Hayden At 7 Months!

So Sweet...and check out those cute little toes!
Amy & Hayden

He was so content just laying on a blanket and playing

Today, Amy and Hayden came over to visit. It had been two months since I had seen them and it was so nice to see how much he had grown and all his new "tricks" that he has learned. Glad you guys came over!!

Ran That 10k, All The Way!

Andrea & I before the race

Andrea, stretching after the race

Me, stretching after the race

Striking a pose...I could hardly bend my knees...I guess that is what running six miles does to ya when your not use to it!

Wow, tenth place! Woo Hoo!

This pic really shows my time card good at tenth place

Andrea, pretending to eat the cookie...but it still makes a cute pic!

Me, eating an apple...and I am not pretending...I was STARVING!

Josh's dad helped put together the entire race.

Everything turned out really nice.

Andrea and I with the band in the background

The band's tip jar, demo tapes, and other information.

I thought it was a cute idea.

So last Tuesday I was driving home from work and talking to my friend, Andrea. We chatted awhile about all sorts of things and then she told me she was running a race on Saturday morning. I asked with much enthusiasm, "what race?" She told me that she was running in the 31st annual 10k Lake Hartwell Dam run. I asked her if registration was still open and she said she believed so. So, checked when I got home and sure enough registration was still open so I went ahead and registered online. I called Andrea back and told her that I had registered. We were both so excited to be running our second race together (our first was the Zooma Atlanta half marathon back in November)!

I warned Andrea up front that I had not been running on a regular basis since the half marathon, but that I had been doing some cross-training on the elliptical and so forth. Andrea was so encouraging, which is one thing I love about her...she just knows how to give you a boost when you need it, and she told me that I would do just fine. She was right! I was expecting to give out of breath around mile 4 or 5 (a 10k is 6.2 miles...if you were wondering), but I had plenty of wind and energy the whole race. We had great weather and a wonderful race. I placed tenth in my age division (25-29) and Andrea placed fourth in her age division (20-24). We are not exactly sure how many people were in our age divisions because they only posted 1st-12th place on the results board but we think there were only four people in Andrea's age division because there were only four cards posted. Andrea and I ran the entire race together and finished in 1:04:07. All-in-all, I'd say that's a pretty good time...especially for me pretty much "winging" it! I'm proud of myself and I'm proud of Andrea. This race has encouraged me to train harder for my next half marathon coming up.

After the race, Andrea and I stayed to take pics, eat, listen to the band (her boyfriend, Josh, and his band played at the pavilion) and watch the awards ceremony. After hearing all about Josh, this was the first time I had actually met him. His band sounded so good...no, seriously...they sound so much better than most bands that I have heard. They play mostly Rock music, but play other types of music like Christian as well. It was nice getting to finally hear them play!

Kayla's Baby Shower

Look at all the pretty gifts!

Adam & Kayla...how sweet!

The scrapbook page I made for Kayla.

Handy women, Michelle & Lexy to the rescue!

The great grandmothers (MaryAnn & Mom)

The delicious cake

The scrapbook page I made for Kayla & Adam to welcome their little girl, Elizabeth.

I just love this poem. It is so sweet.

I love this one of mom and Michelle! What in the world was so funny?!

The mound of diapers from mom (Kathleen)

The diaper mound once again

Judy, mom, & me

Aunt Betty & mom

Another shot of Adam & Kayla

Mother & Son

Kayla & me

For those of you who do not know, my Nephew, Adam, and his wife, Kayla, are having a little girl. She is only about one month away from her due date. This past weekend, our side of the family had a baby shower for her. This shower was very different than most of the showers that I have been attending lately (both on my side of the family & Brooks' side of the family); Specifically, this shower did not contain any boy "stuff"! It seems like almost everyone in our family has a little boy, but not this time! So, needless to say, it was fun getting to see all the girly stuff for a change. Kayla and Adam got a wide range of gifts from a stroller / car seat all-in-one contraption to a newborn bath tub to diapers and lotions and ointments (all essentials). All-in-all, the shower was a success!

There was also no shortage of food at the shower...and if you know me, you know that shower food is my FAVORITE! Before the shower, Mom, Judy, and I were setting out the food that we brought and it was all I could do not to nibble while we worked! Everything looked so good! Everyone in our family pitched in and brought something, so no one person had to do all the work. Mom made the punch (which was so delicious), a cream cheese danish, and one more thing that I cannot remember at the moment...hey, the shower was over a week ago! I made a grape salad. Many other family members brought food, too. Everything was delectable!

Congratulations, to Adam and Kayla! We love you and are so happy for you both!

The "Skinny" Solution

Julie, Brittani, & Me
Brittani, all wrapped up and getting soaked in the "skinny" solution

She had to work out for an hour all wrapped up like this...kuddos to you, Brit!

And the results are in...time to get measured!

Well we girls had a really good time in the big Atl. this past weekend. Amongst the activities was a pit-stop by the famous Slender Tone. This is a really neat place that performs all sorts of spa-type procedures but among the most popular are their various slenderizing wraps that have been featured on Tyra Banks, Oprah, Rachel Ray, The View, and many newspapers and news shows throughout the country. These wraps are very famous and they claim that you will loose inches because the solution that they soak you in actually gets absorbed by your body and shrinks your fat cells. Hummm...I've been needing something like this for years! Ha ha.

Brittani decided that she would get the slenderizing wrap procedure done after our friend, Yanna, had it done last year. It turned out good for Yanna, so Brittani decided to give it a go. Julie and I just tagged along for moral support...and to scope out this almost too good to be true procedure. I will say that I was skeptical, but I will also say that the end product was rewarding for Brittani...she lost a total of 13 inches! The inches are guaranteed to stay off for up to three months so long as you don't go and eat McDonald's everyday! There is no special workout regimen that you need to follow either...you just need to be cautious of how many calories that you take in.

The procedure itself takes about two hours (this includes getting wrapped, getting saturated with a special solution, exercising for one hour, and getting all cleaned up). Julie and I had fun watching Brittani get doused in the solution and it was fun seeing her all wrapped up like a mummy, too! Good thing Brittani was our Guinea pig...ha ha. Once Brittani got soaked in the solution, she had to workout for one hour so, Julie and I did some window shopping.

Afterwards, we all headed to a really upscale shopping center to browse and to have lunch at Jason's Deli. During lunch, we were all just talking about the wrap and Julie said the funniest thing to Brittani...she said so very seriously, "You look rough". Brittani and I busted out laughing because it was just too comical. You would have had to be there to understand why this was so funny but I will try to explain it. Here goes...well, first, Brittani wasn't wearing any makeup because you cannot wear makeup when having the wrap done and second, the procedure really relaxes you and sort of makes you look like you just woke up for several hours afterwards. So, Julie did not mean "rough" in a bad way, but rather in just a very tired/wiped out sort of way...but still, it was all too funny!! And Brittani's shocked facial expression said what she thought, "Well, thanks a lot!" Hee Hee Hee! Thanks for a fun trip girls, it was a blast!