Hello Cupcake!

Cupcakes are so now. And why not? What is better than a personal sized cake complete with frosting? You don't even need a fork to eat this yummy little dessert! Knowing of my obsession with cupcakes (and all things sweet) my mom-in-law, Cheryl, picked out a new cookbook for me as a birthday gift: Cupcakes! From the Cake Doctor.

If you've never heard of the Cake Doctor series, you are seriously missing out! The books take a simple cake mix and turn it into something extraordinary! There are several versions, but I'd never even heard of Cupcakes!. After dad-in-law, Tom, brought over my gifts last week I sat and read through every single recipe in the book. Every. Single. One.

After much deliberation (and drooling!), I finally decided on Cinnamon Toast Cupcakes. I was making them for Saturday's game, which was at 11:30. That means breakfast tailgating! I figured "Toast" works for breakfast. They're like breakfast cupcakes, right? Plus, you know about my cinnamon obsession.

The recipe started out with a regular box of yellow cake mix:

In addition to adding the standard three eggs and vegetable oil, you add pudding, whole milk, and a whole bunch of cinnamon. Bake 'em up!

The very best part comes after the cuppie cakes cool; Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. The frosting recipe made way more than you could put on 24 little cupcakes. The extra was tupperwared in the fridge and has slowly been eaten on everything from toast (I had to try it!) to graham crackers. So good.

Here's a frosted little guy, about to be eaten:

Mmmm... cupcakes make tailgating even better! Right Bryan?

These were good. Like, I'm not even kidding. They were really good. My only complaint is that the cupcakes were too easy to eat!

I have a list going and tons of pages marked in this book with recipes I will be trying: Black Bottom Cupcakes, Inside Out Peanut Butter Cupcakes, Little Pumpkin Cinnamon Cakes, Jelly Doughnut Cupcakes, Coconut Snowballs... the list goes on.

Besides just recipes, the book is also full of tips and lists like "10 steps to Sensational Cupcakes", what to keep in your pantry, how to decorate cupcakes effortlessly, and lots of other tasty tidbits to make you a master at cupcakes. This is definitely going to be one of my most used (and most loved) cookbooks!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Everyone must have known that Drew was out of town for my birthday last Wednesday and felt really sorry for me! Because my date card was full last week. My week started with large margaritas on Monday with Hannah and Kelly, my old co-workers. Tuesday was more Mexican food with the girls, plus brownies at Katy's! Wednesday (my actual birthday) was sushi with the Greens. Thursday I hung out with my BFF Hal. And Friday was brunch with my favorite waffle-loving bankers Kelly & Katrina. Oh, and I just got back from birthday dinner and seriously delicious coconut cake with the in laws. Have I mentioned how awesome they are? Yeah, I thought so.

I have so many amazing friends, I didn't even feel that bad that my silly husband ditched me for sunny Orlando on my birthday. And, seeing as I couldn't run all week, all these birthday celebrations have left more of me to love; I'd say a good 5 pounds more! :)

Drew returned home on Friday with the promise of another birthday celebration. He made dinner! I told him my only stipulation was that I wanted tots. I'd been craving tots since the sushi on Wednesday. Don't ask! Drew decided to grill portabello burgers since grilling is his specialty.

The chef marinating some shrooms:
Mmmm! They're so yummy!I'm not used to dinner being made for me! Drew is an excellent cook, but I usually make the meals around the Gibby house.

Then he even made me a birthday cake! It had two layers of frosting. Clearly you know why I married the guy; he knows just what I like!
Adding the candles:

Nothing makes me happier than cake! And sweat pants. :)
Make a wish! I wished for a really flattering picture of me blowing out my candles. I guess not all birthday wishes come true.We didn't have 27 candles, so Drew tried to shape the candles we did have into a big 2-7. You can kind of see it, right? I have no idea why we had candles in the first place.


Check out the homemade chocolate and peanut butter frostiness. Oh yeah, so good!
Point of my story is; my husband rocks. He makes me tots and cake. I love love love him.

Thanks to everyone who celebrated the big 2-7 with me. I have high hopes for this being a really great year. I count myself as extremely blessed to have so many incredible people to share this little journey called life!

We Create Our Own Victories

Remember when I was training for a marathon and I told you every week about what I ran and what Hal told me to run? I know you do. Well, Hal was in Kansas City tonight!!! OMG. I totally geeked out over going to see him! I mean, come on. This guy has gotten me through ever single race I've ever run. Ever.

I knew that Hal was promoting a book, but for some reason I didn't realize what it was. So I showed up to the event and bought the book right away. Then I realized that it isn't a book about how to run marathons and improve your running. It is a novel about "Celebrity X" who is "more famous that Oprah" who is running the Lake City Marathon. It takes place during the 72 hours prior to the marathon, and is all about love, drama, and crazy things that can happen while running a marathon. Besides the marathon part it sounds pretty... lame. Blasphemy! Whatev, I will definitely still read it but I'd rather have a book that tells me how to be a better runner.

Here's Hal talking to us:

Hal is super old. He had the best stories. He was talking about running the Boston Marathon when they only allowed 1,000 people to enter. He told stories about winning marathons and running against all these famous runners back in the day. I could have listened to him talk all day.

He talked about so many different things, and people asked tons of random questions, but here are a few points he made that I found really interesting:

• "We create our own victories." Hal talked about how he meets so many people at these things and he is always amazed at people's stories. He met a lady last week who he said was tiny, looked like a natural born runner. You know the type! She told him that she'd lost 170 pounds by training for marathons. He met another girl who was in her late 20's who had been hit by a car when she was 18 and the doctor's told her she'd never walk again. She was prepping for her 5th marathon. He talked about how everyone has their own story and creates their own victory. You don't go out to win a marathon, but you always triumph in some way. I really think that part of the appeal of the marathon is that it seems so huge, but it is attainable. And everyone does have their story. It may not be as big as 170 pounds or regaining the ability to walk, but it's still your story. And it's awesome to feel like you're a part of that.
• The last 6 miles. Hal talked about how during the last 6 miles of the marathon you have to look deep inside of you and really use all the guts you have to finish. I could totally relate to this after last weekend! He was saying how all these marathons tout the beauty of their course, but really in those last 6 miles you totally get tunnel vision. He shared a story about how he ran Boston 10 times, then Runner's World asked him to do a review of the course, so he walked it. He was shocked to see that the course ran by Fenway Stadium at the end. He'd never noticed the huge building before. I had to laugh b/c during KC I had to remind myself to look up several times throughout the race to enjoy the beautiful fall scenery, but during those last 6 I didn't see anything but the 5 feet in front of me.
• Weight Matters. Someone asked about ideal weight for optimum performance and Hal made a good point that women often obsess over losing the last couple of pounds, thinking that if they did they would race so much faster. He said often that's not the case. He recommended recording your weight along with your race times to see at what weight you race the fastest. He guessed it would be somewhere in the middle; between your lower and upper normal range.
  
• Staying Motivated. When asked how he stayed motivated to run all these years, he quoted someone who said that, "Runners just die healthy." And Hal agreed. He said that he'd rather die healthy than sick and that the promise of a longer, healthier life is what motivates him to keep running. He also said to keep racing. :)
• Bermuda. He said this was his favorite marathon. Brooke, add it to the list!

Me + Hal = BFF:
This was totally the motivation I needed after what was kind of a crappy race. Being in a room with tons of runners and one of the greatest runners ever (my opinion) was seriously inspiring. I can't wait to get out there tomorrow and run my first run since the marathon, and then keep running after that. I can't wait to pick a new race and let Hal lead me there.

Kansas City Marathon Recap

Here it is; your super long recap. Feel free to skip the details and just scroll down to the pictures. :)

I can't believe the big day came and went so quick! I think being sick all week kind of made the race creep up on me. I was definitely ready; carb-loaded, hydrated, well rested. That however, didn't keep the marathon from kicking my ass.

I woke up at 5 on Saturday, drank some coffee, and took the dogs on a walk. It was chilly, but dry outside. No rain = good start to the day! I came home and started getting ready. I ate a Cliff Mojo Bar with peanut butter and put on my gear.

Drew made me a "marathon" CD that I started blasting to get pumped up for the race. About that time my mom got up. I guess she didn't realize what staying with us the night before a marathon would entail. The puppies love their grandma.

Brooke showed up a little after 6 and we headed downtown. Right as we got in the car is started to pour. I'm not kidding, it was raining so hard! I definitely started to get nervous. By the time we hit the highway it passed. How it was pouring in PV and not downtown I'll never know. The highway was a mess. I think they told the out of towners to take the SW BLVD exit because it was backed up for at least a mile. We went one ahead and exited at Broadway and had no traffic. I can't imagine anyone in that line made it to the starting line on time though.

See that Gaterade in my hand? I didn't drink any of it. I usually have a problem with over-hydrating. I drink like a gallon of water in the morning then drink a huge Gaterade on my way there. Then I have to stop at every porta potty along the race. I did the opposite on Saturday. I had a cup of coffee and a cup of water before the race and that was it. And, that plays into the race later on...

We made it to the start in time to stop at the Hyatt to use the restroom. Yea for not standing in a cold porta potty line! When we lined up it was chilly, but not too bad. Brooke and I wore our purple long sleeve tops from our first marathon together. I wore some gloves too.

I got really excited waiting to start. It has been 3 years since Brooke and I ran a marathon together! The crowd was huge too. I was really impressed. I was not impressed by the guy in front of us who kept farting. Not impressed at all.

Miles 1 - 7: Starting out on Grand and running toward P&L was awesome. It was uphill, so as far as I could see, Grand was completely packed with runners. I imagine that is what Chicago looks like, only on a much larger scale. The first few miles flew by. The energy from the runners was amazing and I felt great. I could tell right away the hills were going to give me trouble. I couldn't take a full breath while going up.

About mile 4 Brooke announced she seriously had to pee. Too bad there was a huge line at the porta potties. While time isn't that important, it sucks to think you could have finished that much faster if you hadn't have been waiting in line. So Brooke picked out a tree to go behind. I waited on the sidelines until she came rushing back because there were people on the other side of the tree. Oops. Still gotta pee. At this point we were entering mid-town and I spotted a Wendy's. I told Brooke we could go in there to pee. She didn't want to. I basically had to force her into the Wendy's where only a couple of other runners had stopped also. It worked out perfect! Toilets that flush and sinks to wash your hands. Perfect!

Next came Westport. I was so excited to hear my name yelled and I saw Meggy! Her sister-in-law was running too. Next we saw Drew and Tom for the first time. I stopped to get a treat from my goodie bag... bad idea. The tootsie rolls has frozen. I think I chipped a tooth! I also took off my long sleeves at this point since I'd warmed up quite a bit.

From there the race goes down to the Plaza. Besides the finish line, this is probably the best spot for crowd participation. It was here that I saw Kaitlin! It was so fun to run with her for a while before the half split off from the full. She did awesome... and maybe we can get her to do a guest post of the half marathon recap. :)

Miles 8 - 16: At about this point the half marathon splits off and heads back downtown while the full turns south. I was still feeling good at this point. At about mile 9 they handed out GU. I've never been a GU girl. It grosses me out and I always think sports beans and Luna Moons work just as well. This marathon made me a believer in GU. After taking it I immediately got a mood boost and a jolt of energy. Addicted!

The course ran back by the Plaza on Ward Parkway. It was about this point where Brooke and I passed the "birthday girls." A group of girls in pink were running to celebrate their friend's 40th birthday. The birthday girl was wearing a big pink crown. Super cute, right? They told us we looked cute, we chatted a bit, then passed them. Then they said something about us being sweaty and shouted to everyone we passed that it was so-and-so's birthday. They went from cute to obnoxious real quick. We kept trying to get ahead of them, but for the next several miles I could hear them yelling and screaming behind us.

We hit mile 13 in the neighborhoods around Loose Park. It was such a mental boost to be halfway done. And I still felt great. We saw our fan base several times over the next few miles. Jack is just about the most motivating little guy ever.

It seemed like at every water station there were people handing out "extras" like gummy bears, fruit, cookies. If you know me at all, you know I have a very difficult time saying no to free food. This also came back to bite me. I drank water or Gaterade at every stop, but the whole time I was SO thirsty.

Miles 17 - 20: It was here that I started to feel it. My legs were starting to show signs of fatigue but I still felt good. We were gaining on the 4:30 pace group and I really wanted to pass them.

We finally passed them at mile 20, but it was brief to say the least. I remember us saying we only had a 10K to go. I checked my Garmin and calculated that if we ran 10 minute miles the rest of the way we'd finish under 4:20. That would be a PR for me. I said something about being able to run 6 miles in my sleep. Rule #1 of marathon running: respect the marathon. The Marathon Gods were not pleased with me.

Mile 21: It all went downhill here. I felt like I was never going to see the big 21 sign. We kept running and running and it just never came. I remember thinking that if every mile felt this long I wasn't going to make it.

Mile 22: I started to get a little grouchy. There was a band on the side playing some pretty terrible music. It was like a cross between bad rock and bad emo. The song stopped as we passed them and they started talking into the microphone and I'm pretty sure they were stoned. I actually shouted, "Really?! This is what we get at mile 22?!?" That's called poor sportsmanship.

Mile 23: I knew I need GU or something to get me going, but for the last few miles I felt like I seriously might throw up. I knew I couldn't keep anything down, especially GU. So I just struggled on.

Mile 24: I can feel every single muscle in my body. My lower back is killing me, what I think is my IT band feels like it is tearing away from my leg. Even the muscles in my arms hurt. I'd lost the energy to talk, so at Brooke's suggestion I started singing songs in my head. "Is someone getting the best, the best, the best of you?" It helped a little.

Mile 25: This is the mile I started to pray. We couldn't even stop at the last water station because I told Brooke I wouldn't start again if I walked. All I wanted to do was stop. And cry. And throw up. I didn't have the energy to wave or smile or nod at the fans who cheered for us. A lady on the side was handing out Mike & Ike's yelling that candy would get us to the finish. I couldn't even acknowledge her. I just ran by as she tried to give me candy.

Mile 26: This is the mile I started to hyperventilate. I couldn't take a breath, and then I started to freak out because I couldn't take a breath, and then I started to think I might be one of those people who dies doing a marathon. Yet I couldn't stop, or I knew I wouldn't finish. All I wanted was to see Grand. And it felt like it was never going to come. Once it finally did, and we turned for the final stretch, you could see the finish, but it was a lot farther than I was hoping.

Mile 26.2: I'm usually pretty good about being able to sprint at the end of a run, especially a race. But I just didn't have anything left... until I heard those damn pink birthday girls behind us. I probably only sped up a tiny bit, but I pushed with everything I had because there was no way I was going to let them pass us!

Finish: 4:26:52

We crossed the finish line and while I was relieved, I still couldn't catch my breath. I just kind of gasped for breath until finally I came back to normal. I've never felt like this at the end of a race. We went through the shoot and got our medals and food. I couldn't eat anything because I thought I was going to throw up. Then my muscles started cramping. I forced a half banana and some water down, but it didn't really help.

After taking some pictures we headed out. I'm still really sad I didn't get to enjoy the finish.

Pictures:

Around mile 9. I'm still feeling good and trying to pose for a pic... didn't happen. :)

Not sure where this is, but we seem to be in good spirits, right? I'm so glad we had matching outfits!
Jack and Grandpa ran with us for a bit! Every time we saw Jack he was very confused as to why mom kept running away from him.
Back side... holla!
Yeah, all these pictures look the same.
My mom ran to get me a bottle of water so I could take some GU. Yeah, we put our fans to work!
I feel like you can tell I'm kind of slacking here. My posture is terrible.
There's the "I want to die" face:
Finish!
Bryan made fun of me for putting on a big smile for all of the pictures even though I felt like shit. I told him I'm going to remember the experience very differently than it happened. I think that's one of the secrets of running. You have to forget the bad races or you won't go out again.
I would have never finished if it weren't for Brooke. I'm so thankful she was there to motivate me and put up with my negative attitude. I'm so proud of her for finishing so strong: let's not forget that she had a baby (au natural) a year ago with serious complications (involving her lungs!). She's come so far in such a short period of time. She's my hero!!!

All showered, dry, and happy:

Notice my hair is still up? My fingers were so cold I couldn't get my hair out of the knot it was in. When I noticed my lips were turning purple I decided it was probably best to leave it there and get in the shower quick! I put on my comfiest yoga pants and a race shirt from a better time: the 2008 Wichita Marathon. I sat on that couch and drank my latte (not skinny!) and didn't move for the rest of the day.

This was by far the hardest race ever. I know it was because I was sick, but I also think it had to do with being dehydrated. I think in the future I'll worry less about losing time in the porta potty and more about feeling well at the end!

Thank you again to everyone who came out to support us and has followed the training on my blog. I'm so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life!

The Day Before

The day before the marathon is pretty much the most important day of training. There's not usually a lot of running involved... none if you are sick like I was. :) But there is lots of eating and drinking to do!

I started the day with lucky pumpkin pancakes. I've learned you don't want to eat lots of fruits and veggies the day before, so sneaking some pumpkin into my pancakes was a yummy & healthy way to start the day. Plus, I'm Irish, so I'm all about luck.


In the 2 days before the race I think I drank 3 large bottles of V8 V-Fusion. I'm not usually a big juice person, but I wanted to load up on Vitamin C. It is actually pretty good... might be better with some vodka. But we'll save that for another day.


Lunch was a big bowl of pasta with marinara. Every race has a pre-race pasta dinner, but eating a big dinner leaves you very little time to digest. And no one wants to be digesting all over the race course. A better bet is to have a big carby lunch so your body has time to digest and you don't show up to the start weighed down by pasta.


Dinner was at Minsky's and I'm sad I didn't take any pictures because it was a lot of fun. My parents, Drew's parents, Brooke, Bryan, and Jack met us out for pizza. Brooke and I ordered Nature's Choice and asked them to go light on the cheese. Have you had Minsky's?? It is probably always best to ask them to go light on the cheese, but especially before a race. Something else I know about myself is that I shouldn't eat meat before a race. I had some chicken for dinner on Thursday for the iron and protein and whatever else is in there, but layed off on Friday.
Then I came home and layed out all my gear for in the morning. Included: new green shirt (matches Brooke's!!!), race number, capris, chip, lucky purple sports bra, and St. Sabastian necklace. Not shown: pretty purple Mizunos, socks, and underwear... because do you really need to see that? Note: don't try out new underwear on race day. Trust me.

I'm Catholic, which you may or may not know comes with certain perks... such as a Patron Saint for just about everything. Saint Sabastian is the patron saint of athletes. My mom gave me this medallian before my first marathon and I've worn it to every one since.

Worst picture ever taken:

I also put together goodie bags for my parents and Drew to carry on the course which included Sharkies, Luna Moons, GU, candy, granola bars, Vaseline, Ibuprofin, and wet wipes. I like to have choices of food to eat when I'm running. Then I set the coffee pot for 5:00 AM and went to bed. I only slept a couple of hours because I was so nervous. That's why it is so important to get lots of sleep the week of the race. You want to get extra to make up for missed sleep the night before.

RIP LBD

In what I can only assume was a medicated state of chaos, I washed my little black dress yesterday. It's dry clean only! I'm so sad. You know when you've had something in your wardrobe for a really long time and it just is there for you no matter what? That was my LBD, as I'm sure it is everyone's LBD. I'm so sad.

I wore it to a wedding (the same wedding that got me sick!) this weekend, but I don't actually have any good pics of it. Here's what the top looks like:


It was just black with a lace overlay from Banana... something that should never ever be put in the wash. BTW, this is my cousin Sarah and if you want to see ridiculous amounts of cuteness check out her blog Bubs & Chubs on my sidebar. People related to me have really cute kids.

So, in slightly better news, your feel-good-vibes must have been working because I started to feel much better last night. I remembered I'd had a medicated moment of panic yesterday afternoon, realizing that my parents were staying with us this weekend and I should probably clean something. That something was laundry. When I opened the washer, in a very un-medicated state, I almost had a panic attack. Any and everything was in the washer. Lights, darks, delicates, jeans, my dress! WTF??? I'm very nazi-ish when it comes to the wash... I never do this.

Now the lace has come apart from the dress and crinkled up in a strange way. The bottom is very uneven and one of the sleeves ripped. I'm so sad. I wish she didn't have to go out this way. I wish it could have been in a bar fight or in a tornado, or something more exciting than me being an idiot.

Thank you for listening to my sad sad story about my wonderful dress. You'll be missed good friend!

How Long Will I Be Sick?

I am sick. Seriously, I am sick. Like, chills then hot flashes, sore throat, tight chest, gross, hate the world sick. I am not happy. This all started on Tuesday... and has progressively gotten worse since then. With the marathon two days away, I am not happy.

So, I'm wondering how long this kind of thing lasts. What do you do when you are wondering something? You Google. So I Googled "how long will i be sick?" I click on the link to Yahoo Answers and come to a page where "Amy J" asked, "How long does it take to get over a cold? I'm sick! I can't be sick!" That sounds pretty similar to me right about now.

The answer from someone named "Smiley": "I am sick too, and I really hate being sick, but sometimes we just have to deal with it. Someone once told me that God knows when we need to slow down in our lives, and so we get sick because we are forced to rest and take care of ourselves."

Really? Really Smiley??? GFY. I bet you aren't running 26 miles on Saturday.

Anyways, please send good vibes my direction that I may somehow miraculously get over this thing by Saturday morning! If anyone has any advice on how to speed recovery, I'm all ears!

Cookie Monster

I love to bake. And I love cookies. Who doesn't love cookies, right? Katy gave me this version of Better Homes and Gardens The Ultimate Cookie Book for my birthday last year and sometimes I just pull it out and flip through the pages drooling over all the cookie possibilities. I imagine heaven to be pretty similar to the pages of this book.The recipe I chose was titled Jumbo Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies. That's Monster Cookies to you regular folks. I don't think there is anything better than Monster Cookies in the whole wide world. You've got everything: peanut butter, oats, chocolate chips, and M&M's. Oh yum.

My favorite thing about making cookies (besides the entire jar of peanut butter called for) is getting to use my electic mixer. I love this thing. If you haven't noticed I have a serious obsession with my kitchen utensils... they're all so pretty. As always, my little helpers were at foot, wishing and praying to the peanut butter gods that I'd drop something.
Mmm... fresh baked cookies!
Close up! If I were a better photographer you'd be able to taste it through your screen.
Next step: wrap them up and take them to the post office. Drew and I are unable to keep cookies in our house. If I've ever met someone as bad with cookies as me, it is definitely Drew! We have no self control.
Random story: in college Sam, Blair, Kylie and I wanted to make monster cookies so we just googled the recipe, went to the store to buy the ingredients and started mixing. Eventually we had to switch to a bigger mixing bowl because our dough outgrew the original. How many cookies does this make? 12 dozen. What??? Yep.

So everyone we knew had cookies delivered to them that night, including our next door neighbors. We finished ours off over the weekend, because we're hungry girls! Well, for the next few days we kept walking by the neighbor boys house and peeking in their window to see that the plate of cookies was left untouched in their kitchen!!! So being the hungry girls that we were, we broke into their house and stole our cookies back. Stupid boys.

Can anyone tell me why my pictures come out blurry when I don't use the flash?

Marathon Training: Week 17 Recap

17 down, 1 to go! I guess time flies when you're having fun, but really, I feel like I just started doing these recaps. But here we are, less than a week until race day. Who's excited??? Last week was kind of screwy, but you'll be happy to know I did not run more than I was supposed to. I actually read the training schedule, then chose to ignore it. Hal's runs in pink, mine in purple.

MONDAY: Rest / Rest.

TUESDAY: 4 miles / Cross train. I did Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones. She kicks butt. She makes me feel like I kick butt.

WEDNESDAY: 3 miles / 4 miles. Okay, wait. I wrote in my running journal 4 miles, but then I wrote a time of 43:34 and wrote "holla!" next to it. I'm ghetto like that. But, 43:34 is terribly slow for me... so I'm guessing maybe I really ran 5. I think 5 miles in 43:34 deserves a holla... but not 4. I really don't remember that far back. Whatev.

THURSDAY: 4 miles / 3 miles. It was raining, so I ran on the treadmill. I guess I'm going to have to get used to running inside since winter decided to show up early.

FRIDAY: Rest / 8 miles. Due to the extremely crappy weather, Brooke and I couldn't find a time that worked for both of us to get our last long run in together... so I had to do this one alone. :( In my running journal I just scribbled "8 cold". My fingers were frozen. I'm not ready for this weather!

SATURDAY: 8 miles / Rest. Road trip to Hays... no time for exercise. But I did have two lunches. :)

SUNDAY: Cross / Rest. Road trip home from Hays. Just the one lunch today.

TOTAL MILEAGE: 19 / 15... maybe 16

Oh my goodness. The next time you get one of these recaps it will be the marathon recap. I can't believe how quickly these 18 weeks have flown by! I really appreciate everyone who has followed my training and left encouraging comments and cheered me on. You guys rock!

***Marathon Training Tip of the Week: Write it down! I love love love my running journal. It is The Complete Runner's Day-By-Day Log 2009 Calendar and it has a space to write about your run, when & where, distance, and comments. Mine usually just says the distance and the time if I wore my Garmin. And sometimes I'll write something like "holla!" or "sucked" which pretty much sums up the run. I'm not big on details. After 3 weeks of tapering you start to get all these thoughts in your head like, "Did I run enough? Did I train hard enough? Am I going to be ready?" Then you can pick up your running journal and flip through the pages to see that you logged a lot of miles. A lot of long miles. You can see that you ran 20 instead of 19 one week because you felt so good. You can see that in the last 17 weeks you've logged 461 miles. Seeing it in writing will quiet those voices.

And it will make you feel like a bad ass. Holla!

5 Things I Love But Shouldn't

Stealing this from Miss Trophy Wife, please make my day by posting it on your blog too. :)

1. Diet Coke. Oh how I loathe you. Yet I cannot stop drinking you.

2. I've never had a peanut butter kick last this long. It has gone beyond just peanut butter. Now I'm buying almond butter and all kinds of flavored nut butters. Cinnamon peanut butter... as good as it sounds.

3. Something you may not know about me; my new year's resolution was to make it through the first quarter of the year without stepping foot into a Target. I made it until March 27th when I broke down, rushed into the store and in a blind flurry bought the first pair of shoes I could get my hands on. I have a problem.
4. Yes, I love Twilight. Who doesn't??? But I was one of those people who swore I would never read a book about vampires because that is so lame. Then Kelly forced the first two books on me the day before I left for St. Croix. Day 2 of our vacation after crying my eyes out on the beach over New Moon I was contemplating asking her to overnight books 3 & 4. I instead spent the rest of the week re-reading them and will be with Kelly at midnight when New Moon hits theaters. P.S. Kelly, can we buy tickets for that now??? I think we should!

5. Zac, you know I love you, but I'm married to Drew! It will never happen between us. You have got to quit obsessing over me and move on with your life!

Meet the Bug!

As promised, here's the handsome new addition to the Alexander family; Parker E. Alexander.

He loves his Aunt Jamie already!!!
I still can't believe your a mom!!!
Yea for chubby cheeks!!!
So tiny:
She's going to be the best mom!
I think the best gifts in life are probably always given to us unexpectedly. Seeing Sam & Brady transformed into parents so quickly really made me really realize that God has a plan for us all and even though they weren't planning on him, Parker is certainly a huge blessing on their family. And I know they are going to be fabulous parents!