Run to Rock Half

As with most New Year resolutions a few weeks after the clock strikes midnight and the ball drops they are long forgotten. This year was different. Not that any of the credit belongs to me...no no the credit belongs to my bud M. She was the brave one that signed up for the half marathon first and then convinced the rest of us we could do it too. Run to the Rock Half Marathon in Plymouth, MA here we come!

Thus began the 5:30 AM runs across RI. There were so many days the alarm went off and all I wanted to do was roll over and ignore it. I won't lie there were a few times I sent off a text that I wasn't coming but being accountable to a group was great motivation along with an awesome husband who would kick my butt out of bed.

Its amazing how close you become to people when you are running long distances with them multiple times a week. They probably know me ALOT better than they ever wanted to. Our running group is amazing we were really able to push and support each other.  We each had a roll... S was the role model we each wanted to be able to run as well as she does...she's just a natural. She is completely humble too and never complained which was so annoying sometimes. haha L was the cheerleader. Always positive and encouraging. L would often push her kid in a stroller while we ran, which basically makes her Superwoman in my book. M was the leader. She was the one who would research where we could run and how long we needed to run to stay on schedule training. She was there everyday running. I was always hoping she would text that she was wasn't coming but if she wasn't there I definitely didn't need to be there. :o) I was the storyteller, the entertainer. The one who kept everyone's mind off of how many miles we had left. Like I said now know me extremely well.  I love them all dearly! We are sweat sisters now!

The night before the race we all stayed in a hotel near the starting line.  It was the best girl's night. We went out and carbo-loaded with the best of them. Carbo-loading is the best by the way eating everything they tell you not to and having no guilt about it. :) We finished the night by relaxing in the hotel hot tub and laughing the night away. 

The next morning bright and early we headed to Panera for breakfast and then onto the starting line. After stretching and getting a "before" picture we were axiously waiting for the to start.

3....2....1....BANG! The gun sounded and off we went. It was a weird sensation of want to take off sprinting but trying to hold back. We split up a mile into the race, S and I ran a head for about another mile before I demanded she leave me in the dust. Which she did because she is AMAZING!! Soon it was me, my iPod and the road. I was doing GREAT despite the race being much hillier than expected. I was on target to beat my goal until mile 9. Dumb mile 9 and a hill that was never-ending.  I kept telling myself, "I can run to that tree," "I can run to that fence," "I can run to the end of that fence." That hill took everything out of me, the last 4.1 miles of the race were torture. It was a mix of walking and running but I MADE IT! I FINISHED!! 2 hours and 29 mins. Finishing was the most amazing feeling ever, it almost makes up for the wobbly legs, exhaustion, and pain from running 13.1 miles.

It was a major accomplishment completing that race. At first I thought that the rest of my running career would be maintaining my running condition but now that its been a few months I've got the bug. The bug that makes me want to beat my time. First I think I'll run a few shorter races first. Anyone wanna join?

Sparrow

What's white and gray and fuzzy all over.... SPARROW!

She is a beautiful 13 month Siberian Husky puppy. We just love her!

CC and I have been talking about getting a 2nd dog for a while. We knew that if we got a 2nd dog we wanted to adopt a rescue. Those commercials where Sarah Mclachlan is singing in the background and pictures of abused animals fill the screen get to me every time. We kept going back and forth on when to adopt but finally decided to look into seriously and see if we found a good fit for our family.

We contacted the Siberian Husky Rescue Organization and started the paperwork. After a mountain of paperwork, background check on us with our vet, and a bunch of emails we finally had a playdate with a 2 huskies that the organization thought would be a good fit with us and Jak.

We knew instantly that Sparrow (her original name was Chloe. I love calling the names Jak and Sparrow from the porch when its time for them to come inside.) was the one for us. She was full of energy, loved to play tug of war and gave Jak a run for his money when chasing and wrestling. After signing our lives away Sparrow got to stay with us. The poor girl spent most of her life with worms and parasites. We were also told she has sensitive skin because of a really bad case of fleas and from getting into a fight with a porcupine and losing. I guess her previous owners didn't get all the quills out and some got infected. With a lot of love we know she will be just fine!

Overall, its been a very easy transition. Only a few tiffs between Jak and her. She is still young and a chewer but luckily the only causalities have been an empty milk carton from the recycling bin, an old flip flop(I need new ones anyway), my face wash, and a spiral notebook. Apparently this girl has an affinity for paper and plastic. She is a little skiddish when she meets new people but warms up quickly and is soon your best friend.

The first night Sparrow freaked out a little bit after we closed the bedroom door. She just kept pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Now I am proud to say she has claimed a corner of our bed (Dear Santa, we need a king sized mattress STAT!) She loves to explore our backyard, especially the ivy, she sits at our feet when we are on the computer, gives lots and lots of kisses. She is also very vocal. She loves to "sing" and catch with every one who walks by the house.

She and Jak love to play tug of war and wrestle. While he is much stronger Sparrow has adapted several moves to level the playing field which include laying down when Jak tries to hump her and going for the loose skin around his mouth. Sparrow grabs on and holds on tight. They also have this hilarious game they play outside where they both lay on the ground staring at each other and then as soon as Chris or I yell out,"Go!" they race towards each other and take off chasing each other around the yard. Weaving in and out of the bushes and from corner to corner. Jak is quicker but Sparrow is more agile able to turn on a dime.

They are best friends. There is something special about having another dog in the home. As spoiled as Jak was, we've been replaced in a lot of ways by Sparrow. Every dog needs a bud. Someone to sniff/pee on things with, chase squirrels with, and roll around in the ivy with.

I Work Out

So one of our New Year Resolutions is to get into shape. The Hubs wants a six pack more specifically. I want a flat stomach and some of the junk in my trunk gone or at least firmed up a bit.

Due to Husband's work schedule we weren't able to take a honeymoon right after our wedding. We spend the weekend in Providence which was still a blast, but we are SUPER EXCITED to go on our actual Honeymoon in February to the Dominican Republic. White sandy beaches, clear water and warm weather here we come!! We figured it is the perfect time to go right when RI is having its coldest temperatures we will escape to paradise for a week. This is our motivation! Looking HOT for the honeymoon! Superficial and worldly? YES! But it is motivation nonetheless.

To achieve this goal there have been several changes in our household. I now wear workout gear or sweats all the time. Jak and I get yelled at by Julian Micheals on a regular basis during her "6 weeks 6 pack" and and "30 day Shed" workout videos! I still don't understand how she can be so motivating and yet so mean at the same time!

I have also started running again.



About once a week I take Jak with me for a run. These are shorter but more intense runs as he makes me pick my speed up. Jak also makes a run more of a full body work out by darting to each side of the path causing my cat-like reflexes to kick in. Holding him next me is a great arm workout.

We are only on week one of this exercise kick...wish us luck!

3...2....1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I've never been New Years Eve biggest fan. I've always felt it was a built up holiday and never seemed to live up to the hype. The pressure to have a super cute sparkly outfit, find a guy to kiss at midnight, and make a bunch of promises that no one ever keeps. I used to work as a receptionist at a gym. January was always the best month to sell memberships and there was never any cap on the number we could sell because the owner knew that by February maybe 10 percent of the new members would still come. Yet since they had bought a year's membership it was FREE MONEY for the gym. But I digress...




This year the holiday was actually fun! We invited our good friends the Taylors over! We just love them and now we heart them even more because we have discovered a mutual love of random trivia and gambling...they introduced us to Wits & Wagers our new favorite game! We share a love of good quality movies (Back To The Future and the original StarWars.) Chris and Adam were like two little kids at a candy shop discussing the beauty that is BluRay and how incredible the movies looked. We laughed at how much more progress the world must make by 2015 (the year McFly travels to.) We still need to project things into thin air and create hover boards.





We were having so much fun that we actually missed the countdown. We didn't realize it was midnight until all our phones went off with mass text messages! We shouted happy New Year and kissed our better halves.



It was a wonderful start to a new year! 2011 was amazing but we are super excited for what 2012 will bring! Taylors we look forward to another game night soon!

Have Your Self a Married Little Christmas

Due to Chris' work schedule we spent Christmas in RI. We decided to take advantage of the situation and create some new family traditions for ourselves and combine some of our favorite Christmas traditions.

To start things off on Christmas Eve we decorated Christmas cookies for Santa.




Growing up I was always told Santa only comes to a clean house....somewhere along the lines this was engrained in me. Maybe it was all those Christmas Eves I scrambled to clean my room. Whatever the reason I have been brainwashed. Even though I now have my own house and my own rules, my brain kept telling me, "The house must be clean for Santa!" So Jak and I cleaned! No more husky hairballs hiding in the corners or under the couch. Jak and I declared war on them and WE WON!

When Chris got home he walked into a winter wonderland....snowflakes everywhere! We continued one of my family traditions of having hor'dourves for dinner while watching Christmas movies! To change things up a little bit we decided to spend the entire evening in PJs.




Chris' family always opens their gifts on Christmas Eve so that's what we did! And not a moment too soon because Jak was dying to see what was in his stocking. He kept climbing the stairs and sniffing his stocking. It was so cute!




Once the stockings were unstuffed we moved on to our presents! We were very spoiled with legos, BluRays, a Kindle, and Kinnect's WipeOut Game (I really want to be a contestant on that show but until that happens I guess this is the next best thing!) After presents it was off to bed.



Christmas morning we awoke to find Santa had visited us! Chris was very surprised since he thought Santa had come the night before for us. He got a helicopter that you control through an app on your phone. It has been flying around our house and into walls ever since! Chris went off to work while Jak and I plopped onto the couch under a blanket and watch Christmas movies.



For Christmas dinner we wanted to start a new tradition of fondue! It doesn't get any better than cheesy goodness. It was a very relaxing and wonderful holiday! We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Express Christmas

Our first married Christmas was WONDERFUL! We kick-started it off with a whirlwind trip to VA to celebrate with our families. And whirlwind it was! We were there for less than 48 hours!! But the 7 hour drive there and back was worth every second!

We started our trip nice and early Tuesday morning ready to surprise our families by getting to VA several hours earlier than expected! Our plan worked out perfectly! We hid in the dinning room while Chris' mom came home from work. As soon as she opened the door we let Jak loose, who then preceded to give her lots of hugs and kisses! He LOVES his Grandma! And she spoils him as every good Grandma should!

Next up on our list was surprising my family by showing up to dinner unannounced! My mom was in on our little secret and told us where the family was having dinner that night. Special bonus was that they were going out to eat with our very close family friends the Moschettos! The looks on their faces when we showed up were priceless! My dad's face was amazing too! He didn't know we were coming and so when I ran up to him and hugged him he was torn between surprised and "this is so normal." Dinner was fabulous! I love when everyone gets together!






After dinner it was back to Chris' parents house to have Christmas with his bro and Joanna. Jon is a private pilot and had a flights planned so this was the only time we could fit in Christmas. Jon loved our regifted creepy clown figurine (see UGLY SWEATER PARTY POST) while Joanna was a little creeped out by it. They gave us awesome presents...Chris some BluRays (to which he announced "I guess that means I'm getting a BluRay Player.") I got the Harry Potter Collector Edition Wirard's Chess Set! Its AMAZING!!





Wednesday morning we woke up and headed out to DC to meet up with my Grandpa for lunch! It was so fun to catch up with him and for him to get to know Chris a little better. I also had the best steak and cheese sandwich of my life! If you are ever in Bethesda, MD you have to go to Geppetto's... you won't regret it!

After lunch it was back to my house to spend time with the family. This included watching funny YouTube videos and teasing Brendan. We had a delicious family dinner and then opened presents! Santa was very good to us! I got a sewing machine and Chris got a Phillies' tie. He is very excited to show it off at Church! We gave Roxy and Holly wands from our trip to Harry Potter World...their faces were priceless! We also introduced our family to "Shut The Box" an old English Pub game we are obsessed with. Mama Wells loved the wedding album we gave her. I have a feeling I'm going to get a phone call soon asking me to explain how to use Shutterfly.com. :o)





After presents we all headed out to Woodgrove to watch Brendan play basketball. He had a great game! Almost a triple double! (He was almost in double digits in scoring, steals, and assists.) I got to show off my hot hubby to some old high school teachers and friends as well.

After the game we headed back to Chris' parents to have Christmas number 2. We are very spoiled! More fabulous presents (Chris got his surprise BluRay player!) and spending time with my new sister, Lauren. Between both Grandmas Jak has enough toys and treats to last time til next Christmas.



Thursday we celebrated Jon's birthday then packed up the car and headed to Scranton to celebrate with Chris' Grandma and Uncle. While in Scanton Jak was even more spoiled by Aunt Annette and we got the best gift ever... Cheese Jax. YUM! We surprised Grandma with our visit! She was sooo excited! It was so fun to hear her stories and tell her about life in RI.





Friday morning it was back to RI and life and recovery time.

U-G-L-Y....You ain't got no alibi!

Big jewels, pom-poms, felt, bright colors, and ridiculous patterns all add up to one of my favorite holiday traditions...UGLY SWEATER PARTIES!

Our fabulous RI Friends & Co (Rhode Island Friends & Company= the new cool nickname we have for our RI friends) decided we needed to uphold the tradition. It was a party for the record books. Some of the ugliest/tackiest sweaters and the BEST white elephant gifts! Next year Chris and I have decided we need to step up our game when it comes to the white elephant gifts. We thought ours were great, and they were, but the other party gifts were just on a whole other level.

I started out the game with this AMAZING dragon figurine while Chris started out with this one-of-a-kind "Apple Bottom Jeans" plant pot holder. We realized later that they were unzipped and unbuttoned in the front adding to its scandalous nature. Other awesome gifts included toilet paper, 85 Ways To Organize Yourself For Christmas circa 1982, a creepy clown holding a little girl and dog figurine, plastic bed sheets, a bear hat from New Hampshire, mint condition old school games, a pirate pillow and so much more! All the gifts were stolen several times. Chris and I ended the game with the Jeans Plant Pot and the creepy clown! We might be regifting these to people so beware! We just want to share the love and I am pretty sure if we keep the clown in the house much longer it is going to come to life and stab up in our sleep.



As if this party could get any better the "Bring Your Favorite Dessert Bar" was INCREDIBLE! Of course it helps when one of your friends is attending bakery school and was accepted into a French pastry internship for next summer (GO ADAM!) He graciously decided to share his final exam from his "Chocolate and Confections" class with us. I wish I had a chocolates and confections class in school! The whole thing is edible! We were very impressed!



Chris also won the contest for the ugliest sweater, which he totally deserved since I made him go shopping in WalMart's women's section. He rocked the turtleneck and sweater vest! He looked HOT! I've never been so proud! His prize was a Roadkill Opossum stuffed animal which Jak now used like a teddy bear. He takes it everywhere! We are shocked it still has fluff in it! It has survived so much longer than any other toy we've given him. Maybe he feels bad because it was already run over. Whatever the reason its still alive Jak LOVES showing it to everyone who comes to the door....the mailman, our neighbors, the missionaries, whoever! If it is not in his mouth when they knock he has to go find it so he can show it to him. Sarita you are now officially Jak's favorite person for choosing the prize!



Thanks to Jesse and Sarita for being our amazing hosts! We can't wait for next year!!