Goodbye 2011

So, yea. This post was due well over a week ago, but between the holidays and my obsession with The Hunger Games Triology, I've been WAY too busy to set aside 20 minutes to blog. I wish I could blame it on spending way to much time logging miles in the 'ole Asics, but sadly I've been battling stupid non-running-related injuries which have kept me sidelined for the past few weeks. 

But alas, my holidays were splendid. They were spent with my favorite people and I was reminded how blessed I am. Kind of like this past year.

2011 was pretty amazing, to say the least.

We saw lots of snow at the beginning of the year.

A lot of time was spent with friends.

I rocked some awesome races:

 like a wintery 5k,

my first triathlon,

 

an awesome half marathon with friends,

and a memorable half with my hubs.

 We went on a family cruise.

 Josh and I spent my birthday in Hot Springs, hiking and staying at our family's lake house.

We celebrated our 1 year anniversary!

We moved to Fayetteville.

My mom got a pool.

 And we got a puppy!

At the beginning of the year I proclaimed my love for new year resolutions and set a few for myself. Lets see how I faired...

1. Run a 5K, 10K, and half marathon; and set a new PR

Partially accomplished: I completed a 5k and a half marathon and set personal records in both. Wahoo! But I never even signed up for a 10k.

2. Save 20% of our yearly income

Done! Despite the cost of moving, we were still able to keep our savings at 20%, with $8 surplus. 

3. Take a photography class

Complete fail: Never gave this more than a second thought. 

4. Become more confident in my sewing abilities.

Between baby showers and the need to decorate my house, I consider this partially completed. I suppose you can say I am more confident in my abilities, I still have no real clue what I am doing. 

Taking this time to reflect over 2011 has me even more excited for the possibilities of this new year. Stay tuned for the epic resolutions of 2012!

Moving Mania

Wow. 3-day weekends rock! Am I right, or am I right? Seeing how Josh and I are moving in just a few short weeks, we took full advantage of our extra time.

On Saturday, I woke up to meet the butt-crack of dawn and some friends for my weekly long run. The schedule said 8 miles and I was ready to rock it's face off. This is how I felt before the run.

Sadly though, after bragging how well my long runs have been going, it sucked. (Karma's a B!) Miles 1-3 felt great, but 4-8 were horrible. By the last mile I was constantly negotiating with myself to go just a little bit farther.

" Run 10 more minutes and you can get some ice cream"

"Run 5 more minutes and then you can walk for 30 seconds"

"Run 1 more minute and you will never have to run again in your life"

"Run 30 more seconds and you can buy a new car...screw Josh and your savings!"

This is how I felt after my run. Now where is my new car?

Of course, I have to blame my bad run on something other than my abilities, so I contribute it to: 1. Speed work of 4 miles the day before, and 2. Not enough calories before and during the run. Now that I'm upping my mileage and running more than 1hour at a time, I really need to start some calorie intake during my runs.

On Sunday Josh and I got serious about our packing situation. We completely packed up our guestroom and closet, broke down the bed, and took all living-room decorations down. It's nice to know we already have so much accomplished. Good thing I consider myself a 'professional mover' seeing as how I have moved in and out of dorm rooms, apartments, and houses 5 times in the past 4 years. Yikes!

So now we have boxes filling up our guestroom; the only scary thing is we have no place to move to. Apparently, people do not want to rent to a married couple with a good steady income. Boo. I have a feeling it has something to do with our picky 'must-have' list and these two crazy mutts.

Adorable, Yes.
Ideal for rentals? No.

Speaking of my two perfect furr balls; we took them to the dog park for the first time on Monday. This was Sully's first trip and she loved it!

The dog is the complete opposite of her big sister.

Water-Loves it! Fetching-A natural!

Despite the stress of moving, this holiday weekend couldn't have gone better!

Summer Snapshots {Week 6}

As I sit back and think about this week's events, it becomes obvious to me that I am a grandma. I am an OCD, schedule-loving grandma who loves Judge Judy, BlueBell Fruit Bars, and naps. 

Hi. My name is Alex and I am boring.

Curious that such a boring person has a blog to document all of her boring antics. And I am by no means implying that you must be super boring if you read a blog about a person as boring as I. I would never suggest such a thing...

But I digress.

My day typically looks like this:

6:15-Wake up to take out Ajax and Sully

6:30-Get ready for work

8-4:30-Work

5:00-Gym with the Mister

6:30- Make dinner

7:30- TV/Hubby time

9:30-Bedtime

Hi. My name is Alex and I am boring times 234817739. 

At least I made some really yummy and healthy dinners this week.

And I really spiced it up by painting my nails. Oh La La. 

And I played with Ajax and Sully (Yea, I know, I'm an amazing parent). They'll do anything for a treat. They are addicted- it's like crack I tell ya!

Yes, I know. Sully is getting SO BIG! She is now 9 weeks old and it makes me want to cry.

Highlight of my week: I went to the eye doctor, who proceeded to dilate my eyes. But he gave me these cool glasses to wear since lights were too bright.

Yep. That is a shade under my actual eyeglasses. Live Long and Prosper.

And, of course, I'm continuing in my training. Apparently "thumbs up" has become a new thing of mine. Too bad my thumb is small and misshaped- please divert your eyes.

 

How was your week? Please tell me it was more eventful than mine!

Summer Snapshots {Week 4}

I say this every week, but I can't believe we are at {week 4} of summer! Where do the days go?! This week was crazy and stressful. Josh and I have some big changes on the horizon and daily pictures were the last thing on my mind this week.

This past week was "Vegan Week", an self-imposed experiment to overhaul my diet for 7 days. I didn't take any photos of my evening meals, but I did take a few of my snacks. After workouts I made sure to have a protein packed smoothie consisting of spinach, blueberries, mangos, strawberries, protein powder and almond milk.

Don't let the color scare you; you can't taste the spinach and it is delicious! Seriously, you must try this- a perfect cure for these hot summer days.

And for dessert most nights I snacked on peaches or watermelon. Nothing says summer more than a fresh slice of watermelon!


And breaking news! I forgot to water my plants on Sunday; shocking, I know. My once resilient flowers are now looking quite depressing. They were literally scorched in the sun-Poor flowers. I am trying to slowly revive them.

Our new addition turned 7 weeks old on Tuesday! She currently enjoys barking in her crate at night, playing with big-sister Ajax, and digging in her water bowl.


Here's to hoping things slow down this coming week and that daily photos take more of a priority!

Our New Addition

The Clarks have exciting news! 

Josh and I have been wanting to grow our family for a while now and the time has finally come. 

"The time for what?", you ask...

A new puppy!! 

World, meet Sully Clark- our beautiful new golden retriever. 

She is perfect in every way and we are so excited to have a second fur-child. My apologies to those who were hoping for a human-child; that won't be for a few more years. :)