Wedding Planning Trumps Blogging

I have sufficiently spent the last 2 nights purchasing gifts for the wedding online. This may sound simple, but I have yet to mention the amount of time it takes just to search for the perfect gifts and favors to purchase. On top of this, I have been writing Thank you notes until my hand cramps up and sending emails/making phone calls until my brain is numb.

While planning for a wedding really is fun at times, I have come to realize that with less than 3 months until the big day, planning for this event trumps blogging. It's a sad realization, but true. So, just as a head's up, my blogging may be few and far between until after July.

With that said, it's time for a running update! My event has expired on the right side of the page meaning I have officially completed my first race of the year! And it was a doozey. To be completely honest, I was planning on a much better race than what took place. The first half I really felt great... despite the heavy wind and cold temps. But I ran mile 7 in about 10 minutes, which is much faster than my normal pace leaving me with mixed feelings. I could either finish this race in record time, or I had pushed myself much too fast and I was going to be crawling across the finish line.

Unfortunately, the ladder of the two options took place. I still didn't finish with a bad personal time (about 2:33 which is normal for me), but I was really hoping to do so much better! This has really made me rethink my training plan and I will be looking for a new one soon...

I do have some pictures below from the race, though! It really was fun to run with the family!

Right before the race began! Dad (he forgot his whole bag at home and had to borrow my mom's sweatshirt), Emily, Me, and John

Emily ran with me the first 5 miles. She was really entertaining to run with!

About half way through

Very close to the finish

Dad, John, and I ran Emily to the finish line

I will be posting these and more pics onto my Race Pictures tab. All for now!

Long time, No post...

Hello again! So I've been a terrible blogger lately... in case no one has noticed. But I'm back for another post!

Tonight I had a wonderful evening with my best friend, Amanda. There's nothing that a little catching-up and shopping can't fix! It's our chance to share current event's and  inspire each other to keep living a healthy lifestyle. After a while of going at it alone, you just need someone to vent to and encourage you. Plus I found the perfect dress!

Anyway, I really did need tonight because I have been a lazy piece this week. And I think Cory can vouch for that. The poor guy has hardly had any leftovers to take for lunch because I have barely been cooking. (Frozen pizza, anyone?) Probably no veggie this week, sadly. And my running has gone completely out the window. It's been a cold, rainy week and I have the race coming up this weekend so I have somehow convinced myself that I need to take it easy and that it's too gross to be outdoors.

In other news, I plan to sign up for the Omaha Half this week. I wanted to do it earlier, but again... lazy piece. I'm planning to run it with my other friend, Amanda, and I hope I can keep up with her! She is a great runner and much faster than myself. Luckily I have all summer to work on it so wish me luck. :)

Well, there are other things I can think of, but right now I think it's best that I make a list of everything that needs to be done since I have taken this week off from life. I plan to wake up with a fresh, positive outlook for the rest of the week... and maybe get a few things checked off my "to-do" list.

Goodnight!

Kris

Cuke dip

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted! It's crazy how time slips away...

Well for updates: I went for a wonderful walk tonight with my friend, Amanda. It's so much fun to walk with someone so the walks don't seem so boring! And it's a great, healthy way to catch up. (Plus it gets me off the gravel and into town.)

Also, I used cucumber for the first time last night! I know I said that it was last weeks veggie, but I just didn't have the time or supplies to make the recipes I wanted. So, this week's veggie is also cucumber! I made a veggie dip with sour cream, cucumber, dill, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.

I decided to use light sour cream, but I would suggest actually using the real thing. It seems to have more flavor. Also, I could not locate fresh dill in either of our small grocery stores, so I had to use the dried seasoning.

All in all, it turned out pretty good! Not to mention it is very refreshing and perfect for this time of year. I brought it to work today and I think I will have some more with my lunch tomorrow, too.

And, as a side note, some of the flowers are starting to bloom in our back yard! I'm not quite sure what they are actually (any ideas?). But they sure do look pretty and they are yellow!

Well, I suppose that is enough for tonight. Time to shower, take a Benadryl (curse these blasted allergies), and head to bed.

Goodnight, all!
Kris

.: Morning :.

Good morning! In case I haven't mentioned it before, I LOVE mornings. There's such a freshness as the sun peaks over the horizon. It feels like the whole world is just waking up and ready to start a new day. But the point is, I'm actually writing in the AM!

Anyway, couple of notes to pass along:

1. Planning on getting a run in tonight. It's been a couple of crazy busy days that have kept me away, but I'm really looking forward to another one. And, we are going to dinner tonight with a couple of our friends, who I am loving more and more every time we hang out! So glad we are catching up! Just reminds me how much I am blessed...

2. I have found my new favorite "there's no leftovers for lunch" lunch: Two pieces of whole wheat bread, toasted, with a skim of creamy peanut butter on top. Delish! Add a side of Greek Yogurt and I am set! It really keeps me full for hours, which is great because I hate getting hungry at 4. It's a little too early to eat dinner at that point.

Well, that's all for now. Time to head off to work and hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Kris

Wonderful run :)

Well everyone, it was 72 degrees here in wonderful Nebraska! This post is quite a bit different than the last as I did nothing but complain about the weather before. Once again, gotta love Spring-time in Nebraska. :)

But I rocked out 5 miles today and it was great! The weather was perfect, and I took a new route on some gravel roads, too. Note: I'm not a huge fan of this terrain. It's probably better for my knees, but there were a lot of white rocks that made for an uneven surface. My feet were happy to be back on the pavement for the last mile and a half.

Also, I forgot to mention that I found a fabulous website on Sunday! Allrecipes.com has everything. It took me about 30 seconds to create a log-in so that I could move recipes to my Recipe Box. And I get an email every day with a new recipe! I'm sure you will be seeing a lot of recipes from this site.

Well, that's about all for tonight. Short and sweet. More later!

Kris

P.S. I forgot to mention my veggie for the week --> CUCUMBER! Recipes to follow...

Nebraska Wind

It appears that there is a checklist of things that Nebraska must have every spring:

- Hail and snow in the same week
- Temperatures anywhere from 30 to 70 degrees
- Winds up to 40 miles per hour

The ladder is what got me today. I fully intended on running anywhere from 8 to 9 miles outside today. Didn't happen. I could say the wind was bad, but really the best way to describe it was: defeating. It definitely won over my efforts today. I did manage to eek out 5 miles outside, and then I promptly drove into town to run another 3 and a half on the treadmill. So regardless of the wind, I still did reach my goal! I just hope it's not windy like this when I run the Half on the 23rd.

If I'm being honest, however, I was not fully ready to run today. In fact, I was not excited about it in the least. I took last week off nearly all together and hadn't had a long run in almost two weeks. Plus I could tell the wind was picking up. After the 5th time of complaining to Cory that I didn't want to go, he said, "then don't go, but either way stop wining." At first I was really upset about what he said. Who is he to tell me to quit whining? Has he ever done an 8 mile run? But, after much thought, I understood his honest words. No one said I had to run today. So I either needed to run and be quiet, or choose not to go. And I'm so glad I did! I'll say this once... Cory was right! :)

In other news, I tried another asparagus recipe tonight and LOVED it!

It's called Grilled Asparagus Salad and I will definitely be taking the left overs with me for lunch tomorrow. The recipe is under my "Recipes" tab and I know I will be making it again. It would really make a great summer salad also.

Anyway, time to get back to the ACM awards! Goodnight, all!
Kris