gym tales

i started my gym giggling today when i received an email from my dear friend miss virginia vines ;) about a lillified work out woman she saw at the gym today... complete in lilly spandex (we aren't sure if they even make those...) and a large pink bow in her hair...

i continued my gym giggling tonight during my workout... so i completed some cardio (on some full body sculpting thing which I would recommend... my achilles tendon is still hurting so no running right now.. womp womp) and I made my way down to the weights and stretching area which is typically filled with ladies around my age... well not tonight... there was one lady and myself.. with a group of about 5 guys ranging from mid to late twenties to mid thirties... it was truly unbelievable the chatter that was happening... i am truly shocked at that amount of information these people share in the gym...

my favorite..

"yeah she's only 24. I'm 33 but she has no idea. we've been dating 5 months"

Are you KIDDING me?!?!?!

"but now I think I'm going to break it off probably tomorrow"

some other dude, "oh what's her name?"

"Andrea"

If I were a really courageous person, I totally would have walked up and said, "Andrea is my best friend. I saw your picture on her desk."

just a few things i am thankful for...

My wonderful husband
A loving and caring family
A precious puppy that loves to snuggle
Dear friends who are supportive, caring, fun, and make me laugh!
A3 girls
A job that I love
An education that I wouldn't trade for the world
Memories of loved ones we've lost
Spending Thanksgiving with both of our families...

and just a few others...
running
taking pictures
grosgrain ribbon
polos
citizen jeans
long sleeve tshirts
sleeping late
gummy bears and gummy worms from the fresh market
lilly pulitzer warehouse sale
lemon tea in cute mugs
slippers in the winter and flip flops in the summer
reading a good book
looking at magazines
country music
down comforters
white super soft sheets
the color pink
blue moon
trader joes
cute leashes for lilly bean
... and the list could continue...

Why I love the Lilly Sale...

pink and green. white eyelet lace. shopping with family (mom)... shopping with friends. standing in line for a number. having a fabulous number. waking up early, getting bagels and standing in line again. samples and seconds. people watching. pile sitter watching. shoes. accessories. pink mesh bags. trying on trying on and trying on again. stealth missions for samples and seconds. shopping for others. shopping for my husband. shopping for peoples kiddos. going back, not once not twice but three times. adding up what you spent...and adding up the retail value... and realizing...the lilly sale is truly... amazing.

i heart the lilly sale!

Richmond Race weekend

What a weekend! Some highlights of our Richmond Half Marathon weekend...

*the expo with mom and katy~ free fun tshirts, samples, people watching and of course fabulous sayings on tshirts
*pasta party with my fam and dear friends katy and hunter including a fabulous cheese ball in the shape of a pumpkin.. thank you Southern Living and Katy
*race day... cheering for mom, vijay, brandon and katy for the 8k and then meaghan and i's half marathon
*the friendliest half marathon in the country ... which has lots of cheerleaders, dj's and treats along the path including Yuengling at mile 9 (we had to take a sip and CHEERS, just because!) and "jumk food" at mile 7 to include gummy bears, cookies, pretzels and coke.. no thank you!
*the course was filled with hills... but we kept each other going and beat our last half marathon time by almost 5 minutes!
*the new running outfit was PERFECT... for the temperature ... and a little drizzle at the beginning of the race
*a yummy place for celebrating in richmond, The Capitol Alehouse which was quite yummy for a raspberry beer and a huge pretzel for sharing to start us off!
*a birthday celebration for meaghan... 13.1 miles when turning 31.. go Meg girl...
*a great road trip home that took a bit longer but we learned that our puppy is a SUPERSTAR in the car! 8.5 hours later and she was still snuggling!

*and LILLY LOVED her sleepover with dear puppy buddies Ellie and Crosby... she loved playing in their backyard, going on walks, playing and even snuggling on the couch! (pictures to come soon!)

Ready... ready... ready... ready to run...

Its that time... the day before the half marathon... and I'm excited for a great race tomorrow...and am really hoping that the weather clears up a little!

I got some fabulous new running tights and a wonderful new running top...which I happen to love. I am going to be an adidas commercial tomorrow. My favorite running store Bryn Mawr Running Company was wonderfully helpful in finding the perfect outfit for me... and the perfect running shoes for meaghan. Gotta love a place that lets you bounce around in their apparel for a good hour... that is also pet friendly.. so Lilly got to come along! Love it.

The Expo today was great... some classic running shirts (pictures to come soon)... and some giveaways that always make an expo interesting! I was excited to see that one of the benefactors of the race is Donate Life... quite a wonderful cause!

So dear friends and family are coming over to have a fun pasta dinner here at my families home tonight ... and then up bright and early tomorrow morning for race day!

a thankful birthday girl...

What a wonderful birthday! Birthdays happen to be one of my most favorite days of all time... not only my own birthday... everyone's birthdays... I love what a special day they can be... and for that matter how you can celebrate for weeks surrounding a birthDAY!

My wonderful husband planned such a fun little get together at our home with our new puppy.. Lilly! It was a combo party..Welcome Lilly being the main event... and it happened to be my bday.. November 2! We enjoyed snacks, dinner, drinks and company with some dear friends.









Lilly did such a wonderful job meeting everyone and welcoming them (whcih I was a little concerned about, as we have kept her pretty sheltered for the first week of her life here with us...I thought she might run and hide.. but she was the opposite) She of course, licked each person a few times to welcome them to our home! She snuggled ... and played... with so many new toys and so many new friends and "aunties"! She loves all of her new toys and
apparel!











One of my most favorite parts... is the ice cream cake pictured here. The writing on it is fabulous, right?!

Well, sweet Derek says to me, "If you like the way it looks, I wrote it!, If not, the lady at Maggie Moo's wrote it." Well I of course commented on how nice it looked and he stated, "well then I did it!" I did not believe him. At all. I mean, it was clearly professionally written. However, the next morning I was packing my lunch, Derek was sitting with Lilly while she had breakfast and I opened our pantry to discover two icing canisters... one pink and one white... the same colors as the writing on the ice cream cake! He DID write on the cake.. I am one impressed lady.

What do a lobster, Abby Cadabby and a graduate have in common?!

FAMILY!!!!! we were a mismatched bunch that matched just perfectly :)