the list, what are some of your Summer bucket list items?

Busy Busy

Hello there friends.

May has been a hip-happening kind of month. I'm back from the training unit and settling into my new job, still learning, I'm tired of learning new things, but I know it's necessary. I've been managing to find things to do to counter act the boringness and mind numbingness of training.

This past weekend I went camping and boating with some friends. I managed to slightly lessen the paleness of my albino skin, we weren't out too long and believe me I applied sunblock multiple times.

I also had the great misfourtune of swimsuit shopping. I still haven't given up, but was quite disheartened when out on the search. I have discovered that I am slightly misshapen when it comes to swimsuits. I'm too long to be fully covered with the tankini style suits and have yet to find a one piece that fits me that doesn't look like a tent. Is there really no happy medium? Swimsuits just really don't hide a whole lot and have managed to avoid water activities up until this point, but who can turn down boating? So alas, this week I will once again try to hold my head up high, and hope I find something that's cute and functional.... riiiight. Here's hoping.

2012 the Summer of Fun..
to be continued...

Bucket List Item

Shoot a gun. check

Pinch Me I Must Be Dreaming

Does the temperature really read 68 degrees at 9:30 at night?! While global warming does seem problematic to the future of the planet, I'm totally cool with it. I know this won't last and snow could come one last time but I shall enjoy it all the same.

It was so nice to get the bike out this weekend. Just the few months it was away I had forgotten how freeing and relaxing the bike is.  It really is great therapy and allows you to just clear your mind of all the stress and for a little while just forget about everything. It's still hard for me to get the compliments of me, a girl, having a motorcycle. I'm usually really hard on myself and quick to dismiss compliments, but its really hard to ignore them about me and my bike. I've had so many people tell me how awesome it is that I ride and having the bike has helped me a little bit with taking compliments and being a little more confident in myself and to just believe (my 2012 word) in myself.

Having a new job with new things to learn I find myself in a spot I haven't been in for a very long time. I'm out of my normal routine, I don't know what I'm doing yet, I'm surrounded by a completely different group of people that I don't know and I won't lie, it's been rough. The training regime at work isn't the most thought out plan and all the unknowns is stressing me out. I find myself questioning whether or not I made the right decision and was it worth all this extra work and stress that I put on myself. I miss my everyday peeps (this means you OL) just knowing they were a stones throw away was enough to ease my nerves when anything came up. I know they are only and IM or email, or two floors down but it's enough away to make me feel disconnected. I try to make daily appearance whether or not they are appreciated ;)

I'm glad though. I needed change in the worst way. I've said from the beginning this is the year I put myself first and work on me for a change. Although it may seem like I've flaked on my fitness goals, I haven't. February was the black hole of despair and sickness, we're going to forget it happened and move forward. You'll notice the Warrior Dash countdown is still going strong over there to the right, 94 days and counting. June is my looming deadline. I want to be shaped up for vacation and beaches and kick some ace in the dash. A lot can happen in a few months and I hope a lot does. Spring is a time for renewal and this warm weather is getting me motivated to get out and about. So here's to the 70's in March, motorcycles and more motivation.

Birthday Week: A Day-by-Day

Monday: Monday, blah, blah. Typical, nothing to report.

Tuesday: Blaher, nothing to report

Wednesday: Happy 26th Birthday to me! I got lots of nice texts and facebook birthday wishes from my friends! Thank you all so much! I had birthday pizza dinner with the family and ate way too much. * Happy Birthday to me * Upgraded my phone to the new iPhone 4s!! :D I love it.

Thursday: Blah again, wish it was Friday. Nothing to report.

Friday: OL gave me a good scolding on my lack of gym/eating well this week I was sad, but she was right. She wouldn't even let me make any excuses, she wasn't havin' it :( then I went to a Hockey game after work, I'd never been before and I liked it, I would definitely go back, so anytime ya wanna go :D

Saturday: Lazy bum day. Procrastinated and put things off I should have been working on. Rented 'Warrior' it was good.

Sunday: Chicago for the International Motorcycle Show AND the Auto show. Long day. I love the Ford Edge. I hate driving around Chicago, people are stupid, roads should not have that many lanes and exits. We survived. and 'The Walking Dead' returned to TV.

Weeeee! Weeeeeeee! Pure.Adrenaline.

This year was a pretty quiet birthday passing, which is bound to happen from time to time. I had great mini-nights of fun low key things with the people who look out for me on a day to day. I don't know what I would do without you guys! Thanks for all the gifts and well wishes. I had a great birthday week!

and don't worry OL back on track this week I promise! :) Wish me luck that I didn't do too much damage this week or at least anything that can't be undone with a little more hardwork and sweat.

Oh Hello there February

No excuses January found a few I won't lie, but I got started and that was the hardest part. This is my fitness calendar I've been using to keep track so I have something to judge myself on.

January Stats

505 minutes

11/31 days

1.78 miles run

-3 lbs

February Goals...

be better than January

and be in bed before 10:30 every night.

The Mythical Magnificent Monday

A magnificent Monday is like a unicorn, you want to believe they exist but find yourself never in the presence of one. Well I won't call today a unicorn but it's the closest I've been in awhile. A Monday of good things. If I didn't have to go to work today it would have been a unicorn.

 - My taxes are done and refund coming soon
 - Good news at work
 - A decently calm day at work
 - I worked 7-3:30
 - and I finally saw the numbers down at Biggest Loser!!! Down 3 lbs!
 - good workout tonight, tomorrow is gonna hurt :)

yay! :D

Humbled 2.0

Tonight was my first workout with my trainer. Since cardio is pretty easy to do yourself (yes I can make myself run on the treadmill) I'm using my trainer to help with strength training, so we will focus a lot on lifting weights.

That said I bring you....Humbled 2.0 version

I have a bone to pick with The Biggest Loser. I understand that it is a competition but I would appreciate if they made it more educational for those of us sitting on the couch at home watching. I think everyone can figure out the bare minimum stuff at the gym. The hardest part is the food part, what to eat, when to eat, etc. etc. I was excited to get to work at the gym tonight. By time I got home, I had just about enough time to get changed and mentally prepare myself for what was to come. Did I eat? No, why would you want to stuff your belly full when you are going to be working out. Um Hello!? Biggest Loser you should tell us they eat before they go to the gym. I got about 40 mins into my work out (we'll get to that later) and boy I could have either a)passed out b)puked c)all of the above. Luckily I had made a similar mistake before and knew my limits. My trainer must have noticed the pale look and asked when the last time I ate was. Well that would have been about lunch time :S So we talked a little bit about the diet that is needed with strength training. If you are going to be working on that kind of stuff you need to add more protein aka eat! So we cut the workout short with the promise that I would fuel up next time.

The biggest/hardest part about getting healthy is the diet part. If you are doing certain things exercise wise you can eat this, if you're doing this don't eat that. Holy crap, no wonder I'm obese, I'm too lazy to use my smart for this. Obese sounds like such a harsh word but according to BMI I am obese :( But that is going to be the change this year. I've already stuck with this more than I ever have. Everyone does something different and they are all wrong. You have to find your right, what works for you. Some people like to do those fad diets or this diet or that diet. I want to get healthier my way. Putting in the hard work at the gym and re-learning how to eat.

That whole being slightly obese thing doesn't really help when there are mirrors everywhere at the gym either. If there were no mirrors I'd feel like Marisa Miller just in for a light workout, curling 50lbs, no big deal. But instead catch a glimpse of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man wearing my clothes and lifting baby weights, oh wait that'd be me. Seeing things jiggle when you are working hard to make them not jiggle isn't as motivating as one would think. But jiggling in public is better than my skin fusing to my couch at home, so I guess it's not so bad considering what the alternative could be.

It's also slightly frustrating to not see the pounds coming off. I sweat and feel like I'm working hard but have yet to see the numbers drop. But I'll keep at it. Something's got to be going on considering I haven't worked out like this for years.

So for anyone concerned, my trainer didn't kill me. I'm still alive.... so far ;)