look-a-likes

Although last night's Glee episode was pretty disappointing (in my opinion, until the last 5 minutes), I did have one revelation. Glee's Coach Bieste looks quite a lot like the bartender from Shrek. Totally random.

one more shout out

To Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, AirTran, Southwest, everyone!

Southwest Airlines is coming to Atlanta! By way of buying out AirTran. Sweet!

Check out details here. From all I know about Southwest, they are revolutionizing their industry. Free checked bags. What? Friendly and funny (and rapping) flight attendants. What? Super affordable fares. What? You heard me. Marisa also wrote a great post on why she loves Southwest.

If you need more convincing, just check out the following videos -

shout out monday

I declare today "shout-out" Monday.

Let's start with the best aunt, uncle, and cousins you can ask for. My Aunt Wendy is the bomb. She, Uncle Tim, and their boys stayed at our house this weekend (while unfortunately Jamie and I were away) while they were visiting their oldest who's at Tech. Not only was the house in better shape when we got home yesterday than when we left, but we also had this waiting for us -

The newest Francine Rivers book (sequel to Her Mother's Hope that I finished two weeks ago in CA) that I am dying to get into! She knows me well. And 8 Masters' Tervis Tumblers (my favorite!). Wendy just happens to have a super cool job at Augusta National that she dominates. :) Of course I would have said this without receiving any gifts, but - Reeve family, you best be coming back to visit again soon!

Second shout out goes to this guy to your left. Joel Thomas (good friend, pastor, and one of the men who married us) completed the Augusta Half IRONMAN yesterday with Team In Training, and it was awesome. Jamie, mom, dad, RA, and I ventured downtown to meet Jennifer, Joel's wife, and their kids. It was so much fun watching all of the competitors and cheering them on. Gave me some inspiration (and perspective!) on my race coming up this Sunday. They ran the same 13.1 miles I'll be running, but they preceded their run with crazy amounts of swimming and biking!

Plus, it was hilarious some of the people we saw that I had no idea were racing!

And one final shout out goes to the guy responsible for my husband's black eye (pictured below).

1.5 weeks later, and the shiner still hasn't disappeared, though it is slowly starting to. Don't worry...there was no brawl or anything, just a good ole' fashioned mostly 30-and-over soccer injury.

famous doggy

Look who made it on the GOOD blog?! J.J. is one of our in-house dogs at Unboundary, and probably one of my favorite dogs ever. How cute is he? Even if his eyes are a little odd. :)

the foam roller

This item to the left has changed my life. And, no, I'm not being dramatic. The foam roller entered my life on Monday, when my body was so beat up that I was afraid I'd never walk again (ok, that was dramatic). In accordance with the half marathon training schedule that I'm following, I ran (more like stumbled through) 17 miles on Sunday afternoon. Yes, I realize that 17 miles is way more than the 1/2 will be, but just bear with me. I'm a little crazy when it comes to being prepared for things, so I chose this training schedule knowingly, and it was created by Jeff Galloway.

I had run 16 miles two weeks ago with no problem at all. But, as it always is with running: a different day, a different reaction. And apparently I had totally exhausted the muscle that supports my IT band. Reaction: sharp, sharp, almost unbearable PAIN.

Thankfully I've got some co-workers who know their stuff when it comes to races, competitions, and taking care of your body. I iced, stretched, and they sent me out for a foam roller. I had seen one before (Courtney had one in CA last year), but hadn't used it. An article in Running Times Magazine summed it's purpose up well, so here it is -

"The best way to eliminate and prevent muscle knots is the foam roller. The foam roller is a firm foam log that is six inches in diameter. Use the roller against the muscle knots with your own body weight to generate the direct pressure. Imagine using a rolling pin to roll out lumps in bread dough...Bottom line: The foam roller is an inexpensive, yet highly effective way to treat and prevent the most common injuries seen in runners. A few minutes a day can help keep you on the road for years to come."

The above position is the MOST painful for me right now. But it's totally doing it's job. If you're a runner, biker, swimmer, walker, any type of exerciser, I would absolutely recommend this!

sisters

God was good when he gave me sisters.

It's hard to explain the relationship between sisters if you haven't experienced it firsthand. It's a best friend. one that can drive you nuts on occasion. one that you sometimes just have to agree to disagree with. one that you want to protect (sometimes w/o their consent). one that you can call in the middle of the night for something important or simply to vent. one that you can learn from. one that you love no matter what they do.

Jennifer and Robin Anne were born my sisters, and thankfully we all enjoy each other (for the most part :). Kelly and Betsy are my sisters through marriage, and (a super huge) thankfully, we enjoy each other too!

This past weekend we flew Betsy to Atlanta to spend a weekend celebrating HER! She'll be marrying my brother in just a little over a month, and their first few years of marriage will be spent in Madagascar, where Andy is serving the State Department as a diplomat. Here are a few snapshots of the weekend...

Friday night dinner at home.

Saturday: After a morning of drinking coffee/chai and hanging out, we

decided on football at Stats. Even if the boys are away, we still enjoy a good

football game! After the UGA game, we headed to Piedmont Park

for the arts festival. So fun, and it was nice to get some fresh air and a little exercise.

Heading to dinner at JCT Kitchen, after watching a stressful

first half of the Auburn/Clemson game.

Dinner on the patio at JCT.

California lovin'

We have definitely been spoiled as this was our third trip to California in the past 13 months! And it was such a great, quick trip. For the second year in a row, Luke and Courtney rented this snuggly little home (that has a quirky dragon theme...they're everywhere!) right smack in between downtown Carmel and the ocean. If you know Carmel, you know that there's not much distance between the two of those, so we spent a lot of the trip biking and walking and it was fabulous.

We had some great quality time with our friends, plenty of rest, amazing food, and beautiful weather.

Day 1: Can you see how excited both Jolene and Jamie

are to be going on a beach picnic?!

Super yummy spread by the amazing mama above

(sorry for the mid-bite photo, Court!)

A photo of Luke setting up the camera for a group photo

(I want a copy of that one :)

Family photo with Pebble Beach in the background

(and Baron as a welcome addition)

*Carmel was definitely my favorite place to train for the 1/2.

I ran along the beach trail this particular morning. Amazing.

Photo before our favorite meal of the two times we'd been there.

Dinner at Demetra. Yummy Greek food and fabulous atmosphere.

Below are two videos of the impromptu performance by the owner,

with special guest: the adorable chef.

Lamb kabobs. Drool.

Morning bike ride along the beach trail.

where we got to watch a large pack of dolphins!

And what's a California trip without a little wine tasting?

Joley's becoming a pro!

How adorable is she?!

Sadly, our last night in California. The boys

enjoying some saki at Flying Fish Grill.

Such a great trip! Big thanks to Luke and Courtney (and Jolene) for hosting us again. Maybe someday, we'll get to visit in each others' hometowns. Although California isn't too bad.

currently loving...

- The long Labor Day weekend that was filled with good friends, amazing weather, and great food. (Pictures to come, the husband currently has the camera.)

- Yoplait's Light & Fat Free Red Velvet Yogurt. I seriously love this stuff.

- The wine and cheese party that went down last Wednesday night with some of my favorite girls, most of whom I get to work with! Ashley summed it up well in photos on her blog.

- The still undefeated life-time career for the GA State Panthers! They beat Shorter College 41-7 last Thursday, and we had a great time tailgating with old and new friends and cheering on the Panthers. Kristen, you and Jordan seriously need to come next time :)

- College football season has begun! We spent Saturday night flipping through three different games and just enjoying the fact that it's that time again.

- My coworker Courtney and her venture to go through 2 weeks of baking (homemade bread!) from Julia Child's baking cookbook. Can't remember the last time I've eaten so much amazing bread!

- My lunch break today. Ventured to Toscono & Sons...a little Italian sandwich shop & market on the Westside. Really yummy caprese panini. Then wandered into Whipstitch, an adorable little sewing/fabric/etc. shop. I need to learn to sew!

- The weather in Carmel, CA (see >>). Why do I care about the weather in Carmel? Well, because we'll be there tonight! It's the same deal as last year where our friends Luke and Courtney (and sweet baby Jolene!) are renting a house for this entire month. We were grateful to be extended an invitation this year as well and are really looking forward to spending some quality time with their family. We're so excited! Oh yeah, and it's kinda nice that my work day only consists of 2 days this week.

Things I'm currently NOT loving:

- The stuffy nose cold that graced me last Friday. It's time to go away!

- All this religion controversy going back and forth going on in our country lately. Whether or not to build a mosque at ground zero. Burning a Quran on the anniversary of Sept. 11th (as tho no Christian has ever done anything horrendous in the name of Jesus?). These anti-religion billboards that are going up this month. Sorry...random rant.

- The fact that my blog completely deleted this the first time I wrote it all out. Awesome.

what time is it?

GAME time! Woop!

As I mentioned yesterday, today is history in the making as Georgia State University plays its very first football game ever! To be honest, it's got the entire city buzzing about it, and it's pretty exciting. Bert, from the Bert Show (my favorite radio morning show ever), is a brand new avid fan, and even Coach Curry called in [audio here]. And ESPN featured GSU on the COVER (yes, I said cover, shown above) of their August issue, plus a good 5-6 page article in between. Oh, and did I mention that Yung Joc recorded a rap song about the program? If I can find a decent way to post it, I will.

My husband (and various friends and alumni) will be tailgating, starting at 4pm this afternoon. I'll be joining him a little later (a girl's gotta work). We'll have cornhole, dips, hamburgers. Who doesn't love college football?!?! So, of course, I sit at my desk with my GSU football shirt on, ready for game day!

Now, of course, I have to mention that my Auburn Tigers are also playing this weekend vs. Arkansas St. at 6pm. War Eagle! Part of the beauty of GA State is that we don't have to choose. Heck, my guess is that Auburn fans will be GA State fans when they play Alabama at the end of the season!

The Living Room

Since Jamie and I got married (over a year ago), we've been wanting to find a way to serve together. This time last year, Jamie brought up the idea of working with Buckhead Church's college ministry, and I loved it. Problem: Coaching his soccer team took up too many week nights for us to commit, so we just waited. At the end of the season this past May, we both knew it was time to move on from soccer, for now, and get started in The Living Room. We're pretty new, but so far we're loving it! And it will only get better when we've got our own small group of freshman soon.

To commemorate this new beginning, here's a top 10 list of the things I love so far -

10 - picking out my outfits (ha). to these guys, we're considered old! gotta at least appear to still be hip :)

9 - a trip to buckhead once a week. it's not that far away, but i hardly make it over! so i've started running my buckhead errands before we meet.

8 - the accountability. talk about becoming more aware of how we live our lives, treat each other, etc. a great lesson in dependence on God, as i feel so inadequate to lead.

7 - the talks. they've got a great rotation of (hilarious) speakers, a lot of whom are great friends of ours.

6 - already planning tailgates and parties we can host for the college kids

5 - getting to know three ga state football players who attend (after all, this is a historical week, featured in ESPN!!)

4 - worship. for many reasons, but did i mention that my hero, candi person-shelton led last night? might have been a little distracted.

3 - what it's already doing for our marriage. there's something about serving together that creates an even deeper bond, whether it's between friends, family, or a spouse, and it's been amazing so far.

2 - the FOOD! seriously, it's a night off from cooking for me, and there's a member of BC, hal, who takes off every tuesday afternoon to prepare an absolutely delicious meal. mmmmm.

1 - investing in the lives of college students. what an opportunity that we're humbled to be a part of.