Always a Bridesmaid...

I found bridesmaid dresses! I need to thank my girls for letting me make them try on lots of dresses before finding one that I liked and that looked great on everyone. Thanks! Here's a quick snapshot of Lauren in the sample dress. We've ordered them in black/black. One more thing I can check off the list! Next up, a trip to Brickhouse to make see if Jamie's veil matches my dress and if not, ordering a veil.

They'll be great in the right color and once we take the straps up. They made them SUPER long for some reason.

A Major Award!

If you've ever seen the movie A Chirstmas Story then you know about getting a 'major award'. Today, I got mine!

That's right. I won something at a race. No, it wasn't a door prize either. I got 3rd place in my age group! Ha! Needless to say, it wasn't a big race but who cares! I saw other people in my group finish after me and yes, there were more than three in the group. It may be the only time in my running career that I get a prize so I may as well live it up. :)

The race was the Live Healthy 5k put on by Dickinson Beautiful. I won a pair or running socks valued at $15. WHOOP! They are fancier than my other socks that's for sure. They are labeled 'R' and 'L' since they're made differently for each foot. Goodness knows I wouldn't pay $15 for a pair of socks either. I might have to now if they are super comfy!

Picking up the Pace

It was back to the grind today. Oh yes, back to school. Goodbye staying up until 1. Goodbye sleeping in until 10. Goodbye laying out by the pool. Goodbye... until next June. :)

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So. I got lazy this summer. Yeah. I never do well on a strict diet but today I went back to eating only whole foods again. That I can do. It's easy to know and understand what to eat and why. I'll let you know how it's going every once and a while. Happy eating!

I want one! :(

So last night on Facebook I posted that I was going to try out Zumba for the first time. I also asked if there was any sort of dress code (like that you wear stretchy pants to yoga and not running shorts) that I should be aware of. I was told no and wore my usual running gear. Everything was good when I got there (in plenty of time of course) and I was all into it until the instructor told us that the next song was a 'booty shakin' song'. Ok, I can shake my non-existent butt. But then I notice everyone going to their bags and getting those coin belt things that belly dancers wear. Something similar to that. I was totally jealous! I wanted to jingle around while doing all the dance moves! The instructor had some up front if you wanted to buy one after the class but I decided to wait until I stick with the class. It was lots of fun and I can't wait to go back soon!

Southern Florida

Last week Nathan and I headed to Florida for a last minute vacation. Heath convinced us to meet him down in the Keys to hang out. Heath had to go back to work before we got there so we headed down to hang out with his gf Beth. Her mom grew up in Big Pine Key and they still have a house down there. We decided to spend two days in the Keys and two days in Miami. Here's a few pictures...

We went on a snorkle trip to Looe Key and saw a Reef Shark! Nathan laughed at me because I was swimming after it like crazy trying to take pictures. It wasn't scary at all so why not follow him, right?!

It's only the Southernmost Point if you can't figure out how to sneak onto gov't or private property, or don't want to pay money. I told Nathan that we need to hit up the Noth, West, and East points now.

Beth's dad (an A&M professor, WHOOP!) has studied Key Deer for 40 years or so. We learned lots of info about them while we were there. They are endangered but not very afraid of people. It's illegal to feed them but we still got to pet them! They are endangered because to the lack of space. They are found on Big Pine Key and No Name Key and not really anywhere else. They only allow two homes per year to be built on Big Pine Key no to help preserve their habitat.

Nathan's big Tarpon. Different environment than our Tarpon adventure last summer, but same result. I have other pictures when he's picking it up out of the water. Yes, that's me running around in the background like a nut.

An airboat tour of the Everglades was a must, no matter how touristy and cheesy. Our boat was filled with European tourists. Heck, all of Miami and South Beach was filled with European tourists! Anyway, they were enamoured with the herons and egrets flying around and almost went to the bathroom all over themselves when they saw an alligator. I guess Nathan and I are jaded by the sight of an alligator.

Nathan and I were keen on hitting up two National Parks in one day: Everglades and Biscayne. Success! you can't see it in this picture but downtown Miami is in the background. It's a small park but pretty none the less.

At least once every vacation I want to get a little dressed up and go out to a nice dinner. We were tired of Cuban food so we went to an Italian place within walking distance from the hotel. It was amazing! Our pastas were fan-stinkin-tastic and I wanted to die while eating desert. It could have been my last meal for all I cared. Any desert made from dark chocolate that oozed out more chocolate and had vanilla bean ice cream has my name on it!

Oh, you didn't know that I have my own beach. I forgot to tell you! We didn't stay at the Nikki Beach hotel but I sure did take a cheesy tourist picture next to it! (And yes, the green dress in almost every picture was my go-to lazy/beach dress for the trip.)

Standard beach picture. This was a few minutes before we saw some topless Euro chick. Um, no. I am obviously a prude american because I couldn't get over it. What about the small children on the beach?! what about creep-os who would take pictures?! I don't think I'll be topless on a beach anytime soon.

Peacocks and Spillage

Mandy and Dillon got married! (I know both of them through my college roommate Leslie.) They had the wedding and reception at Safari Texas Ranch in Richmond. I've come across the place in looking at venues but didn't look into it since it was too far away. They have all kinds of wild animals (think zebras) roaming the grounds, behind fences of course. When Nathan and I were basically running to the ceremony, we were running a little late, I saw a peacock. I'd just asked Nathan what they sounded like the day before but he couldn't describe it to me. Fast forward to the vows... "I Dillon, take you Mandy..." CAW! CAW! Nathan leans over, "That is what a peacock sounds like!" Ha ha. It made everyone giggle and lightened the mood for sure.

At the reception Nathan hit the bottom of my wine glass and it spilled all over me. Lame. Thank goodness for wearing a washable, knit jersey dress (LOFT of course) and it was dry within 30 min or so. Good thing since they didn't have any hand dryers, only paper towels. Nathan and I took my 'drying time' to work on a wedding playlist based on stuff we heard that night. Multi-tasking for sure.

Overall it was a super fun time and after Stephen's wedding on Saturday, I'll be next! WHOOP!

Good Dog, Crazy Dog

(No making fun of how I talk to the dog in a silly voice. Thanks!)

He listens sometimes...

And goes crazy sometimes!