11 miles

I.ran.11.miles.

and it felt GREAT!

The weather was PERFECT, the scenery was beautiful, and I actually felt like a runner!

I ran the WHOLE time, with the exception of 3 walk breaks

(2 water and 1 refuel gel)

for a total of about 2 minutes.

I am SO pumped for the race now!

ONLY 4 WEEKS LEFT...

time flies

WOW! this week has gone by soooooo fast! I'm loving it! Staying busy is so much more fun! :) a few highlights from the week...

When I went to babysit baby Chandler (keep in mind I haven't seen her in a good month or two because they have been traveling all summer) held up her hands for me to pick her up RIGHT WHEN SHE SAW ME AS I WALKED IN THE DOOR, and gave me a hug! That just made me feel so good! :)

Little Blake invited me to his 4 year old birthday party. (His mom handed me the invitation and said, Blake said it was VERY IMPORTANT that you received this ASAP!)

My half marathon training is going wonderfully! I am so excited for the race and it's only a 4 weeks and 2 days away! YAAAAAAAAY!

well deserved TREAT DAY.

so, today I finally decided to take a day to actually spend my hard-earned money and treat myself. First, my friend Nikki and I headed to Hendersonville to watch a movie. It was really funny! Then, we browsed around the outdoor mall for a little while, before heading to Cheddars to eat dinner with Aunt Toni and Anna Kate. The whole reason for Cheddars as our dining experience was so I could indulge in my FAVORITE DISH OF ALL TIME... drum roll please...

THE MONTE CRISTO.

i fell in love with this MASTERPIECE of a sandwich a few summers ago when I was on vacation in Florida. We went to some restaurant in the mall with my grandma and she ordered it. I was skeptical at first since I was such a picky eater back then so I ordered something else, but THANK GOODNESS, she let me try a bite of hers. With that one bite, it was LOVE AT FIRST BITE!!! ;) haha Seriously, this is the best thing I have ever eaten in my life. So, today, as I claimed it my "treat day", I decided to go all out...it's either go big or go home! so I was so excited to have this lovely thing as one of my many splurges of the day!

Isn't she a beauty? :)

So, today was a GREAT day!

1) Ran TEN MILES.

2) Spent some of my money on a movie at the theater!

3) Hung out with an awesome friend.

4) Went out to dinner and ice cream afterwards!

5) Got to spend some time with my Aunt Toni and little cousin Anna Kate!

Devotional I had to share...

so, my Daddy sent me this FCA Devotional and it really caught my attention. I wanted to share part of it with you. :)

Do you realize that someone is watching you? Be assured that they are, whether you know it or not. Is your life worthy? Are you bearing fruit and striving to know God more each day? Whether we want them to or not, people are watching to see how we will respond to what life throws our way. Jeff now sees clearly how others are watching him, and I know he will continue to do his best to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. So, are you?

I am around tons of little kids all the time, so this really spoke to me as I need to be a good role model for them, and later on when I'm a teacher. I also need to be a witness to people my age to show that we can still be strong in our walk with Christ even in college! God loves us no matter what!!! :)

busy little beaver...

I've been loving my half-marathon training so far, but I have one question that just absolutely puzzles me...why is the FIRST mile of every run the hardest? haha. I think it's funny, but after the first mile, something just kicks in and it gets easier..and when I hit 5 miles, it's like I get a complete second wind!!!

I have been training in the mornings, and babysitting in the afternoon/night. It's so much fun! Last night I went to meet a family with 5 kids! I went over to see their normal routine and all I have to say is WOW! That mom is SO tough to handle all of those little munchkins by herself! Her husband is in Iraq and comes home in 2 and a half months! The kids were really sweet though, but they definitely entertain themselves, which is a big help! haha.

I've gotten 2 new jobs this week, and a 3rd one called me earlier today, but I gave her my friends' numbers because I was already booked when she needed me.

I LOVE BEING BUSY! It's MUCH better than being bored!



Anyways, I have a couple pictures to share.


Blake and I created a lego IronMan. He "flew". haha. Fun times!

sleeeeeeeeeeep.

I slept til TEN O'CLOCK this morning! 11 hours of sleep total! WOW! I feel a lot better after that because I didn't get much sleep this weekend since I had to wake up early and run 8 MILES Saturday morning. I DID IT! whoop whoop! Afterwards, I always feel so accomplished, and I can't even begin to imagine how awesome it's going to feel crossing the finish line at my HALF-MARATHON! (which is only 6 weeks away!)

new adventure

so, my baby brother left for college yesterday. I'm really gonna miss him, but I know he is gonna do GREAT! I'm so proud of him! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!

random fun!

so, today my brother came over for lunch, and we went bowling. it was totally spur of the moment and we had a blast! I think it finally hit him that he is really gonna be moving to Roane in a few days. I know he won't admit it, but he's gonna miss us! I hope I don't cry on Sunday!

three weeks of training...CHECK!

today's long run was 6 miles! I ran in my parent's neighborhood and omg. I have one word to describe it...TORTURE. haha. the hills were killer! I had to walk up a little on the big one, but I ran the rest of the way! I can't believe that I ran almost HALF of what I will be doing on race day. After I finished, I felt a huge wave of accomplishment. I also had a little taste of what it's going to feel like to cross that finish line and let me tell you, it felt GREAT!




so..I found these AMAZING ice cream bars in Walmart the week before I started training, and I decided it was the PERFECT treat for me. There are 10 in the box, so I decided that I would get to eat one every Saturday after I completed my long run...such a great decision because they are AWESOME!

when life hands you lemons...MAKE LEMONADE!

when life hands you lemons, make lemonade! especially when you go in to get an oil change and end up having to buy two new tires. Thank goodness I didn't find out later when I had an accident because my tires had barely any tread! THANK YOU JESUS!


Today Myrt and I had girl time and saw Ramona & Beezus, just the two of us! It was fun. I love that little girl!

check out the HUGE truck that was in the movie theater parking lot.

she looks SO LITTLE beside it! haha

just like when I was little...

We made a super fun "PIRATE SHIP" fort today.

:-)

the more I enjoy babysitting, the more I want to get my certification to teach PRE-K.
I just love the LITTLE munchkins!

Road Trip with my bro!

so Kacy and I made a bro-sis road trip to see his new apartment. We had a good time. It was nice to spend some quality time with him before he leaves in two weeks! I'm gonna miss him, but I am proud of him for getting his scholarship at Roane. I hope he loves college as much as I do!

(no trip is complete without a MONSTER energy drink! YUM!)