The Un-Charted

Last Friday, I experienced new uncharted territory.  I ran my longest distance that I had ever ran....16 miles.  Jessica, Katie, Kandis and I (the three Ks and Jammin J) drove to Glasgow, (about 15 miles) from us to do our run.  We needed a change in scenery and Glasgow has a lot more sidewalks than we do in our little town.  And the route we had, had a lot fewer hills..Huge PLUS!!!! We had a 5 mile loop planned out and after the second loop I was still feeling great!!  At the beginning of the third loop, we stopped by our car to shed some clothes, refill our water/gatorade bottles, have some chomps and chus and was on our merry way!!  Even at mile 13 I was still feeling great.  However when 16 hit I have to say I was glad to be able to stop running!!! I looked at my Garmin at mile 13.1. Even though it doesn't count officially I PR'ed my Half Marathon distance by 5 minutes, so I was super excited about that!!!!

me, Kandis, Katie and Jessica



Mizuno Running

So what if everybody ran? That is what Mizuno Running is asking, the statistics are astounding and it would be awesome if everyone did.  Now you are probably thinking I can't run, what if you just walked, biked, did aerobics, strength training, some kind of physical fitness, you would feel better, I know I do!!


My Favorite running shoe

The Road to 26.2

Some of you may or may not know that I am training for my first Full Marathon!!! Yikes that scares the crap out of me just saying it!  And this winter weather hasn't been the friendliest in the world!!  Most of my runs have been on a treadmill, which is okay up until about mile 8, then the OCD kicks in!!!  My longest run since last April was about 2 weeks ago.  It sure wasn't pretty but I did it.  I was feeling great at mile 10.  My training plan only called for 12 miles, but being the pushy person she is my PIC, BFF Jessica said lets just run a half marathon!!! So I did and that last 1.1 mile about killed me!!!!! My knees were killing me by the time we finished.  We averaged around a 11 minute mile, so it wasn't too bad I guess.

So here is to a few more long days until the BIG ONE...Ky Derby Marathon!!!!  If you are in the area and looking for one to run, it is a really neat race.  The course takes you by some historic and scenic places in downtown Louisville.  To name a few...The YUM Center, home of the UofL Cardinals, the Louisville Slugger museum and factory where the bat is made (neat place, a must see) Uof L campus, and one lap of the infield at Churchill Downs!!! How cool is that!!!!

Anxiously awaiting for April 19!!!!

Are you training for any half or full marathons this spring?




After said 13.1 miles!!!!! Crazy hair and all!!!!!!
Running attire....UnderArmour Infared top and pants, Swiftwick socks, Mizuno Elixirs, Oakley sunglasses, Garmin Forerunner (oldie but goodie)

Back up to Speed

Wow didn't realize it had been this long since I was last here!!!! The weather here in South Central KY this year has been brutal!!! I am so over it and ready for spring!!  I think everyone is.  If our kids goes the rest of this week, it will be the first full week since Christmas break! Keeping our fingers crossed for no more Snow days!!!!  I know my kids may think differently but they don't understand the consequence!

Here are a few pics to bring everyone up to speed of what has been going on in little neck of the woods!!!


Carter has been playing basketball and his team won the tournament!!! He has improved since the very first game!! He really likes playing and I hope he continues with it!

When the kids are out of school, they stay with my Mom.  And by day 4 they were getting rather anxious, so Nana got creative with Maddie and brought out all my old paperdolls!!! Maddie loved them!!! I walked down memory lane when I got home that afternoon. I remembered everyone of them after seeing them!

During one of our snows, we got the RZR out and went sledding with it!!! We went and picked up our cousin Kendall and he had a fun day of sledding with us!!!


We finally got to celebrate the 100th day of school.  We did 100 Faces of Maddie!! On the front of her shirt it says 100 Faces of Maddie and has 20 pictures and on the back there is 80 pictures of Maddie!! From birth to present!! I think it turned out really cute! It was a big hit at school.  Thanks to Nana...this was a snow day project for Maddie and Nana.

And lastly.....warmer temps mean off the treadmill!!!!!! I love my lunch hour runs!!! I can tell I was much slower yesterday.  That is what almost 2 months of treadmill running will do for you!!! I think the treadmill is better than nothing, and it does burn calories but it will not train you for any races, unless they are super flat!!!! And in our little town there is nothing flat about it!!! On the course that I normally run there is only about 2 miles all together that is flat!!!!

Tunica, Mississippi

On Thursday afternoon, we headed South to Tunica, MS.  Tunica is a little town that is just about 15 miles south of Memphis.  We had never been before, so we were looking for a fun getaway!  Our birthdays are only 2 days apart, we always try to do a little something for our birthday since it is so close together.

We stayed at the GoldStrike.  It is an MGM resort and I highly recommend it!! The rooms were super nice, clean and the beds slept great!  While there I used the fitness center and it was top of the line with several different machines.  We ate at the Buffet and it was very good.  We had breakfast and brunch there and I cannot complain about anything!  My favorite on the buffet was the pizza.....OMG it was delish!!! And the ice cream!! I had a big strawberry sundae.  And I did a blogger fail...not one picture of any of that food!!!! I was too busy living in the moment!

The Resort we stayed in

Chris did really good on the tables! Normally your odds at winning aren't the best, but he came home with some "chips" in his pocket!!  He hit on 3 numbers on the roulette table and that was a pretty big win!  I pay the slots.  I played for about 9 hours on $20!! I am a VERY cheap gambler! I will not continue feeding the machines.  But I had fun and that is all that matters!!!

Some of his winnings!

Chris's chips at the roulette table!

On Friday night we drove back into Memphis to eat at Rendezvous!!! If you are ever in the area or reside close and haven't eaten there....you are missing out!!! This is my third time eating there and it was no disappointment! It was delish!!! I had the dry rub chicken and Chris had the BBQ ribs!!! Man I wish I could have some right now!!

Chicken at Rendezvous!

Chris's Ribs

On Saturday we checked out of the hotel and checked out a few others there in the area, and we drove into Memphis to stay Saturday night there.......until my next post, more on Memphis!!!  However I do want to share some pictures that I got as we were coming into Memphis of the mighty Mississippi River!!!! I could look at her all day!

On the bank of the Mississippi

Birthday Weekend

My birthday was January 11. I turned the big 3-5.  The only advantage to turning 35 is I am now out of Jessica's (bff) age group in running! I normally don't mind numbers but 35 is kind of different, it is really close to 40! And 40 will be here before I know it!

On Thursday, my Momma, Jessica, Katie, Teri, Erica, Ashlee, Summer all met at the Mexican Restaurant.  It was really good! I was treated with some really nice gifts! I received a Candleberry candle, some earrings, some running shorts and top and some awesome hot pink Swiftwicks socks.  I love those socks, best running socks ever!!!

And instead of cake Jessica brought me......DONUTS!!!! She knows the way to my heart...or belly!!!

I also share a birthday with my co-worker, Ashlee she is the best!! She said I was her right arm, so I guess she is my left!!! And yeah she is just a young punk...so young she was my student when I was teaching!!!


The Hubs, me and another couple headed South on Friday to Tunica, MS to try our luck at the slots and card tables....more on that later!!!

A Year to Remember

I hope you had a great Christmas and New Years! I know I sure did!  However, I am glad it is all over, not to sound to cliche!  I love Christmas decor, but I am always ready for it to all go back in the storage totes and be tucked away for another year! 

I was fortunate enough to take off work on Friday and Monday after Christmas, so I was off work for 6 days! Man it was nice too!! We didn't do much, I got the whole house cleaned, all of the kid's Christmas presents put away, all of our new clothes hung up, and cleaned out a few drawers that have been gathering some very precious junk, what you don't have one of those! 

Reflecting back on 2013, it has been a great year!  Some of our highlights:

Went to Las Vegas with Jessica and JT

Ran my second Half Marathon

Maddie learned to ride a bike
Carter killed his first deer
Bought a new RZR

Completed a Warrior Dash

Carter PR'ed his 5k by 5 minutes

Lots of Summer fun


Survived both of my kid's first slumber/sleep over parties

The sadness of death of a really good friend and explaining it to your kids

Photographing my first wedding

First time going back stage at a concert!

Seeing Disney on Ice

Running across the finishline with my BFF as she completes her first Full Marathon

Running 5ks with family and having family in attendance



I know there were more memorable moments of 2013, but these are just a few!!