5K in the morning and AC in the night! (Pictures)

This past weekend was crazy for me! It was nonstop from start to finish. And I loved every second of it!!

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early to run a 5K. It was my 4th one this year. I can't believe that I do 5Ks now like this! A bunch of people from my gym ran the race and we all showed up wearing shirts from our gym. It was a great sight to see. 70 plus people wearing shirts from one gym!!

I'm also happy to say that I beat my last 5K that was on Labor Day. I finished a full minute faster!!! I came in at 33:17!!!! Whoo Hooo!! I am so happy with how much I've improved with running. My very first 5K (which was just this past May) I finished in almost 40 minutes. Now I'm getting close to going under 30 minutes!! I cannot wait for that day!!!!!

Here is me starting the race



After the race, I hung out with some people from my gym at a local bar. I couldn't stay long though. I had to rush home, shower and pack because I was going to Atlantic City that night!! I met at my friend's parent house around noonish. We had a great lunch together to celebrate her birthday. Then we were off!

We stayed at Harrah's. We specifically wanted to go to the Pool Bar there. Turns out that night Snooki from the Jersey Shore was going to be there! lol. When we got to the hotel we hung out a little and gambled some. Sadly I did not come home a winner!

Soon it was time for us to get ready to go out! I bought a dress from the Missoni line from Target. It was very short for me! I was really stepping out of the box with my outfit, but I wanted to feel great!! And I did!!! I felt great and I knew I looked good! lol.

The Pool Bar was a lot of fun! We saw Snooki for about 5 seconds there though. But it didn't matter the music was good and the company was awesome. I definitely drank too much though! Also there were so many Jersey Shore wannabes there. It was a little crazy. I was surprised at how many guys were there. Way more than girls that night.



My friends and I getting ready



We saw Snooki for like 5 seconds. She said something into a Mic, which I could not understand, and then she was rushed off to a VIP area. Not to be seen again. It's crazy because she probably got paid like $30,000 to talk for one minute there.



Here she is. I have to say, she looked terrible in person!!

The rest of the night was a blur. Finished with me chowing down on curly fries before bed. lol. I never sleep in when I drink. Me and my best friend were up at 7am. Her boyfriend and our friend were still passed out. So we decided to go get breakfast and go swimming at the pool. It was so nice during the day. Swimming was great, the hot tub was even better. It was nice to just relax on the lounges though. It was funny because there was still people there from the night before passed out on the lounges! It was a great way to end my trip in AC.

How was your weekend?

1 down, 4 to go...

So my first iron infusion didn't go so well.

First I had to wait almost a half hour before seeing the doctor. Finally after that, it was time to start. My nerves were already off the charts. I started crying as soon as she brought the needles over. I felt like such a jackass, because here I am getting a simple treatment, and every other person in the room was getting chemo.

They went to put the IV in my arm, between the elbow and wrist. She put the IV in and the pain wasn't THAT bad. However after the IV was in, I starting feeling a lot of pain. Turns out I was infiltrating. Which means the saline isn't going into your veins, but the surrounding tissue and muscle. UGH. So she had to take it out and start again.

She went a little farther down my arm, stuck me with the IV, PAIN, and then almost immediately I infiltrate again. Which hurts way more than the actual needle does. Next they try my other arm. Guess what? Same thing happens.

At this point I'm in full blown meltdown. The nurse really wants to put the IV in my hand but I refuse. I am scared shitless of IVs in my hands. You would think, after 10 surgeries that I would be a pro, but it just makes it worse. The nurse also wasn't really working with me. She was annoyed at me for the fact that I have small superficial veins and she can't get a line in me. IT'S NOT MY FAULT LADY.

All of a sudden, without asking me, she puts the IV into my wrist. I swear to god I saw stars. The pain was blinding. The wrist way more painful than my hand would have been. Good to know for future reference. I totally cursed when that happened. However the IV was in and she was very happy with herself.

However I was still in a lot of pain. She's going on and on about how the wrist is delicate and the pain is normal and I'm not infiltrating. It hurts SO bad though. Finally she goes to ask another nurse for a second opinion. Surprise! I infiltrated! They take the IV out and there is a HUGE bubble on my arm from where the saline leaked out. Thankfully it wasn't the actual iron yet. Otherwise I would have a big brown stain on my arm now.

The new nurse I guess sees that I'm at my wits end. I'm about to leave and just call it a day. My nerves are shot and it hasn't even started yet. They decide to put my IV into the crook in your elbow where you usually get blood drawn from. I know that's a good vein. I've had IVs in there before. However the first nurse grouch refused because that's not normal protocol.

5th attempt is a charm and I'm finally ready for it to start. The infusion itself wasn't bad. It took almost an hour but there was no pain thankfully. Just slightly achy. I was there for over 2 hours though. I was exhausted and I cannot believe I have to do this 4 more times!

I agreed to do the next visit with the IV in my hand. I have a prescription for Emla cream which numbs your skin before hand. Hopefully I won't have the same problems again and I get out of there a lot faster. Next appointment is tomorrow so I need to be ready.

My one arm where she put the IV in my wrist is still pretty swollen and hurts a lot actually. I hope it's gone by tomorrow though.

Feeling good

Last week, I was all out of sorts. It was a crummy week from beginning to end. I was so looking for the weekend and a new week to begin.

I got my hair done on Saturday and that helped me improve my mood a lot. I love love getting my hair done. I dyed it dark brown for the fall and cut off a little over 2 inches. I felt like a new person afterward.

My weight loss has been at a bit of a standstill, so I actually tracked everything that I ate this weekend. Made good decisions and this was the first Monday in a long time that I didn't gain weight. YES!! I hope I can keep this up and have a good weigh in on Friday.

I like starting the week on the right foot. I don't feel like I need to go crazy in order to catch up!

This Wednesday is the first of my iron infusions. I've still a little scared, but now just kind of want to get the first one over with already. I'm more worried about how long it will take. I've heard that the first one can take really long time, becuase they want to make sure you don't have a bad reaction or anything. UGH. Also I asked my mom to try and come with me. That way I'll have company.

Then this weekend I'm going down to Atlantic City for my best friends birthday. At first I wasn't really looking forward to it. Mostly because of the cost. But I haven't been to AC in over a year and I'm really excited to get dressed up and go out for the night.

All in all, this is shaping up to be a pretty good week. I hope it stays that way. lol

What's your plans for the week?

Car is FINALLY fixed

My car has been finally fixed today. Cost was over $400!! YIKES! However I'm just happy to finally have my car back. It sucked being carless for almost 3 days!

Turns out I needed both front and back brakes done. My back ones were worn out. My front ones somehow were damaged and warped. Which is what was causing the scary loud noise. Which is also scary to think about. Fortunately since they were damaged my front brakes were covered by warranty!! YAY! I only have to pay for the back ones.

Since I needed new pads and rotors it was going to be expensive. So that SUCKED. On top of this, me getting my hair done this weekend (finally and I cannot reschedule again!), Atlantic city for my BFF's birthday the following weekend (which I have to go to), and going to Baltimore the weekend after that (to try on bridesmaids dresses), makes me VERY broke.

I was so close to paying off my credit card completely, but it looks as though it will take another month or so to do it. I'm really bummed about this. I was just starting to get a handle on my finances.

I'm so happy that I get paid on Friday... lol

Lots of Thoughts

This is be a little all over the place today. Thinking about too many things.

* My weekend was really nice. Went to a PBA luau that was on the beach on Saturday. The weather held out and was a really nice night!! I was upset I didn't win any prizes though. Almost every at my table did but me! Oh well. It was a great night and was much needed. Here is a picture from the day.



* Found out at work that I'm going to be getting an actual office in a few months!! Yay! I'm so excited. Right now I'm in a pretty big cubical, but it'll be nice to have an actual office with a door. And much needed privacy. I can't wait!

*On my way to work this morning, my car started to make crazy noises. Really squeaky noises and then loud rumbling kinda noise. Then it felt strange driving it. I was really scared and pulled over into a shopping center. I called my mom because I didn't know what to do. We went back and forth and finally decided to call AAA. However I really needed to get to work. I didn't want to miss a day. Thankfully I live really close to one of my friends from work. I called him up and he just happened be passing me at that moment!! He stopped and picked me up.

I was going to call AAA after work and deal with it then. However I guess my mom felt bad, she called them up and is right now waiting for them to come and look at it. I feel so bad that she left work for me!! That was so nice of her. I really hope there isn't anything really wrong with my car. With my luck though, it probably will be something.

This wasn't the best way to start the week for me. I'm in a crummy mood now! I hope things start to look up soon.

I hate waiting!

So I finally made an appoinment to see a hematologist about my low iron. I've been putting it off for a few months. I hate going to the Dr and honestly, I don't feel tired or lethargic so I didn't think me being anemic was that big of a deal. I knew deep down that I needed to get this figured out though. I was just being lazy.

Tuesday was my appoinment. It was for 4:30. They told me to get there a half hour early to fill out paperwork. Which ended up taking me a whopping 5 minutes. At 10 to 5, I am finally called back. I was happy until they took me to the room to get blood drawn. WTF??? I had NO idea I was getting blood work done. Why didn't someone tell me this?? So I had to get that done, and then the nurse weighed me and did all my stats. A little after 5 I was put into an exam room.

Where I sat waiting for 45 minutes!!! I was so cranky and annoyed. 45 minutes is just ridiculous. I was literally about to walk out the door when the doctor came in. Then she had to ask me a million questions about my history and my family history. While I was happy she was detailed, some things I didn't see any connection to why I have low iron. Then I had to get a full body exam, including a breast exam!!! again WTF? I feel like this doctor was determined to find cancer in me, to explain my blood.

Finally a half hour later she tells me I need to get IV Iron. Which is what I've known all along. I basically made this appoinment to get the ball rolling on that. I had no idea I would be there for over 2 hours! UGH. It was 6:15 by the time I got out of there. I was literally the last patient to leave. It was so late I couldn't even set up my appoinment for the IV iron. lol.

I made my appoinment today. I'm a little nervous and wary about the whole thing. I do not want to be made to wait like that again. Plus I don't know if this will even help me. Also what if I get a reaction?

Karen I know you have to get this done often. Can you shed any light on it for me??

Run like the wind

I hope you all enjoyed your Labor Day! Mine was really nice. I got to go to the beach, for probably the last time. Which makes me a little sad. I love the beach, but it's getting cold here pretty fast. I'm glad to get one more time in.

I went out with some friends on Saturday. It was really fun, but I was really surprised the place wasn't packed. There was barely anyone there it seemed. Same for the beach. I think the hurricane last week really deterred people from coming down to the shore for the weekend. Which was a shame because the weather was perfect.

On Monday, I ran a 5K race with some friends. My last 5K I ran in almost 38 minutes. For this race I really wanted to get under 37. That was my goal. The course was in Long Branch right along the beach. It was so pretty! I got to mile 1 and my time was 10:45!!! I couldn't believe it! I never ran a mile that fast before. I knew if I kept pace, I could get my time under 35. I was determined. It was so hot though, I was covered in sweat. Toward the end I really started to lose steam, and felt a little sick.

My best friend had already finished her race so she ran back and ran with me the rest of the way in!! She really kept me going! It was amazing! I was so happy to see the finish line.

My time: 34:17!!! AHHHHH I knocked almost 4 minutes off my best time! I am so freaking happy about that!! WHOO HOO!!! I can't wait to do more 5Ks and really improve my times more.

We stayed for the awards, my best friend placed 2nd in her age group, and my other friend 1st. My best friend's boyfriend was first in his age group, 7th overall. It can be really intimating to have friends who are such fast runners and have been doing it for so long. But it's also great because they give me tips, and push me to go farther than I think I can.

After the race, we went to eat at a nearby place and get our free beer for doing the race. lol. I got the most amazing sandwich there! It was a panini sourdough bread, with cheddar, bacon and sliced granny smith apples. OMG it was heaven!! It was also really expensive, but I want to have it again! Also the sweet potato fries were delightful.

It was a nice way to finish out the long weekend.

How was your weekend?

Success!!

It's September 1st. I can't believe how fast August went by though.

I'm happy to say that through shear willpower I did not purchase one single item of clothing, shoes or makeup for 6 weeks!! Holy crap!!! I am so happy that I was able to do this. I paid $1000 toward my credit card and it's almost totally paid off!! Hooray!

I think I need to do this more often. However my closet is in a sad state of affairs. There are seriously NO CLOTHES. IT's all hangers. Every time I've gone down a size, I've gotten rid of my clothes that are too big. It's feels great to do it. However not being able to buy any clothes that fit this past month was HARD.

Alreay today I've ordered clothes online from Macy's, The Limited and The Loft!! I went a little crazy!! lol. I also got a pair of rain boots that were 50% off from Kate Spade. I seriously went to town. But I honestly needed it.

I am however not buying ANY summer clothes. Everything that I've purchased is for the fall. I literally own one single sweater right now. I have a feeling it's going to get cold quick this year. I need to be prepared!

Also since I am still losing weight, everything that I'm buying is on sale/I have a pretty awesome coupon. My Limited stuff I got was 40% off and free shipping. The Macy's stuff, 50% off, free shipping again plus a 20 dollar off coupon! The Loft stuff was 40% off and free shipping. Rain boots 50% off!

I am becoming a pretty awesome bargain shopper. lol. This weekend I also plan on hitting some labor day sales. They are the best!

I just love buying clothes now! I have so many options to choose from!