Wednesday, April 30, 2008

like the wind


through much of my life i hated the act of running. i found it boring, tiresome and extra boring. however, a few years ago there were no other cardio machines available at the gym and i hopped on the treadmill. walking seemed lazy, so i amped it up a bit. to my astonishment, i was running- and liking it! after a few weeks i thought to myself, "if i could do a marathon that would be the ultimate accomplishment." well, registration for the 33rd marine corps marathon in DC opened up today, and i signed-up :) i've been training for a little over a month, running about 4-5 times per week and will continue with that through the marathon in late october. it's been great so far, even though some nights i would much rather plop down on the sofa and veg out- i've literally got to change into my running clothes immediately after getting home from work or else i somehow find a way to justify sweat pants and a nap. i'm sure it will be hard and cumbersome at times, but i'm REALLY excited about it and try to keep myself motivated with thoughts about how lucky i am to have a fully functional body that allows me to do something like this...perspective is everything. if anyone else is interested, i definitely encourage you to sign up...spots are limited though so HURRY!!!!




Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Family Fun Time

this past weekend we were graced with a visit from the chewning's! it was nice to spend some QT with the fam and have some good times along the way. friday after a late but delicious dinner (i- jenn - am still learning the fine art of humility with regard to my cooking), we opted to play a game. eventually, we decide on "scene it" and mark and vera (jenn's mom) proceeded to kick the butts of the other teams. doug (jenn's dad) and allie (jenn's littlest sister) received 2nd place, while jenn and katelyn (jenn's younger sister) were shamed to a lowly last place. we retired after games and rested up for the fun-filled day at busch gardens on saturday!

below are a few photos from saturday's adventures. it was a bit overcast outside, but that kept away enough patrons that we were able to ride rollercoasters with virtually no lines all day- fantastic!

the ladies, enjoying the nostrils of one wise-looking tree...

the whole gang :)

katelyn, enjoying some of the aviary's main attractions

after the days festivities, we all were thankfully able to take mini-naps and lounge around once we got home. following some yummy lasagna, we headed over to the chewning's hotel for some swimming/hot tubbing/NCAA tourney watching :)


it was sad to say "adios" to the family on sunday after more stuffing-of-the-faces, but we know we'll see them soon...very soon ;)