Crossing the Finish Line

Couldn't be more happy with the results from my half-marathon! My body is hurting today, but I'm certainly letting it recover. Here are my results the Thunder Road Half-Marathon

31st place in my age division.
196th girl to finish, overall.
10k time split: 51:29
Chip time: 1:52:21
Pace: 8:35

I stayed to watch my coach finish the full marathon. I have never seen the finish of a marathon before. It was absolutely amazing! I was in awe of all of their accomplishments. Watching them finish made my 13.1 miles seem so insignificant. At first, the half-marathon was just something on my bucket list that I wanted to get checked off. Now that I have checked it off, I feel like I am capable of accomplishing so much more!  I spoke with a guy today that completed the full marathon yesterday. He said he's 'not a runner'. He started training 3 months ago for this marathon and finished yesterday! If he can do it, I can do it right? I don't know...just some thoughts that have gone through my head since yesterday. Running takes such a tole on your body, but how awesome would it be to cross that finish line after 26.2 miles?!

It All Comes Down To This

All the training I've been doing for the past 12 weeks is going to be tested on Saturday. This weekend is the half-marathon that I've been working so hard for! I did a half-marathon a few weeks ago to familiarize my body with the distance (2 half-marathons in 4 weeks...not too shabby!). Since I did that, I know I can do the 13 miles but this Saturday I'm running with a goal in mind. After all the hill training, sprint drills, tempo runs and long distance runs....my body has really endured a lot! I've suffered through aching knees, afflicted hips and distressed feet but it's all been worth it (did I really just say that??). On Saturday I'll be running along with 5,000 other people and I must say that I am so anxious for this race! The route starts uptown and goes through the most charming parts of this city.

The rest of my week will be depleted with prepping for Saturday. I'll be giving my feet some much needed TLC, fueling my body with nutrients, utilizing my foam roller and resting up! I'll be sure to blog with pics from the race!

...With No Plans...

So, this weekend I finally had NO PLANS! It has been amazing. Everything in my life for the past several months have been go, go go. Finally, this weekend was a chill weekend. Got to actually get out and enjoy the Charlotte night life. We went to a fantastic dinner uptown then went out for some drinks and enjoyed some hookah. It was so much fun!! Plus, I got to wear my new black pumps ;)

Saturday was full of so much laziness!! It was AWESOME! Pretty much my only time out of the condo was when we took Dex on a walk to go pick up take out from one of our neighborhood restaurants. He got a new toy giraffe, Raffey. We just sat around in our comfy clothes, ate and watched football all day. It. Was. Bliss.

Steven Furtick had an awesome message this morning. I really needed to hear it. He reminded us that God can appear to you even when you're headed in the wrong direction in life. Also, that God takes things out of your life (people or things), not to deprive you to bless you.

Anywho...after church is my FAVORITE time of the weekend. Sunday BRUNCH! Today we went to a Plaza Midwood neighborhood delicate called Zada Janes. We've been there for dinner before, but have heard great things about their brunch so we decided to give it a try. They had amazing biscuits and apple butter jelly.

Up Early For No Reason

So, it's Saturday morning and I'm up before the sun. Got up around 6am today to go run 12 miles..however, mother nature did not have that in mind for me. It's about 40 degrees outside and raining. Running group got cancelled. Now I can't go back to sleep so I got up to clean, make coffee and wait for my visitors to wake up! I'm caught up watching on the best TV shows EVER made...

Two of my best friends, Sasha and Jenni are visiting me in Charlotte this weekend.

 Today, we're going to 2 wine vineyards in the Yadkin Valley here in North Carolina. I am so excited!

Raffaldini Vineyards

RayLen Vineyards

Make the most of your weekend too!

So Many Things. So Little Time.

It would be impossible to try to catch you up on everything that has been going on for the past few months. Bottom line, it's been BUSY. I haven't had any time to blog and it's one of the main things i've been trying to get around to doing! I'll touch on a few big things that have happened in the past few weeks!

Dexter is getting so BIG! He's turning into the sweetest dog ever! He's finally starting to learn (no bite, sit and come are the best ones he knows so far!). We can already tell he's going to be such a good dog!

My brother-in-law, Van got married a couple weeks ago! There are now 2 of us 'Parker' girl 'outlaws'! Their wedding was beautiful! Russell and I at the wedding...

My little BIG brother-in-law, Andrew got his Citadel ring last weekend! We are so proud of him!

The boys sporting their Citadel ring, and me supporting my miniture Citadel ring that Russell gave me back in '08 when he got his

We ran Race for the Cure to celebrate my friend, Chika's mother as a survivor! Made my best time yet, but missed my goal by 30 seconds!

Ran my first Half-Marathon!

So many exciting things have been going on in my life lately! I am sad that I missed so many opportunities to blog about them each on their own. I will try to stay on top of it, going forward!

1 Year Down

I've been MIA for a looong time. I have had so many things to blog about but I just haven't had ANY time to do it! We have a new addition to our family! We got a puppy and he's just precious. I'll post more about him later.

Meet Dexter

This past weekend was my 1 Year Anniversary with my husband! I can't believe how fast time flys by. We have already been through a lot in our first year of marriage. No telling what will be thrown our way down the road. We went to a wine vineyard on Saturday and ran into a sweet older couple who had just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year. That is amazing and highly unheard of in society today....I wonder what things will be like 50 years from now..??

My husband did such a wonderful job making our 1 year anniversary so special! Props to him :)

Here's a little re-cap of all  my surprises:

1. He took me to my favorite spa and had a 'Couple's Training Massage' scheduled. It was so fun! We each had time on the table and the massage therapist taught us proper techniques and best way to massage. When we got out of our massage there was champagne waiting for us to enjoy

2. We went up the road a ways and went to a wine vineyard in the Yadkin Valley. It was BEAUTIFUL weather! We got to tour the winery and taste all of the wines that are made there. Perfect way to enjoy the day with lots of wine :)

3. Bling Bling-Diamonds are a girls best friend :) Russell decided it would be a good idea to bling out my wedding ring a little more! I'm not mad at it!

4.  We went to a very nice dinner on Sat night! It was so enjoyable and the food was A-Mazing! Good wine there too.

5. Since I am obsessed with Craftsman style bungalows and our new neighborhood that is full of them, Russell took me on the Elizabeth home tour on Sunday. It was so fun walking around our neighborhood and lusting after all the beautiful bungalows that we got to tour. One day...one day...

6. We took a blanket and Dex to the park and I took a nap :) Dex played and we just enjoyed the beautiful sunshine and the distant sound of a jazz band playing in the park.

7. Finally we settled down, ate the anniversary cake from our wedding day and drank some champagne.

My husband is so thoughtful and I am such a lucky girl..

Puppy Love

Who wouldn't want one of these adorable pups?? We'll be getting an addition to our family very very soon....