no, i'm not dead

no i'm not dead.....just exhausted

between joey's wedding (so fun), vacation (yay), the tour (don't EVEN get me started on contador) and training for the marathon (so many miles) i've been feeling a little taxed.

so, all you're getting is a photo montage:


joey and alyson's wedding
so fun to be in a wedding on our anniversary!

(please excuse the sweaty-ness and the bad bangs...it was super humid)

taco boy in charleston, sc
new love. thanks grant!

and of course we made it to Poe's on Sullivans

yum.

and that's about it....

our life has been full of laughter, travel and food the past couple of weeks

life really is so good

get crafty!

Josh and I love spending time out on our deck. We're out there everyday for at least one meal and usually every evening as well. I've been trying to make it feel more like an outdoor living space, but have been struggling with decor and colors.....and a budget.

Fortunately, we've been able to find a few pieces at yard sales (or, ahem, on the side of the road) that just needed a little scrubbing and paint. Our back porch isn't finished (is any room really ever finished?!) but we're getting closer.

My most recent project was lighting. We do spend a lot of evenings out on our back deck but the lighting is not that great. We've thought about lights mounted to the brick wall, overhead strings of globe lights, and all kinds of things outside our budget. Oh yeah, the budget. What exactly was our budget again? Oh yeah, $0.

I scoured my crafting trunk and couldn't find anything that I could fashion into lighting (although I did find a cool blog about turning empty baby food jars into a chandelier....but we were missing the baby food jars.) So, I went to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore armed with $5.

I found the most jacked-up brass chandelier ever. I actually asked them if they would give it to me for free, but I had to settle for the $5.

i took all the pieces apart,
got out my trusty black rustoleum spray paint.....

and voila!
perfect outdoor candelabra!

i love our little shepherd's hook too---we can move the candelabra around anywhere we want
ahhhh, the deck is coming along

all we need now:
bar stools
more pots for plantings
more plants

anyone have any extras??

run free

So, I'm in the second week of training (18 weeks) for my first full marathon. To be honest, the training hasn't been that different that what I've been doing. I'm lifting weights, cross training and running between 20-30 miles each week.

So....I'm liking it. I'm liking training for a marathon. Ok, ok...I know I'm on week 2, I'm barely 10% into my training. But still....I thought I'd hate it.

I've read several books and articles about barefoot running. And while I'm not ready to dump my Asics just yet, I do like the philosophy behind a minimalist approach to running. I want to run with as little crap as possible (seriously, do water bottle drops instead of carrying that hydration pack--you look like a moron). I could care less about having the newest and latest shoe, MP3 or GPS. Just hand me my Road ID and dog-repellent spray and I'm out the door.

I know that running is just cardio for some people; a way to keep away those vanity pounds. But for me its different: I want some time away, to unplug, be cellphone free, off the grid, to be alone and with Jesus at the same time. I don't want "me" time, I want "me-at-my-best" time; when I'm not reacting, complaining, judging....when I can re-focus on God's goodness and purpose for me.

Am I getting too deep and spiritual about exercise? Oops.

Back to the point....I want to run free and un-encumbered. And this shoe is going to help me:

This is the Nike Free Run. In Vivid Pink. There are several shoes in the Nike Free series: 7.0, 5.0, Free Run and 3.0. The series was designed to help a runner "step-down" into a minimalist shoe (by gaining new/different leg-strength). The 7.0 is good for someone new to running and will provide the most support and last flexibility. I'm getting the Free Run because I'm already running a lot, I don't have any weird wear patterns on my shoes and also because I'm not ready for the 3.0.

My new pair is in the mail...yay!

I realize that I just said that I don't rely on the newest gear, and here I am writing about my new shoes.....but they're more of an "alternative" training tool than a new gadget. I'll use them on some recovery runs and then hopefully transition into running my longer runs in them when my Asics finally give-up. (although, I would like to note that I'm gonna try and get 3000 miles out of them--that's the distance from NYC to San Fransisco...then I'll make Josh take me to california to celebrate!)

in case you head to the hospital

In case you're headed to the hospital....

In case you have a question about your baby....

In case you're single and want to take a cute girl on a date....

let me introduce you to my friend bryanna:

i'm so proud of bryanna!

the girl has been studying her butt off for the past couple of months (and years for that matter!) and we found out that she passed her boards!

earlier this week we met up to celebrate the good news. she'll be working at a hospital in spartanburg and i'm so stinking excited to have her so close by!!!

so, if you find yourself looking for a good nurse of the neonatal intensive care floor (or you're just looking for a date!) be sure to keep your eye out for bryanna!

the fever

we've got the fever.....and the only cure was more twilight.

Yes, I went to the midnight showing of Eclipse last night/this morning. I'm not sure if it was full-fledged twi-hard fan-dom or just some silly fun with good friends, but I had a blast.

Meet my super-cute friends Julia, Julia, Joe and LeeLee:

(please note the ridiculously large cup of coffee that leelee has in her hand)

the line outside the theater.....and leelee's reaction (ok, it was totally staged, a la "the hills" style)

and, of course we had to have paraphernalia displaying our allegiances:

seeing all the crazed tweens outside the theater totally made me think of this:


ahhhhh. crazy times at the concord mall.
now please excuse me while i nap on my desk.
at work.
i'm feeling really old.
and tired.

family (birthday) traditions

i had a blast on josh's birthday last friday. i know that's not exactly what's most important, but hey---its my blog, so i talk a lot about me.

we went to cabo fish taco for dinner....uhm, delish! new favorite in charlotte for sure. thanks grant for the suggestion! see how happy we were to be eating there! (ps, josh made me take this picture down the street from the restaurant....he likes to play it cool like that)

i love the jones family. they are so sweet and loving; and they have some awesome family traditions. i guess that's what you get when you marry one of the 5th generation boys to be born on the family farm land.

yummy tradition number one: "red velvet" birthday cake. why, you may ask, is that red velvet cake in a bundt shape? ahhhh, because its not technically a red velvet cake. its actually an old-fashioned pound cake (think pound of butter, pound of sugar, pound added to your frame for every slice you eat) and then dye it red....and ice it (of course) and you end of with the jones' version of a red velvet cake. but boy, oh boy, does josh love it!

awesome tradition number two: quilts! josh's grandmother gave josh a quilt top that her mom made back in the 1970s. the polyester is amazing...nanny had some serious flava. i snuck down to my dad's house in south carolina and put the quilt together for a birthday surprise!

after my sisters and i went away for college, my dad and stepmom turned our room into a giant sewing room...complete with this baby:

i'm not exactly sure what's she's called, but she's genius! my dad helped me use said-genius machine to sew the top, batting and back together:

it took us six hours to put it all together....and i still had to finish the binding at home. muchos besos papá! i couldn't have pulled this off without you!

and what was josh's reaction to the surprise birthday quilt? blue steel and total adoration:

i love my sweet husband.

i love my sweet husband's family.

i love my sweet husband's family's traditions.

thirty three never looked so good

Josh is 33 years old today. Wow. 33. I'm shocked; not because of the age but because of the history. Is it really possible that we've been together for nine birthdays? I think about the birthdays that we've celebrated and the years in between....some really blessed and some tough seasons too. But in all of it, I'm so thankful that the Lord has given me Josh to celebrate with. I love him now more than ever and a lot more than I thought was even possible (I'm being serious, not cheesy, promise!)

So cheers to the man that leads me to Jesus, makes me laugh, pursues me, is a steady support, is crazily talented, is passionate about ministry, loves his family, cooks like a mad-man and is somehow reliable and unpredictable at the same time.

So sorry to have taken him off the market ladies :)

love him.