time travel

this is a positive turn around. i have starting to think ahead about what i am going to blog about before i start typing. i might actually write more than twice in two years. 

before i go and talk about myself, a shout out to our wedding photographer. Caryn Ashley Photography did our engagement and wedding photos. She was wonderful to work with and extremely professional. I would highly recommend her if you are in the Michigan area and looking for a wedding, senior or family photographer. Check out her website at: http://carynashleyphotography.com/


a lot of my thoughts this week have been about music. i love music. all kinds of music. i listen when i am cleaning, cooking, writing this blog, reading, while on the phone and running. I like the beat of some songs, others remind me of my husband, and some are just feel good tunes. in high school we had to make a life CD filled with songs that meant something to us. i loved the project, and I am sure if i dug it out of the "erika's box of life" it would remind me of my high school self.  in honor of that project and my thoughts of music, here's a short list of my favorites (with Youtube videos of course!).

• Toto's Rosana: I used to have a Billboard 1982 cd that I stole from my parents. this was by far my first memory of a song i liked
• Jay Sean's Down: I think this has the highest played rating on my itunes. best song to sing along to i think.
• The Proclaimers, I'm Gonna Be: reminds my of my husband. he dances a little whenever this song is on. at our wedding people went crazy about this song!

• Ben Folds' Luckiest : this song reminds me how wonderful my life is. no matter the day

and that really is the short list! I could go on for a while. a lot of the music i like changes with my mood or time in my life but there are always classics that i come back to. a good song can always make me run faster, smile bigger or give an extra hug. What are your favorites? and why? what makes music meaningful to you?

only a WEEK until the half-marathon. i went to the course on saturday and ran part of the loop backwards so I could get a good feel for the course. can you tell that I ran in college? I know the course well as I have run almost all of my long runs there since we moved to Erie, but I just wanted to make sure. I am getting nervous but i know those nerves will help me go faster. just have to keep it in for 5 miles before I start racing, that will be the tough part. 

it's a friday night tradition in our house to watch a movie or tv shows on friday after work/school. this week was a few episodes of Lost, yes the ABC show that probably no one watched. we have all six seasons. i am on season 5. almost done. i never watched the show when it was on cable, but my husband is getting me caught up. funny thing about the show is that i don't think it makes sense but its addicting! I have to watch the next episode so i know what is going on or who dies. argh. i did not think i would be interested in the show, but here i am almost done with the entire series. and i can't believe it last siz seasons. really. some of the story lines are a bit far fetched. my husband had a roommate in college who used to make fun of him for watching it. he told us that he read that the writers only wrote a few episodes because they thought the show would flop. and i can see why. i will have to finish the series now though, i need to know what happens to the island! 


I have had a lot more time to cook since getting married, perhaps that is how it works. less things to plan, make and coordinate after work. more time to prepare wonderful meals! I recently made a delicious bacon meatloaf. It went over ok with my husband, a few too man onion bits perhaps. i thought it was great. i have been baking a lot of sweets lately too. brownies, cookies, cakes, etc.. i even grill!

I never really learned a lot of basic cooking techniques growing up but i have a new appreciation for good cooking. It relaxes me a lot after a long day. I feel good making a meal and then getting to enjoy the results. I am glad that I have taken an interest in it, it was on my mental list of things to be better at as I got older. I always envisioned myself as a better cook and its good to realize a wish like that. I feel accomplished in some arena that i once only thought about. i have always been a thinker about what i could do better, or start to do. it seems like the older I get the more obtainable this wishes are. that is one of the great parts of growing up.


Alright, sunday at 10:55 pm, I have seen enough of you.


EAA

committed.

That's it. I did it. I tool the plunge.

I signed up for my first half marathon. 

In means of timing, I didn't follow the best timing. 

It's less than 4 weeks away. Even with my current training, fitness level and running log, I might fall behind my goal. Putting my expected finish time was a big realization of how fast my goals are versus the reality of my training. It made me think of my running past and how it has changed. 

A funny thing happened since I graduated college, stop competing at a high level in running and became a road racer, I started to care about running differently. Here I am, a college runner loving every minute of competing. Knowing that every race is an opportunity to beat those other women, proving my hard work is paying off.  I could earn all conference status (a title won but taken away by some coach who said his athlete's do what there expected to do, mind you), a academic all-American status or most valuable runner. Now I race a clock, my previous time or the random runner ahead of me. I don't think I care less, just differently. It's become more selfish, I don't have a team, teammates or a coach. I run because I want to beat myself. There is no college team to race or even all the same people from race to race. I miss that. I miss the consistency of knowing everyone around me was training for the same race, each with our own goals.  I miss being coached full time, now I listen to myself (and Jeff Daniels, sometimes). I miss the long runs spent reminiscing about the glory race or that awful workout. Signing up for a race made me think about all this. I signed up because I wanted to, selfishly trying to reach my own goal without anyone's help. It made me think of all the times that my team trained together, making sure that we could all help each other along the way.  Its hard to make a transition some times. I think it makes it harder when I think about all the things I miss, but it keeps running through my head. I am hoping this race will prove to me that doing it by myself, for myself, is the best reality.

I have been looking for more ways to stay organized lately. With the hassle of moving, putting away things and realizing that I don't have room for 50 pairs of shoes I learned that I need to stay on top of that organization thing. I cam across a great blog about crafty things for your home, and thought I would share the great organizational idea I came across.  I found it on Design Sponge, an all around crafty, inspirational website. They have lots of DIY blogs, products and design ideas. Here is the organizational baskets I am going to try and make! I am excited about the possibilities, you could do so many different colors, change them with the seasons or make any size. I am thinking these would be a great desk organization piece as well.

My sister-in-law is coming for the first time to our new home tonight. I can't wait to show here around Erie, give her the run down on all our activities and then take her to JR's Comedy Club. My husband and I are big fans of comedy, and the comedy club here in Erie is a great local business. Every time we go the comedians are great, the service is fast and friendly and the manager comes out to great everyone as they leave. It is really a well run establishment. We have taken all of our guest that come to visit there so far.
Looking forward to 5 o'clock!

Like most summers, wedding season is in full effect. A recent wedder myself, I can't express how excited I get about weddings. My husband will be a part of another wedding this weekend. He is the best man, and looking forward to sharing the day with his friends. It's such a beautiful day for the couple and their love. If I could have a dream job, I think it would be to plan weddings. The couples are always happy, the industry practically never goes away and there is always some new trend to keep up with. I secretly love looking at wedding sites, even as my perfect wedding is past, the fun of seeing the new colors or designs keeps me interested. I love the creativity that can be expressed through weddings. Perhaps some day, when my job dream comes true I can plan until my heart's desire is met. Until then, I keep the happiest day of my life in my memory.

Until the next post,
EAA