I miss Christmas already...

Every year I begin preparing for Christmas around August.  

And every year... I begin feeling depressed as soon as the last gift is opened.

I absolutely love Christmas.  

I love everything about it.  

I love the recognition of the birth of our Savior. 

I love that even non-believers are exposed to the saving name of Jesus.

I love Christmas music so much, I start listening to it November 1st! 

I love decorating the house...

As much as I dislike colored lights... I love this mini tree!

Totally stole this moose from Mom... Too cute! 

Really need to step the game up on the stairs, but this will do for now!

So simple, but yet one of my favorite things!!

I love shopping for my loved ones and wrapping gifts!

I LOVE that we got a "real" tree this year!! 

On the hay ride back to the car!

We're kicking off our fun old-fashioned family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols.

Finished product!!

I love getting Christmas cards!!

 I REALLY love baking Christmas goodies!

 

I even love driving in mucky snow and ice to get home to my family!

After all the decorations are put away, all the unwanted gifts are returned, and the last of the snacks are polished off... the reality of a brand new year sets in.  I love the idea of holding on to and remembering all that was great about last year, while looking forward to the improvements we all vow for the upcoming year! 

Above all, I am thankful that I have so many loved ones to share with me... 

the most wonderful time of the year!! 

I truly hope your Christmas season was as blessed and filled with love as mine was!

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Baby Shower - Seuss Style

After planning for what seemed like forever... the time finally came for my Seuss-themed baby shower in honor of the Winston twins!

When I planned my Saturday, I clearly wasn't using my better judgement!! My alarm went off around 6am.  After some coffee and a peanut butter sandwich, I headed to Olive Branch to run the hilliest 9.3 miles I've ever experienced!! After about 1 hr and 40 minutes of near torture, I headed home to start getting ready.  Much to my dismay... I found my baked cupcakes in crumbles on the floor.
Thanks, Gus!! Add re-baking cupcakes to my to-do list!!  Good thing I already had many things done!!

Like these water bottles...

And these diaper cakes...

And these cake pops...

 

After a shower, it was time to clean, bake, cook and decorate!! Wesley got home around 2 and we headed to Collierville for a birthday party!! I was in charge of these Sock Monkey pops... So we really needed to be on time!! Considering, I had no gift, and needed a Target stop... There was no way that was happening!! Better late than never, right?

After booking it home from a lovely birthday party for lil Tyler... It was a whirl wind to tie up last minute things before the guests arrived! With lots of help from the Barham family and my wonderful husband... we were ready just in time!!

Here is the drink table... (punch, sweet tea, and water)

And the food table... (ham and cheese sliders (not pictured), buffalo chicken dip, mini pigs in a blanket (not pictured), fruit, veggies, cupcakes, and cakepops)

Everyone had enough food and plenty of fun!! We played a couple games, watched some football, Que and Nikiel opened some wonderful presents, and we laughed until our sides hurt!! I can only hope the Winstons were as blessed as I was!!

Ready or not...

When I decided to start seriously running in May, the idea of completing the St. Jude Half Marathon over half a year later seemed like a totally attainable goal! Then I attempted my first run... and the wind came rushing out of my sails!! How devastating to learn that I could barely make it one lap around the neighborhood without wanting to die! I was frustrated, disappointed, and completely discouraged.  However, I was also somewhat determined. I mean, for crying out loud... I've been an athlete relatively my entire life.  As my brother said before our 10k last summer to justify his lack of training... "I did sports in high school."

So... With this mantra in mind, I signed up for 5k after 5k only to discover that I was not only slow, but depending on the day, I couldn't really run very far!  I had to get better!!

Here is me at a 5k in May!! I'm smiling, because I know my picture is being taken, but I actually want to throw up right about now!! 

So as if my confidence wasn't shot enough... I tried a 10k.  As you can see from my casual stroll rather than run... that didn't go very well either!! Ha!

Not long after that, I joined the Women Walk/Run Memphis group.  We met on Monday nights and these ladies helped me beyond my wildest expectations!! I started the program with a sub 30 5k goal in mind...

After countless miles, speed and hill work, and constant encouragement from ladies like Ms. Caroline here...

 

I finally did it!!! 

So here we are... 6 months later.  The half marathon is a short 3 1/2 weeks away, and I can honestly say I'm SO excited!! In the last month of seriously adding mileage, the runs have gotten easier, and I've finally gained some confidence!! My husband has been my biggest fan and I never would have made it this far without his never ending support.  He lets me cry to him when I have a bad run! He lets me act like an Olympic champion when I have a great run!! He encourages me.  He motivates me. And most importantly, he loves me no matter what, and I couldn't be more grateful!! 

A couple more long runs, and I'll be putting my hero bib on to make the 13.1 mile jog around Memphis.  I'm excited.  I'm nervous.  I'm ready to say I did it!! Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me along the way!! 

Ready or not... Bring on the St. Jude Half!!  

Could Not... Would Not..

So I'm throwing a baby shower next month using all things Dr. Seuss!  Somehow that got me thinking about different things you "could not, would not" ever catch me doing...

Here is the top 10 list:
You could not, would not catch me.....

10. Buying laundry detergent! 
          The stuff I make myself works just as well if not better, and it's so much cheaper that I could never justify buying Tide or Gain ever again! 

9. Eating lima beans!
          These things look gross, smell gross, and make me wanna gag before they even reach my mouth. 

8. Grocery shopping without a list.
          This would be a catastrophe!  I would forget half of what I needed and buy 10 things I didn't need.  Even if it's a list of 3 things... I ALWAYS have a list. 
          
7.  Wearing navy and black together.
          I realize that this is no longer quite the faux pas that it once was.  But I still just can't do it.  

6. Sweeping my hardwood floor.
        I got a Roomba for my birthday.  'Nuff Said.

5. Wearing blue eye shadow.
        I've seen some magazine articles where they supposedly teach you how to do this properly.  Even the examples look bad to me.  I can't actually recall a time I saw blue eye shadow worn in a way that looked good.  Sorry... The 80s called and they want their eye shadow back.  Just can't do it.

4. Cheering for ISU.
         Once upon a time, I would root for ISU as long as they weren't playing Iowa.  ISU has some good fans, I know.  However, the bad ones are just a little too loud for me and have made it impossible for me to cheer for the Cy-clowns without wanting to puke.  And I hate puking.  Therefore, until further notice: I will be unable to cheer for ISU under any circumstances.

3. Taking a picture of myself in a bathroom mirror.
         Do I even need to explain this?  There is never a need to take a picture of yourself in a bathroom mirror to post on facebook or twitter or instagram or what have you. Grow up ladies!! (And seriously the duck face doesn't look good on anybody. Period.)

2.  Leaving dishes in the sink until the next day.
          I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to sleep if there were dirty dishes in my sink.  It only takes a few moments to wash them, so I can't imagine not taking care of that before bed! (This is usually up to Wesley anyway, and I'm fairly certain he feels the same way.)

1. Voting for Barack Obama.
          I won't get into dirty politics, but just know that I could not vote for this man under any circumstances.  Ever.

To Blog, or Not to Blog...

I want to blog.  I just don't know how.   I like talking about random stuff.  I like rambling on and on, whether people are listening or not.  I can talk about the most trivial topic for the longest time.  So why not start a blog??

Well, a part of me thinks blogs are a bit pretentious.  Do I really think anyone cares about what I'm blabbing on and on about?  Do I really have anything to blab on about in the first place?  The answer to both questions is: not really.  But do I have things going on in my life that I may want to go back and remember someday?  Yes, I do.  

So here we are...

Whether anyone reads it or not...

I'm starting a blog. :)