Playing Catch-Up

It has been a busy couple of weeks so instead of writing a long, drawn out post, I thought I would do a bit of a picture dump.

I took a pillow class with my mom and 3 of her friends and had a great time. My mom is pretty crafty and so are her friends so I was a little worried because I'd never really used a sewing machine. For my first pillow, I thought it turned out okay. I'm excited to get some more material and try my hand at a few more pillows.

I try to meet up with my childhood friends (most happen to live nearby) once a week or once every two weeks. We headed out for Mexican and the churro ad on the table kept calling us so we bit the bullet and ordered them for dessert.

UK vs Alabama game on Saturday was a lot of fun. My boyfriend has been a lifelong University of Cincinnati fan but he was excited about seeing a game in Rupp. UK came away with a win and I'm glad he has a great time.

I've been making an effort to take more snapshots with my phone. It's easy to get caught up on with the big picture but when I look back through these pictures I remind myself how these events and small moments spent with family and friends help make life enjoyable and fun.

I've never considered myself a runner. I always enjoyed walking, especially with friend, so we could talk about who knows what and before we knew it, three miles had quickly passed. I don't have that same experience with running. I live off of a street that, at times, can be rather busy. When I head out to run. I'm worried that I'll trip in front of the cars, that my shorts will be riding up my rear, etc. And forget chatting it up with a friend because I never seem to find a good pace and end up huffing and puffing. Despite all of that, I keep coming back to running. I think a lot of it is because I've never been great at it (and I don't plan on being some awesome marathoner-) but I just want to be more comfortable with it. I think if I find my own groove and not set out to run my fastest then I will enjoy leisurely runs.

Two years ago, I ran my first 5k and felt such a sense of accomplishment when I crossed the finish line. I ran two more that year and contemplated training for a 1/2 marathon but I was moving apartments and struggled getting into a routine.

I thought about making that a goal for 2012 but I've decided that a 10K will be my goal. I downloaded the Couch to 10K app on my phone and started it last night. I liked the initial workout because it's a great mix of running and walking and helps you ease into it. I think before I started out on some mad dash and quickly wore myself out. I have something to challenge myself with each week in regards to time and distance and I look forward to it.

It's also a great excuse to get new running shoes because these bad boys have seen better days.

Working for the Weekend

My boyfriend and I have been dating for a little over a year and with him living in Cincinnati and me in Lexington, we switch off visiting each other on the weekends. With only having a weekend together, we try our best to fit in as much as possible and this weekend was no exception. The only thing I was told was not to plan anything between 4:30 - 7:30 on Saturday because the Bengals were playing the Texans in the Wild Card game. Unfortunately for the Bengals, the game did not end well. Overall they had a great season and I was just excited to see them in a playoff game!

When we first started dating, we talked about visiting local bourbon distilleries and completing the Bourbon Trail. Despite being from Central KY I had never visited any of the distilleries so we decided on his first trip to Lexington that we would tour one of them. In order to complete the Bourbon Trail, you need to visit six distilleries (Makers Mark, Wild Turkey, Heaven Hill, Jim Beam, Four Roses, and Woodford Reserve.) You are given a Bourbon Passport at the first distillery you visit and need to make sure it gets stamped at each place you visit. When you complete trail you can mail in your passport and in return you get a t-shirt, Last year we made it to Woodford Reserve and Wild Turkey and this year we've made it a goal to visit the rest.

Our plan was to go to Makers Mark and while we started out using a map to get us there, we decided to rely on the GPS which eventually led us astray. When the GPS said that we only had 10 minutes left in our trip, we both noticed a sign that said we were entering Louisville metro (a good 45 minutes away from where we needed to be.) We pulled off into a neighborhood and looked at the map to see what we could do. We were both so frustrated that our first thought was to turn around and drive back to Lexington but we figured out Jim Beam was about a 25 minute drive away so we headed there.

I'm glad we were still able to tour a distillery. Our guide was very knowledgable and personable and we had group members who asked some great questions. Now we have three left ... We can definitely finish this up in 2012!

Blessed

Last night we celebrated my Dad's retirement with friends, family, and many of his co-workers. It was a great night and I know my Dad was overfilled with emotions celebrating with so many people. He worked for the same company for 30 years but I think he is excited to start this new chapter. My mom retired from teaching 4 years ago (which is hard to believe) and I know they are both ready to spend more time together doing things they enjoy.

One of my Dad's fraternity brothers who was also a groomsmen in their wedding brought down one of the ate they wore before my parents got married. I don't know the complete backstory but another groomsmen had extra hats leftover from something and decided to get them personalized for the wedding. I had seen them in pictures but never in person and now I get to keep one.

I am looking forward to a low-key weekend. I have a couple of recipes I want to try but I am also excited for plans with friends and watching the Wild Card Saturday football game. Who Dey!

Third Time is a Charm

Third time is a charm or at least that is what I am telling myself.

I have started and stopped writing a blog two times prior to this. For whatever reason, I had a hard time keeping up with the writing. Maybe I thought what I was writing wasn't interesting enough or I could not come up with enough topics or it was trying to devote enough time to writing. The more I got to thinking about it I realized that I wanted to have a place to document the daily happenings in my life. I make to-do lists for just about everything but I end up throwing those away or losing them. This would more of a concrete way to keep up with those lists - the books I've read of want to read in 2012, the recipes I've been wanting to try, etc. I also want to post pictures and write about places I've visited, the decorating process of my new apartment, and the little moments throughout my week.

I've seen people do the project based on taking a picture everyday for a year. I don't know if I will be able to do that but I want to try. I got a late start but I figured my first post would be a few of the pictures I've taken so far.

Mindy Kalings new book is my first read of 2012. I got this for a gift and I love it so far.

The chicken piccata from Cooking Light was good. I don't claim to be a great cook but I do love to try new things and love flipping through cookbooks. I made notes and will definitely try this again (my saucepan isn't the best & some of the orzo got burnt on the bottom. Note to self - get new pan.)

I'm dog-sitting one of my favorite dogs this week. I look forward to anytime she gets to stay.