What to wear to a NASCAR race

So we went to a NASCAR race. Yes, it's true. What do I know about NASCAR?

1. It originated with the transportation of moonshine

2. Someone named Dale Earnhardt was the best ever.

That is it. Caleb's work paid for us. And I was totally up for it. Since you know, I am never paying $93.00 of my own money to go to a race. Sorry NASCAR.

I did not know what to wear to a NASCAR race. I was unfamiliar with appropriate attire. I chose a pair of super roomy jeans because they were comfy. I looked through these pictures and realized that was a horrible decision. So you do not get to see a pic of me from the waist down. And you do get a tip: baggy jeans do not look good on people with hips/large backsides. Caleb chose to dress punkish because he felt like no one else would. This was true.

Bristol Motor Speedway behind us!

 Benny brought his kiddos. They were super stoked. You can tell because the little one is pretending to be asleep. And the older kid decided punkish dressing was his style as well. That made two people.

I know I am going to sound like a super airhead girl for saying this. But here goes. Basically, you just watch the cars turn left. 500 times. I'm not kidding. And it is so loud that you have to wear earplugs and use sign language to talk to people. BUT the best part is when the pull in for a pit stop. Because the pit crews are super fast and awesome! The kettle corn was exceptional as well.

Apparently not a lot of other people wanted to pay $93/ticket either.

 Also, we did see Jeff Gordon get in wreck right in front of us. Kinda cool. (He was fine, ok?) I guess Dale Earnhardt Jr. bumped him. People were upset. They yelled things like "That is SO Jr.!" Except I mostly read this on their lips and with my exceptional sign language skills.

Conclusion: NASCAR is kinda fun. I think I'm good though. Going in the summer would probably be better. Better, as in crazier NASCAR fans. Which is the whole reason to go anyway, honestly.

Oh, and what to wear? White shorts and black tanks, obviously!

Sexy Kiewit girls!

Happy Monday friends!

My March Madness Elliptical Interval Workout...because I love basketball and hate being fat

Oh friends. I wanted to blog. I looked through all the photos I have taken over the last few weeks and came to the conclusion: I work a lot. I don't have photos of anything I have cooked, projects I've done, or fun places I've been. Because honestly, I have been working constantly. I'm not complaining, I choose to do it and the paychecks are beautiful. But here is a truth: today is the first time I've actually gotten dressed in real clothes in weeks. I either put on scrubs or some form of workout/lounge wear. Which I wear for my work out and then wear around for the rest of the day until I eventually take a shower and put on clean versions of the same thing. Or I just pretend I'm going to work out and then I don't. Its gross but true. But since you probably don't want to see pictures of nasty wounds (taken with permission, of course) or various forms of enemas, I have something different to share. Get excited.

This is magical. Are you carrying some extra fluff from the winter? Yes! Do you love March Madness? Double yes! Do you totally hate going to the gym for a boring workout? Triple yes! Then I have something amazingly nerdy and wonderful for you.

March Madness Elliptical Interval Workout


It sounds ca-razy. And something awful. But it is wondrous. Because you are getting your basketball fix and your workout all at the same time. And you kind of forget that you are even working out. (Ok, not really...but you are distracted!) I tried this yesterday and again today. I can just feel the lbs melting off. And I can just hear the snarky comments from my husband and brother. But I don't care. So here you are friends. Let basketball set you free!


First, pick a time when you want to watch a March Madness game. For the last few days, that time could be any time between the hours of 12pm and 11:30pm. Oh, glory of March.

Go to the gym. Pick the elliptical closest to the TV. Turn it on the previously mentioned game. Disregard snide looks from other gym rats who do not care about basketball.

The best time to start this is right before a game starts or as halftime is ending. Warm up until the action gets started. I set my elliptical to level 5. I don't know what that means, but it makes me feel better than level 1.

As soon as a basket is made, here are the rules.

1. Two point basket: maintain speed between 5.0-6.0 mph.


2. Three point basket: maintain speed between 7.0-8.0 mph.


3. Timeout/ Commercial break: all out speed.


4. After a timeout: resting speed until the next basket is made.


5. While free throw shooting: resting speed. 


6. After free throw shooting: maintain 4.0-5.0 mph until the next basket is made. 

So basically, for most of the game you are doing a nice steady 5.0-6.0 mph. But you are usually never doing any one speed for more than a couple minutes. And the blasts of speed at the commercial breaks are fun...or good for you. And you were probably going to sit on the couch and watch the game anyway! Good job to you, for getting your March Madness Elliptical Interval Workout on!

According to the inaccurate machine calculation, I burned almost 600 calories in a hour today. Mmmhmm.

Tips: bring a water. Plan a delicious filling meal for after this workout, if you are super out of shape like me. I am ravenous now and just ate my weight in chips and salsa. Which probably negated the whole workout.


And I can't end this post without saying Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Go KU!

Celebrations

I love celebrating things. It makes daily living more fun to have something to look forward to and enjoy. And we've had plenty of things to celebrate the past few weeks. 

At work we had a Valentine's themed baby shower for my sweet co-workers, Ashley and Brittany. I made a big batch of taco soup, everyone else brought sides, and it was delicious and fun. Was this event after Valentine's Day? Yes. But it was in the month of February, and Valentine's Day generally encourages baby-making, so I felt like the theme was appropriate. Ha.

We like chips, ok?

 Ashley is getting ready to pop! And Brittany actually had her baby several weeks early. She finally got to take him home last week!

I celebrated being able to walk like a normal person and wear normal clothes again (after my burn incident), by going to Biltmore with some Kiewit girls. 

Me, Tess, Mary, and Cassie

We celebrated Caleb's 24th birthday with a dinner out at the Chop House. And this amazing Nutella cheesecake. Nutella is from the Lord.

My crusting skills could use some work. But it doesn't make it any less delicious. 

We celebrated our seven year dating anniversary with a yummy dinner of salmon in a strawberry balsamic sauce, mashed taters, and asparagus. Serious yum.

 And I got these beautiful pink roses. Amazing. My man is good to me.

It was National Pancake Day on Tuesday. I'm telling you friends, it's the little things.

Caleb celebrating getting a receipt with a total ending in a 4 by tipping in pi.

And finally, I celebrated making it through 52 hours of work this week by laying around until 2pm today. In a pair of green surgical scrubs. They are insanely comfortable. And free from my work if you encounter an...accident. But then you can accidentally on purpose keep them forever.

Happy Friday friends! As I looked back through this post I realized that we obviously celebrate life events with food. I'm going to go celebrate hating on some fat with a visit to the elliptical. Right now.

Celebrate something this weekend, ok?