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!

Library Love: Born To Run

I love to read. I grew up watching my great-grandmother, grandmother, and mom spend countless hours pouring over books. And now that I am almost one-year post graduation, my appreciation has only grown. Lucky for me (and my monthly budget), Fort Smith has one of the biggest libraries in the state of Arkansas.

My most recent read was Born To Run by Christopher McDougall.

I first picked up this book because it was a 'running book' and I needed some motivation. (It was a sad time. Please don't make me talk about it.)  The author is actually someone who initially believed he was not born to run, but after exploring the secret world of the Tarahumarah Indians his philosophy changed. McDougall unveils the history and culture of the Tarahumarah, who live in the seemingly uninhabitable Copper Canyons of Mexcio. Then he and a handful of ultra-runners (crazy people who run 100 mile races) travel to Mexico to compete with the Indians in a treacherous 50-mile race. It's pretty epic.

My only complaint: Skip chapter 28...I wish I would have. It consisted of 31 pages attempting to prove the notion that evolution has made humans into naturally born long-distance runners. How I longed for the author to realize that our highly complicated and intricate bodies could only come from a Higher Creator.

However if you truly feel that you were not built to run and have zero motivation to try, I would recommend this book to you. You do not have to be a runner to read this book, but warrning: You will want to be a runner.

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!

Carefree Cruising

Hello world!

I've been absent from the internet world for over a week and absent from blogging for much much longer (about 24 days, but who's counting?) And to be honest, I haven't missed it near as much as I thought I would.

But let me back up and apologize for my unintentional posting hiatus. My life has been rather monotonous and my creative juices have been lacking. To my handful of readers, I promise to post more...maybe.

As for recent news (and the reason I had zero internet access for a week), I have been cruising around the Western Caribbean for the past 8 days. And by "I" I mean me, Josh, and 10 members of my family.

Best. Time. Ever.

I know I've mentioned it before, but spending time with my family is the most precious thing to me. I love making memories that will last a life time and creating stories that will be told through generations. And on this trip we made enough of both to keep us laughing for years.

The Boys in Costa Maya. We went speed boating and Reid (second on the left) can't dock a boat if his life depended on it.

 Zip-lining in Belize. Imagine the little men on the final platform as they must stop my 6'3" cousin (Drake, top right) zipping towards them at an ungodly speed. Fear.

 My goofy husband in Roatan. Two words: Yard-Long Beverages

 My cool-cat cousins in Cozumel. They are so grown up!

 Toasting with the champagne we won from the Newlywed Game. Yes, we were on the Newlywed Game and yes we won...because we are cool like that. Not only did we win, but we competed against the "Not-So-Newlyweds" who happened to be my grandparents. Let's just say that we now all know a little too much about each other's 'personal' lives. Ew.

We ate the entire time. No lie. If I didn't feel full, I was stuffing my face. Here is the night were the adults left before dessert was served, so us 'kids' had to eat all 12 desserts. Do not challenge us. We will dominate.

The memories and fun were all made possible by my wonderful grandparents. Thank you Meme & Pops!!!! Our family is blessed to have such amazing Christian examples.

And when we returned home on Sunday to 40 degree weather, I was not happy to be back. But alas, the real world must go on. I will just close my eyes and pretend I still hear the waves....

Link Lovin'

Since I have yet to find any motivation to write or share recent happenings, here are some things I love....

I want this, now.

There is just something sexy about a seersucker suit.

I believe this book has forever changed the way I view food.

When I have children, she will wear this and he will wear this.

This summer I am going to perfect my baking skills...starting with these. Yum!

PS. I am currently watching The Craigslist Killer on Lifetime and I don't know why. It isn't even good.