Happy Valentine's Day!

"I really 'DIG' you Valentine!"   

Easy Weeknight Taco Soup

My family will probably tell you I make this way too much, but it's easy, cheap and quick. It makes a great last minute, throw together meal (which is usually how I cook) and only uses one pot. Oh yeah, and it taste good too! Here is the recipe:
2 lbs. hamburger
1 packet of taco season mix
1 small onion, diced
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of black beans, drained
1 can of corn
1 can of diced tomatoes

Brown the hamburger meat in large pot. Add the taco season packet. Combine. Add onions and cook until onions are soft. Add cans of kidney beans, black beans, corn and diced tomatoes. Cook on medium to low heat for approximately 15 minutes or until slowly boiling. Serve in bowls and top bowls of soup with desired toppings. We like shredded cheese, sour cream and crushed tortilla chips. My husband likes to add jalapenos too!

Dry Erase Calendar

 I custom made this cute Dry Erase Calendar as a special request for the store, Belles and Beaus Boutique, that I sell some of my things in. I think it turned out to be one of my new favorite things. You can write on it with a dry erase marker and simply wipe it clean and start over every month (or throughout the month if you schedule is anything like mine.....always changing!)

My husband has a crazy work schedule so I'm always having to cross out things on my paper calendar and re-write them on different dates. This kills my OCD self and I've learned to write it all down in pencil, but you can still see the marks even after you erase it!

And this calendar is 16x20 so there is plenty of room to get it all on there!! You can find more details about it on my Facebook store here. And right now you can enter to win a chance for a $30 gift card! Go to facebook.com/blueliliesdesigns to get more details in how you can enter to win!

My first half marathon is in the books!

I did it!!

With an official time of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 49 seconds I completed my first half marathon! 

Let me start at the beginning. I started prepping a week before the race. My race was on Sunday, January 27th and unfortunately on the Sunday prior to my race I got food poisoning. But I quickly got over it and on Monday I started drinking as much water as I could throughout the day. My tumbler was full of water and by my side for the next 6 days. I knew hydrating myself was going to be crucial. I ran my final run on Wednesday. I ran 6 miles and then rested for the rest of the week. On Thursday I started carbing up. I didn't over do it, but didn't feel bad eating those carbs either. I had pasta for dinner Thursday night, spaghetti for dinner Friday night and then pizza for dinner on Saturday night before the race. So at that point I had the carbs and water covered. I also drank a few Gatorades on Friday and Saturday to get those extra electrolytes. 

The week before my race my friend, who I was suppose to run the race with, decided that for many reasons she was not going to be able to run it. I totally understood, but she was my partner for my first race so I was a little bummed we couldn't run this one together too. BUT, my amazing husband immediately stepped up and volunteered to "run it with me." He had not been training for a race, so I was a little hesitant. But he was the one who got me into running 2 years ago after he ran his first FULL marathon. So I knew he was capable, but still nervous for him. He assured me he would take it easy and start out with me but did not plan on keeping up with me. This meant the world to me! I was already a little nervous about the race and the thought of having to do it all by myself was something I didn't want to do. So I was so grateful when he came to my rescue.

On Saturday my Mom and sister-in-law helped the girls make signs to hold up for us. They were so excited to do this!

Saturday night we went to bed around 9:00, but it was a very restless night for me with not a whole lot of sleep. We had to wake up at 4:45 a.m. We were on the road shortly after 5. I had grabbed some greek yogurt, a banana and some Gatorade to eat on the way there. We had about a 40 minute drive there so it gave me some time to wake up, eat and get my nerves calmed. But honestly, I wasn't that nervous. We got parked easily and headed to the event. I wanted to go ahead and go to the bathroom and thankfully I did because the line was CRAZY and getting through the line took up most of the time until it was race time. 7:00 was race time. I was ready to go! Actually, I was ready to get it over with!! I wanted to conquer this and get it behind me.

We started the race and the hubby and I stayed together for about a mile. It was so crowded and hard to navigate through the people that we lost each other pretty quickly. I was kind of upset because I didn't get to tell him goodbye or good luck, but thankfully in the beginning there were a couple of loops where we got to pass by each other and give each other a high five and thumbs up. It was just what I needed to keep me going. 

 The first 6 miles felt great and went by so quickly. They were also the most emotional. I was so happy and in awe that I was getting to run this race, laughed when I saw some of the amazing signs the crowd was holding up, near tears when I saw the children holding up signs for their parents, and dancing when my girls favorite song "Call Me Maybe" came on my playlist. THEN, I knew my parents, girls and sisters-in-law were right past the 6 mile marker and my excitement was growing. I couldn't wait to see them! At this point I was running a pace of 9:43-9:54. I was so happy with that because I wanted to stay around a 10 minute pace but felt I was going much slower.

Finally around mile 6 I saw my family. What a beautiful sight it was! 

 

(Here are 2 of the 6 of them)

I had originally planned on stopping to take a picture with them, but they were on the other side of the road so I couldn't really get to them. However, the hubby made a stop to get some love.

 I soon after stopped for a quick bathroom break. This threw me off for a little bit. It was hard for me to get back into it. Plus after mile 6 the fans kind of disappeared and the scenery wasn't nearly as great. But by mile 7 I was going again. Then around mile 8 there were 2 slight hills. That was another hurdle, but I got through it. Mile 10 is where I hit my wall. During my training I was only able to get up to 10 miles and my body knew it. Thankfully around mile 10 is where I crossed paths with hubby again. He encouraged me and gave me that fuel I needed. At this point I had not stopped to walk except for 4 water stops to grab a quick swallow of water and a bathroom break and I was not about to walk now! I knew I was about to see my family again around mile 11 so I kept going with the anticipation of seeing my girls. It was amazing how they were at the miles I needed to see them the most. When I saw them I was still at such a great pace I couldn't make myself stop. So I got high fives and the encouragements I needed to get me to mile 12.

 I knew I was so close but I was struggling pretty bad. I kept up the pace, but I was hurting. At the end of the race we turned off of the main road and headed down the entrance to the University of Houston at Sugar Land to the finish line. Once I turned down University Road I started sprinting. It might have been a quarter of a mile, but I ran as fast as my legs would allow me. I crossed that finish line with a lump in my throat. I was first of all amazed to see that the clock said 2 hours and 9 minutes because my goal was to be under 2 hours and 30 minutes and then my second goal was to maintain a 10 minute mile pace for at least half of the race and I knew I was under that for the whole race. I actually ran to the finish line so fast that my family had just made it there when they heard my name announced. 

 

It felt so amazing when they put that medal on my neck. And then to see my parents and girls was such an emotional moment. It was so special to have them there. 

Me and my Dad. (I sadly didn't get a picture with my Mom)

 My biggest fans!

After I finished, stretched and drank some water we headed over to the tents and got some goodies and snacks. Then we headed over to the finish line to wait for hubby to come in. His sister and sister-in-law were waiting at mile 11 to see him and let us know when he was getting close. They finally called and so once we spotted him the girls and I went and ran the rest of the way in with him. 

 

His time was 3 hours and 3 minutes. I was so proud of him and amazed that he ran a half marathon with no training! And I am even more thankful we got to do this together.

 

 

I am so thankful God has given me the ability to run because 2 1/2 years ago I would have told you there was no way I could ever do it. And I am also thankful for my amazing family. They truly made it an amazing experience.

 

 

What makes me happy?

 

Vacuum lines in the carpet and the fact that my parents are on their way from Alabama to support me in my first half-marathon and celebrate L's 6th birthday make me happy!

Am I the only crazy (OCD-ish) person that thoroughly enjoys a freshly vacuumed room?

Another one bites the dust!

 

I can't believe this baby is about to turn 6 in 2 1/2 weeks and just lost her 2nd tooth tonight.

Where in the world does time go? It really is true that the older you get, the faster time goes. And although she is not a baby anymore, it still makes me smile when she says "Mom, do you 'dial'  your hair?" (dial=dye/dyed) It is the last "baby word" she has and I can't dare correct her. She'll learn sooner or later what we dye our hair and not dial it, but for now my baby can say whatever she wants!

5 days until race day

Only 5 more days until my first half marathon. I'm a little bit excited, and a little bit nervous. I am so excited to finally be able to check this off of my bucket list and add that 13.1 sticker to my car that my sweet sister gave me for Christmas. And I'm mostly nervous because I haven't been able to train like I had intended.
A couple of weeks ago I started getting these weird "spots" on my skin that you couldn't see but felt like a burning rash. I had just talked to a lady about her husband having shingles and it sounded very similar to what I was experiencing. So I kept waiting on these horrible rashes to appear and nothing ever did. It started with one on my stomach and then one on my back then those went away and I had a spot on my arm, then my hand and then my leg. They were uncomfortable, but not unbearable so I just waited and waited for them to either go away or turn into something more. Nothing every appeared, but one day my body just hurt. I felt like I had the body aches you experience with the flu but had no other flu symptoms. I called a few doctors to see if I could get in to see what was going on but since I had never gone to the doctor in the 4 years we have lived here no one could take a new patient until Monday and it was a Thursday. So I took the next available appointment for Monday morning. The next day it was even worse. I felt very fatigued as well. After laying in the bed all afternoon my husband decided I needed to go to Urgent Care. It was a Friday and he didn't want me to be in pain all weekend. So off we went and after all of my bloodwork came back clear and she insisted it couldn't be shingles because of the patterns of my "spots", she wrote me a prescription for an antihistamine and steroids.
It seemed to be helping because I felt much better the next day, but Sunday experienced the soreness again. So I kept my appointment for Monday and went and saw another doctor. He asked me a whole slew of questions and looked me over and determined that my symptoms weren't really pointing to an obvious problem. So he sent me up to have some extensive bloodwork done......9 different panels of bloodwork! But I was feeling so good I decided I would wait until my medication ran out and then determine if it had "healed" me or was back to square one. That Thursday was my last day of medication and spent the whole day in uncomfortable soreness and pain in my muscles and joints. I decided at that point it was best to go ahead and get the bloodwork done to help figure out what exactly was going on. And that is where I am now. I had the bloodwork done Friday and I am now waiting to hear back.
All of that to say I haven't been doing a whole lot of running the past couple of weeks. On top of not feeling good, it seemed to constantly be a dreary, drizzly (or pouring) rainy day around here. But after going to the doctor on Monday and getting the ok I knew I didn't have a choice. I was going to do this race one way or another. I had been planning for it, training for it and determined to "get 'er done!" And actually the runners block had disappeared and I was itching to get back out there. So on Wednesday I told my husband I was going to go on an easy 2 mile run but it felt so good I ended up running 3 miles. Then on Friday I ran 4 miles and Sunday ran 5 miles. After my run Sunday I quickly determined I had my first case of food poisoning. I will save you the details, but it was not pretty. It kind of set me back again, but tomorrow I am determined to get in a good 6 miles and then I think I'm going to take it easy until Sunday. I've been hydrating up with lots of water this week and I have my outfit and new running shoes ready to go. So I think I'm going to be ready to go. I have to go pick up my race packet this week and then keep hydrating and carb up the few days before the race. I am ready and I know I CAN DO THIS!

My running mantra:
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. -Philippians 4:13

BLT Dip and a little Roll Tide!

For those of you who know us, we love a little thing called Alabama Football. My husband eat, sleeps and breathes it and tends to associate dates with Alabama football games. We have an "Alabama room" in our house and my poor daughter whose birthday is in September will never be allowed to have her parties on Saturdays because those are reserved for football. All of that to say when Alabama played in the National Championship Monday night it was a big deal at our house. We have converted all of our neighbors into Alabama fans because we are sitting outside watching the game in the garage with a tent full of food in the driveway every Saturday in the fall and you can bet everyone comes over. Monday night was no exception. We piled our friends and family in our garage (aka "The Man Cave").

We cooked and put out our BAMA decorations and then watched The University of Alabama stomp Notre Dame to become the National Champions for the 2nd year in a row. ROLL TIDE! (Sorry, had to get that in there somewhere!)

 What was ALMOST as big of a hit as Alabama winning was this BLT Dip I made. 

It was from a Betty Crocker recipe I found and it was A-MAZING! It will be making an appearance again and again I think because it was a big hit and went FAST! And in addition, it was so easy to make. Here is the recipe:

1 pound bacon, cooked

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

1 tomato, seeded and chopped (I used 2 of those small Roma tomatoes)

1/4 cup chopped green onions 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix mayonnaise, sour cream, and cream cheese in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Crumble bacon into mixture and stir. Add cheddar cheese, green onions, and tomato and mix well. Pour into a shallow dish or pie pan and bake for 20 minutes or until bubbling. Garnish with additional green onions, tomato, and crumbled bacon. Serve with corn chips.

Free Clothes and Running Funk

I can't believe it but my half marathon is less than 3 weeks away! I have been in such a running "funk" that I'm starting to not feel prepared. I don't know if its the constant rainy, dreary weather or the busy holiday season we just got through but I just don't feel like running. Actually, 2-5 mile runs sound great but when my training schedule calls for 10, 11, 12 mile runs I just don't want to do it. I'm up to 10 miles now but making myself do it again has proven to be tough.
Actually, the 2 things that have me excited about running are my new running shoes and my new, FREE running outfit! I actually got a FREE jacket and pants from Old Navy a few weeks ago through crowdtap. Crowdtap is a marketing-type website where you answer questions (called quickhits) and the more you answer the higher your status and the more opportunities you have to sample products. My first sample was through Woolite. I got 10 samples of a new detergent for darks. Very cool, but my latest sample was even better! I got to pick 1 top and 1 bottom from Old Navy's activewear line. FOR FREE! So I went shopping and tried on a few different running outfits with my half marathon in mind. The selection wasn't too big, but I was kind of narrowed down by looking for something appropriate for my race.

I did have fun trying on different looks and styles!

I settled on a black jacket and black cropped pants. What I like about this outfit is the jacket is light, so it will provide some warmth since my race is in January, but I'm not going to have to take it off after the first mile. And its all sweat absorbant so no nasty sweat stains and it keeps the sweat off your body. Yay for free, awesome running clothes! Thanks crowdtap! If you're interested in joining crowdtap, click here. It's not time consuming and its really easy.

I ended up getting this shirt too! It was only $6 and I love a good bargain. I couldn't pass it up!

Happy New Year!

It's 2013! Happy New Year!
I can't believe it is 2013. This year holds so many great things for me and my family. To name a few, my first half marathon is only a few weeks away, my husband and I celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary in March and in May I turn 30!! I know these are just a few of the amazing things God has in store for me this year and I can not wait to see what kind of blessings He pours out upon us.

Now that the holidays are over and things are somewhat back to normal (minus my house still full of Christmas decorations) I wanted to share one of my Christmas projects I made this year. I included a picture of my floating wreath chandelier in my last blog and wanted to share how I made it.

 

 

I started with a package of ornaments, a small wreath, ribbon and fishing line.

 



I took the fishing line and tied it to the ornaments then tied the other end to the wreath. I held the wreath under my chandelier to see how long I wanted the ornaments to hang. I tied all 4 ornaments to the wreath and made them various lengths.



Then I took the ribbon and wrapped it around the wreath.

To make the bow I started with the tail at one end and made a loop on the other end. Then I went back and forth spacing each loop away from the other. Finally after all of my loops filled up each side I took the other tail and wrapped it around the center and knotted it in the center.

 

Finally, tie fishing line on the wreath and then tie it to your chandelier.