My Crazy Life

Very Random Thoughts

2012-03-01T14:08:00.000-05:00

Source: google.com via Lauren on Pinterest

- I was speaking with one of my masters swimmers today and she revealed her real age to me - 76!! This woman swims four days a week at 5:30am. Wow. I don't know if I would do that right now unless it was a part of my job - let alone 50 years from now!! That is incredibly impressive and she does not look a day over 65. I hope I have the discipline and drive to continue working out throughout my life.

- It is 81 degrees outside right now. Sitting in my office without windows is really depressing, but the idea that this weather will be here to stay soon is keeping me going. Oh, and that walk I took at lunch. I am so ready for summer!

- I've been running again! I don't want to jinx it and I am starting slowly, but I am working my way back into it. My foot still hurts on occasion, but I don't think it's being caused by the running, so I will keep it up. More info on that to come soon.

- I have a week off at Easter...anyone have any cheap, fun things to do? I need ideas.

Did it Snow this Week?

2012-02-23T16:41:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week it snowed and that is actually a shocking thing here in the south. I was about an hour from home working and when I left the building, I was met with this sight...and I had no idea!

Now I know that doesn't seem like much, but it was. In the south they don't have a lot of plows, they don't really ever salt the streets (they sand, and that's not the same), and the people here aren't really used to driving in the snow. Because it doesn't snow that often! An hour drive home is scary - even for a Chicago girl like me who learned to drive in the snow. But I sucked it up, scraped off my windshield with my arm and set off.

Derek was a little worried about me. Probably rightly so - I was gripping the wheel with white knuckles and trying to stay away from swerving cars - but I thought it was cute. What I thought was even cuter? He went and filled the bed of his truck with cinder blocks to weigh it down and offered to come and get me. So sweet!

Of course, because I'm stubborn, I said no, but I promised to pull over and call if it got bad. A normal hour trip took me about 2 hours, but I made it home safe and sound. I am lucky to have someone who cares so much for me. Take a look.

I am loved :)

By the way, it is supposed to be 78 degrees today. It is hard to believe that it snowed four days ago! Gotta love the south!

Wordless Wednesday: Guess Who?!

2012-02-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

Rivalry Night

2012-02-21T21:25:00.000-05:00

Tonight is the big game - Carolina vs. NC State. This game is a huge deal here and it's a pretty exciting rivalry. Derek is at the game tonight and I am enjoying it from the couch, but I can show you how we watched the last rivalry game a month ago.

His outfit is phenomenal. He has red pants on, too, you just can't see them in the picture.

Cheese sticks and basketball. Does it get any better? Maybe a win. A win would be better. Let's hope this game ends better than the last... Happy Tuesday!

Valentine's Day

2012-02-15T10:54:00.000-05:00

I hope that yesterday was filled with lots and lots of love for you. I know it was for me...

- I got a sweet card from Derek in the morning.

- Talked to some great friends and family on the phone.

- Found a wonderful care package from my mom in the mailbox! I've been getting these heart shaped brownies since college and I still look forward to them like a giddy 5 year old every year. :)

- Heard some amazing news that made me grin from ear to ear.

- Got lots of love from my swimmers at practice (and way too many chocolates!).

- Had a wonderful dinner with my Valentine at our new favorite sushi place.

- Got a surprise desert, homemade, planned out, and decorated just for me.

It was a pretty great day all around.

It's the little things in life that make me happy.

Calzone

2012-02-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

When I was younger my mom would make calzones for us on occasion and we loved them! In college, I learned how to make them and now, my sisters and I like to make them. Bottom line, these things are good.

I made it last week and it was a hit!

Ingredients: Raw pizza dough, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and ham.

Grease a cookie sheet and spread the dough out. Line the center of the dough with cheese, a layer of pepperoni, a layer of cheese, a layer of ham, etc. You can actually put whatever you want on there. After that, you wrap the dough around the filling and make sure there are no openings. Usually I use toothpicks to keep it closed, but I didn't have any so I just hoped for the best.

After that, you put it in the over for about 45 minutes at 425 degrees and it comes out looking a little like this...

YUM! and super easy.

Sunday Date Night

2012-01-30T08:54:00.001-05:00

We went out for sushi last night. And it was so good! We sat for almost two hours just chatting. The perfect end to a busy weekend.

And to think...a few months ago, Derek "didn't like" sushi. Then we had it for my birthday and last night he asked for it - specifically!

Exact words: "I'm hungry for sushi."

Yessss. Officially a convert.

New Do

2012-01-27T07:00:00.011-05:00

Hair - it's a love-hate thing with me. Some days, when I have time to do it, I love it. I take my time, I feel like it looks good, and I love that it is long. Other days, when I'm busy (or lazy) I don't take time on it, let it air dry, pull it up in a pony tail and I hate it. It looks awful.

Anyway...lately, I haven't been spending too much time on it and it has kind of become a thorn in my side. I thought about chopping it. My little sister chopped hers in the fall and it looks adorable, and we kind of look alike, so I think I could pull it off.

But then I see pictures like this,

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and I think that I want to keep it long.
I just couldn't decide.

So, I went to the salon to get my hair did this week. I've been going to the same girl for about 4 years now. I love her! And I recommend that all of my friends go to her. And before I stuck with her, I went to whoever was cheapest at whatever salon had the earliest appointment. I always wait too long before making an appointment and by the time I get around to it my split ends are out of control and I need it fixed ASAP. So anyway, she made an impression on me and I won't let anyone else touch my hair now.

I like to think we are friends, even though I only get my hair cut every 6 months. She makes me talk. I used to feel so awkward and pray that the hair dresser not talk to me while I was there. But she's a chatter. And she's made me a chatter. And now we're friends! At least in my mind we are; I'm sure she is like that with all her clients.

So, after long deliberation and some chatting Amy (my hairdresser) talked me into staying long.

And I did.

All that lead up for such an exciting climax to the story. :) I've been told I'm a wonderful story teller.

So without further ado, here is the new do.

I'm aware that it's not that different. It's actually almost exactly the same haircut. But we did add some long bangs. And its sooooo much healthier!

Baby steps. Maybe I'll chop it or dye it next time.

Rainy Day Galoshes

2012-01-26T07:00:00.001-05:00

When I was up north for Christmas I found some awesome galoshes on sale at DSW. They are red and black, so when I saw them, my first thought was to wear them to football games this fall to keep my feet dry...kinda like this game when we got drenched? I figured it would be perfect for Wolfpack football season and seeing as I only paid about $15 for them after the discount and my mom's coupon, I was content to wait until fall to put them to use.

I was content to wait, that is, until it rained all day this past Saturday. I had to wear 'em! I pulled the galoshes out of the box and wore them to the grocery store. That's right - the grocery store. It was raining, it was cold, and I really didn't want to leave the house anyway after a full day of work, but my boots gave me a little push out the door.

Those are some nice lookin' galoshes...

Ok, I will admit it. I love the word "galoshes". It might be one of my favorites.
That might have been the reason behind this post. I wanted to see how many times I could say it. Galoshes.

A Break from Running

2012-01-25T07:05:00.000-05:00

So I started off the new year determined to be more consistent with my running. It was great! I think I ran 3 miles or more for 7 days straight. Then I had a really busy week and a half where I was on my feet about 8-10 hours a day and my foot started to hurt. I'm not sure what it is or what happened. I'm hoping it's nothing and that after I give it a little bit of a break it will be fine again. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one, can you tell? I don't want to go to the doctor. I don't want to hear what they have to say.

I have stopped running though. I stopped about 5 days ago and I've noticed an improvement, so I'm going to keep this break going until it's totally better.

While I haven't been running, I've clearly still wanted to work out. Lucky for me, I work at a place with a lot of opportunity to do just that. Last week I swam and did a TRX workout and this week I started spinning. We had 30 spin bikes delivered to the pool in December, so I might as well put them to good use. On Monday I spun for 25 minutes just to try it out. I brought my ipod, a book, and a bottle of water. It was pretty nice. I tried it again yesterday, got lost in my book, and actually went for 48 minutes. That's a pretty long time for me and it was quite the workout. I was drenched in sweat when I finished.

I'm going to try to keep this up for a while...wish me luck. And keep your fingers crossed that my foot is better ASAP.

A Walk to Clear My Mind

2012-01-23T21:30:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I took a time-out one day when I was feeling kind of stressed and I headed to a local park where there is a lake. I think I wanted to walk a little, take in the fresh air, and think. This place has rocking chairs, so that also makes it pretty fabulous in my book. I forgot about these pictures until today.

I am so happy I had the camera with me because it was a beautiful day.

Uniquely Me

2012-01-19T09:08:00.003-05:00

When we were younger my dad would call us weird. It may have started out as him commenting on our different tendencies, but it ended up as a term of endearment. It was a compliment, and after weird, he started calling us unique and then "unique one". Eventually he used the term UO as a way to tell us we were being "unique".

Since then I've been called weird, special, unique, and many other things. But I like being unique. There's only one me. I like to think that we are all a little weird and that "normal" doesn't actually exist. Who wants to be like everybody else? If that's normal, I will embrace the weird.

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Here are some things that make me, uniquely me.

*I am a morning person. I cease to be productive once it gets dark.

*I have a hard time with chaos. My swimmers need to be organized and moving with purpose or I go crazy! My palms will start to sweat. It's awful.

*I always think I'm dehydrated. I constantly feel like I need to drink more water. Headache? I'm dehydrated. Feeling shaky? I'm dehydrated. Bad skin? Dehydrated. (Derek makes fun of me constantly for this!)

*On that note, I don't believe in drinking calories. I drink water, coffee (ok, with a tiny bit of skim milk) or diet soda. That's pretty much it. Every now and then I'll splurge for a fancy coffee drink, but that's about it.

*I twirl my hair. A lot. I've had this nasty habit since high school and I've worn my hair up for weeks straight before to try to break it, but no luck. I twirl it when I'm happy, when I'm mad and oh wow, do I do it when I'm anxious.

*When my nail polish chips, I continue to chip it off. Gosh, another bad habit...

*When I wear zippered clothing I love to wear it zipped all the way up. So cozy.

*My facial expressions give me away. I cannot hide how I am feeling. It's awful in situations where you need to keep a straight face. Hello, teaching and coaching. Yep, I try, but my face always gives me away.

I'm sure there are more, and I'm sure you could all tell me what these things are. I'm weird, and I'm embracing it.

Does anyone else have unique traits that make them un-normal?

What I've been up to...

2012-01-17T23:07:00.000-05:00

I haven't blogged much lately. I'm sorry. I've been pretty busy and quite frankly, I don't have too many exciting things to blog about. So, here are some of my most recent camera phone pics to show you what I have been up to lately...

...cuddling babies... my coworker had her baby girl and while I miss her like crazy, it was so fun to go meet Callie and chat with her.

...riding around in new cars... check out Derek's new ride!

... cheering on the Wolfpack...

... and getting to know my new roommate... who does sweet things like buy me flowers for helping her out. I got lucky.

Oh, and I've been working. A lot. This is the crazy season for us. Good, but crazy. Not to mention, I'm helping to fill in for my bud who is out spending time with her beautiful baby girl.

Easy Caprese Chicken

2012-01-13T12:18:00.000-05:00

I found this recipe on Pinterest, and it really is super easy.

Ingredients:

raw chicken
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
4 cups chopped tomatoes
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
8 oz fresh mozzarella cut into 1/2 inch cubes
salt
ground pepper

To start, cook your chicken however you want to. I would have grilled it if it were nicer out but I went with cooking it on the stove just because I was pressed for time.

For the sauce - I'm going to call it salsa, because it's more like a salsa than a sauce - you start by putting the chopped onions in hot olive oil on the stove. Cook for about 5 minutes or until cooked. Add the tomatoes, fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, water, and salt and pepper. Continue cooking for about two minutes on low heat. Take off heat, mix in mozzarella.

Pour the salsa on top of the chicken and serve. It is delicious. I had seconds. I couldn't help myself. Lucky for me, it's pretty healthy! Enjoy!

(I totally forgot to take pictures after the first one...oh well.)

Wordless Wednesday: Coffee Makes Everything Better

2012-01-11T15:39:00.000-05:00

Run In the New Year

2012-01-04T09:19:00.000-05:00

I started out 2012 with a bang. I ran a 5k race that started at midnight. The Run In the New Year (RITNY) is a run benefiting the Miracle League of the Triangle. It was fun to not only do something healthy, but also help a great cause.

Isn't this picture great?!

I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to make it through the run considering how tired I felt at about 11:30 and how I was sick for the past two weeks, but I did it! And it felt pretty good. The weather cooperated and while it was chilly...it was way better than it could have been.

Derek, Jan, and I ran, while Dusty watched and took pictures...Check them out.

Derek and the lead car (errr, rollerskate?)

Jan and Dusty

Getting ready to go.

I think the only bad part about this was waiting until midnight. There wasn't much going on until the actual race, and because I normally go to bed fairly early, I was ready for bed as people were headed to the start line. The race started and ended where Derek works, so we got to hang out in his office while we waited...here we are waiting...

I hope you all had a great New Years Eve!

Christmas Re-cap!

2012-01-03T08:00:00.002-05:00

I forgot to take a camera home, but thanks to my mom and my phone I have a few pictures to share with you. It was a whirlwind, quick four day stay, but it was so fun. I love getting to spend time with everyone and it was so nice to catch up with old friends!

On Christmas Eve it was just Catherine, mom, dad, and I but we still had fun and I think I laughed more at dinner than I had in a while.

Christmas morning it was still just Cath and I as Paula and Matt didn't join us until that afternoon. So, we embraced it.

My aunt and uncle and cousins came over around noon and we had a full house! My mom cooked a huge ham and it was soooo good. It was just so nice to see everyone. I know, I can't say that enough, but for me, it doesn't happen often enough, so I like to cherish it. I wish I had more pictures...

And then after Christmas dinner we got together for the traditional family photo shoot.

After dinner, we had dessert and got a chance to celebrate my dad's birthday! He is so lucky to have such a special birthday.

It was so great. I can't wait 'til next year!

Happy Birthday Paula

2012-01-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today is a milestone. Today, my older sister turns 30. The thing is, she's a pretty amazing thirty year old. In her 30 years she has done some pretty amazing things...She was a college athlete, she ran a half marathon, she has done the Avon walk (36 miles!) and crewed the Avon walk 4 times. She graduated with a double major in college and is now going back to school to get her Masters! wow. She has also been married for over two years and is mom to the cutest little puppy in the world. She is quite the accomplished woman already, and I'm sure that she has many more amazing things to come in the future.

On her honeymoon with Matt.

She made her own halloween costume this year. Tetris. Genius.

Avon walk with my mom.

Her baby, Chief.

I am proud to call her my sister and my best friend. She's goofy, she's crafty, she's creative and she's super intelligent. Oh, and did I mention she still looks like she is 21?! Most people guess that she is the youngest sister instead of the oldest. Humpppffff - not fair. But I love her anyway.

Paula, I am sorry I am not there to celebrate, but hope you have a wonderful, relaxing birthday!

Last week while I was home we had a birthday dinner for her so I could partake in the celebrations. I was so happy to be included and my mom gave her one of her gifts early... A t-shirt quilt. My mom worked so hard on it and it really is beautiful! It's so fun to look at it and see all of the different stages of her life through her t-shirts. What a cool gift!

Happy Birthday Paula!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T22:03:00.000-05:00

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My goal for 2012 is to worry less and just let things happen. I spend a lot of time wondering what will happen. I need to spend more time in the present and let go of things I cannot change. I also need to be patient and let whatever happens unroll.

That's it. Last year I had a list of about 5 things. Some I did and some I didn't. I don't need a long list this year. I just want to relax and enjoy every minute of it.

Here's to a 2012 filled with happiness, love, good health, and great friends.

Happy New Year!

Homemade Pierogies

2012-01-01T14:28:00.002-05:00

I am Polish. Not everyone knows this about me, but my dad is 100% Polish and growing up we carried over a lot of the traditions from his family. The Christmas Polish traditions are some of my favorite holiday traditions.

One of the biggest holiday traditions is that on Christmas Eve we have a "white" meal. That basically means no red meat. All my life we have had a Christmas meal of fish, pierogies, kapusta, salad, and normally some kind of vegetable. As a child we would normally spend this time with lots of family members. When I was really little, we would go to my Babcie's (my Polish grandmother) house or to my great Aunt Jane's and have dinner with the whole family. I always knew it was crowded, but after hearing my dad reminiscing this past weekend, I now know there were up to 40 people there! Aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins and grandparents, etc.

One of my mom's favorite stories to tell about these Christmas eve gatherings is about what we ate as children. When my mom married into the family, she says that they tried to get her to eat some of the more unusual foods like pickled herring, but she wouldn't do it. I totally understand. Ick. However, when Catherine and I were little, she says around 1 - 2 years old, they would feed us pickled herring, those big onions, and anything else on the table...and we ate it all. She says that all of our polish great uncles were impressed with the foods we would let them feed us. I no longer eat that stuff, but wow. I was one brave child...

Anyway, back to the Christmas eve meal...We all help prepare (but my mom does most of the work) and it is pretty fun. This year I asked about the pierogies and my mom told me that she had "bought the frozen kind". We've had them before. They're not that bad. But they're not that good either. So I suggested that we make them! She of course, thought this was a marvelous idea, with about 201 other things to do at that moment, but she was nice and agreed to teach me how to make them.

So here you are, my Babcie's homemade Pierogi recipe:

You start by making the dough. You start with one beaten egg in a bowl and add 1 1/4 cups of milk and a little bit of salt. Then, you add flour until the liquid is absorbed and a little bit of baking powder.

After that you prepare the filling. We chose to make potato pierogies, but there are other kinds. I can only help you with the potato kind. :)

We had already boiled potatoes and so I then mashed them up. While mashing I mixed in two eggs, and some farmers cheese. (The recipe says one part cheese to two parts egg.) We also added some dried onion.

Before you start anything, get a big pot of water and start it heating. It needs to be boiling for the next part...and now comes the fun...actually making the pierogies...

Take the dough and add some more flour to the dough so that it's not sticky. Then you take small balls and roll them out on a baking cloth. They should be pretty thin, but not so thin that they will fall apart in the pot. Normally, we aimed for about 1/4 inch thick.

Once you have a large rolled out circle of dough, you have to fill it with the filling and then pinch the edges of the dough together to make a pocket. Make sure you pinch the edges together really well because you don't want the filling to come out when we boil them.

If there is a lot of extra dough left where you pinched it, you can cut that off.

After the edges have been pinched and trimmed, the pierogi can go right into a pot of boiling water.

Boil the pierogies until they float, or for at least 3-4 minutes. Then take them out and place them aside.

After boiling.

You can then put them in the fridge until you are almost ready to serve the dinner. About 15 minutes before you are ready to serve the meal, melt butter in a frying pan. Now you get to fry the pierogies. The more butter you use, the better. Yum.

Fry each side until golden brown.

And there you have it. The finished product. They were delicious! And so much better than the frozen ones! We serve them with a little bit of sour cream.

It was so much fun and I'm glad that my mom was able to teach me. Babcie was smiling down at us, I am sure of it.

What are your family traditions?

Flying without an ID

2011-12-27T15:44:00.000-05:00

It is possible to fly nowadays without a picture ID. I learned this one the hard way. Yesterday, about three hours before I was set to leave for the airport, I discovered that my license was missing. The last time I could remember having it was on my flight to Chicago 4 days prior. I looked through everything. We tore apart my already packed suitcase, checked every pocket I had, scoured both cars, and had everyone in the house helping with no luck.

So, off we went to the airport. Like I said before, it is possible to fly without an ID, you just have to be willing to undergo a very thorough security check. I'm not really sure I understand why the lack of photo ID ups the likelihood that you will have explosives on you, but it seems that is all they were concerned about. I not only did a full body scan, but I was also patted down and my clothes, as well as carry on items and some of the things inside of them were wiped with the little cloth and checked for chemicals. Luckily, the lady helping me was very nice and as soon as they realized I was no threat to security, they sent me on my merry way.

Anyway, moral of the story - don't lose your photo ID before you fly.

In case you were wondering...I went to check the mail today and found this weird envelope without a return address. I thought it was some sort of weird small, thick Christmas card, but it was not. Lo and behold...there, was my ID, with a sticky note attached...

The note reads "Found this in the Jewel/Osco parking lot in South Elgin, IL." You see, after picking me up from the airport last week, my father and I had stopped at the grocery store to get some last minute Christmas dinner preparations and I must have dropped it.

I am very thankful that there is a good person out there who was nice enough to help me out and return my lost ID. I will be much more careful in the future.

Tis the Season to be Merry!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2011-12-25T10:00:00.001-05:00

My dad gets to share his birthday with Jesus each year, and I think that makes it one special day. It also means that we are all always together to celebrate.

I am a lot like my dad in many ways and I love to talk with him, contemplate the world, changes we would make if we were in charge, and scheme for our future endeavors. He is one of the most business savvy people I have ever met and I admire his wisdom.

Dad, I hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Christmas Lights

2011-12-23T19:14:00.003-05:00

Over the past few years, it has become a tradition for Derek and I to go see the Christmas light shows in North Carlina for the holidays. Two years ago we went on a date to see the Lake Myra Christmas Lights. Then last year we went again with his family and it was so much fun!

This year, we mixed things up and headed out to see the Meadow Lights. Meadow is a town in North Carolina where people who go all out for Christmas. I had heard about it for years and was so excited to go see them! I am like a five year old around lights - or maybe it's all holidays - but I really was so excited, I could barely stand it.

We headed to see the lights with Derek's parents after a nice dinner and it was amazing.

I'm pretty sure that these lights were all on one property, or at least they were mostly done by one family. Jan said that they have been doing it so long that now the one who runs it all is the granddaughter of the original man that started it. These lights not only document the whole story of Jesus' life, but they also go on for several acres! There is a train you can ride around the property to see it all. We opted out of that because the line was crazy! But we did get to see a ton!

We even got to go in the candy store that they have next to the house. It was really cute and so crowded! I think that if you have specific preferences on what type of candy you want, you should go in early December because it was picked over, but we still found a bit of candy to take home. :)

How cute is that?!

I thought we were done after that, but on the way home we stopped in a neighborhood to look at another house that goes all out for Christmas. WOW! This was pretty impressive as well!

I wish I had made a video, because what you can't see are the elves, in the workshop, that actually move, the santa that was waving, and the helicopter that was flying. There were so many moving lights!

It was such a fun night and a great tradition for the Christmas season. If you live in North Carolina and haven't checked out the Lake Myra or Meadow Lights, I highly recommend it!

Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup

2011-12-21T08:30:00.000-05:00

I tried another recipe in the crockpot the other day. Broccoli cheese soup was perfect for our chilly day.

6 cups of broccoli
1 cup of shredded carrots
1/2 cup of large onion (chopped)
2 cups chicken broth
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup flour
2 cups whole milk or half and half
2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese

First I put the broccoli right in the crockpot. Then I browned the onions for about a minute then threw the carrots in the pan with them to cook a bit.

After that I put the, all in the crock pot with the garlic and the chicken broth. I added a little bit of pepper and cooked it on high for an hour and a half.

When this was done, I took about half of the veggies out and put them in the blender to get rid of some of the chunks, then added the blended mixture right back to the crockpot. When that was done, in a separate bowl,I mixed the flour and milk and whisked it together with the nutmeg. I added that to the crockpot and let it cook for another 45 minutes on low.

During the last 45 minutes I slowly added the cheddar cheese and mixed it up, letting it melt.

After that it was good to go. I made so much I actually froze a bunch of it. As for the taste, I liked it, but I'm not sure that I loved it.

Exciting Game

2011-12-20T21:57:00.001-05:00

This Saturday Derek and I got to go watch the Wolfpack play number one ranked Syracuse here in Raleigh. Derek has season tickets, but it was the first game I've gotten to go to this season because of work. I was pretty pumped!

NC State didn't end up winning, but they did give them a run for their money for parts of the game. And we had a blast!

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-14T11:56:00.004-05:00

This past weekend Derek and I made our gingerbread house. In my family, we have always done the homemade ones, out of graham crackers frosting, and whatever candy we could find. Derek's family has used the kits. His parents gave us a kit to use this year and I was so excited. I though that would be perfect for Derek because he is quite particular about some things. Homemade projects being some of them. I am of the "whatever happens, happens" mentality. Derek likes everything to be perfect. As you can probably suggest, his projects turn out looking much more professional than mine. And I am ok with that. I am no perfectionist.

There is also a joke in his family that your relationship is not totally solid until you have been able to build a gingerbread house together and survive it. (Hmmmm, this personality trait of D's might just run in the family...) Lucky for me, I'm pretty laid back and I had no doubts.

We opened up the box and unfortunately the gingerbread in the kit had cracked and the frosting was hard as a rock. My fool proof plan to get Derek a "perfect" ginger bread house faded fast. The kit was out. I offered to head out to the store for some more frosting, the graham crackers, and a few spice drops. Derek seemed skeptical, but played along.

After about 20 minutes of hard work and some creative decorations, here is the final product...

I'm probably pretty biased, but I think it's adorable.

Hopefully it won't be raining sprinkles again anytime soon, because that roof is not very rainproof.

Make sure you take a look at the front door, the bushes, and the snow on the ground (some really stale marshmallows) and just for fun, Derek added some dog poop in the yard (chocolate covered coffee beans he had in the fridge). And that pile of candies on the right is a flower garden, in case you couldn't tell.

I was pretty proud of our little project. We had a lot of fun making it and as you can see, Derek even got the creative juices flowing to help add to the decor. I am also happy to report that the relationship is still in tact :)

In other news, we got this in the mail the other day. I'm fairly certain that Corey made them! They are so adorable. Excellent work, Corey!

The arrival of the first Christmas cards of the season was a major kick in the butt for me to get moving. It's a good thing too, because now my Christmas cards are all now in the mail on the way to you!

Have I mentioned lately that Christmas is my favorite?!

Pulled Pork and Ginger Ale

2011-12-12T21:21:00.001-05:00

I made pulled pork a few weeks ago and I actually left my crockpot at home and on (!) while I went to work. I was convinced that I was going to burn the house down, but I didn't. Thank goodness.

I got the recipe from a friend and it was super easy.

Put pork in the crockpot and add about a 1/2 liter of ginger ale or enough to cover it. I used about 1.8 lbs of pork. Chop up 1/2 of an onion and put in on top of and around the pork (I only used about a 1/4 of the onion). Cook on low all day. I left in in there for about 10 hours.

Take the pork out and shred it. It was so tender it practically fell apart. Drain the juice.

Put it back in the crockpot and add about 1/2 a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. I used the "orginial recipe", but they said you could try any of them. I let it cook for about another hour.

The pulled pork was pretty good! You could definitely taste the onions and the ginger ale. I think I liked it, but it was one of those tastes that were great on some bites and on others, a bit strong. It added a little bit of an unexpected kick. Pizaz, if you will. Either way, it was super easy.

I just got another recipe for pulled pork this week and I can't wait to try it. This one was good, but the verdict is still out.

Decorating

2011-12-10T10:53:00.000-05:00

Thursday night Derek and I trimmed the tree and put up the rest of my decorations (all three of them! ha). It was something I've been excited about doing for a while now and it was so nice to have a night at home for it. It actually only took us about 20 minutes...I think I need to invest in some more decorations or a bigger tree.

This morning, I'm sitting in my living room looking at this... it doesn't get much better. :)

Afterwards decorating we had some fun posing in front of the camera. And we even figured out how to use the timer.

I love how cozy the house looks when I turn the tree lights on. I could sit here all day.

Happy Holidays!

Holiday Plates

2011-12-07T22:55:00.000-05:00

While I was at home, my mom and sister showed me how to make plain plates into unique colorful gifts using fabric and modge-podge. They had done it before for a bachelorette party of one of Paula's friends. That was back while I was in college and couldn't care less about DIY craft projects, so clearly, I did not take part, nor pay attention. I should have.

Thankfully, they decided to do it again. And I got to watch and help. My mom wanted to make some holiday plates, so we picked out some holiday fabric at Jo-Ann Fabrics. My mom works a lot, but somehow finds time to back cookies each year and send them off to our neighbors and friends with cute little cards and always in some crafty little package. These plates are her cute little packages for this year.

The materials...

Clear plates (we found them at Meijer for cheap, but Walmart would possibly work as well)

We mixed it up and got both circular and square plates to try.

Modge Podge for Fabric

Fabric in 9 inch squares (our plates were 9 inches wide)

Paint brushes and Rubber or latex gloves

How we did it....

Make sure you wash the plates first. You don't want any dust or sticky residue on them.

Then, trace the plate about a 1/4 inch larger than the actual plate and cut out the fabric.

Then, paint the modge podge on the good side of the fabric, just to coat it.

Place the modged-podged side of the fabric onto the bottom of the plate and paint another layer of modge-podge on the other side of the fabric. When you're done painting, use your gloved hands to rub out all of the air bubbles and make sure the fabric is smooth.

It takes a while to make sure all of the air bubbles are gone. Every time I thought I was done I would flip it over and find more. We put it on a soup can to keep it elevated while we worked.

After that, we left the plates on the soup cans and put them in the basement to dry for 24 hours.

They turned out great!!

We used razor blades to clean up the edges of the fabric that wear hanging off the plate. When it was dry, they scraped off easily. They aren't dishwasher safe, but I would love a few of these to have at the holidays!

Kudos to my mom and sister for having the idea and teaching me how to do it. We had a blast making them.

What do you think? Do you have any holiday crafts I can try?

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-06T18:01:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving this year was at my cousins house and it was so fun! It was so nice to get everyone back together again. I love my family :)

My Aunt Janet and our lovely hostess, Emily.

My parents

Cath and I

Myself, my mom, and Cath

All three sisters.

The whole family!!!

Ahhh sisters. They're the best.

Happy Birthday Mom

2011-12-05T08:38:00.000-05:00

I know she has to work today, but I hope that she still gets a chance to relax and enjoy the day.

I hope she has a wonderful day today. I wish I could be there! Love you mom.

LOR XOXO

DIY Wreath

2011-12-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

Paula and I spotted this wreath at a store while shopping last week up in Geneva and we figured that we could probably make them for a whole lot cheaper.

So we did. Or, she did. I actually just watched.

The only materials we needed were old books, silver and gold paint, a piece of cardboard, and a hot glue gun. Paula's turned out great! I'm hoping I can get my act together and make one before the end of the holiday season.

The materials.

We painted the gold and silver on the edges of the pages to make them a little more defined and to add a little more color.

Getting started.

Paula wrapped about a half of a page of the book around the end of a pen, put a dab of glue on it and then stuck it onto the cardboard. Piece of cake.

At the end she filled in the gaps with extra book pages and added some more paint to some of the paper to make it glitter a little more. Then we added a ribbon and hung it up.

Gorgeous. I wish I had one.

Myself and the artist enjoying some girl time with my mom.

Hometown Proud

2011-11-28T19:00:00.000-05:00

There is something very calming and happy about going back to my hometown. I'm not sure what it is - probably all of the memories - but it sure is nice.

The historic hotel.

The ice cream hang out.

Sarah and I outside of the Starbucks on Main Street.

I love that the Christmas decorations are already up!!

Rough Life

2011-11-27T23:29:00.000-05:00

The past week I was in the midwest spending time with my family. This means that my sister's dog, Chief, was also around. He is one spoiled little pup.

He did a lot of this...

Except for when we were eating...and during meals, he did a lot of this...

Until he got smart, that is...

Problem solving at its finest...

Once he had that figured out he got back to doing what Chief does best...

Rough life, huh?

Thankful

2011-11-24T07:00:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I saw this quote yesterday and I think there is a lot of truth in it, so I'm going to go ahead and remind myself of what I am thankful for today.

"It's not happy people who are thankful, it's thankful people who are happy."

source

I'm thankful for...

...parents who always tell me they love me and that they are proud of me. That goes a long way and gives me the courage to try new things.
...the close bond I have with my sisters - I can tell them anything.
...Derek, who is able to make me laugh every day and helps me rationalize life.
...amazing friends that I can lean on and turn to whenever I need advice or a smile.
...my health and the health of my family and friends. I'm fortunate, and I recognize that.
...a job that I love that pays the bills.
...the gorgeous weather here in North Carolina. I love being able to run outside year round!
...chocolate. It's soooo good.
...cameras. I love looking back at pictures and reminiscing.
...the troops who are serving and fighting for our country. It's easy to forget that they are there, while we are so removed from it, but I'm thankful that they allow me to live my life the way I do.
...my cozy little house. After four years, it's starting to feel more and more like home.
...Christmas decorations! I get to put them up when I get back after Thanksgiving. I'm excited just thinking about it! (I might have cheated and put on thing out today. Whoops.)

Last, but not least, and I am channeling my sister when I say this...

"I'm thankful I'm not the turkey."

Funny Story

2011-11-23T07:59:00.001-05:00

This post is more detail about our drive up to Chicago...

On Thursday I met Sarah and we dropped off a car. After jumping up and down hugging in the Walmart parking lot where we met (hey, I hadn't seen her in a while), we piled into my car and headed north. We left at 5pm and arrived into my hometown of St. Charles, IL at approximately 4:30am central time. The funny thing...we didn't even turn on the car radio until 11pm. We talked almost non-stop for the first 6 hours. It was amazing.

Around midnight we stopped at a 24 hour McDonalds for some coffee and it was smooth sailing from there. Side note** We were pretty giggly when we got to the MickyD's and the drive-thru guy probably thought we were on something, because he asked where we were headed. When we told him where we were headed his response was hilarious; "Chicago, awe man, that's what's up!". For some reason we laughed at that for a while. Once we had the caffiene in us, we were wide awake and chatting again and the rest of the trip flew by. Until we arrived into St. Charles, that is...

Sarah's parents no longer live in town, so she does not have the luxury, that I do, of seeing our hometown and our old high school friends over the holidays. She hadn't been back in town in a few years, so as we were driving through downtown we were pointing things out, reminiscing. New restaurants here... the same old hang-outs there...you get the point.

All of a sudden, approximately 2 miles from our final destination (my parents' house) we had some flashing lights show up right behind us...

Sarah: I cannot believe this is happening...

Officer: Ladies, where are you headed?

Us: Home. (giggling, because we had to.)

Officer: You were speeding up and slowing down. I'm not sure what to think.

Clearly, he thought we were on something (Oh dear, this seems like a theme.) and we couldn't stop laughing. We had driven 950 miles only to get stopped 2 miles from my parents house. Crazy.

After calming down and explaining the situation to him, he laughed as well and told us to be careful. We got away with a warning. Thank goodness - gotta love that northern hospitality.

Hidden Blessings

2011-11-22T15:16:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I road tripped north, up to Chicago for a funeral. The funeral service was beautiful. I am so glad I was there to experience it, support my friend, and be a part of the celebration of his life.

Immediately, when I heard the news last week, I wanted and needed to be there to support my friend and to remember this great man. I think the event in general brought about a bunch of mixed emotions for me. I can't imagine what it is like to lose a parent. It made me want to see my own parents, in person, immediately. I wanted to hug them and I wanted to spend time with them because events like this make everyone realize how uncertain the future is.

Luckily, I have those two friends in South Carolina; Sarah and Andrea. Remember them? They were just as adamant as I was about making it back up there, so we decided to drive up together. This is where the hidden blessings come in...

How often, as an adult, do you get 16 uninterrupted hours to hang out and chat with two of your closest friends? If you're us, not a whole lot. We have tried for the past few months to coordinate schedules and have another girls weekend, but it just hasn't happened. This past weekend, we got to be together. Not only were we together, but we were together at a time when there were lots of deep thoughts going through our minds, when we were questioning how best to support our friend, and when we were all counting our blessings. It was the "silver lining" of the weekend, if that is even possible.

We got a bit silly because that's what we do.

We talked about our parents, we talked about our families, our careers, our future hopes and dreams, and we reminisced...a lot. We were all reminded of what really mattered and we got to enjoy some very quality time together.

Take a minute today to think of the people who have influenced your life. Make sure to thank them. Go ahead and call your loved ones and tell them you love them. It's important!

Perspective

2011-11-16T10:04:00.002-05:00

This week my normal everyday life has had quite the reality check. One of my friends is going through a trying time. I can't imagine how she feels and I'm still trying to figure out how best to support her. Please keep the prayers coming.

This week has given me a little (ok, a lot of) perspective. I should focus more of my energy on important things (even if they are small) - like making sure I call my parents and sisters often, making sure I am thankful for the wonderful people in my life that love and support me, and making sure that I stop every once in a while to stop and "smell the roses".

I suggest you take a minute today, take a nice, deep, cleansing breathe, and count your blessings - I know I will.

Prayers

2011-11-15T10:03:00.001-05:00

I know a wonderful family that could really use a lot of prayers right now. Please send some their way.

source

Christmas Came Early!

2011-11-10T12:42:00.002-05:00

A few years ago as we were talking about our Christmas lists, my sister Paula mentioned that she wanted a Crock-Pot. I had just graduated college at the time and didn't think much of it, but my little sister Catherine had a lot to say about it. I do believe her words were something like this... "You're so old! If I ever ask for anything like a crock-pot, please, just put me out of my misery." (Ok, I might be exaggerating), but in general, she was making fun of Paula, who was maybe 26 at the time, for being "old."

Fast forward a few years later and we now love her crock-pot - even Catherine. Last Thanksgiving we made pulled pork in her condo in the city and it was AMAZING! My mom has also cooked many meals using her crock-pots and in the cold Chicago winter months, they were perfect, warm, and delicious.

This is Paula, Crock-Pot Chef Extraordinaire & Matt

This year, I did it...I put the crock-pot on my Christmas list. Call me old, I will fully embrace it, but I really want one. (And I am still confident that I can be a 5 year old when necessary.)

My mom and I had talked about it a bunch this past weekend because she wanted to make sure that if she got me one, it would be what I wanted, etc. We also debated about me getting it in Chicago at Christmas and shipping it back or her just having it shipped to me... So much for surprises... (jk!)

Imagine my surprise when, as I was leaving my house yesterday, I literally walked right into a huge UPS box on my front stoop. I almost tripped over it!

CHECK IT OUT!!! - What a Beaut?!

YAY!!!

Now, I have already gotten approval from my mother and she says that I am allowed to use it even though it's not really Christmas yet, at all. Yippeeeee! Let's flashback to my birthday, when she sent the gifts early and then made me wait until the actual day to open them. It was torture, but lucky for me, Derek helped her enforce it. Boo.

Thankfully, I will be able to enjoy this treat soon...as soon as I find a recipe!

What are you favorite crock-pot recipes? Please send one my way so I can try it out.

Thank you Mom and Dad!!

Motivational Monday

2011-11-07T11:24:00.000-05:00

Just a little motivation for your Monday...And a nice reminder to myself.

Who am I kidding? This is for me..some inspiration to get out of the office and out into the fresh air to get a run in. The weather is gorgeous and I'm off.

Happy Monday!

Apple of My Pie

2011-11-03T12:24:00.001-04:00

My mom sent me a Halloween care package last week and it made me smile all weekend long. Actually, I'm still smiling :).

Isn't she the best?! I got an "Apple of my pie" hand towel, homemade ginger snap cookies (a fall favorite of mine!), a cinnamon candle, and raspberry candies (I love those and they are already gone). She also sent me some Southern-Style Sweet Potato Soup mix that I will be trying soon. And not to forget, she found Derek some really tasty chocolate peanut butter goodies. Yummy!

Thanks, Mom! I love you.

As the sun was setting the other day, I couldn't help but think of how pretty the leaves were in the sun.

...it's the little things in life...

I Pinned It, I Did It: Ruffled Tree Skirt

2011-11-02T07:00:00.013-04:00

I was so excited when I saw this ruffled tree skirt on Pinterest. I don't have a tree skirt and I love how simple and fun this one is! ( I cannot for the life of me figure out how to embed the actual pinterest link into by blog post, so a picture and links will have to do.)

Ruffle Tree Skirt - No Sew
source

This past Sunday I went to work and tackled it all in about 5 hours. I headed to the store at 10am for the materials:

Painters canvas drop cloth (4 1/2 x 4 1/2) ... I couldn't find one this size, so I went with a 4 x 5 and made mine 4 ft in diameter.
4 yards of linen fabric ... I actually used a cotton fabric that I found for cheap and only used 3 yards of it.
hot glue gun and glue sticks
fabric scissors
grosgrain ribbon

I followed the directions that Pinterest took me to, from this website: HGTV No Sew Tree Skirt. I had to start out by making sure my canvas was a square.

I then folded the fabric into quarters and then a triangle to make the circle.

After that, tedious stuff started... I cut the white cotton fabric into 2-3 inch strips and then hot glued it to the canvas while pinching it to look ruffled.

The finished product...

When the ruffles are done, take the ribbon and hot glue it to the slit in the canvas so that once it's around the tree, you can tie the skirt shut. Make sure you leave enough room to tie it into pretty bows!

I left the ribbon at the store, but hopefully I will have a finished product picture for you soon!
What do you think? I can't wait to see what it looks like around my Christmas tree!

I linked up to the Pinterest Challenge. See how the pro's do it at bowerpowerblog.com and younghouselove.com. These are two of my favorite blogs...take a look!

Jack-O-Lanterns

2011-10-31T07:00:00.000-04:00

This weekend we carved pumpkins! Saturday was so cold and rainy, I cooked up some chili and we each made our own jack-o-lantern. I love holiday traditions!

Yum!

Spooky, Freaky, Fab Friday

2011-10-28T09:43:00.002-04:00

I'm really excited for this weekend, so I went ahead and made a list of the fantastic, spooky, halloweenie things that I am excited for!

- Pumpkin carving! Yes, this is one of those traditions that I might embrace more as an adult than as a child. I love carving the pumpkins, scooping out the gook and even baking the pumpkin seeds.

My 2009 Pumpkin

- Corn maze! We are bringing the little kids from our swim team at the local corn maze and I am so excited! I might have organized this so that I wouldn't have to go by myself this year... It's a lot less weird when there are a bunch of kids to go with me, right?

- I have all day Sunday off! I haven't had a full day without work or travel in 33 days. Needless to say, I'm excited to do... absolutely nothing.

- Old Navy is having a 40% off sale today. That means their close might be $10 and that, I can afford!!

- My mom told me she sent Derek and I a package two nights ago. It has not yet come, but I bet it comes this weekend! I love surprises!

- This is for Monday, but I will include it in the weekend...because I actually live in a neighborhood, I get trick-or-treaters! And I love seeing them come by in their costumes. Halloween is the coolest thing in the world to little kids. I love how excited they get to go up to each door and show off their costumes.

That's all. What are you excited for this weekend?

Today

2011-10-26T10:24:00.001-04:00

It's 10:00 am as I write this and I've had a busy morning!

I went grocery shopping and came home with two of these...

I baked some cupcakes for a coworker who is getting married...

Yep, they're funfetti cupcakes. The best flavor there is... I have mentioned that there is a five year old inside of me, right?

...and I ran 3 miles.

Super human? Definitely not.

Productive? I like to think so.

Now, I'm off to work.

Seeing Red

2011-10-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

I've had this stool in my kitchen ever since I cleaned out my classroom back in August. I think it's great for when I need an extra place to sit, but it really doesn't go with my kitchen.

I bought it a few years ago for $20 at Walmart, so I wasn't worried about damaging it, so I decided to spray paint it.

I'm pretty pleased with it. It's not that different, but it adds a nice little pop of color.

After that I got a little spray-happy and decided to attack this little thing.

It looks cute, right? A nice pie plate. I received this as a gift from one of my swimmers a few Christmas' ago and while I like the shape, I'm not so sure about the little designs on it. And the size is a little off. It looks full size, right? Look again...

Yep, it is slightly larger than my fist...maybe it's a cookie plate? I have no idea what to use it for! But, I attacked it with the red spray paint so that at least I'll like it as a decoration. It's cute!

I still don't know what to do with it, but it adds, yet another, pop of color to my kitchen.

Detroit Marathon: Part 2

2011-10-21T07:00:00.000-04:00

The girls headed down early to find their wave and after downing some strong coffee and bundling up, my mom, dad, sister and I headed out to catch the start.

Searching for the girls...

We found them!! Almost too late!

After we saw them, they ran a few miles through Detroit, then crossed the bridge to Canada. After a few miles in Canada, they headed back to the USA through the tunnel.

We caught up with them during mile 8 after a water stop. They looked great!

I was surprised that Cath was running in a tank top and refused to wear sleeves...we were freezing and it was raining.

We saw them again at mile 13 - and they still looked totally fresh!

Look! - there's my mom!

Hammin' it up for the camera.

After that, we didn't see them again until mile 21. And believe it or not, they were still looking pretty good! Emily was about 15 minutes ahead of them, but Catherine and Lori had picked up the pace (what?!).

Paula jumped in for a short jog to chat.

We missed the finish... whoops. But we found them in the party tent scavenging for food and looking way too happy.

I'm so proud of them! Way to go!!

It was fun being a spectator and getting to cheer them on. The marathon was very well put on and the course was interesting. The girls said it didn't seem to get old at all. There was a hill about a 1/2 mile from the end that killed them a little, but I think at that point, anything hurts.

And the best part is, they all said they would do it again...That is a good sign. It took me a while to say that after my marathon.

Detroit Marathon: Part 1

2011-10-20T15:24:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I flew north to Detroit to cheer on my sister, Emily, and Lori in the Detroit Free Press Marathon. I was initially going to run it with them, but due to lack of motivation, I stopped training a few weeks prior to the race and opted to get some quality family time in instead.

I was surprised at how clean and nice the city of Detroit seemed. I have heard so many varying views over the past few weeks as I spoke of the weekend, that I think I was picturing the worst. It was a really nice place!

Saturday we all headed to the Expo to pick up our race packets. Lucky for us, it was just down the street from our hotel and it was gorgeous weather!

After that we cleaned up, celebrated Catherine's birthday and had a nice dinner.

Stay tuned...more to come about the actual marathon tomorrow! This post was getting a little picture heavy.

Look at those gals! Bright and early, all ready to go!

(I'm so mad the camera strap got in the way...they wouldn't repose for me!)

State Fair

2011-10-17T21:58:00.000-04:00

Last Friday night, after much convincing, Derek and I headed to the NC State Fair!! This is one of the traditions I have gotten attached to quickly down here. I have not missed a fair since I moved to Raleigh. I was in love at first sight with this place...the fried foods, the happy families, the pig races, the fireworks...I love it all!

See as Friday was my only night off of coaching and we were busy both weekends, it was the only night we could go. We knew it was going to be crowded, but we went anyway - and it was everything I'd hoped for, and more. Derek told me that I turn into 5 year old Lauren at the fair, and I would have to agree with that.

Last year's pumpkin was much more bigger, but the watermelon was from Garner!

We did pretty good with the food, making sure we hit up the corn dogs and ham biscuits, then we finished off our meal with some fried reese's cups. YUM.

We each played a few games. I stuck to the darts and Derek shot hoops. Shockingly, we both won!

I know the fair brings out the crazies (myself, included) and it is crowded and dirty, but it's also one of the few times we get to see families hanging out together, having fun enjoying each other's company without a TV, cell phone, or video game (gosh, I sound like I'm 80 years old going on like that, but it's true!). It just doesn't happen all that often anymore. Kids were running around laughing, we saw older couples strolling holding hands - everyone was just so content. I can't help but love it.

At the fountain.

Finally we headed out. Another successful trip to the fair.

...And we had a new friend riding home with us in the truck.

Homemade Poppers

2011-10-14T08:57:00.001-04:00

I found this recipe on Pinterest and I decided to try it because it was so easy, I had to.

There are three ingredients:

a fresh jalapeno
crescent rolls
cream cheese

That's it! You put a slice of jalapeno and a dab of cream cheese on each triangle of dough, roll those baby's up, and cook according to the crescent roll directions. There you go ... little pockets of goodness.

They were pretty good. I am a wimp when it comes to spicey things, so I took it slow and drank a lot of water, but it was a nice little twist on normal biscuits.

Give it a try, it's so easy!

Another Win for the Wolfpack

2011-10-11T07:00:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we headed down to Carter-Finley again for the game against Central Michigan. Thankfully, the Wolfpack pulled off the win! and the weather was absolutely amazing. 75 and sunny for most of the day, and then it cooled down to about 60 and chilly when the sun went down. Gorgeous!

I stole this picture from Mandy.

Garner hometown boy, Scotty McCreery, was there to sing the National Anthem. I have heard him sing before, but I was still pretty amazed. He has a really cool voice and it sounded good! Sometimes when you hear people live, especially when they are new to the show-biz, it can be shaky, but not Scotty. He knocked it out of the park. They said that he has only missed 5 home NC State football games since he has been alive. That is outrageous. He is clearly, a true fan... As are we...

On another note, Illinois won again this weekend, making them 6 - 0 for the season so far! Go Illini. We got to bring the new bags set to the game and I think it gave them some luck.

Love What You Do

2011-10-10T07:00:00.002-04:00

I felt this was fitting.

It is resonating pretty strongly with me right now.

Have a great week!

Happy Birthday Cath

2011-10-09T07:00:00.005-04:00

Today my baby sister is 24! She's clearly not the baby anymore. She is an accomplished, educated, determined young lady. To give you an idea of what I mean - she is currently in her third month of med school and is running her first marathon next weekend. To her, nothing is out of reach and no challenge is too much. I admire that about her.

She is a feisty, funny, determined gal and we have grown very close as we've gotten older. She is one of my best friends and many of my best memories are of her, Paula and I just being together. Sisters are pretty amazing things.

I hope you have a wonderful day, Cath and I cannot wait to see you next weekend!! Here's to another great year for you!

Happy Birthday Beaner!

A-Town Down

2011-10-07T07:00:00.002-04:00

Yesterday morning I had to run an errand in downtown Apex, so I decided to take my time and enjoy it.

This part of Apex is one of my favorite places. I don't know why I am so drawn to it, but I am. It could be the small-town, old-fashioned feel that it gives off. It could be the mom and pop restaurants and shops that line the main street, or it could just be that laid back way I feel when I stroll down the side walk.

A Southern Belle and The Yankee. Yes, we are in the south, y'all!

Apex is home to All Booked Up, a book store that is so cozy it makes you want to stick around and curl up with a good book. It seems that with Amazon and the kindle these book stores are now almost extinct, but I still love them! The store will even buy your old books back from you (hence the errand).

It also has some really cute clothing boutiques, a personal training studio (I stopped in, talked to the owner and got his card - more on this later), and some knick-knack stores that I think are adorable. I walked through a few places and got some Christmas/Birthday ideas. I couldn't believe how friendly everyone was! It was late morning when I was there and most people were just opening up, but they were so nice. They wanted to talk to me, and not just "Hi, how can I help you?", but really talk to me. They wanted the whole life story and they told me a lot of theirs. It was interesting and made me think it's these things that keep this place so unique in such a modern world.

For some reason, I love this house. I love the columns, I love the rockers on the front porch, the southern charm that it exudes and the trees are just magical. Don't you love it too

There I am!

I headed to the other end of town to get some coffee and couldn't pass up the cool reflection in the fire department garage door windows.

Yes, that is a chocolate chip muffin, and it was delicious!

A perfect way to spend a gorgeous morning. Look at the sky in those pictures....crazy blue!

It's a Record...

2011-10-06T12:25:00.000-04:00

...the mum's in my front yard are dead. Already. I think I killed them quicker than ever before recorded. Mum's are supposed to be pretty resilient plants. I picked off the dead blooms and even watered them. But, look at what I"m left with...

Those are some sad looking plants. Does anyone have any advice for me for the future? I actually really like plants, I just seem to kill them as soon as I get them. Maybe fake plants are the way to go...

Happy Monday!

2011-10-03T08:42:00.000-04:00

Always good to remember... Hope you are having a wonderful start to your week. Happy Monday!

Easy Pumpkin Bread via Pinterest

2011-09-29T09:28:00.001-04:00

I have this new obsession. It's called Pinterest. It's a website, pinterest.com, where you can pin things to a digital bulletin board. You can have bulletin boards for different things. Some of my bulletin boards are for places I want to go, DIY projects I want to try, or recipes I want to cook. The difference between this and a normal hang-on-the-wall bulletin board is that when you click on the picture on your board on pinterest, it takes you to the original website and gives you all the information/instructions that you could possibly need. It's awesome! All right at your finger tips.

So I've been pinning all of these great DIY projects and recipes and I realized that it really wouldn't mean anything unless I started actually doing some of these things...so I did!

I chose to start with something easy. And we all know I've been loving the new season, so I decided to bake a little to go along with it. This recipe was cheap, and easy! Super easy. It was also delicious!

First I mixed the two ingredients...

And mixed them all up.

And then I threw it all in a greased loaf pan and popped it in the oven for about 40 minutes at 375. It says to wait until you can stick a knife in it and it comes out clean.

YUMMY!

It was delicious!! My mom wants to try it with walnuts...I bet that would be really good!

I've got a few more things I'll be trying in the next few weeks. It's a great way to be creative on a budget and spruce up my house. Stay tuned!

Cozy Feet

2011-09-23T21:39:00.000-04:00

Check out my new shoes! I finally ordered them after Paula gave me money for them for my birthday. I love them. Catherine always talked about how comfortable they were, but I was skeptical. Now I know - they are really comfy. I wore them yesterday :)

Isn't it funny how the simplest things can sometimes can make your entire day better? That was how this worked. When I saw the box on my front stoop two days ago it was like Christmas-come-early. I ran inside, opened them and proceeded to walk around my house and do chores while wearing them...tag included. I'm a nerd. I know it. But, rest assured, I did remember to cut the tags off before I left the house. I know you were worried.

What are the simple little things that made your days better? :)

Mums the Word

2011-09-22T21:41:00.000-04:00

In honor of the start of fall, I bought some mums for my front porch. All summer I kept saying that I would plant some flowers in my front yard but it never happened. To be honest, I think I'm scared I will kill them. But in the fall, it's safe, because everything dies in the winter. All I have to do is get these plants through the beginning of November and I'm golden. Normally I wouldn't worry about killing the plants, but I really don't want to be "that lady" on the street with all the dead plants who can't seem to keep up with the yard work. But, like I said, plants die anyway in the winter, so I'm safe.

I didn't even have to plant them - I just set it in the planter!

I can't wait until these red ones bloom.

The mums were on sale (of course) and they are actually really pretty. When I get some pumpkins out there with them, I dare say, my house just might look festive!

Fall Favorites

2011-09-20T22:14:00.000-04:00

It's very fitting that the weather is getting cooler right now because fall is starting! It's starts on Friday, to be exact. I never would have guessed that fall would have come early in North Carolina - of all places - but it did. And I am bound and determined to embrace it. Therefore, I am going to share with you some of the things I love about fall... And no, that does not include a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, which is apparently what everyone else in the world loves. Has anyone else noticed the crazy amount of advertising for those this year? Or the amount of people that can't stop talking about them?...

Coming off of my tangent, here are some of the things that I love about fall!

1. Scarves: You can wrap them around your neck to ward off the chilly breeze and stay nice and cozy. They are also an easy way to add a fun bit of color to an otherwise boring outfit.

2. Leaves changing: The colors are gorgeous and I love the way something simple, like my drive to work, can change so much, so quickly.

Jumping in the leaves is also one of my favorite past-times.

3. Pumpkin Carving: It may have been said before, but I am very serious about continuing my childhood traditions. Pumpkin carving is just one of those. Easter egg dying, Christmas cookie decorating, and fireworks/sparklers are also some of these crazy traditions I still like to do.

4. Football: More specifically, the tailgating. Who can turn down an excuse to eat great food and hang out with good friends? Not me. .

5. Boots: In the summer it's too hot for boots, but in the fall, they all come back out; cowboy boots, rain boots, brown boots, black boots, and, of course, Uggs!

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6. Hoodies: This is one college phase that I don't think I will ever grow out of. They are so cozy and comfortable. I got a new State one last week to add to my collection.

Hoodies all around.

7. Candles: I love the scented ones, especially apple pie, vanilla, pumpkin pie, etc. They not only make my house smell good, but it also makes it so cozy (do you see a theme).

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8. Running in cooler weather. It is amazing to begin a run before the sweat has begun to form on my brow. It's so much more pleasant to run with a breeze too. I go farther, and faster. I think I had a smile on my face today too.

9. Derek would like to add that he likes the fall because all of the outdoor pools are closed. And football too.

A Cold Wolfpack Day

2011-09-19T07:30:00.000-04:00

Saturday, it stayed cold. Really cold. And it rained on us. The kind of misting that isn't bad enough to warrant an umbrella, but bad enough to keep you soggy. We still went out to Carter Finley though and supported the Wolfpack. It was a fun day and now we know to bring extra layers for the future.

I made Derek re-take the picture of all three of us to get our boots in...cowboy boots, and goulashes. Mandy's even have wolves on them. Impressive. We had no worries about the mud!

We all got to sit together, which was a nice treat! Derek and Cameron danced up a storm in the stands during a Vanilla Ice song, developing some admiring fans of their own. I still can't believe I didn't get it on video. There is no telling what goofy things those two will do when they are together.

It was military appreciate night and the half-time show was very cool. It was nice to see them honoring so many people.

Now, I know I said I was enjoying the colder weather, but if I could have some sun for future game days, I would really appreciate it!

And in other news....The Illini beat their ranked opponent, Arizona State University (23), on Saturday!!!!!

A Whole New Outlook

2011-09-16T12:49:00.000-04:00

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Last night I met Derek for dinner after work and upon walking into the restaurant, it was maybe 70 degrees and drizzling lightly. Two hours later when we walked out, the temperature had dropped to about 55 and it was windy - freezing to me after a summer of 90+ weather!

So this morning came and I woke up and went for a run... in long sleeves! Just last week I was running in 90 degree weather and today, I was chilly in my long sleeves. The cold weather stuck around all night long. I ended up doing a pretty comfortable and quick five miles, so I eventually warmed up, but not until around mile 3. It was weird to be running, breathing cool air, and actually having sweat wicked from my skin instead of being soaked 10 minutes in. As weird as it was, I have to admit, it was pretty wonderful.

Just last night I was thinking about how I had very little desire to run these days. Almost none. Between my new job where I am on my feet for 5 hours at a time, the crick in my neck that just doesn't seem to want to go away, and wanting to use my free time for, well, other things, I had not been keeping up my training. What was worse, I didn't really care.

I'm still not sure where I am in my training, but I can tell you that after this mornings run, I feel refreshed. I'm looking forward to my next run now and I was actually upset that the end of 5 miles came so quickly. If I hadn't of had a meeting today, I might have turned around and done it again!

I think it might be fair to say that Fall is peeking it's head around the corner. I'm not dumb enough to think that this will stick around for long, but it makes me excited for when it does.

A Bunch of Random Stuff

2011-09-13T22:03:00.001-04:00

I don't have much to blog about, but I am going to go ahead and share a bunch of random thoughts for the day.

Yesterday I had a parent meeting with the parents of the swimmers in my group. Afterwards the head coach came over and told me I received two compliments from parents walking out of the meeting. One lady asked him "Where did you find this girl?, she's great." That was very good to hear because the blank faces in the meeting did not leave me feeling well. I love leaving a good impression on parents...it makes my life so much easier.

Last week Derek brought me along to the town Chamber of Commerce Banquet. It was interesting to see how that worked and it made me aware of some of the things being done in my community. Derek's work is a big part of the community and I'm aware of that, but not a lot of the other projects. We got all dressed up, and I got a (poor quality) cell phone picture for you all to see.

I found a picture I took on Derek's birthday that I had totally forgotten about. I explained last week about how I really wanted to make him feel special for his birthday. He didn't let me give him any candles to blow out or sing to him while at the State game, so I sang to him and gave him a candle to blow out on Sunday. Here is the photo proof...

I have a huge knot/crick in my neck and have had it for the past 4 days. I woke up on Saturday morning barely able to turn my head. It's gotten better and I've been trying to ignore it, but if anyone has any helpful advice on how to get rid of it, kindly let me know.

On my way home from work on Monday I called Derek to see what he was up to...he told me he was cooking pizza and poppers and waiting for me to come eat dinner with him. Wow. That was a wonderful treat. How lucky am I?!

I booked my flight to Detroit today!! Here I come - I am so excited that I get to see my family in just a few short weeks.

I chopped 4 inches off my hair today.

Derek made a cornhole set on Monday - I can't wait to play BAGS this weekend at the tailgate!

Lake Day

2011-09-12T08:25:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we had the chance to go to Lake Gaston for the day with people from Derek's work. It was a blast. Derek slalom skied, I rode in the boat :), and we all had a ton of fun. I will say this - Seadoo's are not my favorite form of watercraft.

It was a wonderful day. I think it is rare to have people who work together and genuinely care about the people who work for them.

A Day in the Life

2011-09-09T15:27:00.000-04:00

The most commonly asked question I received over the past few weeks is “What does your schedule look like?” or “What do you do all day?” I thought that I would give you an idea of what my day’s look like right now. They are never the same as the one before, but there are some similarities that I like to stick to.

6:30 Alarm goes off and I press snooze J.

6:45-7 I roll out of bed and get my coffee and check my email.

7:30 I head out for a run (on long run days I have to actually get up at 6:30 and skip the coffee/email step).

8:30-10 I eat breakfast, shower, clean my house, go grocery shopping, pay bills, do laundry, etc and I sometimes do it with Good Morning America or Regis and Kelly on the TV. Yep, it’s true. I never watched these shows prior to about a week ago, and now, I really enjoy them as background noise. Regis and Kelly are pretty hilarious.

10:30 I head in to work and spend the next few hours checking and responding to emails, writing my daily workouts, planning out the cycles of the season, planning/brainstorming/meeting with the other coaches, and updating the calendar’s on the website (that’s my new responsibility as of yesterday…can you tell I feel important!) In the future, I will hopefully be taking on more responsibilities.

1:00 I head home for lunch or I go to run errands depending on what I need to get done. This time varies by day, as well. We don’t have any specific office hours, the idea is that we need to make sure we do our job and do it well. Other than that, we are mostly free to come and go as we please (except for meetings/practices).

2:30-4 I am back at the office, helping the other coaches, finalizing workouts, responding to a new round of emails and voicemails that have come in from parents in the past two hours. On Tuesdays and Thursdays during this time I work with the University team on the pool deck with their dryland workout and swim practice.

4:30-8 I am on the pool deck coaching every day during this time. Yes, that is a lot of standing on my feet, so I have learned to wear supportive shoes, but it really does fly by. I try to get out to my car to head home as soon as possible after practice because by that time my stomach is growling pretty loudly.

8:30-9 Cook/eat dinner and then relax, watch TV, talk on the phone with friends/family, hang out with Derek, etc. All that good stuff.

11:00 Back to bed. (I aim for this time…sometimes I make it, sometimes I don’t.)

It is a huge change for me because it allows me to have so much more flexibility than my previous schedule. It also gives me free time in the morning and very little time in the evenings. I am adjusting and like everything else, there are things that I love about it and things that I am hoping I can learn to like. It will force me to have a lot of self-discipline and remember all of those old time-management skills that I used to use in college. J I am also thinking that I may adjust my schedule in the future to allow for a separate morning job. I mean, I really don't need a 2 hour break for lunch! But I will wait and see.

It is a breath of fresh air not to have my days dictated by a schedule run down to the minute (hello bell-schedule) by someone else. I feel as though I am free to gain this sense of responsibility on my own and I feel that is important because since school has been back in session, I have felt very weird - like I am playing hooky because I am not in school. This is the first time in 20+ years that I have not gone back to school after a summer break. It's scary. I have the weird inkling in the back of my mind that I am going to get in trouble for not being at school, as if I will be called into the principal’s office at any moment. It’s weird, but it’s true and I think it makes me all that more grateful that I have made this decision to switch careers right now.

That is my schedule, and like I said, it changes by the day depending on how much I have to get done. I am certain that it will continue to change in the future as I gain more responsibilities and figure out what I want my routine to be.

WolfPack Weekend

2011-09-06T08:30:00.005-04:00

Saturday was opening day at Carter-Finley Stadium! (do they say "opening day" in football too, or is that just baseball?) We started the day off early, stopping at Bojangles for the tailgate pack to compliment all of our side dishes, and then we headed to the parking lot. Early. And we did it up in style...check it out....

Make note, in the following pictures, we are one of the only cars in the lot. Like I said, we were early. I think the boys had been counting down the days for quite a while.

YUMMY!!

I played several games of Kan-jam. If you don't know what that is, click here. It's pretty awesome and I'm a lot better at kan-jam than I am at bags, so it is a lot less frustrating for me.

When we headed into the stadium, they gave everyone these little white towels to wave and they actually looked pretty cool when everyone waved them.

I wish they would have played a little better, but they did win. Let's all just hope they learn a lot this week at practice.

It was a great weekend and I love that I get to have a football team down here. They are no Illinois, but seeing as I can't get those games on tv or travel there in person, this will definitely do. Watching score updates on a cell phone is only so fun and it get's old fast. Plus, nobody ever said I couldn't have two teams, right?!

Birthday Season

2011-09-05T11:51:00.001-04:00

It is also my very good friend Elizabeth's birthday today and I wanted to make sure I wished her a very happy happy birthday. She is a med student up in Chicago and a pretty amazing person. She is stronger than I could ever be and I am sending her happy thoughts and lots of birthday hugs today.

I met Liz when I moved to St. Charles and we were both 10 years old...wow, that seems like forever ago when we were both swimming for Coach Schuster in the Gold group (did I even get his name right?). We've both grown up a little, but it's amazing that we've kept in touch and are still friends today.

She deserves a happy day today, and I really hope she gets it!

This is a picture of Liz, myself, and Sarah at Andrea's rehearsal dinner last September almost exactly one year ago. Good memories, with good friends.

Happy Birthday Liz!

Birthday Boy

2011-09-05T07:17:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday Derek!!

I might be a day late, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend time on the computer this weekend...For the past two days we celebrated Derek's birthday. I think it is very lucky that his birthday falls on this weekend, because every year he also get's to celebrate the beginning of the college football season - and this boy loves him some football...

Derek's truck all decked out for the football game on Saturday.

Derek made my birthday weekend very special for me this year, so I wanted to do the same with him. He got to pick what we did all weekend long. It was a lovely weekend filled with tailgating, pancakes, golfing, and dinner with his family. All around, a good time. He works so hard I was glad he took some time to relax.

Here are some things that I love about Derek...

He can make me laugh no matter what the situation, he works incredibly hard and takes such pride in the work that he does, he see's the logic and reasoning in things where I do not, he can fix a car, computer, or appliance better than the geek squad or your local mechanic, his condo is pretty darn clean, he is very healthy, and he really, really cares about his family and friends. He is a great person. I hope he had a wonderful birthday!

More on his birthday weekend coming soon...I hope you are all enjoying your Labor Day!

33 YEARS!!

2011-09-02T09:56:00.000-04:00

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful parents, they are celebrating 33 years today!! Wow. They have been an amazing example for my sisters and I of a supportive relationship full of love and respect.

I am lucky to have these two as my parents and I wish them many, many more happy years together!

I love you!

Summer is Ending

2011-08-30T22:11:00.000-04:00

Summer is ending and I'm savoring every minute of it...

Last weekend we grilled out...my favorite summer cookout meal of burgers with grilled pineapple and muenster cheese and grilled asparagus on the side.

And we played some golf. That is my ball on the left. I was a foot from the hole, as close to a hole-in-one as I'll ever get!

I hope you're enjoying the last few weeks of summer.

Coconut Shrimp

2011-08-26T08:30:00.002-04:00

I always loved coconut shrimp. Take me to a seafood restaurant and I look for it on the menu first. When I came across the recipe for coconut chicken on Our Best Bites, a food blog I look at on occasion, I gave it a try. I just made a few substitutions. Instead of chicken, I used shrimp and instead of bread crumbs, I used crushed Wheat Thins. (I forgot the bread crumbs at the store and didn't feel like going back - it worked though!) I also left out a few of the ingredients because, well, I just didn't have them. Luckily, it turned out well!

It was pretty easy too!

To start, preheat the oven to 450 and start by combining these ingredients in a bowl.

1 cup sweeted coconut flakes (you can chop these to make them smaller)
1 cup bread crumbs (this is where my crushed wheat thins came into play)
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/8 tsp cayene pepper (even I liked the kick this gave it)

Crack one egg in a bowl and set it out with the bowl of coconut mix. Beat the egg.

Dip the shrimp into the egg first to coat it, then place it in the coconut mix and put it on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake them for 10 minutes at 450 degrees.

They were delicious!! I had some left over coconut mix, so I sliced up a zuccini, coated it just like the shrimp, and baked them for 5 minutes. I think they might have been better than the shrimp!

Any other easy meals for me to try?

Sweet Salt Air

2011-08-24T17:17:00.000-04:00

The past few days have given me reason to think. A lot. One of my oldest friends is going through a pretty tough time. She is an amazingly strong person but right now, she is in a really tough place of uncertainty. It's crazy when we think of all the things that medicine can cure, that it's almost impossible to believe that there are still things out there that are beyond it's reach. Please keep their family in your thoughts and prayers. I really wish I could teleport myself to give her a huge hug.

Needless to say, I've been talking with my mom a lot, and with my friends, and this has made me a bit homesick. This stuff can happen to anyone and I think I am grasping onto my family with the thought that it could be them. So far, I've just been a lucky girl and for that I am very thankful. (Now is a good time to plan a trip home.)

With all of this weighing on my mind and very little to keep me occupied, yesterday, I headed to the beach. It has always had a way of setting me at ease. It was a beautiful day. The weather was perfect; it was hot enough that you could feel the sun on your skin but the breeze was cool enough to keep you from sweating. I think I have "Irene" to thank for that. The waves were huge! Let's hope this storm calms down before it hits North Carolina.

I came home relaxed, and slightly burned. I think it was a success.

Road Trippin’ Weekend

2011-08-22T08:30:00.001-04:00

This weekend we headed up to Virginia with our friends Mandy and Cameron to go to Busch Gardens. It was a blast. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. Several times. It was one of those weekends that reminds me what it was like to be a kid. We all became versions of our younger selves and got excited about roller coasters, water balloon fights, and even the log flume.

Warning…we took a ton of pictures! I tried to narrow it down for you all, but I really just couldn’t.

Waiting, like little kids, for Cameron to get off work.

Finally, headed to the park!!

We rode every coaster in the place. I can’t even remember the last time I rode a roller coaster! And I even did the up-side-down ones! There were almost no lines until the afternoon and the weather was beautiful.

We walked a lot.

We mashed some grapes in Italy.

We rode the Sky Buckets.

We acted like we were 5 years old again.

And we rode a ton of rides!!

In the afternoon we changed and went back for the water rides. We were absolutely soaked. Good thing we had the waterproof camera.

I don't know how anyone get's off that ride with a dry spot on 'em.

We had a water balloon fight.

And we finished off the day with the log flume.

Yes, we posed for the camera’s on each ride. Mandy grew up in Virginia and used to have season passes…she told us exactly when to strike a pose.

After we got cleaned up, we had a nice dinner and played some putt-putt. Mandy and Cameron each got 3 hole’s in one!! Derek and I had zero between the two of us.

I have to say it, for the record, Derek did beat me. That is the first time Derek has ever beaten me at putt-putt. I am devastated.

Sunday, we walked around colonial Williamsburg, had lunch, stopped by the candy store, and then headed home. It was an absolutely fabulous weekend - I am still recovering. It was tiring!

Training for Life

2011-08-16T12:52:00.002-04:00

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The other day when I was about to start my run on the Tobacco trail I overheard a conversation nearby. An older woman asked a runner who had obviously just finished a long, intense run, "what are you training for?" It seemed like a reasonable question to me, but I was surprised and intrigued by her answer. She said, "I'm training for life." hmmmm. I'm still not sure how to take that answer, and I really don't know how she meant it (remember, I was just eavesdropping), but I think there are lots of different interpretations and in reality, it's probably a good idea to want to be in good shape just "because". I actually thought about this for a bit on my run today. Obviously, I'm training for the marathon, but there are a lot of other things I'm training for too; health, weight management, a feeling of accomplishment, energy, etc.

This morning was a long run so it's good I had some things to think about. These mornings are always hard for me. I know that they are exciting, and very necessary for my training, but before you've started, a long run can be a daunting task. Sometimes, I drag my feet a little on these mornings. For example, I woke up at 6:15 today but didn't actually make it to the trail until 7:45. I made a new playlist yesterday and I decided before I began that I was not going to watch my pace. If I was going too slow, I didn't even want to know.

Lucky for me, I eventually made it to the trail and it went well! I finished 15 miles in 2 hours and 42 minutes. I averaged about a 10:48 pace. Not awful - I'll take it!! Now I am lying on the couch and hydrating until this afternoon. I might even get a nap in.

Birthday Weekend

2011-08-15T08:30:00.001-04:00

Derek and I had a wonderful time this weekend with Paula and Matt. It was relaxing, filled with lots of laughing and lots of great food. I was sad to see them go last night, but hopefully they'll come back again soon! (warning: picture overload)

Friday we ate at Tribecca Tavern and then played some darts.

On Saturday the the boys went golfing while Paula and I went to the flea market, explored Raleigh a little bit, and grabbed lunch. In the afternoon we all met up at the pool to rest.

{Photo courtesy of Derek}

They spoiled me with gifts - thank you!! - and then we went to Sushi Blues downtown for dinner (it was delicious! – even Derek liked the sushi) and met up with a bunch of my friends. Our favorite roll, by far, was the "Wolfpack". How fitting?!

On the way home, we stopped at Snoopy’s because sushi wasn’t quite enough to fill Derek up. It was a nice little Raleigh treat for the Chicagoan’s.

Sunday we slept in and met Derek’s family for lunch. (And this is about when we started forgetting to take pictures, I do believe Paula got one on her cell phone though…if it turns up, I will let you know.) I was so glad we got to see them.

It was a great weekend, I feel very loved, and I was spoiled by everyone. You are all way too nice to me. Thank you. I did not get to see my parents or Catherine, but I talked to them a bunch and they were there in spirit. (I miss you!)

I’m thinking 27 will be a good year...It’s off to a great start.

Another Year

2011-08-12T08:30:00.012-04:00

Tomorrow is my birthday. Yay!! I will be 27. Wow. That feels OLD!

In my family we have always treated birthday’s with extra care, it is the one day that you get to feel special. And I might be biased, but I think that my birthday’s were always the best. In August, school was always out (so I never had to worry about that) and for the first 20 years of my life or so, we were usually at the beach in Rhode Island to celebrate my birthday. It was amazing! Who wouldn’t want a family beach vacation to correspond with their birthday?! I have great memories of my grandma cooking her blueberry cake for dessert and blowing out the candles with everyone - grandparents, sisters, parents, cousins, aunts, and uncles - sitting around the huge table in the cottage.

This will be the first birthday ever that I don’t get to see my parents. Wow. That’s actually pretty lucky seeing as I will be 27 and this hasn’t happened before now. My parents and Catherine sent me some things earlier this week and they have been sitting in my kitchen since MONDAY torturing me. I am under specific instructions to not open them until my actual birthday. I think I can handle that…

Even though I won’t see my parents this weekend, lucky for me, my sister and brother-in-law are coming to visit today and they are staying all weekend!

Meet Paula and Matt.

I love this picture.

So yesterday I went grocery shopping to get ready for their visit (I cannot let them come visit me with an empty pantry/fridge!) and I decided to splurge and get myself a little present. I’m allowed to do that, right? Do you remember those mason jars I bought at the flea market a few weeks ago? I just had to put some flowers in them…

And I had a $1.00 off coupon for PEOPLE, so you better believe I came home with some magazines. These will be perfect for lying by the pool this weekend with Paula (I hope the weather stays nice! Cross your fingers for us, please!).

So I might be getting older and soon I will no longer be able to say mid-twenties… But that’s ok. I’m very happy with where I am, how I’m living my life, and all the wonderful people I have surrounding me.

…And just because I’m old, it doesn’t mean I can’t act like a 5 year old every now and then…

Stormy Sky

2011-08-11T08:30:00.000-04:00

I was at the pool late this week when a storm came up quickly. The sky was absolutely incredible to watch. Take a look.

This last one is my absolute favorite.