Proud Wifey

So, I'm going to be that girl.  You know, the one who gets all mushy talking about her guy. But, I'm 100% OK with that because I love supporting Kyle and celebrating in his successes. Because I know he'd be doing the same thing right now...if he wrote a blog that wasn't just about bee,r and if I'd actually been the one to get my booty off the couch and run in my first 5K this past weekend!

Kyle started running back in January after swearing that he didn't see a need to exercise. And he actually fell in love with it. By February he was running miles at a time, and I was shocked and thrilled to see him really getting into it!  Towards the end of the summer he decided that he really wanted to start doing races, and he and our cousin-in-law, Eric, ran in the Warrior Dash back in August, which was more for fun and getting muddy and jumping over fire and all that jazz. But, this past weekend, he ran in his first 5K that was hosted by our gym to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House. 

I went all mama bear proud wifey on him and stood on the sidelines and snapped pics when the race began and then walked about a quarter of a mile down the road to where the 5K ended. It was so fun to be able to cheer all of the runners on, and I even got a little teary-eyed when I saw an 11-year old boy finish in 3rd place...that's so the teacher in me!  But, the best part was getting to be there at the finish line when Kyle came in! I was so happy to see him doing something that he gets so much joy out of and that brings him so much pride and feelings of self-accomplishment. He's already signing up for a 10K in November, and we're hoping to run a 5K together at the end of October! 

Feeling Ready! 

After about 600 takes...we finally got a decent one!

And he's off!

About to cross the line!

Yeah...you better look back and let me get your picture, sir!

And, of course...we totally raided the free food stands provided by all the race sponsors! So classy. 

Cupcake down! Probably because my hands were so full!

Free goodies...yum yum! Kyle would also like me to point out that 2 cupcakes and 2 cups of popcorn had already been consumed before this photo...woops!

Happy almost Friday!

Bring It On, Fall!

Dear Fall,


It would be really hard for you to ever top Summer as my favorite season of the year unless you could miraculously find some way for me to have 2 months off like your pal. But, you come pretty darn close. Mainly because I live and breathe for the fashion necessities that you bring. Boots, skinny jeans, scarves...I mean, I guess I could tolerate wearing those babies for the next 3 months. And can we please talk about your crisp, cool weather that's perfect for tailgating before a football game or paying a visit to the pumpkin patch. Oh, and then there's all the yummy food...chili, pumpkin muffins, s'mores by the campfire. And I guess it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to decorate my house with you in mind...you know, like getting some chrysanthemums in your beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows, maybe throwing some leaves and candles on the tables, a pumpkin or two outside.  Well, and Halloween won't be so bad either. You know I love any excuse to eat candy, and it couldn't hurt that I already have my costume picked out. And it's not like Pinterest isn't exploding right now with all kinds of amazing ideas for more fashion, food, and festivities with you in mind. Yeahhhh, I guess it's OK with me if you're starting to make an appearance.  Sikeee! I'm so stoked you're here!


                                                                               LYLAS,
                                                                                     Lu

Giveaway...Check out Kristen's Blog!

I love free things! And, I love fun blogs! So, what's not to love about a blog giveaway!? 

Well, the lovely Kristen, over at All In My Twenties is hosting a fabulous blog giveaway for reaching the 1,000 followers mark! Yay for her! Her blog is so much fun to read, and she's so real...you just feel like you know her! If you haven't checked it out, you should totally do so. Right now!

So, I'm super excited because there are 7 options for her giveaway prize, which you can view here! But, I'm secretly hoping for the Nike gift card. I know there are some beautiful Michael Kors watches, but to be honest, I could get so much more use out of the gift card! 

Anyways...go enter right now! And if you win, you should totally share the prize with me!

Secret Veggie Mission Accomplished

Y'all...I hate vegetables. Like reaaaallllyyy hate them. For the first 18 years of my life the only veggie I would eat was green beans from a can. Thank the good Lord that I lived with Beebs during college because she got me eating some more veggies...specifically limas and edamame. Which left me with 3 veggies that I ate, except for then I realized that I was all green-beaned out and I could NEVER remember whether you needed a chicken or beef flavored bouillon cube when I was at the grocery store, so to be honest, I was really down to two veggies. Since then I've added onions, peppers, zuchinni, squash, and occasionally, tomatoes to my list. But, if I had a choice...I would go without in a heartbeat. But, the blog world and Pinterest entered my life in some divine form of intervention, and I realized that you could actually hide veggies in smoothies! 4-5 cups of spinach (which is sure to score me at least 2 servings of veggies....or is that wishful thinking?) hidden in a deliciously fruity smoothie.  Ummmm, yes please!  

So...I gave it a try! I followed this Green Smoothie Recipe from the Greener Eating blog for my initial attempt. I used strawberries and a banana for my fruit, but I cut the recipe in 1/2 because it seemed like a lot for just me. Turns out...it still was because I had enough for Kyle to gag down try. 

Yes..it's brown...but you just have to get over that! 

The verdict... Not bad! I definitely needed to use less lemon juice and the other banana definitely would have made it a little sweeter. But, like the true champ that I am, I proudly finished that sucker. You're absolutely welcome, dear body of mine! 

But, Day 2's attempt was a HUGE improvement, and it wasn't hard to finish at all! 

The secret...I added a little scoop of this delicious Soy Protein (I bought it from The Vitamin Shoppe)

and 1 TBSP of Flax Seed 

with the same recipe as yesterday (minus the lime juice). Super delicious! Super healthy! It's a win-win. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go call my grandparents and tell them I ate some spinach today...they've been so worried about my lack of veggie-intake for years! 

I Will Always Remember...9/11/01

It's been 10 years since the devastating terrorist attacks on our country that claimed the lives of thousands of innocent people. I still remember exactly where I was and what I was wearing when it happened. I don't think you ever forget the first time you realize just how ugly and cruel and harsh the world can actually be. I was a couple of weeks into my freshman year of high school...14 years young. I was wearing grey cheer-shorts, a white tee, and a navy fleece jacket with my Roxy tennis-shoes. I was in Mr. Blair's ELP class first period, and I literally remember one of the teachers from the hall busting in and asking him if he'd "heard" and telling us to turn the TV on. We didn't learn anything that day. Our eyes were literally glued to the T.V., and as we were watching the news telling us about the first plane that flew into the Twin Towers, we actually saw the second one crash in.  That's when we knew that this wasn't just a fluke but a planned, purposeful attack on our country. I remember bits and pieces of the day as friends checked in with family members to make sure that their family and friends near the attacks were OK. No one that I knew seemed to have any immediate family at risk. But I remember immediately choking up when my brother told me that a messenger had come to his class to let his friend, Bill, know that his dad was OK because he worked at the Pentagon.  I can't imagine having to wait to hear if one of my parents is alright, and I hope I never do. I know we got out of school early, and I remember my mom coming home and me asking her questions, trying to understand. It's hard to be old enough to know what's going on around you but not really "get" it. 

My English teacher, Mrs. Sutton, had us write letters to our future families to share about what had happened. I wasn't supposed to open it until the 40th anniversary, but I couldn't help myself.  I don't ever want to be numb to the fact that life is a precious gift like I was that day. I don't ever want to forget the heroes of that day, so many that we will never even know about because they didn't live to tell their stories. I don't ever want to forget the countless lives cut short. Most importantly, I will never forget the pride I felt of being an American in the months that followed. 

The one with two tornado drills in one day...

So, it's pretty much a teacher's worst nightmare...the intercom goes off telling you to go into tornado drill mode (like for real, for real) and it's only the 8th day of school! Yahhh...we definitely hadn't practiced that yet. Add to the fact that I'm in a totally new classroom and we were having indoor recess and you have one panicked teacher! Luckily, I had made my TA, who I call Whitey, check the emergency plans that morning because of how dark the sky looked, so we at least knew where we were supposed to go! So, we quickly split the class in half...one half with me in the closet, one half with Whitey in the bathroom (I felt bad for sending her into the nasty bathroom...buttttt not bad enough to offer to switch!). My stinkin' lean pocket had just been heated, and I was one bite into it but I had to abandon it to get into tornado "position" on the floor. Did I mention that we have a bug problem in my classroom? And, honestly, do they even clean the floors in the closets? That would be a big fat NO! Of course I was wearing a skirt, so I'm all worried about flashing my underwears but then realize that my goodies were also hanging out from leaning over, so I just gave up! We stayed on that floor for 40 whole minutes! Can you just imagine 8-year olds in tornado position for 40 minutes straight...it was zero percent fun. And of course, they were just going nuts. One of them asked me for a tissue during the middle, so I work my way up off the floor and go get the box of tissues. Five minutes later, he has 2 tissues hanging out of his ears and is swinging his head around trying to make the others laugh. So glad I risked my life for that. And the best part...we got to repeat it again about 2 hours later for another 40 minutes. At least that time we were in the library for our "welcome visit" so we didn't have to suffer on the closet/bathroom floor again! Needless to say that was enough adventure for  me. I've accidentally seen enough butt cracks to last me a lifetime! No more tornado drills, please! 

And, I'll just leave you with my favorite quote of the day..."If you put your butt near my butt one more time I am going to jerk that necklace off your BLEEP neck!" Don't worry, this didn't come from the mouth of my babes...just one of the 4th graders down the hall! 

Check Out My Accent Vlog!

So, I just had to jump on the bandwagon! I've been having so much fun listening to everyone's accent Vlogs and finally was having a decent enough hair day to try one myself! I'm linking up with the adorable Jenna at Jenna's Journey, and I hope I don't embarrass myself too much! And please excuse how I start out perfectly centered in the camera and end up with just my head showing!

Wanna try? The instructions are to say these words:

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting Image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

And answer these questions:

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?

What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?

What do you call gym shoes?

What do you say to address a group of people?

What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?

What do you call your grandparents?

What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?

What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

Sooooo....what do ya think!? Totally Southern? Totally Not?

*Sorry for the change in fonts...I guess when you copy and paste something it messes up your regular font? Booooo :(

That's NC State Football Y'all!

Yay! College football has officially "kicked off" (cough cough...no pun intended!), and I am super excited because my brother decided to go in with Kyle and me to get season tickets to the NC State games! I know that this totally makes me the worst UNC fan/alumni of all times, but before I ever stepped foot onto that beautiful campus, I spent 18 years prior cheering for the wolfpack, and my heart will always partly belong to them! My parents both went to NC State, and that's where they met and fell in love! They've had season tickets ever since. My brother went to State. Kyle went to State. Three of my high school best friends went to State. And my brother-in-law goes to State. Pretty much, there was never any hope for me to not be a State fan! 

Every time I go to a game it kinda feels like home. We've been sitting in the same seats for forever, and there are so many other families around us who have been sitting there for years, too! I almost had a heart attack last night when I saw the daughter of the family who sits right in front of us. I remember when she was a baby, and she is full blown middle-schooler now! I secretly pouted for about 3-seconds thinking about how old I'm getting! There are so many traditions that I love at State games, like every first down the announcer says, "And that's a Wolfpack..." and the crowd yells "First Down" and motions in the direction we're going! And, can I just say that I think it's absolutely adorable how my parents still kiss every time State scores!

Last night's game was at 6pm, and though it started out hot as balls, by the time the sun went down, it felt amazing! State's offense was a little shaky at first, but the defense played great, and they pulled out a nice big W for their first game! And, I was also pleased to hear that the Tar Heels also whooped some JMU booty! See guys...there's enough room in my heart for both teams!

But, I have to tell ya...the highlight of my game were these 2 kids sitting in front of us who would go to town dancing whenever they played a song! I swear, I think they practice in their spare time! I died, over and over again! I finally decided to record them towards the end of the game...it definitely wasn't their best ever (I mean, they had to be exhausted by this point!) but still pretty darn entertaining! Let's just pray they sit in front of us at every game! 

Happy Labor Day Weekend Friends!