Stuffed

This past Thanksgiving we continued our tradition of renting a house in the mountains of Kentucky and  joining our favorite family members from up north. Lake Cumberland turned into our home for three days as we filled the cupboards with yummy food, took advantage of the fire pit for s'mores and the hot tub for relaxing mornings/evenings, and watched endless hours of football on a tiny television. We were without internet but I would say it was for the better, as we were all forced to put down our smart phones and interact with each other instead.

On Thanksgiving day, we, as a family, drove an hour away to participate in a small-town 5K nestled around the University of the Cumberlands. When I say small, I mean small. The race had a total of 290 participants and the 1st place winner of each age group went home with a homemade pie made from scratch. In 2010, we managed to bring home at least four pies, so the pressure was on! With the race getting bigger and bigger each year, the chances of bringing home a pie are getting pretty slim. I managed to get through the hilly course with a time of 27:07 landing me second in my age group. So close! Although I was proud of my time, I was no longer guaranteed for the precious pie we had been looking forward to for months. After the majority of the crowd left, my cousin and I asked the Mayer (yes, the Mayor attends every year and is the one in charge of giving out the pies) of the town if we could still take home a pie. He said as long as there were pies on the table, we could help ourselves! We picked out three desserts and happily headed home!

Although I was exhausted from the race, I managed to help prepare the feast for the first time in my Thanksgiving history. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little terrified that the food wouldn't turn out well but to my surprise, it was the best tasting everything had ever tasted! I was very proud of myself, along with my Sister, Aunt, Mom and Michael for coming together and pulling off a great dinner in an afternoon's time!

Black Friday arrived but since we were in the Boonies, there was no sense in driving into town and trying to get a good deal on clothes and gifts. Instead, we headed towards the State Park and did a one mile hike to see the Natural Arch. It was a pretty site and well worth the trek through all the leaves and hills.

The night ended with s'mores and a game of Cranium that had us laughing until midnight. We awoke the next morning with a long trip ahead, sad to leave family but looking forward to next year! Until then, Kentucky!

The Color Run: The Happiest 5K on the Planet

It felt like my best friend, Sairy, and I were waiting over a year for The Color Run to make it's way to the Queen City. We are both suckers for 5K's  and when we discovered The Happiest 5K on the Planet, there was no going back. We were in love with the concept and couldn't wait to sign up!

If you're wondering what The Color Run is all about, you simply wear a white t-shirt and at each kilometer, you have volunteers that splash you in specific colors. By the end of the race,  you have your own custom tie-dye Color Run T-shirt! The run is mainly towards the experience and not speed. I would say 90% of participants walked. Sairy and I were able to weave in and out as we decided to jog through the course as we listened to the roaring sound of NASCAR practice at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

When they label The Color Run as "The Happiest 5K on the Planet", they aren't kidding. There wasn't a single runner (or walker) out there who wasn't in the best of moods. It was impossible to walk around without a smile on your face. Jeremy was nice enough to come along (in the wind and cold) and snap pictures of Sairy and I at the race. I must say, he has become quite the photographer!

The Color Run had DJ's at the beginning and end of the race along with amazing color- throwing volunteers that kept you pumped up and full of energy...even in the freezing cold. As we were running, my favorite Color Kilometer to run through was YELLOW. The volunteers there were covered from head to toe and doing their job well while dousing us in color. As we finished, we headed over to the Color Festival where all participants pile together and do one giant Color Throw that paints the sky. Make sure to watch the video at the end of the blog so you can witness the awesomeness!

We danced and jumped without a care in the world (we have a video to prove it). We weren't even aware of the purple teeth and face we were sporting until it was time to leave. Jeremy could only laugh and take pictures to show us the outcome.