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.

Dog Daze

I've been in a blogging slump lately and I can't seem to shake it. Maybe it's this winter weather that just won't go away. Maybe it's because I have been obsessed with counting down the days until my much needed vacation. Who knows.

Until more inspiration comes, you are forced get the amazing opportunity to look at picture after picture of my fur-child. Because when all else fails, just show pictures of your adorable pet!

Uh, Ajax...you kinda got a little something on your face.

 Snow puppy!

 Her favorite outside past-time = playing with leaves.

 Making sure I'm okay after the Memphis half marathon

 Ajax brought in the 2011 New Year partying it up.

 Q-Tip Ajax...what she looks like after visiting the puppy-salon.

Growling Sleepy Puppy

 Ajax with her kitty-aunts, waiting patiently for their treats.

And there you have it. Now you may proceed with comments regarding how adorable my fur-child is.

Valentines Day 5K

Josh and I usually have a pretty relaxed Valentine's Day. Typically, you will find us spending the day with a good movie and a stuffed-crust pizza. We are not ones to fight crowds or pay for over-priced meals and this year was no different. 

We actually had a Valentine's Day weekend since the 14th falls on Monday and Josh's Monday school-schedule doesn't leave much room for celebration. Saturday started with a Sweetheart Valentine's Day 5k. I absolutely loved this race! First off, the race didn't even start until 11:30...sweet!! And second, the men and women ran at separate times. This worked out beautifully because 1) Josh and I were able to cheer each other on at the finish lines, and 2) The trail was a little narrow. 

Due to the recent weather, the trail was a little icy but the views made up for the less-than-ideal running conditions.

The women ran first. Here I am coming around the final bend.

This was a really good race for me! I felt strong and kept a good pace throughout. Even though I didn't reach my goal of sub 30:00, I did set a PR for my 5K time! 30:35 (Making some progress on resolution #1!)

Next up: The boys. These guys looked pretty serious and meant business.

Can you spot Mr. Clark?

Digging deep and sprinting the last couple of meters.

Smashing his goal of a sub 30, 28:00 even!

He rocks my face off.

Then Sunday we had a wonderfully cooked homemade meal by yours truly. I'm too lazy to upload any photos but we had sausage-stuffed pork chops, baked potatoes, and steamed asparagus. And for dessert, chocolate creme brulee. Believe you me, it was delicious! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Update

1. The 100 Push Up Challenge isn't going to well. It's not that I'm not able to do it, I just haven't been as dedicated as I should; I've been putting off days left and right. Yesterday I should have finished Day 3/Week 2, but I've only completed up till Day 1/Week 2. At this rate, this 6-week challenge will take over 2 months! On the brighter side, I have recruited Josh to take on the challenge and who is rocking it out! He got to skip to week 3 because he can already do too many.

2. It is beautiful, white and calm outside. I am loving the snow much more than the ice we got earlier this week, however it is impeding on my plans to go running today. There's no way I'm chancing an injury; I'm still recovering from one! I wish I could be in a log cabin somewhere, but instead this will have to do.

 

3. Josh has been driving me to work everyday because of the weather and it has been quite wonderful. It gives me some sort of gratification that we could be a one-car family if need be. It also doesn't hurt that neither of us have any friends up here, thus we only drive to work, school, the gym, and grocery store. We lead exciting lives; don't be envious.

4. As stated earlier, I am attempting to get my overeating under control. I have recently signed up for My Fitness Pal, which is a free online food journal and calorie counter. I have used it before and had great results! Hopefully this will help me tone up for our upcoming cruise in March!

5. Yesterday it was one of my bestest friend's birthday! I hate that I couldn't be there to celebrate the day with her. We are loving Fort Smith, but it is so hard to be away from friends and family. Mrs. Jess is one of the coolest cats I know. And she can play a mean game of Blackout....which is a very important skill to have. This game will take the world by storm, just you wait (please note my tone dripping with sarcasm about the coolness of this game, not Jess). She also has a pretty flipping awesome husband.

Jess and Caleb came up a few weekends ago to break us from our boring lives and hang out. The night consisted of awesome pizza, epic games, and lots of laughs. We're planning another weekend-hangout soon and it promises to be just as amazing.

 Happy Birthday to one of the most intelligent, beautiful girls I know. I hope this year is filled with lots of love, laughs, and sweet dance moves.