Can't help it.

A few months ago I watched the Oscars with my husband. When Penelope Cruz gave her acceptance speech I cried like a baby. She thanked the Hispanic world for loving and supporting her throughout her career. She was so inspiring as she elegantly accepted her award....I was so proud of her that I cried right along with her...and have never even met this woman! (I promise I'm really NOT crazy!!)

A few weeks ago, a Maxwell's House Coffee Commercial came on and I got all teary-eyed again just watching these people get up in the morning and drink their cup of coffee! But in my brain, all i could think about was my grandfather (who passed away several years ago) and how he fixed a cup of Maxwell's house every AM....then I started thinking about all the sweet memories I have of him...next thing you know...I'm crying at a commercial.

So yeah...random things move me and my emotions are often expressed through teary eyes (my husband usually just laughs). All of that to say....don't think I will be making it through this movie too long....looks like a definite tear jerker.My Sister's Keeper. Just watched the previews and got a little misty....

Some more pics. from the weekend

Country Music 1/2 Marathon....it came and it went!

Here's my rundown from Country Music 1/2 Marathon weekend:
1. 1/2 Marathons are wonderful
2. Portable bathrooms are not wonderful...I had to go three times before the race even started because I drank so much water and was so nervous! By the third time, I was so used to going in this thing we call a "portable" restroom that I forgot to lock the door...you can guess what happened...yup! Quite an emberrasing moment! End of that story.
3. We were released in corrals.... I was corral 24....def. felt like a herd of animals.
4. Ran next to a guy who kicked a soccer ball for 13.1 miles. Quite impressive.
5. Ran next to a group of people who threw frisbee for 13.1 miles. Again..impressive.
6. Cried twice while I was running. Got overwhelmed looking at all of the people who were running for friends who currently have or suffered from cancer. Second cry was out of sheer thankfulness that God has placed me in a life where I can go do something fun like run 13.1 miles....very grateful for his provision and blessing in my life.
7. Ran through hoses that people would put out in their yard for all the runners to run through.
8. My legs felt like jello at mile 12.
9. I screamed when i saw the sign that said, "13"
10.Loved running it with family and friends....made it so enjoyable.
11.Love the feeling of reaching a goal.
12. Dedicated race to my 5th graders....they loved this!
13. Country bands at every mile on the run made it really fun.
14. Eating whatever I wanted after the race was awesome!
15. Nashville -my first time visiting....one of the cooler cities I've been to in a while.
16. My theory on all the runners- 30,000 people ran in this thing....which is equivalent to the towns B. and I grew up in (small towns). But these aren't just regular people...these are people who exercise quite a bit, which means we release a lot of endorphins....which means we are happy people because we have released a lot of endorphins....which means I ran with 30,000 crazy, happy people for 13.1 miles of my life! Enough said.....these people are so much fun, crazy, and make the run worth every minute! Will I do another one? Absolutely! In fact, I encourage anyone who is considering it...if you think you can or CAN'T....do it! One of the best experiences of my life!

Here are some pics from the fun-filled weekend! My mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and sweet friend Laura Smith all ran it with me. Enjoy the pics.

Here I go!

Headed to Nashville to run in my FIRST half marathon and to complete my New Year's Resolution! I can't even begin to explain the amount of adrenaline I have right now...and it's 6:30AM. I'll be back late Saturday night. Will post about it later this weekend!

Lessons from the 5th grade

Today was one of the sweetest acts of giving I think I have ever experienced. My sweet friend Katie had a baby shower today....given by her 5th grade students! It was soooo precious! They brought a cake, they all wore white or pink (bc she's having a girl), they all brought gifts, and they even had sweet party favors! The thing that makes this act of giving so incredibly moving is WHO is doing the giving.

I have written about the population of students we teach before. 100% of our students in our classrooms are on free/reduced lunch with the state government.....truly, our students have so little....but they do so much with the so little they have.
Such a good lesson from the 5th grade ...yet again!

My random playlist

Country Music Half Marathon is next Saturday. I don't plan on listening to my iPod, but I am bringing it with me because I am so used to running with it....kind of a pacifier really. Had my 11 mile run yesterday....here is what I listened to for 11 miles:

1. Whitney Houston-I wanna Dance With Somebody
2. Third-Eye Blind-Never Let you Go and Semi-charmed Life
3. Black Eyed Peas-Boom Boom Pow (Got a great running beat!)
4. Creedence Clearwater-Up Around the Bend
5. To know Your Name-United
6. Viva La Vida- Coldplay
7. Lost-Coldplay
8. Mercy-Duffy
9. Under the Unfluence-James Morrison
10. Don't Wait for Daylight-Needtobreathe
11.Shine On-Needtobreathe
12.Salvation is Here-Hillsong United
13. How Will I Know-Whitney Houston
14. Breakfast at Tiffany's-Deep Blue Something
15. Take it All-Hillsong United
16. Shadowfeet-Brooke Fraser
17. Sound of Melodies-Leeland
18. More than a Feeling-Bston
19. Umbrella-Rhianna
20. Paper Planes-MIA
21. Forever-Vertical Horizon
22.Jai Ho-Slumdog Millionaire Soundtrack
23. August's Symphony-August Rush Soundtrack
24. Into the Fire-Thirteen Senses
25. Save Me-Remy Zero
26. Home-Marc Broussard
27. Chris Tomlin-God of this City
28. Vertigo-U2
29. Matt Redmen-Blessed Be Your Name
30. Shake it-Metro Station
31. Just Dance-Lady GaGa
32. O..Saya-Slumdog Millionaire
33. You Give Me Something-James Morrison
34. You're My Better Half-Keith Urban
35. Stronger-Kanye West
36. Love Song-Sara Bareilles
37. Nice to Meet You Anyway-Gavin Degraw

Quite an eclectic mix! My favorite are the old school tunes...like Whitney Houston's " I Wanna Dance With Somebody." I can't help but sing to that one everytime!

That is just my workout playlist....my running errands/everyday playlist has yet another eclectic mix of my favorite tunes. What about you? Do you have different playlists for various parts of your day? Are your playlists eclectic or by genre? Just curious!

For my love of Mexican food...

I have a deep passion and love for ALL Mexican food. B. loves it too. Found this great blog today on cooking authentic Mexican yummies. I will certainly be referring to it for future recipes. Check out "a Little Cup of Mexican Hot Chocolate...and more"

Kennedy June's 1st birthday

I was so excited that I was able to be at my niece's first birthday last week! She is so precious, and looks so much like my sister and I when we were little.

Here are some pics.

1 Week Away!

Ok....race day is 1 week away! I am one week away from my New Year's resolution! Can't believe it! I'll be honest.....I am NOT a natural runner by any means. In fact, I am very slow and I am hoping to finish 13.1 in 3 hours. That's how slow I am! I know. The coolest part has been pushing myself to something I never thought my body could do....it's a crazy feeling! Still not sure if it's a good feeling, but it's crazy to think I've trained my body to run this far. Will I do another one? Not sure....training for a 1/2 marathon is VERY time consuming. Nevertheless, Music City here I come!

Here's a pic. of my race day outfit. I decided to go for the Lance Armstrong look. I thought that if I look professional then it might help me feel like a professional......maybe??...probably not, but at this point I'll do just about anything!

New Driver

This is what I came home to Monday evening: my husband swinging a brand new driver he won! I was so excited for him! He has been wanting a new driver for so long.....so he went down to GolfSmith last Saturday for 30 minutes, hit a ball as far as it would go, and next thing we knew he had won a new driver! Apparently he beat the guy behind him by several yards! Way to go Babe:)

Carriage Trail

I have been running at Little Mulberry since we moved to Gwinnett. I have only run the front loop simply bc Carriage trail was this massive hill that I just didn't really care to do.However, recently I had some encouragement from a new runner friend I met at church. She challenged me to face the massive Carriage Trail hill and go beyond. So I did.....here's a pic. I took once i got through the treacherous carriage trail. It was my favorite run ever! If you get past Carriage Trail, it's the most beautiful country road just for runners and cyclists. The best part was that it wasn't a redundant loop: over nad over and over again...and it was challenging! I felt like I had really pushed myself!

My Carriage trail victory made me think of this.....in previous years of my life I have had accountability partners...friends to challenge me in my journey with Christ. Never had a problem asking anyone to do a study with me. After Brett and I got married we moved and really I've just spent the past 3 years hopping into ministry with him at the church, working at the school, leading small group of 8th grade girls, grad school, etc.... Not really taken the time to have that part of my life again. Partly due to busy lifestyle...partly bc I became scared of what people would think of "his wife." It was weird...before marriage I didn't worry so much about this....but after we got married I suddenly became so worried about what people thought of me....I was so scared of anyone thinking anything bad about me bc I didn't want them to think any less of him. I was scared for anyone to see ME for who I was...the funny side...the bad side...any side.

Until recently....I had some encouragement through some different areas of my life, so I asked a sweet friend in our small group if she wanted to go through Beth Moore's study on the book of Esther with me. She said yes and we have been meeting every week to discuss the book and the things God is teaching us and just really challenging each other. It has been AWESOME, challenging, and refreshing! I knew it would be. I was just scared of a lot of things that it entailed. Kind of like Little Mulberry....just have to get past the Carriage Trail to see the beautiful view. I would be missing so many sweet things if I had continued to stay scared and not ventured beyond what I had made the "daily routine."I will forever run through and past the Carriage Trail....hopefully spiritually speaking as well.

God of this City

I def. listen to songs over and over and over. This weekend it was Chris Tomlin's "God of this City." I turned this up so loud on my way back to Buford last night. Just an incredibly, inspiring song! Get's me so pumped for what God is doing in Gwinnett and Hall County.

Spring Break Project Done!

Here was my Spring Break project for our bedroom. My best friend Leslie is super creative and sent me a few pics of a layout. We met downtown and head to Ikea and then to an awesome fabric store to pick out some different blue and brown patterns to match my bedroom. Here is the layout pic we followed and here's a pic of what we came up with. The pic. doesn't do the actual fabrics much justice...they were so pretty:) We ended the day with a yummy dinner at my favorite organic breakfast joint...Flying Biscuit! Great day!

decodetective

Here's a great new blog I found for decorating. So far, I have loved almost every picture this super trendy blogger has posted. Check out thedecodetective for some great room ideas.

spring break

It's Spring Break Week for me and here's my schedule so far:

1. watch HGTV
2. Read a book
3. Do a project to decorate a room with
4. Watch HGTV
5. Read a book
6. Run
7. Clean

I know, I know....I'm wild and crazy, but I love chillaxin on my breaks:)

So Maybe I have taken it a little too far:)

So lately I have been a little "green" you could say. Mainly with just foods we eat. I have been reading through "The Essential Green You" and it has totally messed with me. I have started buying all organic foods in hopes it would make B. and I a little healthier. B. is a pretty picky eater, so every now and then I ask him to make me a grocery list of things he wants to eat and then I usually buy that product..... just organic style.

So today when I asked him to make me a grocery list; here's what I got:

crunchy cheetos-non-organic
PB crackers-non-organic
cereal, crackers, cheez-its-all non-organic
diet coke-organic
Digiorno pizza-non-organic
graham crackers-non-organic
egg-waffles-organic
oreos


I think I've taken it a little too far.....at least for one of us:) It made me laugh though:)