Monday, October 15, 2012

Birthdays, Running, and Weaves

Good Morning Ladies! I know, it's been a while, and thank you for your sweet e-mails questioning where I've been. Who knew that I would be missed? Anyway, I have a lot to catch you ladies up on so let's jump right in!

First off I need to give a huge "Happy Birthday" shout out to my husband. Ashish's birthday was Friday and I completely forgot to mention it on my blog. Granted, I didn't post anything on Friday, not even a Friday's Letters, but I should have. Luckily, he's understanding and to be honest, I don't think he even noticed. 

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to give him the celebration that I had planned. Thursday night we had some serious family drama (extended) which left me up all night and drained on Friday morning. Side note: don't you hate that? Don't you hate when you let other's bad choices determine your mood? Ugh. I do...but it's different when it's your family. So, instead of going to the zoo like we planned, we had lunch at the food court in the mall, then came home and played outside. I was being a Debbie Downer, I kept apologizing, he understood. We spent the rest of the day relaxing before heading out to dinner with some friends. Another side note: October has been awful as far as sickness is concerned, between the stomach flu, the real flu, and pneumonia, our friends and family can't seem to escape it. We had a great time at dinner, it was just what I needed to take my mind off everything that was going on outside of the restaurant.




Saturday was a good day. I woke up feeling refreshed and more like myself! After a trip Ba's house to pick up Jordan we headed down to The Forum to pick up my Down and Dirty 5k packet. Did I tell you guys that I was doing this race? I can't remember. I had been really anxious about this race. I am not cut out for the military, my push ups suck, I can't climb a wall or scale one for that matter. I was not looking forward to it.

Before the race!

The morning of the race I got up at 7 to make sure that I had everything. I stalked some blogs to get helpful tips on what to pack, the best way to change clothes, and what not to bring.  I made a list, as I always do, checked it twice and headed out the door, with Jordan in tow. My mom was very sweet to offer to go with me since Ashish was working. She entertained Jordan while I ran the race and every packed a cooler with bottled water and lunch..."I knew you'd be tired, thirsty, and hungry, so I brought all that stuff for you." That woman is a life saver! OK, race time! We are divided into heats, Jennifer and I jumped in the 13:00 min/mi line and waited our turn. The horn beeped and we were off! After the first mini obstacle (only 2/10 of a mile in), I was done. If Jennifer wasn't cheering me on, I would have turned around and ran back in the other direction. I'm glad that I finished it out. It was definitely "mind over matter" and despite how much I wanted to give up, I powered through it (but not without saying some bad words under my breath). Here we are at the finish line...exhausted and ready to go home.

And after! Isn't Jennifer's son (aka...Jordan's BFF) so cute?!?

What I Learned From This...
1. I am not made to be in the military.
2. I loved the concept but hated the mud.
3. Bring a towel to wipe off with instead of baby wipes.
4. Definitely do it with a friend because you'll need each other.




I took my weave out Saturday night, actually, Ashish took it out for me. What a long process! I guess it could've been shortened if we weren't so worried about cutting my actual hair. Because I was doing the mud run on Sunday morning, I didn't bother washing it out or anything...bad idea. When I got home from the race I hopped in the shower and started washing away. I never once thought to comb through it. While I was shampooing I thought that it felt a little thick but kept on washing. By the time I got out, toweled off and went to spray leave in conditioner in, I had two HUGE knots. Now, when I say HUGE, I mean if I had to cut them out, I would have had to cut my hair like Halle Berry. I'm no Halle Berry so a short cut is not for me. I started panicking. Full blown hysterical tears, panicking. Walking around in circles, panicking. Trying to calm myself down, panicking. So, I did the only logical thing to do...I called my mom. I told her the situation to which she says "Oh, Danielle, didn't you know to comb through the hair before you washed it?" No, mom, I didn't know that, how would I know that?!? My mom is the best, she hoped in her car and drove over to my house to help me attempt to get the knots out. I wish that I had a picture to show you. Trust me, it was AWFUL! After an hour and a half (yes, you read that right) of pulling, combing and tugging, my hair was knot free. Again, my mom is a lifesaver.

What I Learned From...
1. If I ever get weave added again, I will comb out the hair before I wash it.
2. As much as I loved the longer hair, my short hair makes me feel sassy!


I hope you ladies had a great weekend. Tonight we are headed on a double date (Ashley and Adam, we will miss you) to The Melting Pot!