I love weddings

Especially family ones! Joe and I missed Tom and Suzi's wedding a couple years back so we haven't seen Dad's side of the fam since Ting and John got married. So this year Amy and Mick finally tied the knot and we had a grand ole time in Atlantic City.

Almost off

We are headed to Atlantic City tonight for my cousin Amy's wedding. I am looking forward to spending time with the fam, since it has been a while!

A quick update

{Yay, blogger finally fixed itself!}

Between work, working out and travelling, I have had no time to blog! We are headed to Atlantic City this weekend for cousin Amy's wedding - can't wait to see the fam!

A quick update on our trip to NYC last weekend:
Marvinshopping in SohoOur favorite pizza spotGypsyTaking the subway everywhereRunning in central parkTaking a tour bus around townWalking on the Williamsburg bridgeCool graffiti around townHanging out with Paul and PrescottAnd best of all, spending time with my hubby and my Billy

Grrrr...

Blogger has a new layout format to make it easier to change the look of your blog, but I can't get it to work on this blog....and it's driving me crazy!

51 miles

I cannot believe I ran 51 miles this week! It's definitely a record for me. Joe has been coaching me for the NYC marathon and I am in the best running shape I have been in a long time. Today was my last long run (woo hoo!) - 22 miles. I completed it in under 2 hours and 40 minutes, with the last 2 miles being about 9 minute miles, which I hardly ever do. My legs are tired and my feet hurt but I survived!

Here we are at the top of the 2nd set of garage hills.And a tired E at the end of the 22 miles.NYC, here I come!

Training

I have been training for the NYC marathon for the better part of 4 months now. It seems like forever! This weekend is my last long long run (22 miles - aack!) before I start tapering. I am so ready for the running to be over! Joe has been great and coaching me the whole time. He gives me a running plan for each week and I have been following it faithfully (except the week we were in Spain - my intentions were good but I never did put on those running shoes!). I definitely feel I have a good base but sometimes I just want to sleep instead of get up and run!

After NYC I have 2 half marathons - White Rock in Dallas and Houston. I think one goal will to be to run one of them (probably Houston) in less than 2 hours. I am typically a slow and steady runner, but Joe has been pushing me this season and I think I can do it. But I should probably finish NYC first (one goal at a time!).

Book club

So one of my yoga friends invited me to her book club a few months back and I went. It was nice meeting new people with different opinions, etc, but making friends is not my strongest suit. I missed the last 2 dinners but finally made it tonight (not that I read the book or anything). It is definitely easier the 2nd time around but still a bit awkward. The ladies are all very sweet and I want to make more of an effort to make new friends, but it's a lot of work! I'm not as good with the social stuff as my younger sis :)

I feel old for wanting to go to bed at 9pm, but I think that's what I am going to do! Mom, if you are reading, I miss you!

Back in the swing of things

We have had our electricity back for about one week now and I am starting to feel more normal now. I actually did some regular things like the grocery store and yoga this morning!

We actually drove to Austin this past weekend to visit my friend GTW. She had a baby about 6 weeks ago and was ready for some girl time. Joe had a half-ironman race on Sunday (which I missed due to being out too late!).

Little G is super cute and super little still! But just a sweet sweet baby.After the baby viewing the girls went to the Four Seasons for a few drinks. Someone was getting married that night and they actually had fire works over the water!I wore my new TB booties, which are fabulous but make me feel like Barbie because they are so tall!This coming weekend is the only weekend in October we are spending in H-town so I am trying to get as much done as possible!

17 days!

We FINALLY have power - woo hoo! Thanks so much to my baby sister for having us over last week and letting us use your washer and dryer! This month has been such a haze. I spent most of it on the road and the rest in the dark! Blogging has really been out of the question, but since I got out of work early today I thought I'd leave a little eye candy from our trip (long overdue!)

A cool view of the plane ride to BarcelonaMe outside the emergency room before getting stitchesHanging out at the beachMy cuties at the villaOur villaHappy birthday Alan!Some good seafoodView from the villaIn StigesAnd BarcelonaI still have 847 photos to go through from the trip...it's like reliving it again!

fingers crossed

Everyday I keep my fingers crossed that the power will be miraculously restored to our house. So far it has not. But I keep hoping today is the day!

Again, I can't complain. We have a great place to stay. We have food to eat. I just want to go home!

September where did you go?

This has been the oddest month for me. The first week was spent in Spain. The 2nd and 3rd weeks in Dallas. The last week will be in good old h-town, but so far I have not slept in my own bed. Fortunately Tingaling and Boom got power last Friday so I have been able to sleep in a home with power throughout this whole Ike thing, but I literally have not lived without some sort of suitcase this whole month!

Good things from Sept so far:
-Ibiza (duh!) and hanging out with my boys
-staying with mom and dad
-seeing Ree and Ann
-not having to work any one-day post-ops (so far)
-not having any major house damage from Ike

Annoying things about Ike:
-not staying in my own home
-no power
-no access to edit my photos from the trip

I guess I really shouldn't complain. A friend of mine lost her husband last week (in an incident unrelated to Ike) and we went to his funeral today. I don't think I have ever seen so many people in one church ever. The sanctuary was packed and people were even sitting upstairs (I didn't even really know there was an upstairs). My heart aches for her and her 3 boys. So I know I could be worse off than I am and will stop complaining now.

the coolest thing ever

I don't know why this touched me but it makes me want to make something. Who's in?

swirling in my mind

5 days in a hotel by yourself can drive you crazy. So instead I spend even more time on the internet than I usually do. Things I have discovered in my surfing:
-Old Navy has some new designers or something. Their Sept collection is totally cute and I have found some things I would like to have.
-I still really want those Tory Burch booties.
-Fashion blogs are fun and make me wish I were 18 again so I could wear crazy/experimental clothes. I still feel like I am trying to discover my style so I am lazy and wear what is comfortable. But I don't want to be comfortable; I want to be fabulous!
-Hurricane Ike is still going through Houston but the hubs and house are still standing.
-Facebook still hasn't lost its novelty.
-I am hungry from being up over 2 hours already (hotel sleep just isn't as good as home sleep).
-I am ready for the weekend. Hopefully we will not be too busy today, with the imminent rain and all.
I guess that's all for now. I am off to get some breakfast and finish packing up!

Stuck

...here in Dallas. The upside is that I get to spend the weekend with the 'rents and don't have to get on a plane tomorrow. And I get to avoid the rain at home. The downside is that I won't see the hubs until next week and will be worrying about him and our peeps because of Hurricane Ike. The other downside is that I tend to shop when I have nothing better to do and have found all sorts of clothes and shoes that I need for the fall! Fortunately I have yet to actually buy anything, but I am very very very close to claiming those Tory Burch booties as my own!

Perspective

Although I am very disappointed to have to stay in the metroplex over the weekend because of Ike (Boo!), I know worse things could have happened. And have happened. This is just a token of my remembrance in my little space of the universe.

On why H-town is a better place to live than Big D

Well, at least one reason...in H-town if you live ITL (inside the loop), anywhere you may want to go is no more than 20 minutes away. The city itself is very central even if the area that is considered Houston is large. In Dallas you not only have the surrounding cites of Dallas but those of FW too. The DFW metroplex is HUGE and can take forever to get to wherever you want to go. I am SO not into commuting!

And that's my 2cents for today.

P.S. Please Hurricane Ike pass us up so I can go home on Saturday.

Back home...almost

After a whirlwind vacation to Ibiza, Sitges and Barcelona, Spain, I am finally back home. Well, at least back in Texas! I spent one night in our bed before heading out to the Big D for work. I will be spending most of Sept up here as we are opening a new center near the 'rents (which is why I volunteered to work up here in the first place!) and the doc for Plano quit.

The hotel is fairly decent and I have quite a bit of space in my room, which is nice. I even ran 4 miles this morning, which proved that I am a klutz because I tripped and fell...again! Fortunately I just scraped up my left knee a little and bruised my pride a bit as well but otherwise no worse for the wear.

I forgot to bring the USB cable for my camera up with me so my posts will be a bit boring with no new photos...but I will post one from our tripJust me and some of my boys at Pacha in Ibiza. I can't believe we were there just a week ago...I am ready for another vacation ;)

It never fails...

within 10 minutes of arriving at the villa (fabulous, by the way - apparently Duran Duran stayed here 2 weeks ago!!), as I was scoping out which room we wanted, I tripped on the stairs and split open my right shin. Luckily our housekeeper was also a nurse and wrapped it up, but she also advised that I would probably need stitches. So we found the hospital and for 70 euros they stitched me right up.

Needless to say, having this injury is not conducive to dancing, so I stayed in and slept instead. I am feeling almost good as new, just a little battered and bruised.

We are off the eat at a restaurant on the beach right now. It is so beautiful here...will try to post photos later.

Loves!

Long layover

We landed in Newark about 30 minutes ago. After grabbing a quick bite to eat we are currently making ourselves comfortable in the President's Club (Joe bought a couple passes off of ebay). The trip has been fairly uneventful so far.

Here we are, bright-eyed and bushy tailed at Intercontinental.We were sitting in the first coach seats right behind first class, so lots of leg room (alas, no breakfast bread basket through).Our vantage point of the clouds.Now we get to sit and wait for our flight to leave in 6 hours...

...and we're off!

It is 6:09 AM as I am typing this. I have run 4 miles, finished packing, done a load of laundry and updated my Facebook. My cameras are packed or I would post a photo! Fortunately the hubs and I have been able to stuff all of our crap into carry-ons, so the only thing we are checking is Joey's hair products (so no big deal if they don't get there!).

Today is going to be a long travel day. We are headed to Newark this morning with a 5 hour layover. Our flight to Barcelona will be overnight. We have another long layover in Barcelona before heading to Ibiza. I think we will be in Ibiza around 3-4 pm Sunday afternoon. I am glad we are on vacation but already ready to get there!

Loves!

Sweaty

...would be the one word I would use to describe my August. Last time I trained for a marathon I don't think I really started major running until September so I don't remember being near this sweaty every time I worked out. At least the month is almost over!

Only 8 hours of work standing between vacation and me. Can't wait!

It never fails...

Today was one of those great yoga days when I felt very flexible, our instructor was in a good mood and I had a good practice. And now I am going to be gone for like a month! I know I can practice on my own, but it's much easier to sandbag when no one in watching and you don't get any better.

At least I have valid reasons for missing yogi in Sept - Spain (woot!) and working up in Dallas/Arlington. I am actually looking forward to a change in work environment (hopefully will be a bit less busy) and seeing the 'rents as well as Ann and Ree.

My posts have been a bit short and boring lately. Just not much to report and half of my readership I see practically everyday, so she already knows what's going on!

Hello Cupcake!

I have been wanting to try this newish cupcake place in town called Crave Cupcakes so I convinced Tingaling to accompany me after lunch yesterday. !The place is so cute and the cupcakes delish. I tried the red velvet while Tingaling had yellow cake with chocolate frosting.
Yum!
I am also working on a mini to take on our trip to Spain. Just finished the envelope covers this morning. Only 4 more days!

Newest obsession

...I blame Tingaling...

RIP

I think my attempts to save my Ipod have been too little too late. I just didn't imagine that the amount that I sweat while running would have such an effect of the little guy, but it has. Drying it in rice, buying a new charger and armband probably extended its life about 1 week total. Two nights ago it was fully charged before I went to bed. When I woke up to use it in the morning, it had lost all its charge, even though it was still connected to the charger. NOT good. So last night I looked at it and the screen was dead. Kaput. Bye bye Nano. You served me well. I have my eye on a new model, in pink, of course.

The view

for the last week or so in our living room:I will be a bit sad when the games are over...

2 weeks

In a little under two weeks we will be on vacation on the sunny island of Ibiza, off the coast of Spain! We are celebrating our good friend AQ's 40th bday. I think I am actually going to be the only girl on the trip and Joe and Joey are going to be the only straight boys. So it will be even more fun!I can't wait to get away for a bit. Just have to make it through 8 more days of work...I can do it!

Been a good day so far

We have had a busy day and I am tired but content. We started off the day by waking up early (4:30 am - eep!) to start our 14 mile run. I always get very tired after 10 miles so this was a tough one. My Nano did last through the run, although the new arm band I got was soaked through.

We were back home by 8am. After a quick shower, smoothie for breakfast and a short rest we were off the yoga for class at 9:30. Yoga is hard after a long run, but it really does help stretch me out. I could tell I was still pretty dehydrated because I barely sweat at all during the practice.

We braved the masses at Central Market after yoga. I wanted to check out Lululemon for tax free weekend, but it wasn't open at 11:15 am!So we dropped off the groceries at home then went to Luke's. I wanted to buy another pair of running shoes but they didn't have my size in stock. So I settled for a couple pair of running shorts and bras.

For lunch we got take out from El Rey, a random Cuban-Mexican fast food place. And we watched MP go 8 for 8. THAT was amazing! I am a bit sad that swimming is over!

Now after watching some more Olympics Joe is in the middle of a well deserved nap and I am debating whether I want to nap or scrap...