5 more days!

5 more days till I run the race of my lifetime! I can't believe it's already here. I have been full of all different emotions so far this week. Sometimes I'm so excited and can't wait to be at the start line, then I start to get nervous and wish it was already over. I know once I cross that finish line I'll want to run another one as soon as I can though.

10 days till we move! I feel like my "to do" list before moving just keeps growing instead of shrinking. We ventured to Ikea yesterday and got some dressers. We purchased a really nice couch and bed from West El so we went cheapo on the dressers. While at Ikea though I found myself adding more and more to our list of things we need. It's the little things I keep forgetting like oven mitts.

Love makes the world go round

I stumbled upon a blog today from a friends post on facebook. A sweet little 5 year old girl just had a tumor removed from her brain. Her family is taking donations to help with her medical bills and recovery. I know it seems like I'm always asking to donate money but this family could really use some awesome people in their life to help them out.

Click here to help sweet Jaylie

Thank you friends.

Blessed Beyond Belief

I really feel beyond blessed through this entire marathon experience, for many reasons. 

1. Blessed to have the mental and physical ability to even attempt to finish a full marathon. I know there are many people out there who would love to be in my shoes racing in 10 days but simply can't for reasons beyond their reach. 

2. Blessed to have amazing coaches who answer everyone of my millions of emails the past 5 months about every single detail and every ache and pain. I know sweet Colin and Steph will miss my emails, don't say you won't. 

3. Blessed to have an amazing team that always cheers each other on. I really couldn't have picked a better group of people if I tried. 

4. Blessed to have such great parents who have supported me and believed in me. Great parents who are flying out to San Diego just to see me cross the finish line.

5. Blessed to have an oh so sweet and paient boyfriend who has been my back bone through out this whole experience. Poor sweet boyfriend who has delt with the tears of joy and pain the past 5 months. And not to forget the bratty days. 

6. Beyond Blessed to have SUPER family and friends who have donated their money, in this tough economic time, to support me and my cause for LLS. Thank you so much to everyone who has had even the littlest part in getting me here. I would not have even made it this far with out each of you. 

10 days till race day!!!!!

hiphipHORRAY

Long story short: I've been arguing over a couch with West Elm for almost a week now and finally got it today at the price I wanted. Thank goodness. Jeff and I both had our hearts set on this couch and could only afford it at the sale price. I did not back down and we got it. So I give you a little preview of whats to come of our frist place together.

First the couch. Oh how I love thee.

This isn't the EXACT rug that will be in the living room, but close enough.

One of many pillows for the couch. It's going to be a green and yellow theme.

This pretty little rug will be the runner in our kitchen. ((couldn't find the runner picture though))

Of course I got Jeff and I each mugs with our initials on them :)

Salt and pepper shakers. Weird I know but I fell in love with them when I saw them.

Finally we decided on bedding. You'll have to wait to see the finished bedroom to see my vision with the stripes...

So in love with our mirrored night stands.

My favorite piece in the whole house will be our canopy bed. I have always had a thing for canopy beds.

Pillows for the bed.

And to bring some femininen touches to the room, little bursts of pink and orange flowers.

Even looking at this page myself it seems like a mess of colors and patterns. Ha. It's a work in progress that I just can't wait to start. 

All that's left to find is a coffe table and a dresser. 3 more weeks till we are in the new place!

june oh june

My oh my June is going to be a month for the books ladies and gents. In the first 10 days of June I have my 3 years anniversary with Jeffy, the 2 year anniversary of bestest passing, my first full marathon in San Diego, and Jeffy and I will be moving in together. Talk about craziness.

Anniversary:
It's crazy to think it's been only 3 years. I find it hard to remember a time in my life with out Jeff in it. So much has changed these past 3 years, I have really changed a lot. I've gone from a college student who worked at a bar to a young professional who is training for a marathon. We've both been through so much together these past 3 years I feel like we can take on anything. Jeff is working on so many things and following his dream. I'm so proud of him for never settling on anything less then what he wants in life. While packing yesterday I ran into some old notebooks where I had written my life on! Jeff found the one form the first year we started dating and it was pretty funny to go back and read now. No big plans for the date. We're going to attempt to see the bats again since they never showed when we went last year. Grab dinner and probably go see a movie. I LOVE going to the movies and there is a new theater downtown we might try out.

Bestest:
2 years flew by. I feel like it was just yesterday everything happend. That day is still blurry in my memory. I'm glad that my marathon falls on the same weekend. I know I'll have an extra push of encouragement that day. Don't get me wrong, she would be the first person to say I was crazy and out of my mind for running a marathon BUT, she would be the first at the finish line waiting and cheering me on. Again while packing yesterday I found an old post card she sent me while she was traveling through Europe a couple years back. It's so awesome to find things like that every now and then. Love you bestest.

Marathon:
EEEK! I'm really starting to get nervous about this thing. I'm excited, scared, anxious, and every emotion you could imagine. I'm starting to get mad at myself for picking this marathon to run because of the date. There is just so much going on around this time that it wasn't the smartest choice. It WILL all work out just fine and hopefully race day will be a nice escape fromt he million things running through my mind. Hard to believe that this time in 2 weeks I'll be coming back to Texas a MARATHON FINISHER!

Moving:
I'm so proud of myself for getting so much packing done this past week. I have packed about 10 boxes and loaded them into the garage already. Huge lift off my shoulders to have some packing done. All that's really left is the kitchen, bathroom and some bedroom things. We've also been good at picking up things we need here and there so it won't be such a huge expense all at once. I'm so excited about moving in with Jeff and about our new place. It's small and cozy but I love it and can't wait to fill it with everything we love.

So if you don't see any new posts for about a month now you'll know why! I'll make sure and update after the marathon though!

xoxo

iphone uploads

These bright little things are my new running shoes for the marathon. If you didn't know you are suppose to get new running shoes every 200-300 miles? I was shocked when our coach told us it was time for a new pair already. Anyway they had their first run this weekend and I love them! They are the Adidas "Boston" and they also come in BRIGHT red. I also recommend getting fitted for running shoes. Trust me it sounds silly but it makes a HUGE difference.

This yummy treat was devoured by a group of women the other night. We had some girls over to celebrate our late friend Adam's birthday. We got a large cheese pizza and added our own toppings, such and easy/cheap way to do a joint dinner. After we finished we all wrote little notes to Adam and tied them to ballons and set them free. It was pretty neat to see. (Just remembered we put Jeff's e-mail ont he back to see if anyone actually got them...wonder if he got any strange emails)

I went home for Mothers day ANNNNND to see one of my favorite young ladies dance in her final spring show 2 weekends ago. After mom and I spent the day having lunch and running errands, she came home to a kitchen full of ballons and flowers from my dad. So sweet those two. High school sweet hearts and married 37 years now!

First day to test out the running shoes in the gym. Notice how clean and shinny my gyms locker room floor is. Love Lifetime Fitness. (No, I'm not that tan. I wish. Thank you Mystic. I do not want old wrinkled skin when I get older)

My favorite picture in my phone right now! Our new bed! We have yet to pick it up and actually pay for it, but that will happen this weekend and I couldn't be happier. Not only on sale but we get an additional 20% off. I have this place in my heart for canopy beds that won't go away. Maybe because I had one as a child?

You can't really read this but this is Jeff's letter saying he got approved to take the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist exam. In normal talk that means he can take his trainer exam to become a certified personal trainer! So proud of him, he has been studying like crazy for this thing. He has until September to take it but I'm thinking He'll knock it out in the next few weeks. Love you Jeffy. So proud of you.

Last but not least. I made a yummy dinner last night that consisted of bacon wrapped pork loin and asparagus. So of course it was only natural to ruin a perfectly healthy meal with some frozen yogurt and lots of toppings. AND followed by popcorn at the movies. Oh well, I'm running 20 miles today so I figured I deserved it in advance!

Don't forget even though I reached my goal you can still donate! Until there is a cure we will still need help finding one!

BabyFever

If you know me at all then you are well aware I have baby fever...BIG TIME! I have always wanted kids and loved being around them. I was the neighborhood babysitter for years. 

This past year babies have been popping up all around me and I love it! 3 good friends have had the most adorable little nuggets you ever did see. Tia had Cru about 7 months ago and I've been watching him randomly since he was 1 month old. Gosh I just love my little Crubie! About 3 weeks ago I have a day off from work and Tia had something she needed to do "baby free" for the day so I volunteered. It was Reesa and Cru's day of fun!

Little nugget right after I got him. Happy as can be.

A stop at my office realquick, riding in the elevator.

Lunch with Bill. We went to see Aunt Stacy but she was not there.

Nap time. Little chunk is so cute with his tongue out while he sleeps.

Trip to the mall. Crubie was flirting with all the ladies in Victoria Secret

Watching a movie on my bed and feeding himself. Such a big boy now :(

Playing with Jeffy while Cooper over looks. Coop did not know what to think of Cru. Especially when Jeff was paying attention to Cru and not coop. Oh lord that dog  better learn...

Coop passed out after Cru left. He was following his every move and making sure Cru did not mess with his home.

Thank you Tia for tursting me with your child. I'm HAPPY/ESTACTIC to watch him anytime day or night! Love my Crubie so much!

jumping the gun.

I may be jumping the gun here because I still have $37.13 to raise, BUUUUUUUUUUT I think it's safe to say I reached my fundraising goal! I'm so excited and so proud of myself. There were a few stressful times these past 5 months where I didn't think I could raise it all. A lot of emailing, mailing, messaging, posting, tweeting, and so on. Sorry to anyone who was getting slightly annoyed by the constant reminder to donate, but it worked!

I can remember fundraising when I was younger and it was not this difficult. When I signed up for this I thought "oh this will be easy, I know so many people who will love to donate to a great cause". I jumped the gun on that one. Times are tough right now for a lot of people and a lot of my friends are in entry level jobs, living pay check to pay check. Gas prices are high and sometimes people just straight up forget. I think everyone wants to donate and help they just maybe can't at the time. 

I would never go back and not do this though. The marathon is so close and I couldn't be more nervous and excited at the same time. I have really changed a lot in the past 5 months. I went from never going to the gym to going 5 days a week. I went from smoking and drinking on the weekends to staying home and eating veggies. I love how my life has changed for the better, it was hard though. Training like this and running so much can be very tolling on your body both physically and emotionally. I've been through both. 

Training for my next marathon will be easier and less stressful (hopefully) because my body will be better adapted to the changes. I went from 0-60 that first week and never stopped. I'm planning on doing a 1/2 marathon in San Antonio in November and the full in Austin in February. I'll be taking a short break from fundraising and traveling. I want to continue to train and fundraise with Team in Training, maybe just one race a year though. It gets a little much begging people for money year round. I'm sure I would run out of people to ask. 

A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS DONATED 

AND SUPPORTED ME THROUGH THIS! 

I could not have done it with out you. Especially Jeffy who has listened to me gripe and complain through out this process. He truly has helped me through this more than I can ever explain. The end result, crossing that finish line after 26.2, will be REMARKABLE!

Good Morning

I hope everyone woke up feeling like this today.

Happy Tuesday.

BirthdayParty like no other

There is a birthday party going on in the sky today. 

A dear friend Adam turns 30 in heaven today. 

2 years ago tomorrow Adam passed away.

He was such an amazing person.

A heart as big as Texas.

Always upbeat and smiling.

We all know he was the life of every party.

(and in a way still is)

Kind and sweet. Funny and silly.

A kid at heart with dreams as far as the stars.

God might be shaking his head and laughing at our Adam right now.

Toasting to his own birthday. In his birthday suit.

We all love and miss you Adam.

______________________________________________________

I stole this from a friends blog. It seems fitting today.

Adam defiantly started each day like it was his birthday.

Sundays

Did you know that Sunday is my favorite day of the week? Well now you do. I L-O-V-E Sundays. I have 1 millions reasons why, not just one thing. 

- It's the start of a fresh new week

- Grocery shopping day. I really do enjoy going to the grocery store, getting fresh veggies and fruit. Planning meals for the week. It sounds weird but it's one of my favorite things that Jeff and I do together every week, and Sunday is the day we do it.

- On a rainy or just lazy day you can spend it indoors catching a marathon on TV. I always find great marathons on TV on Sundays and just curl up on the couch. 

- The gym is always empty on Sunday. Nice change of pace from the usually 5-6pm busy rush during the week. I can be on any machine for however long I wish!

- It's the one day Jeff and I can both be off. Between work, marathon training, and life, Sunday is the one day we try and spend some QT together.

- Crawfish boils are great Sunday activities right now.

- Nothing beats a Sunday brunch! There are so many GREAT brunch places in Austin.

- Laundry and cleaning day. Not my favorite thing to do but I usually clean and do laundry for a couple hours on Sundays. It's nice to start the week with empty hampers, clean sheets, and a wiped down kitchen counter.

- And on a new note, Sundays are usually race days! So now that I'm falling in love with this running thing, many of my Sundays will be spent bright and early at the start line.

Just thought I'd share my love for Sundays