26 Feels Great

Want to know the great thing about having a birthday on a Sunday? You get to celebrate it all weekend long!

My birthday celebration started with my wonderful coworkers taking me out to lunch on Friday, which included bottomless french fries and the birthday song. I got off work early to come home to an early birthday present from Josh: A juicer!

My first juice of carrot, apple, and ginger. Yum!

Saturday morning Josh and I woke up to some more yummy juice and then spent the afternoon at the Crystal Bridges Museum. I absolutely loved the miles of trails in the gardens. 

Cute dress, right? Another Bday gift from the Hubby!

(Unsure of the follow picture source)

 

Then that evening we had a wonderful meal at Posta Plata. Fresh guacamole made at the table? Yes please!

Sunday finally came around and it was time to celebrate my actual birthday. We woke up early to attend church and hear an amazing sermon on generosity (a much needed lesson) then grabbed brunch at my favorite restaurant in Fayetteville: Greenhouse Grille. 

After brunch was digested, Josh and I had a wonderful bike ride around Fayetteville. 

29 wonderful miles with my favorite riding partner.

Then we took the dogs for a quick walk. Puppies need their exercise too!

26 could not have started off any better! Heres to a great year!

Happy Birthday To Me

Happy 26th Birthday To Me!

I must say, my 25th year was pretty amazing:

I celebrated turning 25 by hiking around Hot Springs.

I competed in completed my first triathlon.

Added a new member to our family.

Went vegan for week (plus).

Moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Ran my forth, fifth, and sixth half marathon.

Set a 10K personal record and proved to myself that I could run fast(er).

Went on a much needed vacation.

And bought my first grownup car.

Whew, a lot has happened in the past year. But I have a feeling 26 is going to be even better!

I'm a Grown-up

Early last week, I had to say goodbye to my super awesome car. And by "had to" I mean "get out of my drive way asap!" While it was super fun to drive and I couldn't have asked for a cooler car to have during college (thanks mom!), I have come to realize that I am a grandma and I now prefer comfy seats for my aching bones and extra cargo space for my rocking chair and doll collection. 

Here I am a few years ago enjoying the coolness of my car with friends. How young and carefree I was back then...

After two years of saving for a new car, Josh and I finally put it to good use this weekend. Holding that much money in my hands was a little overwhelming. I felt a tug of my heart when we handed the cash-wad over, but I think Josh and I made a pretty good trade.

Introducing the Clark's new ride: the Ford Edge

The leather seats are oh so comfy. The ride is oh so smooth. And the inside has oh so much space. 

Being a grown-up is oh so much better!

My Next Adventure

Initially after my last half marathon, I was determined to jump right on the running train again and tackle another half marathon before May. After a couple of weeks went by, my overly ambitious self settled down and I was able to think more clearly.

Do I really want to train for another half marathon? Not really. As fun as the New Orleans half marathon was, training for the full sort of burned me out on running. Looking back, I had been training for some running race since last June! Yikes!

It was time to switch things up a bit.

Introducing my new adventure:

As of today, I am signed up for the Ozark Valley Triathlon on June 24th! Thats right! In just a mere 10 weeks, this wannabe athlete will wake up ridiculously early on a Sunday morning and swim 1000 yards, bike 19 miles, and run 4 miles. 

I can't wait! 

I think this is exactly what I need! Since I will be training for three different sports, ideally I won't become so easily burnt-out and injured like I am when I training for marathons. I'm actually already two weeks into training, but the specifics of my training is another post for another day.

Until then, please enjoy some triathlon-related humor:

What I Wish I Wore

While I am a complete Pinterest-convert (follow me!) and profess its amazingness daily, it has opened my eyes to many things, one of which is my lack of style. Apparently, living in solid scrubs and gym clothes will not get you on the Most Stylish List. Thank goodness we don't live in the Mean Girls movie, otherwise I wouldn't be delivered any candy grams! (If you caught that reference, let's be best friends!)

But in a hypothetical world, one that I have a limitless budget and places to actually go, this is what I would wear:

What did you wish you wore?