Great weekend team, Great weekend!

Each Monday when I get into the office, everyone is always asking how the weekend was, and my response is typically "It was fine, relaxing, etc", but this weekend- this weekend was beyond just "fine", it was GREAT! I'm not sure which point exactly in the weekend made it so good, but all of the excursions combined together made for one heck of a productive/relaxing (if that's even possible) weekend experience.

I warn you ahead of time, I'm not typically one for long blog posts (I tend to keep them short and sweet), but there was just so much awesomeness packed into this weekend, that this one may be a little long. You don't have to read this post all at once. In fact, you don't have to read it at all. I just thought I'd preface the post with a warning to be kind. Do with it what you want.

So it all started Friday night with a delicious homemade pasta dinner. My running buddy, Carlye, and myself were carbing up for the Fort Worth Cowtown 10K race on Saturday morning. We made wheat pasta with turkey marinara sauce, spinach salad and italian bread with oil and vinegar. Sidenote: my favorite part about running is that I get to eat all these carbs and not feel bad about it. YUM! After dinner I headed home, where I took a hot bath and layed in bed reading gossip magazines and watching FRIENDS until I fell asleep. Honestly, laying in bed with FRIENDS is my idea of a great night. FRIENDS the DVD's you pervs, come on!

So Saturday morning, Carlye picked me up at 5:15 am and we were on our way to boot knockin' Fort Worth, TX, where over 20,000 people showed up for the Cowtown. Lucky for us, we got a great parking spot up front, so we were able to get right in and right out with no angst or anxiety. We ate bananas, got our bib numbers and we were off. We ran 6.3 miles in 62 minutes, and it was a beautiful clear, crisp, sunny morning. We couldn't ask for better weather. After the race, we were off to eat breakfast at Dream Cafe, an adorable little cafe in Uptown Dallas, and we were home by 11am- where I preceded to take a 3 hour snooze. The snooze was followed by a spa mani/pedi (hey, my feet needed a treat) and a night out on the town with good friends and even better cocktails!

Sunday, I decided it was time to hit the Nike outlet for some sweet running gear. I have yet to invest in any aside from a pair of shoes, so I felt it was time. I called Erica as I was driving out to the Allen Premium Outlets (a good little 30 minute jaunt), where she informed me she was laying on her couch watching Grey's Anatomy re-runs (lame). As soon as I mentioned the word outlet mall, she asked if I would come pick her up. We hit up a few stores, did some damage to the bank account and then finished off the excursion with a meal at Olive Garden. To which our tab only cost $6.96 each! Don't ya just love splitting meals? I, of course, inhaled my food and was done before Erica had even taken 2 bites. Typical. So I sat there and stared at her whilst she finished her meal. Sunday evening consisted of 5 of us Dallas girls discussing our new business plan. Yes, we are starting a business (more to come on that later). After a riveting discussion on positioning, communication strategy and immediate next steps, we hit up Goodcents for dinner. What a perfect way to end a GREAT weekend!

Now it's Monday, oy.

"It's okay, I'm a Cheerleader"

Most of you know that I spent most of my college career cheering on the Wildcats (literally). I sported the purple and white proudly and had the opportunity to travel to most of the greatest temples of athleticism and perform sweet cheerleading moves in hopes of aiding the Cats to Victory.

Being a cheerleader makes me qualified for some very important things in life. For example, I'm always qualified to bust out a "High V" when I get excited or throw out a high kick when a friend needs a little nod of encouragement. I suppose I'm also qualified to judge other cheerleaders and make fun of bad technique or ugly uniforms.

However, I would say that the list of things I'm NOT qualified for, highly preceeds the list of things I am. But not according to my dear friend Rachel Knight, she is always trying to give credit where credit is due.

Last night during our weekly Bachelor viewing, Taryn was complaining of some back pain (most likely from slaving over her computer all day long in her dank dark cubicle). She wanted so badly for someone to give her back a good pop, but was "scared" of being popped on the floor. She informed us that she's used to "Nicole, the large shot put thrower" picking her up and giving her a good squeeze to get all the vertebraes back in place. Taryn, how you spent your college days are between you and Nicole. No judgement here.

Regardless, I told Taryn that I could pop her back, and that I'm actually quite capable of this task. She was apprehensive, but good ol' Rach assured her that it was okay because "I was a cheerleader". Yep, that's right- apparently being a cheerleader, makes me experienced enough to perform acts of the medical kind.

Anyone need heart surgery or a baby delivered? Give me a ring. It's okay, I'm a cheerleader!

I'm sensing a trend...

I spent most of my time last week in Chicago for work, where I accordingly gorged myself at every meal. You see, when you travel for work and you are entertaining clients, you tend to eat like you're on vacation. Or maybe that's just me. Either way, I somehow got away with rationalizing dessert at every meal. So you can imagine how I felt when I got back late Friday night. If you guessed like a 500 pound greasy french fry, you guessed right.

I immediately went to the grocery store and bought all my usual healthy items. You see, if I can stick to what I have at home to eat, I'm good to go. The problem is when I'm out in the free world- I have ZERO self control.

It wasn't until today when I was eating my lunch that I realized, I have a serious problem. Tell me if you can see the trend here:

Dinner last night- Pita Pizza
Ingredients: Whole wheat pita bread, pizza sauce, reduced fat mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, TURKEY pepperoni

Breakfast today- 2 pieces of TURKEY bacon and a hard boiled egg

Lunch Today: Sandwich
Ingredients: Whole wheat bread, muenster cheese, mustard, lettuce, sliced deli TURKEY and TURKEY pepperoni

Dinner Tonight: Tacos
Ingredients: Whole wheat tortillas, cheese, black beans, rotel and ground TURKEY

Gobble gobble anyone??

Snow Day (in Texas)!

So, as this crazy wintery tundra takes over America, us Dallas folks weren't missing out on any of the fun. I was laying in bed last Thursday night about to fall asleep to my FRIEND's DVD's, when the TV shut off. Awesome, no power. Thank you again winter for ruining my life.

Okay, I'll just go to sleep and it will turn back on shortly. I had to remind myself not to get startled when the lights flashed in the middle of the night and FRIEND's started playing again. It was the episode where Ross buys a new couch and is trying to get it up the stairs- "PIVOT, PIVOT". Oh Ross and his silly antics.

I digress.

So you can imagine my astonishment when I woke up at 6am (no thanks to an alarm clock), and noticed that the power still wasn't on. I jumped out of bed and put on my NCA Cheerleader hooded sweatshirt, and opted for a heavy pair of sweatpants, in lieu of my VS PINK boxers. BRR, it was cold!

So now what do I do? All the stores/restaurants on my block were also without power, and my car was iced in. Lucky for me, I have good friends. No sooner than I was plotting how to build a fire in my bathtub out of bath beads and matches, did Rachel Knight call me to tell me to come over. Apparently Erica and Heather were without power as well, but Rachel was a chosen one, who DID still have heat and lights. I immediately call Erica to tell her to pick me up from my ice cube of a bed, and we're off.

Besides the fact that Heather had to go into work (stupid NBA All Star Weekend), it was a pretty fantastic Snow Day. We got Panera for breakfast, Chipotle for lunch and Tiff's Treats (a fabulous little cookie shop in Dallas that delivers fresh baked cookies and ice cream) for our afternoon snack. Erica printed wedding invitations, and I yelled at the cat. It was good day!

Thanks again to the city of Dallas for not having the capacity to handle a little snowfall and ice. I'm pretty sure people are STILL without power. You rock!

See below for our hot Snow Day pictures.



Erica all bundled on the couch taking a break from being Super Bride.



Rachel clearly looking annoyed at me for making her be photogenic on a Snow Day.



Me on a conference call. The only spot in Rachel's house, near an outlet where I could get cell phone service. Since I had no power all night, my iPhone and it's really awesome battery were dead.

1/2 Marathon Update...

So a couple weeks ago, I told you all that I would be participating in a Half Marathon. I have now completed 2.5 weeks of training, and I'm still going strong.

The farthest I've ran so far without stopping is 4 miles. I did this in 41 minutes and 20 seconds. A BIG thanks to Taryn for sticking with me and running at a Grandma's pace. You see, my training partner was out of town so I needed a fill in- if you didn't know, Taryn ran in college on a scholarship- she doesn't mess around. I felt like she was one of those horses at the races who can't wait for the gate to open so they can get out- except, the gate never opened. Ah well, she stuck by me through and through. Thanks T.

This weekend will be a doozy- 5 miles on Saturday, 2.5 on Sunday, and 4 on Monday. Since it's President's Day, I will be off from work, so I want to get one of the bigger weekly runs in.

Honestly, the only thing keeping me going is that I have promised myself a brand new running outfit for the Big Race. I may be the slowest one out there, but you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be the most stylish. It's all about the priorities people.

Life is Painfully Precious

I found out this morning that a very close friend of Josh's family passed away in a car accident last night. He was a firefighter for the FTW Fire Department. His wife and 16 year old step-daughter are left without him.

Him and 3 other of his firefighter buddies were driving to Colorado for a "guys ski trip" and late last night hit a patch of ice and lost control of the vehicle. Two were ejected from the car (Dave included) and passed away. The two survivors happened to be wearing their seatbelts.

My heart is breaking for Dave's family and friends and all that were touched by his contagious laugh and 'live in the moment' mentality. We had the pleasure of spending this past Saturday night with him at Josh's mom's birthday party, and he is just one of those guys you want to be around. Always the life of the party and always smiling.

If any lesson is learned, it's that life is just far too precious. It only takes an instant for everything to change. I hope if anyone is reading this, they remember that. Sometimes it takes a tragedy for us to take a step back and see how blessed we all are. It shouldn't be that way.

Please keep Dave and his family in your prayers today. I love you all.

I have issues...

So those of you who know me, know that I have serious issues with food. It's pretty much all I think about. When I'm eating a meal, I'm thinking about what I'm going to eat at my next meal, and when I'm NOT eating, I'm thinking about when I WILL eat again. I'm not saying this is healthy- in fact, it's incredibly unhealthy and life consuming, but I am who I am.

I don't know why I have these food obessions. I was raised an only child (my brother, 15 years my senior, moved out when I was 3), so it's not like I had that "fend for yourself" mentality, or had to fight off 5 siblings for the last piece of pizza. There was always PLENTY of food to go around in the Payson household. Trust.

Below are some examples of why I have SERIOUS issues...

Normal person's thinking: "I am full, I should stop eating"
Ashley's thinking: "I am full, but there is food left on my plate, I need to finish it all, and THEN have a bowl of cereal to top it off.I always need something sweet after my meal, so why not make it a delicious bowl of cereal?"

Normal person's thinking: "There is a serving of chips left in the bag, I'll save it for the next time I crave some chips"
Ashley's thinking: "There is a serving of chips left in the bag. I could put them back in the pantry. But if I do, I will sit here on the couch and think of the last serving of chips in the pantry and how I should just finish them off so they're not lonely. I mean, they did lose all of their other chip friends to my belly already- why should they have to suffer any longer?"

Normal person's thinking: "I just went grocery shopping. I now have food to satisfy me for a week or so. It feels good to have a stocked fridge and pantry."
Ashley's thinking: "I just went grocery shopping. I now have to sample ALL the items I've purchased, and make sure that I STILL do enjoy them. Well hell, of course I'll still enjoy them, I just need to sample them because they're THERE!"

Well, this is my life, and I'll never change. I'm just glad I have friends who love the fat kid I am growing inside of me :)

13.10938 Miles

Yes, that's right... 13.10938 miles is the exact distance of a half marathon. A half marathon which I will be running on April 11th (insert smug laugh here). For those of you who know me, you know that I wouldn't classify myself as a "runner". In fact, I am the person who thinks "runners" are absolutely crazy. I mean, how on Earth could ANYONE find that fun?!? However, with some subtle motivation from a co-worker (and now close friend- actually she is my soulmate, but that's another blog post), we have decided to get our booties moving, and "get 'er done".

Training started this week. Monday- rest, Tuesday- 2 miles, Wednesday- rest, Thursday-2.5 miles, Friday- weights, Saturday- 3 miles, Sunday -2.5 miles + weight traning. Doesn't sound so bad, right? Well, I have to tell you...so far, so good. I actually (dare I say it) enjoy it?!?

Let's chat again in a few weeks when I have to run 15 miles in one week... Miss "Full of optimism and motivation" may be singing a different tune.

Oh NoPhone!

I did it! I did it! I got out of my god forsaken Sprint contract and leapt into the world if iPhone wonderment. Oh yes, it's true- iPhone world is EVERYTHING I thought it would be and so much MORE. How on Earth did I ever survive pre-iPhone?? I now view my life like a B.C./A.D. analogy. Before the iPhone there was nothing, I wasn't truly living life to it's fullest potential. But now, now I tell you, I am LIVING. And what, might you ask, does my new life consist of- aside from being so freaking tapped in to every tiny minutia detail that is happening in our world?

It's Words with Friends...

Yes, Words with Friends has officially and ridiculously taken over my life. I mean, it's just pure brilliance. Virtual Scrabble with your friends- Amazing...

My username is Apaypay if you want to play. Muahahaha.

Really Dentist?

So, contrary to Emily Griffin, I for one, HATE the dentist. It seems that every time I go, there is SOMETHING wrong which typically ends up costing me lots of moolah (lots of moolah I don't have, might I add). So I went a few weeks ago to have a crown put on ($$cha-ching$$), and had to go back today to get the temp switched out for the permanent.

I had the option of getting numbed up or not, which I swiftly declined as the last thing I wanted to do was walk into my 10am creative briefing with the right side of my face drooping like a Bloodhound and drool trickling down my chin. Everything was going as planned. The Dental hygenist removed the temp with no problem (or pain) and then the Dentist came in to put in the permanent. So I'm laying there, with an open tooth cavity, when the ditzy hygenist decides to spritz the air tube thing on my tooth. OOOOOOOUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCHHHHHHHH!!!!! Really lady?!? Cold air, open vulnerable nerve- SO NOT OKAY!

Once the excruciating pain subdued, my dentist followed up with, "So, have you heard about what happened in Haiti?" No, idiot- I haven't heard. Only the biggest devastation to hit our world in centuries, and I haven't heard a thing- please, PLEASE, enlighten me.

At least I got free teeth whitening trays for a year! Score!