1 down, 29 to go!

Here we are...another Monday. I never understand why I ALWAYS feel tired on a Monday? No matter how much sleep I get!? Maybe I need to learn to like black coffee... (gross).

Rewind to the beginning of the weekend. I couldn't believe how nervous I was Friday evening. Just THINKING about shooting the wedding the next day was making my stomach hurt. It had been about 4 FULL months since we'd shot an actual wedding and I was beginning to think I'd forgotten everything. Little did I know, picking my camera back up to start this 2015 wedding season would be so rewarding.

Caleb and I had the whole morning to do whatever we wanted, and didn't have to be Downtown until 1:30! It truly couldn't have been a better day. I hadn't seen the bride and groom since their consultation over a YEAR ago, so I was excited to squeeze the bride and get some fun pictures by the river. Little did we know the river would be FLOODING! They almost called an evacuation of a nearby city due to the insanely high waters. There's a walkway we planned to take pictures on prior to the ceremony, which was right by the river...yeah, no walk way to be seen. Totally covered in water!! It was crazy. BUT, we made it work and got some amazing pictures... and had fun doing it!

Sometimes I get overwhelmed thinking about how crazy our lives are about to get when weddings really pick up. How in the world are we going to manage 30 weddings, two full time jobs, church volunteering, and a marriage? Oh and you know, maintaining friendships...etc?!?! Then Caleb sweetly reminds me that we are going to take it one day at a time, get the HECK out of debt this year, and enjoy each wedding as they come. He also considers them like "date nights", and he's totally right. Free dinner, free favors, and unlimited dancing on the dance floor.

I am so blessed. I just have to remember that!
Congrats to the newlyweds!

I hope you had a fun weekend, too! 

Friday {and what I loved this week}

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you've all had a great week. We're shooting our first wedding of the year tomorrow and couldn't be more excited about it. I've had some serious "cabin fever" during this off-season. While Caleb and I have DEFINITELY enjoyed the free time on the weekends, we've been itching to create beautiful images....so I'm pretty excited for tomorrow! The forecast is calling for some rain, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that it'll hold off for a while! Ohio had some seriously beautiful weather (for the most part) this week...and I definitely took advantage.

-I had the most amazing lunch in my car while the rain drops fell one afternoon. So, so healthy and refreshing.

-I was able to get my first outside run of the year done last night. 4 miles in the bag!! I slept like a rock last night, thanks to this!

-We got new cubicles at work! The promotion I got months ago (along with quite a few other co workers) is finally coming together, and they've redone a whole section of the building to fit our new needs. I'm so excited!!

-Spending 3 hours in a grocery store because we felt like looking at everything...even if we had no intentions of buying it. Plus, its Jungle Jim's. You HAVE to look at everything!

-First time I rolled the windows down while driving this week!! Heeeyyy 60 degree weather!

-If this isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen then I don't know what is??! Nora and her baby sister, Charlotte! As my mom said "holy pink hats Batman! They are beautiful!!" :)

- I had a very successful consult this week with an amazing couple...so I came home with a Starbucks treat...because we had a gift card and because we can... :)

-Today is one of my favorite people's birthdays! My girl, Angie!! I don't know what I'd do without her and her goofiness in my life. She and I were freshman roommates back in college and I wouldn't have had it any other way. She made my time at college one I'll never forget. Ang, I hope today is as amazing as you are!! LOVE YOU! (yes, that's us in 2009-2010...babies!)

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend ahead of them! I'm very much looking forward to a relaxing Sunday, after our busy-filled day Saturday! Also, looking forward to some new recipes I've got in the works {also thanks to my momma for helping}. Enjoy, friends!

Balyage, baby! & other weekend plans!

So many great things happened this weekend, that only a collage was appropriate.

Friday, my mom and I had a ladies night. Dinner at O'Charley's, journal purchasing at TJ Maxx, and movie watching at my place. Saturday, I was super excited to get to sleep in...but once I remembered I was getting my hair done that afternoon, I couldn't get ready fast enough. Caleb wanted it more blonde again, yet I didn't want to keep up with roots every 8 weeks...so my stylists compromise? Balyage...apparently that's the appropriate term for subtle highlights painted on from the bottom up? Regardless, she did an awesome job and I'm pumped about it!

Once I got home, Caleb and I got busy cleaning our place...because we were having bunch of friends over to hang! I finally had an excuse to use my Ohio cutting board (but yes, I used it as a serving plate).

Sunday we were bad people and forgot to set alarms, so we missed church...that whole "losing an hour of sleep" thing really caught up with us. That afternoon we laced up because we knew we both had a hard workout in front of us. As I said yesterday, I had to run 5 miles...while Caleb did 7 miles on the elliptical! We were pretty proud of ourselves! So we rewarded ourselves with Marco's Pizza...I know, I know...but free coupons make it way more enticing. That bottom right photo is me just beaming with pride over my husband. He planned a whole lesson to teach to the youth group and straight rocked it. He's awesome.

I hope you guys had a great weekend, too!!

#progress

This weekend was full of so many amazing things, but one thing stood out to me the most. Yesterday, my training plan told me I had to run 5 miles. If i'm being honest, that was about the LAST thing I wanted to do, but Caleb pretty much made me get up and go to the gym with him.

I'm SO glad I did because I freaking RAN those 5 miles, like nobody's business. Sure, it was tough...but I was in my own world with my new running playlist and I kept telling myself there is NO reason I couldn't run one more mile. I got a good laugh thinking of a pin I saw a few days prior...

My goal is usually to run 10 minute miles, and while I know its not the fastest ever, its also not the slowest. I constantly have to remind myself that its not a competition with anyone. There is no sense in getting caught up in that silly she can run faster AND farther than me mentality. Cause you know what? I finished, & that is what matters.

I now have 8 full weeks until my half, and while I'm still pretty nervous...I'm crazy excited. If I could push myself to run 5 miles (which, before yesterday, I hadn't done since last May), I know I can hit more milestones as these weeks pass by. Kinda figured one week in would be a good chance to take a look at how I'm doing on my goals;

Run 16 times -- so far, I've run 4 times since the 1st of March, so I'd say I'm on track!

Run 3 miles in 30 minutes -- Not yet, but getting CLOSE!

Lift more weights -- haven't touched them this week. Good reminder to get back on it.

Stretch a lot -- I've spent at least 15 minutes after each run, and its helping a TON!

In addition to those goals, I've made sure to drink a TON of water each day. I've found that I drink a lot more when I have a straw. How is everyone else doing on their March goals (fitness or non-fitness related)??!

Be SQUARE

Sweet Friday. I've been waiting for you!

Lately I've been taking a lot of pictures on my phone in "square" mode. 1) So they are insta-ready, but 2) so they fit nice and perfect on the blog. I figured a Friday full of squares was a perfect way to look back at my week! We got a crap ton of snow this week (some nearby cities got up to a foot!), but other than that mess, the week went by really quickly! Which I love.

When your headband is this cute, you can run 3 miles like nobody's business! Hiiiii baby cameras.

The three of us (meaning me, my mom + Caleb) went working out together this week a few times and it was AWESOME! I'm allowed to pat myself on the back when I'm part of a sweet challenge with a bunch of other awesome ladies, right? I know we're only a few days in but its already been so fun to read your accomplishments and your progress!

 I babysat one of the cutest children in all the world. Since I won't take cash from my friends, I let them pay me in wonderful, home cooked meals! Besides, Nora is the best company.

Last night I made this after our workout and it rocked my world all over again (this was before I stirred that deliciousness in)

Hiiiiiiii snow storm. You're beautiful, but I'm ready for Spring!

Thanks to Kristin, I have my first oil kit. I can't remember the last night I got a good nights sleep, so last night I put some of the lavender on the bottoms of my feet. Oh my word, I think I only woke up once all night, and that's because Caleb got out of bed! Love them!!

I know this is blurry -- but I think it'll forever be a favorite of mine. 3 generations of laughter ;) love my momma and Nanny. Wouldn't know what to do without these two!!

I'm getting my hair done tomorrow and I'm really excited! I don't know what in the world I'm going to do with it, but I know my girl Becca will make it look awesome! Hope you guys have some fun plans for the weekend!

We packed in some FUN this weekend!

My family came over Friday night and our family friend {who catered our wedding} had given my Grandma all the ingredients to replicate one of our wedding meals! It's a creamy chicken poppyseed bake poured over a bed of rice, and let me tell you...its as amazing as it sounds. So the family came over for a few hours to hang out, and we had ourselves a ball. My mom and I curled our hair, fell in love with a youtube star, and acted like children for most of the night.

Saturday was Becca's baby shower, so I ventured up to Dayton a bit early to get some quality girl time in. {Backstory} A few years ago when the four of us got together, we made a "jar of memories". We all jotted down a ton of our favorite stupid/hilarious/embarrassing memories and bottled them up...and we haven't looked at them ONCE since. I'm pretty sure we all forgot about the jar until one of the girls commented on a picture of it that was on Facebook from years ago saying "BRING THIS!". Somehow, I knew exactly where it was. Let me just tell you. It was HILARIOUS to open. I can't even explain it. It brought back so many old memories we had all forgotten about.

It's such a good idea and now I want Caleb and I to write down every one of our inside jokes ever, so when we're 87 years old, we can look back and confirm just how silly we were :)

The shower was awesome. Becca and Breck are expecting their first little girl next month, named Norah. It was so awesome to spend time with them, and a few of my other friends. As we all get older, get married, and move to different states, it becomes more difficult to make time for things like this...but I'm so happy we still do. I couldn't live without these gals! Her family friend who threw the shower has incredible taste...and even let me take home a bouquet of flowers for helping!

After that, a few of us ladies went to dinner, then I came home before a little snow storm hit. I had a weird migraine coming on so I went to bed pretty early while Caleb played some video games. Sunday I hit the gym and knocked out nearly 3 miles. I finally ran a mile in 9:36 and didn't die! The rest of the day was lazy and we loved it. Hope you enjoyed your weekend, friends!

4 weeks fit challenge {my goals!}

My heart is quite happy today. Erin & Kristin have returned with their second annual link up called #4weeksfit and it really couldn't have come at a better time. The past two weeks weren't very easy, and totally screwed with my training plan. I've got just about 9 weeks left until my second half marathon and I need to kick some serious butt to prepare!! What's funny is when this linkup went live for the first time last year, I was only a week or two away from my first half marathon. We were so excited!!

Caleb and I // Erin and I

Okay where was I? Oh yeah, I've been super lazy. I'm just going to be 100% transparent here, cause its my blog, and I do what I want! ;) Since the holidays, I have gained 13 pounds. THIRTEEN!!!!! Can we talk about how sad that is? I've completely let the random free donuts in the office break room rule my life, and also neglected my duties at the gym most days.  While I know that I'm not "overweight", by any means... I'm highly uncomfortable in my own skin. I've never truly experienced what its like to hardly fit into the same work pants I've worn for nearly 3 years...until recently, and let me tell ya, its not pretty.

So, I'm here to declare my fitness- related goals for the month of March!

Run 16 times
This would average out to about 4x/week. I'm going to give myself bonus points if I can swing waking up before work to get my runs in...but I'm not going to count on it, cause most days? I love my sleep a little too much. Regardless, 16 miles is compatible with my training, so I think its a good number to stick with.

To run 3 miles under 30 minutes
I haven't done this in a very long time, and I know it would just make me THRILLED! I want to train my body that it CAN do whatever I push it to do. So, I'm hoping one day soon that I can hop on that treadmill (unless Spring decides to show up early and I can hit the real pavement!?) and knock out 3 miles in under 30 minutes! I think I'm getting there because yesterday I did 2.8 miles in 28 minutes! I seem to be on track.

Lift more weights
I haven't been in the weight section of the gym in a while. I miss it so much. I always felt like lifting helped my runs, as I was building lots of extra muscle. I can't wait to get back at it! Especially with my stud of a personal trainer (aka...my husband)

Stretch, a LOT
Last year I got a lot of pain in my "QL" area... (above the rump). It wasn't fun, and I honestly think its because I didn't properly stretch/ice my body throughout my training. I've been doing some intense yoga sessions via youtube here and there and have been loving them. In a love/hate type way!

Are you linking up? I can't wait to read everyone's challenges!!!!