What I Love About Running

February is all about love. There are so many things I love: Zach, my family, Zoe, peanut butter, froyo, m&ms, pink...and running. The more I thought about it, there are so many things I love about running.

Here are just a few of the reasons why I LOVE running!

1. Food!: I try to eat healthy most of the time to fuel my body in the best way possible, but there is nothing like some ice cream or a cupcake after a long run!

2. Exploring new places: I have run in Florida, Mississippi, Rhode Island South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia...and that's just in the past year! There is no better way to explore a new place than to see it on foot!

3. It's always there: Running never lets me down. Anytime of the day or night, in any weather, running is there. Whenever I need it, it's there. It also doesn't judge my pace, outfit, or crazy train of thought.

4. The release of emotions: Regardless of what mood I started my run in, I always end a run happy. I've been angry, cried, happy, sad, nervous, etc. before a run, but when it ends I'm always in such a great mood!

5. The crazy running community: My fellow runners know this as well: there is no one who will understand you, your love for running, your runner problems, and want to talk and hear about running like another runner can. It's a huge community of camaraderie.

6. How strong it makes my legs feel: I love that burn when you run up a hill and make it to the top, or when you just ran ten miles. I love the muscle definition running gives my legs and how without running, I'd never would have gotten to smaller jeans size!

7. How I feel when I cross the finish line of a race: There is no greater feeling than working so hard to train for a race and then finally crossing the finish line! You are beyond tired and hungry and ready to be done, but the surge of energy and adrenaline as you cross the finish line cannot be matched!

8. I push myself towards my goals...and achieve them: This time last year, I never would have thought I'd be a half marathoner in a year. Or a two-time half marathoner! I've come such a long way, and my running goals have helped me achieve so much and push myself to set new goals and have something to work toward.

9. I get to wear pink shoes: I freakin' love my running shoes. And it gets even better, because it's about time for me to get new shoes, and the Gel Kayano 18's are pink too!

Are these not beautiful shoes?

Source

10. My zen zone: Running lets me zone out and just run sometimes. I'm in a complete state of calm and happiness, something even yoga can't do. I do enjoy my newfound love of yoga and the way it makes my body feel, but yoga can't compare with the peace of running.

Weekend in Pictures

What a whirlwind of a busy weekend!

Zach and I (and Zoe) headed to Jackson this weekend. Zach's cousin Shawn, who lives in Kentucky, came to MS for a week and there was a get together for him this weekend. Shawn stayed with us on Thursday night and we all went together after lunch to Jackson.

Zach asked Shawn to be his best man this weekend!

Friday we went car shopping! Zach's old car was unfixable after months of trying to repair it, so it was time for a new set of wheels.

We decided on a Honda CR-V! What a great car! We love it already!

Saturday I went to a chiropractor appointment, then Zach, Shawn and I went shopping! I got a new pink yoga mat! I also got two shirts from Target!

We had a fantastic dinner at Shawn's house then went back to Zach's grandparent's house where we stayed to visit with them, relax, and watch some movies! We watched Contagion, which was great! We also watched Drive, and by we I mean Zach because I fell asleep ten minutes into the movie.

Zoe cuddled during the movies too.

Fun but busy Saturday!

Today we got to sleep in and enjoy a family party for Shawn! We had great food and it was fun to see everyone! I love weekends like this!

What's Your Love Story?

I saw this fun link up on Ashley's blog. From Mrs. to Mama is hosting this link up and in honor of Valentine's Day next week I thought it would be fun to participate! I have enjoyed reading the blogs for this link up so far- everyone's story is different and fun!

1. How long have you and you significant other been together?

We started dating in September 2010. I would say we were "together" in November. We don't really have a dating anniversary!

2. How did you meet? Whats your "love story"?

Zach had been a technician in the lab for a year after undergrad. We were acquaintances, but we started getting to know each other when we had stats together the first semester he started grad school. We studied for a test together and kept hanging out even when we weren't doing homework! We had a crazy adventure together trying to travel to a conference in Salt Lake City and that was definitely a bonding weekend ;) We just had a lot of fun together and hanging out led to dating by the end of the semester!

3. How long have you been married? If not married, is this the guy you hope to marry?

We aren't married yet but we are engaged!

4. If you are married, where did you get married? Big or small wedding?

We are planning on having a small-medium wedding with about 100 guests in March 2013. We are hoping Charleston is where we find the perfect venue for our wedding.

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!

We don't really have nicknames that we use on the reg. We have boofi and goofi that occasionally come out when we are goofing off, but we usually just call each other Zach and Ashley!

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

1. He always makes me feel loved and wanted. Whether it is through words or actions, he makes me feel happy, beautiful, smart, and loved every day. Even on bad days, he always makes sure to hug and kiss me and say I love you.

2. He is incredibly patient. I don't know anyone else who would listen to me talk for 10 hours in the car, outlet shop with me (even if he is playing Angry Birds while I'm looking at clothes), hear about research, thesis writing, blogging, running, yoga, the gym, etc everyday and still listen as intently as he does.

3. He's goofy! We are constantly cracking up at each other and laughing. He is really just so funny sometimes! We have a lot of fun with each other. I also love that he isn't "too good" or "manly" to just have fun and wear shamrock sunglasses sometimes.

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?

We got engaged in NYC on December 20, 2011! We ate an awesome lunch at a MSU themed restaurant called The Junction, and he asked me outside the restaurant after lunch. We were headed to the m&ms store in Times Square for dessert, and he asked me, "Are you excited?" I thought he was talking about the three stories of m&ms so I responded "For m&ms?! YES!" Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

He is more of a go out to dinner guy. He does get me chocolate though! And he writes the best messages in cards! They always make me laugh and cry at the same time.

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

I'm definitely more of a movie and couch girl most of the time. I do love and really enjoy the beachside dinners when we are on vacation though!

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

I would love to go to Europe and travel with each other for a couple of weeks! We both want to visit several places in Europe and I think we would have the best time. I love traveling with Zach!

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

We are going out to hibachi for dinner and then will probably come home, relax together on the couch (with Zoe) and watch a movie and have yummy dessert! I also have a special breakfast planned but I'll reveal that after I make it for Zach!

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?

Just a fun dinner, no-technology cuddling/movie on the couch, and a Reese's peanut butter heart.

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Have fun! Don't forget that you are each other's best friend. We all get caught up in work and family and the day to day drive to just go go go all the time. I laugh a ton with Zach and we have fun every day, even if it's just taking Zoe for a walk or getting froyo as a break from thesis writing.

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

This picture is from the Egg Bowl this past November. We were soaked from the rain and cold, but it was the only game we went to just the two of us and we had the best time! We embraced the whole sitting in the rain gameday and enjoyed our last game as students and had an awesome time.

Crazy Busy Week!

This is one of those extremely busy weeks! I feel like I have been on the go or working nonstop!

Monday was a normal day of work. I did some edits on my thesis, dropped off my engagement ring to be resized, and did the 30 Day Shred with Zach before cooking spinach lasagna roll-ups and working more on my thesis.

Jillian is so hard! But I love the challenge of this DVD. It has three 6 minutes segments with 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs along with a warmup and cooldown. It was a quick but tough 20 minute workout!

Tuesday I had a busy morning at work continuing to work on edits for my thesis and meeting with my advisor. After lunch I went to power yoga (my shoulders are killing me-dang downward dogs!)

After afternoon work and seminar we came home and did day 2 of the 30 Day Shred! I am pretty sore today after both workouts!

I spent all night working again...it seems to be the norm these days and will be until I defend.

At least I have The Office on Netflix while I'm watching! Zach and I are watching all the episodes while we work...we're on Season 4!

Today during work I did a poster presentation with Emily (Patriots party hostess!) and did some revision work before heading home. We went for a 2 mile walk with Zoe, did an arms and abs workout, cleaned the living room and kitchen in our apartment, and are currently doing 4 loads of laundry...while working and watching The Office!

Tomorrow, Zach's cousin Shawn comes to town! He is surprising his family by coming to visit for a week while on vacation from his job at UK. He is spending the night with us and Friday we are all heading to Jackson for the weekend!

How has your week been?

At Least the Food Was Good!

Last night my little family went to a Super Bowl party! We decked ourselves out in red, white, and blue and headed to Columbus, MS to Emily and Eric's house to cheer on the Patriots!

Even though the Pats came up short, the food was great!

I brought "healthy" mozzarella sticks and peanut butter Rice Krispie treats!

I made my mozzarella sticks using cheese sticks and egg roll wrappers:

First, place the egg roll wrapper diagonally on the plate and line the cheese stick up as shown in the top left picture. Begin rolling the cheese stick into the wrapper (top right). Tuck in the sides (bottom left) and continue rolling the cheese stick until only a small flap of egg roll wrapper is left. Dip your finger into a glass of water and slightly dampen the edge of the egg roll wrapper so it sticks. Then finish rolling up the wrapper (bottom right).

You can either bake them of fry them from here. If you do bake them, I recommend putting them on a baking sheet and spraying each side with a coating of Pam. We baked them at 400 for about 20 minutes, but keep an eye on them! If they are taking awhile to brown and crisp, you can turn on the broiler, but make sure to watch them!

The spread of food was awesome! We enjoyed tons of fresh veggies, the mozzarella sticks, delicious chicken from the grill, salad, and two kinds of Rice Krispie treats for dessert! I made the peanut butter treats on the left, and another girl made the caramel covered ones on the right!

We even brought Zoe with us and she wore her festive patriotic bandana.

I wore white and blue and Zach wore red.

Our fantastic hosts Emily and Eric!

Who did you cheer for? What did you have to eat?

I have to run 4 miles sometime this week as part of NYC Running Mama's Superbowl bet. We all had to put our running shoes where our mouths were! I picked the Patriots to win and since they lost by 4 points, I have to run 4 miles. I'm glad they didn't lose by 20!

February Goals

After a fairly relaxed month of January workout-wise, I've been getting back into my routine the past two weeks and have been really enjoying incorporating classes at the gym and strength straining. In fact, I just took butts 'n guts class tonight!

My goals for being fit in February are some great ones!

I'm obviously going to keep on running...it's my favorite after all!

I haven't been running long distances. I'm not in training for a race and I was sick last week and half of this week. But excuses aside, I am going to run probably about 10-12 miles a week. I've been running to and from the gym (my office to the gym is about a mile, depending on which route I take). I do have two exclusively running days, Tuesdays and Fridays, which I better be getting to next week!

I found this Fab Ab February schedule on Pinterest and I love it! The exercises are short and totally doable for a daily ab challenge. I'm two for two right now so I know I can stick with it!

Go to yoga at least once a week. The yoga class times at the gym suck pretty bad. 11:30-12:30! Don't these people get hungry? Regardless, I can eat after it's not that big of a deal and will be a nice way to break up the stressful weeks I have ahead of me at work.

I'm also going to continue my strength training two days a week. I've been really loving the change of pace and sore (in a good way!) muscles. It has made running kind of hard because of my changing workouts and adapting body but I think it will make me an overall stronger runner.

My other goals are to take the stairs at work instead of the elevator and cook dinner 19/29 days in February. I always eat breakfast at home, I eat lunch from home every day except Fridays (my treat Chick-Fil-A day!) and I try to make dinner most nights. Weekends are tough but I'm determined!

Not workout related, my last goal is to set my defense date and submit my thesis to my committee! Wish me luck!

What are your goals for February? Not just workout related but anything!

Wedding Wednesday: Wedding Planning From the Groom's Perspective

Ever since I started wedding planning, I've always wondering what Zach though of the whole process. I ask his opinion on pretty much every part of the planning process, and his responses are always "You pick" or "I don't care, you decide". I know some things he doesn't care about, like what color flowers are on the tables or what flavor cake we pick, but there are some part of the wedding he must have an opinion on!

So I asked him: What do you REALLY think about wedding planning?

And so he wrote a guest post for y'all on his true feelings about wedding planning:

And there it is, the epic day that sits in infamy in the back of every guy’s mind.

Wedding day.

But, one thing that I never really thought about, was the wedding planning. And that ladies and gentlemen, if you have read my fiance’s blogs, is the kicker.

So, I was asked a question: What does a guy think about all the wedding planning and everything that goes into the big day? I know it is a question that I think I have heard about a billion and a half times from my goofi [Ashley's note: Nickname...boo like ghetto name for boyfriend became boofi (adding the fi from fiance) after we got engaged...female version of boofi is goofi...don't judge, it was a joke that just kind of stuck ;)], so I guess I’ll get into it a little here...

So obviously, there is a lot of indifference. I mean there are plenty of things that I care about, but none of them about a wedding day. I don’t have to be pretty, she does, I don’t dream about the day, she does, I don’t get walked down the aisle, she does. Get my point? The only thing on my mind is her and how absolutely stunning she will be at the beginning, middle, and end. Maybe I’m different from other guys, I don’t know, but let’s take a look at a color palette.

Do you see those colors? I mean jeeze, how many colors do you know as a person? I know like maybe 10, but after listening to Ashley discuss the colors of clothes and the wedding, I might be able to say 20 or 25. Why in the world do you need to know that many colors? Then there are the places, which I might have an opinion about, but she keeps asking me – “What is your dream place?”. Then she gets frustrated with me when I don’t know what to tell her. I don’t have a dream place, hell I have been more places with her in the past 5 months than I have probably in my life. It’s one of those things that I really don’t care about. I tell you what I do care about when places come into the conversation and that is the honeymoon.

You know exactly what I am talking about. I want to get away from everything, from everyone, and go to a place with the love of my life that is exotic/foreign. Of course, the simplest of these ideas is the beach with gorgeous water tickling your toes and the breeze flinging tiny bits of sand into your eyes. Doesn’t have to be exactly, could be Rome or Paris, could be London or somewhere deep in the rolling hills of Ireland. Maybe even the mountain tops of the most neutral country in the world, Switzerland…

Another thing that I care about is the drinks served at the wedding. I don’t know about anyone else but my family likes to relax with a tall glass of bourbon highball, a toddy, or a tallboy or two. My fiance’s family does the same with the Boston Lagers and cheap pinot grigio or whatever is a cheap wine (not a wine connoisseur or anything). So without something to break the ice, as you will, we might have another Civil War on our hands, so drinks have to be an option, but not an open bar, because once again it could be war. Fortunately, that was something easily resolved for the most part.

But honestly, there is little left right? Wrong there is a ton left, but nothing that I have gotten into save for one more thing.

Wedding party.

Okay, so there is very little I want as far as this is concerned, just pick a few people and be done, right? Jesus, how wrong that is. What about the people that didn’t get picked or the people that try to pick for you? I mean my sister’s boyfriend is a friend, but when my wedding party is concerned I didn’t think about him necessarily. Now my sister is going to be hounding my ear like those coastal gnats, which wouldn’t matter normally, but bothers me now because there are plenty of people that I would love to include and very little room. It’s like a clown car in how you want everyone in it, but in the end you feel uncomfortable watching all of them getting out of it for the show.

So, sadly and unfortunately, I have to play this silly game of politics. Then my grandmother throws me a loop and tells me she would really like to see my father as my best man. WTF? Where did this come from, my parents should be sitting together right?

I tell you what, let’s just do this type of wedding –

Easy as can be and her dad said he would come if I got kegs of good beer (so she can still have her father walk her down the aisle, got to cover my bases). I mean works for me, but you already know how she feels…

Anyways, in the end, there is little that can be done with the large gap in the day dreamy female version of wedding planning and the bored, please get this over with guy version of wedding planning. There will always be the excited girls gossiping around a table or over the phone about all of the planning and guys teasing one another about what they are going to miss in the single life.

Honestly, if I can get it through my goofi’s head, that as long as she is happy in her I Do, then my wedding day will be perfect, because I have found the one for me.

P.S. – Pray for me throughout the rest of the planning…haha

So there y'all have it! Wedding planning from a guy's perspective. He picked out all the pictures himself too...they crack me up!

What about your husband/fiance? Were they really involved in the planning or did they lay low?