Short and Sweet

This post will be short and sweet. Unlike most of my posts which are ramblings of things I'm not sure everyone wants to read! Anyway... we have exciting things to come!

First we leave for Key West on Saturday!! I WAS excited until I found out that someone else will be joining us... her name is Paula and she is a effing Hurricane!!!!! Stupid weather. We'll see who gets there first! But seriously, the projected path of Paula is over Cuba and some of the keys. So not sure what is going to happen. We are staying at the Naval Air Station (Thanks Keeling!) and Dan called today to get an update on Paula. The receptionist said that they think it will be nothing. I told him not to hold his breath.

Lacie and Lynsey (and a friend of Dan's) have told us places to go! So I am making my list and making sure to hit up all those spots along the way!

We get back on the 23rd (BOOO!) and then the next day I am hosting a friend's baby shower! I have already cleaned the house and prepared as much as possible so I'm not running around at the last minute. We'll see how it goes! But I'm excited to be the host because I haven't had many people over since we did the major renovations. I'll be sure to not show anyone the bedrooms considering they are the last thing I want to paint right now. But it's a work in progress and they will have to understand.

Then I go back to work for a week (another BOOOO) and then it's HALLOWEEN!!! My most favorite time of year besides Thanksgiving! I won't share with you our costumes but just know they will be amazing! I am making them myself, which is a big deal for me. They are not too shabby if I may say so myself. Pictures to come for sure!

Lastly, I have decided that I may not run the marathon in January. I was so excited, but with the last race I ran (and ran crappy) I have decided to focus on my diet and toning my body. I am going to begin 90X yet again on October 25th. I am going to stick it out AND I am going to try the diet this time too. I am hoping that it will get me on the right track. I may still run the half marathon since it's Disney and it's awesome. I will keep you updated with my progress!

Until next time! :)

Visit from the In-laws!!

My in-laws were in town this past week! They flew in on Tuesday. We took them to Georgia Bob's, so good ole Southern BBQ. They enjoyed it! Wednesday was their 17th Wedding Anniversary! We headed up to downtown Macon for dinner. We ate at the Rookery. It was pretty delicious, as always. They were concerned that we were going to get shot, but we told them not to worry! I guess their small town life is starting to get to them when they get into a big city.

We headed down to Savannah on Thursday. On Thursday night we headed to River Street. We got MORE than enough of our fair share of free praline trials. :) They are too delicious to pass up. We went to Wet Willy's to get a margarita. Boy did that do me in. Ha. But it was good. They have this bar where you can pick from about 20 different margarita flavors. I chose the banana flavor mixed with Chocolate. Dan has the strawberry mixed with chocolate. Both tasted good. On Friday it was Kandi's birthday! We went out to breakfast, lunch, and dinner! haha. But we did because we had nothing else to eat! We did the 90 minute tour of Savannah on the bus. Then got out and walked around for the rest of the day. It was beautiful weather. They also had a craft show and Oktoberfest! It was packed! I got these really pretty handmade glass earrings that sparkle and shine in the sun. We had dinner and had more pralines! I just couldn't get enough.

On Saturday, we went to Tybee Island. It was just like I remembered; cold and windy. We walked on the beach and had lunch at a seaside restaurant. Then we traveled into town and shopped. I bought a cute headband with a flower and a book written by an author from Tybee Island. So far I can't put it down!!!

Today, we went to Atlanta. We went to the World of Coke. It was much needed. I was craving that Coke room where you can taste any coke product and you have unlimited access to the classic Coke fountains! YUM! It was a nice time. I got to see some different memorabilia that I didn't see the first time. I also spent extra time at the gift store. I saw a few new products. I ended up buying a "W" keychain and the Coke cookbook! I am hoping to make the Coca-Cola cake! I'll let you know how it turns out!

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. I am so glad they came to visit. We had the house finished JUST in time. In fact, I was still putting pictures in the frames that first night they were here!

We have lots of things coming up! We are going to Key West in 2 weeks!!! :) :) :)
Which means I have to get in shape for a new bathing suit I bought! So for the next two weeks, I will be in the gym 6 days a week working my butt off (literally). Then when we get back, I am hosting Kay's baby shower! I'm so excited for things to come! Forgive me if I don't blog in that time. But I will have tons of pictures from our anniversary trip to show everyone!!! Until next time!

Time Elapsed

I realized it's been forever since my last post. I am finding it hard to sit down and type anymore... :(

But I will go ahead and update you with our lives together!

It's been a VERY VERY VERY busy month. Did i mention we were busy? Yeah. We decided to rip our carpets up and put down hardwood floors. That's what started this whole mess. We decided it was time to get rid of the carpet and try for a more modern look. So we got some laminate flooring and have literally been laying it for an entire month. As I type, Dan is putting the molding on, which ideally should be the last thing to do. But we still have carpet hanging out of the doors from the bedrooms. Real classy!!

Our next project was to paint the trim in our house. It was a nice shade of 1970's brown. And at first I liked it. It brought a nice sense of warmth. But then I just hated it. So we decided to paint it white. I knew it was going to be a project, just not quite sure how big. We started with the kitchen and have been painting for a month. We barely even have half the house done! :( Epic Fail. But it's coming along. Just a slow process..

Speaking of epic fail... i attempted to set a new PR for a half marathon. HA! Boy was I a dreamer. First of all, from previous posts, I have been trying to train in this GA humidity. It's been really hard. And as I have been saying since Saturday, bad training leads to bad results. So in a nutshell, I did horrible at the Air Force Half Marathon. I let myself down majorly and now I have to make it up. I was hoping to just get the time I wanted and never run one for time again. But now I have to. But i'll pick a different time to train.

Our time was 2:10:51. I gave it all I had and barely crossed the finish line. But I did and that is important. It's not my worst time, but certainly not my best and not something I am proud of. Sometimes you have to take a few steps back before you can move forward.

Also, speaking of moving forward.... Dan's parents will be in for a visit in a week!!! :) I am very excited about it! His dad hasn't seen the place and I am excited that he can come visit. We are planning a trip to Savannah on thursday night. We will be in Savannah on Friday to celebrate Kandi's birthday! :) Way better place to celebrate than Warner Robins. Then in a few weeks after that, we will be going to KEY WEST!!!! WHOOO HOOOO!!! I can hardly wait for this trip. A nice way to celebrate our anniversary!!!

Well that should catch you up. i will try to not be so lame and post a little more in the next weeks. 

"Someday your whole life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching."

Jax!

So I did something so unlike myself this weekend... I took a random, unscheduled trip to Jacksonville with Dan! He was TDY there for work and found out on Thursday evening. I kept saying "oh, no I can go. What will we do? What will Chloe do?!" and then I just said.. "forget it" and just went!!! This is VERY unlike me.

I boarded Chloe at a new place called Endless Love Pet Palace. It's adorable and they took such good care of her! They even let her play in the pool and gave her extra lovin! So much so, that when she saw me, she wasn't even excited! It made me tear up a little. But I'm glad she was in such good hands.

On friday night, Dan and I went to the beach. I FINALLY got to put my toes in the sand and actually get in the water. The last time i was at the beach was when my mom and I came down for Spring Break 1 year ago. So i was very much missing it! We ate at this place called Salt Life Food Shack. A nice little place with a young crowd.

On saturday we decided to venture to Amelia Island. The weather was pretty crappy, but after we ate lunch, it cleared up a lot. Amelia Island was really nice. Nice hotels. Golf Courses. Expensive retail stores and spas. You get the idea. Needless to say, we simply saw the beach and then left. We went to where more common folk like to hang out. Another beach called Fernandina Beach. It was really nice. Lots of public beaches and the downtown area was beautiful. Lots of cool little stores. Then we went back to Jax to get ready and then headed out to dinner at an outdoor shopping area. It was nice to walk around. Funny though because the mall seemed to be divided in half into expensive and cheap. One area had places like Coach, Louis Vitton, Juicy, Lacoste, etc... and the other  half had stores like Abercrombie, AE, Dollar Tree. LOL. It was a nice place though. We went to PF Changs for dinner! So amazing; i haven't had that in a long time.

On sunday, we went for a run on a paved bike trail and then went to breakfast. We spent the reminder the day at the Jax beaches shopping and getting that last mintue time with the beach!

I think this trip really reminded us of how much we dislike warner robins and how we can't wait to leave. it was filled with things to do, young crowds of people still going to the bar to get drinks, BARS (we only have 1) and exercise! I just wanted to exercise the whole time we were down there. It would be so amazing to live in a place like that. We just miss the night life and the excursions. we just can't wait to leave!!!!!!!!

Well i hope you enjoyed my festivities from this weekend. I will sit here and listen to the rain since it knocked out our satellite! Until next time <3!!

No Name

I have no name for this post. Just don't know what to call it exactly. It's an update, some news, and our plans. So a lot in a little post.

1. Dan was recently promoted to 1st Lt. I am so proud of him! I took off work to go to the ceremony. His commander said so many nice things about him. Then he gave a little speech and said some kind words about me! Then surprised me with flowers. What an amazing man I have! Just so proud of him!

2. We went home to register our new vehicle. I was SOOO excited to my family and my nephews! We arrived on Friday night and our weekend was JAMMED packed, as it usually is. We went to a cookout with our old neighbors and "my second family." It was so good to see everyone! Then on Sunday I spent time with my grandma and with the boys. We went running at Miami Whitewater and I didn't sweat to death... that much anyway. It was nice to run in non-humid conditions. I think we went at 10:00 am and it was only 73. Ah-mazing.

3. The boys are growing so much. Grant is teething.. getting those adorable bottom two teeth. He was a bit cranky, but I can understand. JT hasn't yet teethed, but it's coming. The boy is drooling so much. They weigh 16lbs each. They are so healthy! I'm not sure how my sister does it! They have a schedule and stick to it. I want to be just like her when I am a mom... only with 1 baby. :)

4. We found out that Dan will be deploying in March 2011. He volunteered (because he is a good american) and they chose him for the March to July slot. Our friend Evan just got back from this slot and he said it was no big deal. Just VERY VERY VERY hot. He thinks it's hot here, he's got something coming. I will be staying here to man the fort! LOL. I am hoping for some visitors while he is gone. I will be lonely.. but it may be kind of nice. Who knows. More on this later when we know more.

5. Since Dan is leaving, we have to get our butts in gear to get this house together. We might be doing the following projects: fence, painting our trim white, painting/tiling the fireplace, putting tile in our bathroom vanity area. BUT not sure how many of these will be finished. But those are the plans anyway!

Hope I filled you in with our life thus far. Still training for our 1/2 marathon. I am having some issues with the training. I am having some mental insecurities and some thinking that I'm not sure i can do this. For some reason, I felt it was no big deal to take 15 mins off my time for my 2nd 1/2. But now that I only need to take off about 5, I am finding it impossible to do. I am challenged with the thought that I might not be able to do it and this is effecting my running. I am hardly able to run more than 5 miles. I am constantly thinking I "can't do it." UGH. It's very hard. I need to mentally prepare myself before my runs... just not sure how!

I hope to update you with more cheerful news of my training! Until next time! <3

Landscape Update

I realized I have not posted any pictures of the landscaping renovation that's been going on for a few months. It's been such a daunting task. We started relatively late in the year and it got real hot, real quick. It's hard to get out and do such hard labor in the middle of 100+ degree weather. But we have finished 2/3 flower beds

and are pretty much at a standstill. I'll tell you more about that later. Here is a before picture of our yard:

 

Ok. What we did first was create a whole new flower bed in the middle of the yard by the tree. The grass wasn't growing in that area anyway, so we decided to just rip up the sand (we don't have dirt) and then create something more appealing to the eye. Here it is:

                

 

Finally finished! Then we moved to the side flower bed which was next to the garage. We decided to have a trellis with some climbing flowers to draw the eye up and to make it not so boring on that side. We also had to put down weed fabric so it wasn't overcome by weeds and crap. It seems like the only thing we can grow here is weeds!

Here are some pictures of the side bed:

I realized that there is only one picture and I didn't even take a picture of the plants in the ground. But I do remember that we finished this bed about 10:00 one Sunday night. We used Dan's headlights to give us light to finish planting. And then his battery died and I had to run up to walmart for a new one. Yeah it was a bad night. Probably why I didn't take any more pictures! 

So now I'll let you know of the problems we are facing. We (I should say Dan) put in gutters because we didn't have any. Well we thought it would solve the problem of water falling into our beds and drowning our flowers. Well we were wrong. It seems that once we put the landscaping bricks in, we only made it worse. See below:

So this seems like quite the problem. Our entire front lawn is flooding every time it rains. And the picture to the right is our 3rd bed. We haven't planted here yet because we aren't sure what to do about the flooding. It got to the point that Dan had to remove a brick from the walkway so the water could flow. SOOO.... for now, this bed is on hold pending a solution. 

As far as the fence goes, we have not started yet. We are waiting because it is a very expensive project and if we are only going to be here for maybe 1 more year, it seems not worth it. And secondly, the surveyors came and looked at our property and our beloved trees along our back yard line are not ours and we would have to build the fence in front of them. Chloe loves those trees and we would hate to take them away. 

For now, we are just trying to finish some small projects around the house, plan our fantastic 1 year anniversary to KEY WEST, and enjoy the summer!!! Hope you like what we have done!

Sweet Summertime

Well it seems like it's been forever since my last update... and it has. A LOT has happened since then. Time is flying so quickly.

We have begun our training for the Air Force Half Marathon. I am hoping to finish in less than 2 hours. Dan says I can do it because the course is flat and fast. But I'm having some difficulty with training in this weather. It's HOT down here. I mean hot. It's been over 100 degrees for the entire month of June almost. It's just icky. My body is still adjusting and every time we run I get a little better. So hopefully my body will adjust and I will be able to kick this half marathons butt!

We have been home to visit Dan's family and for the boys' baptism. It was so good to see everyone. It went by WAY to fast. But it was very good times with great people! We attempted to go to the Reds vs. Indians game but it was bad weather which resulted in a beautiful rainbow!

We had a relaxing 4th of July. I took off 2 days (Friday and Monday) so Dan and I had 4 days together! It was so nice to be with him! We spent the weekend looking for a new car! We decided on a 2008 Toyota Rav 4 Sport! It's so freaking cute! It's got a nice DVD player as well, which was a bonus. We didn't even know about it until we got up to the dealership. It has average miles but was a really good deal. Here she is:

We also bought new bikes! They are Trek 7.2FX fitness bikes. They are pretty much amazing. Pricey, but well worth it. The other day we rode 28 miles to Perry and back. We had a nice little day planned until we got to Perry and all of the restaurants were closed. We ended up going to DQ but it was worth it because the blizzard was delicious!

Lastly... I cut my hair! It was so amazing to see it all cut off and hold it in my hand. I donated 8 1/2 inches and I am so proud of it! I will probably keep this cycle going. Only next time, I was to donate 10! Here is my short hair!