Time is flying by!

23 weeks

We're officially 23 weeks in at this point! Hooray! We had our last appointment on Friday of last week, and everything went well. My blood pressure was good, and I'd gained 4 pounds, which they said was right on track. I dread getting up on that scale every time, but I guess it just has to be done! Baby's heart rate was in the 140s, so that was good. My doctor said I could keep "running" right up until the baby comes if I want to, so I took her up on it Saturday...haha. More on that in a minute...

After the appointment, we hit the road for Cookeville, TN. Travis's cousin Megan got married there Friday afternoon. It was a beautiful wedding and a really nice reception. Glad we got to go!

It was great to see Katie and Jon there! 

The happy couple! :)

Settlers of Catan cake...so cool! :)

Saturday was the Liz Hurley Ribbon Run, so Travis and I woke up early for it. He ran first and did great! His time was 22:16...he was really moving! I ran with Alisha and Melissa, and we were just a tad bit slower than that :) I did manage to jog the whole way without stopping, which I think was a pretty big accomplishment considering the extra load I'm toting! We had a lot of fun, and it was for a great cause...beating breast cancer!

Before we ran!

Sisters!

Travis getting close to the finish!

Tyler...almost there :)

Love my mom!

All the sibs...minus Emily...

Alisha and Tyler

Me and Mayra...my friend from work! 

This week has been pretty busy so far. I've worked every day but yesterday, and yesterday I spent a few hours in the morning babysitting Brady Hester...the cutest 3 year old ever. We had fun playing Candyland and playing outside. He is SOOO cute!!! Travis and I both work tomorrow, and then we are heading to Trussville for a belated birthday celebration with my family and then Tuscaloosa on Saturday for the game. Roll Tide!

I guess I'll blink and Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here, and then not too long after that, Baby Grant will arrive!! Eek!! Time to get busy picking out her name and starting on her nursery!! :)

Quick Notes

• Today I'm 22 weeks along! We're one week closer to February!! :)
• I've been feeling lots of movement this week. I've noticed that she is especially active in the evenings sometimes. Wonder if she's going to be a night owl?? 
• Travis has already decided that she is "stubborn and unruly!" He has been trying all week to feel her move when she starts kicking around.....and every time he puts his hand on my belly, she quits moving and won't for a while! Poor Daddy...
• Tomorrow is our next doctor's appointment, and then we are heading to Tennessee for Travis's cousin Megan's wedding. 
• Saturday is the Liz Hurley Ribbon Run...and unless my doctor says otherwise tomorrow, I'm planning to jog part or hopefully most of it. This week I've "run" 1.85 miles without stopping on two different days. Surely I can do 3 miles with maybe one or two walk breaks, right? It's a far cry from a half marathon, but when you feel like your bladder is being bounced on with every step, I think it's a pretty big accomplishment...haha :)
• Saturday is also my 26th birthday! I've been joking this week that I'm on the downhill slide to 30, but no one is feeling sorry for me. Actually, I'm really enjoying my mid-twenties. This is a really exciting time, and I'm trying to soak it in!
• We changed our minds about buying the carseat/stroller system on Craigslist, so we're back to going with a brand new system. Mom and Dad (and possibly others in the family) are going to give it to us as a baby shower gift (thank you, thank you!!), so we're excited. We actually found a pretty good deal online, so it didn't cost as much as I originally thought it would. Yay for deals!
• So far, 2012 has been a really awesome year with a lot of exciting times. 2011 was a tough year between the April tornado and Mom being diagnosed with breast cancer, but it was an opportunity to grow. I'm starting to see how life just goes like that....good times and hard times. I hope I'm making the most of these good times while still remembering the lessons I learned last year about faith and hope...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths." ~Proverbs 3:3-4

Busy October!

Yesterday marked 21 weeks along, so I guess we're officially PAST halfway there. Pretty exciting! I guess I'll blink, and it'll be February. That's about how fast it seems like this has gone so far.

Other than sleeping and shopping a lot this week, so far I've felt pretty normal. Note: I am normally NOT a big shopper, but apparently having a baby changes that quickly. Since Monday, we've bought a glider off Craigslist, made plans to buy a travel system (car seat, 2 bases, and a stroller) off Craigslist next week, and I've gone BACK to Kids Market for the 50% off sale. This is a terrible time to be shopping so much because I have NOT been working much lately. I know Travis just shakes his head at me :) I'm lucky to be married to a pretty understanding guy! I really am trying to be frugal about all of this stuff...there's just so much to buy! I knew I did not want to pay full price for a glider, and this one was pretty much in brand new condition. I don't think it's ever been sat in..seriously. Hopefully it'll hold up good once we're using it every day! This week, it's been hanging out in our room, but I'm hoping to make room for it in the nursery once we do some furniture rearranging...

The travel system I found on Craigslist is the Chicco Cortina KeyFit 30. According to Consumer Reports, it's one of the safest and most user-friendly car seats out there. Brand new, the system costs around $300-$350, and buying an extra base for Travis's car would be an additional $85. Yikes! So, Craigslist to the rescue again. I know you have to be careful buying things off CL, but hopefully this will be a good decision. It's $100 for the whole system plus an extra base. Now, we won't be able to use the car seat as long because it will expire sooner than a brand new seat would, but I think we'll still be getting a great deal. Here's to hoping at least! We're going to look at it next Friday, so wish us luck :)

And, much to Travis's dismay, I went back to Kids Market today for their 50% off sale. But get this...smart husband of mine decided I should meet him at 11 AM to drop my car off at Firestone for an oil change/tire rotation, etc. Then, he would take me back home on his way to Meridianville for work for the afternoon. He's so sneaky...he knew I would spend all morning and afternoon shopping if I hadn't had somewhere I HAD to be! So....I really didn't have as long as I would have liked to spend looking at everything, but that's probably a good thing. I got MORE baby clothes (oops) and a maternity dress, khaki pants, and lounge pants for me. Baby's closet is filling up quickly, especially since Travis's stuff is still in there! :) We'll fix that eventually...

Speaking of Baby Grant, no (Mom and everyone else who keeps asking) we still haven't decided on a name...haha. Y'all should all know by now how slowly we get things done around here! :) She'll have a name before February though, so as soon as we know, you can all know. She apparently weighs around 0.75 lbs and is about 10.5 inches long. No wonder I've been feeling some pretty good kicks this week! I'm sure she's going to have big feet thanks to her mom and dad, so there must not be much room for them in there anymore :) Our next doctor's appointment is a week from today, so I'm looking forward to that. After that, I think we'll start going every 2 weeks instead of every 4.

Between this weekend and next weekend, Travis and I have been invited to one wedding, and I've been invited to three bridal showers. Whew! I thought wedding season was in the spring/summer, but apparently not this year. We also just went to Andrew and Stephanie's wedding in Pigeon Forge this past weekend. Yep, we drove there and back in a day. It was fun but tiring!

Next weekend is also the Liz Hurley Ribbon Run, my birthday, and the Tennessee game. I guess our weekends won't ever slow down before February, and definitely not after that! :) I've been "running" (if you can call it that) a few times a week lately, so I'm going to attempt to "run" part of the 5K at least. Running = a slow jog for me these days, but that's ok. Maybe it's at least offsetting some of this Halloween candy I've been sneaking...

Speaking of running, Travis has officially signed up to run a FULL marathon in April! That's 26.2 miles!!! He's going to run the one in Nashville...the same race we ran this year when we did the half marathon. I'm excited for him....I know he can do it!

We've also officially decided on going to Orlando for our 5 year anniversary trip/one last "just the two of us" trip. We knew we wanted to go somewhere relatively warm, so that eliminated a lot of places right away. We were looking at San Diego at first, but it got scratched once we realized how much the plane tickets would cost. Phoenix was also on the list, but according to our *spreadsheet*, driving to Orlando would still be cheaper than flying to Phoenix (even though the price wasn't bad at all to fly there). We'll just have to save Phoenix for another time. We're actually going to go on our anniversary trip a few weeks before 12/22 just to be practical about the holidays and family time. We're going the week after Thanksgiving because it turned out to be the cheapest time to get a hotel room. We may do Disney for one day while we're there, but we're also planning to do a lot of non-Disney stuff that we've never done before. We're looking forward to it! :)

I didn't realize I had that much to say! Maybe some of you made it to the end :)

Hope your week is going wonderfully!

The Race

Saturday was the big race...the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville. I blogged about how much we were looking forward to it last week, not knowing how much fun we would end up having. It was a blast!

Friday, however, was definitely not a fun day. I noticed on Monday night that my neck was hurting a little bit on the left side, but I didn't think much about it. I figured I'd slept funny or something, and it would go away. Tuesday, it was hurting a little bit worse, and by Wednesday, I knew that I was in big trouble. Thursday morning, when I woke up, I could barely lift my head off the pillow it hurt so bad. I had to work all day that day, and right after I got off, I headed to the chiropractor to see if that would help. I ended up trying Advil, Tylenol, icing it, putting heat on it, Biofreeze, etc., and nothing helped. The pain was so bad that I couldn't turn my neck at all. I figured there was no way that I would be able to run if it didn't get any better. After barely sleeping at all on Thursday night because I couldn't get comfortable, I went back to the chiropractor first thing Friday morning, and after trying a few more things, he ended up taping my neck and shoulder to see if that would at least get me through the race.

My neck felt ok when we met everyone in Athens to leave for Nashville, but by the time we got to the Expo a couple of hours later, my neck was hurting worse than ever. It was literally the worst pain I think I've ever been in. It hurt to walk and even to swallow. I figured that I would just have to cheer from the sidelines the next morning because there would be no way I could run.

After we picked up our race packets (and a really cool t-shirt) at the Expo, we headed to eat dinner at an Italian restaurant called Mafiaoza's. I ended up taking some ibuprofen on the way there just to see if that would at least get me through dinner. It ended up helping some, and it was a good thing because the restaurant was super crowded, and we had to wait a while to get seated and then to get our food. I can see why it's a popular place because the food was awesome! My meal was probably was one of the best pasta dishes I've ever had. I'd love to eat there again next time we're in Nashville. Travis loved it too! He ended up eating 3 pieces of pizza and finishing my plate as well as Aimee's and Mollie's! Haha :) I have no idea where all that food went, but I guess it fueled him onto victory the next morning...

After we left the restaurant, we decided to drive the course so we'd have an idea of what to expect the next morning when we ran. By the time we got to the hotel, it was after 10 PM, and we had to leave the hotel at 4 AM! Luckily, I slept great (for the 5 hours that we had), and my neck felt decent when I woke up. I could turn my head a little bit from side to side. I decided then that I would at least try to run part of the race and hopefully I would be able to finish. We ate breakfast in the car on the way to LP Field where we had to park. Then, we took a shuttle bus to the starting line a few miles way. Everything was really well organized and ran smoothly for a such a big event with so many people. They announced that there were over 31,000 runners...not to mention thousands more spectators and volunteers. It was crazy!

Travis, Aimee, and I ended up starting the race in the same corral. Before it was our corral's turn to start, we turned around, and there was just a sea of people behind us. There were so many people that we couldn't even see the end of the line! Finally, the gun went off, and we started running. I decided from the beginning just to take it easy and try to run as far as I could, but not push it too hard. Travis and Aimee took off pretty fast, and I didn't see them again til the finish! :)

The first 4 or 5 miles were pretty easy. It was a lot of up and down...rolling hills, but nothing too steep. There were so many people cheering on the sidelines that it was easy to run without thinking about it. The music playing really helped too. Every time I heard a song that I knew, it helped me run just a little bit harder. I started my stopwatch when we started running, so I could see how fast I was going. From the beginning, I knew that I probably wouldn't make my goal of 2 hours because I was running about 10 minute/mile pace. I decided to change my goal to 2:10. For the first 5 or 6 miles, I was on pace pretty well, but by about mile 7 or so, I started fading. It was already pretty warm by that point, and a lot of the course was in the direct sun. I got water at just about every station, drinking some and pouring the rest on my head. I also ate some Gu around mile 8 or 9, and that gave me some more energy for another mile or two. The last few miles were difficult. Both of my arms started going numb all the way down to my fingers for some reason. I knew I was slowing down, but my legs wouldn't go any faster. I decided that as long as I ran the whole way without stopping to walk, I would be happy no matter what my time was. So, that's what I did. I RAN THE ENTIRE WAY!! It wasn't fast or pretty, but at least I finished. When I rounded the corner and I could see the sign for "Mile 13", I got this burst of energy that I had no idea was possible. I sprinted the rest of the way to the finish line, and I probably passed 10 or 15 people just in that last little distance. It was an awesome feeling to cross that finish line! I really can't describe it, but I almost started crying I was so happy and excited. That doesn't happen very often :)

My time ended up being 2:18:18, which I was happy with. I think I could've gone a little faster if I hadn't been worried about my neck, but I really was just glad to be able to run at all after being in so much pain the day before.

Travis ended up doing awesome!! He finished in a little over 1:51, which included a stop at the Port-A-Potty at mile 1 (haha!). I'm so proud of him! He really enjoyed the race and apparently told Aimee right after they finished that he wanted to do a full marathon sometime in the future!! I think he was still on his "runner's high" when he said that...lol!

Aimee did great too! She finished in about 1:49!! Her goal was to run in 1:50 or less, so she did it. I was really happy for her!

Mollie and Nate ended up finishing close to the same time (about 2:43 I think). They did awesome! Mollie didn't feel very well toward the end of the race (or afterward), but she still finished anyway. I was so proud of everyone!

Ready to head to Nashville!

13.1

5 AM and ready to run in a couple of hours!

We look surprisingly awake for it being so early :)

The sun was starting to come up!

FINISHED :)

Yay!

So proud of us!

Overall, it was much easier to run that far in the race than it was to do a long run at home. People cheering and waving signs, music playing, sights to see...it all made it so much easier than running by yourself through the same neighborhoods over and over.

I guess my adrenaline was going all day because my neck felt awesome when I finished the race. I could turn my head almost like normal without much pain at all. It was crazy! I guess if that happens again, I should just go run 13 miles outside and that will cure me :) Seriously, I have no idea what caused that pain! I guess my muscles just got really tight, but I don't know why. It's still been a little sore yesterday and today, but not nearly as bad as it was on Friday. I hope that never happens again.

I think I would definitely run another half marathon in the future. I think it would be hard to beat this one in Nashville with all the music and people and how well it was organized. But, it would be fun to try another one in a different city too. I'm pushing for the one at Disney in January, but Travis doesn't really want to do that :) I guess I'll let him pick one out...especially if he's going to do the full! Crazy!!! :)

As for now, we're going to take a week or two off from running to let our aches and pains subside. His hip has been hurting some since Saturday, so hopefully that will get better with some time off. I'd like to let my neck get back to normal too before trying to run again. But, after that....who knows! We may have another 13.1 or 26.2 in us in the future!! :) Never thought I'd say that!!

Insane

A year ago, if you would have told me that I would be all set to run a half marathon just a few days from now, I would have said YOU'RE CRAZY.

13.1 miles. That's a long way.

Travis and I have been training for the Country Music Half Marathon since the first week of January. At the beginning, running just a few miles was a struggle. I'd been running off and on since the fall when I ran the Liz Hurley 5K. Travis had been doing no exercise at all. I remember thinking...how are we ever going to run that far? 

 It's really amazing what you can do if you put your mind to it.

I'm convinced that running is mostly a mental thing. I really knew that from my days of running cross country and track back in high school, but I definitely believe it now. Of course, you physically have to keep going, but mainly it's a game in your head. Should I stop to walk or just keep going?

On our long runs, I've found this to be especially true. The first few miles are the hardest, ironically. Once you get past the thought of having 8 or 9 MORE miles to go, you're ok. At some point, usually closer to the end, you've been running for so long that it's not quite so bad. Physically, it hurts worse...your legs are killing you. But, mentally, you just keep going. You don't even consider stopping until the end. It's weird how that happens.

The longest training run I've done is 11.5 miles. (What's an extra 1.6 miles when you've already gone that far?...haha) I had to stop and walk a couple of times to drink some water, but other than that, I ran the whole thing. I think I finished in about 2:03. That's 2 hours and 3 minutes...lol. My goal time for the half marathon this Saturday is to finish in 2 hours or less. So, I'll have to pick up the pace a little bit. We'll see how it goes! The course is supposed to be pretty hilly, so I'm nervous about that, but I've always loved a good challenge when it comes to hills!

Travis's hip is feeling much better this week than it has been. He went to the chiropractor several times over the past few weeks, and I guess that really helped. His goal time is 2 hours also, but I'm predicting that he'll smoke me! I'm blaming it on him having longer legs than me... :)

High school running days

"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that." -Sam Mussabini

"Running is a mental sport...and we're all insane!" -Les Brown

“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” - Pre

Running the Liz Hurley 5K last fall...

Even though I'm nowhere near as fast as I used to be, I'm just happy to still be running and accomplishing a goal that I never thought I'd ever do. I've joked that I'm "retiring" from running after the race this Saturday, but I hope to keep running (after taking a short break)...but just not running quite as far as a half-marathon! 5Ks are perfect for me because they don't require so much training and time to prepare. But, who knows...I might have so much fun on Saturday that I change my mind. Running the Disney half-marathon would be a good excuse to go to Disney again!! :)

We're meeting Nate, Mollie, and Aimee (who are also running the half) in Athens at 3 PM on Friday. We have to pick up our race packets in Nashville Friday night at the Convention Center. Then, we're heading to eat some supper and going to bed. The race starts at 7 AM Saturday, but they recommend that you're parked by 5 AM!! EARLY!!! I'm sure we'll all be so excited that we won't even feel tired though. 

Here's to a fun weekend and accomplishing a big goal!!!

"I run because it's so symbolic of life. You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles. You might feel that you can't. But then you find your inner strength, and realize you're capable of so much more than you thought."
--Arthur Blank 

Life Outside of Landscaping

Just a quick update on our non-working-out-in-the-yard lives...

Us: Friday marked 6 years since our first date at Depalma's in Tuscaloosa. Wow!! Doesn't seem like that long at all. But, then again, it's been almost 2 years since Travis graduated and we moved to Madison. That's pretty crazy too!

House: We've now lived in our house for a year officially. I think we moved in on April 9th, 2011. A lot has changed around here in the last year. New paint colors, pictures on the walls, blinds up on the windows, etc. We're blessed to be living here...we love it!

Cats: Gabby and Felix are as lazy as ever. Right now, they are sleeping in separate chairs at the kitchen table next to me. I wish I could sleep as much as they do! 

It's a hard life!

Running: The half marathon is just over 2 weeks away. I guess if we're not ready by this point, we'll never be. Yesterday, I felt the best I've felt while running in a long time. Travis, on the other hand, has been having a lot of pain in his right hip lately. He went to the chiropractor yesterday and is going back this afternoon, so maybe that will help. We're supposed to run 14 miles on Saturday, so we'll see how that goes! My foot still hurts a little bit when I'm running, but not all the time and not as bad as it did. I just have to make it through the 28th, and then I'm not running for a while after that! :)

Birthdays: This weekend, we're celebrating Emily's and Tyler's birthdays. I'm looking forward to Alisha, Tyler, and Emily all being here at the same time. Pretty soon, Alisha and Tyler will be up here for good! Can't wait for that! :)

 Taxes: We are major slackers this year. We still aren't done with our taxes! Talk about waiting until the last minute. We've literally been outside every weekend for the past several weeks and haven't had time to get them done. That's on the to-do list for tonight! 

Mom: I haven't updated about Mom lately. She's still feeling pretty good after finishing up radiation treatments last month. She had appointments with two of her doctors on Tuesday, and they both said she looked great. She's going to be starting an oral medication soon that she'll have to take for 5 years. Her hair is slowly growing back. I haven't seen it in person yet, but she's going headcover-less now apparently! Yay Mom!

David Hartsell: He preaches at Northwood, where we went to church when we were in college. He recently had surgery to remove a brain tumor and hasn't been doing very well since then. Here is the latest update that I've seen on Facebook (from Tuesday night):

"Good evening. Thank you for your continued prayers on David's and on our family's behalf. I hope you will excuse the fact that this is the second update sent today. This is simply the best method for us to disperse information and answer the many questions we have received.

After hooking David up to the EEG this morning, the doctors believe there is some increase in brain activity from last week. It is unclear at this time what that means as far as his chance at recovery. He is still not awake, and the best doctors in the country in this field continue to be perplexed as to what is going on and what will happen in the days ahead. The plan in to redo the EEG on Friday morning to see if there are further improvements. The steps following that are unclear at this time. Also, David has had a fever for the past couple of days, and a lumbar puncture was performed this afternoon to rule out meningitis. It seems that the doctors do not believe meningitis to be a likely finding, but they must rule it out before proceeding. The results from that, I assume, will be available tomorrow.

While the doctors on this case are perplexed, there is one thing that we know: God has the power to heal David if He chooses to do so. That is what we are praying for, and request that you do as well. Thank you again for your love and, most of all, your prayers."

Please pray for his full recovery! And, pray for his family during this difficult time. Mr. Hartsell is a very special person and has been a great influence on Travis and me just in the few years we've known him. Please pray that he can continue to preach and touch other's lives in the future just like he's already done.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸ while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

The Great Outdoors

We are spending a lot more time outside than usual with our big landscaping project, and I'm really enjoying it. It's nice to enjoy the sunshine and see all of the plants and trees blooming again. God really created a beautiful world!

This past weekend was dedicating to outlining our flower beds, trees, and mailbox with rock. I just have to say....what a big improvement!!! I was pretty nervous about it before we bought the rock at Reseda. I had a hard time picturing how it would look with our red brick house. Plus, the rock was going to cost over $200! So, if it didn't turn out very good, there goes all that money down the drain! Luckily, although we are pretty frugal in most areas, our house projects usually spare no expense as far as Travis is concerned. So, he wasn't worried about it at all. That is, until the guy at Reseda loaded the pallet of rock into the back of the truck. I think Travis was about to panic thinking that Jeff's truck was going to fall apart under the weight of the pallet. Luckily, the truck did just fine, and we made it home with all the rock and the truck in one piece. Whew! :) Thanks again, Jeff and Melissa, for letting us borrow your truck! Hopefully we can get it back to you after this coming weekend! :)

We bought the rock early Friday afternoon and spent the rest of the daylight hours starting our project. Since we obviously couldn't lift the pallet out of the truck ourselves (where was that forklift when we needed it?), we had to take the rocks out of the pallet by hand and load them into a wheelbarrow. It wasn't too hard. Travis commented that this part of the project was the most fun yet "because it was a lot like Tetris". Trying to fit the rocks together was pretty fun and a nice break from digging holes! We got the left flower bed and small semi-circle bed finished on Friday, and we were so happy with the results!

Yay!

Double yay!

What a difference those rocks make!

Saturday, we woke up early and got started a little after 7:30 AM. We got the right flower bed done by about 12:30 PM. Before laying the rock down on that side, we put in a metal liner to keep the grass/weeds from growing into the flower bed. We decided not to worry with that on the left flower bed since it is lined by the sidewalk. Installing the metal liner was pretty easy. You just lay it out and hammer it down with stakes. We put the rock in front of the liner so you can't even see it from the road. It looks great!

Putting in the metal liner

Unloading the rocks

The right side is finished

Yay!

After a break for lunch, we went back outside to start outlining around the trees. We have two maple trees and one magnolia tree in our front yard. Previously, they were outlined with really ugly red brick that didn't even match the color of the brick in our house. It really looked bad. The new rocks are another big improvement! We had to stop several times during the afternoon because quick rain showers would pop up. So, we'd go inside for a few minutes to wait it out. But, finally we got finished!

It all matches!

Our last project of the day was outlining the mailbox with the remaining rock. We were almost out of the rock by this point, but luckily we had enough to finish. Soon, there will hopefully be some pretty flowers planted here!

Yay!

By the end of those two days, I felt like I'd done about 1,000 squats at the gym. So much bending down and standing back up! But, it was worth it!

I have to confess that we're not quite finished with the rock part of the project. Before we lined the left flower bed with rock, we dug a shallow trench for the rocks to sit in. They are stacked two high, but you can really only see the top layer because of the sidewalk. However, on the right side, you can see both layers clearly. We are going to go back and add some dirt back under the rocks on the left side to make both layers visible. We think it will look better overall that way. We are planning to do that tonight, so hopefully it will be pretty quick and simple!

This weekend, we are planning to finish this landscaping project for good! We want to plant a few flowers in between the shrubs and then add a layer of mulch to all of the beds. And that should do it! Next week, hopefully I'll be able to post some good "before and after" pictures!! :)

Although landscaping has taken up a lot of our time lately, we are still somehow getting our normal weekly activities done too. You know, things like working, sleeping, eating, running, etc. Once we get this landscaping finished, I think we'll take a few weeks off from house projects. I have a feeling our schedules are about to get pretty busy anyway with a half-marathon, graduations, teaching Bible classes at church, birthdays, vacations, and Guntersville camp coming up anyway. May and June especially are always pretty hectic!

Speaking of running, I took a week off before running for the first time again last night. Apparently, the week off only served to make me MORE out of breath; it did nothing for my foot. It hurt as bad as ever if not worse. It's been pretty discouraging the past few weeks to be getting slower instead of faster, but oh well. At this point, I'll just be glad to finish the race and "retire" from long distance races. I think my body is better suited for 5Ks anyway! The race is a month from tomorrow, so I'll just have to tough it out until then...

I'll leave you with a few pictures of Gabby and me. In the middle of a rain shower on Saturday, I decided to try to snap our picture...

Doesn't Gabby look excited to be in the picture? :)

Oh my. I can't help laughing when I look at that! Luckily, Travis didn't mind snapping a much better pic for us. I know Gabby was relieved to get both of her eyes in this one!

I love her!!

I love Felix too...he just doesn't cooperate too much when he's held. A.K.A. bloody-battle-with-Travis-on our-anniversary. He'll never live that one down! At least it's somewhat funny now looking back on it :)

There's always something going on around here, that's for sure!!

March "Madness" at the Grants'

I guess since it's feeling like summer outside, it's fitting that I've already gotten my first sunburn of the year. I just don't think about needing to wear sunscreen in mid-March! But, we were outside all day on Saturday, and by the time I put sunscreen on, it was too late. I can't even count the number of comments from people like "Wow, you got a lot of sun this weekend". I even got called a "redneck"...HA! Get it? My neck was literally red. Yes, it was corny.

Friday afternoon, we got the last of the shrubs planted that we'd bought the weekend before. Now, all 12 are in the ground! It took us until it was dark outside to get finished, but at least we got it done. Of course, I didn't contribute much other than measuring the holes, but that's ok. I was moral support at least. I did manage to create MORE work for Travis when I was backing out of the garage to go buy more potting soil at Bennett's. I was trying to hurry to get there before they closed, and I scraped the front left side of my car against the weatherstripping on the side of the garage opening. OOPS. The weatherstripping is now cracked and bent, and it will have to be replaced. Guess we can add that to the other projects on the to-do list. Sorry, Travis. Now he'll have a good reason to claim he's the better driver of the two of us!

Saturday morning was our long run. It was supposed to be 11 miles, but I quit after 9.2. I didn't drink enough water the night before or that morning, so I was getting too dehydrated by the end. Plus it was already hot and sunny by the time we ran. Travis made it the whole 11 miles, but he had to walk a few times. My foot (the one that's been hurting for a couple of weeks) was really bothering me the whole time, and it also hurt pretty bad on Monday when I ran, so I'm taking a week off to let it rest. I'm afraid I've got another stress fracture like I got in high school. Same foot and everything. But, I'm really in a bind because if I go to see a doctor, they'll tell me not to run for 6-8 weeks I'm sure....meaning I would miss the race. Or, I'd be really out of shape if I took several weeks off in a row. But, if I keep running on it, it's not going to get any better. So, I don't know what to do! Maybe taking a week off will help, and I can keep running at least until the race next month.

Saturday afternoon (after we ate lunch and cooled off a bit), Travis cut the grass, and we trimmed the bushes in the backyard. It was an all afternoon affair, and he didn't even get to cut the front yard. Whew! We were exhausted by the end of the day. Being a homeowner is a full time job! No wonder we don't have any free time anymore...

Hydrangeas that we planted on Friday

Look how many leaves our Japanese maple tree has now!

The right flower bed is finished...for now!

As of right now, it's supposed to be rainy on Friday and possibly Saturday too, so I'm not sure how much we'll be able to do outside this weekend. We'd like to go ahead and buy the rock to line the flower beds with and maybe even plant some flowers too, but we'll just have to wait and see if the weather cooperates.

By the way, we must be "regulars" at Lowe's now because one of the employees recognized us there on Monday night and said "Back again?" Haha...we're definitely helping them stay in business.

Well, Mom and Dad went to the lake house for a few days, and you'll never guess what Dad found in the pontoon boat...

KITTENS!!! 5 of them! They were inside one of the seats next to a life jacket. Gabby and Felix were so excited to hear the news. They really want a little brother or sister. Sadly, Mom did some investigating and found out that they belong to a lady up the street who has lots of cats. Apparently, the momma cat likes to go off and have her babies and bring them home after a few weeks. When Mom went to go check on them the next day, the kittens were gone. So, either the lady came and got them, or the momma cat took them away. How sad! Felix and Gabby really wanted another playmate :) Oh well. One day, they'll be getting a boxer puppy to play with...I'm sure they'll love that!

Speaking of cats, Felix did battle with a wasp the other day. A LIVE wasp. He kept picking it up in his mouth and slinging it around. Then, he'd paw at it a few times. I think he would have eventually killed it (or gotten stung on the nose!) if Travis hadn't come and shooed it outside. That crazy cat. He's scared of his own shadow, but wasps and spiders don't bother him a bit.

Well, that's about all that's been happening around here lately. We're just staying crazy busy as usual!

Erin