tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8024671332903392052023-11-16T09:50:59.137-06:00Adventures through pictures.Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-55070145040618004132011-10-01T15:48:00.003-05:002011-10-01T17:33:48.417-05:00Waterloo Air Show<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy04juKKn9L0-prFrMwHmT0k1Dcq3Lp1ixb0qufLBVWYByUTKvwReO4xGNWzqYT9Ne545vA1M-KF2WYtCuP9u7x9R4dRzCkycJNdakfnXCSGWBvDSPSW55rEOjdiAXA_K9y-yBK31ALRw0/s1600/DSC01112.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy04juKKn9L0-prFrMwHmT0k1Dcq3Lp1ixb0qufLBVWYByUTKvwReO4xGNWzqYT9Ne545vA1M-KF2WYtCuP9u7x9R4dRzCkycJNdakfnXCSGWBvDSPSW55rEOjdiAXA_K9y-yBK31ALRw0/s400/DSC01112.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658638869616526178" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTHPIGIqioIJuR0Dxa7fB7cUFlMMRgtp0IK51zPEYxCHo3EK-393P1EB6rvOuuY1I_2LGfYPhmoDNIJmuaHmVAK-Ml7HqnrV9Q0I-YOpNMBkrpn-Vy3nIbOZRzdPDe6ZOnVs-sqwbf0OC/s1600/DSC01090.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTHPIGIqioIJuR0Dxa7fB7cUFlMMRgtp0IK51zPEYxCHo3EK-393P1EB6rvOuuY1I_2LGfYPhmoDNIJmuaHmVAK-Ml7HqnrV9Q0I-YOpNMBkrpn-Vy3nIbOZRzdPDe6ZOnVs-sqwbf0OC/s400/DSC01090.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658638866134781762" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho3O2jdCR5_c3wQfnFI0b14Upm6aIcNB_TDYFR0OwrAQyh9ggnpvvmDS1bZhx7cNm1WOkRZxQ62ZvzFO6kxDZK6AgnA1c4-kQhM1qiOpTdMX4DFOEKe5HckSVAwfDR0xy8_dQtx2Y2AFvy/s1600/DSC01093.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho3O2jdCR5_c3wQfnFI0b14Upm6aIcNB_TDYFR0OwrAQyh9ggnpvvmDS1bZhx7cNm1WOkRZxQ62ZvzFO6kxDZK6AgnA1c4-kQhM1qiOpTdMX4DFOEKe5HckSVAwfDR0xy8_dQtx2Y2AFvy/s400/DSC01093.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658636953598211618" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpMamwWe5bTDKbwlgsgpvhem9CpJfBirTuAXWZ1CBTDUJPNY62DerJTqtXP0dsg3MQuANedpiEvpTC1BGCpwAuEqmECYJq6QgB3d9hmLQGoBonq055PtJPDujXTw_SVaGj5wBNGCk62CJo/s1600/DSC01086.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpMamwWe5bTDKbwlgsgpvhem9CpJfBirTuAXWZ1CBTDUJPNY62DerJTqtXP0dsg3MQuANedpiEvpTC1BGCpwAuEqmECYJq6QgB3d9hmLQGoBonq055PtJPDujXTw_SVaGj5wBNGCk62CJo/s400/DSC01086.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658636946444740946" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6po__T9jj_9I5-NP9t9iOiJqKdoCqTXPPL-8tLgUaaghsS1itUNEGfI5eGqd_Fb6TkkV3pLeFYX1XVYtG6fuJq4vLhpFzg_vDyl93xGNwZilZDUsKYsY2cjy2XGUO-ZyRPkIEEz9KCyCk/s1600/DSC01082.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6po__T9jj_9I5-NP9t9iOiJqKdoCqTXPPL-8tLgUaaghsS1itUNEGfI5eGqd_Fb6TkkV3pLeFYX1XVYtG6fuJq4vLhpFzg_vDyl93xGNwZilZDUsKYsY2cjy2XGUO-ZyRPkIEEz9KCyCk/s400/DSC01082.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658636936815504818" /></a>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-82666635231555981042011-10-01T15:46:00.000-05:002011-10-01T15:46:39.636-05:00Catch up Volume 4: Chicago<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXI4xxNiSyGE0zAkEVaXqYIqPnIBoVMzBG1KHBGyyVkwlYdeK6CLPlriMnzDKU0fRc0aNcGtn-6qps3B8DOmcLLi7-nizAyVql1XFKecc7djFXiTypmEVgb5CPeuxhoJPgIfV5IEvi6SSN/s1600/mms95picture.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXI4xxNiSyGE0zAkEVaXqYIqPnIBoVMzBG1KHBGyyVkwlYdeK6CLPlriMnzDKU0fRc0aNcGtn-6qps3B8DOmcLLi7-nizAyVql1XFKecc7djFXiTypmEVgb5CPeuxhoJPgIfV5IEvi6SSN/s400/mms95picture.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658627557563163170" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Zumba in Millennium Park!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhstVtjLTpjMVgCrWdyx122CBikwaM3ZfGcdrEMFkM4IhZxEDVtcyS3sCv7AYk8ZoGulFF-F8X7YvcBvu3sEC-4T5gVCVdSryI2Cj1ZMfCggYUNfCs-_HyDfRx_uHRCg9SeSudhhkRjmQwH/s1600/DSC01073.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhstVtjLTpjMVgCrWdyx122CBikwaM3ZfGcdrEMFkM4IhZxEDVtcyS3sCv7AYk8ZoGulFF-F8X7YvcBvu3sEC-4T5gVCVdSryI2Cj1ZMfCggYUNfCs-_HyDfRx_uHRCg9SeSudhhkRjmQwH/s400/DSC01073.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658627231495237330" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4TpI_ZyGXpTOjvtP9Dhn6e_h8YWJEp-qoKr3G54lzdiMyIRinOoX_WJTuPXFKCPOxw7JB97sLq1uTWqoYwUT-Vhd0z22B0-7nFJeGcYeivbBnIeMrRJeFeO3SzCUg8fqrmjD8Kz-V58N/s1600/296530_2137963302072_1635810430_2107500_6579651_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS4TpI_ZyGXpTOjvtP9Dhn6e_h8YWJEp-qoKr3G54lzdiMyIRinOoX_WJTuPXFKCPOxw7JB97sLq1uTWqoYwUT-Vhd0z22B0-7nFJeGcYeivbBnIeMrRJeFeO3SzCUg8fqrmjD8Kz-V58N/s400/296530_2137963302072_1635810430_2107500_6579651_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658606574934274242" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4PaRDoYdRky827LmYobTpPveOV0KCrxLHQi_oggGnJr6WCadPh3VVSAfDQzFF93sg86KWKHG7_WVbEEb5k_bFpa9N4cLQO-QANpPl9H74HHnr462Khk1wizYaFh8Z4e1d4hSh-CwRDNlH/s1600/293603_2137963622080_1635810430_2107501_6077927_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4PaRDoYdRky827LmYobTpPveOV0KCrxLHQi_oggGnJr6WCadPh3VVSAfDQzFF93sg86KWKHG7_WVbEEb5k_bFpa9N4cLQO-QANpPl9H74HHnr462Khk1wizYaFh8Z4e1d4hSh-CwRDNlH/s400/293603_2137963622080_1635810430_2107501_6077927_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658606573098778114" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-k1Y9kijwCr5NbU5gBLyEwQjC_PTUiJZFw84Lia9rCk1BVPGgSl6CI9OfGfW2INdCAIbtosAS-GZSwpNgQE754UQvpf3XYxcbz81tUZ07AZjrWYeI4zgEfDx6Z_eLpXGwKwFqiAfASbN/s1600/223672_2137970462251_1635810430_2107507_627228_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-k1Y9kijwCr5NbU5gBLyEwQjC_PTUiJZFw84Lia9rCk1BVPGgSl6CI9OfGfW2INdCAIbtosAS-GZSwpNgQE754UQvpf3XYxcbz81tUZ07AZjrWYeI4zgEfDx6Z_eLpXGwKwFqiAfASbN/s400/223672_2137970462251_1635810430_2107507_627228_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658606567579701490" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNlI-m9rIev5DGyym4NFaE45i_-X2J4MPZf9VOABHWtKxjIwf6Nz5KQGN4FhlD91TDXZn2zbgM6MNGRM7XO5799pNSoyAbUwj6kQX4EaV5aJqWkyWR_EsD-Uo75MQuwboTJSQ9iue3rtZ/s1600/205886_2137971222270_1635810430_2107510_5193090_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuNlI-m9rIev5DGyym4NFaE45i_-X2J4MPZf9VOABHWtKxjIwf6Nz5KQGN4FhlD91TDXZn2zbgM6MNGRM7XO5799pNSoyAbUwj6kQX4EaV5aJqWkyWR_EsD-Uo75MQuwboTJSQ9iue3rtZ/s400/205886_2137971222270_1635810430_2107510_5193090_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658606564271296978" /></a>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-14131884854550971892011-10-01T14:50:00.008-05:002011-10-01T15:36:53.645-05:00Catch up Volume 3: Wyoming<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3bv_HyEkIB6UTLdkXaY2x-jRfMgU2ps3iBq9Gvng3AuiZEp60p24msOkD_vecr0rRbx2AvWLoC0PbJGKB1QTtgrng1IHFgSR5bX_F36s01F3RWlJmOHvSQa9LzftQrOBrb63rw0Tu-Tkt/s400/Lower+Falls.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658623635348999362" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px; " /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rrCW5mXqkArUOgYXWgCCeRRjYASx01g15fI1Wqvgyi0NCDwqGLBjmC42heopO3wRPJ2QRBQGaUdVyhJn60XKlnnwPY2vQZ4Sq8A1zoxGZsvuvqtNvO62VZzSYx4Q0lxKoIAN0UNYwYJW/s400/w4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624270876651026" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></span><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8w0YJJ8xG-zxqgra8VCjJpQufHDOi9__9Q-O-k4HSEna4rqKtcI5qYWftlyj1wY_rgskWndE00NuQDAMYa-Cumk6XitLT8hZKFdgrWntcvC1NnyCfaOhWiBNjAclg_E3bz3bbpdTHhyBP/s400/Hummingbird.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658621188780379218" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px; " /></span><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRhmU-4xrwDkn-zfVq1_Tjv3Z7U-oZskXSXA1M0PK47CvwdV2X_otmrrekVFtmWL4oO9wzzVHCeoHDklxTZIMMhQb3ZptSq8qBDJvWObuztqXLZMoW2FgeKESCGD1o0IQ4HkYERI4cu3i3/s400/Field+of+Flowers.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658619097404229090" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfczQuTD0sIGr6okIKWjZnAJOpqhpH_p8XiAdd6Qdl7YhK2AwTi81j-KwZRpepgbgCLK_jbShbqKG7Wy5CpjDwxPFVD1vmMWDRomPEeyyMkWTni231_33-djrKWzONqLH0nV-U0yOUS7_w/s400/w6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624298149454514" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqFYC1Wqtr4v85UpV4EiEDR5o4_egDs3fot0eCALIHTFHyO8GN4TxrwbCrVgt7Fj17TARPdpMWv_JB_Smgk5xrNwV0vWMrydoPvA9pGkteGd-vMBCUg8Maelk0EpHy3To_ZfN4f_OMSsO/s1600/w3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqFYC1Wqtr4v85UpV4EiEDR5o4_egDs3fot0eCALIHTFHyO8GN4TxrwbCrVgt7Fj17TARPdpMWv_JB_Smgk5xrNwV0vWMrydoPvA9pGkteGd-vMBCUg8Maelk0EpHy3To_ZfN4f_OMSsO/s400/w3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624288745543410" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWtBIoUzkW5kxK-NbNDgiv3FqkUsepNDmsw6mozILGD9NeHG0H15OxfCoRlqJW6sKDeWQG_ov0NsLcmL_Y2ctpTRH90mkcDCqmeriIbUAA9jJsbW1njTtb7hRPd3PljWXp2C96C84vfFTe/s1600/w2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWtBIoUzkW5kxK-NbNDgiv3FqkUsepNDmsw6mozILGD9NeHG0H15OxfCoRlqJW6sKDeWQG_ov0NsLcmL_Y2ctpTRH90mkcDCqmeriIbUAA9jJsbW1njTtb7hRPd3PljWXp2C96C84vfFTe/s400/w2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624281392561010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmHc3gbVTaT1tajXD3FUp61C2gvXLLbxJ_wCSlFMUv5hPbD7TPP2ZlEy8L38868KoqTwmiMGR613KA9axhpD4mH4WeMpP9_zRmn1JsRY-arbdYrsPdvmP7C63FzhGJL5pUBeIPdy7wMVx/s1600/w1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmmHc3gbVTaT1tajXD3FUp61C2gvXLLbxJ_wCSlFMUv5hPbD7TPP2ZlEy8L38868KoqTwmiMGR613KA9axhpD4mH4WeMpP9_zRmn1JsRY-arbdYrsPdvmP7C63FzhGJL5pUBeIPdy7wMVx/s400/w1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624274430068066" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwXmv5JskxdPzTTxabTAiN6jvuRfx6N5tyl3iz8p1-aM7D-0OSui33ptt8IuqXXahVKfj322EjmCKdD5AFyFhHHWy-Jc9dr0ZEABmx1UAxUDIDTVrVgZEir3eXxTYA3mc6IqWz6tvGkpy/s1600/w15.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwXmv5JskxdPzTTxabTAiN6jvuRfx6N5tyl3iz8p1-aM7D-0OSui33ptt8IuqXXahVKfj322EjmCKdD5AFyFhHHWy-Jc9dr0ZEABmx1UAxUDIDTVrVgZEir3eXxTYA3mc6IqWz6tvGkpy/s400/w15.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624990711025010" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTCM7CVxh4MN1gnhZcmD7iV1egfdeBYsHZYQRkhRf2W25BCQgHjhOxnjhL4PBYRZZmhkWslRC9RVrzK3LgTTRoEA97I7YzQCYArUyqg69IPErv7HuK6nj0Ma1skvZO4gu0i92GJyhjGpV/s1600/w14.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTCM7CVxh4MN1gnhZcmD7iV1egfdeBYsHZYQRkhRf2W25BCQgHjhOxnjhL4PBYRZZmhkWslRC9RVrzK3LgTTRoEA97I7YzQCYArUyqg69IPErv7HuK6nj0Ma1skvZO4gu0i92GJyhjGpV/s400/w14.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624983283816178" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioIdPcILBk-vk36GjZeR9xkw29CnXmO1ZD_IwoiBjI6pjyFS7ggRcAPzDYxx58dQoGpNMOS76a_lJ-LW0IRSaLjfmBiw2CUev7UORlsL5TSnOV-2MO24I2Hb4pr3A4wy4ECd1MmDClX2PM/s1600/w13.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioIdPcILBk-vk36GjZeR9xkw29CnXmO1ZD_IwoiBjI6pjyFS7ggRcAPzDYxx58dQoGpNMOS76a_lJ-LW0IRSaLjfmBiw2CUev7UORlsL5TSnOV-2MO24I2Hb4pr3A4wy4ECd1MmDClX2PM/s400/w13.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624978940794354" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgrtGOhjFJyOr0wzHQaV-JgdWGyVyLVi0wdKoYuhjjM7acIWtD_K_UGXzD2qOrZxxlCgljGdfM07hexwr0WLbZ6gljOm04ltyhPmiMpxWqsSvIb3gRisBoPqUT6Z7kOPzUq3DRCRP01L0/s1600/w12.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgrtGOhjFJyOr0wzHQaV-JgdWGyVyLVi0wdKoYuhjjM7acIWtD_K_UGXzD2qOrZxxlCgljGdfM07hexwr0WLbZ6gljOm04ltyhPmiMpxWqsSvIb3gRisBoPqUT6Z7kOPzUq3DRCRP01L0/s400/w12.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624975502672802" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzVEtepIgdCyhyBBijdsSxl7GdgpQaX59vn2LcwBCjFmGZQZY0X8uQD2RT6p7Onp4q958dr-HxYoYQlnrR5uVrZEUic7VsbgueyqFMSNkzbzoCQe3AmECvLVsMN1EsRCi1LB7jsVfJjBh/s1600/w11.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzVEtepIgdCyhyBBijdsSxl7GdgpQaX59vn2LcwBCjFmGZQZY0X8uQD2RT6p7Onp4q958dr-HxYoYQlnrR5uVrZEUic7VsbgueyqFMSNkzbzoCQe3AmECvLVsMN1EsRCi1LB7jsVfJjBh/s400/w11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624971631840850" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXYirDFUhoaUAvNrW8OaWTFWUn8MxK6Ks-DjEiMzXYsdYwTprHnHYlDtLE-PrUqsnXEBsOOf02yUBKpFpKY1idMw2JdLkT0dfTgPWNSk26mZin7QusARjnq179B2_tbajpF5PrD9Xbn2T/s1600/w10.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcXYirDFUhoaUAvNrW8OaWTFWUn8MxK6Ks-DjEiMzXYsdYwTprHnHYlDtLE-PrUqsnXEBsOOf02yUBKpFpKY1idMw2JdLkT0dfTgPWNSk26mZin7QusARjnq179B2_tbajpF5PrD9Xbn2T/s400/w10.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624683145589538" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEich7tkpSGSFMyfzXTsustJh84hc5Gp_X5SWbLYfiB4EoICaHqhCZ8oSt6Hm0fGY-tZI656qbpG3sdbVgPS97pjEfT24IocKaeiQMxleYAa-o8H-P9bmnzsW_YouEcOktXT9ZY4cnGWa1G-/s1600/w9.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEich7tkpSGSFMyfzXTsustJh84hc5Gp_X5SWbLYfiB4EoICaHqhCZ8oSt6Hm0fGY-tZI656qbpG3sdbVgPS97pjEfT24IocKaeiQMxleYAa-o8H-P9bmnzsW_YouEcOktXT9ZY4cnGWa1G-/s400/w9.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624680654408194" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_VzIDO0q5CgScp0kfggffV2BcRovt1XWLEYoA4JK1FUNC_ibw_rdonqMW3I0TVXOVuuRALcXNw9nSAimlSMR_Xuz5qCIaT_Q8GqazRx4D0-79gP4WSg8iGyJbhvK967wdOuJesWN9xpNj/s1600/w7.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_VzIDO0q5CgScp0kfggffV2BcRovt1XWLEYoA4JK1FUNC_ibw_rdonqMW3I0TVXOVuuRALcXNw9nSAimlSMR_Xuz5qCIaT_Q8GqazRx4D0-79gP4WSg8iGyJbhvK967wdOuJesWN9xpNj/s400/w7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624677685681218" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8B995p0NxeASPhc1dwel6nTXmp40R6I5h83aOzfKM3ePUgfqpXHGUnm71IRNzckmOtfoP7k2Yj2slOoo_tE5IR_n4ol3y2tcp1Ak_sIkrW0bpEpR7IHz9DmPvEVbVzozSipeTadBoGTP/s1600/w8.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8B995p0NxeASPhc1dwel6nTXmp40R6I5h83aOzfKM3ePUgfqpXHGUnm71IRNzckmOtfoP7k2Yj2slOoo_tE5IR_n4ol3y2tcp1Ak_sIkrW0bpEpR7IHz9DmPvEVbVzozSipeTadBoGTP/s400/w8.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624671520889426" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJkO3NlYxcuG7QHlkRO3P-RSSVKJujG7mgqvtZWTHWpkAziKK8fMKnRSHQ9XsMxPe5HuwukMGuUUsdptbHj-u9q0IcfxX9fRZpegx_Z4JipqqgiA_eENbLRoqnA8Vfa_dvABtcc_6lTwt/s1600/w5.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJkO3NlYxcuG7QHlkRO3P-RSSVKJujG7mgqvtZWTHWpkAziKK8fMKnRSHQ9XsMxPe5HuwukMGuUUsdptbHj-u9q0IcfxX9fRZpegx_Z4JipqqgiA_eENbLRoqnA8Vfa_dvABtcc_6lTwt/s400/w5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658624666810704066" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-69999684979702736572011-10-01T14:15:00.001-05:002011-10-01T14:17:04.196-05:00Catch up Volume 2: New Job!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUy73iMfXYkWkVz9pw-viBIsWgOdzz4QDd19PPa5ngB8x-YEriwySaUCqwQ0XGrJGYmUtOy0qdU_Qveg25rGMnXjEtiDmMBsAGk4HiyIpIajCHKbENEUDOVkl1OfNK2T2HmRjmlSTx-lcW/s1600/223690_261130103897300_245382872138690_1123867_6307615_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 128px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUy73iMfXYkWkVz9pw-viBIsWgOdzz4QDd19PPa5ngB8x-YEriwySaUCqwQ0XGrJGYmUtOy0qdU_Qveg25rGMnXjEtiDmMBsAGk4HiyIpIajCHKbENEUDOVkl1OfNK2T2HmRjmlSTx-lcW/s400/223690_261130103897300_245382872138690_1123867_6307615_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658604757824025154" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'courier new';"><br /></span></div>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-28372297540067308632011-10-01T13:55:00.002-05:002011-10-01T14:15:13.993-05:00Catch up Volume 1: July 4th<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpKmHWSrT1EXY8wF5qLF6LAR11z45Q2VJDNAMhykOLkpFBxtLL6zRp37LdPupY7aqncSUY2kH2sAVnwfitjREJPTiphquPGUPUA9REsCs_CSmLotJQZAcGpM85UOLAyJk598P_LiF-XiSn/s1600/262113_10150691624035066_651595065_19320802_2186076_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpKmHWSrT1EXY8wF5qLF6LAR11z45Q2VJDNAMhykOLkpFBxtLL6zRp37LdPupY7aqncSUY2kH2sAVnwfitjREJPTiphquPGUPUA9REsCs_CSmLotJQZAcGpM85UOLAyJk598P_LiF-XiSn/s400/262113_10150691624035066_651595065_19320802_2186076_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658604395676940178" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9Mphz_zZ3DzNWKm0nU53hA_FIfL49h_vy1xddEUDw2HDdXw08xqMMQcMC8_Zed1JNOzw9_EJYyahETBGe6tMEcobx0uy6IKrbbzLgHwcfwFYFZDySBriTV94juQVlDHYC6a5WaP2kniR/s1600/DSC00812.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9Mphz_zZ3DzNWKm0nU53hA_FIfL49h_vy1xddEUDw2HDdXw08xqMMQcMC8_Zed1JNOzw9_EJYyahETBGe6tMEcobx0uy6IKrbbzLgHwcfwFYFZDySBriTV94juQVlDHYC6a5WaP2kniR/s400/DSC00812.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658602891095751922" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZJOxY1AMLR4UqecJ7VLQ-GnWYDjWFw4ToXU8hVdTr3Uax_oqAt3WDKY6m-0hqx7cqwzgAbAvglonwdhJ8oJc5NRHZKXRM7robFFppr1qvYTPSfoaskWoDmR6lsN7GCGX-WfXTgUiP6Ra/s400/DSC00789.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658602882834869906" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYaepMcfgluaymo6BizHdUh-HW9jStXPWXXZNW3oFl7w_OE1dyjVA-cNiziJR-VO4eQvGUk3x6_O4nuDBkb1Q7aY3EqxfukyiQXpfwUGWvzKOh_YfLgGN0Az4S134POuU_pfVvGdYfHWbB/s1600/DSC00937.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYaepMcfgluaymo6BizHdUh-HW9jStXPWXXZNW3oFl7w_OE1dyjVA-cNiziJR-VO4eQvGUk3x6_O4nuDBkb1Q7aY3EqxfukyiQXpfwUGWvzKOh_YfLgGN0Az4S134POuU_pfVvGdYfHWbB/s400/DSC00937.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658602905951136146" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_7ZY3du9s2nF6NFKeZrztWZVkkXds4GFirfd-4zRAeIqVeI-CB-vKn7qiBhAU1KGrwmL7Ieg4Xc474x0BOKfk6Ch_AUDJF-SyintymaJ16LYcGQjdgD98_OJuM3udOLKc7Qfx4a3MQAt/s1600/DSC00933.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_7ZY3du9s2nF6NFKeZrztWZVkkXds4GFirfd-4zRAeIqVeI-CB-vKn7qiBhAU1KGrwmL7Ieg4Xc474x0BOKfk6Ch_AUDJF-SyintymaJ16LYcGQjdgD98_OJuM3udOLKc7Qfx4a3MQAt/s400/DSC00933.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5658602901928092386" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-69962900442445995382011-08-01T15:57:00.000-05:002011-08-01T16:03:15.070-05:00Picture this.So here it is...my bloglift. I want to continue to update as necessary, but I believe what I want to accomplish through having a blog is to actually POST more than once or twice a month. How do I do this? By posting only through pictures. For those of you that know me, I love taking pictures and I love finding meaning in nature, beauty and anything creative. I will post pictures of our adventures (yep...the name fits), or just things I find interesting, funny, crafty, beautiful, insightful or just plain silly. I might even throw in a few of my craft projects, pictures of our new apartment (which we are moving into this afternoon!), or things I want to learn or make. I hope you find this fun to look at and I promise I will keep you better updated because of this change! Look forward to my first official bloglift post in the next week or so!Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-44246406395098008102011-07-01T11:46:00.001-05:002011-07-01T11:56:37.217-05:00I think I'll Stick to Spray TansTWO BLOG POSTS IN ONE DAY?? I know, I must not be feeling very well.<div><br /></div><div>Here's the deal. Graham and I are headed to the beach tomorrow (Myrtle--the land of the 80's spray tanks and where anything neon is still cool--so excited!!) and I wanted to get what those bronze people call a "base tan" going on before we left. Well, for those of you that know me, I'm extremely fair skinned. Not like the pretty porcelain type, but the more red, freckly type. SO, I'm already predisposed to skin cancer, but I figured hey! Why not go a few times...it can't hurt, right? I admit it. Graham, Mom, everyone else who told me not to go...you win. Apparently people can be allergic to UV rays in concentrated amounts. OF COURSE I AM. Who knew? About the fourth time I went (and I was getting excited because I was turning a slightly darker shade of pale at this point) I was in the tanning bed and it felt like little prickly needles were poking me all over my body. So as soon as it started I immediately got up and out of the tanning bed right? Wrong again. I'm extremely competitive (I'm sure this will be my downfall at some point) and saw that there were only 3 minutes remaining on my time--anyone can stand a little pain for 3 minutes, right? It didn't get too much worse when I was in there, but then about 2 hours later I had this horrible horrible pain literally all over my body. Like burny/itchy/shaky...you get the picture. After doing some research (I only got 20 minutes of sleep that night) I found out this is actually a pretty common problem and a lot of people end up going to the emergency room when they have this experience--I believe it! If I weren't so stubborn I might have gone just to get someone to tell me I was going to be okay eventually. This feeling was better in the morning but continued for about 3 days on and off. The weird thing is I don't react in the real sun so I guess we all know there's something a little off going on in those tanning beds. Don't do it! :)</div><div><br /></div><div>NEEDLESS TO SAY...I gave up on the whole tanning idea and went for the sunless tanning experience earlier today. Much more pleasant :)</div>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-78652628609268767232011-06-30T16:49:00.000-05:002011-07-01T11:41:26.786-05:00Joanna Wrote a New Blog Post???<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 5.05pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family:Cambria;">Wow. Every time I think I should just give up on this whole blogging thing, poof! A magical blog post pops up on your feed for pure enjoyment. Okay, maybe not so much enjoyment as straight up Graham and Joanna information. What in the world have we been up to?? Well…since my last post I planned a lot of weddings. I only worked three of them however and I have a bittersweet announcement that I resigned my position as Senior Event Coordinator at Sky Event Centre and have moved a whole two blocks (literally) to a new Marketing position at a local bank named Community National. This has been my first week working as a “Marketing Specialist” and boy, have they been treating me like one! I have already written an article on the bank for Cedar Valley Region publication (no big deal…it is only used for about three years in the business world until the next brave soul gets to write a new one), helped redesign some of the elements on the Web site (which, I have apparently been put in charge of—ah!) and created an advertisement for the August 2011 edition of Business Weekly which goes out across the Cedar Valley and in which we have the front inside cover spot. Again, no pressure, right? It has been a fun challenge for me and I really think I am going to love it here in my new job home even though it couldn’t be any more different than what I was doing before!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 5.05pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><u></u><u></u><span style="font-family:Cambria;"> </span><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 5.05pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family:Cambria;">This does not go to say that I will not be event planning in the future or soliciting my services to any stressed out bride-to-be’s (you know who you are and who you should call…) in the meantime. I fully expect to try and wriggle my way into the industry after our next move (who knows when this will be…) which will hopefully be to a bigger city where gals who love wedding planning like me will be welcomed with open arms. (I’m sure you’re surprised to hear that there isn’t a huge market for wedding planners in Cedar Falls, Iowa.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 5.05pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><u></u><span style="font-family:Cambria;"> </span><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 5.05pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family:Cambria;">Let’s see, what else, what else. I am planning a bloglift in the near future. Yes, I just used bloglift in a sentence. Don’t worry it is not as bad as saying emoticon in a sentence like Ben on the Bachelorette whipped out this season—how embarrassing. <span> </span>I just feel like I need this here thing to be revamped and maybe even have a completely new direction. What will it be…what will it be? Will I be crafty, or funny, or just my plain old Joanna self? I guess you’ll just have to stay tuned to find out.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 5.05pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><u></u><span style="font-family:Cambria;"> </span><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 5.05pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family:Cambria;">I had the best time with my Mom who came into town this past weekend because my Dad was out of town. And by out of town I mean Japan. Graham’s mom was also in China then as well. Anyway...we shopped and ate til we dropped. Unfortunately for Mom she dropped two out of three nights on our less-than-stellar air mattress that apparently has a tiny little hole somewhere so no matter how full it is when you go to sleep you will wind up waking up somewhere around 4:13am with your back flat on the floor.<span> </span>Talk about hospitality! Don’t worry though, for all of you who just can’t wait to plan your visit to Iowa any longer, we are moving into a two bedroom apartment in August and we will have two beds. And by two beds I mean two bed frames, one with a mattress. THEN, if we can afford a new mattress set, then you may not have to put the air mattress on a tacky lone bed frame in our guest bedroom. At least you’d have your own private space, right? Oh the joys of young marriage! These times are for looking back and laughing on when you’re old and rich together, right? That’s what I hear anyway. Oh! I ate a corn dog at the festival this past weekend instead of running the half marathon. Success?? I think so!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 5.05pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><u></u><span style="font-family:Cambria;"> </span><u></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 5.05pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; "><span style="font-family:Cambria;">Well, tootles (toodles? Tootles seems too much like a word a three year old would use to describe her gas issues…) for now. I know you’ll all be anxiously awaiting the new bloglift. Maybe it won’t take me another two months for it to happen… LOVE Y’ALL!</span></p></span><div></div>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-89276712815327778732011-03-31T13:54:00.000-05:002011-03-31T15:02:14.920-05:00Top ten.So, in honor of the fact that I always qualify things in top ten or top five lists (if you haven't noticed this I'm impressed. I've actually tried to make a concerted effort to not do this. Top 10 hardest things I've ever tried to do.) <em>and</em> due to the fact that I am missin' me some South, I've created a list of the top 10 things I miss the most about living there. (In no particular order and of course excluding our many friends and family that I love super super so much.) NOTE: You will notice most of these items have to do with food and/or beverage. Don't judge. <span style="font-family:courier new;">1. </span><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Chick</span>-fil-A.</span> I thought of this one today as I was eating a chicken caesar wrap for lunch. It's just not as good as the ones from Chick-fil-A. And I certainly would like waffle fries over the steamed broccoli I see sitting on my plate with <em>this </em>wrap. <span style="font-family:courier new;">2. </span><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Blossoms</span>.</span> Mainly dogwood blossoms. I'm not saying that when the temperature <em>finally</em> decides to get out of the 30's and 40's I will not see spring blossoms, because I know I will. BUT it's just not the same. I want the fuchias of the azaleas and pinks and whites of the crape myrtles and dogwoods welcoming me home everyday. <span style="font-family:courier new;">3. </span><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Bo</span>*Berry Biscuits.</span> If you don't know what a bo*berry biscuit is and you are within 100 miles of a Bojangles, go. It will be well worth your trip. <span style="font-family:courier new;">4. </span><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">North</span> Carolina Basketball Fans.</span> Or you know what? Basketball fans in general. It may seem like a simple thing, but when you don't have anyone who really cares at all about Carolina basketball or better yet, are surrounded by people who love to cheer <em>against</em> Carolina just for the fun of it, I miss me some Carolina blue firetrucks if you know what I'm sayin'. <span style="font-family:courier new;">5. </span><span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:courier new;">Sweet</span> tea.</span> As much as you try, Texas Roadhouse, yours just isn't as good. <span style="font-family:courier new;">6.</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;">Mom's poundcake</span> and Mamaw's Blackberry Cobbler. And freshly made, still warm applesauce. And green beans out of the garden. And fresh cream corn out of the garden. And cherries off the tree. And blueberries off the bushes or grapes off the vine. And freshly picked peaches and strawberries being sold on the side of the road. <span style="font-family:georgia;">7.</span> <span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">Brick sidewalks.</span> I was reminded that these exist when Graham and I wandered to an adorable suburb of Minneapolis this past weekend and they had them. Although not ideal for walking (hence my daily spills around Carolina's campus while in college) they are quite easy on the eyes.<span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;"> 8. New/updated apartment options.</span> It is so hard to find an apartment here. I'm pleased to announce Graham and I will be upgrading from our one bedroom to two in August! Hooray for a space we can move around in!! <span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">9. Hiking.</span> I'm sure we could find a place to hike around in here in the Mid West, but it would be at least an hour drive. I miss just being able to hop on over to the nearest park and go for a hike and a picnic and set up our sweet hammock to take a nap by the creek (and maybe jump in it if I'm feeling crazy) on a Sunday afternoon. <span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">10. Being able to go to the beach.</span> I've never been much of a beach person much myself, but being away from it all the time sure makes you want to be able to prop up your lawn chair or fight the wind to lay out your towel and feel the sand on your toes. Now, although I definitely miss me some South sometimes, I also have my reasons I love living here, in good ol' Cedar Falls, Iowa. Let's do a top 5 on this one since I really should be working instead of blogging. <span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">1. People thinking Graham and I are adorable for the way we "speak".</span> Every time I say y'all I get a slight grin from the person I'm talking to no matter how many times they've heard me say it. <span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">2. Being so close to so many new places.</span> I have seen Dubuque, St. Louis, Kansas City, Des Moines, Moline, Madison and Minneapolis just to name a few since we've moved here. And Chicago is definitely still on the bucket list for (fingers crossed!) this summer. <span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">3. Springtime.</span> I know, I know, I just complained about not having any blossoms to smell right now, but I know that soon enough those new green blades of grass will be pushing through and leaves will be budding on the trees. The long, long winter we've had this year will serve as a constant reminder of the beauty of spring and to enjoy every second of it! <span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">4. Simply put, the people.</span> We have formed such an awesome community of friends here since we moved over a year ago (can you believe it?? It's been over a year!). <span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">5. I love how much closer moving here has made Graham and I.</span> I know we will be so much stronger as a couple because of the Mid West! <span style="font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;">5b. The world's largest truck stop is here.</span> "For everything there is a season."Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-43566877821530023072011-02-28T09:59:00.000-06:002011-02-28T12:12:42.140-06:00Stylish Blogger?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrq8jl0QikBCSswGW5j0_HJa2xD7rBtrL4L3rlISZYxivUglViWqI-zq0pk8hBhgfLT2kZ_fJL3wuhOTiJ9FxITD2tQfFMN6ccxPhkfM-EeVvl-Oc7Az0y6Id1J0GbTA8-SsHegyayIj4E/s1600/blog_award.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578776823190838914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrq8jl0QikBCSswGW5j0_HJa2xD7rBtrL4L3rlISZYxivUglViWqI-zq0pk8hBhgfLT2kZ_fJL3wuhOTiJ9FxITD2tQfFMN6ccxPhkfM-EeVvl-Oc7Az0y6Id1J0GbTA8-SsHegyayIj4E/s400/blog_award.jpg" border="0" /></a> Apparently, I have been tagged with the stylish blogger award. Now, my first question is: how can you win a stylish blog award if the blog for which you are blogging about winning the stylish blogger award is the only blog post you have composed in the past two months? Well, folks, it happened. Along with the receipt of this award, you get to hear 10 "fun facts" about little ol' me. Aren't you excited?? I choose to use my 10 "fun" facts to share with you 10 of my current obsessions (in no particular order)**:<br /><div></div><div></div><div>1. Le Creuset Dutch Oven in Purple: (Married much??)<br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578776823938981970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 286px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ZnfPE6No9voObodf47uwmZA3tz7-kF9Axv6Id9GbgUc57UYeZvniO7Hx6lcjb3gO1QxPMpwghCWNfE_6BgmiQgdKzO6ehN6V-AlNpjJHtNTFbcrT8rjLzzWdKLlkoJWukFgQBBAB898P/s400/lecreuset.jpg" border="0" /></div><div>2. OPI Nail Polish "Pirates of the Carribean" collection:</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578800999685586978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTcHN7Sdowy6JByk5hvxcaHDrmIqAr29yFbazAAHZz_6je9pQNjqA7C5-w8icVNxoMFSggFAA9kW7iY9fEAc7RyT-pGyP2cL15Z6gg3JrZlnF4Zl0V8uVQFqlvx2oY7Z-GtsF-PaE-rhY/s400/opi-pirates-of-the-caribbean-nail-polish-2-590.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578800996307022306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvfiOi3P3MufYMxJWPYHflZsCqxEf0_QGSeq5IlUKODtMyn_rbc-NDaEmBhtCBGMuudMo0_Q_Wqss4ZfEPkomncjo5xwECNh-XM9v6DPWPAzq9YwamcPjK4kXqISUz6Ze78jzpuh8P7Qz/s400/opi-pirates-of-the-caribbean-nail-polish-1-590.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div></div><div>3. Cate Blanchett's gown at the Oscars last night by Givenchy Couture--stunning.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578801489218520898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 309px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbDz4Y5ZKAA1UrFHEY7wOPLNkEqF3PnuoVQI-beRFQ0BnxAYKTOmMWoYpmUT2N3cog2ixCpDwKWe29S5cMpwdTjZfjy-E2JhsE-CY4MM2eMT-JrEDYHvGoUn_-cll1sPsk78wtbXJlyWNv/s400/gal_oscars_red_carpet_cate_blanchett.jpg" border="0" /> <div></div><div>4. Large arm jewelry of any kind. It's obvious I love Fossil watches. My latest purchase (thanks fam for the Christmas monies!) is similar to this one except in yellow gold as opposed to the rose:</div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578801479980205090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBHqJ52YxTMDUOK30e0QnKjz2-O0iy2Luyz2f48T94hdSQ3LG7H7vrfki2xPuA6PUXp3nX77ei0e4uCdW8zjbgTcUg3MRoLq0k2BJiBBv2AnCMq-gJ3qROK4HlTnoUNBXo6XNR97IFZ1UK/s400/ES2811_main.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>Amrita Singh is one designer that has relatively inexpensive bangles with an Indian twist. Here's one of my current faves of hers:</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578801498527659778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWs5OgYEojgWrTGhgKqVBQKA57-NZAMQPgdVSTSvD6HO8QhJ4punySdXyiV_o46hmxYRu1XFitGqaUSx7_PpffkrQMXuShdmLCozzUB_UOihVtznItofXMsLFi4NezBF6bgmEemthEB1ZA/s400/media.jpg" border="0" /> <div></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.amritasingh.com/Collections/BangleBangle-Resin/Piccaso-Bangle">Amrita Singh</a></div><div align="center"></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>5. Covered back porch outdoor fireplaces. Call me Southern, but whenever Graham and I can ever consider settling down and buying a house, a deal breaker will be a covered back porch with space to build an outdoor fireplace. Mmm...you can feel the outdoor winter coziness already.<br /></div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578801007608131154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 252px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWMFmvRjvZ4qPlmn9GijLQBEvQBPVkNIA_iXbAXs_67JrAEMBI9ceBDyUEzD0Hpp_4fNHgeEsMuiOCel-6Ln230KuauD_tQ5-lnyGaAUhBTKj9XKBxE0Q4eIJlZBhENqJU9BxXCuQSDbu/s400/timber_frame_rental_outdoor_fireplace.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br />6. The new Michael Kors line of "take-everywhere" tote bags. This <a href="http://www.michaelkors.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod9690013&parentId=cat31002&masterId=cat29902&index=2&cmCat=cat000000cat8501cat29902cat31002">Edie Large Shoulder Tote </a>in Peanut is my current fave:<br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578803175546753346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNwwa9g00IWgjvYClVRTlPQBKm9gRGDziEeEHBicB58khcEaaM8HBONos9Vn9zCgsKb4CJLnXTqh0aH5inzFCCNYTEzbT_d8sTlBrxiAtpCJjoJ5rcBvCvnYX0squ6l_WzR85Kpp71ApI9/s400/MKV0MXS_mx.jpg" border="0" /></p>7. Dos Rios Cantina and Tequila Lounge in downtown Des Moines. They make your guacamole fresh in front of you at your table to your preference (chunky, mild, spicy, cilantro, etc.). Enough said.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578801497376264834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 98px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdBB3bkuuOP-iqvddI022tWzI3RiZ69OaWS4b6cONNMLVmVSmwdbBZ9WzvcK9BTRv5qokYKbTS1bDeyQF1WX_9MEhKNIYArbeoOlM_xBnziN-0fswfGaMlOaUThsmkl0ds5FKpR3VNZMY6/s400/header.gif" border="0" /><br />8. The Band Perry. Went to their concert this past Thursday night and was blown away--seriously. Much better than expected. I mean what more could you ask for when the perform great covers of "Amazing Grace (the "my chains are gone" version)" and "Fat Bottomed Girls" back to back. Two of my favorite songs of all time. Random, I know--don't you worry about it.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578801003706098258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 351px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_uHCEGMrDWXK5jQRhwDDPXG40TpIfsYLvUkd6iKqg4S7n3Dq0-Uusywa6TlTR9TRuQN7ggPBTVcwIAN6TWCRKA16DKh2GEUIQAVm5F6mQQf30B5b5SPdtQtdPmm8Ib9QHi0KpkaCKKiks/s400/TBP.jpg" border="0" /> 9. Discounted items on "last-minute" websites. If you aren't familiar with these, you really should be. But caution, they'll have you addicted and you'll be logging on everyday without fail.<br /><br /><br />Here's a few for you:<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.ruelala.com/">http://www.ruelala.com/</a> (you have to be invited to this one, so if you're not a member, I'll send you an email invite!)<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.gilt.com/">http://www.gilt.com/</a> and along with it, <a href="http://www.jetsetter.com/">http://www.jetsetter.com/</a><br /><br /><br />And, finally, if you're into outdoorsy things, check out <a href="http://www.steepandcheap.com/">http://www.steepandcheap.com/</a>, but beware: this one has one sale item that refreshes every 30 minutes, so you'll be downloading the app in no time to make sure you don't miss anything! (Yes, there'a an app for that.)<br /><br /><br />10. Thai Chopped Chicken Salad at Panera. With only 390 calories in the full-size portion (I mean, who would be able to fill up on anything smaller??) it is a great way to eat healthy for lunch or dinner and feel like your being bad. Seriously, you should go try it. Right now.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578801493146629602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 120px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 120px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWXdiieOwcPEQqIWLmZwDW9x7DeDkWBU1iwazm2k_MS0qncvFkVq4av8Kn2c-KeK5zbfwz4zVg-HNZi9iCMiX9SZ2yoklEe524FpybmI8ynFNyQGpIgQVOrdnkPZDqpLFqlpXRWrWyN5CJ/s400/c1-2011-thai.jpg" border="0" />Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-8117494308652685552011-02-15T16:09:00.000-06:002011-02-15T17:29:35.971-06:00It's Been A While!Hello again blog world--it's great to see your face(?) again! I am so happy to actually have a late afternoon off from work so that I can catch whoever it is that actually reads this thing up to speed. I really only have one question: Did 2011 start already?? Man. What a whirlwind the past couple of months have been. Honestly I think I will make a list because it will just take too dern long to try and summarize what we've been up to these days!<br /><br />1. Went home for Christmas (yes, I am legitimately bringing you back that far....). See! I have proof:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Oy8Zpq_SPykoCzfvw7Y5r0jpOski5buNNOkZEqws4Gznuf6b5Ub_5hPX7bzFsKpbi19pbRD56_fBWeWAe9MMeWDzORCtCblvRP_ZDRou0CgTNmcafyUSmA5789PJFOvMT5V2u5Fb5ZG2/s1600/DSC00476_2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Oy8Zpq_SPykoCzfvw7Y5r0jpOski5buNNOkZEqws4Gznuf6b5Ub_5hPX7bzFsKpbi19pbRD56_fBWeWAe9MMeWDzORCtCblvRP_ZDRou0CgTNmcafyUSmA5789PJFOvMT5V2u5Fb5ZG2/s400/DSC00476_2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574048269232404786" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYS-X08NU7sV4c-CcEro-jGFcvJ8qrFAjI6lgjE4WpAPMIZ2CKS3XscG_vEAs2k_DzDoL8Ig6iRBoNFvjvS-44l05-wMZ21jTld8VcBFu59kyG4ejOkE-rzjeshq5DJ70mal4NwMkLZUy/s1600/IMG_6715.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYS-X08NU7sV4c-CcEro-jGFcvJ8qrFAjI6lgjE4WpAPMIZ2CKS3XscG_vEAs2k_DzDoL8Ig6iRBoNFvjvS-44l05-wMZ21jTld8VcBFu59kyG4ejOkE-rzjeshq5DJ70mal4NwMkLZUy/s400/IMG_6715.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574048287054418802" border="0" /></a>I made the girls book page wreaths for Christmas. Talk about some QT with the hot glue gun!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxyMl9OYcd8Fnm_7wjPw1IWvLCnHG2Uj4p9mrWWUa1TKYzqTDALHQWCXMbaXgtPW6tAZ4tiQZJDaVFQzrYIFZ3LJbn5i3Yiwgh_URs-pnxZMM0y2ew9AfBw8dudDGKSCjqO_vd8wX9BMjt/s1600/IMG_6718.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxyMl9OYcd8Fnm_7wjPw1IWvLCnHG2Uj4p9mrWWUa1TKYzqTDALHQWCXMbaXgtPW6tAZ4tiQZJDaVFQzrYIFZ3LJbn5i3Yiwgh_URs-pnxZMM0y2ew9AfBw8dudDGKSCjqO_vd8wX9BMjt/s400/IMG_6718.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574050695400380258" border="0" /></a>I also made some nut wreaths. Basically the hot glue gun and I are now BFFs.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzp3v9PQHHqk05eYfrIUcHNYT1o_iNHjsjpugcT02ZnYBFSjYM9DAIN6YncfsS8J2g36-yPaBysYTAO4245nnHeWVlrkqgrVGqFmNJRt58PFEJtblzPNuHL02tQNr4EsHsqgqOSJxi0IF/s1600/DSC00480_2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGzp3v9PQHHqk05eYfrIUcHNYT1o_iNHjsjpugcT02ZnYBFSjYM9DAIN6YncfsS8J2g36-yPaBysYTAO4245nnHeWVlrkqgrVGqFmNJRt58PFEJtblzPNuHL02tQNr4EsHsqgqOSJxi0IF/s400/DSC00480_2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574048274012876898" border="0" /></a>I missed my little Maggie girl!! (Told you my hair was blonde.)<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhloaQ32eMWxmWHF9BXCocOtKRERbOdcUdhPJsDz-UhuvzfozE-9CKSp-bJGw_olrajmFLjZGLjQWedA4Yz5WZPOjhBT5D3Uw82yd_iBpSaTIa0xp_1SygTNidqoqWGP0jabLMGNKnq-RSi/s1600/DSC00453_2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhloaQ32eMWxmWHF9BXCocOtKRERbOdcUdhPJsDz-UhuvzfozE-9CKSp-bJGw_olrajmFLjZGLjQWedA4Yz5WZPOjhBT5D3Uw82yd_iBpSaTIa0xp_1SygTNidqoqWGP0jabLMGNKnq-RSi/s400/DSC00453_2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574050689457161154" border="0" /></a>Spent some long overdue QT with some great friends.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzr8d-6MLJ2WaMGN_-1BKwdsO1ZHUf9dKvyxduQPh12VxN4-tW2EQBSN_DZwuUTMePrXwori5WxucPkk4YU9QeRcXksYZIpErXEXeTNwaROSxcN21pZxXpv6BgxDI_2xbDN5dxKK0oxExW/s1600/DSC00427_2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzr8d-6MLJ2WaMGN_-1BKwdsO1ZHUf9dKvyxduQPh12VxN4-tW2EQBSN_DZwuUTMePrXwori5WxucPkk4YU9QeRcXksYZIpErXEXeTNwaROSxcN21pZxXpv6BgxDI_2xbDN5dxKK0oxExW/s400/DSC00427_2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574050694659431938" border="0" /></a>And with our wonderful family.<br /><br /></div>2. I came back to spend New Year's Eve working (we had two...count 'em TWO wedding receptions on New Year's Eve at Sky Event Centre, my humble work place) until about 11:11pm from where Graham and I sprinted to a friend's house to count down the new year. (Don't worry, we made it! I think they would have waited to start the countdown if we were running late, right??)<br /><br />3. I was informed that I was going to be taking on the task of planning the First Annual Wedding show at work. When I say I was informed, I really was just that. Told that this is the way it's going to be so ready, set go! I'm glad I had some gasoline left in this nearly empty tank of mine to say I think I can, I think I can, I think I can all the way up to this past Sunday when the Wedding Show was officially complete. Phew. Can I go to bed now?? Check it:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLoaHicNjjVRJNvNZxO51uO-lL8q-5LiNqr9ccrxE0Gb25IKqpU5Lfo7PV34_42RqOFxhjt6RNLX8wCgIewHJ4sD1_msOGgpi0r3qzTtqgj8-LSPNxfsBuJ25-fllr11FkDRHPyD3Ls5N/s1600/IMG_6854.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLoaHicNjjVRJNvNZxO51uO-lL8q-5LiNqr9ccrxE0Gb25IKqpU5Lfo7PV34_42RqOFxhjt6RNLX8wCgIewHJ4sD1_msOGgpi0r3qzTtqgj8-LSPNxfsBuJ25-fllr11FkDRHPyD3Ls5N/s400/IMG_6854.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574053502555690226" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh391-zNr59zVUsDo2Z3QvaAEZcs7Bzhug7_9yBjnGAQqdlr-KM1LsVI-eFBRNOgb1RbWg-6h942KEA5QWRWq2YdczToserGf8wTCHLqZHjOaVuAThXFV1e0x4n3QJxT_4q1blPJDjS-g9/s1600/IMG_6768.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh391-zNr59zVUsDo2Z3QvaAEZcs7Bzhug7_9yBjnGAQqdlr-KM1LsVI-eFBRNOgb1RbWg-6h942KEA5QWRWq2YdczToserGf8wTCHLqZHjOaVuAThXFV1e0x4n3QJxT_4q1blPJDjS-g9/s400/IMG_6768.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574053495611345458" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_We6hC0wA3LQ-_L1MoNZluerhc1Sx0QL2wV4Pm9xTFhfZRXgbxzkqAAZxvB7M4lNpe4QOnNm-VRkXgJBUbRjDEAZZ74XFpErTmdEbBH7X7Wjvq-lYxVHf5rRObjR2oWhYTBclOWLn40on/s1600/IMG_6884.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_We6hC0wA3LQ-_L1MoNZluerhc1Sx0QL2wV4Pm9xTFhfZRXgbxzkqAAZxvB7M4lNpe4QOnNm-VRkXgJBUbRjDEAZZ74XFpErTmdEbBH7X7Wjvq-lYxVHf5rRObjR2oWhYTBclOWLn40on/s400/IMG_6884.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574053492322458514" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7aYfOcLT9FVhpiY31sjA7tipclKXTlmz4WWGhBdrFLedPqOOrz8-Xx-xd8hFCw0I7BUG3yPtFd4np6wcRJbTq2_nbWpVcWso9lZEwyNV08wsiM95lw5FgsY7wcL3ymeBpk_giOuHYzXyZ/s1600/IMG_6785.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7aYfOcLT9FVhpiY31sjA7tipclKXTlmz4WWGhBdrFLedPqOOrz8-Xx-xd8hFCw0I7BUG3yPtFd4np6wcRJbTq2_nbWpVcWso9lZEwyNV08wsiM95lw5FgsY7wcL3ymeBpk_giOuHYzXyZ/s400/IMG_6785.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574052572050934354" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8cg8DRL18lvbqkcJ4fUMMRLXuzWGaiTRo1J4a-WRNsvELo3FGgvM7pMAJ_hfT3NlOYu20Z2SGJ_RL_jbzp5gq55lJ6FnLU_WgejPpbjPNN1INv-tWxrph4n53aWfKYoJX9iFn5C7u23Uw/s1600/IMG_6761.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8cg8DRL18lvbqkcJ4fUMMRLXuzWGaiTRo1J4a-WRNsvELo3FGgvM7pMAJ_hfT3NlOYu20Z2SGJ_RL_jbzp5gq55lJ6FnLU_WgejPpbjPNN1INv-tWxrph4n53aWfKYoJX9iFn5C7u23Uw/s400/IMG_6761.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574052568835776978" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2oMdty6CF6eR96fTIs5Zegh_afFjRkxIJyRtSIDY9K-b8q7cKCdRuNAz6BZT0A0pSSobBxHvoEqocGHN7ZEYBLTdcadH4b4FKiMK3vaGvCXs9IRsJ9G7WDoBVU6gvZMCpEElIyghwZOo/s1600/IMG_6751.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2oMdty6CF6eR96fTIs5Zegh_afFjRkxIJyRtSIDY9K-b8q7cKCdRuNAz6BZT0A0pSSobBxHvoEqocGHN7ZEYBLTdcadH4b4FKiMK3vaGvCXs9IRsJ9G7WDoBVU6gvZMCpEElIyghwZOo/s400/IMG_6751.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574052565376084706" border="0" /></a>It was actually such a blast to find all of our vendors, plan the specialty linen tables (it was like I got to get married all over again!!), entertainment, timeline, hors d'oeuvres (I have written hors d'oeuvres so much lately I don't even have to look up how to spell it. sad.), etc. It isn't every day that you get to plan an entire wedding show from start to finish! Very cool experience. Now you finally have a couple of pictures of where I work!<br /><br /></div>4. I've been coaching a USA Volleyball Cedar Falls 15 year-old team since November. We have had 3 tournaments now, and while I am realizing the stresses of being a coach, I am having a blast with these girls! If you're reading this and you were once a coach of mine: "THANK YOU!" I had the girls over for team bonding sleepover fun at our apartment. Hilarious. I totally kicked Graham out for the night and this is what I woke up to in the morning:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxjQDp38rW1FYQZ-HulhlLMKq96DlaJ_rniqZsjnUNGawjB8E7rwpVHxcmbLbPWdjRSapEOIlw5bGqPLe_Ma7hyphenhyphenPvDJne1bIQ7j7cB8zOxpTaRTy07jQ-2PWyw7bkKQTJzRalMT1f2eav/s1600/IMG_6720.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxjQDp38rW1FYQZ-HulhlLMKq96DlaJ_rniqZsjnUNGawjB8E7rwpVHxcmbLbPWdjRSapEOIlw5bGqPLe_Ma7hyphenhyphenPvDJne1bIQ7j7cB8zOxpTaRTy07jQ-2PWyw7bkKQTJzRalMT1f2eav/s400/IMG_6720.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574054724087623154" border="0" /></a><br />5. Graham and I were able to go out to Colorado a couple weekends ago to meet some of our long time high school buddies for some quality time. It was definitely a weekend filled with firsts, heart to hearts, traffic, skiing, laughs, traffic, the Coors Brewery, traffic, missing our flight back to Iowa, traffic...did I mention traffic already? Believe me, when it snows in Colorado, you do NOT want to be heading toward the mountains. You want to already be there to "lay the first tracks" as it were. We were not. A simple 2 hour drive turned into a 5.5 hour drive and a change of plans for night skiing and some sweet talking by my high school bestie's fiance to get us a place to stay close by for the night. Don't worry, our sweet digs were complete with Native American art, brown shag carpet and dreamcatchers. Definitely no nightmares to be had that night! Send our regards to the 70's.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo99-faBKwYNpuiEdWPIM4Limrj4uHjoK4hnuBHz8rEc4qsYAnHCyqC39duvuinmFJMJcv2KCYYYMB3o9YIvcLiJd6YpyRqmAwy9QFdsd0lJs5opJxB9g-INbIk4-6n2ffzhRQIsVPsT8J/s1600/DSC00590_2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo99-faBKwYNpuiEdWPIM4Limrj4uHjoK4hnuBHz8rEc4qsYAnHCyqC39duvuinmFJMJcv2KCYYYMB3o9YIvcLiJd6YpyRqmAwy9QFdsd0lJs5opJxB9g-INbIk4-6n2ffzhRQIsVPsT8J/s400/DSC00590_2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574056820734086338" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYAG7PB_7pQNrEUc7iSQ6aCXcGsOM58-FGpcbJLlpmhcD67lpbX5wL0PKl7oh6uwPcYgnZvgYYDDxBjTENKV2lZJQsUYD8i57hvzS34vOjo8pFnoSpbdwZWqU7xqoYrlklI1oNS5XdH_2c/s1600/DSC00586.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYAG7PB_7pQNrEUc7iSQ6aCXcGsOM58-FGpcbJLlpmhcD67lpbX5wL0PKl7oh6uwPcYgnZvgYYDDxBjTENKV2lZJQsUYD8i57hvzS34vOjo8pFnoSpbdwZWqU7xqoYrlklI1oNS5XdH_2c/s400/DSC00586.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574056812266875506" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEcFEnx2vVZLTeUipu_Gl8QHHQaScDB9bg_98m2j84LdmtIhnnLyaCvLkwkRMZuDpiQhfZYeht8QNZEYZ5w6Y1hZCB6g7rTA2niBEosKH13KoA14w_ULOJsBpr458XQTRtJmUvvQFgaAE/s1600/DSC00567_2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNEcFEnx2vVZLTeUipu_Gl8QHHQaScDB9bg_98m2j84LdmtIhnnLyaCvLkwkRMZuDpiQhfZYeht8QNZEYZ5w6Y1hZCB6g7rTA2niBEosKH13KoA14w_ULOJsBpr458XQTRtJmUvvQFgaAE/s400/DSC00567_2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574056803239575858" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLa8sh4NLZk8lYTkHHqU3qWmiRsKtklzEmDpXYqfRDcVmHojNG-wpMwxtZnXzT6-JueGKTO5ABOVvbX1n8sIyo82eNY3fuCpwFbPrGWAD5kQX1g2YoS37bNgJl4IQ0xHXy2KGkieMVN39V/s1600/DSC00606.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLa8sh4NLZk8lYTkHHqU3qWmiRsKtklzEmDpXYqfRDcVmHojNG-wpMwxtZnXzT6-JueGKTO5ABOVvbX1n8sIyo82eNY3fuCpwFbPrGWAD5kQX1g2YoS37bNgJl4IQ0xHXy2KGkieMVN39V/s400/DSC00606.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574057360683613442" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZskoFhV9G-bWg8Lo4D8kh-QAWURJZ22USI4SB7ydcU2ZsHUlJD4ZVxgoiW3Idk2vEZxWpDYnq3voTd8ZvMXaWRZL5FeuYRa3sXoslH4N8ZDxquSdSDuPqj9zE97ikM9VKcXcb7rLoE_qm/s1600/DSC00604_2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZskoFhV9G-bWg8Lo4D8kh-QAWURJZ22USI4SB7ydcU2ZsHUlJD4ZVxgoiW3Idk2vEZxWpDYnq3voTd8ZvMXaWRZL5FeuYRa3sXoslH4N8ZDxquSdSDuPqj9zE97ikM9VKcXcb7rLoE_qm/s400/DSC00604_2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574057353733655026" border="0" /></a>I love besties.<br /><br /></div>6. My amazing hubby gave me the sweetest Valentine's Day gift yesterday, SEE:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlt_ltI2FFDNUmonUULeRTt6XWWtnMKJwuyDp_FLkN17EOEavxwZvpYS8Yh85poCGhLhn0GbOK209BR-pSv4SgngiEhcfYctENLW1tLnjE1I9K1q-klrMatk8u1pXvVcooP13rsQu_l-X9/s1600/IMG_6908.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlt_ltI2FFDNUmonUULeRTt6XWWtnMKJwuyDp_FLkN17EOEavxwZvpYS8Yh85poCGhLhn0GbOK209BR-pSv4SgngiEhcfYctENLW1tLnjE1I9K1q-klrMatk8u1pXvVcooP13rsQu_l-X9/s400/IMG_6908.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574058003339013090" border="0" /></a><br />Complete with everything anyone who absolutely knows me to my core would provide:<br />1. The Hangover. Classic.<br />2. The Time Traveler's Wife. I have been begging Graham to watch this with me for ages so maybe I'll convince him to actually do it tonight...who knows!<br />3. Tickets to see The Band Perry next Thursday. I hope this girl's voice is as angelic in person as on the radio--so excited! (We are also going to see Miranda Lambert here in Cedar Falls next week too! Here's to getting our fill of country music!)<br />4. Praline Pecans. If you're from the South, you love praline pecans.<br />5. Lemon Drop Martini Mix complete with Mixer. Yum-bola. (Don't think yum-bola is a word? Ask my mom.)<br />6. A $5.00 Starbucks giftcard. Can't wait to snag my non-fat no-whip white chocolate peppermint mocha one day this week. (Don't worry, I'm a girl so I can order these such things.)<br />7. A single red-stemmed rose, classy.<br />8. And last but certainly, not least, a 60-minute massage. Please and thank you. I've never had a professional massage before so I couldn't be more excited. The best part is, I got Graham a couple's massage for his gift, so I'm going to be feeling really good here pretty soon.<br /><br />7. Brad finally kicked Michelle off the Bachelor last night. Can I get an AMEN sista??<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivi9_mJd3WG0KmJXp0ja8xzq6ypyberyzb9mRoM6t0-JPSpJ-_qXZ3PC33m8tHpW21v9WcfMWylH0WWdqr8utR11PuFtYER4fa75vtfYWFecTk3Hytt9Snq66OpcG3LiqSk0t1-JWkdFz/s1600/Bachelor-Michelle-Money-Black-Eye-PHOTOS.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 394px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivi9_mJd3WG0KmJXp0ja8xzq6ypyberyzb9mRoM6t0-JPSpJ-_qXZ3PC33m8tHpW21v9WcfMWylH0WWdqr8utR11PuFtYER4fa75vtfYWFecTk3Hytt9Snq66OpcG3LiqSk0t1-JWkdFz/s400/Bachelor-Michelle-Money-Black-Eye-PHOTOS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574058643699651522" border="0" /></a>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-53135003561105559952010-12-12T22:29:00.000-06:002010-12-12T22:34:48.688-06:00Did I Mention...<div style="text-align: center;">I got a new car??? I didn't think so. Bye bye lovely Scion tC. I will miss you and remember the wonderful (& usually overly cramped) times we shared.</div><div><br /></div><div>Welcome to the family, Nissan Rogue! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhACNvX98GPIIMxt-wGufEC88gqsHcJ5ZGd9rzlL1DssJF58pmhEwAo4NXbGoYljAyQzDp0rlRUI8-w3obAHITrhCNnEMgxjHXVAHah5a3Eqoiyw-YtgX4FjizlCx3bl6qRXTr7Du2JNUQw/s1600/IMG_6562.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhACNvX98GPIIMxt-wGufEC88gqsHcJ5ZGd9rzlL1DssJF58pmhEwAo4NXbGoYljAyQzDp0rlRUI8-w3obAHITrhCNnEMgxjHXVAHah5a3Eqoiyw-YtgX4FjizlCx3bl6qRXTr7Du2JNUQw/s400/IMG_6562.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550020495291894626" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a></div>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-89665865597521437012010-12-05T20:02:00.000-06:002010-12-05T22:41:06.561-06:00Our First Iowa Christmas<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY80_swX3KvT9du8KxvXR7gm1sCzladSpDeeK4n7N_xahW_CvaSFczYFc3ryxekM7tsj6OtS34dGZ98C6ygUqy1a-k6I2C7BfpdtBoUg4Hp2fOqfoiWvGkjulVHAD7D2py3s8dATZ7RFnd/s1600/DSC00392.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 88px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY80_swX3KvT9du8KxvXR7gm1sCzladSpDeeK4n7N_xahW_CvaSFczYFc3ryxekM7tsj6OtS34dGZ98C6ygUqy1a-k6I2C7BfpdtBoUg4Hp2fOqfoiWvGkjulVHAD7D2py3s8dATZ7RFnd/s400/DSC00392.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547385612864040786" /></a><br />This past Sunday, Graham and I ventured into the Iowa wilderness to cut down a tree. Yes, we actually cut down our own tree this year! That's apparently "how we do it in Iowa". The pre-cut trees we are accustomed to were all MUCH more expensive so we were pretty much forced to freeze and walk around until we found the most perfect fir tree on the lot. Of course, we were successful! Complete with hot cider, and s'mores, Kris Kringle's Christmas tree farm was an overall great experience--next time Iowa, let's keep the temps above 20 degrees puh-lease! Note: we got in our tree getting before the snow! Great success.<div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqTPoJm96Bj0MaqNuqY9wb5AxD5EqVhnzlMbpS862CKrLVaS8QeUA56xbKJLxmhaE9i4Eg6EXF8b2ANsFGgtouF0sCmFnpfIyZ6BrJrKhsTfjL8q0dS0pxVX83QkryfW7Uh12FI2vNrIP/s1600/DSC00394.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqTPoJm96Bj0MaqNuqY9wb5AxD5EqVhnzlMbpS862CKrLVaS8QeUA56xbKJLxmhaE9i4Eg6EXF8b2ANsFGgtouF0sCmFnpfIyZ6BrJrKhsTfjL8q0dS0pxVX83QkryfW7Uh12FI2vNrIP/s400/DSC00394.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547385617111233634" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Us at the farm with our sweet saw. After my finger incident at work (another story completely) I'm not allowed to touch sharp objects anymore, so Graham did all the sawing!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsQuf9_X8kGd6ctEQ7yErcXVX5in9vQie03hx59yKG7p-b6knNgYbga1IOhZcKKGaA-GyxoAkQD9B7SJEkQgtCgWGflni5da7OStZdPXaDZEV-4rafKCBgyu4e3AnzC3i6laKQzCmfJbDP/s1600/DSC00397.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsQuf9_X8kGd6ctEQ7yErcXVX5in9vQie03hx59yKG7p-b6knNgYbga1IOhZcKKGaA-GyxoAkQD9B7SJEkQgtCgWGflni5da7OStZdPXaDZEV-4rafKCBgyu4e3AnzC3i6laKQzCmfJbDP/s400/DSC00397.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547385622727706146" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Our tree before we cut it down. Sorry environment.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKup_FHMTk60YgfLcg4S2wGjiVLexlICEg9j6j2lWCJrnDo_WwosFv_QyDXYRZnllBMUs9UzGvAVF3gWptND8b7UMFqsKdgc8lLLqz8w1F3wc0xlA-VqZXzqoyQi4K-S2S-0RkDE-PWi3/s1600/DSC00400.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKup_FHMTk60YgfLcg4S2wGjiVLexlICEg9j6j2lWCJrnDo_WwosFv_QyDXYRZnllBMUs9UzGvAVF3gWptND8b7UMFqsKdgc8lLLqz8w1F3wc0xlA-VqZXzqoyQi4K-S2S-0RkDE-PWi3/s400/DSC00400.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547386704965126978" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;">With a perfect s'more!</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipRzea-dAVCK_HfLtoOiZGjMuGeqZf814Y8f1vVCUHm-JpzPCAjtbrEwQXt0rHyzSVV3Wp0crOPd8MyyoU9ir7RqAjh1MmW39gRqDWwjCbzl2-Uys_CbnMFEMjy9zrB7HUnxv5nUOetqv-/s1600/DSC00401.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipRzea-dAVCK_HfLtoOiZGjMuGeqZf814Y8f1vVCUHm-JpzPCAjtbrEwQXt0rHyzSVV3Wp0crOPd8MyyoU9ir7RqAjh1MmW39gRqDWwjCbzl2-Uys_CbnMFEMjy9zrB7HUnxv5nUOetqv-/s400/DSC00401.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547386712866872018" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;">It was a bit chilly...I definitely was NOT dressed for the occasion.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfR9JeTDS21mPqwC1Mg2uvfitMyFN6iK6gtAareuMg_dE6RlcqUnnwH9U_WvdQYXaz_B-qrK6IkU770MT9ZMx0nJlMAZve3ooORSUkYlwMWA-f3uReALVoCwxCq13xUQTrvS58LPYZdLwI/s1600/DSC00403.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfR9JeTDS21mPqwC1Mg2uvfitMyFN6iK6gtAareuMg_dE6RlcqUnnwH9U_WvdQYXaz_B-qrK6IkU770MT9ZMx0nJlMAZve3ooORSUkYlwMWA-f3uReALVoCwxCq13xUQTrvS58LPYZdLwI/s400/DSC00403.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547386727786915538" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Just another beautiful Iowa sunset. </div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQnPwTmS7Ma7uNUu6fcxt6_Ry67xxGE30NKjCcxYtzy7Aku3KNTQ85dfEyapl7-wDjF52bp8kf-1ubkYJQCPHR_lB0t9J26G6uVVJSDqjnoey_sj6LPiRE6rS-PyBIoHoYTDbbyEqlz-N/s1600/DSC00412.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQnPwTmS7Ma7uNUu6fcxt6_Ry67xxGE30NKjCcxYtzy7Aku3KNTQ85dfEyapl7-wDjF52bp8kf-1ubkYJQCPHR_lB0t9J26G6uVVJSDqjnoey_sj6LPiRE6rS-PyBIoHoYTDbbyEqlz-N/s400/DSC00412.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547386730525433538" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The finished product. Happiness.</div><div><br /></div>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-83540111867914963412010-12-02T10:23:00.000-06:002010-12-02T10:30:44.810-06:00As You Can See...I have once again reinstated the original blog title in honor of the beautiful white flakes which have fallen almost continuously the past couple of days. No accumulation yet, but supposedly we are supposed to have 4-6 inches on Saturday! Considering the fact that this week has been a high in the 20's kind of week, I am ready for some of that white stuff. I mean, if it's gonna be this freakin' cold...at least let it be snowy!Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-86274878607542639442010-11-21T23:05:00.001-06:002010-11-21T23:36:52.907-06:00It's Been a Whole Year, Folks!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFbFWLnDrLEkED50sNipIV4OW5d3o9CHqpQ1HbtPSYvdcn4Ks-X-VI9ZEX9Qnvt5K6Zm9wY3s2-TslymieMUh44KXygmkqMQjg85w6HgZBTSDV77TSu-DclGc8cz056rek3Kir50M8TBl/s1600/DSC00374.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFbFWLnDrLEkED50sNipIV4OW5d3o9CHqpQ1HbtPSYvdcn4Ks-X-VI9ZEX9Qnvt5K6Zm9wY3s2-TslymieMUh44KXygmkqMQjg85w6HgZBTSDV77TSu-DclGc8cz056rek3Kir50M8TBl/s400/DSC00374.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542238151658797986" border="0" /></a><br />We have had an amazing couple weeks of celebrating!! What a fun excuse to whip out year old wedding cake, drink champagne and eat great food!<br /><br />Number 1, our wedding cake was perfectly amazing. To all the unbelievers out there who say it can't be done--believe it. We each ate 2 pieces and were sad to throw the rest away.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5zKdbk5h96i8zv_zC0vEgBO2SyGp9o6pzZPM5nw-AJZNfFkZNSZ58pks2SAiFczuokUQSuhpuJw4LnlyPzE0JKxWhGHaodUOJg4qJMlr0jZOLSNGwZCy_B443J0BlOCvnYIkB2q9KQVd/s1600/DSC00375.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5zKdbk5h96i8zv_zC0vEgBO2SyGp9o6pzZPM5nw-AJZNfFkZNSZ58pks2SAiFczuokUQSuhpuJw4LnlyPzE0JKxWhGHaodUOJg4qJMlr0jZOLSNGwZCy_B443J0BlOCvnYIkB2q9KQVd/s400/DSC00375.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542238160952950594" border="0" /></a><br />Note: The icing fell off the sides in transportation from NC to Cedar Falls! Definitely wasn't pretty, but was pretty delicious. I'm so punny.<br /><br />Last Sunday on our actual anniversary I was so exhausted from working almost 2 weeks straight that we just took a day to rest, lay around and just enjoy each other and a dinner out to Texas Roadhouse, a family favorite! This was all in preparation for the true festivities:<br /><br />Yesterday afternoon after I got off work we headed to Des Moines for a fun filled couple of days! We headed to our hotel to get dressed (complete with jacuzzi tub, thank you very much) and went out to downtown to a seafood restaurant named Splash. What an amazing experience. If you live in Iowa and haven't been to Splash, you are missing out!!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FWzerVFPvRlRBgRgd5VCCgEefe01m5YEZRPX_SNofXLVn0qXxzMNXrmCopN0Behn63hAUXj2YICOhpBJaTqCPyNFoTrf06JPqP938_GgpvcHEiX6QYTWdFBD1oRlIe7UyVpB5gAWbp2z/s1600/DSC00376.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4FWzerVFPvRlRBgRgd5VCCgEefe01m5YEZRPX_SNofXLVn0qXxzMNXrmCopN0Behn63hAUXj2YICOhpBJaTqCPyNFoTrf06JPqP938_GgpvcHEiX6QYTWdFBD1oRlIe7UyVpB5gAWbp2z/s400/DSC00376.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542239111674257698" border="0" /></a>Excuse my awkward hand.<br /></div><br />From the moment we got there we were just so spoiled. They checked our coats, my wonderful Dad had preordered a WONDEFUL bottle of red wine for us and our menus were even personalized for the occasion and were sprinkled with Happy Anniversary confetti! I know in my last blog post that I said the Emeril's restaurant in Florida was my favorite, well I just found my new one!! Check out these pictures of our fabulous dinner:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90WDeZfdp_NpaI2IPRTOGyzf_-H9YkzQWkuPcfR8o9MsvY8PfnZOPRsaU8nF_QRQfUwIgOH_wcpQVfYb3qxSNgCFtjq0uOiNUFWb5TCYnXxI1SNQXaNJjsTcxYWuI26hugb9CwwPNbwFA/s1600/DSC00377.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90WDeZfdp_NpaI2IPRTOGyzf_-H9YkzQWkuPcfR8o9MsvY8PfnZOPRsaU8nF_QRQfUwIgOH_wcpQVfYb3qxSNgCFtjq0uOiNUFWb5TCYnXxI1SNQXaNJjsTcxYWuI26hugb9CwwPNbwFA/s400/DSC00377.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542239124064527010" border="0" /></a>Our menus :)<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoDeq2eqIXx6IWE_iHgMEY_h9lVad5wSSvag36Dtg9x90AfQhqWrvTZLhgow_JLxKFTLOC3PQTpcg0ImE3nqvDdfMCOCtmypQxVTc403MrsBOPlJtoU1lTkrLR1eD-UpLFyoioYLq0qhS/s1600/DSC00381.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoDeq2eqIXx6IWE_iHgMEY_h9lVad5wSSvag36Dtg9x90AfQhqWrvTZLhgow_JLxKFTLOC3PQTpcg0ImE3nqvDdfMCOCtmypQxVTc403MrsBOPlJtoU1lTkrLR1eD-UpLFyoioYLq0qhS/s400/DSC00381.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542239138847203826" border="0" /></a>Best bottle of wine we've ever had! Thanks Daddy!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNaSG-1NXP_Bt6R1g6yvS214rrMnp7OGgYj8QsW9hjPaqd9oN_cct7vPJ4IjTCoclaR3VpnVkCTrSm7l0LarGjuadzBif03Wza0RQOMc6PPfVrYMHBN3HVsFcX5bOeWEzfowZeVPkC-qui/s1600/DSC00386.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNaSG-1NXP_Bt6R1g6yvS214rrMnp7OGgYj8QsW9hjPaqd9oN_cct7vPJ4IjTCoclaR3VpnVkCTrSm7l0LarGjuadzBif03Wza0RQOMc6PPfVrYMHBN3HVsFcX5bOeWEzfowZeVPkC-qui/s400/DSC00386.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542240205960179666" border="0" /></a>Now that's a crab leg. One pound per leg. I've seen Graham get into some crab legs before, but NOTHING like this. I would love to see that whole crab!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajmD09sZQvjMIhOptDiP-neIqld48trHyXpskNzqluf7FDwz9UyvNjNM1Y4nEtFRpGhRuOjO6KvI58FziBD2HgZ64vY49OBo1JcYI30rG7vKGH_BNrOK8U5rRPMAiKrzwplufPdCRxXdj/s1600/DSC00389.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajmD09sZQvjMIhOptDiP-neIqld48trHyXpskNzqluf7FDwz9UyvNjNM1Y4nEtFRpGhRuOjO6KvI58FziBD2HgZ64vY49OBo1JcYI30rG7vKGH_BNrOK8U5rRPMAiKrzwplufPdCRxXdj/s400/DSC00389.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542240215561838994" border="0" /></a>Sake grilled shrimp over mashed sweet potatoes and black bean/mango salsa. This dish was created just for me and should be called the Joanna because I literally couldn't think of anything better to sum up all of my favorite foods! Yep, crab leg creeping in the background.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDrishpQGGOGbv73ns7nKm8p8Boj3KLH3iaxCRdnqMsf3vOZg9fcm_mENS5AiBCT1tK9kVTb6i2UPogwQIEazOTcxlzJht59erByxIOkiNnFBlC09vtGp4ON-t6OvivpK1n6oIE8u8ejW8/s1600/DSC00390.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDrishpQGGOGbv73ns7nKm8p8Boj3KLH3iaxCRdnqMsf3vOZg9fcm_mENS5AiBCT1tK9kVTb6i2UPogwQIEazOTcxlzJht59erByxIOkiNnFBlC09vtGp4ON-t6OvivpK1n6oIE8u8ejW8/s400/DSC00390.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542240223582395570" border="0" /></a>Our dessert. Key Lime Cheesecake...yum. The manager even gave us complimentary dessert wine to go along with it! Seriously the craziest tasting dessert wine of all time from Bordeaux, France.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6e5UHHKd03AgLKWYIyk5dvGhchzNjOMkOGjXZlpcm8f3xrDixzbI-51s1m1WPEbAVU7Mp2ZYq_slEAI2PpxwCDCbV4GqHmyLJeocQz4_WpYaGnz69FUzGxCov2yGo3xg-VurC-KXlijm8/s1600/DSC00383.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6e5UHHKd03AgLKWYIyk5dvGhchzNjOMkOGjXZlpcm8f3xrDixzbI-51s1m1WPEbAVU7Mp2ZYq_slEAI2PpxwCDCbV4GqHmyLJeocQz4_WpYaGnz69FUzGxCov2yGo3xg-VurC-KXlijm8/s400/DSC00383.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542241823435645170" border="0" /></a>At our table. Note the aquarium in the background complete with lion fish.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGZ-oZGX6l7Ilt3vupGr_FfUUrEJbMpiJETfqs31u7hueq2H_aVqy-2YwDQJWGdfd4aiGVei1hfTVl5G_GUmB2x-PPlR__3Y7iULagmnVYGfPYI2H7JsvZhGnop24Da3p4sXobPAkxTPg/s1600/DSC00391.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGZ-oZGX6l7Ilt3vupGr_FfUUrEJbMpiJETfqs31u7hueq2H_aVqy-2YwDQJWGdfd4aiGVei1hfTVl5G_GUmB2x-PPlR__3Y7iULagmnVYGfPYI2H7JsvZhGnop24Da3p4sXobPAkxTPg/s400/DSC00391.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542240233399013218" border="0" /></a>Taken at the front of the restaurant on self timer on the host stand. Yep. No employee was in sight :)<br /></div>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-5041609531457741242010-11-11T09:31:00.001-06:002010-11-21T23:04:17.954-06:00I've Got the Magic, Magic, Magic<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6j7qNGv6dMqDqKmcIhd9-ZvUw0A2WCxhJqhM0MCckTCaNpmucfsIY3oCfe9BqeWQQMBXPmg3KNhTsgdUNmV_SmmS6YUwq0ai4aMoKDDdzMxSIIJ9YSB0CteJiUvnIUc4DE3JHgV5MSWFK/s1600/Picture+9.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6j7qNGv6dMqDqKmcIhd9-ZvUw0A2WCxhJqhM0MCckTCaNpmucfsIY3oCfe9BqeWQQMBXPmg3KNhTsgdUNmV_SmmS6YUwq0ai4aMoKDDdzMxSIIJ9YSB0CteJiUvnIUc4DE3JHgV5MSWFK/s400/Picture+9.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542234920318810450" border="0" /></a><br />A little over 3 weeks ago (my, how time flies!!) I headed down with Grahambo to the land of magic itself (no not Never Never Land--although we did stop in briefly while we were there), Orlando, Florida! We met my mom and dad as well as my sister Keri, her husband Joel and two kids Rami and Ada. First of all I would just like to say: I LOVE DISNEYWORLD. It makes me giddy now even thinking about it. Talking the monorail into Magic Kingdom just brings back so many fun memories as a kid that I can't even explain. Getting to see my nieces experience the magic for the first time was even more amazing. There really isn't anything better than seeing a little girl light up at the sight of a disney princess, folks. I get it, I get it, we are just promoting a society where little girls expect to grow up and be swept off of their feet by prince charming and live happily ever after in their ginormous castle, but you know what? Why not! Enough talk about the girls, when I got to hug Mickey Mouse I somehow forgot about the crazy person inside the costume and just enjoyed a big kiss on the cheek from the starter of it all. Who am I kidding? I am the one who drove to Atlanta from Chapel Hill in a day and a half so that I could try to be the crazy person in the mouse costume!! Yes, I auditioned to be a disney character. Preferably a pricess, but with my height restriction, more likely a mouse. Or Stitch.<br /><div> </div><br /><div>I only have one little bone to pick with Disney. Why you gotta make every "children's" ride absolutely TERRIFYING at some point or another. For example, we are at Animal Kingdom, right? Perfectly harmless. We had just enjoyed a visit with the vine lady, who was absolutely amazing and we were headed to our first "ride" of the trip: A 3D adventure with Flik from A Bug's Life. It starts out nice with a butterfly right within "arms length" when all of a sudden the evil grasshopper guy pops out of nowhere, the fog machines and strobe lights cut on and it goes pitch black in there. I mean seriously??? My poor 5 year-old niece is now scarred for life and we cannot go on another ride for the rest of the week without her asking, "It's not going to be like that bug ride, right??" Thanks, Walt.</div><br /><div> </div><br /><div>On another note, the first night in Florida we visited my favorite restaurant in the whole world (this says a lot considering how much I love food and how many restaurants I've been to) by Emeril Lagasse called "Tchoup Choup". Pronounced Chop Chop. With an asian flare the restaurant is decorated with brilliant blues, oranges and purples with hints of bamboo , an ethereal lily pad pool in the center and waterfall down the back wall. Needless to say, the meal was amazing. And as if we weren't all stuffed to the brim, in perfect Dad-like fashion we hop a boat to Universal's City Walk straight from the restaurant and make a b-line for cinnibon and split 2 caramel pecan rolls between the fam. I'm talkin' about somethin' down right good.<br /><br />I have not done this trip any bit of justice by this blog post, so I will leave you a few pictures to express my excitement!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_WU2V4djo2iYMjCBr0MlAXMMl9HEN2rEg6skI9d-XkYsIIlGyI5IFWlSheclISoZKHL5YZUB_Y1XiTswjFMfhOsVAbOmTzhPiqI3vV17B8ghAdn06cOHW5ekz0Y6vfeWhSNZxLVqBZPK/s1600/Picture+5.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_WU2V4djo2iYMjCBr0MlAXMMl9HEN2rEg6skI9d-XkYsIIlGyI5IFWlSheclISoZKHL5YZUB_Y1XiTswjFMfhOsVAbOmTzhPiqI3vV17B8ghAdn06cOHW5ekz0Y6vfeWhSNZxLVqBZPK/s400/Picture+5.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542234445607477058" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">LOVE M-I-C...K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3cF-1YzD5YQlGdGJhhadtkEhF65p912rip3I0DZsg_27yKdKuS-Rp6R1ZZIH3lSw5eriDbmGfM61ok5uDL2ChW9iJ5qQmif-MGZfrFIkfE1nL-Nn3wrGTGTyBIjvjghQzms4e6X8K3XN/s1600/Picture+7.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 399px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3cF-1YzD5YQlGdGJhhadtkEhF65p912rip3I0DZsg_27yKdKuS-Rp6R1ZZIH3lSw5eriDbmGfM61ok5uDL2ChW9iJ5qQmif-MGZfrFIkfE1nL-Nn3wrGTGTyBIjvjghQzms4e6X8K3XN/s400/Picture+7.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542234617910987010" border="0" /></a>Mickey and Minnie!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT05om16CwT1moU0SBLUz-msRG1I5y39dyyr-uz3QZE-FDutzkpklfOJwU9hFU__wEosirrGADSSr1WY0fPtgEEO50FtmwGURMvVskFwnGLUVCFcccWXEXlrEFdpZHElN6mK_j8oozKqoC/s1600/Picture+8.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT05om16CwT1moU0SBLUz-msRG1I5y39dyyr-uz3QZE-FDutzkpklfOJwU9hFU__wEosirrGADSSr1WY0fPtgEEO50FtmwGURMvVskFwnGLUVCFcccWXEXlrEFdpZHElN6mK_j8oozKqoC/s400/Picture+8.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542234787704431298" border="0" /></a>At Mickey's Halloween Spooktacular! Love me some crazy family time.<br /></div></div><br /><div> </div><br /><div> </div>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-91224126316296402962010-11-11T09:11:00.000-06:002010-11-11T09:29:41.503-06:00New Years Resolution: Complete<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNYJ6ez-eX8hX51q1RLNspoWx-oDLONiPn-yH13QX8UF2ixTKjKyDBPGMKhnjfNquXjOdBUDlEDvmrFgSKB0WHfYr-f5X442SZ63Sll3Tpx1JEBmLvo7bF0Ui4MyYX0hpnoNp1MzXbz4q/s1600/36148_870217240538_2719783_48086485_376963_n.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538313041096870210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNYJ6ez-eX8hX51q1RLNspoWx-oDLONiPn-yH13QX8UF2ixTKjKyDBPGMKhnjfNquXjOdBUDlEDvmrFgSKB0WHfYr-f5X442SZ63Sll3Tpx1JEBmLvo7bF0Ui4MyYX0hpnoNp1MzXbz4q/s400/36148_870217240538_2719783_48086485_376963_n.jpg" border="0" /></a> Yes, I realize that I am WAY late on this blog post, but hey! It's not because I'm not excited!! So listen. I have made some ridiculous new years resolutions in the past such as: <div align="center"><br /><br />1. No fried food for 1 year. For anyone who knows anything about me this might as well be a death sentence and I think I made it a whopping 15 or so days until I realized this meant I couldn't eat FRIED FOOD.</div><div align="center"><br />2. No Facebook for 1 year. Although I did go without it for a while, I think you all know how much of an epic fail that one was. </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">3. Audition for American Idol. This was back in high school and NO I didn't do it (although I did at Hollywood Studios a couple weeks ago but that is a totally different story altogether.)</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">Basically, don't talk to me on New Years Eve because I'm usually on some kind of kick that I can't stick with for more than 2 weeks. HOWEVER. After 23 years of trying, I finally kept my resolution. I did it. I ran a half and a full marathon in 2010. WOO HOO!!!!!</div><div align="center"><br />Hokay, so. I never, ever. EVER thought that I would be a marathon runner. I wanted someday to try and run a half marathon, but something strange happened on December 31, 2009 and my mind was made up. Well, I planned on running a half marathon this past April in Charlotte, NC with a friend. OBVIOUSLY that didn't happen. Why, you ask? Oh. We just moved to Iowa--no big deal.</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">At this point I'm thinking my hopes for completion to be over and done with, but then a close friend here in little ol' Cedar Falls, Iowa puts me back up to the challenge and away we went! Running up to 30-40 miles per week, we did it. We made it through training and we made it across the finish line. Did I mention I'm probably crazy enough to do it again?? When the time is right, I will, and I mean it, run the Disney World Marathon in Orlando, FL. Why not run it this year, you ask? The problem is that I live in Iowa and the race is in January. I promise you I will not be doing any 20 mile training runs when it is negative 20 degrees outside. In fact, I promise you I will not be doing much of anything outside when it is negative 20 degrees. Netflix, here I come!</div><div align="center"><br />Here are a few pics to prove that I actually did this thing:</div><div align="center"> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538313030281673506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 122px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 184px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuuEAZT5mt9KHH7L0SugOOnAp560ZtdBjEY1hJwJfYNukS41UVkIT9DvhzRcsmIjbJmP1yaXb5fQgxKFRFT2UbMUrReDjgwWwlBK6HPtM5vNlNuDn1BYitYd0TXWrC32iS-FJ-r51TlF7E/s400/marathon1.jpg" border="0" /><br />I always imagine myself looking cool when I run. </div><div align="center">Although a neat thought, I definitely look ridiculous.</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538313038595455186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnd5es5GgoJjnKB4FB8uugyXWa9zVcqCbxQ0ppffNoZHtmcby7xN6LT-mS1k1vlqMxJgipqQ9b7lWdMxAW-XubBwxOcLRq_3UG4gPCmIsKvTif2W7Pd5QSFrE_m02KSwHXXEUJ2br0ii5/s400/69304_870217185648_2719783_48086482_7118070_n.jpg" border="0" /> Making it down the home stretch!!<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538313035152730162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 122px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 184px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzI95R3fqG1Qha_Phnw5PJsrRGbY_x7IWT58GknTW91wuF4PwwO3loZ2HLfEqyhy-KI7IF1yptmIcqEwyxombiaB9R72e_KcDXMdCnsQ0sVDkStP-a1aSq-e5EHKDtsCRBgrEx8hPjmDny/s400/marathon2.jpg" border="0" /><br />Official photo time!!<br /><br /></div>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-65107996821389847792010-10-14T08:46:00.000-05:002010-10-14T09:02:27.308-05:00Updates1. So when I went down to my car this morning to make the trek to work at approximately 7:50am, my windshield was frosted over. FROSTED over. Thank you Iowa for becomming chilly all of a sudden. If you could hold off winter through this weekend I'd appreciate it. Thanks.<br /><br />2. I'm a blonde. I mean, dirty blonde. In the sense of the color not that I or my hair are dirty in any way. For those of you who have known me through my middle/high school years, this doesn't come as a shock to you because you know that my hair has been pretty much every color possible. Fo' real. Well, I went back to the lighter side and I'm lovin' it. I'm feeling more fun already!<br /><br />3. I have my first painting client! A friend of a friend at work found my blog earlier in the year and loved my artwork!! I am so excited to break out a little creativity soon--it is a much needed breath of fresh air! (I really almost typed fresh of breath air there...these 8am mornings are killer.)<br /><br />4. I am going to my first wedding as a spectator at Park Place tomorrow night! I cannot wait to be on the other side of things and actually be able to enjoy a wedding for once!! Congratulations Tony and Rachel in advance--so happy for you!!<br /><br />5. I'm running a marathon on Sunday. And when I say marathon I mean the whole shabang...all 26.2 miles of it. And I WILL be running the whole thing if it's the last thing I do. Did I mention I'm going to a wedding Friday night, working a wedding Saturday and then driving down to Des Moines (about 2 hours) that night to stay in a hotel with Grahambo just to get up and run a marathon??? I've lost it this time. I really have, folks. Wish me luck!!<br /><br />6. A week from Sunday Graham and I are headed down to Orlando, FL to meet my mom and dad and my sister's fam to go to Disney! I seriously coudn't be more excited. My two nieces are literally the cutest things ever and they just glow at the thought of meeting Cinderella. I told Graham already that I had to get my picture with Aladdin and I don't think he was too amused. But hey, who wasn't in love with Aladdin??Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-46820913908214887762010-10-07T09:47:00.000-05:002010-10-07T10:04:34.194-05:00Even the Firetrucks are Carolina Blue!!I still remember the joy of my first few days on campus as a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill freshman. So clueless. So little. But taking up courage in the fact that any place where the sky smiles down at you in that same beautiful light blue couldn't be all that scary. Now, 6 years later, my heart smiles at the thought of going back to that little piece of Heaven on Earth. I am so thankful that this past weekend, I got to pack my bags and head back to good ol' N-C-U for a whirlwind visit. I apologize to Laura, who almost wrecked her car several times as I let out random screeches of delight as I passed through campus, remembering the sweet smells and sights that warm my heart so dearly. Growing up, I never thought I would be able to call another place "home" but Hendersonville, NC. I never moved houses during my childhood, much less towns or states. When I moved to college, this whole "moving" thing was very foreign to me. Who would have known that a few short (too short!) years later I would be moving halfway across the country to call Iowa my new "home". Although I realize that this is my home now, in the sense that this is where I live and work and have my husband and new, very dear friends, in my heart, when I go back and see all that Carolina blue, I know my heart remains in NC.<br /><br />As I walked through campus, through the quad, by the bell tower and into Kenan Stadium to watch my Heels play, I was able to remember a big piece of who I am. It is so easy to get distracted by all the craziness that life throws you, but when, for a short weekend you are allowed to just slow down and enjoy the goodness of life, that's when you realize how great we have it here. I have been blessed with AMAZING friends, an AMAZING husband and an AMAZING family. What more could I ever ask for??<br /><br />After a couple of crazy days/nights with the girl loves of my life, a win for Tar Heel football and a quick lunch with my favorite sister and brother-in-law, I boarded the plane back to Iowa. And, as silly as it sounds, the beauty of Chapel Hill has carried back into my life here as I see things through a different lens. Everything has beauty and value, it is only what we make out of our time that counts. I don't know how much longer Graham and I will be in Iowa, but whether it is months or even years down the road, we will enjoy every second of our time here. And then, one day when it is the right time, we will make it back to where the sky, street signs and even the firetrucks are all Carolina Blue.<br /><br />Pictures to come...Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-88533481177794420022010-09-21T21:20:00.001-05:002010-09-21T21:20:54.753-05:00I Saved a Bunny Stuck in a Chain Link Fence on My Run Today!That's all. I am feeling really warm and fuzzy inside right now because of this experience.Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-59024950801672146412010-09-15T09:04:00.000-05:002010-09-15T09:13:46.665-05:00Can't Time Just Slow Down For Once?Wow. So, I totally apologize for the lack-of-blogging this season of my life is bringing. Between running, working, volleyball, maybe coaching volleyball, working some more, pop-up weddings, etc. my life has been a hot mess! Did I mention I am practically working two jobs right now? Oh yeah. While I am transitioning to my other position at the new event centre, I will be working at BOTH through October. Pray for me and for patience. I do not want to compromise the quality of my work and do not want to over-commit myself as my track record so proudly boasts.<br /><br />A couple quick updates before I must jump in the shower to begin another fast-paced day!<br /><br />Graham and I had a WONDERFUL time with my mom and dad in Iowa/Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago. What a blast! I LOVE Minneapolis and I think it would be an amazing place to live...minus the fact that it is more north and even colder than our current abode. Pictures are coming I promise!!<br /><br />I ran in my first half marathon and finished in under 2 hours!! Woo hoo!! All this training I guess is actually paying off!<br /><br />I attended my first Egyptian wedding and UNI football game all in one weekend! (Did I mention I planned the Egyptian one? HA--this is where the hot mess part of life comes into play...)<br /><br />Believe me, I have more stories and pictures going with them to come! I'm sorry to all my dear friends who I haven't spoken to in SO LONG it feels. I love you dearly and I promise when I get one second to breathe we will catch up on the craziness of life!Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-44338200102913580542010-08-16T23:57:00.000-05:002010-08-17T00:17:32.136-05:00A Fair-Filled Weekend!To keep with the tradition of using all of our down time doing as much as possible instead of actually taking a second to just take a deep breath...Graham and I went back down to Des Moines to enjoy the Iowa State Fair in all it's glory! Back in our famous Des Moines Register article days, the marketing director of the Iowa State Fair mailed us two free admission tickets. At least they recognize WHO we are up here. We drive down following some friends to park and take the $2 bus over to the fair (we are WAY too cheap to park close) and immediately head for the food station. I was of course quickly distracted by the margarita tent and after convincing the lady that I was 21 (I had left my ID back in Cedar Falls...of course.) we enjoyed our margaritas in the summer sun only to realize all too late that we had actually not paid for them. I honestly still feel a little guilty, but you know...they forgot to ask right??<br /><br />20 Fun Happenings post-Margaritas:<br /><br />1. Footlong Corndog. Enough said.<br />2. Bloomin' Onion.<br />3. About 15 bottles of water.<br />4. Sweet Potato Fries.<br />5. 2 Iowa Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches with Baked Beans and Cole Slaw.<br />6. High-Diving Show<br />7. Awesome live music<br />8. Most awesome live music including: Tone Loc and Vanilla Ice FREE live concert. I know, you're jealous. Top 10 most hilarious experiences of my life.<br />9. Chair lift across fair when we were too fat to walk.<br />10. Double Ferris Wheel (My fave!)<br />11. Disappointment in the mullet turnout.<br />12. Saw a cow made out of butter.<br />13. Walked 10 miles. (Or maybe like 4 but it felt like we walked for 6 hours straight)<br />14. Free try to throw a baseball in a bucket = success. Too bad they won't give you a prize on the free try.<br />15. World's smallest cow.<br />16. More baby pygmy goats (I'm seriously going to take one home with me one day)<br />17. World's largets Boar<br />18. More types of corn than I knew existed on display.<br />19. Missed NC State Ice Cream Stand<br />20. Took bus back to our car way later than expected because we were having too much fun.<br /><br />My camera was dying so I didn't get to document as much as I wanted to, but here are a few highlights!<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGGPXBCnQb6y8yymg_Yh3G1_CECtNjhoTqFRWFyzoaVZcoqm68jAZzxHjP7BMt8XS8M9T6pxFZ-xepzBEotoj2Sa2Tuu4sF6VwPS31GP1TZJkJPpcAYXC5xcfYuwTqipCfVzRiAf3tlRO/s1600/DSC00159.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGGPXBCnQb6y8yymg_Yh3G1_CECtNjhoTqFRWFyzoaVZcoqm68jAZzxHjP7BMt8XS8M9T6pxFZ-xepzBEotoj2Sa2Tuu4sF6VwPS31GP1TZJkJPpcAYXC5xcfYuwTqipCfVzRiAf3tlRO/s400/DSC00159.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506243159014039762" border="0" /></a>Getting ready to devour some delicious and non-nutritious food<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3zRBBGPtNv-XT8FEfuJS_nlQWUnUy2LtXjFyw0POmbSYc6xGawQhM0fW7K3MubqgMtXKVqlFPJrbxELR-fc6OvUCrCLpeqKcEQuxJ_QmWLdb5RbWKUTBnGyjcjHPZrmRVmZeh2ItkdHHU/s1600/DSC00164.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3zRBBGPtNv-XT8FEfuJS_nlQWUnUy2LtXjFyw0POmbSYc6xGawQhM0fW7K3MubqgMtXKVqlFPJrbxELR-fc6OvUCrCLpeqKcEQuxJ_QmWLdb5RbWKUTBnGyjcjHPZrmRVmZeh2ItkdHHU/s400/DSC00164.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506243166340462370" border="0" /></a>You know...just so I'll know.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdDTz4_jv_6EIGUjKvnm8niTjNWj4NnWorVqizBfi4uTMTPsvLfqVcZPcte1NlNlwWyohItulDnRoOtp1z-eyjCckhypyhyphenhyphenP7B3yS3V-vC24U3JwX37K7k6OuUhHzrmkniVtfeZ33pWgX/s1600/DSC00166.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdDTz4_jv_6EIGUjKvnm8niTjNWj4NnWorVqizBfi4uTMTPsvLfqVcZPcte1NlNlwWyohItulDnRoOtp1z-eyjCckhypyhyphenhyphenP7B3yS3V-vC24U3JwX37K7k6OuUhHzrmkniVtfeZ33pWgX/s400/DSC00166.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506243174235029106" border="0" /></a>On the chairlift. Surprisingly romantic.<br /></div>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-19707289556947300302010-08-16T17:02:00.001-05:002010-08-16T23:52:48.974-05:00Whirlwind.<div style="text-align: left;">You always hear that summer comes and goes like a whirlwind. What does that even mean anyway? A whirlwind? I guess I just have no appreciation for sayings. I also guess I don't find this saying as cute anymore because of my actual new fear of being sucked up into a whirlwind. Well, as you might have guessed, the past 20 days of blog-slacking really have been filled up to the proverbial brim! First of all, I am a whole 'nother year older since I last blogged. That's right! Baby Joanna is 23 and loving every minute of it. This also means that a new season of Project Runway started on none other than the big day itself. Who could ask for a better present from the Lifetime Network?? Okay, okay...well my wonderful Hubby Graham bought me a new, tiny Sony Cybershot camera!! I love it and I'm sure you're going to love it because it frees me up to leave my big momma camera at home and have a new baby pocket-size version to take more pictures! We also went out to a WONDERFUL birthday dinner here in Cedar Falls at one of our favorite restaurants called Bourbon Street and just got to relax and enjoy each other during a very VERY busy time in our lives.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUNU1maAoQ2fqMZzmv0F65BK0zwJYsQDgoa-NRMgHrys69PZn9zCQmLiXYkWAyjLCIB-w4CeqFRGbx3TG0ZVMVn_Q07xGg9cabv1E7ucOoLqAetpZ1uPrs7DB2SndZn_9BQh1fjWTn5BsI/s1600/DSC00005.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUNU1maAoQ2fqMZzmv0F65BK0zwJYsQDgoa-NRMgHrys69PZn9zCQmLiXYkWAyjLCIB-w4CeqFRGbx3TG0ZVMVn_Q07xGg9cabv1E7ucOoLqAetpZ1uPrs7DB2SndZn_9BQh1fjWTn5BsI/s400/DSC00005.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506166276050100018" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Enjoying my "fun" drink!</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_ndIveMBEM_mWvVCtyE-Xy1LZ0_MP12-uMgEkz_5w6SYm2ScA8SYC5Ytf9HSXulKV-CAg1s88Eq_bA-N40My2UYlib1yD22KxTXFtybmytPtgR83G1WtfkogO7bL_ARxSbcRz9ngTIS4/s1600/DSC00006.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF_ndIveMBEM_mWvVCtyE-Xy1LZ0_MP12-uMgEkz_5w6SYm2ScA8SYC5Ytf9HSXulKV-CAg1s88Eq_bA-N40My2UYlib1yD22KxTXFtybmytPtgR83G1WtfkogO7bL_ARxSbcRz9ngTIS4/s400/DSC00006.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506165952200057170" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Graham enjoying the "fun" rolls! Seriously, these are the best dern corn muffins you'll ever try. And believe me, I've had my fair share of corn muffins.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03RYFejg2Fv441qzQhlnQVqp4Nv19HBw1QuyxxVlpYBW_GY9_tQ7ncdqTumb7fCbCApYYZlzhr7_FIiKHi3gxOTy5mAYxVAGlUsBZCJf6WMAIg4DlxvBFRReHEbefJ3al83MTQ3Ndk2sL/s1600/DSC00010.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03RYFejg2Fv441qzQhlnQVqp4Nv19HBw1QuyxxVlpYBW_GY9_tQ7ncdqTumb7fCbCApYYZlzhr7_FIiKHi3gxOTy5mAYxVAGlUsBZCJf6WMAIg4DlxvBFRReHEbefJ3al83MTQ3Ndk2sL/s400/DSC00010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506165940681820530" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">In the restaurant, which is made to look like the streets of New Orleans. Maybe we like it so much because it wants to be Southern as much as we do!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In continuing the celebration festivities of the week/2 weeks/however long I want to claim as my birthday, we got to go out with some new friends here in the area! We had a lot of fun...probably too much fun for me having to get up at 5:00am to run 16.0 miles the next morning, but hey. You do what you gotta do, ya know? (That's right I said 16.0 miles. I've done this with my ballin' running partner twice now. Kill self.)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMiGBq6H4zRmeHDmgZe3AA5SU71Y-8cByHjx_81a3Q8WRvNEqxThQcvqv3hQrCZsLalo1kTB1EKmXSMww7kDCghVDNEvMwwJWvW9T1o7X773xL4uINEO8NEW9FU43yVoadjPG8nqCfxlR/s1600/DSC00015.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMiGBq6H4zRmeHDmgZe3AA5SU71Y-8cByHjx_81a3Q8WRvNEqxThQcvqv3hQrCZsLalo1kTB1EKmXSMww7kDCghVDNEvMwwJWvW9T1o7X773xL4uINEO8NEW9FU43yVoadjPG8nqCfxlR/s400/DSC00015.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506167772330889010" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The girls directly to my left in the picture (in the pink and black) and two to the right of me (in the grey cardigan) are the two other event coordinators I work with! (Well...not for too much longer (insert sad face) which I will explain later)</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Again...continuing the festivities, Graham took little ol' me to spend a day in the big city we know as Des Moines! The capital of Iowa, it boasts so many things I love like zoos, malls and P.F. Changs. We just happened to hit up all three of these beloved places in one day! Here are some highlights:</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn0l4OpdJvBIR4qCi8Qi0DHRJE4UfVocFhHeAVfCTtOJugXpSHQWfCE-TZ7P3sqaKbKKml98_nRktZW0SsGioVwjYqk67o2D9gu1Ly42wMcvwaly0pMCKMUErXNWVfI1YG1Ii6FsuDcfmm/s1600/DSC00027.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn0l4OpdJvBIR4qCi8Qi0DHRJE4UfVocFhHeAVfCTtOJugXpSHQWfCE-TZ7P3sqaKbKKml98_nRktZW0SsGioVwjYqk67o2D9gu1Ly42wMcvwaly0pMCKMUErXNWVfI1YG1Ii6FsuDcfmm/s400/DSC00027.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506229457373967282" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Graham petting the Galapagos turtle at the Des Moines zoo.<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1p8HcSp7PV8Xikyz0VwvBC8JlsTQoKZTNgPKdEvHHwo5yVg4pyz0DNRSXw_TVWwrhr_ELZgBGpaIGNOil4WzZm_QW8S152DBW3QlBka1RR4seyHeMRfpB5xxsIcX6gY-6jQ1M4dzWuIYn/s1600/DSC00026.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1p8HcSp7PV8Xikyz0VwvBC8JlsTQoKZTNgPKdEvHHwo5yVg4pyz0DNRSXw_TVWwrhr_ELZgBGpaIGNOil4WzZm_QW8S152DBW3QlBka1RR4seyHeMRfpB5xxsIcX6gY-6jQ1M4dzWuIYn/s400/DSC00026.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506169890468484834" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This is an awesome moment for me since I have had a tradition of sitting on a statue of a Galapagos turtle since I was little every time we went to Busch gardens in Tampa, FL! Look Mom, I found a real one! Too bad I was too scared to hop on...<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEsBhsBVvhi2QHXsT2ruNE4z5-RbAPft1M7FuY2pMLxWgI3EKldDLwHAD1ojMHQBW53cjCfPUjvpNe6-_Kg2MV0KIvhICnao1gsk7_xqvMoGpeKOsWmvscpWypkBeWu06v4lgp_SM4oM-/s1600/DSC00032.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlEsBhsBVvhi2QHXsT2ruNE4z5-RbAPft1M7FuY2pMLxWgI3EKldDLwHAD1ojMHQBW53cjCfPUjvpNe6-_Kg2MV0KIvhICnao1gsk7_xqvMoGpeKOsWmvscpWypkBeWu06v4lgp_SM4oM-/s400/DSC00032.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506169899977905666" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Baby pygmy goats = cutest.things.ever.<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPm9f9RXPlw8MzPmTmYq6Ntffk_xRuE91-YxVRCrom4EVKslECY_PQ5nxoOWzdWr1ymF9pxPwrHqcjAK7gKwRvC5P0Osmap4pwqC42giQ3uF0bP60OoLnDhlKAQIy53tR_tKRuOsVIUqJr/s1600/DSC00047.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPm9f9RXPlw8MzPmTmYq6Ntffk_xRuE91-YxVRCrom4EVKslECY_PQ5nxoOWzdWr1ymF9pxPwrHqcjAK7gKwRvC5P0Osmap4pwqC42giQ3uF0bP60OoLnDhlKAQIy53tR_tKRuOsVIUqJr/s400/DSC00047.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506169901575604866" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Operation life goal pet a giraffe...complete.<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtOh_vZVGBOrM07XRwZI9Shny5UM5RP2QjFhIQu8tmt2exX2IsIGMItwsC_eXMPk4qOmOtAk1djeBfCwYTHsq-ja1lcvgrg3UOPFmPR_qO2PRktjaXCo0JuCBl2DZtSQ7jKoAJ-Bqeuhmf/s1600/DSC00036.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtOh_vZVGBOrM07XRwZI9Shny5UM5RP2QjFhIQu8tmt2exX2IsIGMItwsC_eXMPk4qOmOtAk1djeBfCwYTHsq-ja1lcvgrg3UOPFmPR_qO2PRktjaXCo0JuCBl2DZtSQ7jKoAJ-Bqeuhmf/s400/DSC00036.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506169910647809234" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Silly Llama.<br /><br /></div><div>The first weekend in August Graham and I got to spend some much needed time back in the homeland of the North Carolinian mountains. The more we go back there the more I am able to love it. I love the mountains. I love the cool air and dew in the grass in the mornings. I love going for a run from my parent's house and knowing that there will be 2 fiberglass bulls awaiting me .7 miles later. But most of all I love seeing my big, crowded, crazy, dramatic and particularly amazing family. I really never thought I would be living this far away from what I call "home", but it really makes me miss and love each and every one of them even more. <div><br /></div><div>Although quite complicated at times, I am also very thankful that Graham and I are from the same small town and are able to see both of our entire families in one visit! Here are some highlights of the trip through pictures:</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKGEYP5EopiSekT7HNp9piAgFqTSS28RY8QhcZJ8VgAM7LwYfIQOYo1kOBgkcNaujWTaiDMqiWBI_AySjdrAhOSwKRF7m733zJTL7BFYBtKQpfb1I9XYC9ClIJTOhUmu_j5GOVGy6dod5u/s1600/DSC00063.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKGEYP5EopiSekT7HNp9piAgFqTSS28RY8QhcZJ8VgAM7LwYfIQOYo1kOBgkcNaujWTaiDMqiWBI_AySjdrAhOSwKRF7m733zJTL7BFYBtKQpfb1I9XYC9ClIJTOhUmu_j5GOVGy6dod5u/s400/DSC00063.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506229466238546786" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">In baby voice, "I miss my little Maggie girl!!"<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfp6AanWX0LjxT-BVxMhHbhn2xCHEZwE_pgaawdNf613a-mRSzyZ_IDzAGkv_xkPbwtOjMnB8nIQM1uZLhdquVaYUWqLPBiEKYnyI1qvQl7DW4pZwkVzr3NDbn7yE70gyzmGwanYqErHaw/s1600/DSC00071.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfp6AanWX0LjxT-BVxMhHbhn2xCHEZwE_pgaawdNf613a-mRSzyZ_IDzAGkv_xkPbwtOjMnB8nIQM1uZLhdquVaYUWqLPBiEKYnyI1qvQl7DW4pZwkVzr3NDbn7yE70gyzmGwanYqErHaw/s400/DSC00071.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506229474273302114" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Enjoying the sun at Fontana Lake. Please take a look at that beautiful scenery. (The mountains are nice too.)<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wII_cPKe2owlRJCZV5_P8KEPJH5yzxyWCVA-r_puQgm_Gi26-495yOEifDn5hPvcmU4A7ICPntSoGFYtCy9C4NTZaM3BXitmWFbQq3Jx6ClOtsjuXmw7CjfoqHF7DbNhspEPV-PkLwlV/s1600/DSC00073.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1wII_cPKe2owlRJCZV5_P8KEPJH5yzxyWCVA-r_puQgm_Gi26-495yOEifDn5hPvcmU4A7ICPntSoGFYtCy9C4NTZaM3BXitmWFbQq3Jx6ClOtsjuXmw7CjfoqHF7DbNhspEPV-PkLwlV/s400/DSC00073.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506229481330909554" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Graham's always impressive hair.<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFb57zY-OGIR3JP1ErDu9kjg0VitZHu5GC0edMCq1V5NM3MND9voC8Q2h4yZ9E5fScGnZ1M6XgNWZMvQlNNUTS2xKnjnq1MUhX-k81NKZKNAtVyzs0oViw72W8wTxYSvkLGXPQR1MOGgKw/s1600/DSC00078.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFb57zY-OGIR3JP1ErDu9kjg0VitZHu5GC0edMCq1V5NM3MND9voC8Q2h4yZ9E5fScGnZ1M6XgNWZMvQlNNUTS2xKnjnq1MUhX-k81NKZKNAtVyzs0oViw72W8wTxYSvkLGXPQR1MOGgKw/s400/DSC00078.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506230752633339506" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Momma Ashe and I refreshing :)<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEGNlfbEhqNE8e71ws_PSZK96wNPm7Jx6TAkr4eWQAMHSViZjZmYSewt_KzIzuJMNkQvboFKs6hrdxTvQHX-1Vw_0tenXZGDMtsDlmTg0c2zd5EsCgdKjtMiDbw2WK9OB3lgVxbm2xXDs/s1600/DSC00081.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEGNlfbEhqNE8e71ws_PSZK96wNPm7Jx6TAkr4eWQAMHSViZjZmYSewt_KzIzuJMNkQvboFKs6hrdxTvQHX-1Vw_0tenXZGDMtsDlmTg0c2zd5EsCgdKjtMiDbw2WK9OB3lgVxbm2xXDs/s400/DSC00081.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506230766858625154" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The original Ashe Fam!<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJcW8kpSwDomklHQ-CwRs_5X8_mx9Nr4q85Hb5y4ZPidPn4TPKmxZUlHFbpZmH1vfttjSJmTTHTGScF4CSHXaWuGWnZFoIyQctTe55C5I9MuiQDVGwKiduft1M2M4J2qYmcHxY7CTHi5S/s1600/DSC00093.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJcW8kpSwDomklHQ-CwRs_5X8_mx9Nr4q85Hb5y4ZPidPn4TPKmxZUlHFbpZmH1vfttjSJmTTHTGScF4CSHXaWuGWnZFoIyQctTe55C5I9MuiQDVGwKiduft1M2M4J2qYmcHxY7CTHi5S/s400/DSC00093.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506230775386045890" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Oh brother Adam...what's wrong with this picture??<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvSbTp-aVar0AqhV3Mfk5qAXJ0p0nnMwZJVM545veZqbWggezU1GsmsaTjKeExdjZMnfTJNXpR5MrBBLHJ41PMe3NH0P14g1X84lE4APnEvrxM0PU25WZxNPCVg43jeDYeEcjBHmsKu1ln/s1600/DSC00103.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvSbTp-aVar0AqhV3Mfk5qAXJ0p0nnMwZJVM545veZqbWggezU1GsmsaTjKeExdjZMnfTJNXpR5MrBBLHJ41PMe3NH0P14g1X84lE4APnEvrxM0PU25WZxNPCVg43jeDYeEcjBHmsKu1ln/s400/DSC00103.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506230782515230290" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">My beautimous Mommy and I poolside<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbrVT4e3TgBqRtDQbRMel-9OKZi7vdJH4_8VDWSDpxwxnkKc5m5JKcHCGcfH3sQoo3r1o37C5ifrcUBkFjIOI6gmHrdFbex-srn42JoY4o2tjXfuIJBIaxtgqF1LIIet9rjHIpUvVTYe5/s1600/DSC00113.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbrVT4e3TgBqRtDQbRMel-9OKZi7vdJH4_8VDWSDpxwxnkKc5m5JKcHCGcfH3sQoo3r1o37C5ifrcUBkFjIOI6gmHrdFbex-srn42JoY4o2tjXfuIJBIaxtgqF1LIIet9rjHIpUvVTYe5/s400/DSC00113.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506233019885859410" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sisters!<br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbet1i0QCsx5T9MiaMPJkAC3SJOecIGBPKi5OoNrbYq56bJDGVyzu-jhOVCs-Fup-RMyJd6cA63BxecpMCWCEhD_y1IQK5hy4NgHKt6LbsC8E5CQCd4h-3uJHZBrUxd8d8G7rHaB7HM5Ta/s1600/DSC00116.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbet1i0QCsx5T9MiaMPJkAC3SJOecIGBPKi5OoNrbYq56bJDGVyzu-jhOVCs-Fup-RMyJd6cA63BxecpMCWCEhD_y1IQK5hy4NgHKt6LbsC8E5CQCd4h-3uJHZBrUxd8d8G7rHaB7HM5Ta/s400/DSC00116.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506233035400325874" border="0" /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Brothers!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ZX1lhKniNlN5_8pKKrlkLqDTveZ4wm9mRNJ560BVuzYPiveFniQgoasr0JP3qpQ9QPQhKcyi5coXEE0so8frYHmidwdiaJav1PHz2YoeBwh4ZV8Q_zdKJ2druYbInS5ujy_vpc6G3O_K/s1600/DSC00123.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ZX1lhKniNlN5_8pKKrlkLqDTveZ4wm9mRNJ560BVuzYPiveFniQgoasr0JP3qpQ9QPQhKcyi5coXEE0so8frYHmidwdiaJav1PHz2YoeBwh4ZV8Q_zdKJ2druYbInS5ujy_vpc6G3O_K/s400/DSC00123.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506233045771489410" border="0" /></a>Now that's a plate of food if I do say so myself!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkucrGHIDhewNyC4t7ankpjWOqQAsQxSxQofEEQRJJYrTVJn6LE7PXii4-DZMYPNan_YcqLqX0tTEqpzaACitbq9SOKxt_Ssf2OwLOMGQ21ppnM1GKxhadAKL4ECQmiqskwmFp11cHDQsh/s1600/DSC00124.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkucrGHIDhewNyC4t7ankpjWOqQAsQxSxQofEEQRJJYrTVJn6LE7PXii4-DZMYPNan_YcqLqX0tTEqpzaACitbq9SOKxt_Ssf2OwLOMGQ21ppnM1GKxhadAKL4ECQmiqskwmFp11cHDQsh/s400/DSC00124.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506233673099785282" border="0" /></a>Mom with her incredible spread. "Get away from the booty!!"<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXbsYO1CGDI2PzBq3-EatDjagQfU4A60MOgJY1jACauoIFnoGBoEBtHVl9rDpGAy5-vqw9BtD1KzmeY5Okk7okgAjsIqFWDAU5WqbibZZlpas4jnwfLYRIYWGV2_04cF7AHl20HALS_17/s1600/DSC00149.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGXbsYO1CGDI2PzBq3-EatDjagQfU4A60MOgJY1jACauoIFnoGBoEBtHVl9rDpGAy5-vqw9BtD1KzmeY5Okk7okgAjsIqFWDAU5WqbibZZlpas4jnwfLYRIYWGV2_04cF7AHl20HALS_17/s400/DSC00149.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506233686716872674" border="0" /></a>Fave.<br /></div></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-11729064820554415592010-07-26T22:55:00.001-05:002010-07-26T23:21:29.913-05:00S is for Soup. And Summer.<div style="text-align: left;">I crave soup in the summer. Pretty much all the time. Odd, I know. You'd think I'd get that hankerin' in the winter when I need warming up from the bitter cold, but no, the hotter it is outside, the more I want soup. Don't ask me. Well, if you have a backwards day and find yourself craving soup these warm summer days, I have an amazing treat for you!</div><div><br /></div><div>I've grown rather fond of cookinglight.com and their amazing recipe selection. In fact, I spend loads of free time perusing the endless pages of meal recipes that are lower in fat and calories than their typical counter part. My wonderful cook of a mommy used to make this Chicken Corn Chowder that is simply delicious. Well I got the bright idea to add potatoes. Who doesn't like a little root in their soup if you know what I mean? So then I found this recipe for Crab-Potato Chowder on none other than cooking light as well and have merged the recipes into one delicious Chicken, Corn, Potato Chowder that I think is simply the bomb.com. Now, it looks like a lot of ingredients, but when you look closely, you've probably got a lot of this stuff just lyin' around waiting to be included!</div><div><br /></div><div>Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you try it and what you think!</div><div><br /></div><div>Chunky Chicken, Corn and Potato Chowder:</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAZvQQUDSnPUwJaamhZTKrF9ia51pU7PAYqzxiIn1irVv_hQGL-XMexi78CpIe3sMB34CqMnao3vfGHkPX70SQL-arBCWxFcXKlqkGMPdA3iTMEZ90AYkCIqR_jC0eRwJU70BhOqCPwFA/s1600/crab-chowder-ck-549810-l.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPAZvQQUDSnPUwJaamhZTKrF9ia51pU7PAYqzxiIn1irVv_hQGL-XMexi78CpIe3sMB34CqMnao3vfGHkPX70SQL-arBCWxFcXKlqkGMPdA3iTMEZ90AYkCIqR_jC0eRwJU70BhOqCPwFA/s400/crab-chowder-ck-549810-l.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498433778339075794" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px; " /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(85, 85, 85); line-height: 16px; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><strong>Yield:</strong> 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family:georgia, times, serif;font-size:13px;"><div class="rcpdetail" id="ingredients" style="margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 16px; "><h2 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Georgia, serif; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); ">Ingredients</h2><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">2 tablespoons butter (I use unsalted, boo sodium!)</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">1 cup chopped onion</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">3/4 cup chopped celery (If you're into that kind of thing...Graham doesn't like celery, so I omit)</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (A merger from the other recipe...another way to kick it up a notch!)</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">1 garlic clove, minced</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">3 1/2 cups (1-inch) cubed red potato (about 1 pound)</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">3 tablespoons all-purpose flour</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk (I use skim and it is still delicious, so if you wanna cut out a few more calories...go for it!)</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (this time I actually just shook in a little dried oregano cause I'm too lazy and too cheap to buy fresh thyme. One day when I have a garden of herbs I'll go the fresh route!)</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">A pinch of ground red pepper (just shake some in there--it gives it a little kick!)</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">1/4 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg (okay to just shake in a little of the powdered stuff here too)</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">1 small can white shoepeg corn, drained</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (not really needed...just there for the presentation at the end)</li><li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; ">1 teaspoon salt (I don't add this either. The less salt in our diet the better!)</li></ul></div><div class="rcpdetail" id="preparation" style="margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 16px; "><h2 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Georgia, serif; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); ">Preparation</h2><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4em; ">Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, jalapeno and garlic; sauté 4 minutes. Add potato; sauté 1 minute. Sprinkle with flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk, thyme, pepper (both red and black), nutmeg, corn (creamed and shoepeg), cooked chicken and broth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender (may take more like 25-30 depending on how small you cut the potatoes), stirring occasionally. </p></div><div class="rcpdetail" id="nutrientInfo" style="margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 16px; "><h2 style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal Georgia, serif; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); ">Nutritional Information (Before I adjusted--less Sodium in my version!)</h2><dl style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4em; "><dt style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; float: left; width: 100px; ">Calories:</dt><dd style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; ">265 (23% from fat)</dd><dt style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; float: left; width: 100px; ">Fat:</dt><dd style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; ">6.8g (sat 3.8g,mono 1.9g,poly 0.6g)</dd><dt style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; float: left; width: 100px; ">Protein:</dt><dd style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; ">16.3g</dd><dt style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; float: left; width: 100px; ">Carbohydrate:</dt><dd style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; ">36.5g</dd><dt style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; float: left; width: 100px; ">Fiber:</dt><dd style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; ">3.1g</dd><dt style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; float: left; width: 100px; ">Cholesterol:</dt><dd style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; ">47mg</dd><dt style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; float: left; width: 100px; ">Iron:</dt><dd style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; ">1.5mg</dd><dt style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; float: left; width: 100px; ">Sodium:</dt><dd style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; ">968mg</dd><dt style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; float: left; width: 100px; ">Calcium:</dt><dd style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; ">176mg</dd></dl><dl style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4em; "><div><br /></div></dl></div></span></div>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-802467133290339205.post-28166296173493034332010-07-26T16:30:00.000-05:002010-07-26T22:53:18.351-05:00First Half Marathon...Complete.I feel like typically, if you're going to run a half marathon, you expect thousands of people cheering you on, running with you, and waiting for you at the finish line to give you high-fives, water, massages, release balloons, a t-shirt, tell you how awesome you are, etc. You get the picture. Well, my first half marathon plus experience wasn't so neat. Due to the unfortunate placement of my first on-my-own wedding (worth another post in and of itself) I wasn't able to run with my awesome partner in training. And when I say unfortunate, I really mean unfortunate.<br /><br />It is one thing to run 14 miles, it is another to do it alone. Although, as most of you know, I am pretty easily entertained. I spent my 2 hours and 23 minutes (I'm proud of my time for a first timer!) counting cracks in the sidewalk (OCD much?), enjoying the sights, accidentally singing the lyrics of the songs stuck in my head out loud as I passed the other bikers/runners along the way, you know, just the typical things to keep your mind occupied. I cannot run with an iPod that far, because my ears start to hurt from the ear phones, and I really just don't like the weight of the arm band being on one arm the whole time. I mean, I know I could switch it, but who wants to mess with it when I have plenty of songs in my head to keep me occupied?<br /><br />Last weekend, I was able to run 10 miles. I made the mistake of running too late that time, starting around 8:30am. It was so miserably hot and I was super dehydrated. You think if I'm not going to run with an armband on my arm that I'm going to run with a water bottle? No way, Jose. There are people that can be used for such services (*clear throat annoyingly* Graham). Thanks babe for being willing to help keep me hydrated!! This week, Grahambo was super tired, and I started a little earlier (around 7:00am) and wanted him to get plenty of sleep before church so I didn't bother waking him. Thus, I ran 14 miles without water. And I made it. Only to drink 1L of water as quickly as humanly possible the second I stepped foot into the door.<br /><br /><div>I wasn't attacked by any black birds (thank goodness...this has been a recurring problem lately. Seriously.), my legs held up and my lungs felt pretty great. It wasn't until mile 13 that I really started feelin' it. Running is so mental it is ridiculous.<br /><br />When I arrived home, I felt pretty good. It was only after I attempted to walk down the stairs and out of our apartment to head to church that I knew this wasn't something my body was reacting well to. Just FYI, walking backwards down the stairs really helps! I spent the rest of the day hobbling to church, lunch, a movie and then dinner. I was way too tired to cook, you know? We went out to lunch with some good friends, my awesome hubby took me to see Inception (so worth it!) and then to a great dinner of really unhealthy food at Lone Star Steakhouse. It has been years since I have been there, but I was super pumped about rolls and peanuts. A deadly combination for my tastebuds. At lunch, when I told the host how many people we had, he says, "Will a table upstairs be okay?" Normally, this would be an easy, "of course!" but yesterday, my simple response was, "Upstairs? Okay I think I can make it." Going up is definitely easier than coming down (remember...go backwards!).<br /><br />Stay tuned...this Saturday is a 16.0 mile run. Can't wait! (Can you sense my sarcasm?)</div>Joannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01976547468894378061noreply@blogger.com2