The Best In Me

They say that true friends bring out the best in you. 

Despite the fact that I do not know who 'They' are, I find this statement completely true. 

Best friends listen when no one else will 

and tell you things you don't want to tell yourself.  

They don't mind that your sleep schedule is that of a 90 year old woman

or that you can't attend their b-day bash because you live 2 hours away.

And even if you hadn't seen each other in months,

when you get together it is though time never passed.

After 10 years we now have our careers, husbands, and babies

but our relationships with each other are irreplaceable. 

I miss my dear friends

because they just plain rock.

Blast From the Past

My alarm went off at 5:00am for my Saturday morning run. Why do I continue to do this to myself?

The plan was to meet with Ft Smith's running club at 6:00am, so I woke up extra early to have plenty of time to choke down some toast and peanut butter, take out Sully and Ajax, and arrive early for a little warm up jog.

Once everyone arrived at 6:00, we headed out for a loop through Ft. Chaffee, a military base close to town. I averaged a nice 10:21 pace for 5 miles, using the 4:1 run/walk method for the first 3 miles then kept a 9:45 pace for the last 2 miles. I felt strong the entire time and I could definitely have pushed myself a little harder.

Does anyone know how to find the individual stats of each mile on a Forerunner 305? I'd like to know my splits (hoping they were negative) but I can't figure out how to view them. The Garmin Training Center only shows the average pace. 

I felt especially sluggish during the first mile because the night before Josh and I were partying it up 90's style with Jacob and Jessi. The Leonards threw a 90s-themed party in honor of the recent Nickelodeon addition of The 90's Are All That. 

They put together a taco spread for dinner- just what I was craving! I stayed away from the meat and cheese and stuffed my taco with refried beans, black beans, guacamole, salsa, and lettuce.

 

Pic via Jessi

But there was NO WAY I was resisting Jessi's slime-inspired cupcakes. Seriously, they were moist and covered with green slime. I felt 11-years-old all over again! Holy yum!

Pic via Jessi

After chowing down, we sat ourselves in front of the TV and watched DVR recordings of Doug, All That, Melissa Explains It All, and Kenan and Kel. Blast from the past!!! When I wasn't crashing from my sugar high (yep, I passed out on my husband's shoulder at 10:00...I'm so cool), I was laughing my butt off! 

And for a little 90's flash back, here is one of my favorite skits from All That: Cooking with Mandy and Randy.

I may or may not have tried to recreate this scene with a childhood friend, thinking if we sent in the tape we could totally be their understudies. Who cares that we were both females, white, and were horribly not funny. We thought we were legit.

Did you grow up watching these shows in the 90s? 

Do you think shows for kids these days even compare to the shows growing up?

Wedding Flashback

This weekend I was able to watch two high school friends make a beautiful commitment to one another. Sarah and Aron are an amazing pair and their love for each other is radiant. 

Their wedding was elegant, tear-jerking, and a little reminecent of a wedding I attended about a year ago...

It was my first time to return to Albert Pike since our wedding last year and it brought back a flood of memories. It reminded me of the words Josh and I exchanged and the promises we made in front of God, family and friends; it literally brought tears to my eyes.

Weddings tend to do that to me. Don't they do that to you too?

But soon after the tears, the party started. If Sarah and Aron know anything (besides cooking and tattoos)  they sure know how to have a good time! Since we all graduated together, it was like a mini-high school reunion full of all my favorite people.

Best friends for 9+ years! How did I get so lucky?

 Me and the Mister

 Me and Shelley, the MOH and my favorite vegan blogger!

 Me and Jessi, my night's dancing partner. She got some moves!

Congrats Sara and Aron! 

I wish you guys a lifetime of happiness! 

The Unexpected Hangover

This past Wednesday Josh and I drove to Fayetteville to eat with friends at the Mellow Mushroom and test our useless trivia knowledge. 

As far as trivia goes, I felt that we did pretty well as a team. We had a well-rounded group full of movie-lovers, sports enthusiasts, art aficionados, and then me.

I didn't contribute too much, except for some biblical knowledge and random dog knowledge; although I did answer a question correctly that my team decided against: 

What is the drink that the British called Arabian wine??

More questions from that night (answers at the bottom):

What is the capital of Montana? (I'm embarrassed to say no one on our team knew this!)

What creepy crawling insect did the ancient chinese believe was the cause of earthquakes? 

But we weren't there just to play trivia; this fine establishment boasted some amazing looking specialty pizzas on their menu. However, since the previous week and half I had not eaten meat or dairy, I was a little reluctant to give in. But once everyone was taking their turn to order, I quickly choose the Red Skin Potato Pie. Here is the menu's description: 

Olive oil and garlic based pizza loaded with red potato, applewood smoked bacon, caramelized onions. cheddar and mozzarella cheese, sprinkled with chives and drizzled with sour cream and spicy ranch dressing.

Holy yum! After my 'vegan week' ended, I said that I would start eating meat and dairy again if I craved it. Well boy let me tell you, there was no way I was gonna resist this temptation. I dove right into it, but two slices later I was stuffed. 

Since I had only had two slices + a gallon of water, I actually felt pretty good going to bed that night. However, when I woke up the next morning I had a pounding headache and was light headed, weak, and nauseous but starving. I felt horrible and I couldn't understand why. I didn't drink the night before...what had I done differently? 

Then it hit me. Apparently, when you spend 10+ days eating nothing but veggies, fruit, and whole grains your body is super happy. But THEN you dump a big 'ole greasy, cheesy pizza in your stomach and your body will rebel. 

So with the support of the kitchen counter, I slowly assembled my Hangover Smoothie. 

And since I've had quite a few emails and requests for my smoothie recipes, here is a loose description of how I made it:

one handful of spinach

5 frozen strawberries

1/4 cup of frozen blueberries

2 slices of watermelon

1/2 cup of almond milk

1/2 serving of protein powder

By the time I was finished getting ready in the morning, I felt SO much better. This smoothie was packed with the nutrients and hydration that my body was desperate for. Next time, I won't be so drastic in going from one extreme (wonderful healthy eats) to the other (a delicious greasy mess). Obviously, my body knows what it wants!

Answers to the trivia questions:

What is the drink that the British called Arabian wine? Coffee

What is the capital of Montana? Helena

What creepy crawling insect did the ancient chinese believe was the cause of earthquakes? Spiders

Did you get all the questions right? Are you a trivia master?

Cabin Fever

This weekend was quite the whirlwind. Josh and I traveled 45 minutes north to Devil's Den State Park to spend the weekend with friends. 

Quite beautiful and relaxing. I could have spent the entire weekend listening to the water.

But we had more important things to do. Like eating.

And hiking

over trees

and through waterfalls.

The hike itself was only 1.5 miles because we had some goofing around to do. What is a weekend with friends without silliness?

 

Have you ever seen Jessi in action?

As much as we enjoyed the time with friends, we were ready to get back home and relax; we are such home-bodies!

How did you spend your weekend?

PS. We had a nice and relaxing evening tonight (after my 4-mile run). Josh was in charge of the menu and he rocked it!

Is that a little grill I see? Yes it is...the first grilling of the 2011 Spring season! This grill will not get much rest over the next couple of months. I am loving this weather!

Just Imagine...

...that the following is a picture of me with the oh-so-awesome Ben from Ben Does Life.

Because I accidentally deleted the actual one from my camera. (This is the one I took a fellow running-buddy and the only other picture I have of Ben)

Complete disappointment!

Ugh! And the picture was super awesome too. You'll have to trust me on that one.

Ben came and told his inspirational story to the running group Women Run Arkansas-Fort Smith (which is a 10-week running clinic I have yet to really discuss on here, but plan to soon). He has done amazing things and it was awesome to meet him in person!

Just Imagine...

...that even though it was in the 50s today, I enjoyed a wonderful warm weekend with friends. Which included friendly games of Bag-O:

 A fun game of Quelf:

 

 And a little too much of this:

I blame WrestleMania (and my husband's nostalgic love for wrestling) for the hours spent in front of the television instead of basking in the beautiful sun. 

Now, let me just imagine that it is Friday because I have super fun weekend planned. I'll give you a hint: Devil's Den State Park!

Walking in Memphis

This past weekend was pure bliss.

I took Friday off from work and drove an easy 4 hours to Memphis where I met a few of my best friends for a fabulous girls weekend. Nora (aka: Miss Law School Student & Marathoner) lives in a beautiful condo in the middle of downtown, which is where Kara (aka: Miss World Traveler & Lover of all things Chick-fil-A) and I met for our weekend of food and fun!

The beautiful lobby.

And the wonderful view from the rooftop.

When Nora, Kara, and I get together the main theme is always food! First thing we did was make a huge  batch of granola to snack on all weekend.

Friday night we got our BBQ fix at Rendezvous, which is famous for their amazing selection. After we stuffed our faces with pulled pork and barbecue nachos, we went back to Nora's and ate way too many of her famous Krispies.

Lets just say, we all went to bed with tummy aches. (However Saturday night was much worse; there was nothing left of batch number dos. Cough Nora Cough)

But that's okay, because we woke up early to get in a fabulous 3 mile run! I'm usually not motivated to run in the morning, but with these girls we kicked some major booty 2 days in a row!

We were exhausted!

After cleaning up, we stuffed our faces again at the Blue Plate Cafe for breakfast. Yum! While I never thought I'd be a city girl, the fact that all the restaurants were in walking distance was quite convenient and charming! I might be convinced to give up a big yard and move to a city after all.

Oh, in the middle of all the face stuffing I did get my veggies in. See that little, bitty, tiny sugar snap pea? Yea, I ate that. No big deal.

And what is a girl's weekend without a dance party? We watched Step-Up 3, but we shouldn't have wasted our time...we already knew all the moves.

Side note: I burned my hair in a candle. How a person with short hair leans far enough over to burn her hair, I do not know. But I do know this: burnt hair does not smell nice however it does result in rolling laughter for hours afterwards.

I am so blessed to have these amazing women in my life. It doesn't matter how long we have been apart, friends who are soul-mates stay close no matter the distance. I love listening to their life's troubles, accomplishment, and dreams and I know I can spill out mine without hesitation. We can talk for hours or sit in silence with complete comfort in just being with each other. I pray that you have friends as dear and true as this.

Kara and Nora, I love you!!! Can we please do this again soon?!