Interrupting Your Regularly Scheduled Program...

Tomorrow will be a busy day so I am breaking my promise of a recap a day until I'm caught up. What will I be doing you ask?

First, is a photography opportunity set up by my lovely and thoughtful roomie as a birthday gift. More deets on that after it actual happens but let me assure you it will be inspiring, informative, and completely amazing! I cannot wait!

Second, I will be camping out in line (once the above event is over) all for my undying love for a boy with broken glasses and a scar on his forehead...

Yes, I am finally seeing a midnight premiere of Harry Potter and I. am. stoked.

If you're wondering where my recap was tonight, well, I have no excuse. Other than the fact that Nick and I wandered around the mall for quite some time looking for an HP shirt.

Scatter Joy,

Showering Her With Love...

Jackie's first bridal shower took place on May 14. It was hosted by my wonderful aunts and cousin. They threw a beautiful shower with delicious food and hilarious games.

On to the photos...

One of the funniest moments at the shower was this game. We all were asked to write down our least favorite household chore and why we didn't like it. Afterwards, we had to go around the room and say, "I hate sex because..." then say the reason why we hated the chore. It was hysterical! For example, my Grandma said, "I hate sex because it hurts my back." And my Aunt Laurie said, "I hate sex because I have to do it on the stairs and the attachment is never long enough." (She was talking about vacuuming!) Everyone was literally crying from laughing so hard!

Next, Jackie had to play a game where she undressed a man. She was asked questions about marriage statistics and for each questions she answered wrong she had to remove an article of clothing. Lots more laughter followed!

Opening gifts...

Jackie gave each of the hostesses an umbrella as a thank you for "showering" her with love. Photos obviously followed!

This shower was the first official event leading up to the big wedding and we all, especially Jackie, had a fantastic time.

Scatter Joy,

Oh, Boys!

Rewinding again to May...

Nick couldn't decide what to get his Momma for Mothers Day. What did I suggest? Photos of course! The last picture taken of Nick and his brothers was way back in 2004 when they went on a cruise.

Surprisingly, all three were on board and we headed out the evening of my race for a little photo shoot...

These last three are hilarious...

I'm not going to sugarcoat it...this was a difficult for me. Adult boys are difficult to pose, get to smile, look natural, etc. However, I was proud of Nick, Steve and James for channeling their inner models for an hour. I think their mom loved it!

Scatter Joy,

Let the Recapping Begin!

Oh, hey blog! Haven't seen you in 45 days! And what a wonderful 45 days they were. I've got a recap a day coming at you, starting with...

My Second Half Marathon!

The date was May 7, 2011 and the weather was perfect. You know what else was perfect? The fact that I took ten minutes off my previous time! More on that in a bit.

The night before I set out all my stuff then tried to get some sleep.

I woke up feeling confident and ready to run 13.1 miles! Jackie, Erin and I made our way downtown to the starting line then, off we went!

I love that I had my Garmin so I could check my pace as I went. I tried to stay under a 10 minute mile the entire time. I found my groove right away and felt great the entire time.

I saw the "The Nicks" around mile 7, which definitely lifted my spirits and reenergized me.

Before I knew it I was turning the corner to the finish line. I heard someone yell my name during the final dash and looked up to see my dad!

Crossing the finish line was one of the best feelings in the world. My final time was 2 hours 8 minutes...a whole 10 minutes faster than my first half marathon!

The post race party was amazing! We enjoyed Panera bagels, fruit, Donatos pizza, champagne, chocolate, pasta salad, and a delicious strawberry drink. We also got free waterbottles and headbands from Victoria's Secret. Seriously awesome!

After laying around for a few hours I went to lunch at Graffiti Burger with Nick, Jackie and Nick. A post race tradition I was happy to keep up! All in all, it was a wonderful day!

Scatter Joy,