Twenty Seven

It was my birthday so he had to take pictures with me without complaining :)

I'm am officially one year older and I've got the few extra grey hairs to prove it. My sister always enjoys pointing those little hairs out to me :) Twenty-Six was a good year but twenty-seven got off to a REALLY good start. When I say really good start, I mean it.

6 AM rolled around and I crept out of the bed making sure not to startle my [handsome] sleeping husband. I stepped in the shower and about midway through, I hear the strumming of a guitar. Jeremy had quietly stepped in and started serenading me singing Happy Birthday, happily showing off his growing guitar skills. That man sure knows how to make me smile.

As I was getting ready, I grabbed my purse and realized Jeremy had bought me a new book, strategically placing it where I would notice. That book just happened to have my current obsession, Mindy Kaling, on the front cover. I had been eying her book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns) the past few months and I guess it was a little obvious that I needed it in my life. I did a little happy dance and was on my way to work.

My morning was off to a great start but I was overwhelmed with happiness as I walked up to a decorated desk full of banners, cupcakes (specialized just for me), rice krispie treats, and two pretty {awesome} thoughtful gifts. I was beyond excited about everything and I'm not gonna lie....it took me a while to get some actual work done that morning.

York Peppermint Patty cupcakes!

Naturally,  my birthday breakfast consisted of a cupcake and 2 rice krispie treats :)

Lunch was spent outside on the patio at one of my favorite Salisbury spots, Palms Cafe. Calories don't count on your birthday so I, of course, ordered my go-to Turkey Crepe with a Cheerwine on the side. That meal never disappoints :)

That night it was time to meet up with my closest friends and my birthday twin, Chelsea! We celebrated at The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar with tons of laughs, memories, and good food. Again, calories don't count on your birthday and I ended up finishing a 3 layer cake pretty much all by myself. I offered to share but everyone sheepishly only took 2 or 3 bites. I happily finished the rest :)

Happy Birthday to us!

That whole taking pictures without complaining on my birthday rule? Yeah....he decided to do this instead.

Kisses from my beast!

We continued celebrating with my family over the weekend. Good burgers and cake filled my stomach and I was one happy camper. Jeremy and Michael aren't pictured below because well, Jeremy was taking the picture and Michael doesn't like pictures. Keegan and my dad had no choice :D

A big thanks to everyone who gave me a birthday shout out on facebook, twitter, and instagram! Or the old fashioned way, in person. You made me smile from ear to ear. :D

Alright twenty-seven, let's do this.

Running for Boston

On Monday afternoon, my heart sank when I heard the news of the bombings during the Boston Marathon. Just an hour before, I was scrolling through a happy newsfeed of updates and congratulations of runners who had completed and were running the famous race. As a runner of 5Ks, 8Ks and half marathons myself, this tragedy really hit home. To know how much time, effort, heart and struggle that goes into a marathon, let alone, the Boston Marathon where one has to qualify to run, my heart breaks for the all of the families and loved ones affected.

On Tuesday afternoon, I got an email from the Charlotte Running Company saying there was going to be a 1 mile Memorial Run honoring those affected by Monday's tragedies. Sairy was by my side as we lit candles, said a prayer and ran 1 mile on a track filled with people who had one common love; running.

Running is a sport that brings all types of athletes together. Whether you're fast, slow or in between, running brings a sense of accomplishment, positivity and good health. It's something I will always love and always continue to do as long as my body allows. Looking back on Monday's events, it is now something that I will never take for granted.

Keep praying for those in Boston as they recover from this tragedy but remember to also pray every day for our country. We need it now more than ever.

Photo A Day March: That's a Wrap

Well folks, after a year of my Photo A Day adventures, I am closing the book on this chapter. I officially have 365 photos that I plan to compile and share as a coffee table book (future post, I'm sure) but for now, take a look at photos from March!

1. L is for...LAUNDRY. You guys...I struggled with this one. I remember it taking me a good 2 days to figure out what photo to take.
2. i made this! A birthday card for Keegan! Washi tape is my new favorite crafting device. You can do so much cute stuff with it!
3. key. Where I hang my keys.
4. lucky. Lucky I'm in love with my best friend.
5. under. Under my umbrella on this rainy day.
6. chair. Jealous of my neighbors rocking chairs.
7. fear. I like gum but I hate touching it (once it's chewed). I took this photo a quickly as I could so I could get it off my finger.
8. favorite. My favorite moment of the night was meeting Tristan Prettyman and having her sign a picture of mine. Night. Made.
9. faceless self portrait. I'm in love with my PEACE, LOVE & TACOs TP shirt!
10. i want...I want to spent many summer evenings sitting on our new patio furniture with these two (Jeremy and Apollo).
11. important. The memorial site where my Grandad's memorial stone is.
12. in the distance. A sunset in the distance.
13. sound. Guitar playing.
14. tasty. He made the chicken. I made the waffles. Teamwork at it's best.
15. explore. Ready to explore my first ever trail run.
16. 9 o'clock. The start of the Color Me Green 5K!
17. green. The Green River Revival at the U.S. National Whitewater Center!
18. shoes. I got to demo some trail running shoes during my trail run. Loved them!
19. a sign. One of my favorite lyrics by Jason Mraz of course.
20. clean. No one cleans up better than my husband! So fresh and so clean, clean!
21. working. working on creating another birthday card!
22. about you. I am one of the few born & raised from Charlotte and I love my cityyyyy!
23. what you do for fun. I run! A lot. Check out all my race bibs!
24. up. Looking forward to crossing this bridge and visiting Jeremy's family in Charleston for Easter!
25. in your drawer. Do you think we have enough pencils?
26. something you did. Ta, da! More washi tape goodness.
27. pair. Jeremy has great tast in socks.
28. in the mirror. It never hurts to window shop :)
29. goodnight. The moon was still out that morning. Maybe I should have gone back to bed :)
30. relax. Got the nephew relaxed and ready for bed.
31. stuff. Spring stuff. Ready for this spring weather to stick around!

Taking a photo each day has been fun but I think my brain is more than ready for a break. Some of those prompts can be tedious when you're not quite sure what to snap a photo of. If anyone knows of any other daily photo communities, let me know and I may join after my little break! For now, it's time to head over to Blurb and create a book of my 365 photos. I can't wait to share once it's come in!

Easter Weekend

I started out the weekend with a 5K in Downtown Concord with my BFF, Sairy. With our bunny ears in place, we got the run down of the course from some friends and nervously awaited the start of the race. No matter how many races we run, we tend to get nervous for each and every one. The first mile was the easiest as it was downhill. Mile two was enjoyable because it was flat (my favorite!) but then mile 3 came along and I trudged up 2 giant hills to the finish line. All of the hard work paid off in the end while I surprisingly brought home a 2nd place (in our age group) award and Sairy brought home the gold, coming in 1st! We were both ecstatic because this NEVER happens to the both of us when we run together. One of us either gets 3rd or we both don't even place at all. It was definately a great start to the weekend.

After we accepted our awards, we decided to reward ourselves with some Krispy Kreme donuts. We asked Siri for the nearest place and she directed us towards a "factory". We were skeptical to follow but donuts were on the brain and that's all we really wanted. We decided to follow Siri's directions but...there was no Krispy Kreme in sight when we reached our "destination". We hadn't given up hope and decided to visit the one closest to my house. As we excitedly pulled up to the entrance  our hearts sank as the parking lot was blocked off with a huge sign saying that they were closed for renovations. Bummer. Needless to say, we gave up on the donuts and headed home.

That night, Jeremy and I parted ways. He went to watch basketball (March Madness) with friends and I got to spend the evening with my favorite nephew, Keegan! The parentals were in need of a date night and I was happy to help and give them an evening to themselves.

The cutest little Mountaineer!

He wasn't a huge fan of the ears so I stopped torturing him.

We had planned to visit Jeremy's family in Charleston, SC the next morning but plans changed and we stayed in town. I made no plans to cook since I thought we would be traveling so we ordered some food after church and invited both sets of parents to our home for a feast! It sure does come in handy to have our in-laws close by! We spent the afternoon catching up and everyone slipped away before I could grab a group picture! Sneaky, sneaky. Everyone probably did it on purpose.