Thanksgiving Pics!

Hey Gals,

Sorry I've been MIA from the blog world for a while. Traveling for Thanksgiving, getting back to work, and living in The Great Bathroom Remodel of 2010 has had my schedule all whacky.

But let's get down to a few pics from the holiday weekend!

On Wednesday night, Tom, Reba, and I drove allllll the way to Knoxville. I got up bright and early to run Fleet Feet of Knoxville's Hot to Trot 10K.

As I mentioned earlier, doing this race is a tradition for me and my good 'ole dad every year. We go just the two of us and let everyone else sleep in.

We got to the race site early and there were already tons of people there! They estimated about 1,400 participants, and this was the second annual race.
Since I've got the half-marathon coming up on Saturday, I decided a longer run was in order so I opted for the 10K, instead of the 5K like I did last year.

The course was a double out-and-back which I don't usually love, but it was a good one this time, and the second half seemed to go by really face. Here I am, so excited for Turkey Day. I think I am looking this happy because I'm envisioning Pecan Pie and Green Bean Casserole being dangled in front of me:

My goal was to finish in 1:06, which would be slightly under an 11 minute mile. My final time was 1:02:53!!! I was really pleased with this pace (10:09), and it gave me some confidence for the half-marathon on Saturday.

Here's me and my photographer/cheerleader/friend/Dad!!

Whew! Glad to be done....now for a nap and some mashed potates.

After the run, we returned home for naps and showers. The fam was coming over around 5pm...we do Thanksgiving DINNER at our house.

Before everyone started to arrive I solicited my dad to take (more) pictures of us. As I mentioned last week, it is our new tradition to take our Christmas card picture on Thanksgiving day.

Trying to get Reba to pose like the sweet girl that she is can prove to be a challenge...

Take #1:

Aaaaaaaaand #2:

Finally I think we settled on this one:

As Tom would say, "We're good lookin' people."

As we rounded out our photo session, Louise's family started to arrive. (You can read more about them on my About Me page).

Cammie, Amaya, Tom, and Ms. Margaret enjoying time together before the big meal!

Here's my dad reading the manual for their new oven(s). They moved into this house in April after they got married and the kitchen is soooooo nice! But you have to have a degree in Biomedical Engineering from NASA to work the oven.

A little mother-son mashed-potato-making.

Tyler and Pheonix waiting patiently for dinner to be served!

Ms. Margaret making the gravy! Is it just me, or do grandmothers make the best gravy? In our family it is an unspoken rule that gravy-making is a GRANDMA-ONLY event.

Look at all this food! Yum City. Every thing we had was soooooo good, but the Pioneer Woman's Green Bean Casserole brought to you by yours truly was one of my faves. :)

Blessing is said, food is hot, time to dig in!

After dinner, Amaya and Dad decide to solve the problems of the world.

I'm glad I got a pic of the newlyweds and their First Thanksgiving Table! I loved how we had one big table so that we could all sit together. It was perfect.

The rest of our weekend was full of (lots) more eating, TONS of football-watching, and we may or may not have played a game or two of Scrabble.

It was a wonderful weekend with my dad and Louise, and they make me realize how much I have to be thankful for!

Now it's back to the daily grind until CHRISTMAS is upon us in only three short weeks!

Thankful

I am so guilty of jumping up on the Whoa Is Me Bandwagon, only to be followed by throwing myself a big 'ole PITY PARTY.

Often times, when things don't go exactly my way, or I can't get something done on time and correctly, I pout. When I'm out of money or Tom does something to make me mad, I pout. When there aren't enough hours in the day, I pout. What can I say....it's the only child in me, I guess!

But this fall, and the holiday that is upon us, has made me realize all the many, many, things that God has blessed me with. This afternoon I will load up my husband and my fur daughter and drive the length of the state of Tennessee to see my family and friends in Knoxville, and I could not be more content!

I am really looking forward to a few days of relaxing, eating, running, football-watching, and catching up with all the crew in Knoxville!

A week or so ago, Julie did a post about holiday traditions. As a newlywed, she is looking to start some new Thanksgiving and Christmas traditions with her new hubby. What are your favorite holiday traditions? Do you something every year on Thanksgiving day, or are you doing good to get out the door with a casserole dish in tact? I would love to hear what your family does every year....

When I was growing up, my mom and I would always get up early to start the turkey. She had this old, old page of a magazine circa 1990, I think, with a recipe on it for basted turkey. I can see that magazine page in my mind now...with frayed edges and melted butter splattered all over it!

The recipe called to for the turkey to be cooked low and slow, and be basted every 20 minutes. Talk about a high-maintenance bird! But we would turn on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the kitchen TV, and baste away all morning. Then, the National Dog Show would come on....still basting....and lastly, Miracle on 34th Street...three hours later and only half way through the Day-O-Basting.

Even though it's probably the most labor-intensive way to cook a turkey, we would do it every year and I loved it. Something about being the kitchen with your mom, chopping potatoes and onions, wearing aprons and messy hair, drinking coffee, and of course...basting a bird....it all just screams !THANKSGIVING! to me.

Now that I'm married, we try to come home to Knoxville for Thanksgiving so that we can spend Christmas in our home in Tunica. My mom likes to come to Tunica for Christmas, so we go to my dad's for Thanksgiving.

My dad has adult-onset diabetes, so he is very conscious about his health. He has loved to see me make my transformation from couch potato to half-marathoner, to triathlete. So our new tradition is to get up *early* (like, earlier than required to do the bird-basting as mentioned above) and go to the annual Hot to Trot 5K in Knoxville.

We let Tom sleep in (because only when we're out of town does he let himself sleep late!) and Dad and I pile in his car and drive the 20 minutes to the race site. Last year I did the 5K, and this year I'm going to try for the 10K. Dad usually runs the first couple miles with me (he has bad circulation in his legs/feet due to the diabetes and can't run for too terribly long) and then cheers me on at the finish line.

I love race atmospheres anyway, but there is something extra special about a Thanksgiving Day Race. I love the early morning air, the energy from the crowd, the idea of what the rest of the weekend holds, and the best part...spending some great one-on-one time with my Dad Bean.

And lastly, the Thanksgiving tradition that Tom and I have started (okay, well, technically I started and Tom rolls his eyes) is to take our Christmas card picture on Thanksgiving day. Let me just tell you that I. Love. A. Christmas card.

Us Tunicans send out photo Christmas cards like it's nobody's business. It's almost a contest to see who can come up with the cutest card and picture of their family. Last year I had 100 cards printed and sent out every single one! This year will be no different.

So on Thanksgiving day, I make Tom get out of his sweats and football-watching attire, brush his Grizzly Adams hair, trim the beard a little, and put on his most spiffy pair of Carhardts (this is dressing up for us, people). We bribe Reba with a treat, and brush her ears so they look just right. Then, find a picturesque spot for the back ground, and have my dad click away on the camera!

Here is our 2008 picture, first Christmas together! Reba was only about 3 months old when this picture was taken, so she was easy to contain and photograph.

Fast forward one year later, and she's an energetic 15-month old who's easily distracted:

After a few attempts to wrangle Reba into looking at the camera.....

We decided to do a two-picture card and use these two:

*I tried to upload our proof from last year to show yall but it wouldn't let me*

I hope each of you have a wonderful day tomorrow, and are able to take time to think, pray, meditate, whatever you want to do...on the things you have to be thankful for. Please remember those who are without loved ones on this holiday, and hold tight to your loved ones around you.

I am thankful for YOU today!

The Great Wall of Running

Happy Saturday bloggies.

This morning I went on a long run of 10 miles. 'Long' being the opperative term since it has been a VERY long time since my last one. The last long run I went on was an 8-miler like three weeks ago.

Oops.

Tom and I were both up kinda early for a Saturday. He had plans to work on the duck blind...aka The Ritz Carlton of Beaver Damn...because duck season opens next week.

So we were both out the door at 7:30 on this sunny Saturday. I had planned to do two, 5-mile loops. I had a water/fuel stop planned at the half way point in between loops.

Run Summery:
My goal for this run, as with most my long runs, was to finish. I had *hoped* I'd get done in 1:50 because this would put me at an 11 minute mile. I was going to be a little disappointed if I finished closer to 2 hours.

The first mile was rough because my legs simply weren't used to being used! ha! I felt like I was running all loosey-goosy, without purpose. My breathing was disorganized and I couldn't get in a good rhythm. This carried on for the first three miles or so. I simply couldn't get in a groove.

Finally started feeling better around mile 3.5. After my pit stop at the half way point I checked my watch and had done the first half in 52:15, almost exactly what I did for my last 5-miler.

After a quick walk break, I began running again, this time feeling much much better. I decided to try a run/walk technique to see how it would work for me since running 5 more miles seemed daunting at that time.

I decided to run for 20 minutes and then walk for 2 mintues. Trouble was, after 20 minutes I didn't feel like I needed to walk but did anyway 'because I'd said I would.'

Bad idea.

I should have just kept going.

Because after the walk break I hit the biggest wall ever! My mentality was doing okay but that wall was really hard to push through. I have to say I've never hit a wall like this in any training run, or in any half-marathon I've done. Not even in the 10K of the triathlon.

By then I only had a mile and a half left to go, and just had to take my mind somewhere else.

I finally limped across my 'finish line' at 1:53:10. A 11:21 pace. I wasn't really fired up about this time, but I'll take it. My priority was to finish 10 miles and I acheived that so I'll take what I can get!

Fuel for the Run:
Before I left the house I ate a Luna Bar Mini and some water. This doesn't sound like much, but I don't like running after having eaten a lot, but can't do it on an empty stomach either. I also ate 2 Gu Chomps.

At the half-way stop, I had some low-cal Gatorade and a HammerGel in Tropical flavor. The HammerGel tasted good and I could tell it helped my energy level during the first two miles after my break.

During one of my many walk breaks during the second half, I ate two more Gu Chomps. By that point I think I was so tired that two little Chomps weren't gonna cut it.

My hips and my right IT band are a little sore, am I'm sure the soreness will increase over the next couple days. I realize it isn't too smart to do distance like this without the proper training, but I really want to do the half marathon in two weeks and needed a long run.

I feel okay right now, having taken a loooooong nap this afternoon after my run. I think my nap was as long as it took me to run the 10 miles!

After the run I went to the hardware store to get some paint swatches for the bathroom!!! Hopefully just a few more days til they're done because we are living in a DUST PIT with all the construction right now!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Playing Catch-Up

So.

I have gotten many a question about a one Miss Reba McEntire Withers. Is she pregs? Is she not pregs?

I don't know why it's taken me so long to follow up on this subject...maybe because I am just so helter-skelter and all over the place and am doing good to get to work on time with two similar-looking shoes on.

Anyway.

To answer this question, no, my sweet (but apparently PRUDE daughter) is not pregnant. Not for lack of Rascals' trying, though! I guess she must have had a head ache or a long day at work or maybe she just wasn't in the mood but either way it didn't work out.

She is, however, very fat which led us to believe she was pregnant. So we are transitioning her food and exercise routine instead of caring for a litter of adorable golden retrievers! Booooooo.

Oh well, we still love her dearly. Since she is not with child, I will leave you with some pictures of Reba from her puppyhood.

*Also*

You might remember a while back when Mom and I were picking out tile for our new bathroom. Well, said bathroom is well under way so we are living in about an inch and a half of dust but it will all be worth it in the end.

I am planning a FUN FUN FUN (okay it's fun for me, maybe not all that fun for you guys) theme for the week of December 6th. During that week I've got 5....count 'em 5....'Before and After' topics I'm going to showcase complete with lots of lovely pictures.

You're excited, I can tell. Who doesn't love before and after pics?

So stay tuned for some house B&A news, and some Half Marathon B&A news as well...along with a few others!

Have a great night everyone!

Country Comes to Town

Happy Tuesday everyone!

It is a rainy and gloomy day in the Delta and I just wanted to snuggle down in bed instead of coming to work this morning!

Over the weekend I was in my old stomping ground of Nashville celebrating Myra's birthday, and catching up with old friends!

On Friday afternoon, Sara Whit, Brian, and I drove to Nashville and met Myra and her parents (along with about 50 of her closest friends!) at her party.

Since she was turning 30, the theme was Thirty Dancing....get it....like Dirty Dancing.

It was cute. The party was on the top floor of a condo building in downtown Nashville so the view was beautiful! Here are a few party pics:

Kathleen, SW, and me

Me, Ryan (Kathleen's husband), and Kathleen. We have about 20 pictures like this from college. Kathleen was my college roomie and Ryan was her then-boyfriend. We would always take this funny picture at band parties and stuff. The good ole days....

Sisters!

Katie, Myra, and Sara Whit

They even had Dirty Dancing playing on the TV at the party!

The whole family, minus Tom and Lilly. :)

After the party we went to a honky tonk on lower Broadway in Nashville and proceeded to behave like we were in college and stayed out until 3am. It. Was. Awesome.

On Saturday night I met up with Lacey, her boyfriend Jesse, Caitin (no pic of Caitlin....booooo!) and her fiance Ben. We had a great time catching up at our favorite old spot, Sam's in Hillsboro Village.

Fun fact of the week: Sam's was where I first laid eyes on my dream boat husband. We were there for their weekly Friday Night Kareoke and he sang "They Call Me The Fireman" by George Strait. Which I thought was so clever and funny because he IS a fireman. Bwahahahah. He had on a red Polo shirt just a'singin' that song! I'll never forget it.

Unfortunately he would never do that now, 'cause he's a boring old married man with no one to impress with his mad kareoke skills.

*Anyway*

After Sam's I met up with Myra and the rest of her crew down the road at another sports bar I used to frequent back in my hay day. And we stayed out too late AGAIN. Like college, seriously.

I made it home to Tunica in one peice on Sunday night, looking like a hot mess. I was soooooo tired that I slept until 8:40 on Monday morning, but made it to work by 9am!! So you can only imagine the beauty that exuded from my bedhead/shiney face/mismatched wardrobe combo.

Have a great week everyone!!

Let's Get Real

Can we talk?

Among friends, I mean.

I'm going to be very honest with you and honest with myself which is something fairly new to me since I prefer to just chill out in the 'Denial' section of life most of the time.

Okay the real-talking starts with a conversation about a little event in Memphis we like to call the St. Jude Marathon Weekend. As we all know, as evident by the page on this blog dedicated to this race, I have plans to run this half marathon in a mere 24 days.

Pause for dramatic effect.

And I am 99% certain that is it not going to be pretty. Let me just be brutally honest when I tell you (and brutal honesty is a must because what good is a blog if it's author is a big fat liar all the time?) that I am not in anywayshapeorform prepared to run 13.1 miles in a few weeks.

In fact, I am half-dreading it, half-looking-forward to it (okay while we're being honest I must confess it is more like 80% dreading it, 20% looking forward to it).

Dread comes because I have to admit I'm not prepared. I have to admit I set a goal and probably won't achieve it. I have to admit that I had a plan and didn't see it through.

Siiiiigggggghhhhhh thus is life, though. This fall has made me realize that there comes a time in all our lives when the other things....the not-so-fun things...the scary, sad, and realistic things, are going to take over our *plans* we have made for ourselves.

That those scary, sad, and realistic things come in and take over and soak up all your time and energy leaving you at the end of the week having not run one step (much less 20 miles) and leaving you with 5 empty wine bottles and a few extra pounds around the middle, and the feeling that you physically cannot peel yourself out of bed to just get into the shower.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

I am looking forward to it because I know that I will finish this run, and finish it with a smile on my face, God-willing. I will finish it because it's a good cause and even though I have abandoned my training schedule, quitting is not in my nature so even if I have to hobble the last 5 miles I will finish this daggum RACE!

So that's where my head's at. Just wanted to get that out.

Since it's Wednesday, and since I have a *short week* this week (I'm off on Friday---hooty hoot!), and since I am BEYOND BORED at work today, I'll leave you with a few items that fall into the category of 'What I'm Loving Wednesday!'

1.) This girl...my sister Myra Sue! She turns 30 on Friday and therfore I am OFF to Nashville for a big fun celebration with her and many other friends. That is, of course, if she doesn't kill me first for putting this picture of her on my blog. But seriously, isn't she cute and funny? She totally is.

2.) This book/video/Bible study group lesson I'm in right now. Jesus The One and Only by Beth Moore. Love. This. Study. It is an awesome study of the Bible, mainly of Jesus's life, start to finish. The stories are soooooo awesome and interesting. The way that Beth goes through each story is almost like reading a fiction book or something! Very interesting. I love the study, and the women that I've gotten to know over the past few weeks! I am so thankful for this right now.

3.) This awesome find at Old Navy the other day! On sale for $24.50. Love her. With some jeggings and tall boots...Sass City, I love it! If you are out and about in Nashville this weekend you might see me trotting around town in this little number.

4.) Mom and I found this lip gloss when she was in town for my birthday. Can't get enough. $15 at department and specialty stores. I got Nude Honey, she got Sangria. Both colors make us even prettier than we already are which clearly is no small feat.

5.) And lastly, THIS GUY!
What a looker, yes? Makes me feel all stupid inside.
He was on a hunting trip over the weekend and I'm just so glad he's back. Which reminds me that I need to post an updated beard pic. In the meantime, because I know you're dying with anticipation, here is one from last year when the beard was in full-force.

Niice.

A Different Kind of Tri

Happy Monday Blog World!

This is the second Monday in a row that I have woken up not hating the world! Life is good. :)

On Friday night I did a makeshift triathlon. Inspired by Gina's Triathlon, I did a lovely trifecta of cardio, weights, and yoga.

Here's how it went down:

-Cardio:
1 mile warm up on treadmill
20 minutes on Arc Trainer
20 minutes on Elliptical
1 mile cool down on indoor track

-Weights:
Cocktail Dress Arms workout (sans abs)

-Yoga:
20 minute episode of Namaste Yoga that I DVR'd on FitTV.

Although this workout was not quite as rewarding a my REAL tri, it was awesome nonetheless. I have not been to the gym in forever (because I've been mostly running outside in preparation for the St. Jude half in only 25 days!!!), so after a reunion with some cardio machines I felt like a new woman.

And I was just *slightly* sore on Sunday which is a great feeling.

I wore my SweatyBand again (still love it). And when I got home Reba thought it was so cute and just begged me to let her try it on.

She loved it, too.

But only for a minute.

Have a great week, everyone!

Diva Doggie

Look at this sweet angel thinkin' she is the queen of the castle!!!!!!

Love that crazy face.

I just had to join her. :)

Happy HUMP Day!