Busy Bee...

What a month May has been! I knew it would be crazy busy but I think it even took me off gaurd. What did we do this month?

1. We went to Arkansas for a weekend to see Mike's little brother graduate. We had a beautiful lakehouse in Buena Vista, Arkansas and it was wonderful. We visited him earlier this year and went to a football game. Those hog fans are crazy!

2. The following weekend, Mike was second-shooting his first wedding in Columbia, and I was spending the day with great friends celebrating a wonderful occasion. We were supposed to all participate in Bark in the Park but it was pouring all morning so Mia and I didn't go. Instead, I went straight to Forest Park. Our great friends, Kate and Peter were getting engaged, in the rain, and we were waiting with a huge BBQ to celebrate. The rain didn't damper the mood or the day...it was such a happy celebration and no one minded getting soaked. Here are a couple of my pictures from the day.Me and Kate right after the engagement in the rain!Under tarp enjoying the party!All of my friends with the happy couple! It really was amazing because some friends come in town from New York, Chicago, and Florida just to celebrate with Kate and Peter. They are special people, I tell you!We ended the all-day celebration at Tom's Bar and Grill with some karaoke. Mike even joined us and drove straight from the wedding in Columbia. Congrats Kate and Peter. We really couldn't be happier for you two. LOVE YOU!

3. I "graduated" the next day. I didn't actually walk but I celebrated with a lot of family members with a BBQ at my parents house. It was perfect and I am so glad to be done!
4. I had a couple of crazy weeks finishing report cards and the school year. The last day of school was MY BIRTHDAY! Seriously, what a great way to celebrate a birthday. This year, marked my 27th year of life. I'm not going to lie. 27 actually felt different to me. No longer the mid-20s but now the late 20s. I can't really explain it but I think I finally understood why adults don't necessarily look forward to birthdays. Getting older is a part of life and blablabla, I just couldn't help feeling a little different about this one. But don't worry, that didn't mean I wasn't going to celebrate. Wednesdays are home to $5 buckets at the Bar Louie across the street so we were there! Not sure why the pictures are blurry but where are a couple with my friends and mom and my hunny.5. Since my birthday on the 26th, I have been eating, and eating, and eating. Seriously, it is gross. We have eaten every meal out since last Sunday! I guess that is what happens during your birthday week, huh!? Yesterday, we took a break from the eating to run a 5k in Forest Park. Man, it was hard...and uphill...and HOT! It wasn't our best run but we are alive. We are going to run Beca's Five in a few weeks so you should sign up too! It is a great cause and benefit's Beca and her fight for her life against melanoma.

6. Now that it is summer, I get to look forward to going HERE!May was a fantastic month! A month of happy endings, new beginnings, and wonderful life transitions and accomplishments.

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We are famous...kind of...

About 6 months ago, an editor from The Knot contacted us to let us know that our wedding would be featured in the summer edition of their regional St. Louis and Kansas City magazine. On Wednesday, I got home to find a package from The Knot with 3 magazines. So cool!The little feature actually doesn't talk about our wedding at all. It just mentions how we met and how we were engaged, which I think is pretty special.

This weekend, I am locking myself at home and finishing report cards. Only 3 1/2 days of school left!!!

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Still running!

I'm not going to lie...after the Go! Run, I didn't run for about 3 weeks. Nothing. It felt great but I started missing it (crazy, huh?). This week, I started again and I have gone running 3 times. Only 2 miles each time but hey, I've got to ease back into this thing! To stay up the running, I need some races to keep me motivated. On May 30th, Mike and I are going to run in the 1st Annual 5K Memorial Run benefiting Backstoppers. This race is in Forest Park and I am very excited. Backstoppers is a great organization that supports police officers, firefighters, and their families.

I am SO upset that we won't be in town for the Komen Race for the Cure. My mom is a breast cancer survivor and we have walked in ALL 10 RACES. I can't believe I am going to miss this one. Every year, I talk to my mom and sister about how badly I would love to run the 5K. Now that I am actually physically able to run, I can't attend. Next year.

On June 19th, we will be running Beca's Five. Beca is the girlfriend of my friend, Kevin's, brother. (Kevin is married to Tess and I was in their wedding last August.) Beca is so full love and life and has been battling stage four melanoma for the last year and a half. She is a beautiful woman and I am honored to run in support of her.

Finally, I can't believe I am going to commit to this on my blog, but I am going to train for the Louis and Clark Half Marathon in October. Holy crap...I said it.

Let me know if you are going to do any of those runs! I'd love to see some of you out there!

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Pisa or Siena

We are going to Italy soon and still need to make a big decision. We are going to take a day trip from Florence. Do we go to Pisa...or Siena? (pictures from Flickrstorm)Pisa- Obviously, we would go just to see the tower. I feel like, how could we go to Italy and NOT see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then I hear that the city of Pisa is pretty small and boring. A lot of pick-pockets and people trying to sell cheap purses and such. I hear that you see the tower, walk around a bit, and then go home. Is it worth the train ticket and ride out there?

OR

Siena- In the middle of Tuscany wine country. The town has museums, churches, great restaurants, etc.

It seems like a no-brainer to me and I am leaning toward Siena. However, I feel like missing the Tower is just something that you don't do if you are spending 15 days in Italy. Hummmm....

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White Chicken Chili

I was home today for a personal day, didn't feel like grocery shopping, but wanted something yummy for dinner. I looked into the pantry to see what cans of vegetables I had and figured that I could try to make white chicken chili. I had never made it before, just threw some ingredients into the crockpot, and it turned out great! (This isn't my picture, but this is pretty close to how it looked.)Here is what I used:
-1 can of northern beans (they are white)
-1 can of white, shoepeg corn
-1 can of chicken broth
-1 can of cream of celery soup (it was supposed to be cream of chicken but I didn't have it)
-1 can of rotel (it was supposed to be tomatoes and onions)
-3 frozen chicken breasts
-chili powder, garlic powder, minced onions, oregano, and cumin

It was SO good! And I think it probably isn't too unhealthy...just the cream of celery soup is bad. I will definitely be making this again!

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Baby Mia pictures

This past weekend, Mike found an email from over a year ago before we got Mia. )By blogging the pictures, I know that I won't lose them!) She was so cute and it really amazes me how she looks so much the same. Here is Mia at about 5 weeks old...
I think Mia looks just like her mama, Dixie...Here is big papa, Traveler...Lately, I've been thinking a lot about getting Mia another little sister. I would love to adopt from St. Louis Boxer Rescue. We will just need to be patient for the right dog at the right time. We aren't ready yet but it is definitely something we are talking about. Until then, I just keep searching the internet for boxers that are up for adoption.

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Guess who's done with school?

I AM! I AM! Well...at least for now. I have been totally M.I.A. lately. I can't believe we are almost halfway through the month of May and this is my first time blogging this month. As you probably guessed, things have been a little crazy around here. Mike has been shooting every weekend (if you haven't check out his new stuff lately, you should visit his blog) and I was focused on finishing up school.

Last Wednesday was my last class. I can't say I am an official graduate yet because graduation isn't until next Saturday. I decided that I am not going to walk though. I went back and forth and finally decided that I didn't want to put my family through a boring graduation ceremony. My 2 friends that are also graduating weren't walking and I realized that it just wasn't that important to me. Instead, I decided that I would rather spend the time with my family so we are going to have a BBQ instead :) Oh, and someone asked what my Master's degree is...it is Masters in Educational Administration meaning that I can be a principal once I take my certification test.

So, that is where I have been. Now, I am focusing on finishing up the last couple weeks of school. Getting so excited for our trips this summer but I still have so much to do before we leave.

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One Year Ago....

I became a mama to this beautiful puppy. (This picture was in the car on the way home from Arkansas.) Looking back at the pictures of that weekend just make me smile. She has grown so much and is such a good girl. We love her more than I could have ever imagined. I can't believe my little girl was so small.LOVE YOU MIA!

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Light at the end of the tunnel

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Weight loss....BLAH...

I haven't mentioned my anything about weight loss in a while. That's because nothing has really happened. Gain a pound, lose a pound, stay the same. I have been stuck for a month or so. I know that I haven't been counting my points as well as I had at the beginning and I know that I also need to get active more often. I am holding strong at -7.5 lbs but I would like to lost another 5-7 before Italy. This week, I am going back to make a "0 Point Veggie Soup" that was in my first Weight Watchers booklet. If if love vegetable soups, this is a great one. I will eat about 10 crackers with this (2 points) and sometimes a little something on the side. This is a great recipe if you want to keep your points down for the day! If this recipe isn't your style, you can find tons of other "0 point" soups out there like this one, or one with a Mexican, Asian, or Italian flair.Ingredients

• 4 cups spinach, washed
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 medium celery ribs, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 28 ounces canned no-salt-added diced tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed

Put all of the ingredients in the crockpot on high for 5 hours. Make sure to remove the bay leaves!

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Top 3

On Sunday after the run, a few of us girls started talking about our "Top 3". You know, the 3 celebrities that your husband/boyfriend would "allow" you to cheat* with. It was really interesting to hear the all of the girls' and boys' Top 3 choices.

Without further ado, here's my Top 3 (in no particular order):

Gerard Butler:Oh...hello there, Gerry.I'm not even a facial hair kind of girl. Oh, Gerry....Taye Diggs:
Such a great smile...I love you, Taye. (Tell your wife hi...I love her too!)Ryan Reynolds:YOWZA....Uh huh....Does Mike know? Oh yes. He has to know in case one of these handsome men come into town and decide that they love me. Right?

Interested in Mike's Top 3? (Again, no particular order...)
Beyonce:Kim Kardashian:Leona Lewis:At least I know that he likes brunettes with curves, right?!

Do you have a Top 3? Does your husband? Do you know each other's Top 3?

*I am not condoning cheating. Cheating is not cool. Even with your favorite celebrities. I do not want to cheat on my husband. This post is for fun so please don't read into it. Thank you.

Don't forget, that you can ASK ME ANYTHING. I will work on answering those awesome questions starting next week!

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Best Day Ever!

Who would have thought that I would ever describe an experience that was centered around running as the "best day ever"?

We woke up bright and early on Sunday morning at 4:45 am. We put on our race attire, did a little stretching, and ate our bowls of oatmeal and PB&J sandwiches. (Funny side story...kind of. Mike realized as he was making breakfast that we only had 1 packet of oatmeal left. Then, he decided to make a PB&J and realized that we didn't have enough peanut butter for 2 sandwiches. We shared but the lack of food made me a bit nervous for him.) Before we left the house, I insisted that we had to snap a couple of pictures. You know, in case one of us died...We met over at Kate and Peter's house at around 6:00 to catch a ride with them. By the time everyone arrived and we were in the car, it was 6:30. I started to get nervous (I don't even know if nervous can best describe the anxiety that I had going into this day) that we would miss the 7 am start. We parked, hit up a port-a-potty, took the picture below, and started running toward the pace groups behind the START line. Lining up in that corral was really nerve-racking and the anxiety started kicking in again. At least we hadn't missed the start. Before I knew it, we were walking and eventually running across the start line. I could tell within minutes that this run was going to be different. The massive amount of people running at the same time was just incredible. Running down Broadway toward the Brewery, we were able to see an amazing sight. 17,000 were running down the street! My favorite part was only 1.5 miles in. Suddenly, across the street, the fast marathoners were looping back past us. They were only mile 4!

The first 6 miles of the course was wonderful. There was a small incline up Broadway, a few steeper hills through the Brewery and Soulard, and the big hill up Chouteau. Other than that, it was a pretty flat leg of the race. I heard that the other parts of the race had a lot more elevation changes so I guess I lucked out.

Before I knew it, we were at 6 miles and it was time to say goodbye to Mike. He was in great shape and surprising, so was I. Honestly, I have NEVER felt that good while running. I felt like I could keep going. I felt wonderful. I think I might have even smiled for most of the 6 miles. I said goodbye to Mike, met my relay teammate, Lynne, to pass on our timing tag, and she was on her way. I am not sure about official timing but my Garmin said that I ran 6.2 miles in 1:06. I was pretty darn happy with that. The atmosphere and the energy kept me going. All of the people around and the supporter just keep you going. It really is the coolest thing ever.

After about 30 minutes of walking around downtown, Kate and I found a good place to watch the finishers of the half marathon (right at mile 13). Our friends were rolling through and I was just waiting for Mike. We had no clue when he would be done but we guess between 2 hours and 2:30. At about 2:20, I saw this cutie running toward me.(The first thing that my dad said when he saw this picture is that he couldn't stop looking at the old lady who beat Mike. But that is the coolest part! There were so many older and larger people that were amazing runners. There was a man juggling and he was going faster than we were!)

I shouted and asked if he wanted me to finish with him. Earlier in the week when I asked him if I should meet him at mile 12 and finish with him, he told me no. But this day, he eagerly said yes so I jumped into the race and ran the last couple of minutes with him. I was so proud of him at that moment and I wanted to cry. After we crossed the finish line, I snapped another picture of my half-marathoner with his medal. Not looking too shabby for just finishing 13.1 miles, huh? Mike left to go back to Kate and Peter's to shower and change, while I met with with friends that finished the half. I had to wait until my relay team finished the whole marathon so we could cross the finish line together. It was such a beautiful day and I was so lucky to be able to meet us with friends and talk about the run.

At about 10:45, I got a text that our final relay member had started her run. We figured that we needed to line up to meet her at about 11:45. We stood at the top of the huge hill called Market Street and waited for our teammate to come. A few minutes later, we saw her coming up the hill. Our 4-person relay team rallied together to finish the marathon strong. We held hands crossing the finish line and were so proud of our time. When we first signed up, we had to guess a finishing time. We guessed 5 hours. Then after much discussion, we changed that finish time to 6 hours. I am proud to say that we finished the marathon in less than 5 hours! I think our time was 4:50ish. Here we are right after we got our medals...That's Tess, Kate, Me, and Lynne (Tess didn't get the memo about the blue shirts. Or putting on the medal. She does that sometimes.)

We ended the day back at Kate's for a bunch of food, drinks, and race talk. Nothing like mimosas to make you feel better after a long day... This day was really amazing. Inspiring. Wonderful. The best. I am SO proud of my friends, my husband, and myself. Only 7 months ago, my running journey began and I posted THIS about signing up for the Turkey Trot. At the time, I couldn't fathom running for 30 minutes straight. Reading through those Couch to 5K posts is fun...I really struggled. I still struggle and have bad days. But I would have never thought that 7 months later, I would be able to run for 66 minutes without stopping. NEVER. I want to run a half-marathon now. I know that it is going to be a big jump and a lot of work but I am ready for it. I am not sure which one I am going to sign-up for but it is in my future. Thank you for all of the people that have supported and encouraged me through this entire process. Thank you for all of you that ran on Sunday morning and inspired me to continue my journey. The running community is an amazing one and I am glad to be a part of it.

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Ask me anything!

I've never done this before but I enjoy reading random things about other bloggers. Mrs. Everlasting did it a couple of months ago so I thought I would give it a shot.

Now, I know that people might not be interested in my life and this may be a little self-indulgent. I just need a little blogging boost to get me back into the swing of posting regularly. So many of the blogs I read have fallen into a "theme". Babies mostly. Some photography. Some home renovations/decorating. Some running. My blog continues to be ever-evolving and ever-so-random. Don't see that changing anytime soon :)

Feel free to ask my anything in the comments. As long as the questions are appropriate, I will happily answer. This will be fun!!!

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