.creative projects.

Lately I have been feeling the need to get creative and make some fun things. I am heading to Michaels today on my lunch break to get some supplies to make some fun projects. One of the things I am wanting to make is these cute verse cards I saw on one of the blogs I follow called Create Studio. I think it would be awesome to have these decorated verse cards around the house as reminders throughout the day.






Another project that I have been wanting to make for a while is a jewelry holder. Right now all of my jewelry is just jammed into a drawer and always end up tangled and a complete mess. I want to use and old picture frame and put in a mesh backing to hang my necklaces from and place my earrings on. I cannot wait to get started and create this :)

I am also looking to create a shelf/system for my lotion and perfumes but I am waiting to find the perfect shelf that I can refinish and paint to put my own little touch on.

It's so much fun to use my creative side, unfortunately between work, church, soccer, working out and just life in general I rarely find time to just sit and create something!

Saturday afternoon I am hoping to have a few hours to spend making some of my new projects.

If anyone has ideas of fun crafts to make I would love to hear!!! I am always up for new ideas :)

.california bound.

Happy Friday!! Today is off to a great start :) This morning when I got into work, we had an email from our VP of HR saying that the offices are closing at 2:30 pm so we can get out and start our weekend. It is a beautiful morning out already and today should be so nice.

After I get off work, Nick and I are headed to the Mariner's game. They are playing the San Francisco Giants...so I might have to root for the Giants since they are closer to my hometown :) But it should be a perfect night for a baseball game!!

Then tomorrow morning bright and early Nick and I are headed to Granite Bay, CA to visit my family. I am so excited to go home and spend time with my family. Even my brother Alex will be home from school that weekend so I will get to see him :)

We only have a few things planned for the weekend but the weather is supposed to be beautiful and warm so it should be a nice and relaxing weekend!

Can't wait to have Monday off and only a short 4 day work week the next week! YEAH :)

.american idol.

Yeah! I have been an avid American Idol fan this season and have loved watching it. I have to admit I was really bummed when Danny Gokey was voted off because I thought he was a great person with a great voice but then Kris Allen became my new favorite. I think that he was so talented with being able to play so many instruments and sing. His voice reminded me of Tyrone Wells...who I LOVE! So it was fun to watch and have Kris win! I also loved that he was young and married and that when his wife came and gave him a hug afterwards he was SO excited...it was so cute!

.wonderful weekend.

This weekend was a whirlwind and so much fun! We finally have some wonderful, sunny and warm weather and I am loving every second of it. On Friday night after work, I met up with Nick and his cousin Seth at the Red Hook brewery for some dinner. We hung out at Red Hook for a few hours and then Seth's girlfriend Alona met up with us to go mini golfing. Unfortunately they haven't extended to their summer hours so they were closed, so instead we came back to our place and just hung out and talked until about 12:30 a.m. It was a lot of fun to sit and talk with them and was a great way to start off the weekend.

Saturday morning we slept in a little bit and then got started right away with some Spring cleaning. Nick even scrubbed the toilet!! We pretty much cleaned and organized everything and it felt so good to get everything all neat and clean. After cleaning and eating lunch, Nick headed to the golf course to do some chipping and putting and hit some range balls and I went for a run. It was the first long run I have done since my half marathon and it felt great to be out there again...especially on such a nice day. Then I came home and got ready and started preparing some food for dinner.

JD and Angela (Nick's brother and his wife) and our friends Dani and Bryan came over at about 5:00 to have some appetizers and then we headed out to the Mariner's game. The Boston Red Sox were in town and we got tickets from Nick's parents to go to the game. The seats were awesome...only 6 rows up along the 3rd base line (in foul territory...I was terrified of getting a ball to the face :). It was a warm night out and the game was a lot of fun. Unfortunately the Mariners didn't win last night but they won the other 2 games in the series.

Then this morning, Nick met JD and Angela's dad for a round of golf. They tee'd off at 8:15 so Nick was up and out of the house early. I got up and went to the 9:20 service at church. The message was great and I love starting my Sunday's off with that! After church I grabbed a blanket and a book and went down to the waterfront in Kirkland and read my book for a few hours and actually fell asleep laying in the sun...it was glorious!!

I came home and did some more things around the house, Nick and I ran some errands, and then made some BBQ chicken and salad for dinner...and then topped it off with some mint chocolate chip ice cream. It was so yummy!

Now I am off to read my book again and then head to bed!!!

.longevity.

Last weekend one of my childhood friends from when I lived in Northern Kentucky, was up in Gig Harbor for a few days. Julie's family lived across the street from my family when we were little and the two of us were inseperable. If we weren't sleeping or eating we were at each others' houses. I moved from Kentucky when I was going into 5th grade and Julie and I have kept in touch ever since!

Luckily Julie's dad is a pilot and she is able to fly for free so she has been able to make trips out to wherever I am living. She was in Gig Harbor for the weekend because she is a photographer (and a Nurse too...super talented woman!) and was shooting engagement photos for a couple that is getting married in a few weeks. She will be out to shoot their wedding too.

Since Gig Harbor is only about an hour away I drove down to see her and meet her Aunt and Uncle who she was staying with. It was a beautiful day and her Aunt drove us around the cute and quaint little town of Gig Harbor. It was so fun and Julie and I were able to catch up.

It is so nice to see a familiar face and an old friend! I loved being able to spend the afternoon together and hope to see Julie more often!

Here is a picture we took at one of our stops....this was on Fox Island...

.mission accomplished.

I did it!!! I successfully completed my first half marathon! This is a goal that I have had for myself for a while and I have just never had the confidence to actually do it. I finally decided about 4 months ago that I was going to do it. So I signed up and committed myself to it. There is something about actually signing up that makes it real.

So then began my training. I have always run on my own...anywhere from 3-5 miles about 5 days a week with a few longer runs mixed in...so I already had a little bit of a head start on my training. The training really wasn't difficult and I found myself getting excited for my long Saturday runs because they really are rejuvinating. There is something about getting into a rhythm and just going for miles and miles. I was able to run 8 miles easy but still hadnt pushed the 10 mile barrier until about 2 weeks before the race.

When I finally passed through the 10 mile barrier I felt so empowered. I felt like I could accomplish anything. I was a sprinter in high school....we're talking 100 and 200 meter races here...not even once around the track. So the transition to long distance running took the first few years of college for me to get used to. Never did I think that I would be able to run 13.1 miles straight!!!

But I did it!!! And I am so proud to say that I accomplished one of my lifelong goals. I don't ever think I will run a full marathon but I think there will be a few more half marathons to complete in my life :)

Nick was my biggest supporter through all the training. He kept encouraging me and was always telling me that I could do it. He got up early the morning of the race and took me and then was there at the finish line taking pictures of me as I crossed the finish line. It was motivating to me while I was running knowing that Nick would be there to watch me cross the finish line :)

Annnnndddd...to top it all off, when I got home from the race, there were beautiful flowers and a little note saying he was proud of me! It meant more to me than he will ever know!!!

So I am proud to say that I have successfully completed my first half marathon in right around 2 hours :)


After the race...


The beautiful flowers I came home to!!

.memory lane.

Was looking through some pictures of a few summers ago and here were some fun pictures I found. Good Times :) Thank God for friendships like these!!!

.barriers.

I did it!!!I finally broke the 10 mile barrier while running. It has been a dream of mine to break 10 miles while running and last week I was able to do it. It was a beautiful day and I got off work a little bit early so I just decided that today was the day. I went out with my iPod in hand and ran along to the music and my thoughts. It was so peaceful and I felt really strong even towards the end of the run. I have my half marathon this weekend...so as nervous as I am about the race, I feel a little more confident now that I have actually passed the 10 mile marker. Thought I would share my big accomplishment :)

Here is a picture of me (sweaty and all) after I got home from my run!