Thanks a lot, Mother Nature...

It's raining.

I *know* the midwest needs rain. It's been like 50 bazillion degrees for like 8 years straight. We NEED rain. My poor plants need it. I'm a lazy plant owner, and they're needy plants.

I digress.

I need to go run. I have to go run. I skipped my run on Thursday, so I need to run today and tomorrow, so I don't lose my momentum.

But it's raining.

I either need to buck up and go run in the rain, or just go do my weekly grocery shopping. I need to stop sitting here like a punk, procrastinating on Blogger, instead of making this decision.

Ok. For reals. I'm leaving.

Rain, sprinkles, and reusable grocery bags--

This is happening. Legit.

I have decided to go out to Liberty Memorial here in Kansas City tomorrow, to be a part of the "Do Life Tour."

For those of you who aren't awesome, go find the Ben Does Life blog. Ben is this cool guy who made a promise to his grandma to lose weight and get happy. And it's a promise he's kept. He's done Ironman races, and a ton of other ridiculously cool and inspiring stuff. He's taken to the road this summer, and is touring the country to spread the word about the Do Life movement.

Since I've been in a weight loss and exercise rut, I've decided to go take part in the 5k they're hosting here in KC as a part of the tour. I certainly won't be running the entire 5k, but I'm damn sure going to try. I need a kick in the pants, so I think this would be a good way to get motivated.

Or maybe it'll be completely horrible and embarassing. *shrug* Either way, it's happening. I'm doing it.

Skip should be home in an hour and a half... Gonna see if he wants to do this with me. I'm fully expecting him to decline, but I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed. I'm totally prepared to do this on my own, though.

Be on the lookout for updates... If not tomorrow, then definitely on Thursday.

PEACE.

--Malaya

ZOMG FRIDAY!

So my attempt at catchy, alliterative, Friday blog posts has failed. Crash and burn.

This post in general will probably be a crash and burn, because it's 4:17 on Friday afternoon, AND I'M READY TO GTFO OF THIS OFFICE.

Word.

I got 9 tank tops at Old Navy for $19.62. I lurve when their tanks go on sale... Because I pretty much live in them during the summer months. However, they're mostly all white or black or gray, since they were sold out of my size in the colored ones. I'm hoping they'll get more in soon, so I can just exchange them. Lame, I know.

This weekend will be pretty boring. Skip will be working 984 hours of overtime, because he's swamped at work. I mean, the paychecks are AWESOMESAUCE, but I miss his face. So I'll be spending Saturday and Sunday doing girl-stuff, I guess... Which will probably entail trying to pick up some wedding crap, and complete some wedding projects. I'm sure Skip is super sorry he has to miss THAT fun. Hah.
Booked mah flight for Julie's wedding in November! YAY! And I saved money on it... But that means I'll have to fly out at 7am the very next morning. Poop. Someone will have to be on bridesmaid patrol... I'm not allowed to party too hardy that night. I can sleep on the plane, though, so that's a plus. Let's hope I get cuddly seat-mates. Hee!

Oh, and someone needs to kick me in the butt and make me go run/walk tonight... Because I'm feeling all bloatational and cranky, and I really need to go run. I can NOT spend this week eating chocolate and being betchy. Not allowed. Must go do cardio.

4:24!

Time to go count moneys and go home.

--Malaya

I'm a klutzy camera snob.

So I went to my park today for a much needed walk... I took along my old trusty-rusty Nikon point-and-shoot camera, which was a giant mistake. After using a DSLR for the last year or so, it's nearly impossible for me to enjoy using such inferior technology. *nose in the air* Judge if you must, but I just don't like it.

Nevertheless, me and my old jalopy hit the trail this morning, and took some er, interesting shots. Most of them are blurry, and there is like zero deplth to them, and the colors are all effed up... But...  Here is my morning at the park, in pictures:

This is ridiculously blurry, but why do bobby pins do this? I hate sticky-uppy bobby pin ends!

Trees! Hey, Florida, this is what a park looks like!

I love this part of the trail, because of that big ol' tree straight age

You'll have to turn your head for this one... This is the Big Tree. Blogger won't let me rotate it, and I'm too lazy to go fix it elsewhere. Deal with it.

The "home stretch" of the first lap... This is probably my second favorite part of the trail.

Fuel. I hadn't had a Gatorade in AGES, and man, did this hit the spot. I might have to make this a regular thing...

"Wiiiiiiide oooopeeeennnn spaaaaacessssss..."

Get creative with me again, people. This is my least fave part of the trail. It goes on FOR-EV-ER, and is just enough of an incline to be a pain in the ass. No likey.

Mah foot.

This bench is smack in the middle of my Least Favorite Part of This Trail. I think they put it here for a reason.

You know the drill. The big ol' tree, again. <3

There's probably some horrible pest to blame for eating these trees, but the holes they create are kind of pretty... Kind of lace-ey. I like it. Sorry, trees.

HOME STRETCH! Again. I like this curve in the path.

Squirrell Action Shot!

Lookin' good! Thumbs up!

Distance check... My pace is embarassing. But, I feel good, so I think I'll keep going...

Adjust your face again. This part of the trail cuts through the middle of the park... I only take this when I don't want to walk the full half mile. And with rain clouds in the sky, I thought this was a safe route.

Rain clouds over the volleyball court...

YEAH! 2.26 miles completed! Right after I took this picture, I texted Skip to let him know my mileage... And I wasn't paying attention... And almost tripped and killed myself... And I dropped my phone... And it landed right on its cute little face... And...

THIS HAPPENED. Ugh ugh ugh. I sat in the Jeep in shock... I seriously just MURDERED my beloved iPhone. Seriously. Murdered. THIS IS NOT OKAY. I NEED THIS PHONE TO LIVE. *panic*

Fun, right?

The good news is, the phone can be saved. I have an appointment to get the screen replaced tonight at 5pm. Gonna cost me $70 smack-er-oos, but it's a helluva lot cheaper than going to the Apple store. And, since we should be up for upgrades in September, this should get me through the next 2-3 months. I've dropped this phone a million billion times before, and never had an issue. I guess you could say I had it coming.

I <3 my iPhone. I think I'd rather cut off my right arm than have to get rid of it.

And 2.26 is the most I've done in... A long time. Seriously, I've been in a real funk with this whole weight loss journey stuff. I get tired of obsessing over everysinglething I shove in my face. I get tired of wanting to eat something, and then feeling guilty about it. And I've been uber tired lately, so dragging my ass out of bed to do anything (much less exercise) has been a challenge. I'm trying my hardest to get my motivation back, but it's a lot easier said than done.

Baby steps. One good decision at a time. I can't be perfect always.

But damnit, I like to try to be!

--Malaya