Making Our House a Home!

I can't believe we have been in our home now for 3 months! Some days it feels like we just moved in, others it feels like we've lived there forever. We are really loving it though... other than some incidents (like tables being caught on fire in our backyard, rocks being thrown at our glass door, and more recently- black spray paint all over our brand new white vinyl fence... fun...)

When we first moved in we got SO much done in a short period of time- we basically painted almost our entire house. We only have the spare bedrooms and dining room left to paint... we've painted all hallways/staircase, master bedroom, master bath, guest bath, half bath, kitchen, living room, loft, and laundry room. Phew! We also put up ceiling fans in all the bedrooms. After all that, we kind of stalled out... Our dining room is basically empty, we have nothing on the walls, and no lighting in our living room, dining room, or upstairs "workout/loft" area. I just recently bought lamps for our nightstands in the bedroom finally- before that we were basically walking around by cell phone light after we turned off the ceiling light. ;)

Yay for bedside lights now!!! hehe

The other day we finally took some time to put a few things up on the wall, just focusing mainly in the living room and kitchen. Now I am not the best interior decorator and I think the reason I put it off for so long is because it stresses me out. I also hate to spend a ton of money on stuff like this so I always end up with things I don't totally love. I'm trying to get better! I need to spend some $ on bigger pieces of artwork, etc. as I usually end up with framed pictures that are too small and look weird. A lot of my things are handed down as well!

David putting up my "Live, Laugh, Love" sign... I do have an obsession with that "mantra" lol

One of the first things I tried to do was put this little lantern I have on top of the cabinets in the kitchen. I realized since they're upgraded and taller than usual, anything up there was kind of hard to see... I decided I was going to put the lantern in the corner, but I couldn't really see what I was doing so as I went to set it down I hear it fall and go "THUD!" Turns out there is a whole in the corner at the top! lol.



Oops... haha!

Then I decided I'd just take cute pictures of my furballs instead. ;)
AWWW aren't they adorable? I'm not sure where I'm going to put this yet- one of my friends gave it to me as a housewarming gift... love it!



Princess is not as amused...

I decided to take another stab at decorating the cabinets. Thoughts? It's so basic but I think with the granite, color on the walls, etc. it looks okay kind of bare?

 Sorry for the flash but here are some things I added under the cabinets...

 So now I need a favor from y'all... I am COMPLETELY STUMPED as to how to decorate my master bathroom. We painted it and I really don't LOVE the color in there, but I really don't feel like doing it all over again. That room was a pain in the butt to paint!

Any suggestions???

Here is the entry into the bathroom with the closets on either side of the entry...

Help me!!! I have no idea what to do, what color towels to have, style/pattern for soap dispensers, etc. I just am not feeling this room at all! Thanks in advance! :)

Army Ten-Miler in DC!

I am registered for the 2011 Army Ten-Miler in DC (October 9th)! I am so excited for so many reasons!

     1.   I <3 DC! It is hands down one of my favorite places in the country! I grew up in Maryland for 8 years and have so many memories of going to the city... mainly for school field trips to the Smithsonian. I just love it! There is so much to do and it's so different from where I live now.

     2.   I am running the race with two of my awesome friends, Lu and Alexis (Lu and I are in the left picture, Lex and I in the right)! I can't wait to run the race with them, and more importantly, hang out and eat lots of yummy food the rest of the weekend! :)

     3.   The distance sounds perfect (not quite a half marathon but still a challenge for me!) and the course map looks AMAZING!!!! It'll be so cool to run past the Jefferson Memorial, down the National Mall, etc. Ahh can't wait! The ONLY bummer about it is they don't allow phones, cameras, etc. so I wont be able to take pictures along the way, but it'll be worth it for sure!

I think it's going to be a great race. I am a little nervous how big it will be though! This race is so popular I had to go on at midnight the night the registration opened to reserve our spots. It opened Sunday, 5/15 at midnight and it closed at 5:20pm on the same day, 5/15! Crazy!!! It was nuts trying to get registered too... the online system was so bogged down. I was so nervous I would get myself registered and then Lu or Alexis wouldn't get registered before it closed and I'd be doing it alone. lol!

I am also considering doing a half-marathon in November (more on that later) so if so, this should be a good distance to do at that time. We will see how my IT Band will hold up with all of this!!!! I haven't been running hardly at all lately and have been focusing on strength training and spin class, so I will have to start incorporating running back in.

I can't wait to share more about my training for this race and pictures afterwards. For now, I will leave you with some of my favorite pictures of DC from my past trips!

 

Have you ever been to DC? What was your favorite place to visit there? (If you haven't gone yet, you HAVE to go!!)

Weekend at Home- Finally!

Oops.... it's been a little while! Sorry! ;)

Things have been a little crazy lately! David and I went home last weekend (which is a 7 hr drive from where we live) for a friends wedding. It was SO nice to get to go somewhere together, see our friends get married and spend time with family and friends. David works a pretty weird schedule... it's not uncommon for him to work 14+ days in a row with no time off, and it's impossible to get more than 2 days off in a row unless it's one of his two 7-day vacations that have to be taken straight... so needless to say it's hard to do ANYTHING together sometimes!

We left Thursday night when he got home around 8pm and drove through the night (dogs in tow). It was a long night but well worth the drive! I always forget how much I miss the gulf coast until I am home... the blue waters and white sand beaches.... ahhh nothing beats it! I hadn't been home since last Memorial Day, and I don't think David has been home since we moved to Orlando! We were definitely due for a trip back. :)


The wedding was the next day. It was at the Emerald Grande on Destin Beach... absolutely beautiful!!!
 

The wedding was so beautiful... they are a great couple and we are so happy for them! David's parents were there too so we got to spend time with his parents at the wedding and reception. There's nothing like a wedding to reminisce about your own wedding and start feeling all sentimental. :)

The next day David had to leave so he could get back to work, but I was able to stay at my parents for a day and enjoy time with them! It was also a little sentimental as my parents are selling their house (sad!) to move closer to us (yay!). I love my parents house! It just feels so homey and I love their backyard.

Paisley even got to enjoy the swimming pool with her grandpa!

I was grateful my Dad drove me back to Orlando so I didn't have to drive alone! The doggies did pretty good for their second 7 hour drive in just one weekend! Paisley looks a mess as she had been rolling around in the dirt all weekend and at our lunch break that day. haha!

It was a great weekend, but I'm still exhausted! Haha. Here's to hoping the doggies let me sleep in past 7 tomorrow (and by doggies, I mean Paisley... who starts her "whine whistle" usually right at 7am no later...).

How far are you from "home"? How often are you able to travel back home? Do you get homesick?

Chocolate Avocado Milkshakes

I know, I know... you're probably going "EWWWW! Chocolate mixed with avocado???" That's what I thought too at first, but it is so yummy and healthy!

I read something about using avocados in a milkshake in Runners World I believe, and I googled it to find a recipe that sounded doable online. I found the recipe at Skinny Chef. It is actually a traditional treat in Vietnam! I think it tastes just like a chocolate shake, and I think the avocado really helps give it that creamy consistency.

Here is the recipe....

Chocolate Avocado Milkshakes

Serves 2

Ingredients

1/2 ripe hass avocado

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup skim milk

Directions

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend on high until smooth and serve over ice.

Easy enough right??? :) I used our magic bullet and it made it really easy to make one cup for myself, and one for my hubby!

Also on a sidenote- I LOVE our magic bullet! It's great for quick smoothies, milkshakes, etc. I love how there are twist on covers (see the blue and red rings on the right) so you can drink right out of the cup you blended in.

I told myself to take a picture of the cup filled with the ingredients before blending and forgot BOTH times I made a cup... sorry! Here is a picture of the yummyness after blending instead. :)

I definitely recommend it! It can satisfy a sweet tooth and get some good fats in from the avocado! Plus I love that there aren't a ton of ingredients and I have all of it on hand at any given time... except the one avocado which is easy enough to pick up at the store.

Even the hubby approves... and this comes from somone who may have eaten half a bag of cadbury mini eggs as well as half a bag of starbust jelly beans for lunch.... lol

The doggies wanted some chocolate too... Princess has been known to devour upwards of 100 hershey kisses in one sitting... (which made for a pretty horrible evening for all of us!).

Thanks for reading everyone! Hope you all try and enjoy the milkshakes. :)
 
What healthy recipes do you have for desserts that are low on guilt but still yummy and satisfying?

Run for the Trees 5K- Race Recap

This Saturday I decided somewhat last minute to do a 5k! I had thought about doing the Run for the Trees 5k, but didn't decide until Friday that I was for sure going to do it. My mom and brother were in town and so my brother said he'd run it with me. He said he was going to run a little slow though since he hadn't run in a week... just like a slow 19 minutes. HAHA! He's crazy!

After a late night on Friday, we woke up early around 5:30am or so on Saturday to get up and get ready for the drive to Winter Park for the race. I was sleepy but excited- I love 5k's! They are such a fun distance. I was a little mad at myself as I hadn't had the best workout/eating week, so I wasn't expecting to have that great of a race but I still wanted to push myself and have fun.



We headed out and got to the race plenty early, and found a parking spot... right next to a dumpster. lol. Kevin had to take off his regular shorts and wear his super short cross country star shorts.

Once we got all settled we headed to the race start. Kevin of course headed to the front of the lineup so he could go his super fast self. I kept closer to the back. ;)

Just a little background on this race. I believe they said it was the 19th Annual Run for the Trees. It is in a town called Winter Park which is basically an area of Orlando. Winter Park is well known for for large trees that form canopies over the streets, etc. The money for this race goes to the Winter Park Tree Replacement Fund. This helps replace many of the trees that were lost in hurricane damage during 2004, as well as other trees that may die during the year, etc.

The course itself is pretty cool too, as it runs through Winter Park and the last mile is on a privately owned wilderness dirt road that is complete tree-canopied. This area is only open to the public once a year for this specific event. The race started at one point and ended in the dirt road, so we did have to be shuttled back to the start line in buses.


OK so back to the race! I was ready to run! Even though I felt kind of gross and weak from a hectic weak, but oh well!

I started the race strong and was feeling good. The weather was really nice and not too hot or humid which was a pleasant surprise. It took me a little while to get in a groove because I had to do a lot of weaving around people and trying NOT to twist my ankle running up and down the curb. After a while it opened up and got easier. The race actually went by pretty fast, much faster than I remember the last two 5k's I did a few months ago. I was pushing myself and at that place where you feel like you can't catch your breath, especially at the last mile. 


The last mile was cool though since it was in the canopied dirt road, so that kept it interesting. Before I knew it I was at mile 3 and I pushed myself to sprint... well half way sprint haha... for the short rest of the way. I saw the clock at just over 30:00 and was a little disappointed... but then I realized I crossed the starting line a little after the clock started so I had hope for under 30.


I met my brother back at the starting line and we grabbed granola bars and water. I was pooped!!! 

We hung around and waited to see our results. One thing I will say that I don't love about races around here is the lack of yummy free food and things afterwards. Maybe I just got spoiled... but in Pensacola ALL of the races I did had SOOOOO much food. There was subs, pizza, hot dogs, beer, smoothies, etc. etc. etc. Lots of options! All the races I've done here basically have water, gatorade, bananas and granola bars. I mean it's fine and I shouldn't be eating all that junk at all, but I miss hanging out after a race and everything eating/drinking and having a good time. It seems to have a different feel here!

Anyways! So the race results came out and of course there was the typical mad rush to see. It took at least 15 minutes to squeeze my way through to see. See below. :) Please excuse my crude attempt at using paintbrush!

YAY!!! So while a chip time of 29:53 may not be reason to celebrate for most, I was very happy with my time! Especially after thinking I would do terrible due to my lack of exercise/good diet the past week. Now I'm really wanting to do another 5k where I'll actually be in a better place and hopefully get an even better time.

Afterwards we got to pick out free tree saplings as part of the race! I got a sycamore tree, and my brother got a river birth.

So all in all a great race! Afterwards my bro and I had a nice breakfast at starbucks with the pooches.

I had a good weekend after that too. My brother and husband and I went to Universal Studios that day for the last day of Mardi Gras celebration there and the 30 Seconds to Mars concert. We got some cajun food and watched the parade! 

Then today I went out and had breakfast with my mom, dad and brother out at Melbourne Beach! I went to the beach afterwards with my dad and it was SO nice... I hadn't been to the beach in so long.

I am pretty exhausted though! I am sure I will sleep great tonight. ;)

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and has a great Monday tomorrow! Thanks for reading!