Remember when I used to write blog posts?

Soooo it's been a little quiet around here, huh?  Well, the busy in my blog title is no joke and summer is definitely the busiest time of the year.  I have plans for every single weekend until mid September (and by then cheerleading will be in full swing).  Add planning a wedding into the mix and well, something had to give!

So what have I been up to?

Wedding Planning

We booked our venue, we skyped with a couple who will most likely be our photographers today, and I just scheduled an appointment to shop for a wedding dress the second weekend of August!  A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders once the venue was taken care of.  We are getting married at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in King of Prussia.  The wedding coordinator is amazing, the ballroom is beautiful, and our guests won't have to drive anywhere after the party!  So far things have been easy breezy...

Weddings, Vacations, and Parties, oh my!

I had a blast attending an epic bachelorette party that involved a party bus, a mechnical bull, and a bunch of ladies dancing on top of a bar!

We also attended two weddings in the past month (which are a lot more fun when you're not super jealous that everyone else is engaged or married lol).

 

We spent the Fourth of July visiting some of Dave's college friends in North Carolina.  He went to UNC Charlotte so he showed me the beautiful campus and some of his favorite spots.  We stuffed our faces with southern barbeque, snuck into a hotel pool, rode rollercoasters until I felt sick, saw fireworks, and played some super silly boardgames.  It was a great trip until the 10 hour car ride home, I'll stick to flying thank you very much!

My brother graduated high school!  When his name was announced the crowd went wild and it was just amazing.

 

 

His graduation party a few weeks later was a riot.  He was determined to make everyone sing to him while he was cutting the cake, so we opted for a quick rendition of For He's a Jolly Good Fellow, which was followed by his request for smoke (aka candles), again everyone kept explaining that you don't get candles when it's not your birthday, but we still got suckered into singing our Polish birthday song Sto Lat.  After all the singing was finished, everyone was waiting for the cake cutting photo op, let me set the scene for you... Tom was holding a large knife with my sister very close next to him, he's carrying on, being a ham, and finally I yell, just cut the cake!  Well Tom quickly takes the knife all the way through the cake, making a nice vertical cut.  He then proceeds to take a second go, slashing the knife diagonally through the entire cake which was followed by my mom lunging at him and ripping the knife out of his hands. It was hilarious!

The rest of our free time has been filled with barbeques, pool parties, and various hangouts with friends.  Oh I almost forgot... we also had a giant block party at our house that included multiple bands, a slip and slide, volleyball, crazy good food, and three ice luges!

Fitness & Food

I am still in love with CrossFit, despite my quads being so sore today that I'm hobbling around like a grandma!  I maxed out at 130 lbs on my back squat on Monday!  My max clean was 100 lbs a few weeks ago.  There's so much I need to learn, but some of the basic movements are really starting to click.  My diet has been rather lack luster.  We've been eating a lot of veggies due to our CSA, but vacation included funnel cake at the amusement park, fresh baked bread courtesy of our hostess, bagels and donuts from a local bakery, a giant tub of froyo covered in chocolate toppings, and some mouth watering hush puppies.  Basically I lost all self control, but can you blame me?  Those things were all delicious and I was on vacation!  I know I'm not eating like I should be (hello sugar addition) and the scale is reflecting that!  That would be that big of a deal, but I know how tiny my tummy looks when it's not bloated... and I miss it!  I may be thinking about a Whole30 in the near future or maybe another Whole21, we'll see.

So as you can see, I am busy busy and this weekend is no exception!  Tomorrow night we're headed out on a double date at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants with tasty margaritas and guacamole they make right at your table.  Saturday we're doing the Electric Run in Philly (a 5K in the dark with a creatively lit up course and lots of glow sticks).  And Sunday we're going to see Zac Brown Band.  Next weekend we'll be in Cape May (for the first time since this happened!), maybe I'll get to relax then!

How's your summer going?!

Special Olympics

My brother Tom has changed my life in ways that I can't describe.  I feel so lucky that I grew up with him in my family.  I've been exposed to challenging situations, frustrations, and sometimes a bit of heartache, but through it all he has taught me love, patience, and understanding.

The Special Olympics is always quite the event for Tom, but this year was over the top.  His excitement is always contagious!  His peers are amazing with him (remember Homecoming?!) and he drinks it all in, even kneeling down to kiss the hands of his female classmates.  Our family of five plus two boyfriends and two students turned into an entourage following him around event to event.  He may have gotten fourth in his 50 meter dash, but by his reaction, you would've thought he just won the super bowl!  And did I mention he got picked to run the torch?!

I can't believe he graduates on Friday.  Bring on the tissues!

Do you have any experience with disabled individuals?  How has it changed you?

My Heart is Full

I'm am completely overwhelmed with emotion.  My brother winning homecoming king really meant so much to him and our family and now this wonderful article has been written about him.  Everytime I read it, it brings me to tears.  It's been blowing up on facebook and I just had to share this with everyone.

And then Tom’s name was announced. He was king, which is how the students have viewed him for years, a member of high school royalty. He bounded off the platform in dark suit and sneakers, smiling and clapping. Somewhere in the stands, Diana and Mike Nowak drowned in a puddle of tears.

The king joined his queen. A white sash with “Homecoming King 2012” was placed on him. While the student body went wild, the new king stood posture perfect and soaked it all in.

Behind him on the platform, two fellow members of the court, football players Jarrett Reinhard and Anthony Williams, were celebrating Tom’s coronation as though they’d just won the state championship.

“What those students did for Tom shows the level of selflessness they have,” Mike Nowak said. “At this point, they probably don’t really appreciate what an honor they gave to him. Maybe when they get older and have children of their own they’ll truly understand.”

Please check out the entire article and watch the video!  And I dare you not to get choked up.

10K Training: Weeks 5, 6, & 7

Week 5:
- Monday - 2.47 mi around Souderton, 26:10
- Tuesday - 2 mi hike with Puddin
- Sunday - 9 holes of golf
- Total Mileage = 2.47 mi

Week 6:
- Monday - 4.53 mi with Dave, 47:32
- Tuesday - BTN arms
- Wednesday - BTN abs
- Total Mileage = 4.52 mi

Week 7:
- Monday - 3.88 mi with Dave, 41:35
- Tuesday - BTN arms
- Thursday - 5.00 mi solo run, 47:31 (9:30 ave pace!)
- Total Mileage = 8.88 mi

What can I say, my training has been lackluster, as is my blogging schedule.  I don't know why I'm finding it so hard to commit to my runs.  When I trained for my half, it wasn't even a question of whether I'd fit my runs in or not.  So what's different this time around?

The time of year - I am significantly more busy in the fall than I am in the spring, especially this year with both of the weddings.  I have cheerleading twice a week, and honestly it's really hard to want to run out the door as soon as I get to my parents' house to squeeze in a run before I scarf down dinner and run off to practice.  Not only does it make me feel like a rushed, crazy person, but I have to fight the desire to spend that hour and a half catching up with my family.

Knowing I have it in me - When I started training for the half, I was convinced that I had lost my mind.  13.1 miles seemed impossible and I really couldn't believe that I was going to do all those long runs to prepare.  This time around, I have way more confidence.  I know I can run 6.2 miles.  Sure I'm not at the same level I was in May, but even if I have to take some quick walking breaks, I know I can complete my goal.

Maybe I need to set my goal higher.  Could I push myself and set a time goal to beat?  Sure.  But right now I'm simply trying to find a balance.  Between nurturing my relationships, coaching cheerleading, preparing healthy meals, trying to stay on top of my ever growing pile of laundry, and everything else in my life, sometimes running once a week is plenty.

On a side note, let's take a moment to celebrate my brother, Thomas Nowak, Souderton High School's 2012 Homecoming King!

Seriously amazing.

How do you balance everything you have going on?

A Beautiful Wedding & My Handsome Brother

I know I keep saying it over and over… but man life is busy!  We have 5 weddings this year and I’m in two of them back to back weekends in October!  The first wedding of the year was two weekends ago and it was so great!  The couple looked amazing (and so happy!), the weather was perfect, and we danced the night away with a ton of our friends!

Ok so my phone isn’t nearly as good as my camera… but I definitely captured some amazing moments and the whole day was just wonderful!  I love celebrating with the people I love!

Speak of which, here’s another awesome thing I have to share, my brother getting ready for his senior pictures:

So handsome, cannot get over this!!!!

Well this is a sad excuse for a post, but it’ll have to do for now!  Off to watch the Olympics!  I love watching the gymnastics!

Are you watching the Olympics?  What’s your favorite event?