13.1

Amanda and I were talking the other day and discovered that we both would like to run in a half marathon some day. So... we decided why not now! If we are going to run in a marathon though, we do not want to do it in Dallas, Birmingham, Nashville, or Atlanta because that just isn't as exciting because everyone does one of those. We looked at Disney World but the half marathon was full and we aren't up for a full marathon! After looking at Denver and San Diego we finally decided on Phoenix, mainly because we actually know people there... JP's parents. So, we are going to run in the P.F. Chang's Rock n Roll Arizona 1/2 Marathon in Phoenix on January 17, 2010!

What does this mean? It means we have got a lot to do! Neither one of us runs so we are basically starting from scratch. Even though she is in Dallas and I'm in Birmingham we will still be each others accountability and encouragement.

Besides just running we figure we need to do other things to get in shape. So, Amanda started doing a DVD that I also purchased.


Why this video? Because, Amanda is obsessed with The Biggest Loser (in case you don't watch Jillian is one of the trainers on the show). I just did the video for the first time and it really is good! There are three different levels so hopefully by the end of the summer we will be able to successfully do level three!

I have found it is not too hard to make myself run when I have something motivating me... so on January 17 you better belief I'll be running 13.1 miles!

Happy....

i love him! Although I miss him sooo much when he has to work a like 80 hours a week, I am so proud of him and his hardworking, dedicated attitude.

CUPCAKES

The past two months I have made a lot of cupcakes!

For Laurel's shower I was in charge of the food. Sarah helped me make cupcakes. I wanted three different flavors so ended up making three boxes... 72 cupcakes (technically 96, but Sarah was responsible for burning a batch). We made chocolate with yellow icing, vanilla with green icing, and strawberry with pink icing.



For Mother's Day/Mom's birthday I got her some Sprinkles cupcake mix while I was in Dallas. We made them this past weekend. Yum!

FOUR things for TWO days.

As JP's brothers finish up a drive cross country and my sister prepares for a summer as a counselor at camp, JP and I are beginning to miss the summers that came with being in college.

Although we have no summer vacation plans due to JP's work (fall vacation possibly?), we still find fun and laughter in just the things of everday life. We laugh a lot, even over the smallest things. Here are the top 4 most noteable things that have occured in the past 2 days.



JP: I have that shirt?
Me: What shirt?
JP: I have that shirt that's on "What Not to Wear!"
Me: I wouldn't take pride in that.
JP: I wore that shirt that's on "What Not to Wear" on our first date!
*i've determined that since it was purchased for and worn aspart of a costume it doesn't count as a bad fashion choice*

JP found an engagement ring in his car. I know, right, who finds an engagement ring in their car? He thinks it belongs to one of the ladies that he work for. He thinks it must have fallen off when he was driving them from cash control up the hill to the offices. He just found it yesterday so I don't know if the owner has been found but I'm sure there is some woman out there freaking out!

We had some tortilla chips from a mexican restaurant that were only a few days old but had gone stale. So, JP decided to heat them up in the toaster oven to make them taste less stale. Please learn from this mistake, do not put tortilla chips in toaster oven for more than 2-3 minutes. Otherwise you will have flames and smoke coming out of the toaster oven and blackened chips that were in better shape stale!










Last night we enjoyed an evening of tv compromise. We watched American Idol followed by Death Wish. I'm sure you can figure out who picked what but in case you are stumped I picked American Idol and JP picked Death Wish (which wasn't nearly as bad as it sounded). I've watched about two episodes of AI this season before last night but have heard everyone talking about it. After being a faithful follower last season, I just had to watch the final 3! JP enjoyed making jokes throughout the entire thing. Afterwards, he was excited to find Death Wish on tv because he had "been waiting for this movie to come on late night tv for so long!"

All from a bag of donuts...

As I pulled up to WalMart the other day I noticed that the Retirement Home bus had just arrived. I spent my afternoon shopping with these retirement home residents. It was quiet interesting to observe them shop. One lady apparently found it necessary to purchase 10 boxes of some sort of cream! As I was waiting in line, the lady in front of me, who was one of the retirement home residents, said (in summary), "I hope you don't get my bags of donuts mixed up with your stuff! I've been waiting so long to get these! I just love chocolate." For some reason that just made me think how much our list of "things we want" changes throughout our life. The way this lady talked, the #1 thing on her list that day was a $2 bag of donuts.

When I was a child, there were always things I wanted. From Barbie dolls to soccer balls to moon shoes. Yes, I remember moon shoes... because I never got them. As we get older our lists seem to evolve into a list of much more costly things. However, as we get older I do believe we begin to appreciate the things we obtain much more.

So, I've been thinking of the top 10 things I want to obtain or do by the time I'm 30. I'm only 23 so I have a good amount of time to get these things checked off. Yes all of these items are much more expensive than a $30 pair of moon shoes, but all will probably keep my interest much longer than a pair of moonshoes which would have probably ended up in a give away pile after only a few weeks if I had gotten.

TOP TEN THINGS I WANT TO OBTAIN OR DO BEFORE AGE 30

10. Flat Screen TV- I don't have much of a preference, but JP does so I might as well just like the one he wants which is a Panasonic (he could tell you the model number) 50" tv.










9. A Hanging Bed: I've wanted one of these after seeing them in a Southern Living. I would probably spend hours with a book on one of these. Porch... that would be another thing I want.












8. New Couch: Have you seen my current couches? haha. Although they work just fine, I would like a new one though. JP and I have decided to try our best to keep the ones we have though in an extra room so when we have kids these couches can be theres and it won't matter if they get spills, stains, etc.






7. Bedroom Set: I think I will feel more grown up if I have one of these.















6. Trip to NYC: I LOVE big cities and this is one of the biggest so I need to go!











5. Run 1/2 Marathon: My sister and JP don't think this will happen. I'll prove them wrong. Something about accomplishing that is appealing to me...








4. New Camera: I really want a super nice camera like this one and to learn how to take cool shots (you know like when the background is blurry). Probably won't be getting this anytime soon. Whenever we have kids, which also hopefully won't be anytime soon, I'm pretty sure I will want to take a zillon pictures.








3. MBA and New Job: I am very thankful for my current job, but I don't really like it. Hopefully getting my MBA will open the job field to a job that has more room for growth... and higher pay!














2. House!: This will happen... it's just a matter of when. I mean I have to have somewhere to put number 10-7!








1. DISNEY WORLD: I know, I know... you're thinking, "really? I thought you said 30 not 10." But seriously, this has been on the list the longest. Ever since I was like 10 I've wanted to go to Disney World with just me and my husband, and well I couldn't very well do that without a husband... so now I can! You probably wouldn't understand my obsession with Disney World but just the thought of it makes me happy. I can't wait until JP and I go! (And we will... it was somewhere in our vows I think... something like "I will honor, and cherish, and go to Disney World) :)