I had the most amazing weekend with my family!! I was definitely ready to relax after school got out. Originally, my mom was thinking about coming up my way. She has been on the hunt for something to wear for my sister’s wedding coming up here in August. I had talked to my cousin Cally and she was planning on heading home for Memorial Weekend. I have not seen my cousin for five years, which is crazy because we used to be joint at the hip! It is crazy how life gets as we all grow older,it seems like we just can’t find the time to get together anymore. I need to be better about that! It’s funny though because even though we have not been together for so long it was like yesterday! Her brother Trevor was home too, along with her husband Stevo. We had a great night out catching up!

While I was home, I also got some quality time in with the rest of my family. I wish I were closer to them. My mom and Troy had planned on getting the pool up while I was home but that good old Kansas wind had another idea! We had a BBQ Saturday which turned out amazing! The weather was perfect by the time we started. I spent some time with my dad looking through old family photos.

Monday was a busy day for me, as I also got to have dinner with my Grandma and Grandpa Underhill. It was a special evening as they have been married for 35 years! It was so cute listening to them tell about how my grandpa asked her out and when they started dating. I cannot tell you how special their relationship is and how much I look up to their love!

On Monday my Grandma Bloesser and I spent the day planting flowers and moving around her “craft studio”. I had been wanting to plant a garden a few weeks ago but once we got down to it, I couldn’t believe how much $ goes into starting a garden. Unfortunately I have a card that I am trying to get paid off this summer so I decided not to do it.

I decided I wanted to makeover the flowerpot to something that was more geared towards both of us! I have not played with vinyl on my Cricut yet and decided it might be cool make it into a Nebraska Huskers watering can. Alex did not like the idea of me spray painting anywhere at the house. I was not planning on making a mess but I do know what a mess spray painting can be.

Today we had a BBQ at my Grandma Bloesser’s house since I was home for Memorial Weekend. Grandma taught me how to whip up some fresh squeezed limeade! It was so hot out and we were in need for something refreshing to drink! Mom and I picked up about 10 limes from the store. I think we only used about 6 of them but it is always good to have more than less.

Grandma’s Freshly Squeezed Limeade

Before using a squeezer, take the limes and roll them between your hands until they are soft. This will help get the juices flowing and make them easier to squeeze. After each lime is soft, cut them in half and use a squeezer to get all the juice you can get out of each lime. Toss the squeezed limes in the pitcher.

We had quite a bit of juice from 6 limes so we sat the other ones aside. We added cold water and some sugar to the pitcher and mixed it up good. (This is where you would add the corn syrup but we were out so we just used sugar.) Start with less sugar because you can always add more. Luckily if we would have used too much sugar we had 4 more limes on standby. There is not a specific amount of sugar to add so just add to taste, pour over ice and enjoy!!

So yesterday I crossed a major milestone.  I ran my first half marathon!  Most people think I am crazy, but those out there who have had the pleasure of learning to love running don’t!  I was never a big runner until my best friend, Laura motivated me to try it.  I remember hating to run when I was in school and I was never very good at it.  I ran the 200 m dash in track back in 7th grade but I was not good at it.  I was just trying it out.  I wish I would have gotten into cross country in high school because I think I would have really enjoyed it!

The first race I ran was in July of 2011.  I ran it with Tracey and Roger

I remember thinking while I was running that I was NEVER going to be able to do a half marathon.  I probably should have started off with a 5K but I was trying to challenge myself.  I did run it in 58:34 which was a pretty good pace for me!  It was good to get my first race under my belt!

I did my second race in March the next year.  Tracy is a track star, so I did not keep up with her but it was liberating to do another race.  It was the Diva Dash in Leawood.  I was surrounded by motivating women and it was a cool experience!

The next race was in May here in Kansas City.  I had heard about the Warrior Dash the year before from one of my friends that had ran it in Tulsa and it sounded like so much fun!  Now this is not a normal race, as it is a 5K with obstacles.  It was really hot and we were signed up for the 2:00 heat, but we made it through!  Alex, Matt, Heather, Tracey, and Roger ran this race with me.  It was pretty hard core!  We swam through swampy water, climbed walls, and ran through fire among many other obstacles!  I wanted to run it again this year but we got back from the Dominican on late Friday and the race was scheduled for the 27th of April this year so we did not get a chance to do it.

Post race <3

Last March I got the opportunity to run the Diva Dash again with some teachers from my school!  It was a fun experience and hopefully we can start forming teams for more races!

I was originally going to run my first half with the bestie, Laura.  Her hubby ended up getting a promotion and job offer in New Mexico and they had a lot on their plate to get the move going!  We decided it would be better to find another one later to run together when things calmed down and they got all moved.  I had already started training and thought maybe I still wanted to do a race before then.  So I bit the bullet and signed up for here in Olathe so I could keep motivated and keep my training going.  I am glad  I did it and it feels great to be able to say I did it.

I am so happy to continue my running journey!  I am looking forward to finding some races to do this summer.  If you aren’t a runner, don’t say you couldn’t do it.  I thought the same thing and I have just accomplished running something I would have never dreamed I would be able to do and it feels great!  Running is such a great stress reliever and if you have never really given it a shot, I challenge you to get out there and try it out!  Start small and build yourself up!  I can remember the first time I ran 3 miles without stopping…then 7….then 10!  It feels amazing!

Happy Running!!

So despite things being pretty crazy in my life lately…I felt like I needed to have a little blog post about my babies! I thought it would be fun to go through some pictures to reminisce a bit. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am crazy about my babies! I have been since the day I got them. After graduating from college I decided it was time to get a dog. Chloe was the cutest baby!! We spent every minute together. Chloe has taught me so much about life. I love her more than anything and I cannot imagine what life will be like when she is not with me anymore. I hate to think about it but I know that it is inevitable so I make sure to treasure every moment I have with her. She is such a sweet spirit and so full of energy. She doesn’t want to miss out on anything!

Even at 8 years old, Chloe would play all day long if she could! Don’t get me wrong…she loves her nap time but even when she is sleeping she will wake up alert to the sound of a toy! Chloe loves her toys. She knows their names and will go get the. If you ask her to. She goes through her favorites but she never seems to forget one! She is very smart and such a sweetheart!

She definitely loves her mama as she is always by my side. I can remember a time this year when I was sick and in bed for almost 4 days straight and she didn’t leave my side!  Chloe doesn’t only take care of me, but she also takes care of her baby sister, Mia. I had Chloe for about 9 months before I was itching for another one. (I always say Shitzus are like Pringles you can’t just have one!) I felt bad leaving her in the kennel when I was at work all day and I just knew she needed a friend. So along came Mia in March of 2006. I got her from the same breeder that I got Chloe but different parents. Originally I wanted a black and white Shitzu to compliment Chloe’s brown and white coat. The lady I got them from said she had some rare all black Shitzus that I might like.

I was in love! Mia was jut as sweet as could be. Having a second dog sounded so overwhelming to everyone but I was up for the challenge. It did not go quite how I had expected though. Chloe did not seem to mind having a friend but Mia was not “bonding” with me like a normal pup would. When I got her she had ear mites and I had to give her drops and she HATED that! She would growl at me and wouldn’t really come to me. I even called the breeder and told her I wasn’t sure it was going to work. I didn’t want to get rid of her but it was almost like she didn’t like me! It was heartbreaking but we made it through and now she is quite the mama’s baby!

It’s funny how different they are though. Chloe is bouncy an bubbly and very social and Mia reminds me more of a sloth! She is lazy and rarely likes to play. She has her moments but she is kind of a snot! I always say she’s more like a cat trapped in a doggy body! She loves to lay in the window and sunbathe while she sleeps her whole days away!

Mia may be lazy but she is definitely ready to get into trouble. Last summer we grilled a ton of chicken quarters for supper. We went out to toss the softball around for awhile outside. When we walked in the door I chewed Alex out for giving Chloe a chicken bone. He was like I didn’t give her anything. Turns out little Miss Mia got up on a chair and hopped up on the table and devoured all of the chicken. Chloe got caught red handed but I am convinced she was just finishing what Mia had started. Either way, both dogs had eaten ALL but 2 of the 8 chicken quarters that were on the table…bone and all! We were pissed but I was more worried than mad because here my little babies just are a bunch of chicken bones! That is one thing I knew they were not supposed to have in case they choked! There was nothing I could do for them and I could tell Mia had her fair share because she didn’t act like she felt well at all.

Needless to say I did not sleep well that night; not did we get leftovers for lunch the next day! I was still serving at Red Lobster at the time and Alex was home with the dogs the next day. They made it through the night ok so I figured we were out of the woods. Alex was working in his office that morning and he heard Chloe screaming and screeching for help. When he got downstairs Mia was on the couch in a puddle of vomit and chicken bones. He said she was unresponsive and he picked her up and she fell back and whatever was lodged in her throat came out. For a minute he said he thought to himself…”I’m going to have to put my mouth on this dog!” Luckily there was no need for the hemlich and it all worked out. I was so relieved to find out that she was okay and that Chloe helped save the day! She’s my own little Lassie dog!

Alex says that they are the ying and yang of my personality. Chloe is my perky side and Mia is my lazy (and occasionally bitchy!) side. I cannot imagine not having them both! They are truly like my kiddos and I love them unconditionally.  If you have a pet I can imagine you know the feeling and it is amazing!  Mia is sitting in my lap right now as I am typing this up!