Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

As much as I cringe at spontaneity, Saturday actually ended up being surprisingly fun.  We really had no plans which was kind of nice!  Josh and I got up and went to Monument Park for a four mile run.  We then went to American Furniture Warehouse and bought couches (ouch!).  I'm not sure we needed to spend as much on them as we did (Dave Ramsey probably wouldn't be too happy about the purchase).  As we were driving home, Josh decided that we should go to the zoo.  We figured after living in the springs for a year, we should go check it out.

It's in a beautiful area snuggled in the side of a mountain (thus the name).  I quickly forgot about the beautiful area when we arrived to pay for our tickets.  $17.00/person??  Really?  Thankfully, our military discount helped but not by much!  While I lived in St. Louis, the zoo was free and in Albuquerque it's on a few bucks.  I've never been to a zoo that cost so much for admission.  Anyway, I digress.

Besides the cost, it was probably the nicest zoo I've ever been to.  There were lots of opportunities to pet animals.  The giraffe exhibit was probably my favorite.  Apparently it's the largest giraffe exhibit in the U.S.  Check out the picture below of me petting one.

 Josh checking out the giraffes

 Do you see the little animal on my shoulder (photography by my clever husband)

Army Life

Oh the joys of being an army wife...

If it isn't your husband being gone for weeks or months on end, it's "management" deciding to switch up plans last minute. I have a list of complaints but I won't go there (for now).  Army life can definitely be frustrating at times, but I'm very proud of my husband for being an amazing soldier who loves his job.

Part of the "fun" of army life is always having huge quantities of army gear everywhere.  We have a closet and a storage room filled.  I hear it only gets worse the longer you've been in the service. Good thing we don't have kids.  We would have NO room for them. :)

Currently, this is how our house looks:

I figured I should throw in a picture of my adorable puppy, Zoey. 

New House

I'm so excited to announce that Josh and I are FINALLY moving out of our apartments.  I really don't have a lot to complain about, but the combination of no privacy and pot smoking neighbors was getting a little annoying.

We found a cute victorian house downtown with lots of character (and by character, I mean it's old) :).  I'm thrilled to be in the downtown area mainly because there are lots of areas to go running and adorable coffee shops.  I'll be posting pictures once we've moved in and I've completed my decorating.  For now, here's a picture of the outside.

Running

I like to call myself a runner....although I'm not sure I can truly claim that title.  Maybe my expectations are too high.

I hated running in highschool.  I'd do it here and there, but I really wasn't a fan.  I envied people like my dad and sisters who were able to whip out miles of running so effortlessly.  I wanted to be that person.

Fast forward a few years.  I was in my early twenties and decided that I would make myself enjoy running.  I signed up for a few 5ks which were always fun, but I was SLOW.  My motto was always "slow and steady wins the race".  Come to think of it, that is still my motto.

I ran my first half marathon in 2009.  I was by no means the fastest person there, but there was such a huge sense of accomplishment after completing the run.  It was after that, that I decided that I wanted that "high" more often.  Thankfully, something switched inside of me and I can truly say that I enjoy running now.

Two months ago, I hurt my foot playing volleyball.  I never should have been out there in the first place; my hand-eye coordination is bad....no horrible!  I left the game hobbling on a swollen foot.  I stayed off my foot for two month, per the doctor's orders, hoping that I could begin running again.  Ok, I lied.  I didn't stay off my foot like I should have.  Two months later, and my foot is still not completely healed.  As most runners know, this is torture!  My impatience has gotten the best of me and I've begun running again.

I know.....bad!

Here's to hoping my foot heals soon so that I can accomplish a 5k dirty girl mud run in September.  I'll post pictures of this amazing event when the time comes!

Blessings

I think this post is more for my self than anyone else.  Sometimes I just need to sit down and remind myself how blessed I am.  It's so easy to get caught up in the world and not even notice the small blessings that continually surround your life.  I'll be the first to say that I continuously fall into this trap.

It doesn't help that I have an A type personality.  Yes, I fall into the perfectionist box.  I'm so focused on how to make things better in my life, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, unless I let it become my idol.  I am so fortunate to have a healthy body, a loving and supportive husband, an amazing place to live, and a great job.  This is just he surface; I could go on and on about the amazing things I've been blessed with.  I have a God that loves me even through all my imperfections.  I have family and friends that are true and loyal.

Often I worry about things that haven't even happened!  It's times like this that I need to trust in God.  He's been there with me through thick and thin and thankfully will continue to be with me.

Just some thoughts....