BAD BLOGGER & MEMORIAL DAY

So it seems my blog post have been less and less the past few months. I just can't seem to get into it, but I'm going to make an effort to take more pics and update the blog more often. I'm sure when I have children I will be more of a photographer, but I rather enjoy what I'm doing than take a thousand pics of a vacation, party, event, etc. I often wonder how people on facebook that have 200 pics of one party actually had time to enjoy the event.....haha.

I know it seems we're on the go A LOT, but we actually have been in MS the past few weekends. We have caught up on much needed yard work. The previous owners left lots of beautiful planters for us, so we've been busy planting new flowers and plants in all of them. I do need to take a picture so I can prove that I do have a little bit of green thumb. Beside all of the yard work, we've managed to hang out w/our sweet MS friends and of course make our once a weekend trip to Starkville or Jackson. I'm not sure if I can go an entire weekend here w/out going there.

As much as we are on the go...believe or not...we had actually only been back home to Oxford, AL (where our parents live) only twice this year. Those visits were both so rushed b/c we got there late Friday night and were on the road by Sunday afternoon, so we really haven't had time to just enjoy a weekend at home. So we decided this Memorial Day to use our time off and enjoy a nice long relaxing weekend at home. We took Friday off too, which made for a nice 4 day weekend.

Although I pretty much have no pics :( to document our weekend, I will post a few. So here is the rundown of what we did.... We were able to spend time w/ our parents, had a fun dinner w/our friends Jeremy & Britney. We also finally got to time to see their new house they are renovating...which looks amazing!! Went on a 28 mile bike ride w/ my parents to the GA line on The Chief Ladiga Trail. I got a much needed mani/pedi w/ my mom!! I was finally able to meet a dear childhood friend's daughter at church (after 3 years) They live in Memphis and we're hoping to catch a Redbirds game w/ them soon. Spent Sunday afternoon/night in Atlanta w/ my college friend, Jennifer Harris. Had fun hanging out at Taco Mac and watched the Braves beat the Reds. Slept late, ate a lot, did some shopping and the list could go on.

Even though we had 4 days back home, there still didn't seem to be enough time for everything, but we enjoyed the time we had there. I would love for us to be closer, but thankful we can visit as much as we do :)

We finished the 2nd portion of the AL trail on this trip home. We started in Piedmont and finished on the GA line. We are ready to start working on the GA portion of the trail, which is called "The Silver Comet". My friend Jennifer is actually moving to Vinings (where the trail ends outside of ATL) so she said we can come jump in her pool when we're finished.

Some of the beautiful scenery of NE Alabama. I never realized growing up how beautiful it really is.


We made it to this point above. The Silver Comet begins the GA portion of the trail.

Best wings in ATL!!! Had a great time hanging out at Taco Mac in Midtown before the Braves game.

Unfortunately the only picture Jen and I took we weren't looking the same way. While I shared stories of wild hog sightings on the Trace in MS....Jennifer shared stories about her recent trip to Barbados to help design (she's an interior designer in ATL) a new hotel. We're definitely living different lives right now, but glad for the moments we have to catch up. I told her she better invite me to the grand opening :)

Love Turner Field!! Growing up 90 miles from ATL, Jason and I both have fond memories of many Braves games.

Gotta love the $20 cheap seats....still a pretty good view.

Love a Braves game at night, especially when they win!!

Ending to a great weekend. Happy Memorial Day!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY TRAILS FOR US!!

Since we went home this weekend for Mother’s Day, it was the perfect time to take advantage of The Chief Ladiga Trail. Jason got a new road bike for his b-day recently. After my dad biked with us and saw how fast Jason rode, he realized there was no way I could keep up on my “comfort bike”. So my parents gave me an early b-day gift, the female version of Jason’s road bike. It will fly and I’m not sure if I could ever go back to my old bike. We love biking The Natchez Trace, but it was so nice to be on a trail with NO OTHER vehicles. NE Alabama is beautiful as well and I loved being back there. Jason, Dad, and I ended up biking 40 miles on Saturday!! I never thought I could go that far, but it was surprisingly easy (the trail is pretty flat- it is built over an old railroad). We ended our day by all eating at Mellow Mushroom in Oxford that evening...and I will tell you, a calzone never tasted so good!! We’re hooked on The Chief Ladiga and a trip home may be in our future sooner than we thought!!!

Ready to Ride!! The weather was perfect :)

Our 1st stop was in Jacksonville. The trail cuts directly through the campus of JSU.

Thank you Dad for our bikes!! He actually was the 1st biker in the family. He and mom ride The Chief Ladiga any chance they can.

We made it to Piedmont (about 20 miles from our starting point) and turned around. They had a great welcome center in town/on the trail.

The trail actually crosses into GA (about another 15 miles from Piedmont) and goes all the way to Smyrna, GA. Of course Jason is ready to ride all 95 miles of it. I'm hoping just to make it to the GA line next time.

If you're looking for a new hobby, we would highly suggest biking. Of course it isn't as easy as it looks, but it is so much fun and a great activity. We're still running as well, but are really enjoying our new bikes. Now, if we were just strong swimmers, we could do a triathlon- yeah right!!

Mother's Day

This blog post is a little late, but just wanted to say (one more time) Happy Mother’s day to our wonderful Mothers!!! We were able to spend some special time with each of them on Sunday and this past weekend. We are both very fortunate to have Godly, loving mothers who have always put their family first. Although I know they’d both be thrilled if we were to move right next to them, I’m also thankful that they are willing to let us spread our wings and have taught us to be independent people. It is very hard sometimes living away from our family and friends that know us best, but I’m both glad that we were blessed with mother’s that helped mold us into who we are today and helped prepare us for the unexpected changes in life. Words can never describe how thankful we are for each of you!! WE LOVE & MISS YOU BOTH :)

This is actually the last picture we have together. We've seen each other plenty since the big game in January, but Mother like Daughter....neither of us are too fond of being photographed. I guess I am becoming more like my mom (ha)

I wish I had my old family photo albums here in MS. I promise they hold a million other pics like the one above. I found this on my dad's online fb albums. It was too funny not to share. I believe this was taken Easter '88 or '89. I was really into hats back then (haha).

Jason and I with his mom, Kathy on Mother's Day. Now I just need to get into their old family albums ;)

DOUBLE DECKER WEEKEND

Of course being an Auburn grad I love everything about the town of Auburn. But I must say Oxford, MS runs a close 2nd to being the greatest college town ever!!! I always loved going to games at Ole Miss and even thought of going there in high school. I never thought we would live in MS, but here we are and it just happens that some of our great friends here are Ole Miss grads. We joined the Hawkins, Warrington's and Pettit families this weekend in Oxford to enjoy all the festivities of the Double Decker Art Festival. The Pettit's were gracious to enough to host all of us at their condo. We jump at any chance to experience Oxford. It is such a great place to spend a relaxing weekend with friends!!

Jason and I along with Whitney's friend Meredith from Memphis ran the 5K on Saturday morning. Actually Meredith did the 10K (she is 20 weeks pregnant) and wore this adorable shirt that said Babies 1st 10K and on the back it said "you just got passed by a pregnant woman". I wished I had gotten a picture. She did great and definitely gave me motivation to keep running.

It was the perfect weather for running. We finished in our best times yet!! Our official times were 29:03 for Jason and 34:51 for me. I was a little discouraged after our Memphis race, but this race gave me the motivation to keep running and hopefully shoot for a 10K eventually. It is such a sense of accomplishment when you run across the the finish line!!!

Whitney and Rachel were so sweet to cheer us on!! They made signs for all of us and cheered us on at the 1 mile mark and the finish line. Whitney actually is the one who encouraged me to start running. She is a fabulous runner :) Rachel also did her first 5K in Oxford a few weeks back :)

We parked near this yard and I had to take a picture of this peace sign carved out of wood. I would have loved to get a closer look at this amazing piece of wood work.


After the race (and a shower) we headed to the sqaure to enjoy a wonderful lunch at AJAX. It was my first time to eat here, but definitely won't be last. The Tuohy family from The Blidside was eating there as well. We did not stare or ask for autographs :)

After lunch and spending the afternoon shopping and "looking" at great art (wish I could afford some the pieces) we enjoyed some dowtime at the condo. We then headed to the square again to listen to North Mississippi All Stars.

JJ, me and Whitney....I didn't get the memo to wear purple!!

Enjoying the band and people watching!!

Unfortunately the weekend came to an end too soon :( We made a stop at Big Bad Breakfast and loaded up on some more good food before we left town....can you tell we like the eat...hence why we have to run :(

If I can't live near my beloved Auburn, I'm thankful that I can live near a town like Oxford :) Thank for you Hart & Whitney for a great weekend and for sharing your beloved Oxford with us :)

Happy Birthday to my husband :)

This post is a few days late, but Happy “late” Birthday to my fabulous husband, Jason. He turned 33 on Wednesday and we had wonderful evening (just the two of us) celebrating his b-day. I offered to take him to Jackson for a nice dinner, but his only request was for me to make Chicken Florentine Lasagna (his favorite dish I make) and a Carvel Ice Cream cake!! After filling up on lasagna and cake we watched our favorite show....AMERICAN IDOL!!! It was a low-key birthday, but these days we both seem to like low-key more and more!!

His birthday present actually arrived this past Monday. We both have decent bikes, but Jason has been ready to take his biking to the “next level” for some time. I know nothing about road bikes so I recruited my dad (who I consider the ultimate consumer....he really should write for Consumer Report-ha) to help me out. My parents, my Grandma and myself went in together to get him a new Cannondale bike!! He bought it in Oxford from FUN WHEELS and drove it over on Monday. This isn’t your everyday HUFFY from Toys-R-US….so I was thankful that we made it a “team effort” to buy it for him :) We all went bike riding on Monday afternoon to test it out. It will fly and Jason had to wait at Holly Hill (our turn around point) for me for a total of 12 minutes…I just could not keep up on my “sissy” bike. He absolutely loves his new “ride” and is more than deserving!! Jason does so much for me, that it was the LEAST I could do.

The next Lance Armstrong???

I enjoy more leisurley biking and was struggling by this point....we had already gone about 10 miles.

Looking forward to celebrating many more birthdays with my favorite person, best friend and husband :) I love you, Jason!!!!!

BEST BREAKFAST IN MEMPHIS

We ended our weekend in Memphis by eating the BEST BREAKFAST EVER!! Sunday morning we met Brooke & Corey and the rest of the Griffith clan at Brother Juniper’s. This place is a must visit!! It has been voted # 1 breakfast in Memphis numerous times and was featured on Rachel Ray’s $40 a day show, and many other publications. The open face omelette will leave you wanting more, the cheese grits were divine and those biscuits were just heavenly. Check it out if your ever in Memphis (hint- get there early b/c it gets crowded fast!!!)......... http://www.brotherjunipers.com/

Running (and walking) in Memphis

When thinking of a name for this post, I thought I would entitle it “Running in Memphis”. After my poor attempt at my 2nd 5K, I decided it should be “Running (w/ some occasional walking) in Memphis”……

This past weekend we decided to attempt another 5K. Our good friends, Brooke and Corey that live in Huntsville, were coming to Memphis to visit her brother. Since we don’t get to see them often and are only 2 hours from Memphis, we decided it would be a great weekend trip and why not do a 5K too!!

We both had really good runs on Thursday and were planning on beating our times on Saturday. The race started at 5:00 (unlike most that are in the morning). We thought the time may be at our advantage since we are evening runners anyway. Not to mention the run took you down Front St. and then up Riverside Drive, so there were plenty of attractions to distract you from the pain. Well, unfortunately we were wrong….we both STRUGGLED on this one and finished worse than our 1st 5K :( Jason finished right at 31:00 (his goal was to break 30) and I finished at 38:00 (goal was 35:00).

Both of us were disappointed, but we decided to blame the 86 degree temps and humidity on our poor performance. Since we began running (in Jan) the weather has always been cool. So Saturday was really our first attempt to run in some major heat. However, we are not going to let it get us down. I’m just going to have to start pushing myself a little more. Despite the lack of meeting our goals, the race was really fun and we would recommend it to anyone looking for a 5K in Memphis.

The official name of the race was RACE JUDICATA. The U of Memphis Law School and Memphis Area Legal Services sponsors the race. It begins and ends in Jefferson Davis Park overlooking the MS River. They had a live band after the race and plenty of food and drinks.

Over all we had a great little one night get-away to Memphis. Exercised, ate great food, spent time w/ dear friends and enjoyed beautiful weather :)

**Sorry…no race pics….left my camera in the car and we were looking ROUGH to say the least!!