My Little 5K Buddy

Well, more like 3K. Momma got a nasty blister at mile 2 and had to call it quits. But we had a wonderful time nonetheless! The weather was perfect.

The hub said I have to get new shoes before the Peachtree.  So I guess I have to.  My shoes are definitely lousy and that can make all the difference. 

We just walked this one.  I suck at running right now.  Sure wish I could take sweet Sam with me on the Peachtree, but the other 59,999 runners would squish him!  No strollers allowed. 

Happy 4th (holiday)!

Hope everyone had a fabulous 4th weekend... we sure did! Been running around since I left work Thursday afternoon. But we had a great weekend with friends and the weather was perfect. Saturday night we had a neighborhood block party and I actually ran back to our house to grab a FLEECE once the sun went down. On July 3rd. Crazy! The hub ran the Peacthree Sunday morning while I stayed at home with the girls. Then we had a cookout over at our friends' house and watched the fireworks up here in Buford. All in all, a great weekend full of celebration.

I'm officially on a week-long staycation right now and loving it. I've got a few projects on my to-do list but honestly I'm just looking forward to a restful and relaxing week of pretty much nothing inparticular. Sounds dreamy, right? So I probably won't be on the 'puter much but I do need to get my final Charlie post up. I've been putting it off because I've just been busy or not in the right place to do it. We are doing lots better but still miss our boy so much. Thought about him lots this weekend because he was always SO terrified of fireworks. Honestly, I'm glad he wasn't here to witness all the boom-boom-pow while he was feeling awful. That might've done him in!

Enjoy this first week of July... I'll be back soon!

Happy July!

So the year's officially half over - wow! I hope y'all have some exciting July 4th plans. We'll be running trying to survive the Peachtree on Saturday morning and then hitting a couple of parties later that day. We're doing suburban style fireworks that night at a neighborhood party, but if you're in Atlanta, the best fireworks are always at Lenox - hands down. So head down there (early) if you're up for that. Sunday morning (way early) we're heading down to the beach for a much needed vaca! Cannot wait! We're heading to St. George Island in Florida and we'll be in a house right on the beach. Heaven!

So if you didn't catch my tweet yesterday, my firm announced that we are getting Fridays off in July TOO! I'm soooooooo totally stoked. That made my summer. So awesome! I mean those two months of Fridays off is like 2 weeks of vacation! So yeah, super excited about that.

What else... oh I posted over here about these fab new bib and burpee jar sets Javis Davis introduced this past week. They are to die for and super affordable! Perfect shower gifts - only $20 for the set and YOU get to choose the fabrics! I've already sold a bunch, so contact me if you're interested in snagging a few! Free shipping on orders over $99 and no sales tax outside of Alabama, girls!

And lastly, don't forget to enter my Vera Bradley giveaway! Deadline is Friday, so hop to it, girls!

Hello, 2009!

I am SO glad to see you! I know I hinted toward the fact that the hub and I are glad to give 2008 the boot, so yeah... this New Year's Day is extra *happy*. We had our fill of black-eyed peas today and also some yummalicous cabbage over at my parents'. I know most people do collards, but we've always done cabbage for some reason. Glad to see the Dawgs get in one more good win to close out the season. Wasn't so sure at first, but we came through in the 2nd half. And I was equally pleased to see Georgia Tech get slaughtered at the Chick-fil-A bowl last night. Makes our loss to them this year sting a little less (just a lil).

Anyway, so while I won't dwell on the crap that consumed 2008, it was a big struggle for us financially (like many people) and emotionally (having to put baby stuff on hold while the rest of the world continued to spin). We also had some wrenches thrown at us... the hub getting sued by his former employer (all fine and settled now, but a huge source of stress for us over several months), and losing my sweet gpa in late February... those were a couple of big ones. Getting our townhouse on the market and finally sold made for a VERY long and grueling summer. But we made it out alive, and we're better for it! 2008 had a lot of hardships for us, but we are starting 2009 in what I feel like is the best spot we've ever been in together.

I know I've bored y'all to tears by raving on and on about Dave Ramsey and our Total Money Makeover, but really, jumping head first into his program has changed our lives. I'm such a geeked-out nerd over his whole program. I've gotten several friends on the debt-free bandwagon with me and so has the hub. The funny thing is, he gets more pumped up and geeked out than I do sometimes! But it's truly awesome that we're on the same wavelength here, because that's what will make this work. I've explained Dave's teachings several times, but if you're just catching up, he is all about getting out of debt and living on cash (hmm... what a concept!) and building wealth so that you can live like no one else, give like no one else, and ultimately "change your family tree." His enthusiasm is absolutely contagious and it's pumping hard through our bloodstream right now. Our debt snowball officially starts rolling this month! By getting our butts in gear and getting on a budget (three months now, and going strong!), we've truly learned the meaning of "financial peace." We have done a complete 180 on how we look at money. We've totally relearned the value of the dollar. And the thing is, given how tough this last year has been, we're currently making the least amount of money we've ever made together. Though, I can honestly say I've NEVER been more at peace financially than I am right now. And it simply comes down to the fact that we have a plan. Up until the past few months, we never really had one. But now, every month, we're telling our money where to go instead of wondering where it went. And I cannot even explain to you the tremendous sense of peace that gives me.

And along those lines, it seems that the true *lesson* - if you can call it that - for me personally, all throughout 2008, was this idea of peace. That's one of those words that gets tossed around so haphazardly that we forget what it means. We just got through Christmas... you get all these cards wishing you "peace" and whatnot. We sing about peace for all mankind... but I never really got it till now. It's not about "world peace" or holding two fingers up... it's about inner peace. The peace that passes all understanding. Peace that only Jesus, aka the Prince of Peace, can give us. And it's not just with the money thing... it's with all our current struggles. I feel like 2007 was about learning to put my complete trust and faith in God - with the whole baby thing. And uh, not all my calendar years have been full of themes and lessons in life, by the way... ha. But these last 2 or 3 have been quite a journey for us, so we're soaking up whatever wisdom we can. I had to surrender my infertility struggles over to God because I was starting to lose it on my own. I've never had a hard time trusting in God in general, but I also never had such a really big issue that I tried so hard to control. It's really the first time I can ever remember having to stop and ask God for real help...

So I handed over that burden a while back. That didn't mean I didn't struggle, but I knew it wasn't just my struggle. And now this past year, I feel like I've really come to a peaceful place with it all. The Jesus icing on my God cupcake, I suppose. And yeah, I still struggle - daily. But then I read something like this, and my heart simply bursts...

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Sometimes I need a little reminder of just how *big* our God is, you know? And though I can hardly compare my little worries with all the suffering that goes on around the world, I've always loved this quote from Mother Theresa...

"In light of heaven, the worst suffering on earth, a life full of the most atrocious tortures on earth, will be seen to be no more serious than one night in an inconvenient hotel."

So yes, while we gladly kicked 2008 to the curb last night, we came out of it having learned so much. A peaceful exit to a rather tumultous year. And we're super excited for what's to come in 2009! As I mentioned, our debt snowball starts rolling this month and we're getting a really good jump start on it. And we'll be getting a fat tax refund this year, so that'll help us kick some major ass on our snowball in the next couple of months! That is definitely our main focus right now, but also we're finally getting back into baby-makin' in 2009. We're going to start our first IUI (turkey baster) cycle right after tax season (probably early May). We've got the money end worked out for 3 rounds of IUI - so we know we're good to move forward on that front. I'm planning to get back on my meds and vitamins in February and I've also got to start monitoring my cycles and whatnot. Yeah, when I say we took a break last year, we really took a break. I just got to the point where I didn't want to bother with the meds or monitoring or anything. I needed a true break from it all. We both did. Anyway, so back on meds and I think I'm going to try the whole basal body temp thing for tracking ovulation. I'm totally over the pee sticks. Not to mention how freaking expensive they are! Then I'm also wanting to do acupuncture alongside IUI, so I will probably go ahead and start that in April. So yes, back in gear!

Now if IUI doesn't work after 3 tries, I will need a third surgery to get my oven in the most *perfect* shape as possible before we move to IVF. And honestly, in my heart of hearts, I just think that's probably where we'll end up. Just a gut feeling. The hub thinks I'm totally being Debbie Downer thinking that, but I'm not - it's just what my gut tells me. And where in the world will we get the money for in vitro? Heck if I know! Well, today I certainly don't know. But right now, I do know three things: We're not borrowing money to do it (*peace*). Our hearts are pulled towards putting all our disposable income toward our debt snowball right now (*trust*). And, we'll figure it out if and when we get there (*faith*). :-)

And then, to wrap up, what would a New Year's post be without resolutions? Alright, mine are kinda general, but they're a big deal to me...

• Raise the bar for myself at work... do my job as though I'm an investor in my firm and not just an employee collecting a paycheck.


• Be consistent with spending time in the word and in prayer in the mornings (something I've always struggled with, but always find rewarding when I do it).


• Get back to a consistent workout schedule (totally slacked off on that in the last few months!).


• Run more and run farther! I'm doing my first 10K in March and yikes, I've got a lot of work to do!


• Be more proactive in general... I can procrastinate with the best of 'em. I need to seek out that most dreaded item on the to-do list each day, whatever it is, and do it first.


• Be more timely with gifts. I'm horrible at this! Instead of saving a gift (whatever the occasion) for the next time I see someone, I just need to mail it to them so they have it on time. That procrastination thing again!

And of course too, to just keep doing what we're doing! Thanks for hanging in with this long-ass post. Phew! I really hope the new year brings along many blessings to all of you. Do you have any major resolutions or goals for '09? May it be a GREAT one for us all!

Hello, blogworld?

Is that you? Hi, it's me - Buford Betty! I know, I know... I've been away for SO long! My last post was about turkey day and now we're about to smack right into Christmas! My December has just been so busy - as it always is. The string of holiday parties started last Saturday and well, it's non-stop till Christmas. We literally have a party (at least one) EVERY Saturday and Sunday till Christmas - and even some Fridays. No rest for the weary! I don't know why this surprises me every year... but it happens every December.

Now I DID reach my goal to finish all my Christmas shopping by the end of November. Hallelujah! I did not, however, get all of that loot wrapped yet. I wanted to be bought, wrapped, sealed, tagged, etc. before December ever got here... but, well crap. It's here! Whatever. Anyway, it's not that I haven't had fun things to blog about... I mean I usually jot a little note to myself when something pops in my head that's blogworthy. I have a nice little list brewing here... but my work calendar and social calendar have been busy, so that's leaves you, dear blogworld, to suffer. Hehehe...

Well, we did have a fabulous Thanksgiving. We were over at my godmother's for Thanksgiving dinner. And then the hub and I headed up to Tennessee to visit with his parents for the weekend. It was a great long weekend. Oh and did I mention that I went Santa shopping with my mom the Wednesday before? Yes! That little taste of shopping was a bit dangerous though. Even though Santa was buying, it wasn't good for me to smell those lovely retail smells and see the incredible bargains to be had up close and personal. I'm much better left in the dark. Out of sight, out of mind y'know. But I got some super cute stuff from Santa - well, I don't have it yet, but anyway - yeah. That makes me think of a Santa question... I think I'll add a fun little poll on here (note to self).

Oh and did I mention that we got banned from using Facebook at work? Not that I'm even on it much at work, but just the fact that I *can't* get on it is annoying. Especially when I get an email alert about a message or something and I can't get on there to answer it... that sucks. Because honestly the last thing I want to do when I get home is look at a computer. I sit in front of 4 - yes FOUR - large flat screen monitors every day. It's amazing I still have any vision left. So really, the idea of sitting at the 'puter once at home is no fun. So my facebook time has dwindled. As well as my bloggy time. I'll get it in there somehow though! I have so much to post about - I just need to sit my butt down and make the time. This is the most random post ever. OK so while I don't have time to post everything I wanna right now, I will leave you with a few things and a super simple recipe that I used at Thanksgiving too. Hope y'all are having a great week! I've missed y'all! :-)

OK, my random ramblings...

1. How much do I love Costco? More than you know. Our torrid love affair gets hotter and sweatier everyday. So I only recently discovered (or paid attention really) to the fact that you can get movie ticket vouchers there for $7.50. And there are NO exclusions. AND they're good for IMAX movies! Our local theatre has an IMAX screen. So the hub and I budgeted for a date night this month because he wanted to see that alien movie thing with Keanu Reeves - The Day the Earth Stood Still or whatever. Yeah, totally his pick. Anyway... our theatre has it showing on IMAX. So my old non-budgeting self would have gone on Fandango to get tickets - and those would've been $34 for two (after the fees and junk). BUT my shiny new budgeting self got two vouchers from Costco (you just ask for them at checkout) for $15 and went over to the mall yesterday to trade them in for our tickets. So I saved $19 by doing that - hellz yeah! Three cheers for Costco!

2. That leads me into what's on tap for this weekend... Friday night is date night with the hub. Saturday morning we're running the Jingle Jog 5k. Any other peaches running?! Gertie will be running alongside me with some Christmas flair - I promise to take pics! Charlie was supposed to run, but he has managed to injure his knee. The hub was at the vet with him yesterday. He's on some pain meds and we're just watching it for now, but the run is definitely out. Poor Charlie - say some puppy prayers for him! So does Belly get to take his place? Well, I say heck no because she is an absolute pill to run with... but she is daddy's girl and the hub is saying he's taking her. That's fine - he can run with her. Here's bettin' he tosses her into a garbage can before mile 2. Oh and I got some awesome Christmas knee-high socks for the occasion. I will take some pics of those too. Then SaturDAY I'll be in a wrapping frenzie! Frenzy? However you spell it. Saturday night we have a Christmas party at a friend's house... Church Sunday a.m.... A kid's birthday party at noon... and then our small group Christmas party Sunday night. Phew!

3. I'm almost done reading Breaking Dawn. I flew through the first three books, but had to slow down on this last one since we've been so darn busy lately. I don't think I ever mentioned my thoughts on the Twilight movie either... I thought it was good, not great. Liked, not loved. Edward was completely drool-worthy and worth the ticket price alone, but as with most movies based on books, the book is soooooooooo much better. I think, just the way it's written, it's so hard to translate that on film - especially in a 2-hour window of time. I don't think the intensity of Bella and Edward's relationship comes through. Though I have to say, I did find Jasper freaking hilarious. He's like Edward Scissorhands, minus the scissors. So I have a new-found love for Jasper after seeing the film. So overall... if you haven't read the book, I'd skip it. I just don't think I would've "gotten it" if I hadn't read. I mean I love me some vampires (again - tried and true Buffy fan here), but I think the movie was lacking. Oh I'll still totally buy it on DVD so I can look at Edward.... but yeah... I'm hoping they put a little more edge into the second film. Sounds like they're trying to spit that one out by the end of next year.

4. OK lastly (I told you these were random)... here's a recipe for corn casserole that I made for Thanksgiving. It's so stupid easy, but a huge hit. My favorite combo! Plus it's made with stuff most people have on hand - and if not, these ingredients are cheap. This is an old Paula Deen recipe, so you know it's good (terrible for you, but good)...

You'll need:
1 can creamed corn
1 can corn
1 stick butter
1 cup sour cream
1 box Jiffy cornbread mix

Melt the butter and mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Pour into a baking dish. (I've done this both in a regular 9x13 dish and a square dish (9x9) and I think it comes out better in the 9x9). Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Yum-o!!!!!!!!

5. Wait, one more... Back to my thoughts on a poll re: Santa... So when I was growing up (and I guess I still am because Santa still comes if we're spending Christmas at my parents' house), Santa would lay out my gifts - all across the floor, all along the couch, whatever the case may be. He didn't wrap. Now Mom and Dad's gifts to me were wrapped and under the tree, but Santa came and left everything out unwrapped. I realize this is a heated debate... much like real vs. fake Christmas trees, or which way the toilet paper is supposed to hang, but I must ask, What does Santa do (or what did he do) at your house? Wrap or not?

Come run with me!

All I wanna do is zooma zoom zoom zoom and a boom BOOM! (Just shake your rump.) Ahem... no really peaches, come run with me! Zooma Atlanta is a really cool event coming to town this November. There is a half-marathon and a 5k. There is also a jog stroller 5k for all you tot-toting mommas. I will be running the 5k on Sunday, November 16th with my lovely team of girls, the Sassy Suburbans! (As in girls from the 'burbs... not the Chevy.)

I'm really excited about this event - check out their site for more info on what it's all about. This is a great opportunity to round up your girlfriends and get moving! There is still plenty of time to train for a 5k, so no excuses! And shoot... you can always walk it! Don't use the "well I'm just not a runner" excuse! Lame... And this is a huge event, so they're always looking for more volunteers - that's another great way to participate. I want to see all you Atlanta gals out there!

:: One year ago today ::

Staycation!

I hope you all had a fabulous 4th! We had a ton of fun at the Peachtree. The hub did really well - though he was a little nauseous afterward. It was amazing how well organized it was. And being down there made me really want to run it. So I'm definitely in next year! Even just spectating, we ended up walking several miles... so geez - I might as well run the darn thing! And as I anticipated, it was definitely great people watching. From one dude running in "hot pants" and a cape, to firemen in their full fireman getup... it was quite a site to see. The hub and his pals were in the 5th group to start (there were 9 total - making up about 60,000 runners). The race started at 7:30am but his group didn't take off till nearly 8:30. So there was a lot of standing around and waiting at first - which you'll see in some of these pics. An unbelievable amount of people! I'd love to see a bird's eye view of all of this...

The hub's group waiting to start the race.

Helicopters everywhere... I happened to catch 3 hovering together. Can you see them?

One of the groups getting ready to go. The volunteers are in the yellow shirts.

Finally moving toward the start line! That American flag was HUGE - and it gave me an awesome sense of pride.

Just a few of the exhuasted runners after crossing the finish line!

So we definitely had a blast. Although riding MARTA back up to our car with hundreds of smelly runners... NOT so fun. Sweaty sardines.

Well this weekend kicked off my week-long STAYcation! I've seen several of you posting about what you'd do on a staycation... well I'm actually taking one this week! I've got a big old to-do list that I'm getting ready to tackle and I'm super excited about it and really motivated to get a lot of stuff done at home. So I've got several days at home to work on different projects around the house. And then Friday we're leaving to visit MIL and FIL up in Tennessee. That's going to be a nice little getaway and we're really looking forward to it. So I'm going to really do my best to "un-plug" this week and focus on my to-do's. I'm so bad about "hopping" on the computer to check email and then oh, three hours later... yikes. So I really am going to take a good bloggy break this week as well. So y'all have a fabu week. I definitely plan to! :-)

:: One year ago this past weekend ::

(Been busy... oops!)

Help! We need a Peachtree plan...

photo by Kevin C. Rose

OK jawja peaches, I need some help coming up with a good plan of action for tomorrow morning. The hub is running the Peachtree with a bunch of friends. Some of them are getting rooms in town so they don't have to deal with parking and whatnot. We're driving down at the butt crack of dawn, but we don't know what our plan is yet. I've lived here all my life but I've never experienced the Peachtree, so this is totally new territory for me. The race is usually well over before I even get out of the shower on July 4th. I'm familiar with the area of course, but streets are closed and blocked off and there's all kinds of stuff setup everywhere. And not only do we have the Peachtree as usual, but Atlanta Pride is also happening this weekend, so it's going to be nuts.

OK so the hub is running, so we'll probably drop him and his buddies off as close to the start line as possible, and then we spectators will go park and pick a spot to do some serious spectating. This looks like it's going to be the Olympics of people watching - I can't wait! So we'll definitely bring some chairs - assuming those are allowed. (Note to self: check to see if chairs are allowed.) I better not assume anything though... the hub said they don't even allow runners to use iPods. Anyway, the start line is around Lenox/Phipps, right? So I'm wondering if I can get in the deck at Lenox and park there? I have no idea. Where are the best places to cop a squat and watch? I know there will be all kinds of fun stuff going on. I need to do some research... Peachtree pros, any tips would be much appreciated!

Fingers crossed applesauce!

So we had a showing at our townhouse this morning and per our realtor, it went REALLY well. The other agent said they'd be coming back again tomorrow for another look and some indication was made of a *possible* offer coming in a day or two. Would that be amazing or would that be AMAZING? Good offer or not, any prospect is encouraging. So whisper a little prayer for our little gem tonight.

First impressions do mean a lot, so it's a good thing we all went down to the house last night to do some last minute touch-ups. We discovered the painter had left without finishing one major thing and we had to do it ourselves. He didn't bother to call and tell us, so we never would've known if we hadn't gone by. At one point I was sitting on top of the fridge, painting trim. But we got it all done and looking fabulous. Hopefully it will all pay off very soon! I can't even tell you what a relief it would be to be rid of that place. Though all things considered, I will be a little sad to see it go since it was our very first house. I really hope we find someone who will love it as much as we did.

In other news, I'm still obsessing over these online private sample sales. I've found some more. I got into one - Editor's Closet. And I found another one that looks rather tasty... Top Secret. I'm awaiting an invite for that one and I'll let you know once I get in. I can't stand the idea of fabulous sales going on inside there that I can't get to! If anyone already has access, please share the love as the wait is killing me! It's funny because it's not like I can afford half the stuff in these sales, but I just love looking and seeing the deals. And I must admit the implied exclusivity of it all is so intriguing.

If you want to check out Editor's Closet (Moschino boutique is open right now), just put my email in as the "referrer email" and it'll let you register (see my profile). I also found one other that just started sample sales today actually... My Overstock Boutique. I think you just have to initially register with this one to get in - I don't think you need a 3rd party invitation. Hahaha... party... invitation... (Oh, I'm glad it's Friday.) They have several Lilly items on sale right now. Just looks like random overstocks - no one particular designer.

Changing subjects yet again... do y'all have any exciting weekend plans? I'm hoping to just chill tonight because our weekend is literally packed solid from start to finish. We're running a 5k down in Candler Park in the morning. This will be my 3rd! My goal is to break 40 minutes this time. I *almost* did at the last one, but surely I can pull through on this one. Lucky is also running it - she's a big runner and lives down in that area. So after the race, I'm going home with Lucky to shower and change and then we're immediately heading out to meet up with kuntry bride and the rest of her crew for a girly day of fun to celebrate her 30th birthday (which is today - Happy Birthday, kb!). We'll be lunching, shopping, and spa-ing together tomorrow afternoon. Then we're heading back to her friend's place to grill out and celebrate. The boys will join us there (someone has to grill, after all). So that wipes out my entire Saturday.

Then Sunday we're going to the 11 o'clock and having lunch with some friends afterward. And THEN at 3:30 we're meeting up with another couple at Dinner A'fare - one of those Super Supper type places where you put together a bunch of meals to freeze. I'm so excited about it! I've always wanted to do it and my friend (who we're meeting) totally raves about it! Should be fun! The whole weekend sounds fun, but I know I will be dog-tired come Sunday night. Oh and I've gotta set my tivo to record the Olympic trials....... ooooh.... note to self.

Happy Friday, all! Enjoy the weekend... :-)

Update: Found another good one... Smashbox sale going on right now at Haute Look. It's "private" like the others, but you can register currently without a referral. This one looks good! Also FYI... Top Secret's site appears to be down right now, so keep checking back on that one.

:: One year ago today ::

Flip flop.

I know a lot of y'all have fabulous businesses and side gigs of your own - whether it's handmade bags or monogramming or children's clothes or whatever! Well y'all know I have my paper biz on the side that serves as my creative outlet for my non-creative day job counting beans. Thing is, one day I am ALL about my business, and get excited about expanding it and drumming up new ideas and thinking of fun ways to market myself... and then the next day I am like totally ho-hum about it all and completely unmotivated. I flip-flop like this constantly. So my question, fellow entrepreneurs, is this normal? I purposely don't over-market myself for this reason... my business really just comes from word-of-mouth and I like to keep it that way - small and simple... you know, fun projects to do when they pop up. People often ask if I plan to eventually quit my "real" job and do the paper gig full-time, but I totally have no desire to do that. It's fun and I like it a lot - but it's not what I'm ultimately meant to do forever. It's just fun for me for now. Now I am rambling... but really I'm just wondering if these up-and-down feelings are normal or if I'm just weird and can't seem to make up my mind... thoughts, ladies?

On another note, I did get my dad's gift figured out this weekend but I'm still working on FIL's. More on that later... thanks for the suggestions! Oh and P.S. - I survived my second 5k and shaved a couple of minutes off my time!! Who knew?!

Gifter's Block.

So I'm determined to get Father's Day gifts taken care of this weekend. I just have my dad and my FIL on the list, but still - I'm at a total loss here. I can think of fun gifts for girls a million times over, but boys? I'm sorry boys, but your *stuff* is so boring. Total snooze. I often find myself struggling with gifts for the hub for birthdays and such, but he at least will come up with some ideas for me. Sometimes. But my dad has like everything and if he doesn't have it, he'll go get it. So what's a girl to do?

Now we are not big spenders on gifts, so don't go suggesting some $300 gadget here... I'm looking in the $30-50 range. I'm telling you this because the first question I ask people who look to me for gift ideas is how much do you want to spend? And I don't like to buy crap just to buy crap. I'm very big on gifts being personal or at least you know - well thought out and meaningful. We're actually making dinner for my dad on Father's Day, so that's certainly a gift in itself. I'm going to come up with a fun summery menu and really make it fun. But I also want to get him a little something to open... I did find this book on last names (you buy the one specific to your last name) and thought at first that might be kind of cool - only because my maiden name is very unusual. I was surprised they even had a version with our last name. But then I decided that fell under the category of crap... one review I read said it wasn't any good, so that settled that. Plus what would he do with that anyway? Look at it maybe once, say oh that's neat, and then let it collect dust for 10 years before deciding to pitch it while doing 2018 spring cleaning? This is why I can't decide on anything - because I think about it entirely too much.

So anyway... any fabulous gift ideas for the dads in my life? My dad is a techie and always has been. He's not into any particular sports. He has golfed, but I would not call him a golfer - so definitely not golf stuff. No cigar stuff (I'm thinking of all the typical "man" gifts retailers suggest...). He likes yardwork. OK well gardening I suppose... he has people that come and do the *actual* yardwork. He also loves to grill out. He has a gas grill and also a green egg. I've seen those monogram grill whatever things... branders? What are they called? I don't know... yeah I thought about that but I think he might think that's dumb. I mean I think it's kind of dumb. Why do I want your initials on my steak? Anyway... he's pretty preppy. Always very well dressed. Loves to travel. Auburn fan. He's 60. I don't know... geez, he's just my dad, y'all! Help me! And I don't do giftcards.

As for my FIL - he is actually the hub's stepfather but he thinks of him as a dad. He is great. He's older... pushing 70 I think. He has gotten into golf some in the last year. Big Bama fan. Likes margaritas. Does stuff with spaceships. You know, NASA type stuff or whatever. Also likes to grill but I must say if he and my dad had a grill-off, my dad would totally win. I may be partial, but I'm just sayin'. So are y'all gonna help me or what? What all are you guys getting your dads and hubbies? Our pups will be scrounging up some cards for the hub, I'm sure. They are all about it.

Alright, y'all put your thinking caps on and hook me up. We're staying in tonight, so I expect to see some good ideas when I check back this evening! As for other weekend plans, we've got another 5k in the morning and it's not going to be pretty. We haven't been out running since last week, so once again the goal is to just live through it. I did come up with a brilliant idea though... this past Wednesday at Yoga there was this nasty spider that kept crawling around (and several times ON) my mat during class. He'd run off but then come crawling right back! I guess he liked my pink mat?! I mean it does stand out a little amidst all the black and grey ones... but seriously he wouldn't leave me alone. So of course while in these awkward yoga positions, I'm fully focused on this spider. Having to lift my leg here and there to let him pass. Now if at home, I would've been screaming, but geez - I can't lose my cool in yoga class! Anway - the point here - because I was so zeroed in on this spider and whether or not he was gonna *get* me, I managed to completely forget the pain I was in while holding my warrior II. So that got me thinking, if I could have someone dangle a spider right behind me during my 5k - I would run like hell! I bet I'd finish that thing in 20 minutes easy. Good idea, yes?!

I'm alive!

Woo hoo! I survived my first 5k! I'm not sure what my exact time was, but it was 44 minutes and change. I obviously didn't run the whole time, but I ran farther/longer than I had to date! There was a good group of us that did the race together and it was so much fun. One of our friends won third place in his age group. We didn't win anything (duh), but we crossed the finished line - my #1 goal! Well, that and not dying. Here's a couple of pics of the award "ceremony" and a shot of downtown Dacula where the race wrapped up...





The hub and I are already planning to do another one in early June! He is doing the Peachtree on the 4th, which is a 10k, so he's gearing up for that. He's got money riding on that one with some of his buddies... that's just never a good idea. Especially since one of them was the dude who won the 3rd place prize in this last race. Not good! He's trying to talk me into doing it but I just don't know... It's going to be hot as hell and SO many people. People come from all over to do it - it's like over 50,000 people running it every year. How many of y'all are running it? I've never done it before (obviously) and neither has the hub. I'm thinking hanging on the sidelines in a lawn chair with a Bloody Mary in hand sounds more appealing.

We are going running again tonight after my yoga class - well, if the weather holds out. I think it's supposed to rain at some point today. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! Ours was great. The weather was perfect! Going back to work yesterday totally sucked.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend. May you have safe travels if you're leaving town. We are staying put but I'm so excited to have a 3-day weekend. I'm a big believer in the 3-day weekend. Two days are just a tease.

We have no major plans, but we do have our 5k Monday morning! I am getting really excited. We're going running at the park again tonight - it will be our 4th time. I can see major improvement in myself every time we go. Plus the trips to Tutti Frutti after make me push on through. I am mental! Oh funny story... this morning one of my girlfriends emailed me asking for a little *styling* help on her daughter's 1st birthday party. She said she'd treat me to yogurt at this new yogurt shop she's heard is good but hasn't been to just yet. I was like, um... you mean Tutti Frutti and yes I can vouch for its goodness as I've been 4 times in the last week. I really do have a problem, y'all. But OMG yesterday we got a coupon in the mail (awesome - as if I needed an excuse to go!) and it had the real skinny on the calories. So here is the deal - it is 17 calories per ounce. And fat FREE! So my jumbo 8 oz cup is only 136 calories! Well I add a bunch of fruit, but hey - it's fruit. I'm in love.

Anyway, so the 5k on Monday and then that afternoon we're going over to a cookout at our friends' house for some burgers and bocce ball. So that should be fun! Other than that, we really have NO plans this weekend. Which I love... because that is rare. Tomorrow we have deemed as "Basement-Cleanout-Day!" I'm hoping we really make some progress there because our basement is embarrassing. It's a freaking disaster. I love having a basement so you can store junk down there - but it has just become a total dumping ground. Half of what's down there just needs to be thrown out. So that will be Saturday.

Sunday morning we'll head to church - we haven't been in the last few weeks so I'm really itching to get back. I feel very out of touch if we miss too many Sundays in a row - just seems like we've been all over the place lately! So I'm looking forward to that. And I'm sure we'll throw another run or two in the mix before Monday a.m.

So in other news - I had my annual yesterday with my OB/GYN. I was catching her up on the last year's fun with surgeries and whatnot. I've mentioned it before - but she referred me to my RE and he was actually her specialist when she was having trouble conceiving years ago. I'm currently reading her book (yeah I know I've mentioned that before too but I can take forever to get through a book) and she was like, you know Dr. Toledo (my RE) is the hero of my book, right?! She had very similar infertility issues as I have so that makes me love her even more. Anyway - she goes on and without me even bringing it up, she throws out the idea of trying acupuncture along with everything else. I was like OMG I have totally been researching this lately! She was like yeah, we have no idea why but it has been proven to increase bloodflow to the uterus. And for whatever reason it seems to help some with endo. So now I'm like totally sold. And then I'm on the phone with my mom afterwards telling her all this and she's like, well you know I did acupuncture for my hand, right? Um, nooo... I did not know that! I seriously expected to get an eye roll from my mom at the mention of acupuncture but she was all for it. Who knew?! My doctor gave me a name of someone here that used to be an anesthesiologist and is now a full-time acupuncturist (is that a word?!). Because of that, my doctor said this chick would fully understand my "issues" as my doctors do. So that's exciting...

Well I'm counting down the hours till the weekend... I hope you all have a fabu holiday! And my heart and prayers go out to all of you remembering those lost in the war and wars past. I'm so very proud of our military and all those who have served in the past. I hope everyone takes a moment to remember them inbetween the beer and burgers! :-) Be safe and have fun!

Guess who...

...just registered for her first 5k!!! OMG! Have I lost my mind?! The hub is doing it, so I decided to do it with him. Once again, let me make it perfectly clear that I do not run (unless you're chasing me). Am I going to die?!