Zombie 5k

Hello again.

Here's a quick recap of a mostly work filled week, so prepare yourself for a boring post!

Monday- office

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday- hospital

Friday- office

Told ya- boring. 

We had dinner with Scott, Megan, Chance, and baby Gracie Friday night and I held miss Gracie for a longggg time :) We only left when we did because Matt passed out in the chair watching football.

Saturday morning Macie was up at 7:30 and wanting to be pottied, Matt's phone was going off with work stuff, and he bolted outta here to take something to a job site he forgot about Friday. Not a relaxing start to a Saturday...but he redeemed himself by bringing home breakfast from Panera- yum. 

Matt's mom was running errands in Bluffton so we met up with her at Mellow Mushroom for lunch then headed over to dicks to browse around...found a pair of bright running shorts for $10- score! I try to wear the brightest colors imaginable when I run in the mornings, especially now that it's dark almost my entire run. We sat around awhile longer before it was time to head downtown to pick up our race packets for a zombie 5k I convinced Matt to run with one of the docs and her husband. Andddd he agreed to dressing up in costumes! Very fun :) I don't think I'll ever run in a cape and mask again. The cape choked me to death and I tore off the mask after mile 1 because I had sweat dripping in my eyes; lovely! Race was good...I forgot how challenging 5ks are...it seems like such a short distance and should be easy to run fast for 3 miles, but no. This was Matt's first 5k and his goal was to finish without walking, which he did! I somehow managed to get 3rd in my age group for ladies (very small race) and we won 1st in the group costume awards! 

We got home just in time for the Carolina game to start and I'm glad it's over and Matt's excitement has calmed down. Crazy game for sure! This morning our church service was held at the park and it was a beautiful morning for it! The weather was perfect and they had a great turnout. We ate Mexican for lunch, went to dicks again, then he went hunting and I ran errands.  Pretty typical Sunday!

I'm sad the weekend is already over.

Pumpkin time

Wednesday- hospital, highlight was seeing Gracie and sneaking away to hold her for an hour ;)

Thursday- office and dinner with Scott, Megan, Chance, and Gracie

Friday- more hospital

Now my boring work week recap is over! Moving on to the weekend fun...

Matt left around lunchtime on Friday for a hunting club weekend/guy time, so it was just Macie and I for the weekend! We stayed up until 11:30 because I forgot how to go to bed without Matt, apparently. Staying up so much later than usual made me lazy and I didn't wake up to run in time...grrrr.

 I hurried around and got ready, picked up Chance, and headed to meet up with Ms Susan, Brandi, Margaret, and all the cousins at the pumpkin patch. I made multiple wrong turns and finally made it there an hour later than planned. The kids seemed to love it! 

We got back to the grandparents house in time for lunch and naps for the little ones. Margaret, Brandi, and I went upstairs with Maura and Brody to watch the UGA game while the boys stayed downstairs for the USC game. Both teams lost, boo. After all the kids were awake they jumped in the tractor wagon and Mr. Hal pulled them around on the four wheeler. They love it!

I got Chance home around 5:30, went home and let Macie out, fed us both dinner, then we hung out on the couch and reorganized some summer/winter clothes. I was in bed by 10:15...such a night owl these days ;) 

This morning I've washed some clothes, went for a humbling 4 mile run, took Macie for a long walk, and am heading out for the grocery store soon. My lame self is skipping church since I got a later start to the morning :/ Happy Sunday! 

(...just cause I love her)

Last post of the day- bye Chicago!

After the race Matt, Rachel, and Marlys found me on my bench outside the Congress Hotel. We walked for a bit before hailing a cab back to the hotel where Lindsey and Lea were waiting with subs from Potbelly's. I showered and scarfed down half my sub before we took off for Wrigley Field via the metro. We got there 10 minutes late, but thankfully they had one last tour scheduled at 4 that wasn't listed on the website- must be for those late people like us! We sat on a patio at a little bar and had a round of drinks before the tour. I am SO glad we did this tour- it was so informative and fun, with plenty of photo opportunities.

We first sat in the stands and learned a lot of history about the field, then sat in the outfield bleachers, had a tour of the press box, the visitors clubhouse, we made the same walk the Cubs do coming into the field on game day, sat in their dugout, and stepped onto the field- all so cool. Our tour guide was very upbeat, which was kind of annoying at first, but he ended up being fantastic. We were all so glad we took the tour, including Matt, who was on the fence beforehand. 

We met up with Rachel again afterwards and headed back into the city in time for viewing the sites from the Hancock building right at sunset. We had a round of drinks and an appetizer while there and soaked in all the beautiful sights and lights of the city.

My cousin Hannah and her daughter Evelyn met up with at at Quarsitos for a late pasta and pizza dinner as our last meal in Chicago. So great seeing Hannah and loved seeing Evelyn since I missed their trip to Augusta this past summer. 

We parted ways and headed back to the hotel since Matt and I had a 6am flight back to Atlanta and Lindsey's was at 10. Matt and I had another chaotic travel day that started with our plane being delayed in Chicago due to broken potties. We missed our connecting flight thanks to the delays and didn't make it back to Charleston until 12...and at this point we are exhausted, Matt had a terrible headache, and I was feeling more sick. It was great to finally be home. We picked up Macie and I ran by the peds office to have Dr. S look in my ears, which is when I figured out about the double ear infection..Matt did a few work things, got his haircut, and picked up dinner for us. You'd think we'd be tired of takeout and heavy foods, but nahhhh, it trumped heading out to get groceries :) We were in bed by 7:30 and stayed up watching The Voice. I slept in until 8 this morning and have slowly been doing a few things around home. About to fold a load of laundry, take Macie for a walk at the park, and get groceries! Now we're all caught up :)

Good friends and race morning- day 3 & 4

Apparently I have more time to write than I thought :)

Though after this post I should probably attempt some productivity for the day...

Day 3 started off with Marlys and Bob taking us to a super delicious breakfast place in LaGrange (and no, not the LaGrange in Georgia ;) ) I had the best ham and cheese omelet, breakfast potatoes, and pancakes ever...seriously. We sat around and watched a little college football before packing up and catching the train into the city at 12. We met up with Lea and Rachel at our hotel and checked into our room before hearing out to eat more and explore. Matt split off from us girls to have some solid private guy time watching the football games at a sports bar. Us gals went to Portillo's and split lunch...we had a delicious salad, some cheese fries, and I tried some of the infamous Italian beef sandwich that Chicago is so well known for. We sat around and chatted for a good bit before we headed over to Ghiradelli's per Marlys's suggestion for more expensive ice cream- all well worth the dollars! We chatted and caught up some more before hitting up Michigan Avenue for some shopping. Marlys headed off for home shortly after, Matt met up with us, and we went to the Cheesecake Factory for more carb loading for myself. Matt and I went to bed at a fairly decent hour so I'd be rested for race day. 

My alarm went off at 6 Sunday so we'd have plenty of time for the walk to the start line and potty breaks. I hated saying goodbye to Lindsey and Matt as I walked into the gate, but was so excited I would see them at multiple places along the course. 

I missed them at mile 8 and hit severe depression...mile 9 was my first 10 minute mile because I stopped to text Matt and see where they were. I finally got to see them at mile 16.5 and I was SO happy to see their faces! They booked it to see me at 23, then ran across the road to see me on the latter side of 23. They were the highlights of my run for sure. 

Speaking of the run, it was definitely challenging and fun. I can remember having multiple negative thoughts while I ran, but afterwards couldn't complain about much- this is why I keep signing up! The crowd support in Chicago is beyond amazing- you never feel alone the entire time which is why I will keep coming back. The training is definitely the hardest part for me and my hips/knees so I'll be focusing on getting faster and just run halves next year. Plus I made a promise to Matt that I wouldn't run a marathon in 2014, but I'll be back in Chicago for #4 in 2015! 

Wrigley Field, drinks at the Hancock, and dinner with my cousin recap to come...as soon as I get some stuff done! And shower for the day :)

Day 2- the expo, the bean, and Navy Pier

Day 2 started a touch later than our previous travel day, thankfully :)

We woke up and I took Marlys's pup out for what turned out to be a super short mile long run. He was crazy and went nuts for birds, squirrels, and falling leaves- and those things were everywhere. We got ready, picked up some breakfast and coffee at Starbucks, then hopped on the train for another fun-filled day in the city. 

We hit up the marathon expo first so I could get better dibs on the t-shirts (usually we go later and my size is long gone) and puck up my race packet. We scored lots of samples and I got two fun race shirts. 

We had lunch at Luke's- home of something famous- maybe a hotdog or some beef sandwich thing Matt had...I can't remember. After lunch we walked to Grant Park to see the bean- one of mine and Lindsey's favorite part of Chicago! It's so fun. 

We hopped on another bus (PS- we almost took every possible mode of transportation on this trip- planes, trains, subway, buses, cabs,etc!!) and made our way to Navy Pier- another favorite for Lindsey and I. We had the most expensive ice cream known to man (or so I thought) at Haagen 

Daz before walking up and down the pier and eventually riding the famous Ferris wheel. 

We met up with Marlys, her husband, and a work friend at a fun bar to cap off the night with more local beer and the most delicious bar food. We again went to bed fat, happy, and exhausted- our theme for the trip!

Chicago- day 1

Hopefully recapping each day won't be annoying! There was so much that we did every day; I don't think I could cram any two days in one post!

I worked Monday, Tuesday, and until 5 Wednesday...thankfully my manager at the hospital let me off early Wednesday so I could make it home while it was still daylight to run, pack, and do some errand running. Matt and I ended up staying up until close to 11 packing, organizing, and watching the 3rd episode of The Blacklist in bed. My 4:05 am alarm was not warmly welcomed. Our trip started off chaotic since we got a slightly later start than anticipated (Matt had a harddddd time waking up), then we were stuck in Charleston traffic. We made it to the airport with minutes to spare and pretty much walked right onto the plane. We met up with Lindsey in Atlanta and it was so good to be reunited with her!!!

Marlys set us up with a cab service at the airport and it was amazing...it was waiting up front in less than 5 minutes, and our plane was 20 minutes early! Marlys's house was so, so pretty and I wish I would've taken a picture of it. We stayed with her outside the city Thursday and Friday nights and in the city Saturday and Sunday nights for the convenience. Anyway, we got to her house, threw our stuff in our rooms, and booked it to make the 1pm train into the city. 

We were starving when we got there so we stopped by a well known pizza place for a deep dish Chicago style pizza- yum! 

Afterwards we made a trip up the Willis Tower and did the skydeck thing. They got a really cool picture of the three of us there that I just ordered last night! 

Afterwards we walked to find the famous Chicago sign that we love, then booked it to make it in time for the 5:30 train back to Marlys's house for dinner and catching up. Even though we were still stuffed from our enormous late lunch, we still managed to eat tapas, more pizza, and some delicious local beer. We went to bed fat, happy, and exhausted :)

One of many...

Oops. It's nearly been an entire month without a post. Life has been crazy busy, in a good way :)

I remember writing about Matt's birthday so I'll try my best to start from there. I started orientation in the unit that Monday...very stressful and emotional (we had a baby pass and another was coded for 25+ minutes my first day). I made it through the week then worked two full days at the peds office since April was honeymooning. That weekend I did absolutely nada. Matt took Macie duck hunting Saturday morning then came home and we watched football together alllll day. The UGA vs LSU game was a nail biter, as well as the USC game. Poor Macie was so freaked by all Matt's yelling...

Sunday was the normal church, groceries, lunch kind of day. Monday started all over with more orientation...and Tuesday and Wednesday. We've had some pretty complex babies so I've learned a lot...and been stressed a lot. I worked Thursday at the office and was guilted in to working Friday afternoon since a girl called in sick the last minute. I was supposed to be able to leave at 4:30 so Matt and I could head to Augusta, but I ended up not leaving until 6 or so. Then Matt wanted to watch some of the Braves game and eat, so we ordered pizza and didn't head home until 7:30ish. Needless to say, Meg and McKenzie were sound asleep by the time we got to their house.

Saturday we got up, I did a nice (and chilly!) 5-mile trail run and Matt went to his hunting club to look at the trail cameras. My mom came by and picked up me, sister, and McKenzie for her gymnastics class at 10:25. She was so cute! I remember watching Meagan taking classes when she was younger so I'm glad I got to see McKenzie do her thing ;)

Tako Sushi followed and it was so delicious. I ate my weight in sushi. We did a little mall shopping, I got my hair cut/highlighted, then we headed out to Wild Wings for football and dinner 1 of Meagan's birthday weekend. Sunday was another 5 mile trail run, church, then dinner/lunch 2 for the birthday girl at Carolina Ale...and Packers football (blech).

We had family pictures scheduled for 5:30 in North Augusta so we relaxed and watched an episode of the Blacklist (obsessed!!) at Meagan's house before the picture fun began. I get my CD this Wednesday so I'll be sure to share some good ones. 

I have many recaps for this past weekends adventures, and somehow I have a double ear infection, which means no work for me tomorrow so I'll be able to write a few more posts...while attempting to clean this filthy apartment! And today I rained a precious new niece...welcome to the world Gracie Bea!