All posts by harkey12

Just Keep Running

Daily Life!, Workouts, ,

Morning Run

This morning started at 5:15 when my alarm went off. I told myself last night that I would wake up early today and get in a fairly long run before work. When that alarm went off, I had every intention of just going back to sleep. I felt like I could sleep for at least 3 more hours! And this isn’t normal for me – I’m the annoying morning person that pops out of bed with a smile on my face. Well not today…

I fought with myself for a moment or two before dragging myself into the closet to find some weather-appropriate running clothes. During my morning runs lately, it’s not cool enough to warrant long sleeves or a jacket, so I’m still just sticking with the standard running crops and bright colored tank. I’m still waiting on the cooler temperatures that should have arrived with October and Fall!

I made it 5 miles and completely wanted to head home. I was exhausted, and my legs were starting to ache. I pushed through the last mile to make my 10K distance for the day…but I didn’t like it! I was so thankful to make it to my driveway after the 52 minute run. I felt glorious afterwards like I usually do. It just took a bit more effort today to get there.

The whole run I had the little song that Dory sings on Finding Nemo in my head, but more running appropriate. Just keep running, just keep running, just keep running, running, running… That movie warms my heart!

Breakfast

photo(121) photo(122)Breakfast was typical today except for this Chobani yogurt. Look at this weird stuff! It was passion fruit flavor and had real passion fruit seeds in it. It was strange but ended up being my favorite part of breakfast! I will definitely be purchasing it again soon! Maybe I’m not such a yogurt snob after all. 🙂

The rest of the day flew by at work. I had a normal lunch with a salad and some scrambled eggs. And now tonight Nick and I are just munching around the kitchen for dinner since I’ve been cleaning and doing laundry. I got nothing done last weekend around the house, so tonight I’ve gotta make up for it! I also decided between 2 different dresses for the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks ‘Hooked on Dance’ gala we are attending on Friday night. I can’t wait for Friday evening now!

Have a great night!

Yay for October!

Daily Life!, Food for Thought, ,

I’m so pumped that we’ve made it to October 1st!! My Fall decorations are even more legit since we are in the month of pumpkins and scarecrows finally!

photo(119)Mac is still barking at my cute little scarecrow wreath like it’s bringing the plague or something. Crazy dog.

Anyways, I let myself sleep in this morning, and it felt glorious to get out of bed with 8 hours of solid sleep under my belt! I really enjoy working out in the morning, but I was a complete zombie all day yesterday and knew that sleep was the priority.

The highlight of my morning was waking up to the smell of Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Spice coffee brewing in my kitchen.

photo(79)YUM! And then my beautiful bouquet greeted me.

photo(118)It’s amazing how big and beautiful these roses were from Katie’s wedding. They are still rocking today too! Love having fresh flowers in my house, but I hate when they die. Hopefully these make it through the week for me.

Breakfast

I feel like I’ve been indulging in my eating ever since the wedding festivities started Friday night. So today I’m trying to keep it light and very healthy for the sake of my waistline and also my grumpy tummy.

photo(116)I cute up a large Gala apple before heading out the door to go alongside my Greek yogurt and Fiber One Cereal. I’m usually a yogurt snob and don’t like Chobani very much, but I really like this Apple Cinnamon flavor!

photo(115)I mixed in the Fiber One cereal for some crunch and to make it feel like more a meal.

photo(117)This breakfast was yummy and had lots of staying power! I had a banana mid-morning, but other than that, I was content til lunchtime.

Lunch

Lunch started with a big salad full of romaine, sugar snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots!

photo(120)I then rounded out my noon meal with a non-photographed Lean Cuisine. Yes, I was running behind and barely had time to heat it up. I need to be better about prepping some healthy lunches the night before. This quick and easy processed food has got to go!

October Festivities

Looking at the calendar this month, I’m very excited to for some things we have planned!

  • This Friday, Nick and I are attending a gala fundraiser event for the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks. We get to dress fancy and dance. Yay!
  • Saturday I’m off to Kansas City with my fellow Jazzercise instructors for our District Meeting. We are staying overnight downtown, and it’s going to be a blast!
  • October 12th I’m running my very first 10K! WOO!
  • Hopefully Nick and I can squeeze in a STL trip to visit his family one weekend.
  • Halloween! and then my BIRTHDAY! Which is technically Nov. 1. But it still counts. 🙂

I hope you all have a fun month planned as well! For tonight, I’m headed off to teach back-to-back Jazzercise classes. Should be a fun one! See you all tomorrow!

Katie & Jesse’s Wedding, Part II

Daily Life!, , ,

After Katie got her dress on, and we were all set to go, it was professional picture time! Which means I had to put my phone away and my personal photos came to a stand still until after the ceremony.

photo(112)But this is when Nick arrived (yay!) and snapped a couple for me during the ceremony.

photo(111)Oh did I mention it was POURING?! Yes raining cats and dogs. And it made for the most memorable and special little wedding I have ever been to. The couple shared that large umbrella in the center. And that’s me with the awkward hot pink one!

With the entire wedding party standing under our umbrellas, I can only imagine the fun professional photos that will come from this rainy ceremony!

photo(114)It was so magical because everyone in the crowd was standing around the quaint little garden under their own umbrellas. And what a great story! “Yes, it was raining, but we braved the weather with our umbrellas and recited our vows on top of the little waterfall in the garden with our family and friends by our sides…”   So romantic! And yes, I started crying when Katie was reciting her vows. It happens every time!

The ceremony was over within 10 minutes flat, we took a few photos (since the rain was letting up a bit!), and then headed inside to the reception to dry out and warm up!

IMG_2071_2Happy to be inside! And also happy that my beautiful bouquet made it through the rain. Nick liked my bouquet too…

IMG_2075_2HA! Weirdo.. And her centerpieces turned out really cute! Except they wouldn’t let us light the candles. Boo. So we got little battery operated ones in silent protest…

IMG_2070_2Anyways, we were lucky and got seats right next to the buffet line and the cake table!

IMG_2054 IMG_2056_2It was beautiful and tasted amazing. The cake was white and buttery with real strawberries between each layer. Yes, I ate LOTS of cake. And their custom toppers were so cute!

IMG_2055_2It’s hard to see in my pic, but it has Mr. & Mrs. Jones in a pretty script. And the grooms cake had fun toppers as well!

IMG_2058 IMG_2059_2This cake was chocolate, which complimented all the vanilla/strawberry cake I ate very well. 🙂

The buffet consisted of heavy appetizers, like veggies, meatballs, and some yummy orangey chicken stuff. I filled up my plate twice but scarfed it down too quickly to photograph. I was cold, wet, and hungry – no judgment.

We definitely filled up the space to capacity! It was so cozy and fun to have so many guests stay for Katie & Jesse’s special day.

IMG_2061_2 IMG_2065_2So let’s back up… the bride and groom were announced!

IMG_2063_2And then they cut into the beautiful cakes… aka, my favorite part.

IMG_2084_2 IMG_2085_2 IMG_2086_2 IMG_2087_2No smeared frosting on the face here!  Just the way I would want it too. 🙂

And then I ate TONS of gummy bears from the candy station. They had cute bags made to fill up with your candy!

IMG_2067_2 IMG_2068_2And lastly, they danced…

IMG_2078_2 IMG_2080_2It was just an all-around precious and memorable day. I’m so happy for my best friend and her new hubby! They arrived in Mexico today for their honeymoon at an all-inclusive resort. Yes, I’m jealous. But more than anything, I’m happy for her…promise! 🙂

Soooo that’s Katie & Jesse’s wedding in a nutshell. I can’t wait to see the professional photos! Congrats you two!

photo(113)