To Be a Kid

Remember what it was like to be 8 years old? Summer's were all about being outside till late and not having a care in the world. On Thursday's Andy plays softball, so does my brother. Before the game, my nephew Logan and I went walking around the park to get some Ring Pops and for a little swing action. 

He is one of my favorite people in this whole world. 

6 full months

Well we are halfway through 2010. Can you believe it?! Neither can I. I decided I should do a check in on how I was doing on my 2010 goals. So lets get this started:

#1 Meal Planning. Every week I have had a menu, thanks to A for some help too! This was probably the easiest one to keep up on.

#2 Get Fit. Can a girl brag for a minute? I have been working out 5-6 days a week since January 4th. I have since ran 2 5ks and 1 trail run. I am signed up to do the Chicago Urbanathlon in October with friends that I have made at the gym. I believe I am in the best shape I have ever been. I didn't take pictures when I first started (I regret that!!)

This was taken the beginning of March

and here is today

Lets see what 5 more months will do! 

#3Learn to Sew. Yea not so much-But hey, I still have 5 months! HA!

#4 Pay off School Loans. Almost there!!!

#5 Read 50 Books. While I think I am a little behind I have 22 books under my belt! Any good summer reads? I am wait for the Chelsea Handler books at my library and I want to read The Help but I'm up for any suggestions! One of my favorite books this year-Unwind

#6 Make a 101 things in 1001 Days List. Ugh... I kinda forgot about this one. I think I have actually done some of the things I wrote down originally (like run a 5k, and volunteer) I will work on that list this week and will have it up one day this month!

Overall I am happy with my goals. What about you? If you set goals for 2010, have you been keeping up on them?

Pre-Wedding Parties

This weekend my good friend Heather came up to Cincy for her bachelorette party and bridal shower.

It's hard to believe 2 years ago Heather came up here to celebrate my bachelorette party! 

Her sister planned it all out and did an awesome job! We had a blast!

Meagan and I 

All the girls ready to get in the limo

The party in the limo

We had a VIP table at Black Finn

Us with the bride to be

It was a long night-we stayed out till 3! The next day was her bridal shower.

It was nice to see everyone was a live and made it to the shower =)

Heather's family hosted such a wonderful shower. 

Meagan and I got her a chip and dip set and pitcher from Sterling Cut Glass. We got their initials engraved on the glass. I had to call and switch the letters. See her name is Heather and his is Erick, their name name starts with an O. Can you already figure it out. Yes, at first it was going to be engraved HOE. I'm glad I realized it before it was too late! Everyone thought it would of been pretty funny. 

Heather is getting married next month in Punta Cana, DR. I can't wait to see her pictures and live vicariously through her! Her Cincy reception will be in September. 

CMA Fest 2010

I've been a slacker! Two weekends ago I went down to Nashville, TN to visit a friend and join in on some CMA Fest fun. As always, Heather was a great host. She and her soon to be husband really knew how to make us feel at home. We had some great home cooked meals and homemade cocktails! We even went for a much need massage. It was a super relaxing weekend.

Friday night we went down to LP field to listen to some country! We went to see Julianne Hough, Reba, Josh Turner, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, and Kid Rock! It was a blast!

It was very hot, but that didn't stop me from wearing my boots!

Saturday we ran in the CMA Road Race 5k. This was my 3rd race and their first. It was a super hot day, I'm talking 100*!! 

Here we are before the race:

Looking a little sleepy from the concert the night before

Finishing the race strong

Heather and Meagan coming in!

We did it! 

 At first I was a little disappointed in myself, I had to walk for a short time :( 

But I did come in at #140 out of 800 (40th woman to finish!) and #10 in my age group. After seeing my results I was happy. 

My time was 26:30

Heather and Meagan came in at 49:20-I am so happy they did this with me!

On Sunday, we went down to the Nashville Farmers Market. 

Oh my goodness, there were so many wonderful things there!

I came home with some  pole beans, potatoes, and peaches. I love buying from farmers market's. It's so nice to talk to the people who grow the food. 

That was my weekend! It is so nice to get away with girlfriends. 

Next time I'll see Heather is this weekend at her bachelorette party and bridal shower here in Cincy-can't wait!

Happy Birthday...

to the man I'm still madly in love with after 8 years...

to my cowboy who hated country music 8 years ago...

to my ice skating partner every winter...

to my New Years  kiss every year...

to my lake buddy who will one day learn to wake board...

to the man who melts my heart when he smiles...

to the man who loves the islands as much as I do... 

to the man who vowed to love me until death do us part...

Happy 26th birthday to my amazing husband! Here's to 100 more!! 

Pickin' Berries to Make Jelly

 Yesterday A & I went out to a local farm to pick strawberries. I remember doing this as a little girl with my grandparents, but it has been many years since! It was a very warm day but we stuck it out and picked out berries!

Finding the perfect berries 

Working on my first quart

Delicious looking berry.

Done picking! Ready to go home and make some jelly-just like my grandpa used to do! 

6lbs of strawberries

A quick photo of everything you need. 

First you have to mash them up-enough for 2 cups

Then you add 4 cups (!!!) of sugar and mix together. Let it sit for 10 minutes-stirring occasionally 

Then add one packet of pectin (I used Certo) and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (mix together in a separate bowl then add to the berries) Once you mix in the pectin and lemon juice  mixture stir the berries for 3 minutes.

Add the jelly to your jars.

Seal the jars and let them sit at room temperature for 24 hours. After that you can either put a jar in the fridge (good for 3 weeks) or freeze them (good for a year). We did this 4 times. 6lbs of berries made about 14 jars-all varying sizes. This was so easy to make! I can't wait to make jars using other fruits. Have you made any jellies before? What's your favorite home-made jellies?

We grew up on this jelly-I will only eat PB&J's with strawberry jelly and A thinks that is weird =). I can't wait to try it, I'm sure it will bring back childhood memories.