We Survived!

We finished the Cooper River Bridge Run 10k without having to be carried off on a stretcher! I'm so proud that we actually made it...yay us! It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Even the incline of the bridge was manageable. I guess it was all of the adrenaline that pushed us to the end. Now I can check my first ever 10k off the bucket list! I really think I'm addicted now...we're already signed up for a 5k in May. Yay!

By the way, if you are in the Augusta area, this 5k will benefit a friend of the family who is battling breast cancer, as well as a little boy who is battling leukemia. If you're interested in participating you can email/facebook/call me for more information! Spread the word!

Andy, myself, and my mom participated in the race while my dad cheered us on! Our official time was 1:48, however, someone had to stop in the middle of the race to stand in the porta potty line for 15 minutes. Just kidding mom! I'm just picking on you...it really doesn't bother me! I'm at fault too, since I decided to goof off and take pictures of the freaks the whole time. So technically, our time was about an hour and a half for 6.2 miles...not frickin' bad! I ran about half of it and walked the other half because I didn't train for it like I was supposed to. Oh well. The guy who won it was from Kenya and did it in 27 minutes. Freak of nature. I just don't understand how people run that fast! Anyway, we had so much fun and cannot wait until next year!

After the race we hung out in downtown Charleston and celebrated with a pizza binge, adult beverages, and a trip to the cupcake shop. Worth. Every. Calorie. Hey, we burned about 1000 calories during the race, right? We earned it!

Here are a few pics from the race! Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

6:30 am...ready to bring it!

Packed like sardines...ready to start the race

33,000 people... as far as the eye could see

I had so much fun taking pics of all the freaks! Ahahaha!

Mom and I workin' it like a polaroid picture

Andy and I climbing the bridge

Top of the Cooper River Bridge, Charleston SC

Running the last 2 miles in downtown Charleston

Nearing the Finish Line!

Shoes off...binging on pizza and spending time with Mary

Mom taking a picture of us from outside the restaurant...please note the cupcake shop in the reflection. Score.

We ran across this...crazy!

Charleston, SC...the most beautiful city

 

Our weekend abode, Isle of Palms, Charleston, SC

My Favorite Things Friday

One of my friends introduced this stuff to me and I'm addicted to it! It's Smashbox O-gloss, and it's a freakishly cool intuitive lip gloss. It goes on clear and then reacts with your personal skin chemistry to transform into your own custom shade of pink. We were passing it around at work one day, and everyone had a different shade of pink on their lips that matched perfectly to their skin tone! It even kind of temporarily stains your lips, but doesn't make them dry and sticky. It ROCKS! I think I'll even have a giveaway for one once I reach 100 followers. Which means it's time for you lurkers to come out of hiding and click my follow button over there.

Hmmm...now that I've basically made a promise, can anyone give me advice on how to do one of those giveaways that everyone is doing? I'm clueless!


On to other news...well, there's not much going on. I haven't really had anything to write about lately! This Saturday is the ever so anticipated Cooper River Bridge 10k! However, since my dreams were shattered (insert drama here) I stopped training for it. I'm still a bit pissed off about what happened, but hey, what can you do? I made a decision a long time ago that I would never put work before my life and family, but this time I have too much respect for my coworkers to leave them high and dry. In case you have no clue what I'm talking about, you can read about that hormonal rant here. We're still going, but I'll get there late tomorrow night and will walk the race instead of run. I will, however, put in a time off request in the very near future for next year's race. And I will be taking some "my kids are sick" days from here on out. Now I'm getting fired up about it again.

This Saturday also marks the 20 week mark of the virtual pregnancy that has been spinning around in my head and won't. go. away. I'm sure some people say that I need to get over it, but this is how I'm dealing and that's okay with me. I don't even think that Andy understands. I've also been having thoughts about if it was a boy or a girl, and what I would be feeling in my tummy right now. I bet it's the coolest feeling in the world. Bummer.

On to a "this would only happen to me" situation ...my mom and I decided to go get a professional airbrushed spray tan last night so that our pasty white legs would have some color when we don shorts for the race Saturday morning. To our surprise, there was a MAN standing there waiting to spray us down when we got to our appointment. What salon hires a MAN to spray tan clientele that consist of 99% women? Thankfully, he wasn't the least bit interested in our kind (with all due respect), so that eased the tension a little. My mom was about to turn around and walk out of there, but you know me! I don't have any shame! I convinced her to stay and we stood in the booth together with only a bra and panties getting airbrushed and laughing hysterically the entire time. The best part was the air blower to dry us off...there's nothing like the cellulite on your ass flappin' in the wind in front of the world's bravest man. Poor thing probably thought we were laughing at him. Ah, the things we do for beauty. He will probably go running next time he sees us walk into that salon.

Needless to say, we are looking a bit Oompa Loompa today, but atleast we have some color after this long, dreary, and COLD winter! Don't judge!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Pray that we come back with all ligaments and knees intact!

They're Always After Me Lucky Charms

 It's better to spend money like there's no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there's no money. ~ P.J. O'Rourke

So, I was informed today that I am part Irish. k. Thank you little sister for that vital piece of information, as well as the quote above. I have always known that my mother's side has an Irish name, and that my Great Uncle was Grand Marshal in the St. Patrick's Day parade every year...but I guess I never put two and two together. I even have flashbacks of being in the parade with my family when I was little. That's typical of me though. Always in the Land of A.D.D. Since I'm apparently magically delicious, I thought that I would do a shout-out to sweet lil' St. Patty! I love pirates, Gamecocks, and all things inappropriate and vulgar, so my apologies in advance. You can thank my "newfound" Irish family for teaching me how to keep it classy!

(P.S. Go Gamecocks)

                                                                                                                 

For those of you that don't know me very well, I would SO wear this shirt if I could get my hands on it!

And last but not least...a greeting from Andy.

For those of you who don't know my husband, he is OBSESSED with Spongebob. He's made me watch it every Saturday morning for prrrettty much the past 12 years.
 

Andy and Jessica Take Miami and The Keys...Shwing!

We're baaaaack! We had so much fun! We left South Carolina last Thursday after work and stayed in Cocoa Beach, FL that evening. On Friday, we got up and were able to catch a glimpse of the NASA headquarters in Cape Canaveral...which was frickin' awesome! We ended up in Miami a little after lunchtime and got to explore beautiful South Beach. I tried find some celebrities, but apparently they have their own little private beach somewhere. We were going to stay in South Beach, but every. single. hotel. was booked solid because of an International Film Festival going on. So, we moseyed over to downtown Miami and spent the rest of the afternoon there. We ate dinner outside at an AWESOME authentic Italian restaurant. If anyone goes there anytime soon, let me know...I will give you the name of the restaurant!

Since this is a road trip (Andy and Jessica style) we jumped back in the car after dinner and headed further south to the KEYS!!! They were only an hour away from Miami, so we figured what the hell. We arrived in Key Largo a little while later and were able to get a condo at a cute little beachfront resort. On Saturday morning, we got up early and donned the bathing suits...yes, it was 70 degrees, but it felt wonderful compared to the freezing weather we've been having in South Carolina lately. We chilled on our little private beach for about 20 minutes before I was over it and wanted to explore some more.

We found a Tiki Bar on the beach in Islamorada Key so that I could get my strawberry daiquiri fix, and then proceeded to drive through all of the Keys...all the way to Key West! It was an absolutely beautiful drive. We were able to go across the Seven Mile Bridge which was really cool. P.S., I'm obsessed with bridges. In Key West, we saw Ernest Hemingway's house and ate in the backyard of a restaurant where he used to have Cock fights back in the day. Yes, there were actually Gamecocks walking around while we ate lunch! After lunch, we got a little taste of the lighthouse and downtown area before we headed back to our place in Key Largo. We ate dinner at a local thai/sushi restaurant Saturday night...we tore it up! Well, I did anyway. Andy hates seafood, so he settled for some thai beef and veggies.

We had to get up early Sunday to start the drive back home. On the way back, we were able to see the outskirts of the Everglades, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Vero Beach. For the record, swamps are nasty repulsive. I also wasn't aware that wild boars freely roamed the interstates of Florida...you learn something new everyday.

We arrived at the homestead Sunday evening, crashed, and woke up Monday to start another work week. It was quite an adventure to say the least! We had so much fun and we're glad we got to see everything that we did. I highly advise everyone to put it on your bucket list!

Here are some of my favorite pics that we took...thanks to the tripod that Andy got me for Christmas, I think I got some pretty sweet shots! I'm trying to play catch-up with everyone's blogs right now...it's been crazy around here lately. Please know that I am thinking of all of you!

It's My Birthday...Oh, The Places I'll Go!

This time last year, I was celebrating my "Dirty Thirty" which somehow ended with this amazing acrobatic feat in my backyard...

Yep, that's a slip-n-slide...in 40 degree weather...in the RAIN. As you can probably tell, the landing wasn't so graceful either...I believe I did a belly flop onto a tree trunk and deflated my uterus. Must have been the tasty beverages that my friends were forcing me to drink. If you know me, I'm always looking for fun ways to make a fool out of myself.

Here I am, one year later. Thirty freakin' One...how did this happen? I promise that there will be no slip-n-slides this year. I've learned my lesson! However, we are long overdue for a road trip adventure...Jessica & Andy style. This means we hop in the car and just...go. We never know where we are going to sleep or end up, but it's always somewhere fun!

I also want to give a birthday shout out to Bon Jovi and Dr. Seuss...I'm honored to share a birthday with two of the coolest dudes in history!

We'll leave Thursday after work and return Sunday. I wonder where the road will lead us? Any bets on where we end up? Thank God for GPS and Andy's driving skills!

If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.

~Dr. Seuss

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go. Oh! The places you'll go!
~Dr. Seuss





Lol...I couldn't resist...

Map out your future - but do it in pencil. The road ahead is as long as you make it. Make it worth the trip.
~Jon Bon Jovi