I love my new camera!

2.5 year anniversary flowers from my man, a football game, Kirsten's bachelorette party, and a surprise trip to Margaritaville!  I'll say it again, I am blessed.

Just in case my August wasn't sweet enough, tomorrow is my birthday!  Our weekend will be jam packed full of friends, celebrating, and relaxing!  I hope yours will be too, have a great long weekend!

What are your plans for the long weekend?

The Next Big Thing

Since I hate running in the heat so much and haven't had anything to train for, lately my runs have been pretty much nonexistent.  Although I've been getting my fitness fix with some hot yoga and my first ever zumba class (which was SO much fun and also kicked my butt!), I really want to get back into running as the temps start to fall.

So I signed up for a race!  I'll be running the Victory for Voices 10K on November 3rd and Dave is running it with me!  Apparently he got bit by the running bug because he just went out and bought himself a nice new pair of running shoes and he already started training!

Reasons I'm pumped about this race:
- Only $20 until 9/15
- Long sleeve tech t-shirts
- The course is around Lake Nockamixon, hello beautiful scenery
- November should provide my favorite running temps, the 50s!
- Indoor restrooms, enough said

- The race also includes a 5K distance so I'm trying to suck in some more friends to race with us!
I'm excited about the 10K distance because it's definitely a challenge, but it won't be as demanding on my body as the double digit mileage was while training for my half.  I really have no interest in hobbling around in pain after my runs, so yay for 6.2 miles!  Since I really haven't been running, I decided to put together a training plan that starts next week.



So many of the training plans on the internet call for 4 days of running per week, but while training for my half I learned that that's a bit too much for me, so I will be running 3 days a week.  I also learned that the exact distances didn't matter for my midweek runs and really just ran whatever I felt like at the time somewhere between 3 and 5 miles.  I knew I would be fine as long as I got my long run in on the weekend.  In addition, I also followed the days loosely because of my ever-changing, mega busy schedule.  I would just run on days I could fit it in, but always took at least one rest day between runs.  So basically I've created this schedule as a loose plan and a motivation tool.

So ready to get back into it and start crossing off those runs!

Do you have anything you're training for?  Anybody local interested in joining us?!

Ode to Folk Fest

When I was in high school, I used to write funny haiku back and forth with a friend.  Since I could never really describe the Philadelphia Folk Fest experience to you, I decided to write some haiku!  Some of them might not make any sense… but enjoy

Carry all our stuff
Why didn't we pack less crap?
God bless the wagon

Rain, rain, go away
Giant mud pits everywhere
Oh God, don't fall in

Go nap in the shade
I forgot to sleep last night
Found a hammock, win!

Hey Captain Burnout
Disrespect me in my site?!
You're not welcome here

I need a shower
I refuse to pay for one
Let's go to the creek!

Bag of Doritos
Filled up with taco toppings
2 dollars?!  Heck yes

A campground wedding
Men in tuxes, bride full gown
Emotional crowd

I don't know your name
Tell me again tomorrow
Still won't remember

Getting all folked up
Yelling weird things with my friends
DJ Lighterback

Kodiak brown bear
Coming down the mountain, With a
Salmon in its mouth!

Champagne koozie please
Required for my Andre
You've been champoozled

Get a tan... or burn
Groove, sway, and dance your butt off
Pasta salad feast

Meet tons of new friends
Go see some amazing bands
Special bonds are formed

 (source)

Have you ever been to a music festival?  Do you like camping?  Anybody up for writing some haiku?!

Missing in Action

Well, we’ve been busy busy so the blog is taking the backseat, but here’s a photo dump for your enjoyment.  Bridal showers, a Phillies game, and a beach trip.  Oh and some Puddin’!  Life is good.

PS – Dave gave me an early birthday present, so now I have a camera!

What have you been up to?  Are you crazy busy in the summer?

Some Updates

Well, here’s a random round up of some of the things going on right now in my life:

Workouts - I've been fitting them in, yay!  Last week I got up and ran before work, small miracle!  It was a quick 2 miles that were pretty intense, but then again my average pace was a 9:30.  I'm sure I'd feel more relaxed doing a 10:30, the pace I was training for my half at but I do like that I'm getting faster and I can handle suffering for 20 minutes.  We also hit the gym last week for the first time in a long time when our friend Angela brought us as guests to her gym on Wednesday.  I did a lot of free weights including squats and lunges with 20 pounders in my hands and my legs were feeling it for days!  I'd like to keep joining her at the gym if we can make our schedules work.  And I started this week with my 3rd hot yoga class Monday night.  I attended two the first week I activated my Groupon and since have been slacking, but knowing I would be meeting Ashley there was the perfect motivation I needed to get there.  I've had a different instructor at each class I've attended, but Monday night's may have been my fave.  She really pushed us but was very casual and catered to everyone's needs.  I guess it was obvious that I really went for it in bow pose because she came over and rubbed my back afterwards which was amazing.  Needless to say my back muscles are still feeling it!  And then last night the cheer season started so I did some random conditioning with the girls (push-ups, burpees, planks, etc.) and then when I got home I was still feeling inspired enough to do some random lifting with my 10 pounders.  Boom!

Eats - This topic definitely deserves an entire post dedicated to it, but for now I'll give you the skinny.  Dave and I have been trying to follow The Paleo Diet (which is not really a diet, more of a lifestyle change), which includes meats, veggies, oils, fruits, and nuts, and avoids all grains, legumes, dairy, sugar, and all processed foods.  We're actually following more of the Primal way of eating outlined on Mark’s Daily Apple because we haven't given up dairy (because well, I may or may not be obsessed with cheese).  The basic principal is that fat doesn't make you fat, processed carbs do.  So the "diet" is based on eating tons of veggies with fat and protein, a nice combo that makes you full and doesn't spike your blood sugar.  I could try and explain all the ins and outs of it, but you should just take a minute and read this!  It's an easy read (aka not boring science terms) and covers a lot.  To say that we've been following it perfectly would be a laughable lie, but we've been eating burgers in lettuce wraps, extra veggies with dinner instead of starchy sides, lunchmeat roll-ups instead of sandwiches, and I can't say I'm really missing the carbs.  When I do cheat (someone serves me something that I just don't want to refuse, or when I really just can't resist a slice of pizza or some ice cream) I actually find myself feeling kind of awful afterwards.  I don't know, we are still trying to figure things out but I've lost a few lbs and Dave is down 7 or 8 lbs!  Bring on the bacon.

Life - Did I mention we're busy?!  One wedding down, 4 to go, 2 of which I'm in and they are back to back weekends in October.  Between wedding events, beach trips, and a music festival, we are literally booked every single weekend until mid October!  We've got another busy weekend on the horizon, I'm prepping and hosting a bridal shower, Dave's leading church, and hopefully we can squeeze in some time in the sun!  Oh and like I mentioned before, let's add cheerleading to the mix!  I have been coaching for the same organization for the past 12 years.  This year I wanted to step back since I moved 40 minutes away and I'm in the middle of wedding extravaganza 2012... but there's no way I can quit cold turkey!  So this year I am not technically coaching, but I'm the cheer safety board member for the organization, aka I can help with all the squads but I am not committed to 4 nights a week!  I love coaching because I love choreographing routines and making them come to life, it definitely keeps me active, and volunteering is so fulfilling!  I love seeing the girls grow, get stronger, and progress their skills.

Anyway, there's a quick update on some random things going on in my world right now!  Tomorrow is Friday, get pumped

Are you getting those workouts in?  Have you heard of the Paleo Diet?  Do you have a packed summer schedule?