Annie & Dan are MARRIED!

Yesterday was the day I've been looking forward to for a while now. One of my closest (and oldest) friends got married! And to a REALLY great guy too! It was an amazingly beautiful day and I'm so thankful I got to share in their special day.

Michelle, myself, and Bethany (Dan's sister) in the limo

my flowers

Annie and Dan ...
probably one of my favorite pictures from the
entire night on my camera

this one is right at the top of my "favorites" list too

Annie and I

Congratulations Dan and Annie!

Love you!

Fitness Goals For The Rest of 2011

It's time I get back to LIFE. Seriously. I need to work out again for sanity's sake. Plus, Annie's wedding is 2 1/2 weeks away now. That gorgeous bridesmaids dress is hanging from my closet door right now, mocking me for my lack of exercise the past couple weeks. I've run a couple times, but mostly just rambling down the trials over at OO.

So, to re-commit myself, I'm writing out my fitness (mental and physical) goals for the rest of this year.

1. Blog at least 2x a week, even if it isn't about running. I try to keep as much of the personal ranting off here as possible (that's why I still have my Xanga, right?), but sometimes there is something that just needs to be said.

2. Run at least 3x a week. Simple enough.

3. Weights/ cross-train 2x a week. I'll be focusing on my arms and upper body until after Annie's wedding, and the pool is officially closed (*sob*), but I'm setting up little brother's playstation (that he didn't take to his apt) in the basement so I have a way to play my workout dvds where I actually have ROOM to PARTICIPATE. Maybe I should move my Wii down there too ... now to buy a balance board.

4. Complete at least 5 challenges every week on DailyChallenge. I'm on the "Active Life" track right now. Most of the challenges are extremely simple things like stretching or today's was doing 12 wall push-ups, but it's a nice reminder to get up and do something.

5. Be more conscious of what I eat. Eat to enjoy food and fuel my body properly. This takes effort because I'm a bored and nervous eater and I don't always make the best choices. I guess mom is going to work on dad (he promised to go on a diet after he realized he at 4 hot dogs for dinner before the football game the other night), but we'll see. I appreciate my mom cooking from scratch as often as she does (which is more related to HER health issues than to my diet), but portion control is a SERIOUS issue in our family.

There. I think those goals are reasonable. And 5 is a nice simple number. Not too many, but I'm not slacking off either. This will be a good thing. Any one else want to weigh in?

I should probably get in a decent late-morning snack/ early lunch NOW so I can run when I leave the lab this afternoon. *Looks around.* Yes! I still have instant oatmeal in my lab stash. *happy dance* :)

Bridal shower weekend. Oh, and a couple runs too.

What a weekend! It started off with a 6.25 mile run on the Wabash-Cannonball Trail early Saturday morning. I felt pretty strong through the whole run and I was entertained almost the whole time by my surroundings and the patches of fog. The 57* temperature was pretty nice, too. My friend was outside with his daughter as I ran by his house (their yard backs up to the paved trail that runs through the area. Lil One shrieked when she saw me and demanded her dad go get his bike so they could catch up to me on the bike trail. I slowed down my pace a bit so they COULD catch up (not too hard when I was running and they were on bikes, but oh well). I got to hear all about her first couple days at the elementary school her dad and I went to, which was pretty great.

Annie & Daniel during #2

As soon as I got back to the house and got a shower, mom and I were in the kitchen finishing up the corn and deviled eggs for my friends, Annie and Dan's bridal shower that afternoon. This was shower #2 for her and her fiancee, but the first time we could have all us bridesmaids together in one place. It was a LOT of fun. My parents even had a good time talking to the groom's parents. Dan's dad and my dad have a LOT in common and I knew they would hit it off if they just got to talk to each other. Dan's mom LOVES me and the other bridesmaid she hadn't already met. By the end of the day, we were all exhausted and just a bit sore from standing on concrete all day (and apparently not stretching well enough after my run earlier). I had wanted to hit up the German American Festival later that night, but it just didn't happen. I passed out SO much earlier than is normal. 

Annie and I after #3

I was able to sleep in until 9:30ish on Sunday, but still felt like a truck hit me when I woke up. I somehow got "Ain't no rest for the wicked" stuck in my head as I showered and got ready for bridal shower #3. Yep, another one. Same girl. Saturday was mainly for the friends and extended family, but Sunday was a more proper and lady-like shower for the aunts and cousins. Another fun one, but not as random and goofy as Saturday's. When mom and I got home, I crashed. I crawled in bed and zoned out for the rest of the night. I went back downstairs to visit and grab food when mom's cousin stopped by, but other than that, I was a zombie. 

I'm not sure if I was SO wiped because of the 6+ mile run, the stress of the 2 showers, or a combination of the 2, but whatever it was got me good. Thank god I'm not the one planning a wedding. Sorry, Annie. lol.

Never made it into campus this morning. I had my alarm set for early enough, but I was still exhausted from this weekend and decided I should get another couple hours of sleep. My legs felt better when I finally got up, minus when I made the mistake of kneeling down on that left knee and I just about fell over crying ... again. At least the bruises on my right knee are fading. Nothing feels BROKEN on my left knee, and it doesn't hurt when I walk or run on it, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens. Anyway, I got a couple hours of work on my paper down then I decided I needed to get my "easy" run in for the day. Treadmill and I renewed our friendship for a 2-mile run. It wasn't bad, though I was bored about 2 minutes into it. When on the treadmill, I almost always run at 4.3mph, but I decided I needed to run closer to my regular pace so I kept it at a 4.5mph the whole time. Maybe my slower speed is the reason I can only do 30+ minutes of continuous running on the treadmill right now? Hmm, deep thoughts. *Ouch* ;)

Congrats Mr and MRS Beebe!

Just some of my favorite pictures from last night ...

Steph (bride's sister)

Not going to lie, I teared up a bit watching Joe walk Sarah
down the aisle (and so did Abby, the MOH)

KISS!

Mother and (one) daughter, Becky and Sarah

Gil and Becky :)

Becky, Ed, and Grandma Mary.
Mary sewed ALL the outfits for the bridal party, minus the corsets!

Xander wanted to dance on his own, not with mom. lol

Sarah and her dad, Joe

Josh and his mom

Steph and I

If you're REALLY interested, you'll have to check my facebook album for the pictures of the ridiculously large smoked turkey legs we got for dinner. Many of us gave up and just ate the veggies and cupcakes because the effort it took to get one good bite of the turkey just wasn't worth it. I know the bride's dad wasn't happy.

And then there's the one thing I DIDN'T get a picture of (thank goodness) ... my spectacular fall down the stairs leaving the country club. My heel caught on a step with loose carpeting and down I went, right onto the pavement at the bottom. My knees have lovely bruises on them (the left - which is already bum - kinda painful) and my right wrist is a little sore, but I'm ok. Is it sad that I'm more upset about how scraped up my pretty heels got? No matter how many times my dad lectures "it'll buff right out", it won't. Damn.

At least Sarah and Josh had a gorgeous wedding filled with love with their family and friends. I love Josh for making Sarah so happy.

Cory is married!

I'm so happy for my cousin, Cory. He finally found a girl who really is his better half. He is such a "better" person since he and Lindsey started dating and I have never seen him as happy as I have when he's with her. I wish a lifetime of happiness and blessings for them ... oh, and I'm still rooting for twin girls. Cory SO deserves it. lol

Love it. I took my picture JUST as the photog was taking his.

Yep, that's Cory. Gotta love him. :)