4th of July Weekend

Hello there and happy Monday! We had such a great and relaxing weekend and I loved every minute of it! I made it my goal to seriously stay home, chill, and relax this weekend and we did just that (well, mostly).

My "weekend" began at work with a luncheon on Friday. It was a luncheon to end the 3 week summer student program and those sweet students voted for me as their favorite hospital associate and the physician I work with as favorite doctor! My take on students is this - they don't have to be there but they want to be because they want to learn. Everyone was also a student at some point in time, so we should be nice to them and encourage them. Anyway, I was honored to say the least!

After the luncheon, we were closed for the remainder of the afternoon and got to go home! Score!

On Friday evening, I browsed through my Orangetheory days and realized that I had an extra one because I miscounted. I knew I couldn't let it go to waste, so I headed off to Orangetheory instead of running outside in the sweltering heat. More about my Saturday OT experience on Friday! :)

Jason had rehearsal for our Sunday church production and while he was gone, Brayden and I ate a few grapes and watched Meet the Robinson's. Brayden actually watched something other than Mickey Mouse or Puppy Dog Pals which blew my mind! It was truly a monumental occasion!

After enjoying a nap on Saturday afternoon (all of us), we spent the rest of the evening outside enjoying the water! My parent's bought this water pad for Brayden for his birthday and we just got around to filling it up with water!

For dinner on Saturday evening, we had our first Hello Fresh meal! More about this coming up in a future blog post (my thoughts on it all, etc).

On Saturday night, I also realized that I hadn't yet registered for the 4 mile race on the 4th of July and online registration closed that night. DONE!

Sunday morning was our patriotic service at church! I left with a full heart as we ended it with celebrating our veterans. A sweet and precious WWII veteran absolutely brought me to tears as he (along with all of our other veterans) reminded me of all they sacrificed so we can enjoy the freedoms we know today.

Afterwards, we had dinner on the grounds which was so much fun! We haven't had an after Sunday dinner at church in a LONG time!

This kid loves chips, y'all. Chips chips all day long.

After returning home, we watched the Astros game, hoping to catch a glimpse of our Florida friends who were there. (We didn't end up seeing them.) We also spent more time outside and enjoyed leftovers for dinner.

Mission accomplished - it was a truly enjoyable and relaxing weekend! I'm excited for a day off of work this week and am looking forward to spending more time with my sweet little guy! I hope you all had a great weekend, too!

Fitness Friday–1/9

Currently training for:
Louisiana Half Marathon
Rock ‘n’ Roll NOLA Half Marathon
Glass Slipper Challenge

Saturday –  8 mile solo run
Sunday – Took all of the Christmas things down (an 8 hour process); squats/lunges/PT routine
Monday –  3 mile run
Tuesday –  2 mile run 
Wednesday – Rest Day
Thursday – 20 minutes of squats/lunges/PT routine
Friday – 4 mile run

This week, I decided to incorporate PT exercises back into my daily routine. I got lazy and quit doing them a while ago, but I know that I definitely need them back! If I want my knee to continue to cooperate, I need everything to be at it’s best.

On Monday, I began using a pair of Mizuno’s that I received for Christmas. The mileage on my other shoes definitely added up and it was time for a change! I currently wear Mizuno Wave Inspires and I love them!

This week, an arctic blast hit the south. It’s been cold, but I’ve been enjoying it for running outdoors! As long as it’s not raining, then you’ll find me outside. :)

It’s this precious? Madalynn ran through a pile of mud on Tuesday, so she got a bath and all she wanted to do was snuggle. Moments like this makes my heart full. :)

Tomorrow holds a 6 mile run as I’m tapering for the Louisiana Half. I’m also coordinating a water stop/volunteering in the  morning for the local Color Vibe 5K. I’m worried about the weather (it’s supposed to be super cold), but we’re all planning on bringing extra clothing to bundle up!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! What does your weekend hold? Any fun plans?

DIY: Creating A Patio

I’ve been bitten, bruised, and scratched…I might have even smashed a finger or two.

Despite the pain, multiple trips to Lowe’s for extra sand (100 bags total, thank you), and hours put into this project, it’s finally complete and I can honestly say that I love it my new patio!

Was it easy? Definitely not. Would I do it again on my own? Probably not. However, the patio is finished and I can look on it with the satisfaction of knowing it’s something I’ll be able to enjoy in the years to come!

How did I put this patio together on my own? In FIVE EASY STEPS. (Catch the sarcasm there??)

Word to the wise….if you see anything at a hardware store that says the word “EASY” on it, they are probably LYING.

We came across these Brock Paver Base pieces in Lowe’s last year. This patio project is actually a completion of our “backyard improvements” from last Spring. Prior to this patio project, I also placed 2 layer of stone under the deck to keep grass away and for visual enhancement of the area.

After reading the paver base box and watching a Youtube video on the process (isn’t that the way to do it?), we set out to purchase supplies for the patio.

After returning home, we cut the top layer of grass from the area first.

Then we began the real work – which was a lot more tedious than I originally realized.

After laying and packing sand, we placed a paver base on top, followed by a brick. This is the part where the project became tricky – the bricks tended to wobble, no matter how level the sand read on the leveler.

I once spent over an hour trying to level out one brick alone – hence the reason I almost gave this project up last Sunday. I even debated having someone come in and pour concrete instead, but changed my mind – even stamped concrete designs didn’t give me what I was looking for here.

Did I mention this project was a dirty one? Cause it was. My gloves have a lot of holes in them now!

Here you can see the layers better – weed paper, paver sand, paver base, brick.

We reached this point after several days of work. Whew.  (By the way, my yard slopes, so does the deck, so does the patio…that’s on purpose).

I finally completed the patio last night! Here’s the finishing touches…

After laying out the stone, I placed restraints at the edges to hold in the joint sand and help the stone stay in place. 

Ready for joint sand!

This sounded easy enough – probably the easiest part of the project – pour, sweep, spray.

We bought JUST enough sand, too. I’m telling you, if I had to stop and go back to Lowe’s for another bucket of joint sand, I was not going to be a happy camper.

Spray…

Voila!

Here’s a photo of the completed patio this morning! (No walking on it for 24 hours.)

I can honestly say this was one of the hardest and most tedious things I’ve ever done. I almost said I would rather go through nursing school all over again before re-attempting this project, but  I changed my mind – I don’t think anything in my life has been/will be as tough as nursing school!

I’m so glad it’s complete and I’m thrilled with the outcome! We can’t wait have a BBQ and enjoy the new patio with family and friends. Who wants an invite? :)

What are your thoughts on DIY? Would you attempt  it?