13.1

i did it!
i completed my first half marathon....and maybe not my last. the running itself...i wouldn't call my favorite...but the friendships with the fun ladies i was able to go with....ARE my favorite. talk about some amazing women..and their stories!!!!! it just makes me love them even  more.....


before i signed up my sweet friend kira convinced me to sign up, i was a fair weather runner...meaning....if it was too cold or too hot, i chickened out....and by too cold i mean under 65... and too hot meaning over 80! ha! which in turn means, i hardly ever ran. :) AND, between kids schedules and other things(like laziness!), i just wasn't dedicated. the most i had ever run before was about 5 1/2 miles...and i was so dang proud of that...i thought i would die. and that was during the spring about 2 yrs. ago! yikes!


soooo....i knew i would have my work cut out for me once i signed up. but you see, there is this problem i have called..."i am not good at trying/starting something new(or old) until i am forced", so even though for about 4 years,  i have been talking smack about running a half, i never actually DID anything about it and tried to reach my goal.


but...i'll do anything to get to the beach(seaside! woot!) and everything in my power not to waste money...so once i paid my registration...i was IN! :)


i wasn't as good as the rest of my friends about training...i only ran once sometimes twice a week, and then a long run on saturdays..but it did the job. my goal was NOT time, just to continue running the entire time. and THAT i did...(although i probably could have speed walked faster than i was running a few times! ha!)


but...i accomplished MY goal...and that is all that matters. plus i got a cute vera bradley bag for finishing...AND a vera bradley measuring tape. yes, you read that right...and since i'm a furniture hunter...and i already keep a measuring tape in my purse, i was more happy about that than the bag! ha! because who doesn't need a pretty measuring tape????? :)


anyway, i took my camera and got it out exactly one time. and took three terrible pictures. so my entire weekend was documented on various cell phones....which equals vampire eyes in many of them....or was it "too much wine eyes"? anyhoo.....


i'm so thankful to brian who took 2 days off of work and held down the fort while i was gone....and surprised me with a sparkling, shinning, clean as a whistle car....complete with a new sticker on the back that reads....
13.1
here are a few moments of our weekend! thanks girls!!

carolyn, kira, nardy
2 days before race

saturday it POURED all day! :(

before race

i did it!

yay!

kira, me, leigh
after race beer! :)

leigh, oval head..i mean me, maureen

maureen, kira, me, leigh

new bag

hair

i miss my blond hair.....just sayin'.
the end.

Brian

 i was thinking the other night about how i never really say anything on this blog about brian...except that he doesn't like me to paint and gives me funny looks with i drag home ugly furniture to transform! but...in all honesty, he's a GREAT guy and i'm so lucky to have him...so i'm going to brag for a minute. i sometimes get all caught up in the whole "romance" thing and i'm not going to lie...get a little envious when i hear about someone planning a surprise candlelight picnic for their wife...or writing them a special anniversary song...but then i realize that he shows me he loves me every.single.day. by doing things for me that make my life easier...like....

•  he has taken it upon himself to be the toilet paper/paper towel/toothpaste/medicine/vitamin guy. since we have been married, i have bought paper towels ONCE...and i was so overwhelmed with the choices that i stood in the paper towel aisle for 20 min. and left with just a 2 pack..so he could go buy more later
• after being gone from the house for 10-11 hours a day, he ALWAYS calls me and asks if i need anything from the grocery..which i usually do. and not ONE time has he ever complained about stopping
• he works so so so hard for us...so we can have wonderful things that we truly don't deserve
• i have never had to pay a bill. this is awful to admit, but i don't even know how much all of our bills amount to each month. he just quietly takes care of it...so i don't have to stress 
• he keeps my car clean and most of the time filled with gas. what a great surprise when you get in the car and the gas tank is FULL!
• he plans for our future and the kids' future...and has me taken care of if anything were to happen to him...which, as a stay at home mommy with NO job....is very comforting
• he helps me clean up the kitchen EVERY NIGHT! and when we have guests in town...he keeps that dishwasher going strong....
• he doesn't panic when i call him FREAKING out because i'm lost...even though i have a GPS...he just calmly gets me where i need to be :)
• he is quiet and i am loud...which used to bother me, but i think two loud people in one house would be overkill ;)
• he has been so supportive of me and this running thing...helping me out with shoes, running clothes, how to train, etc. and is proud of me for accomplishing my goal
• he plans all of our trips/vacations...while i'm just along for the ride
• he eats ANYTHING i cook..and loves all types of food, which makes is so easy on me! he will eat cereal or leftovers with a smile! ;)
• he NEVER complains about anything or talks bad about anyone...(which sometimes annoys me because if someone makes me mad, i want to vent and talk and he won't say a word...just sits and listens with a smile on his face!) 
• he is a fantastic daddy to lainey and hutton...coaching teams, taking them places alone, helping with school work, playing, etc. i couldn't ask for better
• he sets a great example of a godly man...attending church, volunteering in church, and tithing...something i always saw my daddy do and knew i wanted that in a husband someday
• he makes me laugh...especially when he is picking on me! ha!
• he is so smart! i can ask him a question about ANYTHING, and he knows the answer...which is mind boggling to me!
• he is always willing to take the kids to museums, concerts, etc. so they can experience new things...
• he knows how important date nights are to me...
• if he has gone to work before i get up...he leaves love notes by the coffee maker! (the first place i run to in the morning...)

there are many many more...but i just wanted to write a few down...so when i am having one of those "days" i can look back and realize that i am ONE LUCKY GIRL!  

i love you brian...

love, 

your favorite wifey

where does the time go?

i haven't written in over a month and i have all of these little things i could have turned into great posts...but when i sit down to write...nothing comes out! so....here are some bullet points because i'll want to remember all of this one day! :0

• brian went out of town and i painted our kitchen, eating area, and hallway...a really pretty pale pale blue. i love it..him...not so much
• i sewed my first envelope pillow and made a LONG table runner for my new farmhouse table...that i have yet to put a picture of on this blog! oops! ;)
• lainey was chosen as student of the month at her middle school...and we were given a bumper sticker for bragging rights....and hopefully she won't try and tear it off like i did to my mother in 9th grade...maybe since my car is cooler than a wood grain mini-van, she'll leave it alone!(sorry mom!)
• hutton has decided he is going to be a musical engineer when he grows up...and i absolutely 100% know that he will
• lainey wants to be a missionary when she grows up...and i absolutely 100% know that she will
• we have had the mildest winter, and while i love the snow, i am so thankful since i'm TRAINING FOR MY FIRST HALF-MARATHON!  yes, you read that right...but i'm not going to say anything else about it until i cross the finish line and can mark it off of my birthday list
• i haven't lost ONE pound while training. can you say D.E.P.R.E.S.S.I.N.G????
• lainey is in the beginning stages of braces and she has to wear head gear...bless her heart. but only at night. because i was ready to homeschool her if she had to wear that craziness at school.
• hutton and i started having fun friday's since he will be starting kindergarten soon. we HAVE to do something exciting and i'm not allowed to clean all day. i can't talk about it without getting a huge lump in my throat. moving on.....
• pinterest is addicting. the end.
• and on a sad note, our sweet boxer jessie died. she was only 5 1/2 so we weren't ready for it, but she was sick and it was pitiful. and as much as she was a pain in the butt sometimes, i still look for her to meet me at the gate when i come home or stick her nose all over the french door glass...watching everything i do....

once again, i'll try to do better with updating posts...but don't hold your breath...just in case.... ;)

christmas sewing project

 one of the things on my birthday list this year was to make some of my christmas gifts. i made two...and for me....that counts! i have been eyeing these awesome fort kits for months!   http://www.saltwater-kids.com/2010/12/thrifty-gifts-fort-building-kit.html 
...so i decided to make my own version because there is NOTHING my kids love more...than to get out all of the blankets and sheets they can find and start building! 
 i have talked about learning how to sew numerous times on this blog...so it's like beating a dead horse...but i'll just keep it short and sweet. i finally learned. period. the end.  (that is another post for another day!)
 anyway...around oct. i was completing my daily walk through target,  and i spotted these...and check out that price! score!

 an entire sheet set with a drawstring bag for $4.48! i knew i could use them for SOMETHING...but that SOMETHING took a minute to make its way into my head! and when it did,(FORT KIT!) i grabbed four of them and threw them into my cart. and then when i got home i put them in the top of my guest room closet and forgot about them until about a week before christmas! oops!


 i decided that i would just use the flat sheet out of each bag(anyone need 4 fitted polka dot sheets?)...to make it easier on me...the "i just started sewing" lady. then i took two of the pillow cases and did some surgery. i cut them  into 1 1/2 inch strips. then i folded and ironed and folded and ironed and then sewed....

 so they looked like this.... and THEN i sewed the strips on to the four corners and the middle(on each side) of the sheet....and let's be real...it wasn't pretty, but it works...and hopefully my son and my niece won't be judging my amazing sewing skills. WOOT!

 i folded this baby all up and tried to stuff him in the drawstring bag(which was my original plan) but quickly realized that 2 sheets, clips, clothespins, and a book light weren't going to fit! so that's when i moved to plan B.
 i got the OTHER two pillowcases, chopped off about a 1/3, sliced off the top, cut the top strip in half, hemmed it up, and made it into two handles. then i sewed the handles onto the top of the pillow case...and BOOM! i had a perfect bag for my fort goodies!

miller lite...to ease the pain...

once the bag was finished, i built my "kit". one flat sheet, one flat sheet with ties, clothespins,  4 clamps(from home depot), a book light, and a small chalkboard with chalk.
(and NO...i did NOT take a picture of the kit completed because in all of my excitement, the camera was the last thing on my mind!) fail!

i made one for my niece and one for hutton. and i'm proud to say, the kids made a huge fort the day after christmas that they LOVED! and...my sister-in-law told me that my niece loves hers! yay!

so...now i can mark ANOTHER thing off of my bday list...with pride.

ps. i know you could quite possibly be scarred for life because of the high quality of my pictures and the extremely intelligent way i explain things....and for that...i am sorry. just close your eyes...and breathe.


pps. i know i need to change my header and that christmas is over. i'm workin' on it...after i get away from pinterest....

good day....bad eating..

because the kids are STILL home from school, we had to get OUT of the house, and yesterday i took them to the tellus museum in cartersville. it was pretty fun...but going to "educational" places like that is when you really notice the age difference in my kids. what you like i don't, and what i like you don't. and they aren't afraid to let me/each other know. here is a short picture overview of our visit...courtesy of my phone....since i walked out of the house without my camera! minus one point for mommy....

unfortunately...as you can see...all of that museum walking and reading led us STRAIGHT to mcdonalds...which completely cancelled out the grass clippings we ate wednesday night. but i'm not gonna lie...that was the best dang hamburger i have had in a while. ;)  and sadly enough, since we only visit ronald about 2 times a year, i think the kids were more excited about that than they were the museum! ha! oh well...i'll start back on the veggie train today.