Busy…(Such a bad excuse!)

I haven’t really blogged much recently (as you can see).  The only excuse I have, and it’s a poor one at that, is that I’ve been pretty busy. Back up to April…

Matt and I went to Mexico for vacation.  We stayed at a very beautiful, all-inclusive, resort.  The resort was very nice and relaxing. Lots of time to sit and enjoy the beautiful sun, ocean and the nice poolside.  If you know Matt Brown – that’s like his worst nightmare come true, lot’s of time to sunburn.  My bad.  For some reason I was thinking an all inclusive resort would be full of activities, like a cruise. Not really.  So, we made our own activities.  We made it a point to do something off the resort everyday.  We did a scuba class (refresher for me and beginner scuba for Matt) which was a lot of fun.  So much fun actually, that we decided to go back for a second dive on another day! I’m so excited Matt loves diving as much as I do, it is such an amazing experience. This trip we saw a sea turtle and a sting ray – Now he just needs to get certified! We also did some beginner golf lessons.  My dad has been egging me to play golf for a number of years now, and since we had some resort credits to use up, we decided to give it a shot.  We had a ton of fun with that too, and we have since started playing golf together. (That’s been keeping me busy as well)  Because we were visiting Playa del Carmen, it was a must to see the Mayan Ruins.  They were very nice and the trip was very informative.  All in all the vacation was very nice.  Matt managed to stay out of the sun (and use about 80spf sunscreen) so we left with no sunburns.  I think it was just a little too slow for us tho.  Clearly we both have the attention span of an eight-year-old, so next time I will plan a little better.

Other than that, April was pretty uneventful – there goes my excuse about not having time to blog…Once we came back from vacation, we moved right into the May wedding festivities for Tasha and Ryan.  The Bachelorette party was tons of fun.  I mean come on, you can’t go wrong with a bus full of girls, a clothesline of lingerie and tacky light up accessories! The Bachelorette weekend was immediately followed by the wedding weekend.  Their wedding was absolutely beautiful, and I think everyone had a good time from start to finish.  I think I may have had just a little too much fun… whoops! I’m actually a little sad it’s all over.  I made some great new friends...and I think Matt did too!

It’s amazing how quickly weekends fill up in the Summertime. (ahhh I how I love Summer!)  This weekend I’m running the Marine Corps half marathon in Fredericksburg.  I’m pretty nervous tho, as I’ve heard it has a killer hill at the end and I’ve managed to hurt my ankle.  Hopefully I’ve trained enough that I can make it. Then comes Memorial Day weekend.  As of yesterday, my plans to spend a quiet relaxing weekend at home have been changed.  The girls (Me, Shelly & Hope) are headed to OC - I just can’t get enough of the beach! Then the following weekend, Megan, Matt and I are going to see Eric Church!

So now that I’ve outlined the past month and next few weeks of my life, I should have some more content for my blog…no excuses not to follow up on the half marathon, OC weekend and concert, right?!

Need Inspiration

I’ve found myself recently lacking ideas for things to blog about. Not that anyone really reads my blog anyhow, but still…I said I was going to try and write at least one post a week, and clearly, that has not happened.

So, for lack of better things to share, here’s what’s new.

I completed my first half marathon. (You probably already know that if you’re reading this tho, since I couldn’t stop talking about it all last week!) It was a great experience. I had some serious doubts about my ability to run the entire thing, so it felt great to actually do it. And there are some really funny photos of me running. Maybe I’m not as graceful as I thought. Regardless of my bad form, I’m now sporting a new 13.1 bumper sticker. It’s pink, as per usual. Next half marathon is in May. Maybe my goal can be to beat my previous time, rather than just crossing the finish line!

Matt and I are headed to Mexico soon. I know we just went on our honeymoon, but we have lots of plans this summer so we decided to go on vacation sooner, than later. Plus, after the outage (sort of the equivalent to a security audit) at the Power Plant, I know Matt has got to be ready to get away. Personally, I’m really looking forward to some scuba diving!! Matt is even going to take a beginner course. I hope he likes it as much as me!

Over the past weekend, Matt and I spent some time fixing up the front yard. If you’ve been to my house, you know that all the lawns look dead on our street. There is continuous sunlight on the front side of my house, so keeping anything alive (including the tree) has proven rather difficult. We specifically asked the woman at a local nursery for plants that will be able to survive the intense sun (and the black –not green-- thumb I inherited from my mom). Right now, the yard looks good, and I actually really enjoyed gardening…hopefully the plants and my enjoyment makes it through the summer.

On another note, Matt is about to tackle crown molding. I’m SO excited. I think it is really going to take our house up a notch. With a little help from his dad and uncle, we’re hoping it goes smoothly…. If all goes well, maybe we can demolish our problematic bathroom and put in a giant rain shower?! (That might be overly optimistic wishful thinking.)

Other exciting news…all worthy of exclamation points…

Christine is coming soon! (I get to meet Oscar!)
Megan is going to have a baby!
Tasha is getting married!
Shelly got a cool new job!

Lacing Up…Let the Countdown Begin!

So, if you don’t already know…I’ve signed up to run a half marathon this spring!  I’m really excited to be training for a longer, more intense race, but honestly it’s hard to stay motivated this time of year.  During the fall it was easy to go out and run.  Coming out of the humid summer months, going out for a 4 mile run was no big deal.  The days were still fairly long and the weather was beautiful.  Now that we’re in the middle of winter (and yes, I know it hasn’t been too bad) I am really finding it hard to go out and run more than a mile or two.  Maybe on a weekend I can force myself to go out and run further, but after work, it’s just not happening.  I have found myself really procrastinating those long runs…it’s ok, I can get to it next week.  But here I am, less than 2 months out, and I’m totally not ready!!  I know I still have time, but it’s becoming a little nerve racking!

The race is on St. Patty’s day (the most awesome fun holiday ever!) so I think it’s time to start a double count down. 

Regardless of how I do at the race… only 43 days until it’s time for a Green Beer!

2011 - I’ll Miss You!

2011 has been a very exciting year for me and for many people who are important in my life. I have to say, I think 2011 has been my one of my favorite years in a while. Here are just a few of the highlights!

January: I started my new job in January. So far, I really love it here. I’ve made some great new friends and have really seen my skill set improve.

March: My mom turned the big six-oh in March. Although March was a really tough month (I won’t get into it)…I will try and focus on the good things that happened. I hope I’m as spunky as Mary Sell when I turn 60!

April : One of my good friends, and co-workers, Shelly got married in April. I absolutely love weddings, and I love that I got to celebrate with Shelly!

Shelly and me at her wedding!

May: We finally got around to painting our house in May.  I love how it looks! It’s amazing how a little color can really make a house feel like home.

Clearly I was working hard on painting...

June: The wedding festivities really kicked off for me in June. I had my “Bel Air” bridal shower in late June and it was really fantastic. Everyone who helped put it together did a fabulous job!



Cari, Megan, Me and Hope at my first Bridal Shower

July: In July, my best friend Megan got married. It was amazing to be a part of such a special day for her and her hubby Ray. I’m so happy for them!! Did I mention I love weddings?!

Me and the Lovely Bride!

August: August was really a continuation of all of the wedding festivities. I started the month with a crazy Bachelorette Party in Ocean City, MD. After hitting the beach all day, my girlfriends and I headed out for a night on the town (and on the bus!) Not only did I have an awesome Bachelorette Party, but I also had another Bridal Shower in August. The ladies of St. Mary’s through me a lovely shower!

The ladies at the beach!



I was super tacky!



Cari, Megan, Me, Missy and Hope at my St. Mary's Shower

September: September was really the biggest month for me. After all the planning and activities, I finally tied the knot. Not only did I have the wedding of my dreams, but I got to marry my best friend, Matt. I don’t think it gets much better than that! I have to admit, I was a little sad that my other best girlfriend, Christine wasn’t able to attend my wedding. Her absence tho, was for good reason. At almost the exact same time I was getting married, Christine was giving birth to a beautiful baby boy, Oscar. September really was the best month, EVER! Oh, and I forgot to mention I went on my honeymoon in September. Making the month even better!!

One of my wedding favorites!

December: As many brides do, I decided I needed to lose weight before my wedding. Instead of joining a gym, I decided to start running. Since I started running in the Spring, I have really come a long way. In early December, I completed my first 15k (a little over 9 miles). Although I was pretty wiped when I finished it, I managed to run the entire thing, no walking, in 1 hour 42 minutes. Not too bad for my first really long race! I have since signed up for a half marathon… hopefully it goes well!

Me, Diane and her friend Jen, before the Hot Chocolate 15k!

Like I said, 2011 has been a pretty great year for me. It’s wonderful to see all of the people in my life moving on to such great things. It’s time like this, when I can really be thankful for everything and everyone around me. Happy New Year!!


What a Week

Just a quick apology for my lack of blogging this week. It's really been "one of those weeks," if you know what I mean. I'm just glad the weekend has finally arrived. Although Matt is working (boo!!) I have some time to catch up on house chores and get some Christmas shopping done, which is nice. Believe it or not, I'm actually almost done my shopping this year. Just a few more things to cross off the list. Oh, and of course I made time for a nice long run this morning, and managed to sign up for a 5K tomorrow w/ Shelly...ahhh.

So, is everyone ready for Turkey Day? Next week is going to be crazy. Working Monday - Wednesday...headed to moms Wednesday night for Thanksgiving, Turkey Trot 5K with lots of great people (Me, dad, Mr. Sam, Megan and Tasha) on Thursday morning, celebrating Thanksgiving, back to work on Friday (boo!! who needs money on Black Friday anyhow?! pshhhh), then headed to WVA for Brogan/Brown family early Christmas. Busy, busy. I love the holidays!

5K Success!

Running has always been a challenge for me, but the past two weekends, I felt like I finally turned the corner – I completed my first 5K, and then another!

Two weeks ago, I headed out to the middle-of-nowhere St. Mary’s County for my first 5K. The race went great! My time was 33:05 (not too bad!) and I ran the entire thing without stopping. There were only about 40 people there, which was nice. There was no pressure and the course was really flat, which was great for a first timer. My friend Shelly also came out to do the race. It was her first race too, and I think we were both very happy with how it went!

Check out the woman behind us, number 30,069!!

This past weekend, I went up to Hunt Valley for the Race for the Cure. I was completely blown away by this event. Through my friend Diane, I was able to join on with a team that raised almost $40,000 for Breast Cancer! The entire event was huge. There were thousands and thousands of people, all together for a common cause. The energy and excitement of the event was enough to keep me pumped the entire run. Although my time wasn’t as good (36:00), I’ve decided to blame it on the massive crowd. After the start bell rang, I still waited at least 3-4mins before I even made it over the starting line! What a great event for a great cause - Certainly one I will go to again next year!


The Ma & Pa Trail

The Ma & Pa Trail, found in Bel Air near my parent’s house, has always been my own personal challenge.  Dating back to my high school field hockey days, “going up to the trail” was always a good sign that I was in pretty decent shape.  As I transitioned From:  in shape high school senior  To: drink beer more days a week than I exercise college grad, my visits to the Ma & Pa became few and far between.

Since I’ve started running again, I haven’t visited the trail very often.  I always found an excuse why I didn’t have the time to make it up there, or it was too muddy etc.  Shortly before our wedding, I decided it was time to face the trail, but this time I was going to run the entire thing, from start to finish and back.  Go figure that the weather before our wedding was terrible…hurricane Irene really put a damper on my plans.  So, last week, about a month after the wedding, I headed up the trail – ready to run. 

For the first time ever (I think…) I ran the trail from one Bel Air end to the other and back.  The total distance was roughly four miles, and even though I was moving fairly slowly, I managed to keep running the entire time.  Four miles might seem like a small accomplishment, but for me, it was absolutely the push I needed.  Plus, now I am confident I’m ready for this 5K I’m doing on Saturday!

If you haven’t visited the Ma & Pa Trail, make some time to go check it out.  This hidden little gem in Bel Air is the perfect place to walk with pets, exercise or just spend some time with your family outdoors!

5K Fall Challenge

When summer rolled around, I decided it was time to get into “wedding shape.” I wanted to slim down and lose some weight, but of course I didn’t want to pay to join a gym. Lucky for me, Calvert County put in a very nice new ‘park n ride’ right near our town house – and I made it my very own track.

Now that the wedding is over, I absolutely need some motivation to keep me going. Running is rewarding, and I felt great about my diligent exercise routine, but it is so easy to let it go, especially once the weather gets cold. So, I decided to sign up for a 5K…and then another. I’m scheduled to run my very first 5K on October 15, just a little over two weeks from today. I think I can jog the entire thing. I’m a little nervous tho! Hopefully the adrenalin from the race, and the support from some of my coworkers that will be running too, will be enough to help me finish without having to stop and walk!

I’m also signed up for the Race for the Cure – Komen 5K in Hunt Valley on October 23. That one is a little closer to Bel Air, so if anyone is interested in getting out and going for a brisk Sunday morning jog (or just interested in supporting a great cause!) let me know and you can join my team!