Sunday, November 15, 2015

The weekend wrap-up....Edition-1



I'm not one to do a weekly recap, or a weekend summary. My life is very fascinating ( to me), but I respect others might not necessarily find it so intriguing.  I'm alright with that. I don't particularly want (or need) to know every detail in other peeps' lives either. 

None the less, this weekend had a lot of less-than-ordinary happenings, so that calls for a less-than-ordinary blog post.

So, where to start?

 Friday was an eagerly anticipated day of pampering...hair appointment! For all of you who LOVE your natural hair color, bravo to you!  Mine is not so attractive...kind of a muddy (medium) brown, a few natural highlights (that are getting more scarce), and dark roots that look like midnight. Granted, I am thankful to not have many grey hairs (my hairdresser says there's an itty-bitty clump, but it's somewhere in the back, and it's hidden underneath...so I have yet to find it on my own). Ignorance is bliss, huh! Every 8-10 weeks, I pay her a visit, she works her magic, and I leave feeling great.

Don't be jealous, not everyone can pull off this kind of look....
This time, though, I confessed to her that I had tried experimenting with a center part...and it was a major fail! Why I did that to myself, all those years ago, is beyond my comprehension. Yes, it may have been "in style" at the time, but that does not mean it looks good on everyone. She knows I'm always open to trying new things, so she offered to "play with a (near) center part" to see if she could make it work for me. Well, it looked great when I left her place, but in the 10 minutes it took me to drive back to work...another epic fail was staring back at me in the rear-view mirror of my car. A frantic search for my emergency hair clip, and all was well.
Ummmm, the 80's called and they want their hair back


Upon arriving home from work, I learned of the tragedy in Paris. All of my hair-style issues suddenly seemed pretty minimal. Another attack on innocent people, throwing all of us into a tail-spin in search of answers, peace, and hope. Truly, I have come to believe terrorism is a magnified version of bullying.....an arrogant attempt to show strength, power and intimidation, but in doing so, the perpetrator reveals their insecurity instead. It makes me wonder if they're trying to convince the world or themselves of their supposed prestige.

What's a runner (and art geek) to do? I did what I do best....I went for a short run early Saturday morning, and had Paris and all its people on my mind and in prayer. I had seen the symbolic logo of the peace sign with the Eiffel Tower, so I created a similar image on my driveway as a tribute. It got quite a bit of attention on both my personal and running pages on Facebook (as well as Instagram), and even had several shares and requests from followers to use it for their profile pic. Art is one of those mediums that enable us to express ourselves, not only in happy times, but also in times of sorrow. I'm thankful to have it in my life.

My tribute to the City of Love...

As is the season, we have a lot of leaves and pine needles in our yard. The husband, my father, and myself worked for several hours Saturday morning (after I returned from my run) to get the yard cleaned up. Several flower beds to rake, piles upon piles of leaves in the front, and a crap-load of pine needles in our back yard. Let's just say, I got some serious core and cardio work done with a rake in hand. Raking pine needles feels like an effort in futility. I think I went over the yard five times, and there are still numerous needles remaining.

Saturday afternoon, we traveled to Ames, IA to watch the Iowa State Cyclones host the Oklahoma State Cowboys. We've had some beautiful, unseasonably warm weather this month. Our oldest daughter is a senior at ISU, so this was the last home game she'd be attending (at least as an undergrad). Did I mention the husband and myself both are University of Iowa Hawkeyes? (yes, some would call that bad parenting)

Tailgating with our favorite Cyclone


Under the bright lights of Jack Trice Stadium


Later that evening, after rushing back home, we had dinner with some friends and watched our Iowa Hawkeyes defeat Minnesota, to extend their winning streak to 10-0! Go Hawks!!!

Sunday morning began with a 5:30AM wake-up,and a trail run with a few local running friends at a nearby nature preserve. The temps were mild (high 30's), the air crisp (and no wind), and the scenery was beautiful. We saw a few deer as we made out way through six miles of rolling hills, dew-frosted grass, numerous downed leaves (with a few hidden walnuts underneath) and plenty of sunshine.

It wasn't planned, but lime green seemed to be the color theme

I love running trails. I find the challenge of the hills and slippery grass (and constant uneven terrain) invigorating. It wasn't until I got home, and was taking off the mud-encrusted shoes, that I realized I had never put the insoles back in the shoes (after taking them out to dry after my last trail run). Oops. That might explain why the shoes felt kind of loose. I'll be curious how my legs and glutes feel as a result of these six miles with less-than-adequate support!

Helpful hint #37, always put the insoles back in the shoes before lacing up

Lastly, let's talk planking briefly. I have been doing the #plankingontheflyCHALLENGE this month. My goal is 200 total November planking minutes, and I'm happy to report that I'm on track for making (and probably surpassing) that goal. I have been planking every day, and continued planking through the weekend. In light of the Paris tragedy, I didn't feel it necessary to be posting about it. But, as of Sunday, November 15th, I am officially at 103 minutes! Although, I probably wouldn't see dramatic results after only one month, I wish I would have measured my waist prior to starting the challenge. I definitely can tell things are a bit firmer.

on the floor, cranking out another 4:30 (minute) forearm plank
So, my first-ever weekly wrap-up. What do you think? Do you like recapping your weekend, or just occasionally? Stay tuned...the jury is still out on this.

*****I'm linking my weekly wrap-up with Holly from HoHo Runs and Tricia from MissSippinPiddlin.
Go ahead, check out their blogs (great reads!!). ;-)






37 comments:

  1. I don't know anyone who has their natural hair color! LOL. I love your Paris chalk artwork. Lime green is my favorite color and I would have fit right in your trail run pic.

    As someone who hosts a Weekly Wrap link-up, I like your weekly wrap! Please feel free to link with us. We are all about supporting other active women. You might find you enjoy it. Have a wonderful week!

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    1. awwwwwe ;-) Thanks! I have been blogging for almost three years, but am pretty new to the linking-up thing LOL I need to make a chart of some short to keep track what is happening each week so I know in advance what's on deck. Thanks for the head's up...I'll definitely check out your Weekly Wrap link-up ;-)

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  2. You know I find that my most popular post has to do with what's going on in my life. People are naturally curious about what other people do, yea some stick their noses in places they don't need to be but mostly we are social creatures. You have done a fantastic job on your Weekly Wrap post and I do hope you'll be back.
    I will tell you every single week when I sit down to write my post, I pick up my phone and look at the pictures I took, it helps me remember what all I did. :) I too colored my hair this weekend, well I didn't my daughter did lol. It's mother daughter bonding at it's greatest! ;) Hope you have a great week Kimberly!!

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    1. Ha ha ha....we all need "hair therapy" now and then, huh! Thanks for the encouraging comments....I do want people to see me as "real" person (and not a poser attempting to act like running is always easy & enjoyable, or that injuries don't exist).

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  3. I have my natural hair color for two reasons. 1. My favorite stylist moved to Atlanta four years ago and I've yet to find someone I like as much as I did her. 2. Since I started running that $150 bucks every month or so is better spent on race registration fees and running gear. I do have grays starting to come in, but for right now they're hidden. When they start to bother me too much, I'm sure I'll find a new stylist and start getting highlights again. I enjoy reading your weekly recap. I love the Paris chalk art you did! Such a tragedy! All I know to do is pray.

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    1. "All I know to do is pray"......that is huge!!!

      The grey hair thing cracks me up....my roots are SO dark, sometimes I almost wish there were a few greys mixed in there, you know, to lighten the effect LOL (I also wished to be a grownup when I was younger) ;-)

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  4. Best line: "I have come to believe terrorism is a magnified version of bullying.....an arrogant attempt to show strength, power and intimidation, but in doing so, the perpetrator reveals their insecurity instead." Nail on the head! We need to stand up to bullies!

    I loved the weekend wrapup! I too got some core and upper body work with raking our yard and prepping it for winter yesterday. Feels good to have sore muscles again :) ❤

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    1. yes, the sore muscles do have a certain kind of "hurts so good" thing happening.....until the next morning LOL #life

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  5. Love your hair!

    I think terrorism, for the most part (except for the leaders) is about the have nots wanting to have something. If you have nothing, then it's easy to be persuaded that the people who have everything don't deserve it.

    Which doesn't mean that I condone it, of course, or that my heart isn't heavy when I hear about it (or the next shooting of innocents in our country, either).

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    1. agreed. I just wish we all could play nice in this sand box ...

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  6. Oh, we don't even need to talk about what color my hair REALLY is at this point. Let's just say I see my friend Demia every 4 weeks and only she knows...

    So many Iowa Hawkeyes from the NW suburbs of Chicago....

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  7. I've been dyeing my hair so long...I don't remember my natural color LOL.

    Love your peace sign!!

    I haven't gotten past 1 minute planking but hen again I don't do it very often. Need to!!

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    1. Planking is a lot easier than it looks....just start out taking it easy, and try to go (maybe) 10 seconds longer each time ;-) You're a runner, after all ;-)

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  8. Love your art work! Awesome job planking! Sounds like you're going to nail your challenge!

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    1. Thanks! My goal was 200 planking minutes, now I'm toying with the idea to see how many more minutes I can actually get? We shall see..... #staytuned ;-)

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  9. OMG love the hair salon pic! I always joke to my hair guy that I am so glad no one is around to see me at the hair salon.

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    1. ha ha...I can't believe I actually shared that pic with the world LOL...but I believe in being "real" and that's one of the things I do. ;-)

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  10. I love the Paris tribute you made. You're very creative.
    I like the weekend recap myself although I combine it as a look back, look ahead goal-setting post, myself. You look like you have interesting weekends so I say absolutely, keep on doing those recaps.
    Http://Runwright.net

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    1. thank you!! That's a great idea using your recap as a look ahead /goal setting post. This particular weekend was action packed--and around 3:00 Sunday afternoon, I finally crashed (and have been a bit under the weather since). Oh well ;-)

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  11. The attacks in Paris certainly are a form of bullying--that is everything that ISIS is, in a nutshell. On a happier note, YAY for haircuts. I"m about to just shave my head and make it easier.

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    1. The hair appointments do make us feel better. I'm just about ready for a new look......maybe at my next pampering day....stay tuned...

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  12. Your artwork is awesome! I sometimes recap my week/weekend, but as of late they have been pretty uneventful! <3

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    1. I have never done a recap before, but I have gotten so much positive feedback....I certainly didn't think my life was THAT interesting LOL

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  13. Good for you getting the hair done! I am so terrible at scheduling that but always love the feeling of walking out of the salon with a fresh cut and color!

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    1. I have learned to always schedule the next appointment before I walk out...my gal is always booked, so if I waited until I felt like it...I'd be waiting for another month after that. And, the world does not want (or need) to see me like that. ;-)

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  14. Tee hee. Your comment about the 80s called is so funny. I sport a middle part but only because that's all my hair will do and I'm all about low maintenance. But I can't do layers or else my hair gets all Flock of Seagulls and I hate it.

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    1. My hair is pretty fine, so I learned many years ago that a side part makes my hair look "fuller." The center part drove me crazy (way back then) because I could never get both sides to equally match. I'm pretty "asymmetrically-minded" anyways (the art geek in me), so there you go ;-)

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  15. Girl, totally with you on anxiously anticpating hair appointments. My son use to say "where did your silver sparkles go" when he was younger. They went bye-bye!!

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  16. Hi Kim,
    years i hatet it that im getting older and loosing some hair and start getting Gray.
    Now im happy with it.

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    1. I'm (slowly) embracing the aging process, too. I certainly look & feel better now than I did 20 years ago...but I am noticing a few random aches & pains taking a bit longer to heal....

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  17. Firming? Yes, I need to be a late joiner to your planking challenge. It must have been a lime green weekend all around cuz that's what I wore in Vegas.

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    1. by all means, YES, get down and assume the position! I've been posting (most evenings) my daily planking minutes and my #Novemberplankingminutes both on my Running on the Fly (Facebook) page and on Instagram. It keeps me accountable ;-)

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  18. Oh I know about the hair my friend. My natural is similar to what you described but I've been coloring it since I was a teenager! I have no idea what my natural color is anymore, lol. Love that you honored Paris with your chalk artwork, such a tragedy and so scary. I fear for our children terribly. And I can't believe how many planking minutes! I have a hard time holding 30 seconds!! Definitely need to work on that!

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    1. You can do it, Sue! Just do 30 seconds of planking to start...then add 5-10 seconds each day....you will really see results faster than you think ;-)

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  19. Awww I love your Paris chalk artwork. Such a heartbreaking thing to happen in a lovely city that holds so many dear memories. I love that your friends all showed up in the same bright green. I think running in bright colors makes it more fun :)

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