Monday, December 31, 2012

Remembering 2012

2012 has been quite the year.  At the start, I was an ESOL teacher, lived with my parents, and had an awesome boyfriend.  Now on the last day of the year, I am a 1st grade teacher, I moved out of my parents' house, and I have an amazing husband.  I'd say 2012 was pretty great.  :]

In the spring I took up running (might have had something to do with the cool guy I was dating...) and ran 3 different 5k's between May and September.  It was great fun and I really enjoyed challenging my body like that.

My first 5k on Memorial Day.

I had three different positions this year.  After being displaced from my ESOL position, I worked as a parapro in a level one autism class for a few months.  I knew that it wasn't the place for me, though, so I was very excited when I was hired to teach first grade starting in October.  Great kids, great school...what more can you ask for?

The biggest thing that happened this year was, of course, getting married to my best friend, whom you all know as "Mr. Biz."  We got engaged on my birthday...it was simple and beautiful and just want I wanted.  Several months of wedding planning and a little bit of stress later, we got married on December 15th.  Once again, it was simple, beautiful, and exactly what I wanted.  I can't wait to share pictures once I get them.

Holding hands around the door before we were allowed to see each other.
After the wedding we spent a wonderful honeymoon outside of Asheville, NC.  We loved the solitude and relaxation that came with our little cabin (plus a great hot tub), and the opportunity to eat some delicious grub in Asheville. 

Hiking near our cabin in NC.
We are so happy to be married.  We've spent the rest of our Christmas break getting settled into our home and doing things like hanging up curtains, spending time with our families, and celebrating my man's birthday.  It has been great and wonderful, and I don't think I can come up with many more adjectives to describe our December.  :]



On New Years Day of 2012, I told Mr. Biz that "2012 is going to be our year."  I was definitely right.  So here's to 2013.  We're excited to face this next year together.

Monday, October 8, 2012

I am living.

Hi everyone. 

Yes, I am still alive.  Don't worry.

Photographic proof of my existence.
For some reason this whole "working, planning a wedding, and having a social life" thing has kept me pretty busy.  Who would've known.

So, to get you up to date:
-I am getting married in 68 days, or 9ish weeks.  And I have not sent out invitations yet.  Or booked a florist.  Oops.
-I have a new job.  I am now responsible for the learning of 21 precious first graders.  Yikes.
-I am slowly moving my stuff into our new home.  Can't wait for it officially to be my home in December...for now I spend most of my time here, but I still sleep at my parent's house.
-I am drinking a lot of grande nonfat salted caramel mochas (with whip).  Hooray to fall.

I'll probably see ya'll back on the blog in a few months.  ;]


Sunday, August 5, 2012

Excuses, Excuses

Long time, no see.  It seems like it's been ages since I've visited the pages of my blog, but I have a very valid excuse:
SUMMER.
Yes folks, summer.  These last few weeks of summer I couldn't make myself sit down to write a new post.  It could have been the extreme heat that I feel if I'm not lying prostrate under the fan...but probably not.  Honestly, I was attempting to enjoy a lazy, fun summer because I knew that soon enough it would be back to reality.


And tomorrow?  Yep, back to reality.  Another school year starts.  The good news?  There are only 18 weeks of school until I am getting married!  Wahoo! 


In lieu of me typing more barely coherent sentences, here are some pictures and one-word captions.  Maybe they'll paint a picture of the past few weeks.


Hotdogs.
Brunch.

Boo.

Runner.

The end.


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Thursday, July 19, 2012

Bragging on Biz


Good afternoon fellow bloggies-


As I write this blog post we are a mere ten days away from the start of pre-planning.  To be honest, I've had a cruddy past couple days: I've been feeling very down about my current job situation and wondering just what I've been doing wrong.  But I'm not writing this post to linger on my career woes; I'm writing this post to brag on my fiance.

Many times I feel like my problems are silly or that I'm blowing them out of proportion, but Biz never makes me feel bad for sharing my feelings with him.  He encourages me to be open and honest with him, even when I think I might be burdening him with my issues. 

So while I'm not feeling that great about my job situation right now, I feel more than blessed to have a man like Mr. Biz in my life.  Praise God for bringing him into my life...Biz is a continual reminder of God's faithfulness. 

@ Niagara Falls

I know many of you ladies have an exceptional man in your life.  How about we all take some time this week to brag about them on our little corners of the internet?  If you want, you can even share then link to your blog post in the comments.  And then we can all thank God for the blessings He has given us.  :]

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Friday, July 6, 2012

Beach Party Date Day

One reason Biz and I have been loving summer is because of the plethora of "date days."  "What is a date day," you ask?  Well, a date day is nothing more than a day spent doing date-type activities together.  We have gone to eat at new places, seen movies, watched sunsets, went people watching at the mall...all sorts of things! 

Today I decided to have an "at home" date day since we've been gone for a while (and also to save a little money on eating out).  After some pondering, a thought hit me at about midnight (as good thoughts generally do): let's have a beach party! 
Don't you love my crazy looking banner that I slaved over for approximately 30 seconds?
So today we've had a lot of fun doing "beachy" things like listening to the Beach Boys Pandora station (fantastic), playing Bananagrams (because bananas remind me of the beach, duh), and playing that fun wiffle ball + scoop game (no idea what it's called).  Soon we're going to have a seafood dinner of tortilla crusted talapia and shrimp cocktail (yum yum!).  But I figured we needed a beachy drink to keep us cool during our outside activities (high of 95 ya'll!), so we put together this concoction.  Enjoy!

Virgin Strawberry Daiquiris (Kinda)
In a blender put half a bag of frozen strawberries (I'd guess about 10).

Add 1/4 cup of OJ.  We also considered using lemonade...I'm sure it's good, too!

Add 3/4 cup of diet lemon lime soda.  Or be really adventurous and get the full calorie kind, ohh!

Think about how gross your mixture looks so far, then blend.

 Pour into a glass and enjoy!  We made this twice to get two servings, and I added two teaspoons of sugar to mine to sweeten it up a bit.  It was still pretty tart even with the sugar. 

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Thursday, July 5, 2012

New York Part 1

Mr. Biz and I got back late Tuesday night from a quick little vacation to Western NY (no, not NYC) to visit my grandparents and other members of my dad's family.  It was a beautiful trip for many reasons, one of which was the weather.  The Atlanta area had record highs that hit triple digits while we enjoyed five days of breezy, high-of-82-degrees weather.  It was fantastic. 

Our flight got in around 11:30PM on Thursday, so we headed straight to bed when we got to my grandparent's house.  Friday morning found us up and at 'em...running time!  My grandparents live a little outside a super quaint village, that was great for a short run.  The only issue was running with a headwind.  I felt like whatever direction we picked, the wind was going against us!  After three miles I set up shop with my Kindle at Panera while Biz went a few more miles on his own.  A beautiful morning.

After our run and breakfast together, we met up with my parents and sisters for a short trip to Niagara Falls.  I hadn't seen the falls in 8ish years, so it was awesome for me, but I loved seeing Biz's reaction.  He had never seen them before and I could tell he was blown away.  But I'll write more about that part of our trip later (esp. since those pictures are in Canada with my youngest sister).
The only picture I took of the falls.  Kelley's pictures are much better. 

Saturday we had a fun surprise...my aunt and sisters threw us a shower!  They themed it after a couple of my favorite things: The Office and Moe's.  It was a lot of fun and the perfect couples shower (since it wasn't super girly).  I have a feeling that this next season of my life will continually remind me how blessed I am to have such loving and generous friends and family.

Sunday we drove to Ohio to visit my uncle's family.  Biz enjoyed talking running with my uncle, and I enjoyed getting to see three of my cousins.  Every year I have more and more fun hanging out with them.  DJ was 14 this year and he loved talking with Mr. Biz...especially when they discovered that they both have the same favorite car. 

Speaking of favorite car, on Monday Mr. Biz and I had date-day and we received this text message from my sisters:
Our dream mini...they even got the color right.  (Sidenote: we saw a mini this same color at Starbucks a couple weeks ago.  We both loved the color and then realized why: that's the color we're painting our living room/kitchen.  Duh.)  One day this car will be our reality...with different rims (Biz thinks they're ugly) and a turbo (so my man can drive fast).  If you know my future last name, then this car makes sense for us.  :]

That's all for today...don't want to overwhelm ya'll with our vacation details.  And anyways, this account is more so that I can look back and remember our first big vacation together.  Fun stuff!  Can't wait for December though...that's the big vacation: honeymoon!  :]

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P.S.- I changed my blog header...what do ya'll think?

Monday, June 25, 2012

My Playlist for the shemoves ATL 5k

I spent a lot of time perfecting the timing of my running playlist for my race this past Saturday.  I ran with music for the first time a few weeks ago and I was amazed at the difference it made in my pace.  My thought is that the music distracted me and gave me something to think about other than the (loud) sound of my breathing.  So, just for fun, here is my latest running playlist (in the order I listened to them).

-Uprising by Muse
-Dog Days are Over by Florence & the Machine
-Another One Bites the Dust by Queen
-When Love Takes Over by David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland
-All These Things That I've Done by The Killers
-Marry You by Bruno Mars (I hit 2 miles at the beginning of this song.)
-Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons
-Shake it Out by Florence & the Machine
-Dance Again by Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull (This was the last song I listened to as I was nearing the finish.)

There you have it...the playlist that helped me kick race butt this past weekend. 

I'm going to start using jog.fm to find some new songs.  When you get to the page you type in your mile pace, and it gives you a list of songs that have the right number of BPM to help you run at the correct pace.  I discovered that I should be running to Womanizer.  Awesome.  :]  And I bought a new song to go in my running playlist that I heard Saturday morning: Wavin' Flag by K'naan.  I got the Coca-Cola Celebration version because it is super upbeat and fun (it was the song from the 2010 World Cup commercials). 


What is your favorite song to run/bike/walk/exercise to?

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Saturday, June 23, 2012

shemoves Atlanta 5k...new PR!

*disclaimer: This is a very long post all about running...no hurt feelings if you don't want to read it.*

Today I ran my second 5k and it was awesome.  Not awesome in the sense that I felt great, but awesome in the sense that I really pushed myself.  My first 5k was about a month ago, and my time for that race was 38:37 (which I was excited about because I met my goal of sub 40 minutes).  Going into today's race I didn't have high expectations--I was thinking about a 45 minute finish.  My goal for this race wasn't very high because I have run this course many, many times, and there is this monstrous hill at the end...yeah, let's run up a hill when I have absolutely no energy left. 


Anyways...race day.  My mom was nice enough to get to the race at 7:00AM with me and hold all of my stuff.  Around 7:30ish all of the ladies met in front of the courthouse to hear about the course and other little announcements.  I was feeling really good about the group I was racing with because it was all women and you could tell everyone was happy to be there.  We finally took off and the crowd spread out very quickly.  Of course, that made me feel like I was being super slow, but I just tried to pace myself and enjoy running downhill.  About 30 seconds into the race I felt the beginnings of a stitch in my side--an issue I dealt with majorly this week.  On Wednesday it was so bad that I had to stop running, but today I tried to push through and it worked.  No more stitch in my side, yay!  10:26 into the race we passed the 1 mile marker...an awesome first mile for me!

Going into mile 2 I was starting to feel pretty fatigued.  As a new runner, the feat of running one mile without stopping is huge, so the fact that I hadn't stopped to walk is pretty big.  In talking some with Mr. Biz, I've come to realize the power of positive thinking.  If my brain is in a bad place, thinking thoughts like, "Oh man, I'm in pain...I'm breathing so hard...can I walk yet?" then I'm likely to stop.  Instead, I made sure to (literally) think, "I am a runner.  I can do this."  After I hit the turn around (about 1.5 miles) and threw a cup of water at my face, that was my mantra: I'm a runner.  So far throughout the race I'd been pacing myself with a lady who was running a bit ahead of me; I decided that I'm like a running parasite, just thriving off of others' energy.  :]  We hit mile 2 at 21:15.

Now here's the thing: I have never run two miles together in my life.  Needless to say, after my first ever "no walking" two miles, I was beat.  I knew at this point that I had to start doing a run/walk pattern if I was going to be able to finish strong.  I wanted to not have to walk at all during the sprint to the finish.  So during my last mile I took about three little walking breaks.  I guess I was getting really in the zone, but it was awesome to think about how my body was feeling and then translate that into wise choices (i.e. walk a little bit of this flat area so I can run up the hill).  Towards the end there were more volunteers along the way, and their encouragement was awesome.  I had one turn left, a steep hill, and then the finish would be in sight.  I took one more walking break, switched to a "pump it up" song (today it was "Dance Again" by JLo feat. Pitbull), and then kicked that race in the tail.  I hit mile three at 34:02, and then finished the last tenth of a mile to finish with a sub 35 minute time.
Edit: I just read the official times and I clocked in at 34:49:8!



As I ran across the finish line I saw Mr. Biz waiting there for me...we have a couple crazy pictures that show me running towards the finish and pointing at the clock so that he would realize just how insane my race time was.

I was ecstatic (still am!) about my race.  A sweet little girl in a tutu handed me my medal...a pink gerbera daisy, but flowers weren't really on my mind.  All I was thinking about was a bottle of water and needing someplace to sit down.  Pushing myself so hard for the last little bit had me feeling really nauseated--I was dreading the thought of throwing up in front of all of those people.  Luckily, once I had some water to sip and a place to sit, the feeling passed pretty quickly.  I enjoyed seeing my parents and sisters who also came out to support me at my first local 5k.  It's encouraging to know that there are people cheering you on while you are kicking race butt.  :]

Post-race called for a smoothie from our absolute favorite place: Planet Smoothie.  Biz and I go there so much that they know our orders...I'm pretty sure I'm up to 30 visits since about March.  Oh yeah...it's that good.  After a smoothie, a little "My Fair Wedding" with my man David Tutera, and icing my shins during Tangled, I'm feeling pretty good.  I'm still so happy about my time.  During some parts of the race I was really hurting, but I am so proud that I didn't give up and managed a new PR.  I might not be a super fast runner, but I'm going out there and I'm doing it.  I'm working hard and sticking with it.  So I'm happy.  :]


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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Can't Touch This

I'm letting you guys know how cool I am by telling you that "Can't Touch This" is one of my running songs.  Oh yeah--this girl right here is the epitome of cool.  ;]  I've realized in my short time running that a kickin' running playlist is essential to a good run.

I have been a runner for about six weeks now, which doesn't seem like long, but it's amazing how much you progress in such a short time period.  The first time I went out on a group run I only did two miles and that was with about a one minute run/walk pattern.  The past two times I've been I have run at least the whole first mile, and then completed two more miles in a run/walk pattern.  Guys, the first time I ran a whole mile without stopping I was astounded (and seriously winded).  I haven't run a whole mile since I was a freshman in high school (I'll do the math...that was about nine years ago).  Wahoo!

Now I feel like I can do anything.  Don't get me wrong: I still can't run more than a mile and a half without stopping, but I am getting out there and doing it.  I've realized that it doesn't matter how slow you are as long as you're trying.  I saw these quotes on Pinterest a while back and they really gave me a bit of a boost:


via Get Motivated

via There Are Two Sides

Now since I got your attention by telling you about one of my cool running songs, here are some more that have been in the running playlist for a couple weeks (my playlist is affectionately titled "Run Abby, Run!"):
  •  Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen (it's darn catchy)
  • Dance Again by Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull (this is my "dance while you run" song)
  • Uprising by Muse (this is my favorite one to start with)
  • Baby by Justin Bieber (judge me if you will)
  • Dog Days Are Over by Florence and the Machine (no matter how many times I hear this song it still gets me pumped up...this is a "sing while you run" song)
  • Another One Bites the Dust by Queen (a great song if I ever pass anyone, haha)
  • Get'ch Head In the Game from HSM (gotta love the HSM soundtrack)
  • Mmmbop by Hanson (old school, yo')
  • Thunderstruck by AC/DC (running and headbanging at the same time is not a good idea)
  • All These Things That I've Done by the Killers (I love a good anthem song)
  • Give a Little by Hanson (I still love Hanson, and this song is AWESOME)
  • Marry You by Bruno Mars (I like to listen to this song when I feel like I can't run anymore...it's so happy!)
  • Come on Eileen by DMR (gotta have some disco-y music)
  • Baba O'Reilly by The Who (makes me think of crime...darn you CSI)
  • Unbelieveable by EMF (can't deny that this is a great song)
  • When Love Takes Over by David Guetta ft. Kelly Rowland (I could have a playlist of only David Guetta)
  • Bust a Move by the Glee Cast (Mr. Shue is so not cool enough for this song)
  • I'm Gonna Be by The Proclaimers (reminds me that I could go 500 miles--ha!)
  • I'm Still Standing by Elton John (70's pop is awesome and there is no one like Sir Elton John)
  • and, of course, Can't Touch This by M.C. Hammer (it reminds me that I'm goin' so fast that NO ONE can touch me...or at least that I wish I was going that fast)
So there you go...my potentially embarrassing running mix.  It makes me wonder what other people are listening to when they run.  What songs do you like to run/walk/weight-lift/exercise to?

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P.S.- Does anyone else think that it would be awesome to have a super power that allowed you to hear other peoples' music while they were running?  I wonder how many tough guys listen to pop songs or old school BSB or something.  It's just interesting to see what gets people pumped up!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Eating and Breathing Wedding


Seems like blogging and I are not getting along too well these days.  Whenever I sit down at my computer I find a million other things to do other than write a blog post.  I feel like I've been eating and breathing wedding planning.  My goal for this summer is to finish as much planning as possible so I can focus on school this fall.  Hence, I can't do anything but think about our wedding. 

Don't get me wrong...I am epically (is that a word?) excited about marrying Mr. BizBut, planning is not my strong point, so it has been a lot of work to keep up with things.  Luckily two of my bridesmaids live with me and my mom is the point person on a few things (like the catering).  Anybody have some great planning tips that they'd like to share?

This is a bit off topic, but I want to share about my big obsession with the Wedding and Events category on Pinterest.  Guys, I spend SO MUCH time on there.  Here are a few of my favorite ideas that I've found, and a link to my wedding board.

I love this idea of a little card to ask people to share their pictures.
via Intimate Weddings
 
What's better than a grits bar for a southern bride?
via Southern Weddings

This is the coolest guest book I've ever seen.  Definitely ordering this.
via Guestbook Store
I think this is a unique way to showcase pictures at the reception.
via Wedding Bee
These four ideas are a mere drop in the bucket of all of the wedding ideas I've pinned.  If you'd like to see more, you can check out my Something Blue board.  I'm off to get crazy with more pinning!  :]  Happy Monday!

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Saturday, June 2, 2012

An Epic May

Hi everyone!  It's been a long time, huh?  Seems like May is tied with December for the busiest month of the year...this past month has been full of celebrating for my family.  Birthdays, family members to be (read to the end to hear about that one), graduations, and the end of the school year.  My summer break officially started on Friday afternoon and so far it has been great!  I have a lot to do this summer, but first let's check out what's been going on. 

What time is it?  Summertime! 


No judgement.  I will not deny that HSM is awesome.  And that song gets me seriously pumped up.  You should listen to it while you read to get the full effect.

Anyways, I have lots and lots to do today, so I won't linger too long in bloggy world.  Here is what I was up to during the month of May, as seen by my phone.

Cupcakes with my newly graduated sister.

Getting creative with my dinner: fiesta black beans, salsa, a whole avocado, and black bean/garlic chips.  DELISH.

My race number from my first ever 5k!  Wahoo!

Action shot of Mr. Biz and myself running said 5k...I don't know why I look happy.  I'm pretty sure at this point I felt like I was going to melt into the pavement.  I guess I was delirious.

Oh yeah.  And I got engaged to the most wonderful man in the whole world.  No biggie.  ;]

So yeah...May was a pretty awesome.  :]

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Monday, May 7, 2012

Eating Creatively

This post could be alternately titled "Let's Use Up All of Our Groceries" or "What do we have in the pantry?" 

As I've gotten older (and, let's be honest, ever since Biz came into my life), I've become a little more concerned with groceries.  As in, only buying what I can eat and trying to plan out my meals for the week.  A prime example of this was this past Saturday night.  Biz and I got home late from a wedding and wanted to eat something quick and easy.  I pulled out some frozen mozzerella bites (yum!), but Mr. Biz decided to go a more creative route. 

Enter the plain oatmeal.

Guys, this man can do anything with a bowl of plain oatmeal.  We literally stood in front of the pantry and grabbed anything that had the possibility of being tasty.  In all of our Saturday evening creativity, this is what we came up with...


In case you can't tell, that's plain oatmeal with chocolate chips, raisins, ground cinnamon, Cracker Jacks, and a little bit of chocolate soymilk.  And, according to Mr. Biz, it was pretty darn good. 

Where does your pantry creativity take you?


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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Saturday...

This is how I've sent my day so far.  Not the most exciting Saturday.

But I guess the redeeming factor is that I'm having dinner with Mr. Biz and my parents tonight. And it's always nice to have all of my clothes put away.

How are you spending your Saturday?


Monday, April 23, 2012

Run ATL

I have recently (as in earlier this week) taken up running.  Mr. Biz has convinced me to do a 5k at the end of May, and I said I'd do it if he ran/walked with me.  Ok, so I really didn't need that much convincing...I was already thinking of doing it, but his encouragement helped me decide to commit.  I'm super pumped to join the ranks of those who "Run ATL" (and then, of course, I'll have to get one of the shirts).

Anyways, I'm thinking about a running playlist for my solo training days.  I know I want to include "Uprising" by Muse and "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers.  I probably also need to have some AC/DC...maybe start the list off with "For Those About to Rock."  Any thoughts?  Songs that get you really pumped up?  I'm probably going to try to make it about 45 minutes long, so I'll have to whittle it down to the very best.

Feel free to wish me luck as I start this running/walking thing.  I'm a little soft around the edges, and I've always been more familiar with the pages of a book than a pair of tennis shoes.  So this will be interesting!  :]

[check out Big Peach Running Co. here]

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