Big Doggy Birthday

My favorite part of wedding planning...

2010-03-23T18:39:00.001-07:00

...Is shopping for outfits for the cutest little baby in the world: James Henry Dunlap

Seriously. Look at that face! And those chins!

Today, I found this little ROMPER for him to wear to the wedding...only challenge is that the largest size is "9 months" and at this little guys rate-of-gain, that *might* be a tight squeeze!

New Gear!

2010-03-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love gear. All kinds of sporting gear. A lot of girls love purses and shoes...and while I think that those things are fun, nothing gets me more excited than a new Patagonia fleece.

I come by this obsession honestly - my family also loves gear. In fact, when I was really young, a family friend who owned a sporting goods store had our family do a photo shoot for their Patagonia ski jackets - from that point on, my love of gear began.

It is no coincidence that my long-distance running habit also has a built-in need for gear. There are lots of reasons that I love running, which I'll write about later. But one of the more retail-oriented reasons is because of the gear you have to have to make running long-distance bearable.

Over the past-year I ran a half marathon, marathon and now am training for another marathon. This amount of distance running accumulates a lot of miles, and there is a rule of thumb that you should get new shoes every 300 - 500 miles. This weekend, after running 18 miles, I realized that I must need a new pair of running shoes based on how sore my feet are today.

So a trip to the Front Runner was in store for the afternoon! I got a new pair of running shoes - Saucony (which is the same brand I had last time)

I also bought some more running gels...some Sport Beans, which I usually eat, and some new "Shot Blocks"

Finally, I needed some anti-chafing stuff. If you are a runner and you have ever had any body part chafe, you MUST try this stuff. It's a must have.

And finally, I got a new pair of running pants:

I know it's been ages since I last posted, and I'm not keeping up on my New Year's Resolution - sorry! I have some good photos stored up, so I'll try to be a lot better from now on.

#1 most frequently asked question

2010-01-19T17:41:00.000-08:00

On July 31st, I will get to marry the best companion I could ever imagine having in my life, Matt:

(insert obligatory couple photo here)

And while I couldn't be more excited for that day to get here, there seems to be something between now and then (aside from the obvious component of time)...

Wedding Planning

I'm not about to write on here how overwhelming this task is....because to be honest, it really hasn't felt like "too much". I have a wonderfully helpful mother who is handling a lot of the details, for which I am oh-so-thankful.

About once a day, I get the question "So...how's the wedding planning coming along?"

To which my response is generally "Ah, it's coming along."

I don't know what the correct answer is to this question. Do people ask this question as a lead-in to want me to share more details about the wedding? If so, I apologize to anyone that meant to ask this and I didn't answer appropriately.

My current job has a title of "project manager". This title alone insinuates that planning is something that I do on a daily basis - which would be a true assumption. Over the course of 5 years, I've learned that it's often difficult to tell that planning isn't going well until it gets too close to the point of no return.

So, in an effort to not have that be the case, I thought tonight I would share a status report on the wedding planning, and see if anyone wants to raise red flags:

Attire:

- I have a dress!

- I have NOT picked out bridesmaid dresses. I found one I loved at jcrew, but sizes didn't work with the bridesmaids. So, I am on the lookout for a cute, printed summery dress

- Matt / groomsmen do not have outfits, but we have decided on khakis and navy sport coats

Ceremony:

- We have a location!

- Location is too small for guest list, so we're limiting the ceremony invites to family and close friends...still need to decide who makes that cut.

- We do NOT have readings, vows, etc.

Reception:

- We have a location! (our family farm)

- We have a contract for tents, tables, place settings, tablecloths, etc

- We have a band

- We do NOT have a playlist for cocktail hour

- We do NOT have timing of the reception worked out

- We have food, but still need to coordinate logistics

- We have a budget for alcohol

- We have NOT decided on gifts for invitees

- We have a guest list (only 415 of our closest friends....!)

Decorations:

- We have flowers

- We do NOT have table centerpieces

- We have lights (thanks, momma)

- We have willing hands to help get the farm "camera ready"

- We have a photographer

Paper Goods:

- We have Save-the-dates (mailing at the end of this week)

- We have everyone's address (almost)

- We have not picked out final invites (our friend Josh is designing)

- We do not have menu cards designed ( I want them to be a map of of the food stations)

Honeymoon:

- We have a location! (Hawaii)

- We do NOT have flight / hotel (have good leads though)

I feel like we have a pretty good handle on the plans...but let me know if i'm missing something major :) As I was typing up this list, I couldn't help but think of one more thing, and quite possibly THE most important aspect:

- I do have the LOVE OF MY LIFE to marry

- I do have a wonderfully supportive family and the best friends to ask for

With those two points alone, I know the celebration will be a success!

For Abbey...

2010-01-12T17:57:00.000-08:00

The other night at dinner, Abbey shared her 7 New Year's Resolutions. One of the top 7 was to cook dinner once a week. Without exposing her skills in the kitchen, I told her that I'd share with her some easy recipes.

First off, I believe that to learn to cook it's important to start easy. I swear by these "5 ingredient / 15 minute" weight watchers cook books. So many times, a recipe will look really great, but it calls for all these crazy ingredients that you rarely use. Then your grocery list will get crazy expensive, and you'll start to hate cooking.

The recipe tonight was called Santa Fe Ravioli Soup. Ingredients were super easy:

- 2 cans of low-sodium chicken broth

- 10 oz chicken breast (I used 2)

- 7 oz Ravioli (I used the "light" kind)

- 1 can of black beans

- 2 cups of fresh salsa

- 1 teaspoon garlic

- 1/4 c. fresh cilantro

- 1 lime (I added this on my own)

- 1 tablespoon reduced fat sour cream

First, I must tell you that prior to cooking dinner was a bit of a meltdown, because I didn't set out any meat to thaw this morning. Matt taught me an old "restaurant trick" by running the frozen chicken breasts under warm water. He says "this is what you do at 11pm when you've cleaned up the kitchen, and you get a two top that wants dinner..." Thank you, Chili's 1998 Line Chef of the Year :)

Matt cut the chicken up into little pieces and sauteed them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil:

Meanwhile, I brought the chicken broth to a boil. Then added the ravioli for 3 minutes:

While this was going on, I rinsed and drained the black beans:

Then I added the rest of the ingredients: Cooked chicken, black beans, 2 cups of salsa, ravioli and garlic. I let that cook for 5 minutes and then added the chopped cilantro and lime juice.

I added a scoop of sour cream, and here's the final product! It was tasty, warm and filled us up....not to mention it's a low-calorie meal, that made 4 more lunches. All-in-all, this is the kind of recipe that is worth having under your belt!

Although, Charles would have loved to have some of this soup, he opted for his rawhide bone as a post-dinner snack:

The wine or the glass?

2010-01-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

This past weekend our friend, Liz, who used to live in Columbus was in town from San Francisco! On Saturday night, we had a nice dinner out at Easton - where we went to the madhouse that is Brio. Seriously, Jackie put our name in at 6pm, we were seated at 7:15...and when we were seated I overheard the hostess saying that the wait was 3 hours! Whenever people say that the economy is still hurting, I invite you to visit Easton Towne Center on a Saturday night.

After dinner, we went to Spagio Cellars in Grandview. Surprisingly, I had never been there, even though a few short years ago I lived only 2 blocks away. I had a great glass of pinot noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon called Cloudline. Very good wine, great atmosphere and even better company.

Then, on Sunday, Jackie had us all up for dinner at her place. Being married 2 years now, having a super crafty husband and an impeccable eye for design makes Jackie's home a place that few would believe is owned by a 26 and 29 year old couple. She used her Sunday night company to actually use the GORGEOUS dining room that gets zero foot traffic.

Here's our meal in review....I made a big salad consisting of: Spring Mix, Romaine & Spinach lettuce, cherry tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, green peppers, and sundried tomato and basil feta cheese. For a dressing I tried a new flavor of a favorite brand: Old Cape Cod Sundried Tomato and Basil . Here's the salad along with Jackie's homemade bruschetta:For our main dish, Jackie made this AMAZING Tortellini soup. Not sure of the actual recipe, but it consisted of: red wine, spinach, onions, garlic, tomatoes and beef broth for a base. Then, she sauteed sausage which was added early on and let simmer. Finally, she added cheese tortellini....You could probably make a healthier version than what she did (subsitute turkey sausage, light tortellini, etc) but it sure was tasty:

Even though the meal was great, I was reminded of an important distinction to make about "great meals". When Matt and I were in Napa doing winery tours, a man at Cakebread Cellars said he was a conference where the owner of Riedel glassware asked: "Which is more important: the wine or the glass"
The answer, is "neither - it's the company with which you share it."

Sunday night was definitely a good testament for that perspective!

Ah, winter...turns out I didn't miss you!

2010-01-05T18:29:00.000-08:00

Not only was this week a harsh one after having almost 2 weeks away from work, and trying to get back to the swing of things...but on top of that, winter has decided to smack us in the face.

Oh sure, it's not terrible. A few inches of snowfall during the day, roads aren't too slippery and the temperature is hovering anywhere from the single digits to the teens.

Nonetheless, today I had several harsh realizations that it truly is winter:

1. Winter Footwear: I realized that outside of casual boots (Uggs, Snowboots, etc) I don't have good winter shoes for work. Today I had to wear a suit, had no winter shoes and opted for...ballet flats...? Words can't begin to describe what a bad decision this was. Matt always preaches how important "proper footwear" is (ie: don't wear your unbroken-in Torey Birch shoes to an OSU football game tailgate and then complain that your feet hurt) Today, I could have used a refresher on his footwear sermon.
(not really my feet...I did have the sense to wear stockings and pants!)

2. On-Street Parking: When I bought my house, I remember making a very clear decision that I didn't care if I had only on-street parking. "I've never had a garage before....why do I need it now? As my car has been sitting on the street for the past few snowfalls, and I'm a little too lazy to actually do a full warm-up before driving it, or really do more than dust it off, I found myself excited that I had to park in a garage for a client meeting for several hours today and was dissapointed that the ice and snow on my car didn't magically melt while I was in the meeting.

(Ok, it's not this bad...I found this on google images for car covered in ice...but it FEELS this bad.)

3. Crazy Pup: This is the newest addition to the winter duldrums...Turns out that when it's cold out, I have little capacity to walk Charlie for longer than necessary or take him to the dog park. As a result, tonight he decided to pull all the pillows off the couch and even eat a hole in one of them, and proceeded to pull the stuffing all over the living room. Awesome. Guess who is going to doggy daycare tomorrow?
(Charles at Doggy Daycare, Loving Life)

As it turns out, my new years resolutions shouldn't have been to blog more, but it should have been to better prepare my footwear for winter, start my car 15 minutes prior to useage and commit to wearing ski gear to take the dog to the park.

A Year in Review & 2010 Resolution

2010-01-01T08:55:00.000-08:00

Over the past week, being away from work, I've had some time to think about New Year's Resolutions. I typically don't like to do New Years Resolutions that are critical, but rather resolve to add something to my life. This year's resolution is to become a more consistent blogger!

Kicking off the resolution, I decided what better time to summarize the wonderful year that was 2009! Looking back over the year, I have to say that I really am a very fortunate girl to have such amazing friends, family and celebrations to review.

January 2009: Kicked off the new year with a New Years Party at my house!

Then, we had Kate's birthday party at the end of January - which also happens to be the birthdate of our affinity for luxury. Here's a funny picture of the "3 best friends" doing a photo shoot:

February 2009: We celebrated Katherine's 25th birthday in VAIL. Such a wonderful weekend of skiing and hanging out with good friends. Every time that I go to Colorado, I'm even more convinced that I'm meant to live in the mountains. There really is a reason that they call it "God's Country"

With Danielle, Vanessa and Kitty for our photo shoot at Blue Sky Basin:

March 2009: We got a puppy - Charles! I have wanted a dog for a long time, and when I saw a poster in my office building for a puggle puppy looking for a good home, I told Matt that I just wanted to "meet him" and see from there. Of course, about 30 seconds after meeting him, I was making arrangements for him to stay permanently. With a face, this cute - how was I supposed to say no? (Side note: It's that exact phrase that gets me into trouble with actually training him)

April 2009: My girlfriends and I went to visit San Francisco! When I first graduated from college I had this group of friends in Columbus that definitely formed my first fun post-college years. Sadly, 3 of the 6 got new jobs in New York and San Fran and our group in Columbus spread across the country. The best part about them moving, is that we're really good about planning yearly trips to see each other. This year we had 2 reunions! The first was in San Fran, where the entire weekend was spent telling everyone what time it was on the East Coast:

Also, this trip was in the midst of training for a half marathon - so that weekend included a killer 11 mile run with crazy hills, AND a short 3 miler across the Golden Gate Bridge:

May 2009: Began the craziness that was summer 2009. I ran a half marathon the first weekend of May, and only have "post-race" pictures because my parents missed me crossing the finish line (and consequently didn't get any action shots). I even re-enacted the finish and they still missed it:

As soon as I finished the race, I remember saying to myself..."I could have run longer" - and thus began my summer of running and training for the Columbus Marathon.

Memorial Day weekend we celebrated Katie B.'s bachelorette party in Charleston, SC. Such a fun weekend with a great group of girls. Here we are in downtown Charleston:

June 2009: We celebrated my 26th birthday with a party at my house:

July 2009: We started off by an awesome trip with college friends to Lake Chautauqua, NY. Somehow, I don't have any pictures from this weekend! Sad, but here's a picture of the beautiful lake:

Also, we had another reunion weekend with the 2005-2006 Columbus crew. We re-enacted the weekends we used to have when we were 22, and suffered the harsh realization that we're getting older:

August 2009: Wow. Where do I start? We had 3 weddings in one week - the first week of August. First, my best friend from growing up and college got married to another Denison friend. The wedding weekend in Granville was basically a cliff notes version of our 4 years in college.

Here's the happy couple with DJ Don (the creepy DJ who worked all of our sorority bar parties in college - good news, he hasn't changed a lick.)

After their wedding, we flew to Aruba for Matt's college roommate - Traver's wedding. Trav & Allison had a gorgeous ceremony on the beach...seriously, does the backdrop get any better than this?

The night after the wedding, I planned a dinner for just Matt and I. Little did I know, that this dinner I planned would end up being the site of our engagement! Matt asked me to marry him while at a lighthouse on the end of the island! We celebrated with a beautiful champagne dinner at sunset...Here we are in our first picture as fiances:

Then we flew back to Columbus to celebrate the Brumbaugh-Brollier wedding! Such a wonderful couple, great party and of course, full of luxury and love. Also, it was pretty much a Denison reunion (part 2):Love these two:

If the whirlwind wedding / engagement week wasn't enough..my friends planned an engagement party for the next weekend! Here we are with our lovely hosts:

Finally, to wrap up August 2009 - Eric and Mackenna got married! They had a wonderful celebration in Columbus, with great wine (Eric's a wine distributor) Here's the happy couple:

September 2009: Over Labor Day - we joined the annual hike up Mt. LeConte in Tennessee. Here's the entire gang, and then a picture with Nug at the top of the mountain, were we stayed after our hike up:

September was also filled with a lot of training runs and Buckeye games. Here's a picture from the OSU - USC game:

October 2009: I ran my first marathon! I've already had a full post about this one - so here's a quick picture summary:

I also took my friends to the Circleville Pumpkin Show:

And Vanessa's and I went to Chicago to visit Kitty (she moved there in August):November 2009: The Coe's announced that they are moving to Chicago - and the only way to make up for their departure was to throw an awesome party! Here's a great picture with my crazy co-workers:

And then my co-worker Liz got married - and the Weber crowd brought the party :)

The beautiful bride, Liz:

December 2009: The birth of my nephew, James Henry! We saw him over Christmas and he is just the most wonderful little boy. We also had our annual Holiday Luxury party, Weber Christmas party, Christmas in Marietta AND DC and then New Years (all those pictures are still on my camera, and will be a future post because I'm running out of steam!)

I know it doesn't seem possible - but I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be even better than 2009! And, thanks to my new year's resolution I'll bring you all along for the ride (if I still have any readers!)

This post sponsored by our friends at Ziploc...

2009-11-03T18:12:00.000-08:00

When I made a committment to start living a more heathly livestyle (over a year ago!) there was naturally some weight that came off during the transition. I love how people always ask - "what's your secret??" As if I'm going to respond, "I just ate only cookies, and you wouldn't believe how the pounds flew off!"

While I would contend that there is no true secret...I will tell you that I think there are tricks that make eathing healthy easier, thus making it easier to to become a true part of your day-to-day habits. Today, I thought I would share with you my favorite trick:

Make healthy foods as easy to eat as a bag of Cheetos.

I can't tell you how many times I justified by previous eating habits by saying "I'm so busy, I don't have time....I travel for work, it's so hard...blah, blah, blah."

Here's how to make it easy. Every week, I go to the grocery on the weekend and buy my standard batch of fruits and veggies: Grapes, Apples, Baby Carrots, Green Peppers, Clementines (if in season), Berries (if in season), Celery, etc.

When I come home from the grocery I take about 1 hour and I get everything ready for the week. I clean the grapes and put 1 cup in each bag. Clean the peppers and cut into strips. Put 10 baby carrots in each bag, Slice the apples (I do this the night before). Also pictured is my favorite "treat": part skim mozzarella cheese stick. I put all these "to-go" bags in the bottom of my fridge, so that I can quickly grab them in the morning and throw into my lunch bag.

I also swear by these little 1 cup ziploc containers: Size XS. I take the leftovers from dinner and portion out a lunch size portion for the next day:
I also use them for cottage cheese, homemade soup, etc. Also, I throw in a yogurt for good measure....and don't forget a piece for my sweet tooth!

I take these with me during the day. If I'm traveling I take all non-dairy items with me in my purse. I always make sure I don't go longer than a few hours without a snack. I can't promise that this will work for everyone, but for me it made all the difference in the world!

26.Who knew I could run a marathon???

2009-10-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

Seriously, if you would have told me even just one year ago that I would be able to run a marathon, I probably would have laughed in your face.

To be fair, it's not totally outlandish to think that I could run a marathon. I ran Cross-Country in High School and Middle School, and during college and post-college years I ran...let's say...intermittenly. But even with CC years considered, my longest run was MAYBE 5 miles at most.

Building on my post about the journey to a healthier self (yesterday), my drive to run a marathon started a few years ago. My mom, and her friend Lyn walked the Columbus Half Marathon. This was actually before Columbus had a half marathon, so they made their own course - triggered their chips at the start line and immediately cut over to the second half of the course. I'm sure their time was logged as a full marathon time, and will ever-go down in history as the fastest walking time. Nonetheless, this was the first marathon I had ever witnessed. I loved the energy. Everyone was excited, cheering, happy, proud and HEALTHY. I remember thinking to myself, "I can't imagine the joy you'd feel crossing that finish line..."

The next year, I walked it with my friend Katherine. We were totally untrained and technically unregistered! We didn't know you couldn't pick up your registration on race day (what is this, amateur hour??) We walked half, jogged half and then crashed for the remainder of the day on Vanessa's couch.

Fast-forward to Columbus Marathon 2008. My roomate, Abbey, ran the full and assigned her running friends to join her for stints of the race. I ended up running 7 miles with her and thought it was unreal the people cheering on the sidelines who thought that I was on mile 20 (when really I was only on 6!) As I watched her cross the finish-line I remember thinking...."Maybe I could do the half"

So in January of 2009, I found an article in Self Magazine called "You can run a half-marathon!" Well, Self Magazine...don't mind if I do... and so I began training, adding mileage on each week and marveling how each week was the "longest distance I'd ever run". I loved having plan and a goal to work towards. I ran my first half marathon in May 2009 and finished with a time of 2:03 and 9:13 pace. Literally the moment I crossed the finish line, I had the thought "I could have gone farther....maybe i'll try for the full in the fall"

What I found remarkable about training for the half is that I followed the plan and it worked. No problems, no injuries (knock on wood) just ran the race as anticipated. I couldn't help but think, if I follow the plan I have to be able to run the full...

On June 20th, I began my training plan. I'm proud to say that only only 2 occasions did I skip / cut short any of my training routine:
1. Late - August - traveling for work, early & late meetings skipped a 6 mile run during the week

2. September 9 - Ate pavement HARD at mile 12 of 18. Stopped there, went home bloody and crying, ran 18 the next weekend.

In September, I started running with my new running buddy, Laura. I know her because her husband and my fiance, Matt are friends from college. We started doing our final long runs together which made the training MUCH more enjoyable.

Ok, enough build-up. Marathon recap. I was nervous all week, and kept telling myself to be excited not nervous. There was nothing to be nervous about...just running 26 miles...

Sunday morning came, I got up, got dressed, covered every surface of my body in Body GLIDE and ate my usual pre-run breakfast. Whole wheat sandwich thin bun, peanut butter, sliced bananas and honey. I must admit, getting to eat this breakfast is a great reason to run 26 miles!

Abbey, her boyfriend Adam, Laura and I met at my house. Laura's husband RJ and Matt dropped us off at the starting line. Here's us before leaving my house:

From there, we went to the Athletic Club to stretch and go to the bathroom. It must have been nerves, but I swear I went to the bathroom no less than 4 times before we walked outside to the starting gates.

Oh, the starting gate mess. We got there a little late to actually get with a pace group, so we waited towards the back and crossed the starting line about 7 minutes after the gun went off. The first few miles flew by. Laura and I ran together and before we knew it we were all the way through Bexley. On our way back towards downtown around mile 7, I remember saying to Laura, "You know what? This feels really good! Only 19 more to to" The crazy part is, I really meant it!

In German Village we saw our guys, and I was so happy to see them. The picture below is me taking off my jacket to handoff to Matt.

At this point in the race (10 mile marker) it was still about 39 degrees, but I was getting warm enough that I didn't need my jacket. Little did I know that running through downtown would be totally shaded and I would IMMEDIATELY REGRET this decision to peel down layers.

Nonetheless, German Village buzzed by, and on the way up High Street we saw Matt and RJ again around Mile 12.... AND my friends Elizabeth and Andrew - which was such a surprise and probably why I look so happy in the picture below:

At this point, the half marathoners were instructed to go to the left to turn down Nationwide Blvd. for the finish. One of the volunteers was my friend Scott who is a fellow marathoner (ran Chicago this year) and also an ironman. No big deal. I ran my him and he gave me a big high-5 and I was feeling fresh as I was during mile 2.

Half-marathoners peel off to the left and then all of the suddent it felt like tumbleweeds went rolling through the route. Seriously, 75% of the runners were people doing the half, and the moment we passed their turn-off I said to Laura "...and then there were none....". Luckily I felt good while I was running miles 13-19, because if i wouldn't have felt so good there's no way I would have made it. This stretch was pretty bleak - no one out cheering, very few bands, the timers weren't working correctly, we had to run a random route through campus where we saw ZERO people (really, what did I expect from college students on a Sunday morning at 10am?) I started to pull ahead from Laura, and decided to capitalize on the momentum I was feeling despite the scenery

Then we got to mile 20 and hit the Upper Arlington neighborhood. People returned, we had cheering sections, but I hadn't seen anyone I knew since mile 12 and I was REALLY wishing I had my iPod. I did see this mean lady who works in my office building that is always yelling at people about parking violations. Of course she didn't cheer for me. Of course.

Mile 20 I had to stop for a very necessary bathroom break. I guess all the gu packets were starting to get to me, so I pulled off to a port-a-potty...and all I'll say is that there is NO worse feeling that using a port-a-potty after running 20 miles and then walking out of it to know you have to run 6 more.

By this point, I was at 3:40 and kept my mind occupied wondering if Abbey had finished yet and if she'd qualified for Boston. I kept running because I knew my family would be waiting for me soon, I didn't know where and I kept looking for them and not focusing on my feet and legs. I wanted to walk, but I knew that it would be so hard to get going again if I stopped, I just. kept. running.

Finally! Grandview! My friends and family! (Matt, Dad & Mom are below) You have no idea how important it is to have cheering section until you've run for 4-5 hours straight. Seeing them made me SO happy! You can see my expression below:Jackie joined me for about a half-mile as I jogged through Grandview. She was definitely the best dressed and best-looking runner on the course by far! I asked how Abbey was doing and Jackie told me that she didn't want to say anything, but that Abbey had hurt her knee and stopped at the half. I was so sad to hear this because I knew Abbey had trained so hard to work on her speed to get a time to qualify for Boston. But, I was happy that she knew not to push herself too hard and stopped when she did.

Through Grandview I was really ready to be done, but I didn't stop. I knew that it would be so painful to get going again. EVERYONE around me was walking and I used the momentum of passing people to keep going. Before I knew it I was on 5th Ave running towards Victorian Village. Even though there was 2-3 miles left, it still felt so far away. I kept saying to myself and repeating in my head...."You know these roads, you run these all the time, this is no different than any other training run....you didn't get up at 5am every workday this summer to run these exact roads to stop now....Neil Ave is only a half mile away...you know these roads...."

I'm convinced that having the course end through my neighborhood was my saving grace. As I ran down Neil Ave. I kept hoping that my friends would be waiting for me at 1st Ave. That morning I drove by 1st Ave and saw the sign that said "Mile 25" and said outloud "Wow. Mile 25. Barf."

Little did I know that I'd have these similing faces to cheer me on there:

Huge thanks to Kate, Natalie, Sonja, Jessie, Matt, Mitchell and the Schmidt's for coming to cheer me on at mile 25. I needed that more than you guys will ever know!

Not only was it so great to see them but Jessie and Kate surprised me with a sign that made me laugh really hard. I laughed about the sign for a good 5 minutes and before I knew it everyone around me was cheering - only a half mile to go - you can do this!

Here I am seeing my mile 25 cheering section:

Here's the sign that they made me (taken later that day) which says: "Amelia....the next Haley's Comet" We all really loved the movie The Hangover and for Jessie's bachelorette party we made shirts that said "Do you know when the next Haley's comet is?" (a line from the movie)
Right after I passed these guys and saw the sign for mile 26 I started to get all choked up. I don't know if it was the exhaustion or the joy, but I had this moment where I was thinking "I'm really doing this...this thing that I thought was impossible, I trained , I learned how to get my body adjusted to this inconceivable distance and now it's happening" After about 20 seconds I found that getting choked up made it hard to breathe, I told myself to lock-it-up and proceeded down to the finish: My final time was 4:39:56. I had hoped to be under 4:30, but I can't complain too much. I didn't walk once (besides the bathroom stop) and I did the best I knew how.

Here I am at the finish: And my loyal fans seeing me for the first time: The girls who trekked all over town to cheer me on - Adrienne, Vanessa & Jackie:
And my biggest fans ever, Mom, Matt and Daddy:

My running buddy, Laura (with the beautiful flowers our guys gave us!)

In summary, I know that looking at the pictures and seeing all the smiles it looks like no-big-deal. In a lot of ways, it felt like that. I did the training, I followed the schedule, I stayed injury-free (knock-on-wood)..and I'm convinced that if you can do those 3 things, anyone can run a marathon.

But what is really unique is the way that training for this marathon served as a symbol for so many things in my life that have changed in the past few years. The excitement of meeting the person you are supposed to spend the rest of your life with at the beginning of the race, the dulldrums of miles 13-19 that feel like work - buzzing along without much recognition. The desire to walk that represented this healthy journey I started a year ago, and the encouragement I NEEDED to have during thos last 6 miles. And then the finish. The perfect pinnacle of pride, pain, joy, love and support - all those things that have made life what is today and the reasons that I couldn't be happier with the way things have turned out.

Here's to hoping that this marathon of life continues to go with the same pace, support, learning and love as running my first marathon.

A journey to a healthier self

2009-10-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

A little over 1 year ago I was shopping at the outlet mall and I had one of those moments. Anyone who has ever struggled with their weight / body image knows exactly the moment to which I'm referring. The "this must be a mistake, that nothing in this entire store fits me...." moment.

But alas, Ann Taylor Loft had not gone through some mean mis-sizing campaign against me. It was true, nothing in the store fit me. Or at least it didn't fit how I know that it should.

There is some saying that people don't change until "you're sick and tired of being sick and tired" and for me, that moment had come.

So I wallowed in my excuses for a few hours....I've been traveling a lot for work (do calories really count the same when you're in a different time zone?)....I don't have time to work out (but how do have time to go to dinner with my friends / boyfriend almost every night?) ....I don't know what i'm doing wrong...(how hard can it really be to learn?)

And when the excuses ended, I picked myself up (with some help from my mom) and embarked on what Mom and I called "ACDI" Amelia Can Do It. Little did I know the life-changing nature of this campaign...

I joined Weight Watchers, and I began tracking all my "Points". And miraculously, it worked! I started losing weight and had more engergy. Week-after-week my momentum grew, and I learned the first of many important healthy living lessons.

There is always a healthier option.

That option is often times more filling, but maybe not filled with cheese

You'll feel better about yourself for choosing the right option.

Sometimes you don't want the healthier option. That's OK. Just don't eat the whole pizza

My second step of ACDI was putting to use that gym membership that was sucking money from my bank account, but not from my waistline for the past few years. After a few weeks of getting back into a work-out routine, I signed up for the Biggest Loser competition at the gym. It was during this time that I learned another set of health living lessons:

Working out can actually be fun

While it's hard to get started, you always feel so much better after you do

Having guidance and direction makes all the difference in the world (ie: spring for the trainer!)

And so the journey to finding a healthier version of myself began....

August 1, 2008 at Wesley & Katie's Wedding

August 29, 2009 at Mackenna & Eric's Wedding

I thought that this would be a good lead-in for the upcoming marathon post! (Not to give away the end of the story....but I think you know where this is going!)

Whirlwind week...

2009-07-30T13:10:00.000-07:00

I write this post 1 hour from departure on a crazy whirlwind week of vacations and weddings.

First: Jessie Mace & Matt Miller - 8/1/09

This upcoming weekend, August 1st, has been marked on my calendar, and anxiously awaiting for about 16 months. That's about the time that my best friend from childhood and college, Jessie and her fiance Matt got engaged. Matt & Jessie met at Denison, and their entire bridal parties are all Denison kids (minus Matt's sister, Lauren). Tonight we are all meeting at Dension, staying in the DORMS, and having a 'Round the World party....circa 2004. Friday we do the typical mani-pedi routine, rehearsal dinner and then our friend Hillary has put together a scavenger hunt around Denison (hey, remember tank weeks?) Saturday is the wedding on the South Quad at Denison and reception at Bryn Du Mansion. First and foremost, I'm beyond excited for this weekend!

Jesser & Matt

Second: Traver Lentz & Allison Kato - 8/5/09

A few months ago, Matt got the good news from his college friend, Traver, that he and his girlfriend Allison were engaged! Matt and I had been predicting that of all our friends, Trav & Allison would be the most likely to have a destination wedding. Little did we know that it was going to be THIS summer. At first, I told Matt "There's NO way" we can go, when Traver told us that they were planning an "early August" wedding. But then we found out that the wedding, was planned for a WEDNESDAY. Genius. We had been wanting to take a tropical vacation, but hadn't been able to pull our plans together, and now we had the perfect excuse! Thankfully, I talked Matt into leaving on Monday...much to his chagrin "We lose a WHOLE day..." While I'm not looking forward to the 5 hour flight from Charlotte...I am looking forward to spending the week in Aruba for this wedding!

Allison & Traver

Third - Jon Brollier & Katie Brumbaugh - 8/8/09

Jon & KTB are friends from Denison, but we've become much closer over the past few years living as *almost* neighbors in Columbus. I don't really know how it got started, but a few years back we all were at a party that someone coined as a "LUXURY" party - and thus began our obsession with luxury. Most of our "luxury" events consist of hanging out at 325 W 1st Ave, drinking red wine, miller light WITH a lime and playing flip cup. In the summer, luxury is moved outdoors to the porch for an evening of cigars and stories. In the winter, luxury hunkers down on the couch for a serious game of catchphrase. Nonetheless, Jon & KTB have become the matriarch and patriarch of luxury, and I couldn't be more excited to attend the pinnacle of luxury the weekend we get back from Aruba - their wedding day / evening / afterhours until 4am.

Jon & KTB

know, I know...I'm a pretty lucky kid. Not only do I have a great week of travels and catching up with friends, but I have wonderful friends who are marrying the loves of their lives. Weddings are such a fun time to celebrate...and I am so happy to be celebrating the 3 couples this week.

Wedding Tour 2k9 - 3 couples, 2 countries, 1 week, NO REGRETS!

Sweet Summertime....

2009-07-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning for quite some time to update the blog....namely because I really like to do it. I know it isn't an excuse, but this summer has been very busy. Not a bad busy, in fact, a really good busy...parties, vacations, trips, all good stuff. All good stuff that doesn't lend much time to writing on here.

Nonetheless, i'm back in action. Sorry for the hiatus, if there are any readers out there!

As most of you know, I grew up on a farm. When I went to college, I first learned that this upbringing was a novelty to most. All my suburban friends marveled at the fact that my dad spent his days in tractors, that I didn't drive by a gas station (or anything, for that matter) on my way to school, and ALWAYS wanted to know if I ever went cow tipping (the answer is no.)

It wasn't until I had the outside perspective from my friends that I really began to see what a unique experience I had growing up. Sure there are lots of ups and downs of farming life, but one of the very clear ups is the summertime food.

Even though my parents farm is primarily for business, and all the crops raised are sold to distributors, we still had plenty of farm fresh food growing up. I can vividly remember nights in late July when all that we had for dinner night after night was a plate of sweet corn, fresh tomatoes and burgers (from our cattle).

Sigh....I didn't know how good I had it! In fact, I can remember being a brat and probably telling mom that I wanted PIZZA for dinner.

This past week, I had a glimpse back into those glory days as Dad came over on Saturday and dropped off some fresh produce from my good friend, Becky, who, along with her brother and sister-in-law run an produce, honey and flower farm right up the street.

Did we have a feast on Sunday...and Monday...and Tuesday....

Matt shucking the ears of corn!

Charles, looking envious of our food!

Seriously, there is nothing better than fresh tomatoes and sweet corn!

My delivery man (Dad) and a very tired pup (Charles)

Envious? For those of you hear in Columbus...you can catch Becky at the local markets!

Happy Birthday Matt!

2009-06-25T07:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Matt's 30th birthday and we did the following things in celebration:

Went to our first session of Summer Bootcamp, and almost passed out due to heat / exhaustion (Second session is tonight, and in the words of Kate Schmidt " I won't be there tonight because my quads feel like they were injected with the rabies vaccination)

Had our friends join us for drinks at B.Hamptons on King (not Harrisons on 3rd, the old B Hamptons...sorry Jon!)

Began the day with a blueberry muffin (instead of the usual kashi cereal or smoothie)

Turned on the air conditioning for the first time this summer. This might have been the best present of all, considering that it was still 87 degrees at 11pm last night.

Ryan and Jackie rode their motorcycle down to meet us out, and I snapped this picture of Matt testing it out. No worries though, all reports are that he thinks bikes are pretty scary.

In my mind....

2009-06-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

....I'm goin' to Carolina

Can't you see the sunshine

Can't you just feel the moonshine

Maybe just like a friend of mine

It hit me from behind

Yes I'm goin to carolina in my mind

Except, I'm really going to Carolina tomorrow! Matt and I are going to Wrightsville Beach, NC with his friends. I don't know if the picture above will really look like where we're staying...but one can hope!

We are driving. From Ohio. 10 hours on mapquest. The last time I was in a car for that long was spring break 2003 - when we drove to Daytona beach! Good news is that Matt and I are fully prepared for the road trip

- Cooler full of snacks / meals

- Ipod full of audio books / sing-along music

- Outdated GPS / handwritten directions

Now let's just hope that our place in NC will be better accommodations than the Spring Break hotel....Ramada Inn Daytona

Only 1 meeting in the morning between us and the road! I'll have plenty of posts when I get back (Jessie's shower, KTBs bachelorette, NC trip) busy week ahead kids!

Like I'm 17 again....

2009-06-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

Last night my good friend and neighbor growing-up, George was in town from Chicago. With him, he brought his boyfriend, Gil, who is originally from Mexico City, Mexico. Wanting to show Gil a little snapshot of Columbus, we walked down High Street in the short north to the Park Street Festival. Turns out, the Park Street Festival is pretty much just a drunken college party where all of the cheesy bars move their operations outside onto the street. During my disappointment I texted my friend Abbey to see what she was planning to do this weekend. A few text messages later and I was signed-up to run a 5K with her in the morning.

As I was walking home, thinking about the race I was wondering if i'd be able to really push myself and run a good 5K time like I used to in high school and ran Cross Country. I talked myself out of that goal pretty quickly and said that if I ran under 27 minutes I'd be happy (rationale - my 1/2 marathon split was 9:25, 27:00 would mean that I was running 30 seconds faster / mile than my half marathon pace).

Abbey picked me up in the morning and I went, unregistered, down to the race. Small, low-key race with maybe 200 people running. Abbey's co-worker Jen, who ran the Boston Marathon this past year was there and seriously warming up. A few minutes later we got started and I ran with Abbey for the first mile and half. Then I stopped to tie my shoe and couldn't catch back up with her again. I knew I was running faster than usual when I was with her, so I just hoped I didn't totally slack during the last half of the race.

25 minutes and 17 seconds after starting, I crossed the finish line! I'm pretty sure that my average season time during my junior year was somewhere in the low 25s....I was really pleased to run a time that is close to what I ran in high school!

It only makes me wonder what kind of runner I would have been at age 16 /17 if I would have been as focused on my health and working out as I am now. When I was in high school, and had a better metabolism I ate whatever I wanted (even though mom kept our meals very balanced) and I never did any strength or speed training. ... I guess there's no telling what kind of runner I could have been.

But as for now, I know that I finished in the Top 20 women at the PRIDE race in Goodale park this saturday. Here is a picture of me and Abbey showing off our sweet rainbow metals! If you can ignore the overactive sweat glands, there is a nice little beam of sunlight that makes this photo look like a bit of a glamour shot!

Mascot Costumes

2009-06-12T03:54:00.000-07:00

Last night, we had a suite at the Clippers game for work. For those of you not from Columbus, the Clippers are our AAA baseball team that just built a beautiful new stadium across the street from my work. I've been to a handful of games, which are always really fun - even though I can't say that I ever watch much of the game.

In this picture is Abby Leatherman, 6, who is the daughter of my co-worker Andrew. She is totally sassy (has 2 older sisters, from which she's learned everything) and a very sweet girl.

In the middle of the game, this weird looking bird mascot came into our suite. There are a few points of note:

- No one invited him in

- I don't know what the green parrot hast to do with the clippers

- Come to think of it, I don't really know what a Clipper is.

I digress. Abby was so excited to see this bird and it made me really question people in mascot costumes. We've all seen them. They were in our high schools:

They are at college sporting events:

And oddly, they are outside fast food restaurants:

Like most, you might be wondering what might ever prompt someone to put on this hot, stinky, bulky get-up and walk around in public venues...I'm here to impart some thoughts on that rationale.

I have personal experience in a mascot costume, and there are a few things I have to share about it. When I was in high school, I was an intern with Ohio Reads. I had to go to schools dressed up like the Ohio Reads guy:

Yes, I wore a huge state of Ohio on my head. What is remarkable about this experience is that when I was in a huge-headed mascot costume, I naturally took on the persona of a mascot...you know...huge gestures, big waves, lots of hugs. Kids LOVED it. I share this with you to let you know that it definitely has it's perks. I don't want to infer what it might mean that I have to wear a 3 foot wide state on my head to have kids flock to me and hug me...but it's a kind of cool feeling.

Now, I don't know if I can say the same thing for our friend at quiznos. That might be a bum deal any way you look at it.

Saving the world, one notebook at a time

2009-06-10T18:32:00.000-07:00

Today I had to run to Staples to pick up some materials I need for some client meetings coming up next week. I would imagine most people wouldn't think twice about this errand, in fact, I guess that most might even go with some reluctance to walk around an office supply store.

Not this kid. I love products. Especially office products (well...I guess it's not really limited to office products, I would also throw workout gear and sporting equipment into that same category)

Let me be specific. I don't really care about paper clips, or swivel chairs. I'm talking more about pens and paper. Every morning I start the day and pick out a specific pen that i'm going to use (which may or may not be based loosely on the color of my outfit....very Elle Woods, I know) and with that pen I set out the day with my task list.

Enough with normal routine, I set out with this blog to highlight the trip to staples. Building from my love of pens and paper, you can imagine how much I covet the shopping trips to staples...and don't even get me started on boutique paper stores.

There is something about a new set of pens and paper that makes me feel like I'm organized, on top of all my tasks and ready to take on the next insurmountable challenge.

This, of course, lasts for about 3 days when I lose my focus on neat handwriting, clearly labeled tabs and well-constructed project folders. My disorganization sets in, and before I know it I'm back to the daily pen selection (out of a vat of old pens) on a half used pad of paper with the little hangy-guys at top that didn't rip off cleanly.

Nonetheless, tomorrow is one of those save the world type of days. I have a brand new set of marker tip pens, 3 tabbed notebook filled with graphing paper and a pink binder to boot.

Watch out world, I'm ready to write, organize and file!

Cake Stand Blue

2009-06-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

I've been admiring, reading and thinking about blogs for the past few months. Somehow, every time I went to start my own I talked myself out of it. Reasons include but aren't limited to:

I don't have a good name for it
I doubt my life is interesting enough to blog about
I don't even know where to begin

Over the past week, my front room went over a total re-haul, and FINALLY I had the inspiration I needed to begin my blog! Cake Stand Blue - the name of the paint color that my front room is now covered in.

I don't think I have a particularly good eye for interior design, and even worse than that I am very complacent with the status quo of my house. Almost one year ago, I signed my life away on a mortgage, moved everything in and never really did much to change the look / feel beside bring my belongings into the room.

Good news is that in the absence of my knack for design, I have filled my life with good friends with great ideas. Not only do these friends have great ideas, but one in particular just graduated from getting her masters in architecture and has yet to find gainful employment. Enter Kitty, my designer, painter and decorator extraordinaire!

I really can't claim any of the progress that you'll see below. My main contribution was sitting in the chair while Kitty painted and entertained her with facebook updates and celebrity gossip.

Several trips to marthastewart.com; facebook status refreshing and strips of blue tape later, I have a totally redesigned front room!

Matt and Charlie admiring the new room

The new lamp that Kitty found at World Market

The fireplace stands out so much with the light colored walls

More pictures and posts to come when Kitty e-mails me the before and after pictures!