Minecrafting

In case you aren't familiar with the game, this is a screen shot from Minecraft.  I just want you to see how blocky everything is.









Caiden is coming to visit for 2 weeks during his Spring Break.  I wanted to do something special for him.  He is really into the game Minecraft, so I began minecrafting a green storage ottoman of his into a creeper character. Minecraft is all about square, pixelated images, I thought scrapbooking paper would be perfect for some wall art.  I printed out a Steve and Diamond Steve on photo paper and mounted them onto scrapbook paper.  From the available colors I had, I also managed to make a cow and a pig.

Then I was stuck about how to hang my art.  I didn't want to put holes in them.  I used to use a glue gun at school, but I was afraid it would tear the sheet rock.  I thought about using the tacky gummy stuff, but I couldn't find any.  Square frames aren't exactly the standard.  This morning I found these:

$6 dollar store decorative frames

They were almost perfect!  The scrapbook pages are 12x12; the openings in the frames were about 11.5x11.5.  I had to cut my squares down.  I died a little inside as it threw off my proportions slightly :(
I kind of wanted to redo them, but it was time consuming to get it right the first time around.  I'm sure Caiden will not be bothered (though he's a lot like me and probably WILL notice).

No one makes Minecraft licensed bedding. To solve the bedding issue, I bought green sheets and a brown comforter.  I pained a creeper face on one corner of the pillow.

I so wish I could paint one wall green, but we are renting.  I am now on the hunt for some bright blue curtains.  I plan on painting blocky white clouds on them.  I can't wait for Bubba to see his Minecrafted room!!!

Summer Tease

It was about 92 degrees with a cool breeze, but the sun was hot.  It was much nicer in the shade.  I thought twice about going for a run because the sun was bright and beating down on me as I walked outside.  What was I thinking?  It was a gorgeous day out.  Summers here are easily in the triple digits, even without considering the heat index.

I ran a long run yesterday, so I only wanted to run an easy 3.  I should really have taken the day off, but tomorrow is my long day + client, and it's difficult to get a run in before I have to pick the boys up from daycare. I would prefer not to leave them there until it closes.

I ran contnuously:
1/2 mile warm up
1 mi @ 9:24
1 min jog
1 mi @ 9:17
1/2 mile cool down

I ended up pushing myself a little instead of an "easy" run, but it wasn't a hard workout either.  I guess yesterdays 6.6 mile run was just the break I needed to push through.  My legs were a little tired, but my abdominal area and lower back were not sore.  It was a pleasant surprise.  (Since I had my back surgery and c-section, I have had some constant aches and pains.)

 

The Impasse

This morning I went on a long run.  I ran about 6.6 miles.  I didn't have my watch, so I wasn't sure how far I ran at the time.  The first part of my route I've run several times before, so I knew where my first 3 miles were.  My goal was to run for an hour, but I ended up running a little more.  Lately I have been stuck in a run rut.  I have been running 2.5-3.5 miles for several weeks and just couldn't get passed that 3.5 mile mark.  I think last week I finally ran about 4, but I struggled through it and had to walk halfway through.
Today I struggled for the first two miles.  I really just wanted to turn around and go back home, but I purposely set out to run away from home for about a half hour so that I would be forced to run (or at the very least walk) back.  After two miles I stopped to catch my breath and figure out what I would do about this:

At the top right of the pic is a bridge.  I quickly decided I would not be running on the bridge.  It is a two lane bridge, but two cars barely fit and there is no shoulder, not to mention it is at least a quarter of a mile in length.  I decided I did not want to play chicken with oncoming traffic.  Then I thought about running through this, if you can tell there's a road/trail on the other side of the "ditch" (aka waterless canal).  I decided against this option as well.  The grass is high and we have cacti and rattlesnakes, among other dangerous critters around these parts.  I decided to turn around and run a different route.  

After stopping briefly to contemplate crossing this bridge, I began to run again and struggled to jog the third mile.  Then something awesome happened~I got a second wind!  I was able to run the second half+ smoothly and easily and without thoughts of wanting to just get home.  It was a great feeling. I really was able to just enjoy the beautiful morning, soak up the sun to try to get rid of this bad boy:

If you look closely you can see the remnants of the RAD tattoo I had
when I ran with the grad school girls in early February!

I actually wasn't ready to stop when I did, but I had to get back to the boys.  The sitter asked that they be picked up by 9:30 am so that she could have time to get ready for church.  It was 9:15 when I got home and I had time for a quick rinse before picking them up.  I'm really looking forward to this week and the following week and having a little extra time to run.  My Spring Break technically starts Thursday 12:15 pm.  I actually can't wait for my Spring Break to be over because Caiden comes that Friday for 16 days =)