Happy New Year!!

It is that time of year again, the time of year when networks countdown the most popular news stories, radio stations countdown the most popular songs, and individuals reminisce about the biggest moments of the year gone by.

I can truly say 2010 has been an amazing year for me. I am at a job I enjoy working with people I truly like. I have reconnected with old friends, made some new friends, and am closer than ever with the people I love. I have a little home with my husband and two sweet pups. Maybe most importantly, I am content and very thankful for the life I have.

Since this is just the right time of year for countdowns I give you my 10 favorite moments of 2010! (You can click any of the bold links to read more!)

10. Running In Pink Project was born.  One little post in March of 2010 started my blog, which has grown tremendously over the last year. I love having this creative outlet, which I hope will grow into something really great in 2011!

9. Happy Birthday to Me-Turning 30 at Disney World. Even though this was pre-blog it still had to make the list. I turned 30 in the happiest place on earth, finally got a photo with Alice, had ice cream for breakfast, and generally spent one the happiest days I’ve ever had at Disney with the hubs.

8. Getting my PR during a local 5K. The hubs and I attended a local 5k where I felt “free” to just run for the very first time!

7.  Wicked (and Wicked Again). You all know I love a musical. Wicked is pretty much my favorite. I was lucky enough to see the touring production twice this year. Once on a nice date night with the hubs and once for a fantastic girls day out!

6. Family Time. The hubs and I took a road trip to WV to get in some serious family bonding time!

5. Finishing the Wine and Dine ½ Marathon. While this experience had its bumps (the hubs dropping out, getting permission to run his leg of the relay along with mine, finishing after nearly getting swept) it was a bittersweet experience. However, I think it is an experience that made me a better person and so it is on my list of favorites for 2010.

4. Attending the Healthy Living Summit in Chicago. This experience was pretty amazing. I got to meet some really great girls, including online pal Andrea. I learned a ton and had a wonderful time visiting “The Windy City” for the very first time.

3. Fit for a Princess-Disney Princess ½ Marathon Weekend. Even though this ½ marathon did not go exactly how I had hoped it still introduced me to the joys of organized endurance events (Disney Style), prepared me for future races, and put a drive in my soul to “try harder” and “be better” Later in the year (see #5) I did just that! (On a side note-I am somewhat sad, yet resolved, in reporting I am not participating in the ½ this year. We will be there on vacation to cheer you girls on and I will be doing the Royal Family 5k so I can participate in the Princess weekend but weight loss, not training, is my focus this year. I hope to cap off my year of fitness and weight loss by participating again next year. But, I can’t wait to see everyone!!)

2. Visiting New York for the very first time. There is not much I can say here other than “WOW!”. This was an experience with three of my great girlfriends that I will never ever forget.

1. God Bless Texas! The hubs and I took a trip to Dallas Texas and see the Cowboys play. This might seem like a strange thing to take the top spot. However, the hubs and I had an amazing week in Dallas bonding, ate great food, saw my most favorite team of all time play football, toured the stadium, and made some really cool memories. It definitely meets the criteria for an amazing moment.

What are some of your favorite moments of 2010?

Wishing you and yours a Happy, Healthy, and Beautiful 2011!!!!

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Sometimes You Have to Get Away

Fact-The last few weeks have been crazy busy. Fact-The holiday season will be even busier. Fact– It is important to get away with your significant other and leave the madness behind for a bit. That is exactly what the hubs and I did this weekend. We got up super early Saturday morning to make the three hour drive to Williamsburg, VA also known as Colonial Williamsburg. The weather was snowy cold but the clear brisk day set the tone for our fun little adventure.

The hubs and I bundled up in our warmed gear to visit “Christmas Town” in Busch Gardens. This is the second year for Christmas Town but essentially it is tons of lights, warm drinks, good food, and fun times. Each “country” has it’s own theme and they even set up special holiday themed attractions like a polar “penguin experience” and Santa’s workshop.

We spent a lovely afternoon/evening wandering around the park admiring the animals….

Listening to carolers….

Scoping out the lights…

Visiting Santa’s Workshop…

And even sneaking in some snuggles!

The next morning the hubs and I woke up to snow on the ground. After a warm country breakfast we headed out for a super faun day of shopping. (Read all about it in my Sara Shops segment tomorrow). One of my fave finds was this super cute “tree hat” topper for our Christmas tree!

Spending some time away with the hubs was the perfect way to get rested and energized for the upcoming holiday season.  How was your weekend?

 

 

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Where Did the Weekend Go?

I took a couple of unintentional days off from the blog (a hotel without wireless these days? Really!?!?!). However, the hubs and I are back in town after a really fun weekend getaway to Williamsburg, VA. I am beyond sleepy tonight but check back tomorrow for a weekend recap, a Sara Shops segment, and a fitness update! In the mean time in between time (yeah thats right I just busted out a “The Party” album title from back when.  Bonus points to anyone else who even remembers “The Party”. I was a HUGE New Mickey Mouse Club fan back at the tender age of 12). Anywho, in the mean time- here are a few sneak peak photos.  Enjoy that hour left of the weekend!!

 

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Heading Home

Tonight the hubs and I took a little road trip. It was a three hour road trip to be exact with WV as our destination. We did some rushing around after work and managed to leave our house before 6:00, a huge win for us! We packed up Carrie and Harlow to drop them off with their Grammie and Grampy (IE: The hub’s parents). The dogs were pretty jazzed about the car ride incase you cant tell by the look of crazy joy on their faces. 🙂

After getting the pups in order the hubs and I were finally on the way. I am probably weird in that I actually enjoy a road trip, especially ones that are 2-3 hours. You just have some time to talk, relax, sing, be silly, and enjoy the beautiful scenery (in our case a beautiful evening).

About 30 minutes into our little adventure I realized I was starving. I did not want to make a lengthy stop nor did I want to destroy my diet so we stopped at “Subway” for a flat bread sub. This was maybe the least efficient Subway on earth as I was in line for a little over 30 minutes. We could have gotten real food in that amount of time. 🙂 When we finally took off again, it was more night than evening. Luckily the rest of the drive went by quickly and (dare I say) was a lot of fun!

We are all checked in to out hotel and the hubs has set up a little blogging area for me in the corner. My parents hooked us up with a pretty nice suite and we are looking forward to a mini weekend away.

I am heading to bed (Yes I know its only 11:40) and getting rested up for a full day of family time tomorrow. There really are fewer more comforting feelings in this world than heading home.

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Country Roads

As you might remember (or rather might have read on the “About Me” page) I grew up in a small, boring, but lovely part of WV. The most frustrating thing about being a WV native is perhaps the stereotypes and jokes about the state and the people who live there. WV is actually quite beautiful and I am glad to get to go “home” and visit my family there. This weekend was the first time I have been to WV since November and I was pretty excited to hit the road on Friday.

In our rush to take the pups to visit their Grammy and Grampy (aka the hubs’ parents) we did not grab dinner in town. The hubs pulled into a McDonalds where I got a free (score!) smoothie and a chicken snack wrap. Turns out this was not the most filling choice but it worked in a pinch.

We settled in for the long ride to WV (3 hours). It felt like it took forever possibly due to trying to leave on a Friday evening when it seems every person on the planet has somewhere to drive. Dusk turned into dark and we finally made it to our hotel. I was starving and so so happy to see both a comfy bed and a basket of goodies. I had the pretzels and water and we shared the chocolates.

After some much much needed rest we got up Saturday morning and headed down to the “great room”. For breakfast. Besides the usual breads, pastries and cereal this breakfast had eggs, biscuits and gravy (which the hubs loved), cereal, boiled eggs, yogurt, English muffins, skim milk and fresh fruit. Loads of healthy choices. I was impressed. Not so impressive was the coffee (but of course we had some anyway).

After breakfast we headed out for some reminiscing, “site seeing”, and general fun having before heading over to my parents’ farm. Our first stop was Concord University (my college). I had lots of fabulous times when I went there and I loved getting to tell my hubs all about them. It also really made me miss my college BFF Casie.

Armed with his camera! ❤

My old college

After we left campus we headed on over to my parents’ farm. Ok I did not grow up on said farm. This is something that happened after I moved away. I was living in Memphis while this gorgeous place was being built (by my dad). So while it isn’t my home per say my family is there which makes it home to me.

This is an actual farm with food growing there and animals roaming about. The cows were super friendly during this visit and I was brave enough to sneak over for some close up shots.

It was so great to just be with my parents. My dad and I headed out to pick up lunch for everyone and he stopped along with way for me to snap some blog photos. These don’t do it justice at all but I wanted to show you all just how gorgeous home is.

The mountains seem to roll on forever

After lunch we went in my parents back yard to snap some photos and then we all piled into my parents’ jeep to head into the mountains for some more bonding and picture taking.

My Parents' back yard

Bryan and I

The drive into the mountains/country was full of twists and turns but the view was totally worth the car sickness. 🙂 The guy who owns this land came out to talk with us and gave us permission to walk around and snap photos. He also invited us back in the fall when the leaves change.

After our little trip out it was time for dinner.  Nothing is as yummy as a meal from scratch from your mom. Even the bread was home-made. Yum!

After a few more hours with the fam we parted ways. Bryan and I headed out to see Inception and we watched the sun set on a most fabulous day.

This  morning, after deciding to skip the crappy coffee,we headed back to Virginia. We stopped in Roanoke for a quick lunch at Fork In The Alley (which I LOVE). We had gourmet hotdogs (the smell sucked us in), fries, pickles, and water. Not the best choice. After another zero loss on Saturday I have decided to see a doctor when I get back from the beach and Chicago to rule out any medical issues. I am not too concerned since I have lost nearly another full size in clothing.

It was so much fun to go “home” as a tourist. It always feels a little weird to be a visitor in the place that once was your home.  But I was so happy to see my mom and dad and I hope to visit them again really soon. Tomorrow I get back to my running and diet (and regular blogging) but I wanted to share a little piece of my past with you. Have a Happy and Healthy week!

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