Never slow down

San Antonio Rock and Roll Half Marathon

2011-11-16T10:09:00.003-06:00

alternative blog title: "I run for cheeseburgers!"

Last weekend we ran a half marathon in our city benefiting the Komen Race for the Cure. We have done several of the Rock and Roll half and full marathons and they are always well organized and so much fun because of the bands along the course. We did the San Antonio half last year as well and this year the course was even better! Last year the route crossed some railroad tracks and some runners were stuck because an unscheduled train came through the morning of the race! This year, the organizers changed the route to avoid crossing any train tracks... just in case.

The starting corrals were complete madness. They were so packed that we couldn't even get to our correct corral so we started with lucky #13 instead of #11. Corral #13 was probably a better place for us anyway since I was a bit too optimistic when I estimated a 2:05 finish. That's my PR... and it was HOT on Sunday for race day. We are just not going to push it if the weather isn't cooperating. It's not worth taking the chance of getting sick from dehydration, or worse. Sadly, a 32 year old man died at the half on Sunday morning after crossing the finish line. He was perfectly healthy, a veteran of two tours in Iraq, and a nurse at a local hospital. It always breaks my heart to hear about a fellow runner dying at one of these events. I am praying for his family.

The race course went past the Alamo and took us through downtown where there were huge crowds cheering for the runners. It always gives me a burst of energy to hear all those people yelling for the runners. The volunteers at the water stations and the cheerleaders along the course are great! My only complaint was the post-race food. They had the usual bananas and snickers marathon protein bars and plenty of fluids... but dang it... can't they have cheeseburgers?!

We were happy to be home after the race! See the big smiles? That's because we know we get cheeseburgers and beer as soon as we shower! Cheeseburgers. beer, and chocolate should provide enough motivation for anyone to run, right?! I would totally be willing to pay an extra $5 on the entry fee if there were a cheeseburger waiting for me at the finish line!

The medals were nice this year and they also had ice cold towels waiting at the finish line. This was one of the only times I would've chosen a cold towel over a medal (if forced to choose). Luckily, I got both! It was HUMID and I was sweating like a hooker in church by the end of the race. I finished in 2:11:12 and my husband was a couple of minutes after me because I lost him at a water stop and couldn't find him again. My goal was 2:15 so I was happy with my time. I really enjoyed the race and look forward to participating in the future (and eating a post-race cheeseburger).

I love it that this race benefited the Komen Race for the Cure. I ran in honor of my favorite aunt who passed away in 1996 after an awful battle with cancer. Breast cancer, lung cancer, brain cancer. Cancer sucks! Unfortunately, it has affected many family members and friends in its various nasty forms. Any time I can participate in fundraising for cancer research and treatment, I am more than happy to do so.

My aunt was a great lady and I wish my husband could have met her. She had a laugh that could light up a room and her funeral was so packed with people who loved her that they stood outside the church because there wasn't enough room for everyone inside. Here's to you Aunt Florene. I hope that someday no one else will have to endure the things you went through.

The next race for us will be a full marathon in early December in Memphis to benefit the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. We are meeting an awesome running crew of friends and family there for a great cause, some quality reunion time since everyone lives all over the country now, and I hope we have a crazy night on Beale Street after the run (assuming I can move my legs after the marathon). I can't wait!

Where's your next run? Anyone doing the St. Jude run this year?

Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon Anniversary Trip

2011-10-28T17:00:00.001-05:00

This happened in June but I'm really behind on my blogging again!)

We decided that there was no better way to celebrate being married for 6 years than to run a marathon that just happened to be on our anniversary date! We planned a trip around the marathon and had a blast in Seattle!

We ate like kings! I was in seafood heaven with an Alaskan Feast at the Crab Pot Restaurant! The first thing we did after checking into the hotel was to feed our faces with a mound of fresh seafood! They gave us a bib and a hammer. It was REALLY CLASSY! ;-)

We explored the city and found these totem poles in Pioneer Square.

We walked around the Pike Place Market, saw the fresh flowers, fresh fish on ice, and all the fruits and veggies you can imagine. We had some of the best peaches I have ever tasted here!

We tried to save our legs for the run so we hit the expo for packet pick up and tried to resist walking everywhere we wanted to go. The expo was excellent. There were tons of vendors, free samples, and... drum roll please... the K-TAPE BOOTH! It's my new favorite invention for crazy runners who will use anything to keep going! We met up with my cousin at the expo so we both got taped up for the run. She was having hip pain and I was having knee pain. You can see my crazy looking knee here. It's weird looking but it works!

(Disclaimer: For non-runners, you may find the rest really boring... just look at the pictures instead).

The morning of the marathon, we boarded the shuttle EARLY. I have blocked out just how early it was but I'm thinking it was 5 AM when we climbed onto the buses to make it to the start line on time by 7 AM. I was tired before the run ever started! We hit the port-o-potties (least favorite thing about running) and lined up at the start. Of course I had to pee again as soon as I stepped out of the port-o-potty. At least I was well hydrated! We crossed the start line along with 30,000 or so other runners. My iPod was rocking. My husband and cousin were keeping a steady pace with me and then I REALLY had to pee by mile 3. I convinced myself to hold it until I found a port-o-potty with less than 2 people in line ahead of me. That didn't happen until mile 6 and I was convinced I had ruptured my bladder but I guess it was ok in spite of my stupidity. My cousin kept running so I never saw her again until the turnaround at mile 23 or 24. I caught up with my husband around mile 8 and we ran the rest of the way together. We passed my cousin at some point but never saw her.

We ran over the Lake Washington bridge to Mercer Island and ran through some huge tunnels near downtown. The tunnels were great with all the runners screaming and hooting in them. (Runners are crazy fun! Or just crazy!) We were close to downtown and we were both hurting. We stopped at an aid station to get some Tylenol and kept going. The roads had a pretty significant sideways incline that killed my ankles. I can do hills even though I hate them but running sideways is not something I was prepared for at all!

Around mile 14, my husband tried to quit running but we took a few walk breaks and waited for the Tylenol to kick in and we kept going. When we saw the space needle, we got our second wind and ran for a few miles without pain. We made the turnaround on the north side of the course and then ended up running where we had a great view of downtown and the Puget Sound. It was awesome. The weather was beautiful. The sun would come out every now and then to remind us that it was going to warm up if we didn't hurry up and finish! We finally saw my cousin again and we were all dragging our a$$e$ by that time. Finally the course went downhill toward downtown and we could hear the crowd at the finish line. We ~~stupidly~~ decided to sprint to the finish and felt great when we finally crossed the big blue line!

My husband and I finished at 5:22:21 and my cousin was a couple of minutes behind us. The finish line setup was spectacular. There were mountains of cookies. What more could a person possibly want after running 26.2 miles?! I wasn't thrilled about my finish time to be honest but what mattered most was finishing the marathon with my husband since it was our anniversary. I was so proud of him! He really struggled with this run starting around mile 14. He said his muscles never felt loose and I could tell he was really fighting to keep going. My knee actually felt good because of the k-tape so I had a good day and I loved the scenery along this run. The weather was beautiful, those Washington trees are the brightest, biggest, green things I've seen in years, and the Puget Sound was the prettiest shade of blue grey when we were running.

I can't think of a more exciting way to spend an anniversary! There is really no feeling like crossing a finish line for a marathon! After the run, we limped back to the hotel and took a nap for the afternoon. That night, we did what most people do to celebrate their anniversaries. (Get your minds out of the gutter! I mean DINNER!) We went to dinner at the Metropolitan Grill to celebrate the best 6 years I could have imagined. I ate the best steak of my life. Hands down. Best.Steak.Ever. I ate some crazy Japanese cow that tasted like butter. Good grief it was good! I don't know how we're going to top our 6th anniversary!

The day after the marathon is never easy. We needed booze to numb the pain so we did a winery tour! I think I had about 14 ~~glasses~~ sips of wine that day and guess what? I couldn't even FEEL my legs anymore! It was awesome! Seriously, I Huuuurrrrrtttttt that next morning.

We started at the Janiuk Winery, went to the Columbia Valley Winery next, and ended up at the Chateau St. Michelle Winery which was my favorite. We had a picnic lunch on the grounds at Chateau St. Michelle and ~~sobered up~~ toured the small vineyards that they use to show how the grapes are grown. We met several other runners so we were all limping on the tours and enjoying numbing the pain.

The last stop was at Snoqualmie Falls which is only several miles from the wineries. It was a beautiful drive in the valley around Seattle and the waterfall was very pretty and peaceful. Don't we look happier and more relaxed? We were.

Our last night in Seattle we met up with my cousin for a tour of the Seattle Underground Red Light District. We saw it on the travel channel so of course we had to do it. It was interesting and funny but also sad to learn about a woman's options for "careers" in the mining town of Seattle in the late 1800's. Thank goodness we live in this time! The stairs were ROUGH but we were still enjoying the effects of the wine tour so the Underground was a little bit easier to explore.

The trip was fantastic and I can't wait to go back to Seattle again! It's such a great city with fantastic summer weather when it's like the 7th level of hell in Texas in the summer. We had "a ball and a biscuit" on our anniversary trip! (any White Stripes fan out there? If not, you don't get the ball and biscuit thing).

Anyway, Happy Halloween.

Love

2011-10-28T14:29:00.002-05:00

I have neglected my blog that I don't even know where to start updating it.

So here are some hipstamatic pictures of our dogs in the meantime if anyone is still following???

Sheba is our goofball. Always clumsy, spazzy, and ready to eat.

Neko says,"It's FINALLY cooling off in San Antonio! Maybe they'll quit shaving my pretty fur now!"

Cricket is our little worrier. She hides kibbles under her bed in case she gets hungry at night. She loves attention more than any of the other dogs. What a sweet girl.

Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon

2011-05-06T13:29:00.004-05:00

We ~~did not really train for~~ participated in the 11th Annual Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon last weekend. We have wanted to do this run since we started running because it benefits the Oklahoma City bombing memorial. We both remember where we were and the way we felt when we heard the news on April 19, 1995 that the federal building in Oklahoma City had been bombed.

The memorial was built to remember and honor those who lost their lives in the bombing and also for the families and friends who lost loved ones. It is a sad but beautiful place.

The big tree in the picture is called the survivor tree. The message around it reads:
The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us.

The large gates on each side of the reflection pool are marked as 9:01 and 9:03. The moment of 9:02 A.M. was when the bomb exploded and changed Oklahoma City forever. The reflection pool between the gates has flowing water that provides a peaceful background sound for visitors.

There are 168 chairs for every victim of the bombing. Of these chairs, there are 19 small chairs for the children who were in the daycare of the Murrah building. If you have never visited the museum or the memorial, you should definitely tour it. It is a peaceful place that will make you remember to be thankful for your loved ones. In one moment, everything changed for these families.

There were several visitors here that were running in the race. You can always spot the goodie bad carrying runners! There were also many visitors that were in Oklahoma City for the Festival of the Arts which always coincides with the race. Downtown Oklahoma City is a very fun place to be on the last weekend in April! (which was actually May 1 this year because of Easter last week). We picked up our packets at the race expo and we were off to carbo load at our favorite and boring pre-race restaurant... the Olive Garden. My #1 race rule is NEVER CHANGE YOUR DIET THE DAY BEFORE A RACE!!!

So... did you notice how sunny and beautiful the pictures were from Saturday? Sunday morning the alarm went off at 4:30 A.M. and we heard pouring rain and thunder. Great. Being the devoted and stubborn runners that we are.... we rolled into downtown in the pouring rain with the thermometer reading 46 degrees. Not optimal race conditions. Not at all.

Here we are in the parking garage feeling warm and dry and ready to run! I didn't take my iPod after all because I was afraid it would drown in the rain. Running without music is TOUGH!

We started walking downtown and saw lots of runners walking the other way. That's never a good sign. After a few people told us that the race was delayed until 7 due to lightning, we found a building with an unlocked lobby area so we went inside to stay warm and dry for as long as possible. When the race finally started, it was still raining but at least we didn't see any lightning! The fog horn sounded and we were off! We were dodging puddles and decided to keep a slow pace so we didn't slip and we hoped that we could finish the run! Neither of us had run more than 6.2 miles in the last month so we were not at ALL prepared to do a half marathon!

The first few soggy miles went through Bricktown, the OU Health Sciences Center, Lincoln terrace area, and near the state capitol building. My sweet husband is a caffeine addict who insisted on having coffee before the run. Of course this meant a port-o-potty stop at mile 6 where we lost 10 minutes standing in line. Sometime around mile 7 or 8, we ran up Gorilla Hill where spectators were outside cheering and making drinks as they were dressed up in animal costumes. It was so random and hilarious and it was a much needed morale boost for the runners! Then we ran through Nichols Hills, Crown Heights, Edgemere Park, the Asian District, and Mesta Park. Around mile 10, one of the water stops was blasting Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" and that pumped me up enough to keep going and trying to motivate my husband to keep running. We walked several times but we ran a slow and steady pace for the majority of the race. Luckily we made it to the finish line before the HAIL started! Yes, I said HAIL! The poor marathoners were forced to run through rain, cold, wind, lightning, thunder, and HAIL! And it was 46 degrees! I haven't been that cold in a long time and it was awful! I'm so glad we did the race in spite of the rain and cold, but I have to admit that I'm REALLY glad we didn't run the full marathon under those conditions. The course was beautiful and I would love to run the full someday (Hopefully it won't be hailing and raining!!!)

The "after" pic isn't so flattering. I was cold, soggy, and tired! We crossed the finish line at just under 2:40. It was nowhere near our usual 2:10-2:15 time but without properly training and what could we expect?

Once again, I say THANK YOU to anyone who has ever volunteered at a race!
If you stood outside in the rain and the cold while handing water or gatorade to soggy, stinky runners, you deserve a medal and a big hug! THANK YOU!
If you stood out in the rain to cheer for the runners, THANK YOU!
If you handed out race packets, directed people where to go for the expo, or helped stop traffic for the runners, THANK YOU!

The medals were AWESOME for this run! They have the survivor tree on both sides and the other side says "A RUN TO REMEMBER" and that is certainly the truth. We will never forget our experience during the half marathon and much more important is the fact that we will never forget what the run stands for.

Once we were warm and dry, we signed up for another marathon!

Next up... Seattle!

The Rock and Roll Seattle Marathon is on our wedding anniversary! How cool with that be?!

South Padre Island

2011-04-26T11:41:00.000-05:00

We took a mini vacation for my birthday and went to South Padre Island. It's supposed to be a quick 5 and 1/2 hours drive from San Antonio (which ended up taking 10 hours due to an accident on the bridge to the island). We took our dog Cricket with us for the trip. We were sad to leave the other two boarded, but one gets car sick and the other is a complete spaz who would have eaten the seats within the first hour away from home.

The car trip was great until we were 10 miles from South Padre Island. Traffic just stopped. People turned off their cars, got out and walked along the shoulder, and my husband took the opportunity to take Cricket for a walk. We sat there for 3 hours. Misery. Once we finally got to the island, we were in desperate need of a cold beverage and some fried shrimp. Nom... nom... nom! We hit Pier 19 for dinner and it has a dog-friendly patio area. We just couldn't throw our dog in the hotel room after she was in the car with us for 10 hours! She enjoyed a few fried shrimp of her own at Pier 19. We checked into our hotel exhausted and we were all snoring within minutes... including the dog.

Saturday morning, I woke up to this. I let the husband sleep in and took Cricket for a walk on the beach to watch the sunrise.

She was scared of the ocean but loved playing in the sand.

We hung out at the beach on Saturday morning but it was SO WINDY that we weren't able to stay very long.

By the time we showered and got ready for the day, it was already time for lunch. We went to a cute little Tapas/wine bar called Zeste and had an amazing lunch and then went back to the hotel balcony to read and listen to the ocean for the rest of the afternoon.

The beach was pretty but there was quite a bit of seaweed near the water. I can deal with seaweed for a chance to see the ocean!

I just love the sound and smell of the ocean. There's nothing like walking a dog on the beach and watching the sunrise. I think it may be impossible to feel sadness, stress, or anxiety while looking at this...

After a relaxing day, we went to dinner at Gabriella's Italian restaurant and ate some incredible bruschetta and stone oven baked pizza. Delicious!

We headed home Sunday after another morning walk along the beach. Luckily the trip back home only took 5.5 hours! We had a great time on our weekend getaway!

Introducing my new niece!

2011-04-19T11:32:00.000-05:00

Look at this perfect little angel who just happens to be my new NIECE!!! We were very lucky to be able to meet her on the day she was born! She made her arrival on my birthday which was just the coolest thing ever! We are all excited about miss Harper Mae!

Seriously, isn't the cuteness overwhelming?! She already has a devoted fan club!

Dallas Rock and Roll Half Marathon weekend

2011-03-28T09:46:00.005-05:00

I'm back home after a fun-filled, running, eating, catching up, laughing until I almost choked on my pasta... weekend in Dallas with my cousin!

When I first arrived in Dallas I met Solar Powered for lunch! I've been reading her blog for a couple of years and I admire her for so many reasons! This lady is tough! She trained for a half marathon pushing her baby in her jogging stroller the whole time! She's just as fun, beautiful, and sweet in person as on her blog! AND she loves Mexican food as much as me!

After lunch, I caught up with my cousin and we went to the race expo at the convention center. We didn't realize that we rode the DART train illegally to get to the convention center. We thought we were supposed to buy tickets once we got on the train but there was a kiosk at the station we missed somehow. Whoops! Thanks for the free ride, DART!

We picked up our race packets and t-shirts and I got some injinjie toe socks because my cousin loves hers and talked me into buying some too. They look super weird but I'm willing to try them.

Saturday night we walked around downtown Dallas in the West End and saw the Old Red Courthouse.

There were cute little carriages and horses taking tourists around downtown.

Of course I have to show the Texas flag! I'm embracing my new home state!

We saw the JFK memorial and found the book depository building where Booth was hiding when he shot Kennedy. It's so sad to think that someone was full of that much hate and anger to assassinate a president. We found where JFK's car was driving when he was shot and we walked around downtown with heavy hearts thinking about the events that occurred here.

After visiting downtown, we headed to the Spaghetti Warehouse to load up on pasta for the big race on Sunday! Let me restate that I have not been running much! My hip and knee were hurting for the past few weeks so my longest run in March was 6 miles. Not good. No bueno. I was terrified about this race! I thought I would run the first half and hobble the last half of the run.

The stars must have been perfectly aligned for race day and my prayers for an injury free, solid race worked! The course was beautiful and the weather was perfect (although FREEZING once we stopped running!) We ran by all of the Highland Park mansions and beautiful lake filled with Lily pads. I was feeling good until mile 7 when I saw a LONG straight hill waiting for me. When I crawled up that monster (and killed my 9:45 pace that I kept for the first 6 miles) I started getting really tired. I was remembering what Solar Powered told me about hills. She says she gets mad at hills and this really helped me. I tried to get mad and gave that hill a mental cursing that would make a sailor blush! It distracted me enough to carry me up the big nasty hill!

Once I passed the mile 8 marker, I could feel the course become level and then it gave us a nice steady downhill until the finish line. I was able to run a little faster and thought I might catch up to a 10:00 pace overall. When I saw the gates to the State Fair where the finish line was waiting, I picked up the pace and heard the University of Texas band playing their fight song. With all the strength I had, I screamed BOOMER SOONER at them! Gotta' support the OU team at all times!

I crossed the finish line at 2:11:59 for a 10:05 pace overall! I felt good about that since I had not trained properly and was only hoping to finish injury free under 2:30. My cousin finished soon after me and we were both happy with our times. We thought the post race Bret Michaels concert started at 12:30 so we headed back to the hotel to shower and change before it. As we were about to board the train to go back to the concert, we realized that it started at 11:30! Boo! We missed the Rock of Love! We ate Mexican food to ease our sadness over missing the concert. I'll take Mexican food over Bret Michaels any day!

Yay for medals!!!

It has the Texas State Fair Ferris wheel on it! I like it!

Dallas Half Marathon COMING SOON!

2011-03-20T17:02:00.003-05:00

I will be ~~running~~ umm ~~jogging~~ crawling my way through a half marathon in Dallas next weekend. What was I thinking when I signed up? I was on a post-marathon (delusional) high last month after New Orleans. I was thinking that I would be speedy and would be ready to set a new personal record at my next race. Yeah right. That is sooo not happening.

At this point I will just be thankful to finish the race and get a medal. It may take me the full 4 hours. I'm running with my cousin because my husband will be working hard that weekend. Poor guy. The running plan is run two miles, walk 0.5 miles, repeat until I reach the finish line or the paramedics carry me from the course... whichever comes first.

Every time I've tried to run for the past two weeks, I have excruciating knee and hip pain and I'm convinced that I'm developing ITB syndrome. This week I will try some new stretches and hope I can run more than 3 miles at a time without crying. I'm also convinced that my yoga class is the cause of this pain. Hello warrior 1 and warrior 2 pose, I hate you. You broke my body. Stupid yoga class. Do runners REALLY need to be flexible? I only need to be able to put one foot in front of the other without crying. And I can't do that since yoga. It must be yoga's fault. Right?

Is anyone out there running the Dallas Rock and Roll Half Marathon?

New Orleans Mardi Gras MARATHON

2011-03-12T21:38:00.004-06:00

I'm still very behind with my blog updates but I'm catching up on February now. Only a month behind now!

First and foremost, I completed and survived my second marathon in New Orleans!

Two and a half weeks before we planned to hit New Orleans (and the night after I did my 20 mile training run for the marathon), I got sick. Not just sick like a cold. Sick... like death. Sick... like not leaving the bathroom for 3 days straight. Sick... like beyond dehydrated. I lost 7 pounds. My leg muscles instantly shriveled up and turned to jello. I laid on the couch and cried at one point as I thought about the 4+ months worth of training that would be for nothing. I thought there was no way I would be able to do the race. After a week of whimpering, watching the Real Housewives of everywhere, and eating nothing but crackers and sprite... I somehow crawled back to the gym and attempted to run. I got a couple of miles in and had hope again that I would be able to run the FULL MARATHON! (and was also terrified that I might die!) After getting back on the treadmill a few more times that next week and getting a decent 10 mile long run in, I got sick AGAIN! Two weeks after my first illness, I was sick again! Hello bathroom, I did not miss you! It was the Wednesday before the RACE! We were supposed to leave on Friday and drive 10 hours to New Orleans in 48 hours! This time, I was slamming fluids and taking advantage of the magical properties of Pepto Bismol (shudder). I slept the entire day Wednesday, rested on Thursday, and we drove to New Orleans on Friday. Thank goodness I felt better by then!

My husband and I love New Orleans! It's such a beautiful city and the marathon was a great excuse to spend Valentine's weekend here!

Even though my husband had ~~drunkenly agreed after much begging on my part to let me register him for the marathon~~ signed up for the marathon, he just didn't have time to train. His longest run was 15 miles and that was 6 weeks before the marathon. At the time we went to the expo, he was planning to switch to the half marathon. The race organizers designed the course where you did not have to fill out any paperwork to switch to the half, you just had to follow the half course when the course split at mile 3. So that's what he was planning to do.

My cousin is also a runner and we had planned to run the marathon together. She came all the way from Oklahoma City and this was her second marathon as well. She had been sick, overworked, trapped in snowstorms for a few weeks before the marathon, so both of us was pretty nervous about trying to set any sort of decent pace.

The three of us went to the expo to check out all the running goodies and I finally got a SPI belt. It was a great purchase! It doesn't slip at all and had plenty of room for my room key, chap stick, Gu, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper (because port o potties are so foul and they are never stocked well enough-gross).

We're so excited about the race! We carbo loaded the night before the run at a little place that ran out of pasta right after we got our heaping plates of spaghetti! Good timing for us, but we felt awful for the runners who left the restaurant when they couldn't get any pasta.

Race morning, we were up early to eat a little breakfast and walk the 1.5 miles to the start line. Isn't that just WRONG!?! To have to walk that far before a freggin' MARATHON!?! I thought so.

I look exhausted. It was 5:30 AM.

Of course we waited in the port o potty line forever so we missed our corral's start. We started at the back of the crowd and we were threatened with disqualification if we didn't hurry to the start line. Boo to that. Luckily, we made it.

My cousin and I lost my husband in the crowd at mile 2 and we had all planned to meet up back at the hotel after the race since he was doing the half and would be done 3 hours before us. We set a slow and steady pace. Since we started so late we were with a slower pace group for the first couple of miles but it gave us a chance to warm up. The course was awesome! We took our time enjoying the scenery of Audubon Park with it's giant trees, many ponds, ducks and swans. I wish I could have carried my camera during the run to take pictures! We ran through the Warehouse District and the French Quarter and saw a fellow marathoner duck into Cafe du Monde and then pop back onto the course with a bag of beignets! We were cracking up! I'm not sure how she possibly ate beignets while running, but I was impressed! We saw a guy running while wearing overalls and a mullet wig carrying a 6 pack of beer, there were also several girls in mardi gras masks, an elf, and a few people wearing feather boas. The atmosphere was great!

After 2 port o potty stops, one medical aid stop for my cousin to get her ankle taped, and 6 or 7 stops to stretch, we heard someone yelling at us at mile 20. It was my husband! At first I was totally confused since he was supposed to be doing the half! THEN HE PASSED US! He said he decided to do the full since he was already signed up for it! I was in complete shock! How the heck does someone do one 15 mile training run and then just DECIDE to run a FULL marathon?! He's crazy. Seriously. He's also the most stubborn person that I know. He said he stopped at a convenience store during the run and bought a snickers bar and a gatorade. Ha! Crazy man. And he passed us. I AM SO PROUD OF HIM!!! (I also think he's insane for not training properly!) He finished his first marathon in 5:32 and my cousin and I finished in 5:38. I'm so proud of us all for completing the run! Even though I had hoped for a better finish time, I can't complain about this after being so sick... not once, but TWICE in the 3 weeks before the race.

Of course we rewarded ourselves with Pat O'Briens hurricanes the night after the race!

After we finished our hurricanes, we went to the Cafe du Monde for some midnight beignets!

Running friends, do you wear your medal out the day of the race? I did! I was proud of this thing!

Mmmmm... beignets! These little fried bites of powdered sugar covered heaven are a great reward after running 26.2 miles!!!

Chicago Trip

2011-03-11T15:07:00.003-06:00

So I'm about 3 months behind on my blog and I'll try to catch up! There has been a lot going on... good and bad. We'll start with the good.

Scott and I went to Chicago in January and we had fun in the snow when he wasn't studying something horribly complicated. He took a crazy, intense course for his job and stayed busy most of the time while I caught up on some reading. It was COLD! I am now completely spoiled by the south Texas weather so I instantly froze every time we left the hotel. It was 7 degrees one day! Single digit temperatures are unfamiliar and unwelcome! The snow was really pretty and it was nice to watch it fall from the warm and cozy hotel room.

We ate at Pizzaria Uno, hit the Art Institute for an afternoon, and saw some of our favorite paintings.

Scott's favorite is Hopper's "Nighthawks".

My favorite is Seurat's "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte"

We walked along Michigan Avenue and saw the ice rink in Millennium Park. I am fascinated by people who can skate on ICE on a thin little blade and not break something! I've only been ice skating one time and it did NOT go well. Luckily I didn't break anything! This time, I was content to watch the skaters instead of trying it. :-)

The Chicago skyline is one of my favorites! I love visiting the big city!

We had an amazing dinner at Rick Bayless's Frontera Grill. It was probably the best Mexican food I've ever tried and I live in San Antonio! The margaritas were also incredible! ;-) After dinner we went to the Hancock Building Signature Lounge on the 95th floor. The drinks are ridiculously expensive and "fabulous" as they would say in Sex and the City. With the purchase of a drink, you get this view for free!

Looking at Chicago from 95 stories up is pretty amazing!

I'm off to catch up on all my favorite blogs now! I hope all my bloggy friends have been doing well!

Mardi Gras Marathon, Ready, Set, Go!

2010-12-09T08:58:00.004-06:00

I'm done with the planning part of the New Orleans marathon trip for February! We have a hotel! Since I'm new to this whole marathon thing, I didn't know what to do since the start and finish lines are in different places (MILES APART!) but now we have a plan. The hotel is a warm-up walk away from the start line and the race website says they provide a shuttle to drop us off near our hotel when the race is finished.

Now I just have to train to run a marathon. Gulp!
(This is what happens to people who sign up for races after going out to half price wine night at their favorite pizza restaurant! Running another marathon seemed like a great idea after half price wine night. The entry fee is paid so it looks like we better train!)

Did anyone else watch the Biggest Loser a couple of nights ago when they ran the marathon? This is always my favorite episode and it inspired me to do my first marathon. If the Biggest Loser contestants can run one, surely I can too!

This season I'm cheering for Ada! She is so tough and works so hard! She was sub 4:39 for her marathon pace! Outstanding!

The next big challenge...

2010-12-07T09:23:00.003-06:00

Signing up for another marathon and ~~forcing~~ encouraging my husband to sign up for his first marathon seemed like a good idea at the time.

We have a little over 3 months to train for the New Orleans marathon and I'm already pretty ~~terrified~~ nervous about it.

I know we can finish it but it's still scary!

When we signed up, we didn't realize that the start and finish lines are about 4 miles apart?! Boo to that! Who planned that?! So now the question is... where do we stay? How do we get back to our hotel after the race? Will there be a shuttle? Help! Has anyone done this race before? Any advice? I just know that I do not want to walk another 4 miles after doing 26.2 miles for the race!

I'm so excited to do this run with my husband! I remember when we both ran 0.1 miles from our house to our neighbor's mail box and we thought we would hurl or pass out or both. We've come a long way in the last couple of years! We just finished the 3rd half marathon of the Fall and now we get to train for the marathon!

Meanwhile, I have barely scratched the surface of my Christmas shopping list.
I need more decorations!
I need to order Christmas cards!

St. Jude Half Marathon Memphis weekend

2010-12-06T19:18:00.007-06:00

We just returned from a fun-filled weekend with friends in Memphis! We ran the St. Jude half marathon as part of a hero team that raised money for the hospital. There is no race like the St. Jude race! We definitely want to make it a yearly tradition not only because of St. Jude but also to meet up with friends that are scattered across the country now.

The atmosphere is incredibly touching- there are tons of people running "In Honor Of" or "In Memory Of" a child who has been treated at St. Jude. Runners have pictures pinned to their shirts of tough little kiddos who are fighting the hardest battle of their lives. There is no other word to describe it except "awesome." The race route is great as well. We ran by the Mississippi River, down Beale street, next to the Pyramid where the grizzlies used to play, and then (my favorite part) we ran through the St. Jude hospital campus. I think everyone teared up as we saw the hospital. I shed a couple of tears when I saw a sign that said "thank you for helping my child." The entire course was great but running by the hospital was definitely the best part.

We thought it was pretty cool that Beale Street had a sign for the runners! My husband and I weren't able to run together the whole time. There were SO many runners that we lost each other around mile 3. He found me at mile 6 and then I didn't see him again until the finish line. I really ~~overdid it~~ pushed it for this run! This was our 3rd half marathon in the last 3 months so I felt prepared and wanted to try for a new PR. My legs were on fire by the end but I kept going until I crossed the finish line. My time was 2:05:41 so I beat my previous PR by 30 seconds! My husband finished about a minute after me so I was pumped that both of us ran a great race!

The girls were reunited! We were missing one "bookie" team member but she has a great reason not to run since she is pregnant this year! Yay sis!

We were STARVING after the run so we hit a little Mexican restaurant for lunch and devoured our food. We wore our new blingy bling out to show how awesome we are. I am obsessed with medals. Ha ha! After we ate, we were all tired and sore so we headed back to the hotel for the much needed and well deserved post-run nap.

The husband and I met some other friends for dinner at the Rendezvous and then we had dessert and coffee at the Peabody. We met back up with our running crew at the Flying Saucer. I loved hanging out with this crew but I wasn't feeling well after too much food and too much running so we didn't stay out as late as I would've liked.

Our friends left the next morning so Scott and I ~~hobbled~~ wandered around downtown Sunday afternoon since our flight didn't leave until Sunday night.

We rode the trolley so we could sit down and stay warm. It was really cute and we got to see the sights from the race route again.

Look kids, it's the mighty Mississippi!

This is the pyramid where the grizzlies used to play. It's such a cool building!

No trip to Memphis is complete without seeing the Peabody ducks! We sat in the lobby drinking hot tea and hot chocolate and watched the ducks.

The "duck master" escorts the ducks out of the fountain every day at 5 PM so they can go to their duck house on the roof for the night. It's pretty neat that they let the kiddos line the red carpet as the ducks pass. They quack their way down the carpet and ride the elevator.

It was a great weekend! I'm so thankful we got to see our friends, participate in the race to help St. Jude, and eat TONS of good food. I can't wait until next year!

San Antonio Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon recap

2010-11-30T10:30:00.005-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, the hubs and I completed the San Antonio Half Marathon! This was part of the Rock 'N' Roll series of runs and it was very well organized and tons of fun.

This was my 5th half marathon and it never gets old to cross a finish line! The course was lined with spectators near the Alamo and the bands along the course were great! The course was really flat which was definitely nice. Our goal time for this run was 2:15:00 and we managed to finish in 2:12:40. We felt good about the run. I had to walk once around mile 8 when my knee had a sharp stabbing pain. Thankfully I was able to stretch out the pain and recover quickly. Then my husband had a rock in his shoe around mile 9 so we had to stop for him too. With these little hiccups, I feel pretty good about our finish time.

The weather was perfect. It was a little chilly at first but we warmed up once the race started. The 7 AM start time is always painful but we went to sleep early the night before the run, ate lots of yummy carbs, and stayed hydrated.

The course was loaded with fun sights so the time passed quickly for us. Running in downtown was awesome except for the stone streets in front of the Alamo. That HURT the knees but the crowd cheering us on took our minds off the pain. The course also passed through the King William district where there are many gorgeous old homes that have been restored. They had water stops and cytomax every 1.5 miles so we felt great with plenty of fluids in our bodies.

They handed out disposable "blankets" at the finish line because it was COLD once we stopped running. There is nothing more miserable than the long walk back to the car when you're cold and sweaty. Eww. Thank goodness for those blankets!

The racing shirts were nice at this run! They are a pretty navy color with a cool San Antonio logo. The medals were cool too. You know this girl loves the bling! It's perfectly sane to devote several months of your life to training, get up at 4 AM on a Sunday when it's dark and cold outside, use disgusting port-o-potties, and make friends with 27,000 other ~~insane~~ fun people.... all to get another medal. :-)

Road trip to New Orleans

2010-11-02T22:21:00.005-05:00

We went to a wedding in Mississippi this weekend and used this as an excuse to spend a night in New Orleans on the way there. I love, love, love this city. Visiting New Orleans is like stepping into an old European city with it's narrow streets, fantastic restaurants, stone sidewalks, and black lamps lining its streets.

We had dinner at Antoine's the evening that we arrived. We had oysters Rockefeller and also tried the BBQ oysters (which were A-Maz-ING), soft shell crabs, fresh fish, and we even got two free desserts because we ordered the baked Alaska and they didn't print the order in the kitchen in time. They were so nice about messing up our dessert order and insisted on giving us alternative desserts for free! We told them it was no big deal and not to worry about it, but who can argue with free food??? Especially dessert! :-) So we indulged in chocolate mousse and some type of souffle that melted in our mouths! I love the food in New Orleans as much as the city itself!

Antoine's has been owned by the same family since 1840. The current owner lives above the restaurant and has dinner there every night. They let us explore some of the 16 private dining rooms and we found the antique whiskey collection. They also have a wine cellar with around 16,000 bottles of wine. They have Mardi Gras themed rooms and the king of Mardi Gras is elected at this restaurant. There are photos of past kings and queens that are over a hundred years old. It was such a nice restaurant with a very welcoming and unpretentious atmosphere.

The staff was all extremely nice and friendly and told us to wander around and make ourselves at home, so we did. The restaurant is huge. It covers an entire city block! We loved exploring such a historic building with so much character.

The next morning we woke up late, enjoyed the view of the Bienville House Hotel courtyard from our cute little balcony, then headed to the Cafe du Monde for beignets and cafe au laits. It doesn't get any better than breakfast at the Cafe du Monde.

We went into art galleries on Royal Street, listened to some musicians, and walked around an antique furniture store where a dresser was $35,000! Dang! It's always fun to look at the art and collectible furniture in New Orleans. (Target is more our speed though).

A friend recommended Domilises Po' Boy sandwich shop to us and told us that they have the best Po' Boys in New Orleans. That's a pretty amazing recommendation so we had to try it! We rolled up beside this place that looks like an old house with this sign leaning up against the front and there was a line of people around the building! I love little places like this!

Inside Domilises, there are 3 cute little ladies frying shrimp, oysters, and other goodness for Po' Boy sandwiches. There is an older man at the bar on the side of the restaurant serving bottles of root beer, cokes, and beer. The whole dining room probably holds 15 people! The walls are covered with Christmas cards from their friends, family pictures, old beer cans, and sayings like you would see in your grandma's kitchen. It was a fun and DELICIOUS experience! It was actually the best Po' Boy sandwich I've ever had.

We left New Orleans after our wonderful shrimp Po' Boys and drove along the Gulf Coast highway 90 to Mississippi.

More to see later about the beautiful wedding in Mississippi...

Corpus Christi Harbor Half Marathon recap

2010-10-19T10:12:00.003-05:00

This was our first half marathon of the season!
Ready, set, go!

If you read the previous post, you already know about the night of gluttony before the race. We ate way too much of all the wrong things, enjoyed some wine, and stuffed ourselves with rich food AND DESSERT instead of carbo loading. I will admit this was a bad decision but still would not change it because it will always be a great memory... and it can serve as a warning for future running preparation! Ha!

The Harbor Half Marathon had a 7 AM start and luckily our hotel was downtown close to the starting line. We ate some bananas and peanut butter crackers at the hotel for a very early breakfast and my husband got STARBUCKS! Now, we all know that caffeine is a diuretic and it's only going to dehydrate a runner who is totally and completely addicted to caffeine (and who is also already dehydrated from alternating between diet coke and wine the day before the run). Oh, the abundance of bad pre-race choices is staggering. Oh well, we had a good time in Corpus!

It was pretty annoying that the race had 12 port-o-potties for 1,000 runners so the lines were still 30 people deep when it was 5 minutes until start time. The hubs and I missed the start of the race because we had to "GO" thanks to our Starbucks coffee. Luckily it was a chip timed race so it didn't matter that we were a couple of minutes behind the crowd.

Here we are before the race, smiling because we are overly-caffeinated and it's still DARK outside!

I was singing that song "I wear my sunglasses at night" just like the guy wearing his sunglasses in the bar in the beer commercial. Classy, yes?

So we walked to the start line as the last few runners were leaving and started out strong. It was dark out, the weather still felt cool, and we were feeling good. Mile 1 was great (as mile 1 usually is) and our pace was on track at under 10:00. Then we saw the bridge. The horrible, terrible, painfully steep, killer bridge. Scott is pointing to it here. I can't show you the inappropriate gesture I gave to the bridge. The first time we crossed the bridge, we ran the whole way up it, and although it slowed us down a little, we were still pretty close to our goal of a 10:00 mile pace.

After we crossed the bridge, the sun started to rise over the ocean. It was amazing. The sky was pink and orange at first, and then it turned to gold. We saw dolphins playing in the water as the sun was coming up and it was one of the most beautiful sights I could imagine. All of the runners were pointing and smiling with excitement. It was such an incredible thing to see that with so many other runners! Doing the race was worth it for that one moment. It's something my husband and I will always remember!

Around mile 3 or 4, we started to get really thirsty and we were praying there would be a water stop soon. Well, there was a water stop but they were OUT OF WATER!?! Seriously?! A run for 1,000 people ran out of water. We were about to die! But what else can you do but keep going?

Around mile 6, we passed a girl who was laid out on the ground with a crowd around her. She was breathing and no one seemed to be too concerned so we kept running to the turnaround at mile 6.5. When we passed back by the girl who was still on the ground, the hubs stopped to see what was going on since he is a medical guy. There was a nurse and a doctor who were doing the race that were already with her when we passed the first time. They told us that she was breathing, had a pulse, had no medical problems, and paramedics had been called, so we continued on the course. Around mile 8 we finally got some water! We were already getting dehydrated by that point and were starting to feel really rotten. No carbo load the night before the race combined with not drinking enough water the morning before the race was a recipe for disaster.

About mile 10, we had to walk. For at least a minute. Then we started running again until we got to the big @ss nasty bridge again. I just couldn't run any more when we started climbing it. I told the hubs to go on without me but he was beat down too (or he's just sweet and didn't leave me in the dust) so we walked up the entire bridge. This totally killed our time. We started running again when we got to the top of the bridge but our pace was pretty slow from this point to the end. We were actually going about as fast as your grandma walks around the grocery store. Oh yeah... speedy for sure.

We finally crossed the finish line with a 2:20:08 finish time. It was my worst half marathon time ever but I only have myself to blame. I didn't take it seriously. I thought that since I have completed 3 half marathons before, I didn't HAVE TO carbo load. (What a stupid mistake). I didn't have to take water and Gu with me. I didn't HAVE to do much hill training. I thought the bridge wouldn't be that bad. Ha. That bridge kicked my butt!

But hey, we finished! Here we are with all 12 of those port-o-potties after the race. Good times.

With all of that being said, it was an amazing and fun experience.

I am grateful for:

1. Seeing the dolphins play in the water and watching the sun rise.

2. Experiencing this run with my husband.

3. The physical ability to run.

4. The mini vacation to Corpus Christi.

5. Volunteers who got up early on a Sunday morning to hand out water.

6. The police who kept the roads closed to traffic.

7. Last but not least, the pizza after the run!

And LOOK!!!! I got another medal!!! :-)

The next half marathon will be better! The San Antonio Rock and Roll Half Marathon is coming up in November. Who's in for it?

When is YOUR next race?

Corpus Christi weekend recap part 1

2010-10-18T13:04:00.006-05:00

We spent a lovely weekend in Corpus Christi because we were running the Harbor Half Marathon on Sunday morning. We left San Antonio on Saturday morning, checked into our hotel in Corpus, and then had lunch on Padre Island at the Padre Pizzaria. It was delicious although it didn't look like much from the outside. It was in a rundown strip mall but the pizza was very tasty! (We read the reviews on tripadvisor.com so we ~~knew~~ hoped it would be good). My husband got to watch football while eating pizza so he was in his happy place.

With our bellies stuffed full, we decided to do the scenic drive on Mustang Island and Port Aransas. We stopped to play on the beach at Mustang Island. It is always incredible to me to see the ocean.

There were wild sunflowers growing all over the sand dunes near the water. You can see the sunflowers behind me to the left here.

We always have fun where ever we go. We're silly together and we laugh a lot. I love this man to the moon and back.

After scooping up some sand in a bottle to add to our collection, we drove up to Rockport. As we're driving and I'm playing with my husband's iPhone, I looked at the google map to discover the road just ends at the north part of the island. Luckily there was a ferry we could take back to the mainland since we drove about an hour from where we started. The ferry was even free to get the truck back to Corpus! If you give this girl good pizza, sand, a chance to see the ocean, and a free boat ride, I turn into Homer Simpson. Happy Tasha.

We went back to the hotel where we had a view of the Harbor Bridge from our room. We knew the race route went across this bridge so we just stared at it with a feeling of impending doom. We knew we would have to run across this bee-otch not once, but TWICE. Since it was our first half marathon in 6 months, we knew we wouldn't break any records but we at least wanted to do a decent run. Seeing this bridge made us just hope we could finish the course! This bridge was STEEP and LONG!

Since we were already defeated by the bridge, we decided to just enjoy a nice dinner and screw the carbo load plan at Olive Garden. Instead of the OG, we went to a nice local restaurant at the top of our hotel. This was our view from The Republic of Texas Bar and Grill.

We could see the marina on one side of the restaurant and the U.S.S. Lexington on the other side. I had fresh fish and Scott had a steak. We both had wine. We also had chocolate torte for dessert. There was NO pasta on the menu. Oh well. I wouldn't change a single moment about the day even if it meant that we didn't take the half marathon seriously the next morning.

You can see the U.S.S. Lexington in blue at night here. They call it the "Blue Ghost" because it looks like it's floating across the harbor at night. It looks very creepy and but also very cool.

Here's my sweet husband with a mouth full of steak not at all thinking about running a half marathon the next morning.

Cheers to a great day in Corpus Christi!

Half Marathon Race recap to come!!!

Travel, run, travel, run, travel...

2010-10-04T21:39:00.003-05:00

I'm so excited about some upcoming trips and also about running season!!! The weather is BEAUTIFUL here in South Texas and I almost felt a chill in the air today!

I managed my way through the weekend 11 mile long run and today I only have slight knee pain that had me searching out the ramps at the mall. No stairs today. Stairs are bad. Evil, in fact. I want to squeeze in at least one more 10+ mile run before the Corpus Christi Half Marathon in TWO weeks! (Oh crap. That's soon.)

A short month after the Corpus Half , we're running the San Antonio Half Marathon, then the St. Jude Half Marathon. I have a couple of months to up my mileage for the New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon so I should be prepared (unless I decide to eat Twix bars and ice cream instead of going to the gym... which is very possible.)

We also get to go to a good friend's wedding on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in a few more weeks and I get to see some of my Birmingham book club friends again! The mass exodus from Birmingham left us all scattered in different cities so it's wonderful that we get to see each other again. I can't wait! I miss these girls and I am so excited for our reunion! On our way to Mississippi, we're stopping in New Orleans for a couple of nights.

Does anyone have hotel recommendations for New Orleans? We're looking for something clean and reasonably priced near the French Quarter. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Happy fall to you!

It's great to live in a tourist city!

2010-09-30T11:39:00.005-05:00

One of my best friends and her family came to visit us a couple of weeks ago and I got to play tour guide in our new city! There is so much to do in San Antonio that we manage to do new things every time someone comes to visit us! I'm loving the city and all that it offers!

Meet my friend Jennifer! We have been friends since the 6th grade and she's a friend that always makes me laugh. We find silly things to giggle about every time we're together. We would ALWAYS get in trouble in middle school and high school because we were always laughing about something. There is really nothing like an old friend! She knows everything about me and still tolerates me, right Jen?

We rode the boats on the riverwalk downtown and enjoyed a quick guided tour of the city. Her little boy was fascinated with the ducks in the water and kept pointing to things and jabbering away in his own 1 year old language. He understood exactly what he was saying but we just had to nod and smile and agree with him.

We walked to the San Antonio Market Square that is a few blocks from riverwalk and enjoyed looking at all the hand made, colorful souvenirs, pottery, and decorations. We saw many historical buildings on our walk. Our giggle fit of this trip was our inability to find "the Spanish governor's palace" because every sign for it pointed to a different building. So we still don't know which one it was.

Remember the Alamo? Here we are in front of it. I wonder how many times I will take pictures in front of the Alamo? My guess is around 47 billion.

My friend's husband was served a mass of chicken friend steak at the Canyon Cafe. This was the lunch portion!!! Needless to say, he couldn't finish it all.

The girls opted for the fish tacos while he was up to his elbows in fried goodness.

Gotta love the fish tacos at the Canyon Cafe! Yum!

The most important part of a trip to San Antonio must be The Margarita. Forget the Alamo, the riverwalk, and the 300 + years of history here. Every trip to San Antonio should involve one of these...

Everyone who comes to San Antonio MUST have a margarita at La Fogada! The twin towers margarita comes with two little test tubes of "something extra" for the margarita. It evens comes with a pretty flower floating on top of the goodness. Hands down, this is the best margarita in San Antonio. Does anyone disagree? I have made it my personal mission to find the best margarita in San Antonio and this is the current winner!

The patio at La Fogada is so nice! With a combination of fountains, flowers, perfect weather, margaritas, and good friends, there is no better place for dinner!

My friend and her husband enjoyed pizza at Grimaldi's on their trip.

Their son enjoyed playing with the pizza dough that the very thoughtful waitress brought him. Thank God for pizza dough. He was entertained for the entire hour we were at the restaurant! This little guy LOVED the stairs at our house. Who needs toys when there are stairs to climb? Of course I was a nervous wreck worrying that he would fall but he managed to scoot and climb up and down the stairs dozens of times without injury. Whew! By the end of the week, he could kind of say "Alamo" but it sounded like "ah-mah-oh" than "Alamo". He's so cute and adventurous!

It was a great to see my friend and her family and I think they enjoyed their vacation.

Marathons and half price wine night

2010-09-21T22:35:00.004-05:00

Is it bad that I forced my husband to drink 3 glasses of wine at dinner tonight before ~~making him agree~~ begging him to run the New Orleans Mardi Gras full Marathon with me?

I think not.

We're registering tomorrow!

Show us your house...

2010-09-21T17:20:00.001-05:00

Welcome to our dining room!

I've been seeing these on other blogs so I will play along because I am so excited about my new china cabinet! This belonged to my Grandma and it is an honor to have it in our home. When my Grandma passed away 14 years ago, her china cabinet ended up in my uncle's barn. One of my cousins wanted it but it wasn't really her style, so it just kept sitting in the barn. I offered to buy it from her but she let me have it for free! It was covered with a sheet but it looked pretty rough when we first saw it. I cleaned and cleaned and now it looks like this! We brought it in a U-Haul trailer from Oklahoma after our vacation. I was TERRIFIED that all of the glass would break but luckily it was fine because we carefully surrounded it in blankets for the trip.

More good news: The china and crystal also survived the move!!! I did not unpack it until TWO MONTHS after the move! Bad, I know! I was a little scared when I started opening boxes but everything is intact and now it's all in it's happy new home in the china cabinet.

(Waterford Brocade china and Waterford Kelsey platinum crystal)

AFTER I unpacked and positioned all of the china and crystal, I remembered that there is a light on top of the cabinet... with a cord... and an outlet BEHIND the cabinet. Doh. Doh. Doh. So just imagine that the light is on, okay?

Vacation to Oklahoma

2010-09-20T10:16:00.004-05:00

We had a very low key vacation to Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago and it was so nice to relax, eat, and visit the parents, family and friends.

We went for a couple of bike rides.

We ate ribs at a gas station... technically it is a restaurant attached to a gas station, but it sounds much more classy to say that we ate AT the gas station, right? The ribs are actually DELICIOUS!

We went to a high school football game and the hometown team won! Go Pirates! It's so weird to go to a high school football game now. It's kind of like stepping back in time to 13 years ago when I was in the band and was watching the games every Friday night in the fall. (Yes, I was a band nerd- really, are you surprised?!)

Yes, you see a guy wearing overalls in front of us in this picture. I love small towns and it was great to be home!

2010-08-24T16:44:00.005-05:00

I have been drooling over big, big, big mirrors for years since I saw one that a friend had in her house (Ann- that's you!) and I finally found one that I loved. It took 3 very kind girls at Pier 1 and me to get it into my trunk and we had a millimeter to spare but it FIT!

It was a discontinued item so it was 50% off and I found some tiny scratches on it and they took another $20 off because of those so I got it for a great price! Yay for bargains!

I have a long way to go in the "decorating" department but I love the new mirror!

job search, running, biking, and being thankful

2010-08-20T13:51:00.004-05:00

It's been forever since I updated!

I am still a ~~housewife~~ I mean ~~homemaker~~ umm... Domestic Engineer.
With a M.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and lots of experience, I still can't find a job. I email labs, they don't hire me. I call human resources, there are still no jobs. Big fat bummer. It's getting a little disheartening that I can't find a science job yet, but I did have a nice week getting to be a nanny for a new friend's baby this week. She had to go back to work and her baby didn't have a spot yet at the daycare so it worked out well for both of us. This baby girl was so cute and she kept me busy this week. She was adorable when she would smile and coo at me and I enjoyed getting baby time. So now my nanny gig is over and I'm back on the job hunt.

As for exercise, the heat is killing my running. My pace is terrible outside because I alternate between thinking I will pass out while running or having my eyes sting from the sweat. The heat is "no bueno." So I'm confined to the treadmill except for my weekly run outside with the running club. We get to run the north part of the San Antonio river walk! It's awesome! The water actually keeps it a little cooler and the evening run time makes it bearable. Everyone is so nice and I think we can be friends with some of these people. It's frustrating to have to build back up to a distance run. I haven't been doing long runs since April so I'm just now feeling comfortable again with a 6 mile long run.

The hubby FINALLY got a road bike. He has wanted one for 5 years so he finally treated himself to a new toy. I still love my Cannondale but his new Trek is so pretty. I'm super excited about our first group road ride on Saturday! Yay! Our new friends got bikes too and they bought a little pull behind cart for their baby and 2 year old to ride in! I'm so happy to finally have people to ride with!

Things I'm thankful for this week:

Being an only child taught me how to be alone (new town, husband at work a lot) and make the best of it. If I'm alone, I'm usually not lonely. Of course I miss my friends but I somehow fill up a day without any problems.
The feel of the wind while riding a road bike. It's like flying. Going down a huge hill is unlike any other feeling.
My husband's job. He's starting his first real big boy job and he's loving it. I prayed so much that he would be happy because he worked so hard to get to this point. So far, so good.

A dog's life

2010-07-28T10:41:00.003-05:00

Meet the three musketeers. We chase, we play, we bark at the neighbor's dogs, and we delight in laying in the sunshine in our new yard. We have also developed a new favorite hobby of digging giant holes in our new back yard. We are pretty sneaky about our digging so the "parents" couldn't decided who was guilty... until today.

Can you spot the guilty dog?

Meet Cricket.
She loves pettin', food, and sunshine. She came from an animal shelter in Alabama and weighed 47 pounds and had intestinal parasites when we got her. Now she's a healthy happy 75 pounds.

Meet Sheba.
She is the cheeseburger stealing, always curious, sometimes whiny, wonder dog. We got her as a puppy and she is our spoiled rotten diva Doberman. Don't let that goofy look fool you. She will take your food in half a nanosecond.

Meet Neko.
He's still looking for a sled to pull, snow to play in, or an igloo. Unfortunately, none of those exist in San Antonio. He adopted us one day in Alabama when we were out for a walk. He had been abandoned by his owner and we tried to find him a "good home" ... which turned out to be our home. He worked his way into our hearts a day at a time and now he's part of the family.

Anyone look guilty to you? Notice the mud. That is from our sprinkler system... which "someone" is slowly and methodically digging out of the ground. These pampered pups spend most of their time in the house where it's cool but they find a way to keep cool outside when left unattended for a short amount of time. It's so hot that I can even be mad at them.

Crime: digging.

Guilty party?

Half Marathon madness and fitness program

2010-07-27T14:42:00.005-05:00

I just signed up for another half marathon for the fall. I'm alternating between excitement about running and fear that my body will shut down on me. The feeling of crossing a finish line is addicting and the fall/winter is a perfect time for running. It's too stinking hot to run outside now but I'm already looking forward to the cooler temperatures and the wind in my face.

This fall will be:

Oct 17- Corpus Christi Harbor Half Marathon (just signed up!)

Nov 14- San Antonio Half Marathon

Dec 4- St. Jude Half, Memphis. (Birmingham Book club reunion! Yay!)

I'm still on the fence about the Houston Marathon. I haven't registered yet. It's going to be a ~~stampede~~ huge race and I'm just not sure if that is my first choice for my next marathon. Has anyone done Houston? Thoughts about it? Was it a good experience or would you suggest a different marathon instead?
(Adrienne W., do you really, really want to do this???)

As for other fitness goals, the hubs and I had a free fitness assessment last night at the gym and I'm proud of us both. I felt bad for the hubs because guys have a much lower range for optimal body fat levels but he has come a long way in the past year. My husband has lost about 25 pounds since he started running so he's on the right track. Hee hee, track... Cheesy... yes? Anyway... We both need to work on flexibility, strength, and (I'm still not believing this) VO2 levels?!! We're both "average" for our VO2 which annoyed and surprised me. We run all the time! How can this be true?! We're going to continue our running plans and add in some yoga, pilates, more swimming, and strength training.

What is your exercise routine lately?

Weekend recap

2010-07-26T09:12:00.004-05:00

I made brownies and ate most of them. Betty Crocker fudge mix. Holy chocolate goodness.

My husband worked all day and night on Saturday but I was able to see him for lunch and dinner. He wasn't too busy so it was nice to eat a couple of meals together.

We tried a new church on Sunday morning. We were Baptists this week. Finding the perfect church is always tough. The pastor seemed nice, the message was good, but everyone there was old. Is it bad that I whispered to my husband during the service, "I don't know if any of these people will be our friends." Where are all the young, fun, Christians in San Antonio? Are they at the mega churches with the 2 story tall movie screens? I don't want to go to a rock concert on Sunday morning. I am entertained every other minute of the week... I can be reverent for an hour. But I also want to make friends who are younger than 70 years old. Maybe we will be Methodists next week?

What's the difference between a Baptist and a Methodist? The Methodist parks in front of the liquor store and the Baptist parks behind it. True, yes?

We joined a gym! It's the most beautiful, most amazing gym I could have ever imagined in my wildest dreams! There is a SPA in it! That's right, I said SPA!!! We did a long run for the first time in weeks and felt good. I was getting really discouraged running outside because it's so hot. I have only been able to run about 3 miles outside and feel like I will die by the end of the run. Thank goodness for treadmills! We're going for our free fitness assessment tonight. I'm pretty nervous about that since we haven't been exercising regularly.

As for the mission to make new friends in the new city, I found a running club online so we're going for our first group run tomorrow night.

MAD MEN is back ON!!! I have been in withdrawls since the season 3 finale so I got my Don Draper fix last night!

The job search seriously begins this week. HR departments... look out... I'm coming to find you!

Things we love about living in San Antonio!

2010-07-24T09:12:00.006-05:00

Here are just a few of the things I'm loving about San Antonio so far!

Rudy's... "The worst BBQ in Texas" is what the sign says. It's interesting marketing, right? The BBQ is INCREDIBLE!

My parents came to help us unpack. Mom is a machine! We had the house unpacked in a few days so we were able to take a break and have Marble Slab ice cream!

The alamo! This historical building sits smack dab in the middle of downtown San Antonio!

The carriages are lined up next to a wall by the alamo.

No trip to San Antonio is complete without a trip to Casa Rio on the riverwalk. My parents are entertaining us with their menus.

I love the brightly colored umbrellas at Casa Rio!

My sis-in-law and niece came to visit after the parents left and we found a new favorite bakery at Cupcake Couture. Yum!

My husband stole our niece's new pink sunglasses at dinner. How cute are these two?

We found a Disney store and got her a Mickey and Minnie.

My husband was just as excited as our niece about the toy trains in a local book store.

She liked the waterfalls at one of the malls. Seeing this little face makes my heart so happy.

We went to Sea World for the day and we all had a blast! I had no idea how big this park is! It's like a huge aquarium, amusement park, and water park all in one huge place! Huge! Yes, we have season tickets and plan to go back as soon as possible. :-)

Our niece loved the whales! She was so excited at the Shamu show.

My sis-in-law and niece stopped to see the flamingos.

It looks like we were wrestling a toddler in front of the whale statue. Our niece was WAY more interested in looking at Shamu than at the camera.

What a great start to our new life in San Antonio!

I survived the move!

2010-07-10T09:17:00.003-05:00

We're getting settled into the new house this week and we survived the big move.

Some stressful things along the way included:

Picking up a U-Haul an hour from our house in Birmingham.
Discovering that this was the ONLY 27 foot U-Haul in a 50 mile radius of Birmingham.
Discovering that this particular U-Haul had NO AIR CONDITIONING, there was more than 100,000 miles on it, it blew smoke and had bald tires, and a transmission that would not shift into overdrive so it would not go faster than 50 mph (before being loaded with everything we own and the tow trailer for the car).
We did get to exchange this smoke bomb for a replacement U-Haul the next day (which set us a day behind on our moving schedule).
We did not leave Birmingham until 2 PM when we had planned to leave at 8 AM.
Made it to Beaumont, TX at 2:30 AM.
Smuggling 3 giant dogs into a hotel at 2:30 AM is no quiet process. Thank God we didn't get thrown out of the hotel.

But after all of this, I am just so thankful to be in our new house. It's so pretty and I feel incredibly blessed!

I need to buy a scale pronto because the move has been pure gluttony for us. IHOP, Mexican food, BBQ, more Mexican food, pizza, and P.F.Chang's. Mmmmmm.....

We need to find a gym! SOON!

The Big Move!

2010-06-30T13:39:00.003-05:00

This OU fan is moving to enemy territory this weekend! We're loading up the 3 dogs and the U-Haul and heading to Texas.

Don't even THINK that I begin to tolerate the color of burnt orange. ;-)

BOOMER SOONER!!!

San Antonio, here we come!!!

I will have no internet access until some time next week so please pardon my absence from commenting and checking blogs!

Happy 4th of July weekend to all!

Happy 5th Anniversary!

2010-06-25T07:58:00.007-05:00

5 years ago today I was getting ready for our wedding!

On the Friday before our wedding, my friends and I decorated the church, did a very disorganized wedding rehearsal that completely stressed me out, but we got through the rehearsal. All my bridesmaids were wonderful. I love these girls!

Then we had a low key Hawaii themed rehearsal dinner in one of the private rooms at the Bricktown Brewery in Oklahoma City. My husband was SO happy that he got to wear his Hawaiian shirt. The Brewery is a restaurant with a bar upstairs in an old warehouse in the downtown area. It has a relaxed atmosphere and it's a fun place to hang out on any night of the week. It was super casual, everyone had fun, and my dad and my husband's grandma both wore a grass hula skirt at some point during the evening. Dad even has the coconut bra with the grass skirt. He never takes himself too seriously. See the pictures? I guess it's no longer blackmail material if I'm putting it on the blog.

I'm pretty sure mom's eyes are closed here but these two are lots of fun.

Our wedding day was perfect. When the back doors of the church were opened and my dad walked me down the aisle, I saw my husband standing at the front of the church and I can't think of any other single moment in my life when I felt so much love at one time. All of our family and friends were there and we had a perfect day sharing that experience with everyone.

The ceremony was formal and traditional, we took that process seriously and wanted it to be a religious occasion. We said the standard and traditional vows. We had a harpist play "Victory in Jesus" and accompany a singer for "Ave Maria". There were scripture readings: Ruth 1:16 & 1 Corinthians 13. It was perfect, happy, and lovely.

The wedding reception was FUN! There was a DJ, dancing, decent food, and a bar. (White people need a little help with their dance moves!)

We danced to "At Last" by Etta James for our first dance.

We did the toast (the try not to spill champagne down the front of your wedding dress while locking arms in front all your wedding guests) with the glasses my parents used at their wedding reception in 1976! Their wedding anniversary is a day after ours! Happy Anniversary to Mom and Dad too!!!)

Happy Anniversary Scott! Cheers to you, our life together, and the years to come!

Feeling slow lately

2010-06-22T11:36:00.004-05:00

I'm feeling horribly out of shape. My "long run" is down to 5 miles when I used to do 10 miles with no problem. The heat is killing me. I did 3 miles around the neighborhood last night with the hubby and bro-in-law and thought I might die 7 minutes into the run. It's sooooo HOT and humid here! I feel guilty for hitting the gym when there is SO much packing to do at the house and it's WAY to hot to run outside.

One of my running goals was to be able to maintain the long runs on the half marathon schedule so I could basically go out and run a half marathon at any given point. Nope. Not happening. I would be lucky to finish a 10 k right now.

How do you maintain a busy exercise schedule when LIFE is so busy?!

I want a treadmill.

And movers.

The end.

Happy Birthday to my mama!

2010-06-20T10:22:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to the best mom on the planet!

This lady is the type of person that I aspire to be. She is beautiful, kind, hilarious, and thoughtful.

She has always been there for me and is the most patient and loving mother that I could ever imagine.

She walked all over New York in the rain with me on our 2009 trip to the city. She is one tough lady.

She rocked me to sleep every night when I was a baby because she couldn't bear to hear me cry.

She drove an hour to take me to McDonald's for a happy meal when I was small.

She bought me a car when I was 16.
(She never went out for lunch. She always ate at home to save money).

She never spanked me. Not once.
Not even when I bit her at 3 years old. Not even when she found chewing gum under the coffee table. I'm an only child so there was no one else to blame. Not when I kicked a hole in the wall during a temper tantrum after they moved into their new house. Not when I screamed at her because she couldn't get my bangs ratted high enough to be cool in the 5th grade. Not once. She quietly and patiently explained why she was disappointed in my behavior and how I could be better in the future.

I hope someday when I have children that I can be even half as good of a mother as she is.

She went to college when not that many woman were going to college. She is smart. She received several college scholarships along the way. She worked hard to pay for the rest. She made my dad finish college when he wanted to drop out to work at a construction job.

She worked at the same job helping people and children for over 30 years and retired as a supervisor.

So... happy birthday mama. I am so proud of you and so thankful for you.

Let's play the anniversary gift game!

2010-06-16T14:10:00.006-05:00

It's hard to believe that my husband and I have been married for almost 5 years! Our anniversary is coming up next week so I'm in search of the perfect gift for him. We try to do traditional gifts as much as possible. Hey, we're pretty traditional... what can I say?

So ladies, do you remember what you got for your husband on each anniversary? Play along and leave me a comment so I can ~~steal~~ see your gift ideas! ;-)

1st WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
Traditional Anniversary Gift: Paper
I surprised him with a Doberman puppy who came with "papers". Meet Sheba, the wonder dog!

2nd WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
Traditional Anniversary Gift: Cotton
We got a big painting for the living room that is on a canvas (cotton-ish).

3rd WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
Traditional Anniversary Gift: Leather
I got him a leather holster along with a pistol that he had been wanting.

4th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
Traditional Anniversary Gift: Flowers or Fruit
I got him a big basket filled with wine (made from fruit) from all of the places we have visited together. He got me a fleur-de-lis necklace. It's a flower. :-)

5th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
Traditional Anniversary Gift: Wood
Since he doesn't read my blog, it's safe to brainstorm! I'm really not sure what to get yet... I am thinking of having his running medals framed in a nice wooden shadow box but I don't know if I will have time to get it back by next week! I'm heading to Michael's tonight! One backup idea is a cigar humidor but he doesn't smoke many cigars any more. Running + cigar smoke = not the best combination. Any ideas for wooden gifts?

I survived a triathlon!

2010-06-14T16:11:00.007-05:00

First of all, thanks for all the sweet comments wishing me luck on the last post! Y'all are awesome!

Second, my husband and I lived through our first triathlon (obviously since I'm blogging about it) and we had a BLAST! It was so much fun and I'm really glad I didn't go into this with unrealistic expectations and a super competitive attitude. I just showed up to have fun, enjoy being outside, and try out a new sport to see if I liked it. I talked to the people around me, heard about other events that people had participated in, and took a few deeps breaths to appreciate the fact that I am physically able to do this type of thing! It was a great experience and it went really well!

It was an early morning on Saturday when the alarm went off at 4:45 AM! We made it to Oak Mountain State Park and set up the bikes at the transition area. I was watching the people around me to see how they were organizing everything and there is a LOT of planning that goes into the transition area set up! My main concern was not to knock over a row of bicycles that cost anywhere between $500 and $7,000 in a Kramer-like domino effect. Mission accomplished there at least! The yellow bike is mine and its name is "Bumble Bee." Does anyone else name inanimate objects?

SWIM 400 yards - 10:58
The event started with a 400 yard swim in the dreaded lake (eww!) but it went pretty well considering the degree to which I had been worrying about this part! We lined up according to our estimated finish time and they let someone into the water every 5 seconds. I enjoyed waiting in line and talking to the ladies around me. They were so encouraging and friendly and really put me at ease. My husband was about 10 people away so I couldn't talk to him. I got into the water and had a few seconds of panic when I couldn't touch the bottom any more so I floated on my back to catch my breath and calm down. After I did that, I was fine. All of that swimming technique I had been working on went out the window once I put my face into the lake water and realized that I couldn't see anything. I swam 90% of this with my head above the water. I got passed by several people in the lake but I expected that. The water temp was comfortable, there were volunteers in kayaks asking if the swimmers were ok, and the swim was over before I knew it.

T1 - 5:31
So I guess I should've practiced getting a pair of bike shorts over a wet swim suit, or a bike jersey over a wet head, or socks onto wet feet. I felt like I was flying through my transition and thought it had taken me around 2 min. Nope, FIVE and a half freaking minutes?! I am SLOW getting out of the water and onto the bike.

BIKE 13 miles - 52:54
The bike part was definitely my favorite even though I'm better at the run. Biking is just fun. Flying down a huge hill hitting 30 mph with the wind cooling you off is the best feeling. I was passed a few times but I also passed some people so I felt good about the biking. My pace isn't great but I enjoyed this section the most.

T2 - 2:29
I ran my bike back to the rack, removed the helmet, and changed into my running shoes. I'm slow at this too, now I realize that the transitions are crucial to having a good time overall. I really didn't think this would take that long! My legs felt really wobbly after the biking so I was slow getting onto the running course.

RUN 3 miles - 24:21
It was HOT by this point in the day... very humid and the sun was beating down on me. I set my watch and thought I was doing around a 9:30 pace at mile one. Apparently I didn't set my watch at the right start point because I was running FAST! I like to stay around a 9:00 minute mile pace (especially after two other events!) but I didn't know how fast I was running and just listened to my body. When I got hot, I slowed down. When I felt good, I ran faster. I picked up some ice water at mile one and drank the water but kept the ice.

(TRIATHLON TIP: If you have a bike jersey with pockets in the back on a hot day, fold the top over the cup of ice, put the cup in your back pocket and it will keep you cool. This was a HUGE advantage!)

I felt great during the run and was passing several people. The heat was really getting to the runners. Many people were walking. There were a couple of guys just standing still at the water stops. I was SO proud of the way I ran! This was my fastest pace ever!

Total finish time: 1:36:12!

I finished a few minutes before my husband so I was able to grab the camera as he crossed the finish line! (He started later than me in the staggered start).

I am so proud of this man! I remember when he used to spend 20 minutes on the elliptical machine and claim that he had a really good workout. Not this boy runs half marathons and did a triathlon! I love our healthy and adventurous lifestyle!

This was a great first triathlon for us and we both had fun. That is the most important part of an event to me! The volunteers were great, there were plenty of water stops, the course was beautiful (except for the lake swim- eww!), and it was a new type of challenge for us.

Have you ever done a triathlon?

Thinking about it?

If you've done one, which one and what were the distances?

Triathlon countdown- less than 48 hrs to go.

2010-06-10T11:23:00.004-05:00

Reasons why I am freaking out about my first sprint triathlon:

I. The SWIM PART

A. Swimming in a lake.
Lakes are gross. I can't see what is around me (fish, SNAKES!, trees, rocks, SNAKES!). The bottom may be muddy. I don't know how deep it is. I could DROWN. Cue panic attack.... now.

B. Swimming is HARD.
I still don't know to swim the freestyle properly. My swimming "lessons" have come from online videos of some dude in a speedo gliding through the water like a dolphin. My freestyle still resembles a seizure. I've talked to friends about rotating my body in the water, how to properly kick my feet without bending my legs too much, and pivoting my body as I reach forward, but I think I fail horribly at all of these things the minute I get into the water. At least I can make it through the water at a slightly faster speed than when I started trying to swim.

C. Dysentery from lake water.
I know I suck down some pool water (Gross. Gross. Gross.) every time I flail my body from one side of the pool to the other. Lakes are filled with God knows what and I'm afraid of needing a course of antibiotics after this insanity is over.

D. The SWIM CAP
This is a form of torture that I'm pretty sure had to be invented by a medieval sadistic tribe of swimmers. Putting one of these on is like giving birth in the reverse (not that I would know but can imagine). I feel like I should dive off a 2 story building to get my fat head to fit into one of these things. I look like an alien. Or a cone head. My ears are all squished down and my face looks like a reverse muffin top. My hair is pulled out bit by bit, and I'm pretty sure that I will need botox due to the semi-permanent imprint of a swim cap on my forehead. Hello new wrinkles.

E. Wearing a swimsuit in public
I will be surrounded by people who DO triathlons on a regular basis.... which probably means they have seen their abs in the last decade. I am still trying to figure out how to hide my fat thighs in this one piece Nike. I'm tempted to use some fake tanner in an attempt to camouflage them, but I think it may be hopeless at this point.

II. The TRANSITION PART

A. These things are timed?!
I can't believe they count this as part of the overall time. It takes me a good 30 minutes to make it from the pool to the bike or the treadmill at the gym. People manage to do this in under a minute. No way. I'm supposed to run out of the damn lake barefoot without slashing open a foot, dry off, put on bike shorts, jersey, helmet, socks, shoes, and THEN ride 13 miles and run 3? No way. I want to petition for unlimited transition times with access to a shower and body wash that smells like flowers instead of lake water, please?

B. Lake water.
I hate it enough that I believe it deserves another mention here. Drying off but not changing out of a swimsuit covered in this funk is SO very gross.

III. THE HEAT

A. Hot. Humid. Misery.
It's supposed to be in the 90's on Saturday with 400% Alabama humidity. Ugh.

B. Shouldn't it be Run, Bike, Swim instead of Swim, Bike, Run?
By the time I get to the running part, it should be nice and toasty. The biking will be okay because you get to create your own breeze. The swim will be first thing in the morning so it will be cool (if I don't drown). Really, why can't they do triathlons in the reverse order? Doesn't it make sense to cool off in the water as the last step? Can anyone explain this to me?

Does ANYONE have ANY TIPS for me? Advice would be greatly appreciated!

Reminder: Going private soon!

2010-06-10T10:06:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone,

This is a reminder that I'm changing my blog to private in about a week and if you want to keep following, please leave a comment with your email or send me a note at biologygal@hotmail.com

Thanks to everyone who has emailed or commented already!

Thanks for reading!

Happy Thursday!

8 Things Tag

2010-06-08T13:21:00.007-05:00

It has taken me FOREVER to complete this. Thanks to Jules at Chic and Pink for tagging me to play. Jules is so much fun and I love reading about her adventures. This lady enjoys life! She is always out finding the latest fashion trends, dining at a fun and delicious looking restaurants, or traveling the world with her husband and making new friends along the way! Go check out her blog!

8 TV Shows I Like To Watch:

1. The Bachelor or Bachelorette (don't judge me)

2. The Biggest Loser

3. Mad Men

4. Breaking Bad

5. Real Housewives of NY

6. Justified (I always love a man in a cowboy hat!)

7. Keeping up with the Kardashians

8. Pawn Stars

8 Favorite Places to Eat & Drink:

1. Surin (Birmingham Thai restaurant)

2. Chili's

3. On The Border

4. P.F.Chang's

5. Panera Bread

6. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

7. Ted's Mexican Cafe Escondido (Oklahoma City)

8. Irma's Burger Shack (Oklahoma City)

8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. Life after the big move to Texas. Ugh at packing, U-Hauls, and all the rest.

2. My first triathlon this weekend!
3. Getting out of debt,

4. and then springing for a new purse.

5. Running the San Antonio half marathon.

6. Running the Houston Marathon

7. Taking a vacation this fall.

8. Quitting my job in 3.5 weeks. Let the countdown begin.

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:

1. Overslept.

2. Was late to work.

3. Ate cereal for 2/3 of the day's meals.

4. Discovered that the new ~~Dixie Chicks~~ Court Yard Hounds CD isn't very good.

5. Talked to a friend about her new relationship.

6. Went to the gym until I could barely stand.

7. Watched the Bachelorette.

8. Fell asleep on the couch.

8 Things I Like About Winter:

1. Running outside.

2. Not mowing the yard and pulling weeds from the flower beds.

3. Big fluffy sweaters.

4. Not having to see people wear jean shorts. There is no excuse for this.

5. The crisp smell that the air has when it's cold outside.

6. Thanksgiving.

7. Christmas.

8. The Christmas spirit that seems to make everyone a little bit more friendly.

8 Things On My Wish List:

1. Garmin Forerunner 305.

.
2. 8 Waterford Kelsey Platinum champagne flutes

3. a trip to Ireland

4. A new purse (preferably one with some L's and V's or C's on it).

5. Roth IRA (boring, I know).

6. A kayak.

7. A mountain bike. (Cannondale, full suspension RZ One Twenty 3 in Lightning White, please).

8. Most important... for someone, anyone to stop the Oil Spill in the Gulf! I honestly can not believe that our government has waited a month while BP tries and fails again and again.

8 Things I’m Passionate About:

1. Being there for people that I love.

2. Prayer.

3. Friendship.

4. Learning. Every day is an opportunity to learn something.

5. Dogs.

6. Reading.

7. Exercise.

8. Travel.

8 Words or Phrase I Use Often:

1. “Hey"

2. “Right???” I end statements with this way too much and I'm trying to break this habit.

3. “Wow”

4. “Oh my gosh”

5. “Really?”

6. "Yeah"

7. “Apparently”

8. “Seriously”

8 Things I Learned From The Past:

1. No one is perfect, but most people are doing the best they can.

2. The truth should always be enough, but you don't have to tell everything to everyone.

3. Greeting someone with a wave and a smile is recognized in every language.

4. People don't change.

5. You define yourself by the people around you. My grandma always used to say "If you mess around with crap, you're going to get some of it on you" and she was a very wise woman.

6. You can not make someone's choices for them.

7. There is right and there is wrong. If you have to ask yourself if it's wrong, then it probably is.

8. Trust your gut. We're given instincts for a reason.

8 Places I Would Love To Go Visit/See:

1. Ireland

2. Israel

3. Northern Italy (Milan, Venice, Torino)

4. Peru

5. St. Croix

6. South Africa

7. Scotland

8. Egypt

(Seriously, I only get 8??? I could keep going on this list for a LONG time!)

8 Things I Currently Want/Need:

1. I want all of the things on my wish list. :-)

2. I don't really "need" anything except a U-Haul to get 2 humans and 3 dogs to San Antonio.

I tag anyone who wants to play!

Celebrating a life

2010-06-07T12:56:00.002-05:00

My husband and I have been in Oklahoma for the past few days for the memorial service for his step dad. He passed away in his sleep on Memorial Day. The memorial service to celebrate his life was on Friday afternoon and it was a beautiful and moving celebration of an incredible man.

These are the things I wish I could have said to his step dad:

Thank you for teaching my husband how to play golf.

Thank you for teaching him how to drive a standard.

Thank you for teaching him how to care for others.

Thank you for encouraging him.

Thank you for loving my husband as though he were your own child.

Thank you for being a patient father.

And last but not least, Thank you for showing both of us that you are never too old to have a good time.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

We are going to miss him.

Going private

2010-05-28T13:18:00.002-05:00

I'm making my blog private in a couple of weeks.

It started out as a place to keep my random thoughts and record the ~~major~~ not so major events in my life. Since I want to use my blog freely and write without worrying about what some people may think, it's time for a change. Now that we're about to make a big move and start a new life in Texas, the time has come for a little more privacy.

I have "met" some wonderful ladies through this blog who are so creative, thoughtful, beautiful, kind, and hilarious. I am grateful for your encouragement and positive comments along the way!

If you want an invitation to keep reading, please leave me an email address in the comments section (or email me at biologygal@hotmail.com if you don't want your email address out there in blogland) and I will add you to the list.

Happy Friday!

Things I have learned in the past week

2010-05-23T11:10:00.005-05:00

1. I am a procrastinator. Big time.

I should probably begin packing soooon for the big move to Texas. Less than six weeks are left until we leave the great state of Alabama (as Forrest Gump says).

2. Sometimes the bite is worse than the bark.

My 70 lb Doberman looks very scary if the doorbell rings but she will not prevent a chihuahua from biting me while we are running. D*mn little ankle biter was vicious! All 4 pounds of rat dog lunged at me and I have a whelp on my shin to prove it.

3. Friends are precious and the realization that some of us are moving soon makes my heart hurt.

These girls have been such a blessing to me. When we moved to Alabama, I never imagined that I would make lifelong friends in such a short amount of time. There are a few missing from this picture but it is the most recent picture of the majority of "the bookies" book club. These girls are kind, beautiful, intelligent, hilarious, and talented. They will always have a special place in my heart.

"We cannot tell the exact moment a friendship is formed; as in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses, there is at last one that makes the heart run over.”

4. Love is infinite.

I am constantly amazed at how smart, wonderful, and strong this man is. He graduated on Friday night. He has been in college/med school/residency training for 13 years. He will finally finish his training in a month. I have watched him work so hard through the last 8 years that I have known him and I am so proud of him that my heart could burst. He studies all the time. He sacrifices weekends, holidays, nights, and he is at work in the mornings while the vast majority of us are still sleeping. He has fallen asleep eating breakfast more times than I can count after he has been awake for two days straight. He fell asleep in the drive thru line at a fast food restaurant while waiting for breakfast once. Luckily he kept his foot on the brake. It definitely is not easy to sit back and watch him struggle knowing that there is nothing I can do to share his burden while he is at work. He once slept only 3 hours in a 3 day span. He is tough. I constantly find more and more reasons to be proud of him and love him even more. Congratulations to my better half!

Must see movies!

2010-05-19T11:14:00.007-05:00

Does everyone love a great chick flick as much as me?

I saw Letters to Juliet last weekend and loved it. Of course, it's totally unrealistic, hopelessly romantic, and set in Tuscany... what more could a girl want out of a movie?! Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave were great in their roles and it was a really cute movie. Did anyone see it? Thoughts?

I am dying to see this! SATC 2 premiers next week!!!

I can't even begin to express my excitement level at the thought of seeing this movie! When SATC ended on HBO, I felt like I had lost 4 great friends! Silly I know, but I was hooked on this show. I felt like I had been with the fab four through the men, the breakups, the drama, and then they were just GONE! The original SATC movie was great and filled my need to know what was happening with the girls. I can't wait to watch the new movie!!!

New house and the longest bike ride ever.

2010-05-16T16:21:00.005-05:00

Last week was very busy and exciting because we closed on the new house in San Antonio!
Since we won't see it for another couple of months, I will have to look back at the pictures we took when we were house shopping to share my excitement.

Here's a sneak peak of the new place!

I am SO excited about my dream kitchen!!!

I have been so stressed out about all of the financial obligations associated with closing on the house but everything worked out for us! The closing costs were significantly lower than we thought they would be!!! And... the people who were selling the house are renting it back from us for a few weeks to help with the cost of the mortgage payments until my husband starts his job! Whew... what a relief!

We enjoyed this weekend by going for the longest bike ride of our lives. We rode the entire Chief Ladiga bike trail in Alabama and a little bit of the Silver Comet trail in Georgia for a total of 70 miles on the bike. We stopped for lunch and ice cream at the Solid Rock Cafe in Piedmont. There's nothing like a glass of sweet iced tea!

Here's the bike trail on the Georgia/Alabama state line.

Scott looks pretty hot in his bike shorts here! Ha! They are the most horribly ugly things but after 20 miles on that bike seat, you would want to wear them too.

Here's the proof- 70 miles. Longest ride of my life.

How was your weekend???

Weekends are precious!

2010-05-10T12:59:00.004-05:00

First of all, THANK YOU to my blog friends for your sweet comments when I was stressed out about some situations that my husband and I are experiencing now. I know that everything will be okay and I should not worry so much. Sometimes I use my blog as my place to vent... it's not perfect but it's honest.

It's amazing what a difference it makes to:

Spend some time in prayer being thankful for the good things in life.
Make a choice not to dwell on the stress.
Have a fun filled weekend!

I think this quote says it well:

"Sorrow is a fruit. God does not allow it to grow on a branch that is too weak to bear it." ~ Victor Hugo

This weekend was exactly what I needed to get my head in a better place. We started Saturday morning with a charity 5 k race. We both wanted to try for a new PR and I am so proud of my husband and myself! We finished in 26:55!!! They didn't have D-tag timing chips so that is based on my watch. I was so tired at mile 2 that I almost walked a few steps, but I kept going and ran as fast as I could go. I came in 5/33 in my age group! I really wanted to beat 28 minutes (for a pace less than a 9:00 mile average) so I was amazed that I came in a whole minute faster than my goal! Yay!

We took our bikes to enjoy the paved trails after the run and did 11 miles including a few miles in some very hilly neighborhoods. I was wiped out after the morning filled with tough exercise, so I took a nap that afternoon.

Saturday night we went to the ELI YOUNG BAND concert. Tickets were $10 so it was a fun evening for a great price! They put on a fantastic show at Workplay. It's a smaller venue where we were able to sit while we watched the show. They had great interactions with the crowd, they tossed out guitar picks during the songs and looked like they were having fun on stage. Some crazy lady got on the stage with them and started dancing. It was hilarious!

They even stayed after the show to sign autographs and take pictures with their fans. My husband had never heard of them before but agreed to go with me anyway. He loved their music and we both had a blast at the show. I bought a CD and they autographed it for me. Am I too old for this? I think not. :-)

So I had a nervous breakdown this morning...

2010-05-07T11:05:00.004-05:00

Well, my husband thinks I have completely lost it. He walks into the living room this morning as I am watching this video...

Miranda Lambert's The House that Built Me

and crying while I have my coffee. I must be ~~hormonal~~ stressed. I'm not sure what has gotten into me but every time I hear this song, I ball. The video is SO good and I love Miranda Lambert.

Maybe it's because:

1. I wish I could spend mother's day with my mom. She is my rock, my compass, and my hero.
2. In 5 days we will close on the house we are buying in San Antonio and we have not sold the one in Birmingham. Two mortgage payments will not be fun.
3. I signed the papers last night to have the 2nd house payment taken from our savings account... the emergency fund. My husband will start his new job this summer but we are definitely cutting it close with our finances. Stress.

So I'm trying to remember this for the rest of the day...

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matthew 6: 25-27)

things causing excitement in my life:

2010-05-06T10:09:00.005-05:00

Just a quick post to cover the week...

P.F.Chang's last weekend! Best. Chinese. Food. Ever. Mmmm.

To counteract the effects of P.F.Chang's:

1200 yard swim
22 mile bike ride
6 mile run

There is a 5 k charity run coming up on Saturday morning to benefit childhood obesity education. I'm hoping for a new PR. If we don't overdo it at the run, we may go biking after it. Yay for exercise!

Saturday night, Scott and I are going to see...

Yay!!! I love the Eli Young Band! Of course, my husband doesn't know who they are but he's a good sport so he will go with me to see them anyway. Red Dirt Country and me = BFF.

Why would anyone get into a pool without a swim up bar?

2010-04-28T11:55:00.002-05:00

In my latest crazy adventure of training for a triathlon, I tried to swim last night.

I spent my childhood in the pool and LOVED being in the water. My cousins and I would BEG to stay longer at the pool in the summer. We spent hours jumping off the diving board, racing from one end to the other, doing underwater flips, and doing cannonball jumps to see who could make the biggest splash! My grandma would watch us swim and sit in the hot sun to make sure we didn't drown. (In hindsight, I feel pretty bad about begging a woman in her 70's to spend more time in the hot Oklahoma summer sun just so we could swim).

So I haven't really been in the water except to float around for a few minutes in about a dozen years. Reasons:

The thought of putting on a swimsuit for God and everyone to see ranks right up there with a trip to the dentist.
Pools kind of gross me out. Little kids + public pool = Tasha OCD freak out.
I usually prefer running or biking and feel like it's a better workout for me.
Sometimes I am intimidated by new things and I'm a creature of habit.
I am the whitest, palest, glow in the dark person you can imagine. No one wants to see this in a swimsuit. Four hundred applications of self tanner can not cover the blinding whiteness.

But I overlooked all of this last night and thought, if those fat men with the jungle of back hair aren't embarrassed to swim at the gym, I guess I shouldn't be either.

So I swam.

I'm sure my "form" was a lot like someone who was having a seizure in the water but I kept going anyway. I did my 10 laps in 15:30. Apparently, this is not very fast. That's a shocker, yes? SWIMMING IS SO HARD!!! I definitely don't remember feeling like I was dragging 50 lb weights through the water when I was a kid! I have a lot of work to do to get ready for the open water swim part of a triathlon!

I have a new goal...

2010-04-27T14:32:00.004-05:00

(Disclaimer: I haven't been in a pool in about 4 years and the last time I was in a pool probably involved a raft, pina coladas/fuzzy navels, good music, lots of friends, and cannonballs from the diving board).

So I realize this may sound ~~crazy~~ a bit far fetched....

But I want to do a triathlon... which means that my husband has to do one too. I am in the process of planting these ideas in his head. He is becoming more and more adventurous since we have been running and biking, so I bet he will be up for it.

The image comes to mind of me at my first triathlon in floaties, an inflatable Scooby Doo raft, a snorkel, and a full face mask. And don't forget the super cool flipper fin things for my feet. Oh yeah, I will be so fast (as I flail my way into the water) that they may rescue me by mistake. I will try to explain to the lifeguard "I'm not drowning- this is always HOW I swim!"

One of my friends is doing her first triathlon this weekend and she has inspired me to try it too.

I found a sprint triathlon in June.
400 yd swim / 13 mi bike / 3 mi run

Now I need to learn how to swim.

I have a month and a half.

How hard can it be?

Gulp.

Nashville Half Marathon!

2010-04-25T17:45:00.004-05:00

I'm back from race weekend in Nashville! I did the half marathon with my husband and another couple, we met up with friends the night after the race, and did our best to eat, run, and ~~dance~~ people watch our way through Nashville.

Reasons why the race was AWESOME:

The tornadoes stayed away!
We didn't get hit by lightning!
The spectators were incredible!
Post-race COOKIES and snickers marathon energy bars.
AMAZING volunteers at lots of water stops, cytomax stops, and Gu stops.
The BANDS along the course!

Things that stressed me out:

5 hours of sleep & no breakfast except a bite of a protein bar and some energy jelly beans. Gross.
Gridlock traffic on race morning! (thankfully one of our friends is from Nashville and knew the city so well that we were able to take an alternate route to downtown.
Lightning!
Being late for the race start.
Not being able to find one of our friends after the race until almost 2 hours had past and it had started raining. Boo to rain. (We finally found him and my husband said he had never been happier to see another human in his life).
Why on earth would they put the start and finish lines 3 miles away from each other?! We left one car at the start and one at the finish but it was an extra hassle after being stuck in traffic.

Best signs on the course:

"Expected finish time: Tuesday, around noon." (on the back of a runner who looked like he was in his 80's).
"Run like tornadoes are coming!"
"Relax, You're not going to win anyway!" (ha, ha, ha!!!)

The expo the night before the race was packed with lots of random running stuff and tons of people. I got a necklace that says "26.2" (even though I did the full marathon in February... it's a cool way to remind myself of that milestone).

Here we are on race morning... ready, set, go!

Our friends are ready to run!

The course itself was great! We ran down Broadway, Music Row, around Vandy, Belmont, and ended by LP field.

After 13.1 miles, being stuck in traffic for an hour before and after the race, having no time to eat breakfast, seeing a girl hurling at the finish line, wandering in the rain for 2 hours looking for our friend, and one too many port-o-potties.... IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT FOR THIS!!!

(time: 2:11:43, avg pace: 10:04, division place: 740/1538)

After the race (and a long nap), we went to the Opryland hotel and wandered around inside it. They have so many cute restaurants, shops, and even a riverwalk with boats you can ride. We walked around and enjoyed some coffee.

Later that night, we had Mexican food and margaritas with our running friends, and then met up with other friends at the Flying Saucer bar.

Next up was a trip to the Wildhorse Saloon. We planned to dance but ended up watching people line dance instead. I only know the electric slide dance... so we listened to some great live music and relaxed our tired legs.

The country music half marathon was a great experience and I always enjoy visiting Nashville!

Counting down to the Nashville Half Marathon!

2010-04-21T07:49:00.003-05:00

I just have to survive two more days at work and then it's off to Nashville for a half marathon!

I'm so excited! I love Nashville and always enjoy visiting the city, so the opportunity to run around downtown is going to be a blast!

I just hope the weather forecasts are a big fat lie. Thunderstorms?! Really?!

So, running friends- what do you do if it rains on race day? Wearing waterproof clothing sounds good in theory but don't you just burn up when you start running? How do you keep your feet dry? How will I live without my iPod???

Please rain, rain, stay away... come again but NOT on race day!!!

Happy Birthday to me!

2010-04-20T10:45:00.005-05:00

I'm holding steady at 29... again... and again. ;-)

Last week was my birthday and I managed to stretch out the celebrations into several days of eating. Isn't that why we have birthdays? As an excuse to eat? No?

I went out with my girlfriends the night before my birthday to Surin, our favorite Thai restaurant. We laughed, we enjoyed some wine, and I realize how lucky I am to have these ladies as my friends! They are all hilarious, beautiful, and kind. I can't even imagine how much I will miss them when we move from Birmingham. And... I'm about to cry... so moving on to happy topics...

Scott and I went to Cafe de Paris for my birthday dinner and it was delicious! I got the steak tenderloin and he had the duck. Both dishes were fantastic, the atmosphere was really cute and romantic, and the dessert menu....oh Lord... the dessert menu was to die for! I had the crepes and they were like heaven. Crepes covered in dark chocolate sauce have to be the best dessert creation in the history of mankind!

How I love this man for not saying a word about gluttony as I ate every crumb of my crepes and then went home to chocolate cake that he bought for me!

The hubs has quite a sense of humor. He got me "29" birthday candles for my 31st birthday.

We enjoyed the weekend by having a much dreaded GARAGE SALE. Bluu! We were able to get rid of some ~~junk~~ stuff and make some money so I'm glad we did it.

Then we went for a 40 mile bike ride on the Chief Ladiga bike trail. Riding was MUCH more fun than the garage sale! After the ride and the 6 mile run on Sunday, I don't feel THAT guilty about the crepes and the cake. ;-)

What are you reading?

2010-04-12T21:57:00.004-05:00

I am a HUGE bookworm and thought I would share what I've been reading lately...

Can I just say that I LOVED The Help?! Loved. Adored. Devoured. This. Book! It is a story I couldn't put down about a group of women in Mississippi in the 1960's. It's all about the relationships between some young white society ladies and their (mostly older) black maids. It was a beautiful story and an ugly story. It's hilarious at times and makes you want to cry at times. It sort of shocks me that this kind of racial inequality happened in such recent history! The 60's were not that long ago! The book is all about relationships and the way this author writes is incredible. It's like you are listening to a story instead of reading one. Go read it! You will love it!

Next up is The Middle Place. I didn't love it... but it was interesting and entertaining. Parts of it were funny and the author can be very witty at times. I actually bought it because it was on the bargain book shelf and it was definitely worth what I paid for it. It's a memoir of Kelly Corrigan's life and her relationship with her dad is touching. She is a young adult, married, has her own babies, and still wants to call her dad when she has a crisis. Any Daddy's girl can probably relate to her story. They both fight cancer at the same time and the book covers the struggles she encounters.

I managed to miss The Catcher in the Rye on the high school reading list so I finally bit the bullet and read it. (Honestly, I saw the Jennifer Aniston movie "The Good Girl" and her boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal loved this book so much that he changed his name to Holden... so I was curious).

I felt like I was trapped in the mind of someone with a mental illness while I was reading this book! Everything the main character sees around him gives him anxiety or depresses him. I know there are supposed to be those "teenage themes of not belonging" in this book, but honestly it just annoyed me. It's about a very ungrateful prep school boy who flunks out of school and spends a weekend wandering around New York. Definitely not my type of book. I wanted to shake the main character and tell him "Appreciate SOMETHING in life! Be thankful and happy about any of the million things you have to be thankful for!" I can check it off my "to read" list- definitely not my cup of tea.

I picked up Little Bee after a recommendation from my Solar Powered blog friend and LOVED this book! It was hard to read at times but the writing style really captured my attention and I could not put down the book. It's the story of two women and a day where their paths cross and it changes them both forever. It's set in London and Nigeria, filled with drama, some humor, and a scenario that leaves you asking yourself "What would I have done?"

(If anyone has read it, could you have done what Sarah did on the beach? Would you have Little Bee's strength?)

Finally, I have to throw in some fluff romance read-it-in-a-weekend type of a book. Who doesn't love Nicholas Sparks? I had to read Dear John before watching the movie and I actually liked both book AND movie (which rarely happens). Usually I love the book and criticize the movie for leaving stuff out, but in this case I enjoyed both. The casting of Channing Tatum for the lead role did not hurt either! ;-)

I just finished Between, Georgia this weekend and enjoyed it. It was an entertaining read but I wasn't completely engrossed in it and the ending wraps up perfectly and unbelievably to me. I did like the part of the book that describes the relationship between a disabled mother and her daughter.

The next books on my "to read" list are:

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (my pick for hostessing book club!)
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (it's a huge book and intimidates me!)

So... what are you reading right now?

Talladega Half Marathon Report

2010-04-11T15:49:00.004-05:00

What a PERFECT day for running! It started out a little cool and warmed up as the race went on. Being able to run around the track at Talladega was such a fun experience! I ran this one with my husband and we kept pace with each other the whole way... which made us both really FAST! (Well, for us anyway!) The course was great, water stops were there when we needed them, and they had 3 Gu stops!

The runners had full access to the pit area and infield area. Even though I'm not a Nascar fan, it was still a blast to be at the track!

We started out running and I was pushing my husband for the first two or three miles. I was shocked when we were running faster than a 10 min mile pace consistently! Around mile 10 and 11, I started to get tired but he kept saying "You can do it! We're almost done!" so I kept chasing him. My goal was to finish the race in 2:11:00 and my husband's goal was 2:18:00. We completely surprised ourselves by finishing in 2:06:10! That's a 9:38 pace!!! We felt like cheetahs when we crossed the finish line!

(stats: #20/65 in age group, #315/704 overall, #84/314 for women) Yay! Yay! Yay!

The run benefited prostate cancer research so it was a great event for a wonderful cause! The shirts were nice too- Wicking material is the best invention since sliced bread!

Getting to share today's experience with my husband was such an amazing thing! When we started running a year and a half ago, he signed up for that first 5 k with me and encouraged me to run as fast as I could. He meets me at the gym to train after he's been up for work at 5 AM and always has a positive thing to say about running. We LOVED this run!

The medals were very cool! The checkered flag pattern was a nice touch and it looks like a race car wheel! It also has the blue ribbon to show that the run was in honor of prostate cancer survivors and also helps fund research.

I just have to say THANK YOU to anyone who has ever volunteered for a race! The people who hand out water, Gu, direct runners to the start line, and cheer for very tired and sweaty runners are OUTSTANDING! My day was perfect because of this race!

Birthdays, family, and friends!

2010-04-11T14:48:00.004-05:00

April is a busy month around here! I've had so much fun I that I haven't updated in a while!

First up is my adorable niece's 2nd birthday! It makes my heart happy every time we get to see her! She is the most precious little girl I have ever met and she always cracks me up when I'm around her. She celebrated in style on her new big wheels!

Her very awesome parents took us to Chuck E Cheese for her party and I'm not sure who had more fun- her or us?! We played skeeball, basketball, and air hockey while she was more interested in the Barney ride and the giant slide. It was so cute seeing the kiddos run around and play. Happy Birthday Miss Heidi with all our love!

Easter weekend was spent in my ~~big~~ hometown visiting friends and family. Mom and I went shopping and I barely resisted buying some antique furniture downtown since the hubs and I have a big move coming up. There is nothing like the thought of moving to force someone to become a minimalist!

Then I met up with two of my best friends... one is a friend since kindergarten and one from grad school. They are two of the most fun girls I have ever met! We took the kids to the park and let them play while we caught up. It was so nice spending time with them!

It takes a long time to grow an old friend. -unknown author

I got to spend time with my parents and I ate a delicious steak with my two favorite men. Dad and Scott were in their happy place with a full belly!

Then I was able to visit my cousins for Easter! Here is the newest family member trying to eat a plastic egg. Nom Nom Nom...

He is just about to walk and we have the same birthday so things are pretty exciting with this little guy!

This other cutie was busy hunting eggs in her Easter dress while we all applauded every time she picked up an egg. She has a fan club already!

Then we made a trip to Ft Smith, Arkansas for more food. (All we do is eat when we visit my family-right?) We tried a new restaurant called Rolando's and Oh. My. Gosh. It was SO good!

Rolando's = happy times!

We walked around the very cute downtown area in Fort Smith with my mom and did some more shopping.

I am so thankful for everyone in these pictures. I feel incredibly blessed to have a life filled with people I love so much! (And lots of good food too- of course!)

Did you think I would end on a sappy note? Nahhh..... ;-)

A day outdoors

2010-03-28T16:56:00.007-05:00

The husband was out of town for a boys weekend (chicken wings, beer, and basketball fest) so I took a day trip with a good friend to explore the waterfalls in Alabama. We had perfect weather for our sightseeing adventure and we entertained ourselves on the drive by making the GPS speak with a British or Australian accent. British GPS is named Stuart and he is a very proper English gentleman. Australian GPS is named Mic and of course he hunts crocodiles in his spare time. But I digress...

The first stop was near Gadsden, Alabama to see Noccalula Falls. It was beautiful... and kind of random... so basically, a win-win for me.

After hiking under the falls, we rode a train with a bunch of kids, walked through a pioneer village, petted a llama, and saw a lion.

Does anyone else think that llamas are pretty cool because they are so odd looking?!

The next stop was DeSoto Falls in Fort Payne, Alabama. This park is smaller and not so tourist filled so it was a very peaceful place.

We finished the day at Little River Falls and headed back to Birmingham.

It was a great day to explore the state and be outside in the sunshine!

Running

2010-03-24T10:21:00.003-05:00

I'm back on a normal running schedule in preparation for the Talladega 21,000 Half Marathon and the Nashville Country Music Half Marathon!

I did a 10 mile run on Saturday (after getting to see a friend try on wedding dresses and having ~~wine~~ lunch with the most fun and wonderful friends a girl could have).
Note to self: Two glasses of wine before a long run is not the best idea. Although it did numb the pain, it also made me incredibly sleepy. Yawning on the treadmill is for losers. ;-)

It felt GREAT to do a long run again! My foot has recovered from the Mercedes Marathon after a month of not running more than 3 miles. I took it easy and didn't push myself on my pace but I was still tired after the run. This week I did weights, hills (freaking hills!), and interval training and my legs are ready for a day of rest. This weekend I will try for a 12 mile run to get ready for the two Half Marathons in April.

More good news: I lost the 3 pounds I gained during the road trip of gluttony 2010 (a.k.a the house hunting trip).

Something to think about...

2010-03-23T14:45:00.001-05:00

"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." - Winston Churchill

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."- Thomas Jefferson

"To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, 'the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry, and the fruits acquired by it.'"- Thomas Jefferson

Running!

2010-03-18T10:37:00.006-05:00

Would it be crazy to do two half marathons in two weeks? Yes, that would probably be crazy....

but we're doing it anyway in April! (if I can run 10 miles this weekend without my foot hurting again).

1. The Talladega 21000!

2. The Nashville Country Music Half Marathon!

The Talladega 21000 is at the racetrack and that sounds very cool, but I have to mention my hatred of all things related to Nascar. I'm sorry if I offend anyone because you like it. I just don't. I can't stand it. I think it is quite possibly the least interesting sport of all time... if you call it a sport. To me, Nascar is a bunch of cars going around in a circle. I don't get it. Never have. Never will.

Here's a brief list of things I hate about Nascar:

1. People who drive like maniacs usually have a giant race car number plastered to the back of their car/truck/RV.
2. The Rebel flag. Seriously. I don't like it. To me it means racism, not shaving, and not bathing enough. Eww to all of these things. The South is so much better than the Rebel flag.
3. Rednecks. I hear stories about "Dega weekend" and it sounds a lot like Redneck-beer-fest.
4. RVs. I have witnessed the huge field of these things parked for miles around the Talladega racetrack. There are way too many rebel flags flying. See number 2.
5. There are many more things I dislike but I'll stop offending the Nascar fans out there.

But.... there is a half marathon at the Talladega Racetrack and THAT sounds like fun!

(site)

Because I like making lists, here's another one....

Things I LOVE about the Talladega Half Marathon:

1. Finishers get a medal!
2. Registration price is reasonable!
3. Jim N Nick's BBQ after the race!
4. The very generous 4 hour time limit!!! (if the foot does act up on me, I can hobble this fast). Your grandparents can move this fast. This is about 3.4 miles per hour.
5. Last but not least, it benefits prostrate cancer research!

And then two weeks after that, we will run in the Nashville Half! This is going to be so much fun that I can't even wait for it!!!

House hunting = Road Trip = VACATION!

2010-03-16T10:10:00.006-05:00

We left Birmingham last Tuesday, began our spree of gluttony with a late dinner (breakfast) at the Cracker Barrel somewhere in Mississippi, and spent the night in Baton Rouge on the way to San Antonio. Baton Rouge has a really cute downtown and we saw the old State Capitol building. It looks like a castle!

We arrived in San Antonio on Wednesday night and celebrated our 850 mile drive with dinner and margaritas at the Riverwalk at Casa Rio. The Riverwalk is so pretty at night! We were surprised at how many people were out wandering on a random Wednesday night.

We had to go visit the Alamo too. It's such a cool building and this was the first time I saw it at night. We took the tour a few years ago when we were in San Antonio but I would like to take it again. Maybe when some friends or family come to visit??? (Hint, hint... come visit us!)

We spent the Thursday and Friday looking at about 30 houses, eating Mexican food for every possible meal, trying Lonestar beer, gaining 5 pounds, and drinking margaritas. (Have I mentioned that this was the most fun house hunting trip in the history of the world?!) We have our top 4 choices and we're negotiating on the top choice right now.

On our way back, we stayed in New Orleans Saturday night. I love this city. There are so many cute shops, so many good restaurants, and the city has character like no other place in the U.S.

We had dinner at Brennan's in the French Quarter and Oh. My. Gosh. Gluttony. Continues...

How about some Bananas Foster for dessert? Brennan's invented the dish!

We spend Sunday morning walking around Royal Street and visiting Jackson Square. Here is the St. Louis cathedral with Jackson square in front of it.

We planned to eat at Cafe du Monde but the line was two blocks long, so we went to Cafe Beignet instead and it was DELICIOUS!!! Hello Gluttony Round 17 = Tasha loves Beignets.

Where else can you eat something covered in powdered sugar for breakfast?!

I LOVE New Orleans!

Cycling is good for you!

2010-03-08T09:53:00.000-06:00

We started out in Piedmont, AL on the Chief Ladiga Trail and I realized for the hundredth time just how dorky bike shorts look. Wow. Seriously dorky. But, you would wear them too if you knew how hard that seat feels after the first 10 miles!

The trail was completely peaceful, the sun was shining, and the birds were singing. We passed about 20 other riders who were outside enjoying the weather and I was surprised that many of them were elderly riders! Cycling is a sport you can do without as much impact on the joints so it is perfect for older folks... and the hubs and me. ;-)

It's an old railroad line that has been paved for 100 miles. I loved it! We did a 40 mile section of the trail and we're planning to do the other sections before we move from Alabama.

We made it to Georgia!!! And my husband was actually glad that I made him buy some super dorky bike shorts too. They help! Really! What a great weekend!

Life is as exciting as you make it!

2010-03-04T10:26:00.007-06:00

Here are my most recent adventures... music, exercise, and food!

The Concert:

We went out this weekend with some great friends and did dinner at Fleming's before the concert- it was delicious! Nothing beats a good steak! The concert was awesome! Roger Daltrey from The Who opened and he was surprisingly good! (I guess I had low expectations after this year's halftime show at the Super Bowl). He was joking around with the crowd and sang some fun stuff. Eric Clapton did an acoustic set as well as JAMMING on the "plugged" songs. He did some blues and of course he played Cocaine, Layla, and Wonderful Tonight. I don't know how anyone moves their fingers that fast on a guitar. In-cred-i-ble!

Outdoor Adventures:

I'm still not able to run because of my post-marathon foot injury, so I have switched to cycling. Last weekend we rode some bike trails in Birmingham and enjoyed the most beautiful weather we've experienced since...um... last fall maybe?! (I'm so tired of winter). We did a 16 mile ride last Sunday and tackled some STEEP hills.

This weekend the hubs and I are riding the 33 mile long Chief Ladiga Trail from Anniston, AL to the Georgia state line. It's 66 miles round trip! (Think we'll make it? I hope so!) The bike trail goes all the way to Atlanta (for anyone who wants to ride 100 miles one way)! It's the longest paved bike trail in the U.S. and is part of the Rails to Trails project where abandoned rail road lines are converted into bike paths... so of course we have to ride it! We will do the entire thing in sections over the next few months. The Alabama section is the Chief Ladiga Trail and the Georgia section is called the Silver Comet Trail. The Silver Comet will have to wait a few weeks. (We'll be on the blue part below).

Domesticity 101:

I made pancakes for the first time in my life. Yes, they were from a mix. Yes, I burned the first 3 of them. Yes, a few were edible after adding a mound of butter and a half gallon of maple syrup.

I also made chocolate gravy and biscuits that same weekend. Oh, the gluttony. (This is the exact reason we have to ride 60+ miles on the bikes. Good food = Tasha has no restraint= exercise).

Count down to Clapton

2010-02-23T12:43:00.002-06:00

Maybe it's the influence of my hippie parents, but I love 1960's and 70's music!

In 5 short days, I get to see Eric Clapton with the hubs! He got us tickets for Christmas and I've been waiting patiently since then. It's almost concert time!

What do you think about hippie music? Who are your favorite artists?

My top picks (other than Clapton of course) are:

Carole King
The Beatles
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Neil Young (Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young)
Steve Miller Band
ABBA
The Eagles
Bob Dylan

There are just too many to name!

Girl movie day!

2010-02-16T17:08:00.005-06:00

This gal is enjoying her day off work (I can't move my legs 2 days post-marathon-ouch!) by watching GIRL MOVIES! My husband always whines when there is any mention of a chick flick so I am taking advantage of my injured foot by reclining and watching these:

Who can resist a Nicholas Sparks book made into a movie?!

Am I the only one who was bothered by Kate Winslet's super dark eyebrows with the blond hair? Leo quickly took my mind off of this eyebrow thing. Doesn't he get better looking in every movie?! Wowza!

I am so behind on my movie viewing! Please excuse me while I try to catch up!

What good girl movies have you rented lately?

Valentine's Marathon!

2010-02-14T16:50:00.004-06:00

I finished my first marathon today! My husband finished his first Half Marathon! I am so proud of both of us! What a way to celebrate Valentine's Day!

I have never been so tired in my entire life, but this is the best type of jewelry in my opinion. ;-)

And.... I beat my 5 hour goal time! 4:59:55 (by 5 seconds!!! - Whew! That was close!!!)

Happy Valentine's Day to my bloggy friends! Thanks for all of the encouragement along the way to me running a marathon! I really do appreciate all of the positive comments from everyone who has followed my running journey over the last year. You ladies are the best!

What did you do to celebrate the special day?

It snowed!!!!

2010-02-13T20:40:00.002-06:00

I couldn't believe how pretty Birmingham became on Friday when we were covered in SNOW! Big fluffy flakes were falling steadily so the coworkers and I went out for lunch to ~~play and have snowball fights~~ enjoy how pretty the snow was!

Our big pine trees were confused by all this white stuff in the air!

My first marathon is in the morning! I have carbo loaded and bought a cap that says

"WILL RUN FOR CUPCAKES" so I think I'm as prepared as I will ever be! My goal time is 5 hours. That's averaging around an 11 minute mile. Slow and steady FINISHES the race I hope! It's supposed to be in the high 20's for the start of the race. Brrrr!!!

My good friend (college roomie) Ginger sent me an envelop of confetti to throw at the finish line! How fun is that?! It was so sweet of her!

Stay tuned for the marathon report. :-)

Marathon training: less than 2 weeks to go...

2010-02-04T11:43:00.004-06:00

Dear 30 year old body,

I understand that I have asked a lot of you this past year. I realize that I feed you crap like chocolate donuts, ice cream, crown and cokes, and pizza and then expect you to function properly... but please, please, please just hold it together until February 14th at 1 PM. That is when I have to finish running my first marathon or I will get chased from the course by the running authorities.

Knees~ please keep working with minimal pain.
Entire body~ please stay hydrated.
Hips~ please don't hurt.
Toenails~ please stay attached to my toes and retain your proper color so I can FINALLY get a pedicure.
Stomach~ please don't have any sort of problem that could be inconvenient while trying to run.
Shins~ please don't explode.

Body, I promise I will be nicer to you after the marathon. We will go for walks instead of runs, we will eat healthier, we will do some yoga and flexibility training, we will ride the bike for a change. Just please get me through the marathon.

Love,
Tasha

New shoes... again.

2010-01-26T09:57:00.003-06:00

Let me introduce my new BFFs. The Mizuno Wave Rider 13.

I am a creature of habit... I bought the exact same shoes I already had... but in a different color. The old ones had about 380 miles on them so they were within the range for replacement. I love these! They are fluffy clouds of happiness for my feet.

I did my longest run ever on Sunday... 20 miles and I didn't die. At least my feet still looked good by the time I was finished running, I can NOT say the same for the rest of me. After more than 3 and a half hours on the treadmill, I went through 2 Gu packets, 5 bottles of water, my clothes were completely soaked, my pony tail was a matted ball of grossness, and I looked like a crazy homeless woman that had been run over by a street cleaner. Sexy, I know.

My knee started acting up around mile 14 and I could only run at 5.6 mph. Anything faster and I thought I would die. I slowed down and enjoyed the run while watching VH1 smut and listening to peppy music. Good times! My quads are still pretty sore but the knee feels fine now. I'm going for a short run tonight to loosen up the muscles.

Happy Tuesday to all!

Mission: Sell this house!

2010-01-22T14:44:00.005-06:00

We're planning to put the house on the market in a couple of weeks so there are about a million things to do before then. We had the carpets cleaned so everything that was in 3 bedrooms ended up in our living room and dining room. Here is a very scary sample of how the house looked for the first half of the week (please excuse the quality of the cell phone pic since my camera is buried somewhere in this mess). It could be from that Hoarders TV show!!! We have lots of books... apparently.

Now, everything is almost back in place. We've started packing away unnecessary items and discarding unwanted things to declutter the house and I must admit that I LOVE getting rid of things. We're planning a garage sale in March so we can't wait to unload a bunch of ~~junk~~ treasures.

Here's the list of things to do in the next couple of months:
1. ~~clean carpets~~
2. ~~fix air conditioner~~
3. paint inside
4. paint gutters
5. power wash deck
6. new mulch and replace dead bush outside
7. fix electrical outlets
8. fix fireplace
9. garage sale!
10. train for a marathon
11. find a job in San Antonio
12. find a new house

Wow... I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed now, but everything will be fine because tonight is date night at Olive Garden and there will be a glass of wine ~~or two~~ for this gal tonight!

Marathon training

2010-01-21T12:15:00.004-06:00

I'm still on the marathon training wagon and this weekend is supposed to be a 20 mile long run (the longest run ever before the marathon). EEK!!! I must admit that I am terrified. I'm in search of ANOTHER pair of running shoes before this Saturday's run. I bought new ones back in September but my shins and knees have been hurting lately so I added up my mileage on the "new" shoes. Yup, I have about 380 miles on them... getting close to the dreaded 400 mile mark. Time to replace the shoes. I guess running is still an inexpensive hobby... as far as hobbies go. Golfers shell out $50 per game for one day, so a new pair of running shoes 2 or 3 times a year isn't awful.

My pace has slowed considerably during these long runs. For 5 k runs, I hang out around the 9:00 - 9:30 mile, but the longer distances keep me around 10:30 - 11:00 miles. If I can finish the marathon before the cut off time, I will be insanely proud of myself! I'm not trying to qualify for the Boston or anything, I just want to prove to myself that I can run a marathon and put that 26.2 sticker on my car. Running a marathon is something that I never would have dreamed about a couple of years ago. In 3.5 weeks, it will be time for me to run, run, run!

What do you want to do that you think is impossible? Any dreams to share?

What have you already done that you thought was impossible?

What are you reading?

2010-01-12T16:51:00.004-06:00

I recently finished two books that I really enjoyed... both are nonfiction so I guess I am branching out of my usual type of book.

It seems like everyone but me has read Angela's Ashes! (Now I need to see the movie). I keep hearing how great this book is so I decided to check it out... It was wonderful. It describes the author's life as a young boy who is born to Irish immigrant parents in New York during the Great Depression. They decide to return to Ireland because of the hard times in the United States. The book describes the boy's life of poverty with an alcoholic father, a mother who sacrifices her pride to beg for relief money from the government to feed her starving family, and siblings who are nearly starving. This book will make anyone thankful for their life. It is a powerful book.

(It also made me gain 3 pounds because of how much the author describes his hunger throughout his life. I felt so bad for him that I snacked way too much while reading)!

A Walk in the Woods was recommended by a coworker and it was very entertaining. It is about two middle aged, out of shape men who decide to hike the Appalachian Trail. These two guys have no hiking experience, no camping experience, and have very little in common. The trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and the descriptions of some of their experiences will make you giggle out loud. It also has a lot of information about wilderness conservation and American history. It was interesting as well as light hearted.

My next book club selection is The Help. I have just started it and I am really enjoying it so far.

Has anyone read any of these? What did you think? What are you reading right now?

Marathon training

2010-01-12T16:13:00.003-06:00

I have barely a month to go until the ~~insane~~ exhilarating experience of running my first marathon! I will be doing the Birmingham Mercedes Marathon on Valentine's weekend.

I'm on track (hee hee, get it? yes, corny, I know) with my training guide and did a long run last weekend of 18.6 miles. It took me 3 hrs and 15 min. Hey, I'm a cheetah in my own mind. I'm a little worried that Hal Higdon's training guide has the longest run before the marathon at a distance of 20 miles. What about that last 6.2 miles?! I'm terrified of bonking out in that last stretch and having to crawl my way across the finish line! But I suppose I will stick with the guide and assume that Mr. Higdon knows what he is doing.

I definitely need a hydration belt before the run. I know they are the dorkiest looking things but if I get thirsty and don't have water, I won't care how I look.

Not to mention, there is nothing cute about running a marathon in February. I can only imagine the amount of snot, sweat, and tears my body will produce. Gross. Why did I sign up for this again!? I suppose I like to challenge myself from time to time. I turned 30 last year and started running a few months before that. Then I became obsessed by it. There is nothing quite like the feeling of getting off that treadmill knowing that you just ran a mile for the first time in your life...

and then 2 miles...

and then a 5 k...

and then a 10 k...

and then a half marathon!

Shoot, by that point, anything is possible! Anything = a marathon to me (I hope!)

Gonna make a pie, gonna make a pie...

2010-01-06T10:43:00.004-06:00

Does that song from the movie The Waitress get stuck in anyone's head?

Gonna make a pie,

gonna make a pie,

gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle....

But I digress.

My mama taught me to make a pie during the holidays. Her dad taught her when she was little. He worked in a bakery, so I was excited to learn some pie making secrets.

This bad boy was made from scratch (well mostly, there was instant vanilla pudding involved but that doesn't count in my opinion). We made the crust and I actually used a rolling pin for something other than threatening my husband with a beating, so I get points for domesticity. It was coconut heaven. Yum!

Here's the coconut pie recipe for anyone who is domestically challenged like me:

Crust (for 9 inch pie plate):

1 cup of flour

1/2 cup COLD crisco

1/4 cup COLD water

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Mix gently in a bowl using your hands until the consistency is similar to cornmeal. Make a ball with the dough. Add a little flour to the outside of the dough ball and lay it on wax paper that has flour on it. Use a rolling pin (add flour to this too) to roll out the dough until it fits in the pie plate. (Lay something heavy on the sides of the wax paper or you will wrestle it to death). To transfer the dough to the pie plate, fold it in half or quarters and lay it in pie plate and unfold. Cut around the pie plate with a knife to remove excess dough. Pinch the edge of the crust with thumb and forefinger to make a decorative border. Poke some small holes in the bottom of the crust with a fork. Bake at 325 degrees F for approximately 20 minutes or until crust is slightly brown. Let pie crust cool to room temperature before adding filling.

Filling:

One package of instant vanilla pudding.

1 cup coconut

Follow directions for using pudding as pie filling. Whip pudding for 2 minutes until it thickens and mix in 1 cup shredded coconut. Transfer filling to pie crust.

Topping:

2 egg whites

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1/4 cup coconut

Whip egg whites fast with hand mixer until they turn white and fluffy and until they can make a peak when you touch them. (about 2 minutes). Once they are fluffy, mix in powdered sugar and whip for a few seconds more. Top the pie filling with this mixture.

Sprinkle with coconut. Broil for a couple of minutes until the coconut browns. Watch it closely because it browns really fast!

Pie is ready to eat! Enjoy!

Resolution time!

2010-01-05T15:14:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year!

I have completely neglected my blog because I have been SO stinkin' busy for the past month. If I still have any readers after my prolonged absence from the blogosphere, I hope everyone (all 2 of you who may still be reading) had a lovely holiday season!

Do you have any resolutions?

Here are mine...

1. Quit cursing like a sailor when I'm in traffic. I manage to keep my mouth under control ***until*** I get in the car. I need to be better about that.

2. Eat healthy. I need to quit eating everything in sight the minute I step foot in my house in the evening. I need to be patient enough to take an extra 20 minutes to make some sort of dinner. Plus, I feel pretty guilty for making my husband survive off of Subway sandwiches.

3. Read more. My goal is to read at least one extra book per month other than what I read for book club.

4. Be a better friend. Stay in touch more often with old friends. Listen more, talk less.

5. Watch less TV. (But the Bachelor started again, and Biggest Loser is on, and Modern Family makes me laugh... ok, ok, I realize that this isn't a realistic resolution but how about shooting for 4 out of 5?!)

The Christmas spirit...

2009-12-09T14:26:00.004-06:00

I'm definitely in the Christmas spirit. I love everything about Christmas. It seems to make Santa Clauses out of even the meanest grinches.

The "toys for tots" box at work is filled to the brim. One of my coworkers is arranging to pick up names from an angel tree so I told her to pick one for me this year. I always have such a hard time choosing one. Just one little angel. It seems like such an insignificant attempt at helping. I always want to help them all but it's just impossible. There are so many little angels on those trees and it breaks me heart.

My question is... how do you choose who to help? Where do you stop? There is so much need in the world and it always seems especially prevalent at Christmas. I was always such a lucky child at Christmas. There were always many gifts to open, a warm house where I waited for Santa Claus to visit, and a loving family surrounding me. There are so many kids out there in need.

The story of the starfish keeps coming to mind when I ask myself, "Does it really matter? I can't help them all. What can I do for those kids in need?"

The starfish story...

Once an old man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see boy going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth this little boy went. As the man approached he could see that there were thousands of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the tide.

The old man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the little boy continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.

As he came up to the boy he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference. What you are doing doesn't matter."

The little boy looked at the man. Then he bent down and picked up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"

Please consider making a difference to someone this Christmas.

Yankee Candle giveaway!

2009-12-09T10:29:00.002-06:00

Hannah at The New Black is hosting a Yankee candle giveaway! Her blog is so much fun and you will like it! I promise!

Cruise over to her blog here to enter!

Everyone loves Yankee candles!

13.1 miles. Check.

2009-12-08T16:38:00.006-06:00

I ran in the St. Jude's half marathon race this weekend with about 8,000 other people! It was an incredible experience for me and also supported a great cause.

I went to Memphis with 3 great girls and we had a blast! We arrived at the convention center on Friday night and picked up our packets for the big race. There were 4 of us that signed up to run but my sister-in-law broke her foot a few weeks ago during an 8K run and my friend T had a nasty cold and felt awful. So that left me and A to run!

I was a little excited to be in Memphis at the St. Jude's expo! Can you tell?

On Saturday, we woke up to 28 degree weather.
The GPS died on the way to the race.
I ate two bites of a bagel and a sip of coffee before running 13.1 miles.
It was one of the best experiences of my life.

(Please excuse the photo quality because some of these are taken with my cell phone).

Here are a ton of runners lined up at the starting line! We're ready to run because it's SO cold just standing here!

Here's a pic around mile 3 as we were approaching Beale Street. My feet started to thaw around this point.

The atmosphere was incredible! Downtown Memphis is a fun place and it was such a moving experience to run past the St. Jude's hospital. The spectators were incredible- people were cheering for all of the runners and the course even went down Beale street which was very cool! It was so much fun to see all the crazy signs to support everyone. Some of my favorites said

"If it were easy, I would be doing it"
"Who needs toe nails anyway?"
"The carbo load was worth it, right?"
"Run Forrest, Run!!!"

I saw several Santa Clauses, elves, many different musicians, belly dancers, and even Big Foot along the course! It was such a great cause and I felt like a million bucks when I crossed that finish line... the excitement was quickly followed by feeling like my quads might explode... and then freezing... and then needing to lay down but drinking hot cocoa instead.

Being part of something to raise money for St. Jude's was just awesome. There is no other word to describe it. Seeing parents standing along the race course holding up signs that said "Thank you for helping my child" brought tears to my eyes. Runners had pictures of little bald children pinned on their backs. People ran "in memory of" children and "in honor of" children who are still fighting the hardest fight of their lives. I will always keep St. Jude's in mind for charity donations!

My goal time for finishing the race was 2 hours and 15 min and I made it to the finish line with less than a minute to spare! I have been working toward this goal for a year. A year ago I ran 0.1 miles and thought I would hurl. Now I can run 13.1 miles! You bet your a$$ I put one of those stickers on my car. It says "13.1" and it rocks.

We went out for a fun girls night in Memphis and I can't even remember the last time I had that much fun! We even saw Elvis. :-)

What does someone need to run their first half marathon?

2009-12-03T21:28:00.003-06:00

So it's supposed to be 28 degrees on Saturday morning in Memphis for the St. Jude's Half Marathon. The degree to which this sucks is not even measurable on the scale of how bad things suck.

I'm packed and ready for the trip!

There will be layers and layers of clothing.

I may look like this kid...

Happy weekend to all!

Eccentric much? Why, yes... yes I am.

2009-12-03T13:06:00.006-06:00

I thought it would be fun to ~~confess~~ write some things that make me ~~a little crazy~~ eccentric... Feel free to share your quirks too!

1. I love the travel or trial-size section at any store. I adore the teeny tiny bottles of various products. They are so cute and fun and of course I need them all.

2. I love holiday socks. Yes, I'm that cool. Usually they are hidden by boots or long pants... but it makes me happy just knowing that I am wearing fun socks. You can bet that I have on some hideous bright red socks with snowflakes all over them under my black boots today. Classy. ;-)

3. I make lists. To do lists, grocery lists, Christmas gifts to buy lists, but I have never made a list of all of my lists. Now that would be silly, right?

4. I talk to my dogs and I really think they understand me. They want to hear about my day when my husband isn't home. Really. They do.

5. I'm obsessed with any website that keeps track of things for me.

For running: I use http://www.runningahead.com/ to log every run that I do with the time it took, the % incline, type of run, or weather conditions for an outside run, etc.
For reading: I love http://www.goodreads.com/ to keep track of books that I have read.
For budgeting: My credit card website has a tracking feature that makes a cool little pie chart showing where the money goes. I love charts, graphs, and tables.
For travel: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ to pin a map with every city I've visited.

6. One of my favorite winter meals is tomato soup (made with milk) and a grilled cheese sandwich. Hey, I'm a simple sort of person, what can I say?

7. I will not check out a library book. They smell bad and I'm fearful that they may have been in the hands of a "bathroom reader." Ewwwww!!!!

8. My favorite number is 4. It's very even and balanced and logical. There are 4 sides and corners to a square, 4 legs on chairs, and I even think the number 4 is a little bit lucky. My first date with my husband was on the 4th of June. And... my birthday is in April (the 4th month).

9. I am the leftover queen. I realize how un-OCD this sounds but it comes from being a very poor student for a very long time. Did anyone else out there join student organizations in college in hopes of leaving a meeting with a leftover pizza?

10. I still have a knack for finding free food. I will sit through any seminar if there is food to eat. I will randomly listen to financial planners, biotech scientists, salespeople, career counselors, organic chemistry lectures... you name it. If you give me a couple of slices of pizza, I will give you my lunch hour. I will walk 10 blocks for a boxed sandwich lunch. Bargains make me incredibly happy.

Ok... now I have revealed my quirks! Do you do anything crazy too? Am I alone in my quirkiness?

The update... thanksgiving, Black Friday, half marathon, reading, Christmas prep

2009-12-01T13:13:00.004-06:00

I hope everyone had a fabulous thanksgiving filled with wonderful food, good friends, and family!

I've been so busy that I have neglected my blog. So here's what I have been doing lately...

We went to my sis-in-law's for a spectacular feast! She made a 24 lb turkey. Yes, it was the mega-turkey if I have ever seen one! The food was delicious, the company was great, and I got to play with my little niece. It was a great Thanksgiving!
I got up at 3:30 AM last Friday to go Black Friday shopping. I fought the masses at Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Target. I got some INCREDIBLE bargains! And this gal LOVES a bargain like a fat kid loves cake.
My first half marathon is on Saturday! I did a long 12 mile run last Saturday and my knees have just stopped hurting (and it's Tuesday) so we'll see how this goes.
I get to run with 2 great friends and we have 1 awesome cheerleader who has a broken foot (huge bummer). We had t-shirts printed for our team. We're "The Bookies" and "we've been bookin' it since 2009!"
The half marathon is in Memphis and benefits St. Jude's! Contributing to a great cause and experiencing a fun city with wonderful friends will be an amazing way to spend a weekend. I hope we have time for Beale Street, Rendezvous ribs, & Graceland after the run.
I finished Eat, Pray, Love and LOVED it. Read it. It will change your life. If you love to travel, you will really enjoy that book.
We put up our Christmas tree already! We still have the same Christmas tree that we bought in 2004. It was $20 from Big Lots and we love it. It is the most pitiful Christmas tree that you can imagine but that baby is loaded down with lights, tinsel, and many many ornaments so it looks pretty good to me.
I get sentimental every year when we put up the tree. Every ornament on our tree has some special meaning and a story behind it. There are birds with broken wings, a stuffed Ronald McDonald from when I was 2 years old, scotty dogs from my MIL (the hubs name is Scott), a chipped light house from Tybee Island, and bells with sequins (most are missing) and I would not trade any one of them for a set of fancy ornaments.

Do you have your Christmas tree up yet? Ho, ho, ho!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T09:07:00.002-06:00

May your stuffing be tasty.

May your turkey be plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have never a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

There are no impossible goals.

2009-11-23T14:46:00.002-06:00

Call me an optimist (or a little crazy) but I'm one of those people who believes you can do anything if you really want it bad enough. If you put in the effort, you will achieve your goal. Sure, there are roadblocks, setbacks, and obstacles along the way... but if you just keep going and keep trying, you can do it.

As Little Nemo says... just keep swimming.
(yes, I loved the movie and yes, I am 30 years old)

So I signed up for a marathon.

26.2 miles.

Scary.

***sings to self: "just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming."***

Cavanal 5 Mile Run

2009-11-21T16:17:00.002-06:00

A week ago I ran up this hill. It's the "world's highest hill" at 1,999 ft tall. If it were a ft taller, it would be a mountain. The 5 miles up this "hill" were killer.

I did this run with one of my best friends and we had a blast. I had not seen her in almost 2 years! She met me in my hometown and we ~~ran~~ jogged and walked our way up the hill. I was dragging around mile 2 as you can see. I'm the one in the pants who is barely managing to stay upright. I also had a cold and was hacking like a chain smoker. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)

Here we are at the finish line and I was very relieved to be finished with this race!

I finished in ~77 minutes. Yup, that's a whopping pace of >15 min per mile. Oh yeah. I know most grandmas move faster than that but they're not running up hill for 5 miles straight! Hey, it was a great way to start a Saturday morning and I got to hang out with a wonderful friend. :-)

The never ending story...

2009-11-10T11:48:00.003-06:00

Do you ever pick up a book that you just CAN'T manage to finish? Yeah... that's me with Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and the Damned. I have been reading this book for months.

It's not from lack of effort.
* I carry this book in my purse to work.
* I take it into the house with me at night.
* I put it in my car when I will be getting an oil change and have a few minutes to read.

... and I open it and read one paragraph and then:
* fall into a coma.
* check my email for the 400th time.
* log onto facebook.
* balance my checkbook.
* go clean something... anything.
* read another book instead (or some random science protocol or a product brochure or anything else to prevent me from reading The B&D).

Yes, the Beautiful and the Damned has given me ADHD. I loved the Great Gatsby but somehow I just can't get into this book.

So I bought Eat, Pray, Love instead.

What are you reading right now?

P.S. Thanks for all the comments on the big announcement about San Antonio! I look forward to eating my way through the city and surrounding areas!

The hubs and I are moving to...

2009-11-09T15:02:00.004-06:00

....San Antonio!

My husband and I will become Texans some time next summer! He has been interviewing for jobs over the last couple of months and the decision about where to move has not been an easy one. We don't know ANYONE in San Antonio. I've been to this city twice in my life. But, we are on to the next adventure. I'm trying to stay positive about it but I have to admit that a move to a completely new place is pretty scary.

So now we just need to:
* sell our house in Alabama.
* find a job for me in San Antonio.
* find a house in San Antonio.

Most important:
* find the best places for Mexican food & margaritas in San Antonio. ;-)

Any suggestions?

Running!

2009-11-06T12:54:00.003-06:00

Saturday, November 7, 8 AM:
Vulcan 10 K Run
Birmingham, AL
Goal time: 1 hr.

Saturday, November 14, 9 AM:
World's Highest Hill 5 Mile Race
Elevation change: 1,999 ft. (It's one foot shorter than a mountain y'all).
Poteau, OK
Goal time: no goal time for this one, the plan is to finish the race without needing emergency medical assistance.
If my geometry skills are working, I'm calculating this to average a 4.7% incline for 5 miles. Holy crap. Fun stuff!

Monday

2009-11-02T21:20:00.003-06:00

Thanks so much to everyone who left such sweet comments a few days ago when I posted about my friend. She was diagnosed with liver cancer and she is only in her early 30's. It's just so unbelievable to me still. She has started chemotherapy and I am praying all the time for her. She is such a strong person and she is fighting hard. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers for her.

The weekend review:

I rotated my tires instead of buying two new ones. The tires for my car cost about 5 times as much as I budgeted. Dear Santa, the Frye boots will have to wait until next year, please bring me tires. Sigh.... At least the dogs are good for another year after a trip to the vet.

My Halloween was spent with the most precious baby girl in the world. I was thrilled when my sis-in-law asked me to join her and my little niece for a Halloween parade. My niece was a bee princess and she was adorable in her little orange tutu and bee wings. She was very cuddly because she is teething and I must admit that baby cuddles are the best thing in the entire world.

I got 6 trick or treaters this year. When I got home from my sis-in-law's house, it was already kind of late so I got some sketchy teenagers and some of them weren't even dressed up. I wouldn't have even opened the door if Scott wasn't home! I bought 4 bags of Halloween candy so I'm glad I don't have to eat ALL of it myself. (ok, ok, so I ate an entire bag of Butterfingers last week before Halloween weekend even started).

For my ~~butterfinger induced state of guilt~~ half marathon training, I ran 10 miles on Sunday. It was the first double digit run of my life and I was thrilled! It's so nice to get on the treadmill, zone out, and forget about everything for a while. Some people are able to think when they run, they sort out all of their problems... not me, not this weekend. I just went blank. I watched the ridiculousness (yes, that should be a word) of VH-1 mega-yachts, listened to good music on the iPod, and felt nothing except for the sweat running down my face. It was the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T14:14:00.005-05:00

Cricket wishes you a happy halloween!

(Bat girl)

(Masquerade girl)

(The Nightmare of Elm Street girl)

(Davey Crockett)

(Indian girl)

It's pay day!

2009-10-30T11:23:00.004-05:00

I want these...

But alas.... instead of the beautiful Frye boots I've been lusting over, I will be buying shots for these little girls at the vet tomorrow...

and 2 of these for the Mazda-rati.

Being responsible is SO overrated. :-)

8 K Run Away race and Sloss Fright Furnace

2009-10-28T10:48:00.007-05:00

I ran the Hannah Homes "Run Away from Domestic Violence" 8 K last weekend and enjoyed it so much! I was part of a great group of family and friends who participated in the run. My husband, sis in law, and some friends all got up early on a chilly Saturday morning to support a great cause and complete a very challenging course. There were TONS of hills! The course went through the beautiful Greystone neighborhood and it had water stops every mile! Score!

The run started with a huge hill that not even Britney on my iPod could help. (I'm loving the new "3" single of hers- it's my new running song). So I started out tired but managed to get into a rhythm around the 2nd mile. My lungs were hurting from the cold air but I kept going. My goal was to finish in less than 50 minutes and I actually hit the finish line before 48 minutes! I was thrilled! After the run, the crew and I went to Cracker Barrel to celebrate and enjoyed some well deserved calories.

Saturday night, some of us went to the haunted Sloss Fright Furnace. It's an old steel blast furnace that is over 100 years old and it's supposed to be haunted. The place itself was really creepy and several steel workers died there. Think of crumbling bricks, really old giant machinery, cobwebs, and the dark. Here's the website if you're curious:

Sloss Fright Furnace

It would have been so much more scary if the cheese factor was decreased. Of course I made my husband go first but the ghosts, goblins, and zombies waited to jump out at me. I will admit that I'm a spazzy sort of person, so yeah, I jumped and screamed a few dozen times. It was a fun time and I'm glad we went. It would have been much more scary if they would've just let us walk around in that place without all the "monsters" jumping out at us every couple of seconds. It's amazing how haunted houses just aren't that scary as an adult. As a child, I would have been completely traumatized by the Sloss Fright Furnace.

Do you do the Halloween haunted house thing?

Prayers needed

2009-10-27T13:24:00.008-05:00

I got some really horrible news last week about one of my best friends. I've been asking myself why bad things happen to great people and I've been so furious with God for letting this happen. I alternate between fury at God and begging Him for comfort and healing for my friend. Probably not the greatest combination of feelings and requests, but at least it's honest.

If you pray, or even if you don't, start now and please pray for my friend. She needs a miracle. My heart hurts for what she is going through and also for her family. And also for me. I am selfish. Nothing bad should ever happen to my friends. I want all of my friends to have the very best lives that the world can offer. They have all worked hard, done all of the right things, and they deserve to be happy. Every time I think about her I just want to cry because she is having to go through this, but I am also filled with so much hope for my friend.

She is a fighter and I pray that she can fight this.

Post Secret Blog

2009-10-21T10:59:00.002-05:00

Has anyone ever been to a Post Secret event? There is one coming soon to my city and I'm planning to go.

I am a habitual Post Secret reader. I have to check out the new secrets every Sunday. This blog fascinates me for some reason. Some of the secrets are heart breaking. Others are motivational. Many of them are just hilarious. The cards are so artistic and creative and I admire the people who share their secrets.

Post Secret Blog

What do you think about Post Secret?

Recipe: Cranberry Brisket

2009-10-19T10:23:00.002-05:00

Brown a ~4 lb brisket on all sides in 2-3 T olive oil for 5-7 min in a large skillet.

Add brisket to crock pot with the following:

1 can (16 oz) whole berry cranberries
1 can cranberry sauce
1 large chopped onion
3 stalks chopped celery
3 chopped carrots
1 T minced garlic
Add a little seasoning salt and pepper.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Enjoy!

Flashback for Fall fashion!

2009-10-16T10:33:00.003-05:00

Today is the first day I have been cold enough to wear a jacket this fall!

So, I found my jean jacket...

(this is from eBay because I don't know where my camera cord is)

I love it. It's my dad's Levi's jean jacket from the 60's. He wore it in middle school and somehow he managed to keep it around all these years. I swiped it from him when I was in college and I've had it ever since.

These things are pricey on eBay but I would never sell mine. It will always remind me of my dad. Even though he's hundreds of miles away from me and he can be difficult at times, he's always been a great dad and I am so thankful for him.

Is anyone else breaking out a jacket yet?

Wednesday ramblings

2009-10-14T09:26:00.003-05:00

* I am SO over the rain. It's freaking depressing outside.

* I really want someone to clean my house for me. It's gross.

* Big choices have to be made very, very, very soon and there is no perfect choice.

* Any time spent running is the best part of my day lately.

* I can't believe Coach Mo went home on The Biggest Loser!!! I can't stand that Tracy chick!

* I have rediscovered The White Stripes and their music makes me happy.

Weekend recap

2009-10-12T13:13:00.002-05:00

I had a lovely weekend even though my husband was out of town for part of it. I hate it when he's gone, but I try to make the most of things even though I miss him.

Friday night:
I went to dinner with a friend to celebrate her birthday. She's holding steady from this point on at 29 years old. ;-) We ate a very gluttonous dinner (see previous post for food addiction highlights) at the Macaroni Grill! It was heavenly.

Saturday:
The morning was spent at the Race For The Cure 5K run. I woke up early, looked out the windows to find a grey rainy sky and seriously thought about going back to bed. I'm so glad I got up and participated in the race instead! I went by myself and ran in the rain. The entire event was such a celebration. The fountains downtown were died pink, there were pink and white balloons decorating the park where the race began, and there were TONS of people!

The morning started off with a Survivor Parade. The survivors were grouped by years of survival, 0-1 years, 1-2 years, and so on. There were many ladies in the 30+ years category and they were all such an inspiration! At the end of the parade, they released several white doves and it was really a beautiful thing to see. All of those braves faces in pink were really moving to me and I had to wipe a tear away. I guess I was thinking about my aunt and wishing she could participate in such a parade. Even with a heavy heart, it was definitely not a sad event because there were so many people who had so much hope. After the survivor parade, they had some jazzercize warm-up aerobics at the starting line. It was hilarious. Let's just say that I felt better about my lack of rhythm when I watched the people around me!

There were signs to wear on your back to run "In Honor Of" or "In Memory Of" someone who had experienced a battle with breast cancer. I ran in honor of my aunt. She passed away in 1996. There were so many people with signs on their backs. Being part of this race to raise money for cancer research was an awesome experience. There were so many people cheering along the race course! It was amazing to have total strangers clapping and yelling encouragement for all of the runners! There were some characters running in that event- a guy in a hot pink tutu and pink tights, a group of teenagers who had spray painted their hair pink, and people with the Komen pink ribbons painted on their faces. The course was fairly flat too so I was excited about my race time (29:10 for any runners out there). There was even an accordion player doing the theme song to Rocky! I really need to put that on my iPod!

The hubs came home to drop off some laundry, spent his Saturday watching football, and then he was gone again Sunday morning.

Sunday:
I took hubs to the airport EARLY (shudder) and went back to sleep. Lazy Sundays are the best! After two cups of coffee and a morning with the DVR, I spent the rest of the day finishing the next book club selection:

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. (No spoilers here)
I enjoyed it. The story is told from a dog's perspective and it is an interesting way to look at the events that happen to his family. Dogs always manage to keep things in perspective. If only humans could be so lucky.

Then I went for a long run, played with the dogs, and watched Desperate Housewives and Mad Men.

Happy Columbus Day to all!

Fighting the Friday Fat

2009-10-09T13:09:00.003-05:00

I sooooo miss my 16 year old metabolism. I used to eat like a college frat boy when I was in high school and still maintain the same weight. Every single day of lunch in high school was spent at a fast food restaurant. Those were the days!

I'm lucky enough to have maintained a decent weight in spite of turning 30 (although I could lose ~~5 lbs~~ 10 lbs and my clothes would look a lot better).

But staying healthy is a CONSTANT battle for me! I LOVE unhealthy food. I mean, I could tear UP a Pizza Hut buffet if I let myself go wild! Or I would love to get something chicken fried, cover it in gravy, and maybe even put some butter on top of it... and then I could follow it up with a trip to Dairy Queen! Calories don't count on vacations and I let myself splurge on occasion, but most of the time... I resist the temptation.

I'm eating a 250 calorie lean cuisine for lunch. I will have an apple for my afternoon snack. But it sucks and I would rather have a cheeseburger!

So ladies...

How do you stay healthy?
Do you crave bad food like me?
What are your motivations for eating right & exercising?

To answer my own questions:

I eat healthy 90% of the time. (Special K for breakfast, Lean Cuisines for lunch, sandwiches or grilled chicken for dinner, as well as snacking on fresh fruits, granola bars, and low fat string cheese).
I enjoy exercise! (most of the time anyway)... I love the way I feel after I finish a run. I want to live a long, happy life so I need to be healthy to do this. Plus, if I am trying to be healthy, it encourages my husband to eat right and exercise as well. For the first few years we were together, he lived on fast food and anything he could grab from the hospital cafeteria. Recently, he's eating Subway sandwiches and outrunning me on the treadmill. I'm so proud of him!

Cheers to good health!

Race for the Cure

2009-10-07T20:23:00.004-05:00

This is what I will be doing on Saturday morning!

From the Race for the Cure website:

Susan G. Komen fought breast cancer with her heart, body and soul. Throughout her diagnosis, treatments, and endless days in the hospital, she spent her time thinking of ways to make life better for other women battling breast cancer instead of worrying about her own situation. That concern for others continued even as Susan neared the end of her fight. Moved by Susan’s compassion for others and committed to making a difference, Nancy G. Brinker promised her sister that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.

That promise is now Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, the global leader of the breast cancer movement, having invested more than $1 billion since inception in 1982. As the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, we’re working together to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®, and generous contributions from our partners, sponsors and fellow supporters, we have become the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

(http://ww5.komen.org/)

What a fantastic organization! I want to be a part of this and it will be fun to do another race!

I lost an aunt to metastatic breast cancer. The cancer began in her breast, then it went to her lung, and finally to her brain. She was a great lady who could light up a room with her laugh. She was one of the kindest and sweetest people you can imagine. She taught Sunday School at her church for decades. She made chocolate gravy for breakfast for her grand kids, nieces, and nephews. She helped me talk my mom into letting me stay out all night for my high school prom. Her time on earth was a gift to every life she touched.

So... if I can be part of something that supports research to END BREAST CANCER, you can bet I will do it!

Anyone else running this race?

Weekend in Nashville

2009-10-06T17:00:00.006-05:00

We saw Snow Patrol at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville this weekend. They were awesome! Plain White T's opened and they put on a good show. The performances were all phenomenal and we couldn't have asked for a cooler venue! The Ryman was the original home of the Grand Ole' Opry and every seat in this place is a good one.

We also took a tour of the Belle Meade plantation while we were in Nashville. It was beautiful and the tour guide was very informative. Many Kentucky Derby winning horses are descendants from a horse named Bonnie Scotland that was owned by this plantation.

We had to check out the famous Loveless cafe near Belle Meade and eat a ridiculous amount of food. Mass quantities of fried catfish, okra, sweet potatoes, chicken fried steak, mac & cheese, biscuits, and coconut pie were consumed here. It was pure gluttony and it was WONDERFUL!

We walked around the Honky Tonks downtown to try to recover from our lunch at the Loveless Cafe. Downtown Nashville is a blast! There is live music everywhere and it has a very "Vegas" sort of feel to it.

We are die hard OU fans so we had to find a sports bar where we could watch our Sooners lose. That game was a huge bummer. In spite of the loss, we enjoyed the Big River Brewery and got the beer sampler.

Seriously.... the beers were in little shot glasses so the evening wasn't as bad as it looked. The picture is too funny though! It looks like we had a REALLY good time in Nashville!

What a blast!

Running

2009-09-30T10:55:00.002-05:00

Maybe it's the scientist part of me speaking, but aren't graphs the coolest thing?! And it's even more cool to see that I have been accomplishing something over time! (let's just ignore April... I turned 30 and opted to spend my evenings with Ben & Jerry instead of the treadmill).

I'm so proud when I see the progress I have made! The half marathon training is going well and I am being consistent with my training guide (and even doing a little extra). Plus, I have a tiny pink bar on my September running record. That was the little tempo run that nearly made me cry... but it's pink! What girl doesn't love pink?

Last night I ran a 10 k in less than an hour. Yay!

Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors.
Try to be better than yourself.--William Faulkner

Music

2009-09-28T22:27:00.003-05:00

I'm lacking bloggy inspiration so here are my 3 favorite songs on the iPod this week:

1. "I and Love and You" by The Avett Brothers
2. "Wash Away" by Matt Costa
3. "New Slang" by The Shins

I like the mellow stuff. This is not running music, but it's definitely good for a day at work in the lab. Yes, I listen to my iPod at work. It's awesome. ;-)