My Take on Fifty Shades
Today I am stepping outside of my usual fitness / running or Brennen related posts. Incidentally the description of my blog is “A chronicle of the everyday challenges of being a mother, a runner and everything in between” so we will call this an “everything in between” post.
I am probably one of the last people to have jumped onto the Fifty Shades bandwagon. Despite all of the hype about the books I never had a strong desire to rush out to the store to get my hands on a copy. I actually only decided to read it because my friend enjoyed it and she lent me her copy.
The book is definitely a quick and easy ready. As I write this blog entry I only have about 75 more pages to read before it is finished so by the time this actually posts to my blog I will probably have completed it.
I am not going to summarize the book for you, that is what the backside of books are for. However, I will say that when I initially started reading it I was a bit skeptical. I mean how often do you hear of a 21 year old college girl who is a virgin? When I posted this question on Twitter several people agreed with me and one said that it happens. I get that it happens. But I would say it’s definitely a rarity. And on top of that the girl has a chance meeting with a wealthy businessman who takes a liking to her. Again, not so much based in reality. It’s also not the most well written book ever. I found myself skipping over areas that didn’t capture my attention and there were a lot of descriptions that were used repetitively. But let’s be honest, people aren’t reading it for the writing they are reading it for the erotic scenes and the underlying love story. So if that is what you are looking for, then you definitely should read it. It delivers on both of those.
It’s no surprise that housewives everywhere have been using the Fifty Shades series as a catalyst to reignite passion in their relationships and in the bedroom. (In fact, many adult stores and websites have capitalized on this by offering products inspired by 50 Shades of Grey.) Others are appalled by the scenes that are played out between the couple in the book. I fall into neither of those categories. I actually expected the scenes to be more risqué than they turned out to be. I also didn’t feel that the book has prompted me to reevaluate what I want out of a relationship nor has it resulted in any sort of sexual awakening to occur within me. That’s not to say that I didn’t find the scenes to be explicit or enjoyable to read, it’s just that my awakening happened long before this book came along. I’ve reached a point in my life where vanilla isn’t even an option. Not in any area of my life. I prefer something more flavorful with lots of sprinkles, nuts, brownie pieces, whipped cream, chocolate syrup and yes…even a cherry on top.
What about you? What is your take on Fifty Shades?
Renewal By Andersen of Detroit & A FREE Race Entry!
Remember this blog post about me winning a race entry courtesy of Renewal by Andersen of Detroit?
Well, guess what??? Now it is your turn to try to win a race entry for yourself! You heard right! Brandon from Renewal by Andersen of Detroit has generously offered a free race entry to one of my blog readers and it could be you!
Before we get to the specifics on the contest you may be asking yourself the same question I posed to Brandon. Why does Renewal by Andersen of Detroit sponsor runners into races? Afterall, they are not a running company…. Well it turns out that Brandon has a passion for running and found a way to incorporate his love of the sport into his career. His persistence about the idea has encouraged others in the company to take up running and it has allowed the company the opportunity to be actively involved in the community by promoting a healthy active lifestyle. I don’t know about you, but if I ever need replacement windows this is the company I would want to buy them from. 
All right, back to the contest.
The premise is simple. I have 1 race entry and 1 Renewal be Andersen race shirt to give away to 1 lucky reader. That reader will get to select a race entry to 1 of the following races.
- Run for the Hills in Farmington 8/18
- Merrell Down & Dirty 8/26 (I’ll be at this one!)
- Milford Labor Day 30k – 9/1
- St. Mary Mercy Run for Cancer – 9/9
- Run for Ribbons 5k in Plymouth – 9/23
- Brooksie Way Half Marathon – 9/30
Awesome selections right?
And an awesome race shirt!
An added bonus is that entering the contest is simple. Just click here to go to the Renewal by Andersen Facebook page and “like” their page. After you have done that come back to this post and leave me a comment that you did. You can also get a bonus entry into the contest by following Renewal by Andersen on Twitter. Click here to do that. And make sure you leave me a comment that you followed them so I can make sure you get your bonus entry. Feel free to post or tweet something to them about how awesome they are for sponsoring runners into races. It won’t help your chances of winning but good karma can’t hurt.
So what are you waiting for?? Enter now as this contest ends at 8pm est on August 1st!
Good luck!!!
Motivational Monday
If you follow my blog on Facebook then you probably already know that I love motivational quotes and pictures. I get most of them from other Facebook pages (mostly I <3 to Run or MotivateHopeStrength) or from Pinterest. Since this is the first week of my training for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon, I thought I would take the time to share some of my favorite motivational pictures to get the week started!
My all time favorite!
What are some of your favorite motivational quotes?
The Simple Joys of a Four Year Old
Brennen is obsessed with this show.
Which means he is enamored with everything firefighter related. He has a pair of galoshes that are his firefighter boots. He has a firefighter hat and a construction hat that also doubles as a firefighter hat. He believes the standing lamp in my living room and any pole type object is a firefighter pole that should be slid down without hesitation. He is drawn to every smoke detector and fire extinguisher within 10 feet of him. And yes, that was my son who tried to take the fire extinguisher home with home from the grocery store the other day. In other words Brennen lives, eats and breathes the firefighter lifestyle from a 4 year olds perspective.
So you can imagine my excitement when I saw this posted on the bulletin board of my apartment building.
If that doesn’t have mother of the year written all over it I don’t know what does! 
The BIG day arrived yesterday and I was a little nervous that the weather wasn’t going to cooperate enough for us to even go see the fire truck. It pretty much rained ALL day long! On top of that when I tried waking Brennen up from his nap he said he didn’t want to go, he was too sleepy. I finally coerced him into going and luckily the rain subsided a little too. When we rounded the corner and the fire truck came into Brennen’s line of vision his little face lit up like his wildest dream had just came true.
And then this happened!
Doesn’t that grin say it all?
He got to see a fire truck up close in person and talk to a real live firefighter! The firefighter was SO patient with Brennen. Answering all of his questions and feeding off of Brennen’s excitement about the fire truck. I honestly thought that I was going to have to remove Brennen from the truck kicking and screaming but the firefighter told him that he could come visit the fire station any time and Brennen seemed content with that idea. And it probably didn’t hurt that I had a few Reese’s in my bag too.
Brennen has been talking about his experience at the fire truck non-stop and keeps asking when he can go to the fire station. Watch out local fire fighters my 4 year old will be headed your way soon!
Mud Run Fanatic
Recently I entered a contest on Facebook to win a sponsorship for a free race entry! I love free! Especially a free race entry! The contest was held by a local windows and door company Renewal by Andersen who also happens to sponsor local runners in local races! Love, love, love that! The contest was simple. All I had to do is post a running pic of myself on their Facebook wall and the top 3 people with the most likes got to be sponsored in a race. Here is the one that I posted.
My Tough Mudder pic, of course!
Unfortunately, I did not place in the top 3 BUT they gave EVERYONE who posted a pic a sponsorship into a race. WooHoo!
I was asked to email my top 3 race choices from their list of sponsored races. After looking at their races my top pick went to a mud run race (a no brainer choice), second pick was a 5k race (I still need to hit my 27 mins or less goal) and my third pick was a popular local half marathon (why not?). And guess what? I got into my first choice race!
So I will be doing this race in August!
Can. Not. Wait.
Speaking of mud runs. In just about two weeks I will be returning to the site of my first EVER mud run. And the one that got me hooked on doing them. The Warrior Dash!!! Woot! Let’s hope they don’t make me age by 60 years again.
In case you haven’t already guessed, I may have an addiction to mud runs. What is your running / workout addiction?
What counts as a PR?
The other day I ran 3.01 miles in just a little over 27 minutes! This was pretty exciting for two reasons. 1) I just had two fillings replaced and my mouth was so sore that all I really wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep it off. 2) One of my running goals for this year is to run a 5k in 27 minutes or less and this run was as close as I have come to that goal!
Getting so close to my 5k goal time got me thinking about PRs and what counts as a PR. For me, only races count as PRs. If I PR on a training run I am super excited about it but I don’t consider it to be a PR until I can duplicate the performance in a race. There is just something about the nerves of race day, running with fellow runners, wearing a timing chip and crossing a finish line that makes a race seem PR worthy. Training runs are more controlled and are more low key than races and for those reasons I do not consider my run times to be official PRs.
What about you? What counts as a PR? Just races or races and training runs?
Birthday Week Recap
I am sad to say that my birthday week is over. 
But on the bright side it was as amazingly awesome week filled with everything I wanted and more!
I am lucky to have great people in my life who went out of their way to ensure that I felt special each and every day. Most especially my friend Stacey and Mr. Sarcastic (Who btw would like to be known as my super fantastic sarcastic all knowing boyfriend but for blog purposes I am standing firm with the abbreviated title).
Here are some highlights from my week. (Well, the ones I am willing to share here anyways.)
1. Candlelight dinners.
2. This card.
3. A trip to the Detroit Zoo.
Seeing the animals in person is overrated. Brennen liked the plaques and anything with buttons.
4. Brennen saying “Happy Birthday Mommy.”
5. Not one but TWO ice cream cakes from Cold Stone.
6. Quality time with Brennen, Mr. Sarcastic and friends.
7. Fireworks
Not a firework. But this was Brennen’s first experience with sparklers!
8. This present.
9. Dinner at Carrabba’s, my favorite restaurant!
10. Brennen getting a haircut!
