13.1

That's how many miles I'll be running on October 3rd. Yep...Lindsay and I signed up for the Atlanta 13.1 half marathon (creative name, huh?). It's in Buckhead, and this is only it's second year in existence. Apparently, there are bands set up at 16 different spots along the way! And this is the course. -->

My relationship with running has always been a love/hate, on and off kind of thing. Lately it's been pretty off, so I decided I needed some motivation. Well, let me tell you, the thought of running 13.1 miles in just a few months (16 1/2 weeks to be exact) is helping me get out of bed and hit the pavement lately. Plus, Jamie and Gavin (Linds' husband) have come up with all sorts of incentives for us to finish - without walking, - in a certain time, - just signing up!

We're using one of Jeff Galloway's training programs, and it is going to be intense. Of course, I brought it on myself (I'll admit it, I am quite competitive, and mostly with myself!). I want to complete the race in under 2 hours, so we're following a specific one to get us there - this includes sprint days, and a long run of up to 17 (friggin) miles! Sound fun?

This past Sunday was the first time I'd run over 4 miles since running the Peachtree back in '05. After finishing 5 miles, feeling all sweaty and tired and productive, I got really excited about the race day. Then I thought about doing it all over again. Oh, and adding 3.1 miles after that. Ah! I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Southern Simple

Last night, I decided to try out three new recipes from my two favorite magazines - Southern Living and Real Simple. While I love reading every page from cover to cover (learning things like how best to dispose of grease or what to get dad for Father's Day), the recipe section is one of my favorites.

Forgive the terrible lighting, but the photo is of our dinner. Other than the chicken (grilled w/ S+P, and a sprinkle of garlic salt), everything else was a new recipe.

The corn was a slight variation from this recipe. Super simple, but I just never think to eat corn! The flavor from the grill and the kosher salt make all the difference.

The orzo salad with zucchini and feta was delicious...and different mainly because I never experiment with pasta.

And finally, the big winner was the grilled

peaches and blackberry basil butter. OMG...amazing! I had to include a better photo to give them more of the glory they deserve. Seriously...I could eat this butter on anything (I mean, it's butter...with blackberry preserves...and basil!). Basil was picked fresh from our herb garden!

Big shout out to husband Jamie who, while mastering the grill (3 out of 4 components of dinner!), also manages to look pretty handsome doing so.

Happy Friday!

Since it's Friday, and Friday's make me even more happy than usual, here are some happy things I leave you with for the weekend...

Yes, more hydrangeas. These are gracing my living room table

as we speak. A gift from mama when she drove through ATL this week.

These kiddos are staying with ME this weekend! Just me! J's

out of town, and so are Sue and Kelly. Here goes nothing :)

And finally, a shout out to all [10] readers of my blog! I had no idea some people were reading this! Mildred, thanks for sharing with my mom that you're a reader :) At least now maybe she'll read it every once in while! All of that said, hope you all have a GREAT weekend! Me + the dogs + everyone else gone = productive weekend!!!

gaga + glee

Truth be known, I'm not a huge fan of Lady Gaga. I know she's "arsty" and expressing her "individuality," but I'm just not a fan. I think it's all overdone. However, I'm a HUGE fan of Glee. And they dedicated one full episode to Lady Gaga songs. Let me tell ya, folks, the glee club won me over. Not necessarily to Lady Gaga. But to her songs...being even more overdramatized, for theatre. Pretty sure Poker Face was my least favorite Gaga song. But this version is one of my favorites!

Wish I could find the actual video, not just recording. But, you can always check it out (episode titled "Theatricality" on my favorite free tv show viewing website, HULU!

flee baby flee

It's no secret that Jamie and I love our pastor. I think Andy Stanley is one of the greatest communicators I know of, and I consider us blessed to be able to listen to him every Sunday. His most recent series was titled Guardrails, and it was a favorite. A guardrail is a system designed to keep vehicles from straying in dangerous or off-limit areas (def. from Wikipedia). A personal guardrail is a standard of behavior that becomes a matter of conscience (def. from Andy Stanley).

Andy talked about lots of guardrails we should set up for ourselves, in terms of money, relationships, etc, based on the premise that we don't even realize the guardrails are there until we need them. Some of my favorite guardrails mentioned were from the week on sexual temptation (oooh...hot topic!). I've listed guardrails below that he mentioned for married folks. (If you're interested in the singles guardrails or would like for him to elaborate, you can check out sermons here. It's the Guardrails series, and this exact sermon is Flee Baby Flee. I highly recommend it.)

Married

1 - Don't travel alone with members of the opposite sex (car, plane, etc.)

2 - Don't eat alone with members of the opposite sex (if you do happen to get surprised - thought you were meeting a couple and only one shows up - make a phone call to your spouse letting them know)

3 - Don't hire cute members of the opposite sex because you want to help them (ugly people need help too)

4 - Don't confide in or counsel members of the opposite sex (they need help, not you)

5 - When you feel your heart or desire drifting toward a specific person, tell someone!

One thing to note - your spouse needs to know your guardrails!

I realize this is probably controversial, and I want you (all 5 of you that read this!) to know that I cast no judgement here. But, what I do know is that marriage is serious. And it's hard work. And it can fall apart without even realizing it. And then it hurts. And leaves scars. Not just you and your partner, but everyone within close proximity of you. [Sidenote - Jamie and I are great! So no need to worry I'm talking about us :)]

But I think marriage is worth it. Jamie and I created these "guardrails" long before this sermon, and they've been in effect since we got married last year. Does it make for some uncomfortable conversations (um...sorry I can't do lunch with you but the only man I do lunch with is my husband!)? Yep. Does it cause inconveniences (I really need a ride home! But I can't take you up on your offer bc you're a man)? Yep. Do some people think we're crazy? Yep. But it's worth it to us to have the world think we're crazy, if we can take any steps toward protecting our marriage. (And I'm not gonna lie, it made me feel good to hear my pastor say I'm not crazy...it's just common sense!)

I could go on and on, but if you want to know more, I've already told you where to find it. I think the guardrails for single people are worth checking into as well. But for now, I'll just leave you with this -

What is that, you say? It's Snoop Dog...reading Andy Stanley's

book, How Good is Good Enough. Ha! Love it.

there are a few good people left in this world

Francisco and his mom, Reginalda, are some of them.

Long story short, I walked into Walmart last Thursday with my phone...and managed to walk out without it.

After searching for it, and calling it 20 times, I finally got someone to pick up on the other line! Turns out Francisco was answering the phone his mom, Reginalda, had found in the buggy at Walmart. They were glad to get the phone back to me (I mean, it's not exactly an iPhone we're talking about! see picture below), I just had to show up at the spot she works (right around the corner from us) when she was on her shift.

I was half expecting her to ask me for some money when I met her, but Regina (for short) showed me that there is still good in some people. She just greeted me happily with a smile, and with a thick accent said "Glad you have phone back."

My sweet Razr!

grow.

God spoke: "Earth, green up! Grow all varieties of seed-bearing plants, Every sort of fruit-bearing tree." And there it was. Genesis 1:11 [The Message]

It's springtime, well, more like summer now, in the ATL, and our first one in the new home. So, while we've worked hard to get the interior of our house in order, it's time to focus on the yard. It's been pretty neat to see what was already planted before we got here, as it's bloomed in the past two months. We've added some of our own too, and it's quite the work-in-progress - .3 acres with two previously brown thumbed folks workin' it.

I really don't like this trellis that sits right in front of our house...but I'm glad I didn't take it down cause these pretty ladies came out!

Roses! I still plan on taking the trellis down, and gently wrapping the rose stalks around the fence (even though that might be going away eventually). But what a pleasant surprise!

And just below the roses, for a little bit of color, I planted these -

(pots left by previous owner)

Our plan is to fill in the dead space, where the rocks are now, with lots of mulch. It's going to happen soon, so I'll post pictures of that progress when it happens.

We've also got this large bricked off area in the center of our yard, which thankfully had some decent looking bushes in it. One day, I'd love to have the whole area filled with all sorts of beautiful colors, but for now, we're keeping it pretty green. However, for our anniversary, my super sweet mother-in-law gave us my favorite flower to plant - hydrangea! It's been almost a month, but it has these sweet blossoms coming out -

Our plan for this is to fill it in with pine straw (same timeline as the mulch), and one day I hope it is bursting with hydrangea!

And up the front steps -

Isn't it amazing what just a little bit of color will do?!

Or green, for that matter?!

And then there was the mailbox make-over...

Before

After

[new mailbox gifted to us by sister, Kelly]

On to the back porch...

Love these pretties, situated next to the chiminea,

affectionately called Punah (long story), given to us by mama Sue

And then there's one of my first potting/planting experiences....

Obviously I haven't quite master the art of pruning! They were so cute and compact at first, but they just kept growing! Better than dying, I guess?

And for the finale, I give you one of my most favorite projects....

Our herb garden! Can't take full credit (or much, other than basic maintenance such as watering and pruning), but isn't it beautiful! Gavin and Lindsay really wanted an herb garden, while we thought it sounded like a fun idea. Since they travel so much, and don't really have the space to keep it, they did most of the leg work (Gavin built the trough, and he and Jamie planted it all) and we keep it at our place. It's the perfect set-up!

Rosemary. Thyme. Parsley. Chives. Cilantro. Basil galore! Tomatoes. Peppers. It is definitely the yummiest of all I've ever planted!

We've still got a ways to go, but we are actually enjoying spending days out in the yard. More to come, if the weather will hold up!