Christmas already?

I feel like it was just Thanksgiving. Now that I'm in the real world (ha!) and work full-time, I feel like I Christmas comes and goes and I don't get to fully enjoy it. I work for a produce distribution company (I'm an assistant to one of the brokers- sounds better than it actually is) and the broker I assist sells citrus and December is the busiest month for citrus. So, I'm always working over-time and on the weekends and I can never find enough time to get all my shopping, baking and decorating done. We still haven't picked out our tree yet, but we are going on Saturday to do that. My boss buys everyone in the office a Christmas tree (!) so we have to drive down to the farmer's market in Atlanta to pick it out. I wish our apartment was already decorated! Someone come help me!




We don't have a staircase and I'm sure the people in our apartment building would think I'm weird if I start decorating the railings outside.



And we don't have a fireplace or mantle so this one will have to wait too.







And we won't be having anyone over for Christmas dinner. But it's fun dream and one day we'll have our own house that I will enjoy decorating.

Celebrity Look-a-likes?

A couple of weeks ago I was getting my hair cut. I've known the girl who cuts my hair for awhile and she told me that I look like Blake Lively- she even said I have her mannerisms. Now, this is the second person who has told me this. (A guy recently told me I reminded him of Drew Barrymore... I'll ignore that because he's a man)

I'm not sure that I see it...




Has anyone ever told you that you look like a celebrity?

Sunday Funday

Actually today wasn't too exciting. First, it rained all day and I'm pretty sure it never got out of the 40's today. Ew cold weather. Second, we're getting into the busiest season at work so I bring home work on the weekends. Clearly not fun... unless you make lots o' money and I do not. The good parts to today: church with the hubby (it was decorated for Christmas already, so pretty), lunch at Olive Garden (soup and salad and breadsticks oh my!), hanging out on the couch under a warm, fuzzy blanket with Mike with fresh, baked cookies. So, since I don't really have anything exciting for the 2 of you who read this I figured I would just post some pictures since its been awhile.

I made a cake for the Marine Corps Birthday

These are our precious cousins. The twins, Elliot and Emma, were in our wedding. We babysat them last month and we were playing with their new 3D chalk!
Anna and Mike blowing bubbles with Anna's Dora the Explorer Bubbles
Elliot and Emma with their 3D glasses
So darn cute!
Us at the pumpkin patch and corn maze

Well, time to get some sleep before a busy 3 day work week!

Happy Veteran's Day

Thank you to all the men and women who have served or are serving our country. Although you may not hear it enough, your sacrifice and service it greatly appreciated.
Since you read this Elizabeth, thank you and Cody! We love y’all. And of course, thank you to my handsome husband, I am so proud of you.

There are a few deals for our Vets today if you want to take advantage. Applebee’s is honoring them with a free entrée. Check out the Web site for your choices. You just have to bring proof of service i.e. ID, DD214, picture in uniform, or wearing your uniform. Outback is giving Vets a free bloomin’ onion and a drink. Last, but clearly not least, Krispy Kreme is giving out free donuts! Yummy!

I’m also a day late, but yesterday was the Marine Corps 234th Birthday! I made M a cake and made him blow out candles! I’ll post pictures later because they are on my camera at home.

New kicks

We finally went and got fit for new shoes! We both needed them desperately, so we headed to Big Peach Running Co. yesterday when I got home from work. Previously Mike and I both wore Mizunos. I've worn them since my jr year in high school...yeah that's a long time. I haven't been fitted since about then either. So it ends up I have a pretty high arch, a perfect center of gravity (ha!), and I'm neutral. We both ended up going with Brooks, which was kind of funny that we both went from Mizuno to Brooks. Here are mine:
They are purple and silver... not my fav color combo, but clearly that's not what's important. Unfortunately, the hubs got an even worse color combo than I did...




Haha USC, GROSS! He finally got over it and decided they were the best choice, however, I told him I'd never let him live it down. Well at least until he wears those out and gets a new pair with different colors.

We wanted to run the Atlanta half on Thanksgiving, but we waited too long and we didn't want to pay that much to register. So we decided to run the Gobble Jog 10k. It benefits a local homeless ministry in our town and the race site is only about 6 miles from our apartment instead of 25 to Atl.
I'm really excited about this one because not only are we running for a great cause, but I've only run a few 10k's and it's close so we don't have to worry about missing out on time with the family. And it's a qualifier for the Peachtree Road Race on the 4th of July! Anyone else running a race on Thanksgiving?

Go away rain.

I'm not feeling very motivated today, but Elizabeth gave me this award!
I haven't filled out one of these in a long time and I'm kind of excited. Does that make me weird? Probably. It takes me back to my myspace days when I did one of these at least once a day. Again, I'm pretty cool.

1.Where is your cell phone? On the coffee table.
2. Your hair? Half up from work.
3. Your mother? At home.
4. Your father? Indy. Taking care of my Grandma
5. Your favorite food? Right now, sundried tomato hummus.
6. Your dream last night? This morning it was me getting ready for work. Never good to dream that.
7. Your favorite drink? Water, coffee, green tea
8. Your dream/goal? Babies, the beach, a job I love.
9. What room are you in? Our office/guest room.
10. Your hobby? Running, job searching. I need a new hobby.
11. Your fear? Not having babies.
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? New town, baby.
13. Where were you last night? Gym and home.
14. Something you aren’t? A singer.
15. Muffins? Love blueberry.
16. Wish list item? Keurig.
17. Where did you grow up? Georgia.
18. Last thing you did? Dinner and dishes with the hubster.
19. What are you wearing? PJs
20. Your TV? We're about to watch Poltergeist.
21. Your pets? None.
22. Your friends? The best. Some too far away.
23. Your life? Love it.
24. Your mood? Relaxed.
25. Missing someone? Friends that are far away.
27. Something you’re not wearing? Socks or shoes.
28. Your favorite store? Anywhere I can buy clothes :)
29. Your favorite color? Pink and green.
30. When was the last time you laughed? Earlier.
31. Last time you cried? Don't remember.
32. Best Friend? My husband.
33. One place that I go over and over again? Work.
34. One person who emails me regularly? Monster Job Search. Not that it helps.
35. Favorite place to eat? Mexican.

I nominate
Say Something Beautiful
I Can't Believe It's Not Dead (you don't have to do it again, but of course I love your blog. Without it what would I cook for dinner?!)

Cooler weather means yummy soups

One thing I do enjoy about cold weather is warm comfort food. Although Georgia never makes up its mind on whether it wants to be cold or hot, I'm still craving some delish soup. Tuesday night I was babysitting some of my favorite kiddos and she had me make them Tortellini Soup. It was seriously the easiest recipe ever, but so good. So, I thought I would share.

Tortellini Soup:

1- 9 oz package of cheese tortellini (or veggie or pesto)
5- cups of Vegetable broth (her recipe called for chicken broth)
1- can diced tomatoes
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2- tablespoons of butter
Spices of choice (I used basil and oregano)

In a stock pot melt butter and saute garlic for a few minutes. Add broth, tomatoes and spices. Bring to a boil and add tortellini. Cook until tortellini is done (according to package directions). Serve (with some yummy homemade bread).

I think next time I make it I will add some mushrooms just to add a little more substance, but really it was so good without them.

Tonight, however, I am making this deliciousness. We are having a laid back night at home. I'm pretty sure I am getting sick (thanks to all the people who come to work sick) and we just wanted to hang out. Tomorrow it's football, homework (for M), some cleaning and hitting up the gym. I'm going to hit up the bike tomorrow instead of running so as to not pound my knee on the pavement for a day. Sunday we're going to the pumpkin patch and a corn maize with some friends and then carving our pumpkins! Last year we got pumpkins, but never carved them so this year will be our first.

Just what I needed

I finally had that perfect run yesterday. As I've said or complained about probably too many times, its been really difficult to get back in shape after surgery. Anyway, I had my mind set on running 5 miles all day yesterday at work. Even though I ran the half a few weeks ago, every time I've run since then its been tasking. I've needed that one awesome run that you feel amazing the whole way and when you finish you feel like you could run 5 more miles. So, like I said it felt so good. I finally felt my love for running come rushing back and I couldn't be more excited. I mapped out my run and it was almost 5.5, which made it that much better.

Now, the only bad part. I need new shoes. I shouldn't have run the half in those shoes. They're not that old, but something about them just doesn't work for me. I had horrid blisters on my toes after the half. I have run in Mizuno's since my sophmore year of high school and I swear by them. After my run last night my left outer knee starting hurting and it was pretty sore all day. I think I may have Iliotibial Band Syndrome. From what I've read it occurs from the band not being strong enough and can be treated by icing, pain meds and stretching. I plan on only running 4 miles tomorrow and see how that goes. Hopefully, it won't set me back and I'll definitely be getting new shoes... soon!

USMC 1/2 Marathon

This past weekend we went to Jacksonville, FL to run the USMC 1/2 marathon. Friday Mike, Adam and I drove down and met Lauren and Pat there. We had dinner that night and then we were all in bed by 10:30. We stayed in the host hotel which was conveniently located 3 miles from the start and finish of the race...? (and we didn't know until we got there friday) We decided just to grab a taxi on Saturday morning to the start. Big mistake. But you live and learn and now we'll know for next year. I was pretty nervous about the race because let's face it I'm in no shape to run 13 miles. The most I ran was 5 miles a week before the race. It was Mike's first half though so I was excited for him. Especially since he once said, "why the heck would you want to run that far voluntarily?" The weather was perfect for a race: cool and the sun stayed behind a cloud until mile 10. Thankfully Florida is really flat so we only had to worry about two hills and both were bridges. About mile 2 I can tell I'm going to have horrible blisters on my pinky toes, but I was determined not to focus on that. Lauren and I stayed together, okay she stayed back with me, the entire race until mile 12 when I told her to go ahead. She was really encouraging the whole and the race went by pretty fast. My goal was honestly just to finish, but we had said no longer than 2:30:00... which was hard for me to say because I'm really competitive and I ran way faster than that in my first half (too bad that was almost 6 yrs ago). So anyway I ran like a 2:23:00. Not impressive but it definitely got me wanting to start really running and racing again and ultimately a marathon hopefully next year. As soon as I crossed the finish there were two kids Marines that put my medal on and then another that handed us awesome USMC beer glasses that 5 minutes later I filled with free beer! There was food, beer, live music and Marines (including mine and Lauren's hardcore husbands) doing pull ups for t-shirts after the race. Then we had a 3 mile trek back to the hotel...with some giant blisters on my toes. We weren't sure if we could get free parking the morning of so we took a taxi to the race, but had no way to get back. Luckily Adam and Pat were feeling extra motivated and jogged back and got the car.

Since we didn't bring our cameras to the race these are us in the hotel when we got back. Now we know for next year to either stay in a different hotel or we can park free at the stadium and keep all of our stuff in the car. We decided to turn this into a tradition and run it every year. We had a blast and I think Mike may be hooked on the half! He's already talking about running the one in Atl on Thanksgiving!



Adam, Pat, Lauren, me, Mike
(if you notice Lauren and I's shorts... yes, those are silkies... we had to )

Ten.

Here are the top ten reasons Elizabeth and Cody should move to Georgia:


1.We live here (do I really need to list any other reasons?)
2. Cody can go to one of the best tech schools – Ga Tech
3. Elizabeth can go to one of the best nursing schools – KSU
4. We have Taco Mac. And while you live in New Mexico, who goes there for tacos? You know it’s really all about the vast assortment of beer. <-- = Cody's paradise. :)
5. It’s the ATL. You can throw all the bows that you want.
6. You would be on the same coast as your family.
7. We could train for our first marathon together.
8. Cody and Mike could share their undying love for each other everyday.
9. You can teach me your vegan ways.
10. We would have a blast all the time and I just devoted a whole post to y'all. (and you can use the word "y'all" and not get weird looks )

We love y'all and I hope we get to see you sooner than later!

Sun light and Fall weather!

Well it looks like the rain is gone for good... okay well maybe until next weekend! This past week was not fun. Check it out:



Six Flags

This one is from my friend Sheila's place

And downtown
The rain was crazy and it was really sad to see all the homes and properties that were destroyed.

Last Sunday was our one year anniversary. We didn't have a big blow out celebration, but there will be plenty more anniversaries for that. We went to church, had lunch with my mom, layed around, did a little shopping and then went out to dinner. This was the day before it flooded and it had been raining all week so we were kind of just stuck inside. Here is us cutting the top tier of our wedding cake. It was actually still good which was surprising.

Haha it was hard to concentrate on taking the picture and reenacting the cake feeding! I can't believe it's already been a year... we had a blast and I know our second year will be even better. I think no matter what you should get to take a honeymoon every year. Now if only I had vacation time and money...

This weekend Lauren and Pat were in town so Friday night Lauren and I had some girl time. Saturday we got up at the crack of dawn to go run since we have the half marathon this next weekend. I am in no shape to run a half marathon, but it will definitely be fun and we're not looking to pr or anything. Our goal is just to have fun and finish which is unusual for me because I am super competitive. I just keep reminding myself that I had surgery and that's okay. Saturday Mike and I watched some football and cleaned the apt some. Then we had dinner with Lauren and Pat, watched some more football and hung out. Today was definitely a lazy day: lunch with the parents, watched a movie, took a nap, M went to work and I worked out. I am finishing week 2 of the 30 day shred. Now that will whip you into shape. I've already lost a little more than an inch around my waste and can definitely tell a difference.

I have more, but I'm pretty tired and Monday is coming to fast.

Weekend.

This weekend wasn't very exciting really. Friday night was fun... we went and hung out with M's our cousins and played the Beatlemania Rock Band and some other games and laughed a lot. Towards the end of the night I started feeling really crappy. By the time I woke up Saturday morning I had a horrible cold. So pretty much I did nothing all weekend. I did clean some and we watched football! At least Georgia won because Ohio State gave it up in the last few minutes as always. Man, it would have been sweet to beat USC. Oh well.

The lovely Elizabeth awarded me this:
Now I have to post 7 unique things about me... we'll see how this goes.

1. My husband and I 'dated' 4 years... long distance. And when I say long I mean he was in Japan and I was in Georgia. A lot of people questioned and doubted that we would ever last, but here we are getting ready to celebrate 1 year of marital bliss. And hey, I got an awesome trip to Japan where I got engaged and met some fabulous people!

2. I'm a little bit ocd. I like things a certain way. And I like to clean... that's kind of weird.

3. I have a fabulous family. My parents are amazing and I have 2 sisters that are my best friends. Our family is a little crazy and I'm sure all of our husbands (and my dad) can attest to that! There is never a dull moment at the Cheesman household.

4. I'm obsessed with the beach. I've already professed my love for the beach in another post so I won't bore you. But I seriously think about it all the time.

5. I like to run. I don't like getting back into shape. I plan on running my first marathon with the aforementioned Elizabeth (we are still on for that?? haha). Depending on my medical issues as my boss called it today, I will hopefully run a few half marathons in the spring/summer.

6. I was in band in high school and I loved it. We were really good. I'm not saying that either... we won Grand Nationals. But to balance out my geeky-ness I ran cross country and track.

7. I love babies and kids and I cannot wait (okay I can wait) to have my own.

Out of shape!

That's pretty much it. I've never been this out of shape in my life. Surgery really takes it out of you. We're supposed to be running that half marathon still in Oct...however I may be crawling over the finish line. I've been really motivated to get back in shape and eat well the past couple of weeks. I'm determined to keep running because I love it, well I love it when I'm not panting up a hill wanting to cry. I decided that I needed to have more short term goals: not just I want to run a marathon. I decided this half will just be for fun, ya know since I'll probably be the last one to finish. Then from there I'll get myself back into the routine of running everyday and then work my miles up from there. But NO, someone else has different plans for me. I had to go back in for an ultrasound today to check on my one lone ovary and guess what? Yep the cyst filled back up. So back under the knife I go. Only this time it won't be a laparoscopy. She will have to make a larger incision in order to keep the ovary intact. AWESOME. It's a 4-6 week recovery and more invasive surgery so I'll be even more tired. The only good part is that she said I can wait until the beginning of the year to have surgery. If that constitutes as good. This turned into a pity party, I apologize.

Today after work I met a friend who I have not seen in almost a year. It's horrible we went this long with out hanging out, but it was great to sit and catch up!

Labor day weekend M, my parents and I drove up to Indianapolis to visit my grandparents. My Grandma has cancer and isn't doing so well and I haven't seen her since our wedding. It was sad to see her like, but I'm glad we got to spend time with them. Saturday we helped my Grandpa do yard work (the weather was awesome) and then M and I went to the Indians (minor league) game with my cousins. M had never seen Indianapolis so they took us to see the new Lucas Oil Stadium and then we walked to a place called Scottys to eat and have a few beers. Sunday we hung around with my grandparents then that night we went to my aunt and uncles and all the family came over and sat around the fire pit (yes it was cold enough to sit by the fire) and had smores, yum! My mom stayed up there for the week so I rode home with just my Dad and M... two men that don't talk very much= a boring ride home. And I finished Breaking Dawn on the way up so I had nothing to do! It was a great weekend, but I cannot wait for this weekend. It's the first weekend probably all summer that we have nothing to do! M has a lot of school work, but I plan on finally getting everything hung on the walls and watching football on Saturday!

September already??

How is it already September?? That means its almost been a year since I got married! I'm kind of sad about that... you can never have that first year back again. So much fun! But on the other hand I can't wait for what's ahead for us. We've been busy, as usual. We moved to another apartment only 3 miles from where we were, but it's bigger and cheaper. Always a plus. So what we didn't get a house? We were disappointed, but obviously God has better plans and we really do like our new apt! We moved the weekend before last and then moved my sister and brother-in-law this weekend. I'm pretty sure we wore my parents slap out! I would post pictures of the new place, but we haven't had internet. We had to wait 2 weeks for an appointment with Comcast. Obviously they need to hire some more people. It's been kind of nice not to have tv, I feel way more productive and I'm finally finishing the Twilight series! Although I really do miss HGTV and Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami (only because Kendra ended). Haha I guess that's my guilty pleasure.

Now that it's September, I'm getting pretty excited for Fall things. Summer is definitely my favorite season... I can't get enough of the hot weather, pool, beach, laying out, and sun light until 9pm or later! However, now that I work full-time I don't get to spend endless hours laying out by the pool. Anyway, Fall in Georgia is great! It usually stays warm until mid October, with a random cold day or two. Football season starts this weekend! We can go hike the mountain that we now live 2 miles from without dying from heat. Pumpkin patches, hay rides, apple cider, hot chocolate, driving through Blue Ridge and seeing the leaves changing colors, and lots of soups and chili! (Speaking of soup go here and try this. It's delish! I added shredded chicken which Elizabeth told me was quite authentic haha!)

I should probably get back to work. We get internet tomorrow so look out for some pics!

Happy (belated) Birthday!

Happy Birthday Kim!! I swear I did not forget you on Saturday. We moved apartments and our internet has been cut off and I didn't have your phone number written down so I could text you! I hope you had a fabulous 23rd Birthday in Africa! Love you!

Where did summer go?

I was all ready to have a post full of pictures, but now I can't find the cord to plug the camera in. Our office is a mess because we are packing...where we're moving I don't know. We have about another week before we have to be out of the apt and we haven't found another place to live. We are going to look at a townhouse today and we found another one in the same neighborhood so hopefully one of those will work out. I'm pretty much over living in an apt. I'm tired of hearing people stomping, marching, running or whatever they do above us. Also, their dog howls and barks for hours during the night. If we can't find a townhouse then I guess we're back to apt life... so I'm praying one of the two will work for us.

I wanted to post a few pictures from Heather and Dustin's wedding, but I guess that will have to wait. The wedding (and Heather) was beautiful! It was outside so the rain was a little threatening, but we made it through everything before it rained. It started raining at the end of the reception, but thankfully they had a big white tent! The wedding was really fun and I'm so excited to have another brother... even though they'll be living too far away in LA.

I had my post-op appointment this week and while I'm clear to exercise and get in the pool I'm not totally out of the clear as far as cysts go. I go back in a few weeks for another ultrasound to make sure I don't have any cysts on my other ovary. Obviously we're praying there aren't because one: I don't want to have another surgery and two: I'd really like to have babies of my own one day. Right now she said I don't need to wait any longer than 5 years and if there is another cyst requiring surgery/removal of part of my other ovary I shouldn't wait any longer than 2. Now, I want babies bad, but I like the 5 years better than 2! I'm not freaking out (yet) because I know God is in control and His plans are better than mine.

In other news Mike starts school on Monday...woohoo! Although I don't think he's very excited about that. I know he's going to do great and as weird as it sounds I'm a little jealous that he gets to be in school and I'm in the "real world". Although I do feel bad for him having to take all the general ed classes with all 18 year olds. We were all 18 once, but I took a freshman class my senior year of college and wow I hope I never acted like that!

Well it's time to go see the townhouse. Wish us luck!

Lately

Well, surgery went well I suppose. I ended up having a 15cm dermoid cyst on one ovary and a liquid filled cyst that was 470 cc's (I think they said a liter). They removed the dermoid and the ovary and drained the other one. No wonder I couldn't fit into any of my clothes! All the nurses kept telling me I was going to be skinny...haha they weren't kidding! Now I don't have to beat myself up about the "weight" I was gaining. Recovery wasn't bad at all... the worst part was the air they fill you with. It feels like bad heart burn and I couldn't lay all the way down. The other down side to the 4 week recovery is no physical activity and no pool. Bummer!

My sister, Heather, is getting married this weekend so the past few weeks has been filled with wedding stuff. She had a regular bridal shower and this past weekend all of the bridesmaids threw her a lingerie shower. The best part? It was 80s themed! Everything turned out awesome. We did some research on popular food and drinks- we had a ton of food, sex on the beach (the drink of course), jello shots, kool aid, pop rocks, ring pops and other 80s candy. I pulled out the boom box and of course all the 80s music! Here are some pictures of both showers.
All of the bridesmaids - Heather's wedding dress was the best!





L to R: My oldest sister Ashley, my cousin Angela - yeah that's her prom dress that she still fits into! Heather, me, and my Mama


The bridal shower: same as above just add my Aunt in the middle!

I can't wait for her wedding this weekend, we just need to pray for no rain because it's outside!


Last Wednesday was Mike's birthday... the big 23! We went to Waffle House for breakfast and hung out most of the day. We went to The Real Chow Baby for dinner, yum! But before we left he enjoyed an ice cold Sam Adams in the glasses I got for him.
We were so busy devouring food at the restaurant we forgot to take a picture until we got home.

Okay time for dinner!

Food...

Have you ever noticed that we, I'll just specify Americans, are obsessed with food?! Now, don't get me wrong I absolutely love eating and cooking for that matter so I'll go ahead and say I fit into that category. However, it's most noticeable when you're not allowed to eat. I have my surgery tomorrow and I'm not allowed to eat today. I can have clear liquids...thankfully? Mike is working so I don't have much to do so the tv has been on and I swear every commercial is about food! And worst of all I love watching the Food Network, but today I just got mad and had to change the channel! Okay, I'll stop complaining because some people don't even get to have one meal a day... I should be able to go a day with out food. However Elizabeth if you want to box up some of your Cocos and send it on over I wouldn't mind :)

Well I'm off to go buy some soup and ginger ale for dinner and after my surgery tomorrow. Woohoo I won't look 4 months pregnant anymore!

Okinawa Love

Two years ago today I was visiting Mike in Okinawa. He took me to the aquarium that day. We toured the aquarium, watched a dolphin show, and walked around the gardens for what seemed like hours. We finally got to this out look over the East China Sea. As the sun was setting he got down on one knee and proposed! Mike, thank you for asking me to be your wife. I couldn't ask for anything more.

Weekend Recap

We had a great time this weekend! We don't get to see Pat and Lauren that much, but we always have a blast when we hang out. I found out Thursday I didn't have to work on Friday (how nice to find out ahead of time ha!) so we got to head down there earlier than planned. Friday evening the guys ran and then we grilled out and played games. Saturday Lauren and I made beignets for breakfast, which is basically like a donut with powered sugar on top - yum! Then Lauren and I went for a run (bad idea after so many yummy beignets) and then we all walked to park. We hung out there for a few hours then we had lunch, played Wii, and sat outside while Carter played in his pool. We had delicious ribs and corn on the cobb for dinner. After that we drove to wal-mart to go see fire works!

Carter and I

The five of us - don't mind the random people in the back!

Mike and I

We bought some fireworks to entertain Mike and Pat and they all had different names, however, they all looked the exact same... this one was probably the golden shower, but who knows. We chalked it up to be false advertising haha!

Sunday we went to church and then ihop after for lunch. We finished our game of Wii monopoly and then headed home. We brought Carter back with us to stay with his grandparents for the week and the traffic was so bad it made what should have been a 4 hour trip 6.5! Oh well we had a great fourth!

Well I really need to clean the apt. so I'll leave with a picture of my cyst! (one week till I get rid of this thing!!)Yeah, pretty sure it's bigger than that now!

Ice cream

I rarely crave ice cream. However, tonight is the perfect summer night. It's warm, but there is almost zero humidity - which is rare for Georgia. We had a delish dinner on our tiny back patio and just hung out for a little while. And that's when I decided we must go get ice cream tonight. So here I am waiting for my stomach to empty out enough to pile some ice cream in! Mint chocolate chip? Or should I branch out? We'll see.

Anyway, we are waiting for the seller to accept our offer on a house... they counter offered on Friday and we sent it back hoping for a little more in repair money. So as soon as they send it back, we'll take it! Hopefully this week we'll be under contract for our new home!! I'll post pictures after that as to not jinx it.

I can't wait for this weekend! Obviously it's the 4th... we're headed down to south Georgia to see our friends Pat and Lauren (and their super cute son, Carter)! I love celebrating the 4th - homemade ice cream, bbq, hanging out with family and friends, fireworks, and of course our Independence and everyone who fights for our freedom!

Well, that Soba Noodle Salad was less than great. It really didn't have much taste which is probably why it was so low in fat and calories. Oh well. And the focaccia bread turned out pretty well considering that was the first time I've ever made bread from scratch. Hopefully I'll get better at it the more I make it.

Well, I'm rambling so I'll stop. Plus it's time for ice cream!

Finally Friday

This week has been a little crazy, but work has dragged everyday! However, today both bosses are out of the office - woohoo! House hunting this week went well. We found one we really like and we're super excited about it. My mind has been racing all week thinking about paint, new carpet, grass, flowers etc. This house needs a little TLC and I can't wait!

My surgery is scheduled for July 16, lame. That's four weeks I have to wait and that means I can't run until the middle of August. And that gives me a month and a half before the half marathon - not sure about that. I'm pretty bummed. And even more bummed to wake up this morning and realize that the cyst has gone down to a tangerine size. That would be fine except that I still have to wait 4 more weeks and who knows what will happen by then.

Last night we went out for a friend Katie's birthday. We went to a little place in downtown Acworth called Henry's. It's a cajun place and it was oh so delicious. I had Shrimp and Grits. Just the right amount of cheese and spicyness. I had the rest for breakfast this morning. Torie will hate me for posting this picture and really it's not good of me either, but oh well. The birthday girl is on the end in green!

This weekend I plan on doing some cooking, specifically I'm going to make Focaccia Bread. Elizabeth (http://www.icantbelieveitsnotdead.blogspot.com/) gave me the recipe and I'm super excited to give it a try. She's a fabulous cook and also taught me how to make eggplant parmesan when her and her husband came to visit recently. (Thanks Elizabeth!!) Other than cooking we are going to the drive-in movies tomorrow night with some friends - $7 for a double feature can't beat that! There will also be some pool time since it will be scorching hot :)

Tonight I'm trying out a new recipe: Soba Noodle Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Looks yummy to me!

I may look pregnant...

...But I'm not. I found out Friday I have a 10 centimeter cyst - eek!

This is how I look haha





Thankfully it's nothing serious, however, I do have to have surgery to get rid of it. It's just annoying because it makes me have to pee a lot and some of my shorts don't button very well anymore. So, in a few weeks I'll have the surgery and get to lounge around for a week (and finally finish the Twilight series!) The downside? I can't exercise for 4-5 weeks after. Which means I may not be running that Half in October. I'm pretty bummed, but I'm still going to train and see if I can get enough mileage in. I may be running it just to finish instead of running for a better time. Oh well, there are always more races.

In other news we have decided to try and buy a house instead of renting for the next four years while Michael is in school. It's stressful, but I'm so excited to have our own place that we can do whatever we want to it. It makes living in Georgia more appealing and hopefully in four years the housing market will have gone back up in case we decide to move :)

Well off to look at a house!
*These are my wants...

Really bad...

So I guess I'm really bad at this updating thing. Sorry - although I think Torie is the only one that reads this and she's equally as bad :)


Well, the weekend at the beach was completely rained out. Oh well. Here's one of our only pictures.











It was taken at M's aunt and uncle's house in Boca which is absolutely beautiful. We grilled out and hung out with his family (some of which I had never met) all day Sunday. Even though we didn't get to layout or go fishing like we wanted we had a good time and I found my new addiction...






I know I'm really late to jump on the bandwagon, but oh well I LOVE it! Unfortunately, the movie is not good at all. I should have waited to watch it in a few months so the book wouldn't be so fresh in my mind. Although, the New Moon trailor looks pretty good so hopefully it will be better than Twilight. I read the first two books in less than a week and now it's taking me forever to get through Eclipse because the past couple of weeks have been super busy!

This past weekend our friends Lauren and Pat and their son Carter came into town for Carter's first birthday. Oh. my. gosh. He is adorable and I love him. We spent Friday and Saturday with them because we don't get to see them very often and we had a blast! I'll post pictures later of little Carter!

This week I'm teaching Vacation Bible Church in the evenings after work. For the 3rd year in a row I'm co-teaching 3rd graders. It's a blast and I love the kids, but it reminds me why I didn't go into education haha! And it's exhausting after working all day, but it's totally worth it!

I should probably get back to work...