A weekend of Firsts!

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! Why am I so perky on  a Monday morning you ask? Well, in just a few short days, I will be on a plane.... Cali bound! 70-80 degree weather? Yes please! I am actually going there for work (boo), but will have some play time as well. I judge All Star Cheerleading and Dance and am lucky enough to travel to some pretty awesome places (Palm Springs, CA being one of them). However, my travel experiences with my judging family deserve a post of their own, so stay tuned.


Back to my weekend,...it was great and full of firsts! On Friday, I traveled to Asheville with my parents to see my niece compete in her very FIRST Gymnastics Competiton. She was competitng early Saturday morning, so we headed down Friday afternoon. We enjoyed some family time with my brother, his wife, and their 2 kids and then tucked in early so we'd be well rested for the next day. On a side note, downtown Asheville is an extremely cute little area. We saw so many adorable little shops and cozy resteraunts/bars. I wish we would have had more to time to explore/experience, but let's be honest.... I'm not as young as I once was and a girl needs her sleep!


We woke up at an unmentionalble time on Saturday morning and headed over to the venue (UNC-Asheville). As I mentioned before, this was my nieces FIRST meet...and I am here to tell you she rocked it out! She competed in 4 events : Floor, Uneven Bars, Vault, and Balance Beam. She placed 4th in 2 events and she placed 4th OVERALL! I was very impressed with her poise and skill level and can't wait to see her progress in this sport. I am so proud of her!


Here is a picture of me and my niece. Everyone calls her "Little Paula" and she thinks it's a compliment. Bless her gullible little heart :).

 I had been taunting her for weeks, jokingly threatening to make embarassing signs to hold up at the meet. I later discovered that she was in fact excited about the idea of signs and I rushed out to find the brightest hot pink poster board in existance. And yes, I brought back the "bomb.com"....a little cheese factor never hurt anyone. She loved it and told me at least 3 times that she couldn't believe she was the only person at the whole meet who had signs. My heart was full.


 My parents decided to make the most of their trip and head to Cherokee to enjoy a couple of nights at the casino. I rode back with my Brother, Sister in Law, and the kids. Most people wouldn't consider a 3 1/2 hour ride cramped between 2 kids as fun, but we had a blast! Proof of our fun can be found in the video below. This was completey unrehearsed. I dare you to watch it and not smile.
  

Yes, I realize my niece completely botched the lyrics - "All the shawtys in the club, let me see your DRESS. Back it up, drop it down, let me see your DRESS."  But seriously, how do you correct a kid with THAT MUCH swagger?




On Sunday, I had another first! I ran 5.4 miles without stopping to walk! My friend Amy, who is also training for the same 1/2 Marathon, came over and we got the job done! It was a gorgeous day out and the run went a lot smoother than expected. We were able to hold decent conversation throughout and we even ran .4 miles over our "required" workout suggested by the training plan. Say whatttt?!?!? This week will be a little rough because I will have to condense all my runs/workouts into 4 days. I could pretend I am going to run in California, but I don't see it happening. I have always allowed  travel to throw a wrench in my workouts, but it's not going to happen this time. I made a commitment and I am sticking to it!


I hope you all have a fabulous start to the week and I will attempt promise to have another post coming your way before I leave for California!

The Help

So it's been on my "must see" list every since it was in theatres, but I finally got around to watching "The Help". Let me tell you, it was worth the wait. I loved it. I laughed. I cried. I hurt. I felt joy, pain, and genuine love. Now you know if a movie can make a girl feel all these things at once (even when she is not on the emotional roller coaster known as PMS), then it's gooood!

"The Help" is an inspirational movie, set in the 1960's, about a group of women who form a very unlikely friendship. There are so many lessons I took away from this movie, with the most important being our ability to create change. We have so many opportunities in life to create positive change. Whether it be big (taking part in a movement that changes history) or small (flashing a smile to someone who is having a bad day), our ability to create change for the better is endless.

In the movie, one of the characters, Aibeleen, makes it her purpose to have a positive impact on the life of the child. She attempts to help her create change within herself. I don't want to ruin it for you, so I won't reveal too much. But to me, it's one of the most poignant story lines in the entire movie. Aibileen repeats these words to the child (for who she is the caretaker) on a daily basis: "You is kind. You is smart. You is important".

It got me to thinking, we all need to hear those words more often. We need to remind ourselves daily of our importance and worth. We need to make it a priority in our lives to build up our family, our friends, and even complete strangers.  We need to create change for the better.

So my dear readers, I have come up with a list for you...a list of affirmations and encouragement...a list to remind you that you are awesome! In sticking with the theme of  "The Help", you will have to excuse my grammar. I just couldn't resist!

You is worthy.

You is strong.

You is beautiful.

You is talented.

You is able.

You is loved.

You is fearless.

You is valuable.

And in the words of sweet Aibeleen:

My lovelies, I hope you all have a fantastic day and never ever forget how amazing you truely is :) !

RUN-ny Nose

Ok ladies …. and Gents (just in case in of my Gays are reading this), I’mmmmm bacccck!

I am sorry I have been M.I.A. lately, but as the title hints, I have had "The Crud". For those of you who are wondering what “The Crud” is….it’s what us Southerners affectionately refer to as being sick. I know, I know, sounds like an STD (gross, right?), but along with the Southern charm comes the Southern dramatics, so give me a break!  Anyway, I have been sick for over a week and I am proud to say that I have officially been drug free for 2 days now! Me and my pharmacist have gotten to know each other realllll well as of late. I am happy to report that even though I am not 100%, I am well on my way to feeling slightly normal again. Bhahaha, I just referred to myself as "normal"...I kid, I kid.

But enough about that, I have more important things to talk about. I mean like... I have decided to run a Half Marathon important! Call me crazy. Call me insane. Just please don’t call me collect ;). Yes, I have made the commitment  and I am officially in week 3 of my 12 week training program. It's gone pretty well up to this point. Except the whole sickness thing that got in the way for a couple of days. But I am proud to say I plowed struggled through several of my workouts even though my body was telling me not to.

 In telling you all this, I forgot to mention one small detail - I HATE TO RUN. I know hate is a strong word, but I mean it. I don't mind the elliptical, or stair climber, or the kick your butt into shape or die classes at my gym, but I hate the R word. Maybe it's because I'm horrible at it. The only thing I am good at running is my mouth!  I run slow, it's boring, it hurts my joints,  and I usually complain and/or curse for the majority of the time. So why torture myself? Well, because I really do want to learn to LOVE it! I have been in the same workout routine for years now, and I am just not seeing the results I want. Let's be honest, my 30 year old body is a little more "resistant" than it used to be. Can I get an Amen? Every time I see an avid runner .... I die a little inside *sigh*. I want their toned body and lean muscles. No, I don't want to be some freak of nature who looks like their idea of a "cheat meal" is 2 pieces of lettuce rather than 1. But my body and workout routine is ready for a change, and darn it, so am I!

 I kind of live by the quote "Go Big - or go home" (seriousy, I even shop with this mentality), so I figure let's just start with 13.1 miles. I have never, ever, ran another race. No 5k, no 10k. The only thing that comes close to my running in a race would be my annual mad dash to catch the greatest sales on Black Friday. Even though that, much like a race, requires much planning and preparation, I am pretty sure it doesn't count. I know this will be a huge challenge, but I am ready for it! Bring it.

 If you are interested in taking a look at the training program I am following, you can find it here. If that sweet little brain of yours is also pondering a Half Marathon, I highly recommend you find a friend to commit to the race as well. I have done so, and it's worked out great. Not only does it hold you accountable, but it makes those long boring runs slightly more bearable. I'm sure you all will be getting plenty of updates complaints over the next 9 weeks, so stay tuned!

Adios 2011

Another year has come to an end. 2011 is gone, but the memories will last forever. Since I just recently started blogging, I figured I'd give you the run down of my 2011 highlights.

A super fun "Goodbye to our 20's" trip with my college girls in the Bahamas!

I love these girls. We all live in different states....and countries (one of them lives in Switzerland), but there is no distance or time that keeps us from picking up right where we left off! Special thanks to the hubbies of the married girls who let us borrow your wives for an extended period of time :). We had a blast, made some wonderful memories, and said Au Revoir to our twenties in style! I can assure you that the Bahamas will never ever be the same. Discussion for our next milestone celebration has already begun!

*(This photo needs no caption, but I can't resist)*

Free Tequila Shots, Cheap Mexican Beer, and Very Broken Sunglasses...proof we may be approaching our 30's but can still party like 21 year olds.

I turned 30 and didn't die!

Seriously, I thought it was going to be the end of the World. I celebrated with a day at the pool with the girls and a "Made in the 80's" themed Bar Crawl that night with friends. So much fun!

I was Jem, from my favorite 80's cartoon.

 Also present on the Bar Crawl were Jem's Holograms, Milli Vanilli, Slash and Axl Rose, and several other awesome 80's costumes.

We had our annual family vacation at the beach! 

Catching some waves with some of my nieces and nephew

I went on my first ever camping trip and survived! 

What's a camping trip without a mouth full of marshmallows? 

And best picture of the trip goes to...my friends Audra and David! Are they a fun couple or what?!?! This pic was inspired by their most recent exciting news....Audra is pregnant!

I got to see the one and only Britney Spears in concert!

Say what you want, but I even loved her when she she was bald and bat-shit crazy so this was BIG deal for me!  

Those teenage Britney fans were NOT ready for these 30 year olds!

Had a blast on our Annual Girls Beach Trip!

You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl!

I took my nieces and nephews to the fair and watched their sweet little eyes light up all day long.

A little dancing in the rain!

This sweet little face has no idea that that Goat is about to eat her hair for lunch. 

Celebrated the Holidays with my family! 

Yes, we are fun. We played our own version of Minute to Win it.

You know you are old when you get tupperware for Christmas and are genuinely excited about it!

The whole family on Christmas Day

2012 Christmas Card? I think so! 

Every year has it's ups and downs, and 2011 was no exception. There were plenty of moments I could have done without. But those bad moment made the great moments so much sweeter. 2011 re-confirmed for me what I already knew. I am a truly blessed girl. At times, I complain about everything I don't have....but it doesn't take long for me to remember how much I do have. I have great family who loves and supports me. I have the best friends a girl could ask for. And I have a savior who loves me no matter what! With all those wonderful people by my side...how could I go wrong? So to that I say....goodbye 2011 and BRING IT ON 2012! This girl is ready!

Happy New Year to you all! I hope 2012 is the best yet for you and those you love!