Run, Jodi, Run!

Many of you know that I recently started running. Somedays I'm not really sure why, but none-the-less, I still pound my poor knees and hyperventilate in the process. I started training with the popular Couch to 5K program, which is a gradual approach to running. Exactly what I needed, seeing as thought I have never run in my life. I thought I would die the first week. However, my running partner, whom I've mentioned before, quickly grew tired of this slow paced training schedule and we stepped it up a bit a several weeks in to it. To tell you the truth, I was scared, but excited that we had accomplished our new goals. Then...Race day!

I was a NERVOUS WRECK! Those of you who know me well know that I am not a good center of attention, competitor, "look at me" kind of girl. I was literally sick. We had gone the weekend before and gotten cute race gear (purple polka dot shorts for me and pink shorts for M). When we showed up, I got so body conscience, I wished I was running in a jogging suit!!! ANYWHOOOO...our race was on the coast at 8am. That meant we had to leave our house at 5am. To add to the sick feeling that I already had, you must realize this was the first time that I had EVER left Anna for the night! My mom and sister came to stay with her so Douglas and I could stay and enjoy the night on the coast after our race. (Oh, yeah...my sweetheart, Douglas ran the race with me!)

So, I finally got out of the car, got my number, (118), and did some people watching for a little while. I don't know if that made me more nervous or what, but what else was I to do?!?!

I took some before pictures ...

7:58-Line up time...can i just say that my belly is flipping now as I type this! Whoa!

I was so nervous!!! There were HUNDREDS of people. It was so crowded. I was so sure that i would get trampled at the starting line. (Picture a "running of the bulls" kind of moment.)

8:00-The horn blows and off we go.

8:02- I pray a prayer of thanks that I did not become road kill at the starting line! (Could you imagine the humiliation!!!)

8:10-I start wondering what I was thinking doing this! I'm no runner!

8:11-A smiling little man on the side of the road handed us water. Being a newbie, I thought I was supposed to chug it like the others. NEVER again!!! This was my worse mistake! I felt like I was going to puke for the rest of the race! UGH!!!! Not to mention you have to throw your cup down on the side of the road when your done. Boo :(

8:15-Douglas starts coming up behind me.

8:15and30sec-I step it up!!!

8:17-LEGS.ON.FIRE!!!

8:18-I see the finish line but it seems miles away! I serious want to cry and vow to NEVER do this again!!! (Although we have already signed up for our next race!!!)

8:20 and 30 sec- I CROSSED THE FINISH LINE!!!!!

My legs felt like jelly and my hands were shaking. But I was finished...AND i wasn't the last one! I was soooo sure I would be the last one! In fact, I came in first in my division! So did Meagan! (Did I mention she is nearly 10 years younger that me. So we aren't in the same age group.)

All in all it was a great race and I really enjoyed it. Douglas and I had a great day after the race too. We did some shopping and ate crawfish at Hucks Cove. We woke up earlier than we EVER did before we were parents because we couldn't wait to get home to our baby! We were home by 11am. Anna had a great time with her sweet Granny and Charley. Thank goodness for sweet family to take good care of her in our absence!

I've been chastised :) by a dedicated follower (who shall remain nameless) of my pitiful little blog who says I should post more and put more pics of AnnaBelle here. I know, I know. I am a terrible blogger and a terrible facebooker, but here are a few things I do manage to do well...




Splashing in puddles with Anna...







Teaching Anna how to drive...:) Start 'em early is Daddy's motto!




Teaching Anna how to dance...(she is a seriously good dancer!) Hollie, you would appreciate her dance moves! She starts dance in June and I can hardly wait!!!

Teaching Anna how to accessorize...

And if I were patient enough I would upload a video of Anna saying the blessing! Beautiful! But hey...I wouldn't want you to think I had crossed over to being a serious blogger or something! Maybe next time.

And to my nameless follower, and the only person who reads this poor blog anyway,


I...CAN'T....WAIT....TO....SEE....YOU....NEXT.....WEEK!!!!!! :)

Spring Break

My spring break...

1. Took Anna to the aquarium/french market. She LOVED the music and street entertainers.
2. Slept in. (meaning 7:30 ha)
3. Anna tee-teed in the potty!!! Big Day!
4. ran, and ran, and ran
5. Enjoyed EVERY second of being home with my sweet Annabelle!

In through your nose. Out through your mouth.

So, running with your mouth wide open under lights while bugs are flying 'round (do you see where this is going???) is not the best idea!!! Yep! Two and a half miles in to my run tonight, I begin choking on a bug!!! NICE.

So I can hardly call myself a runner, maybe a trotter, but i am VERY proud to call myself a "sticking to it and not giving upper"!!! I am in my 3rd week now and I have to say, I am LOVING it! (well, except for this one day when I thought I would die!!!)

Let me just tell you about my running partner...she is a former cheerleader from Southern and the epitome of what I will NEVER look like, even if I had gastric bybass!!! She is an exercise junkie! The entire time we are running, she is carrying on a full conversation all about her day, while I on the other hand am gasping for breath! She is just who I needed to be my partner! She pushes me and motivates me!

Aside from running, things have been exciting around here. Anna is a little parrot! She loves to say everything we do. Right now the funniest thing she says is "Boobie". No! Not because that is a word we toss around! It is her word for "movie"! It is sooo cute! She puckers her lips up soooo cute when she makes the "oo" sound.

She is also counting to 3 and singing her fabulous version of the alphabet song. Her version is so much cuter than the original, however, the words seem to change quite often!

I never realized how fast time would fly! She is going to be 2 in just a few months!!! REALLY!!

yeah...it's been a while!

so, i'm not even going to try to catch up, because to be honest, that daunting task is what has kept me from posting for so long anyway...

so here's what's happening now.

I am FINALLY doing something i have always wanted to do. I am running!!!! and can i just tell you how proud i am! now, those first step were not easy! but I have a beast for a running partner (and she is also 10 years younger than me) and i am DETERMINED to follow through! Our goal is the 5k at day in the park! I'll keep you informed!

Otherwise...life is great! anna is growing way to fast! she is amazing and beautiful and just a joy to have in our lives! I promise I'll post pics next time!

Anna's Birthday Bash!

So...Anna turned one last week!!! *big sigh* It was a very big day for us. Her actual birthday was on wednesday and we just kinda chilled and took it easy as we got things ready for her birthday party. Her friend Rylee came over to play. They had a big time! These two are gonna be trouble one day! :)
My amazing Mom came over Thursday to help get ready. Bless her! I dragged her sweet self all over the world for two days. We were almost too exhausted to enjoy the party.
Saturday rolled around and it was BLISTERING HOT!!! our poor guest were melting! Thank goodness for the pink lemonade! Other than the heat, it was a beautiful day. Anna was surrounded by so many special people! It seems like just yesterday most of the people here were stopping by to see Anna when we came home from California! I can't believe it has been a year already!
We were very excited to see my best friend! She and her precious family flew in from houston! It was an extra special treat!
Here are some pics from the party. I chose a pink and green theme (OBVIOUSLY) and just went to town!

5 things

My friend Dawn did this a while back and I enjoyed reading hers, so I thought I would give it a try!

5 Things I am looking forward to:

#1 Anna's birthday party, #2 My BFF coming home for a visit, #3 spending lots of time with my sweet Anna over the summer, #4 a beach trip with my mom, #5 vacation :),

5 Things I did yesterday:

#1 washed a million loads of laundry, #2 ate oreos for the first time in years!!! (not a great idea...they are addictive), #3 had lunch with douglas...i love that about summer!, #4 spent more money on etsy :),#5 talked with an old friend!

5 Things I wish I could do:

#1 sew, #2 wake up to a spotless home everyday!, #3 have a shopping spree, #4 not stress so much, #5 stay home with anna liz

5 Places I'd like to travel:

#1 Ireland [dawn had this one on hers and i just have to keep it!], #2 New York City, #3 take anna back to california one day, #4 Montana, #5 some exotic island...I don't really care as long as it's beautiful

5 of my favorite things

#1 waking up to my daughter kissing me! #2 the smell of fresh laundry #3 swimming pools (especially if i could call it my own!!!) #4 exclamation marks #5 mandie's latest pictures of anna! they are GORGEOUS!

Lord, forgive me for exposing my child to such music! Amen.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day...Can I just say that for the first time in nearly 10 years I cried for all the right reasons.

This breathtaking photo of anna, as well as the one in the post below, was taken by Mandie Newsom. www.facebook.com/capturedbymandienewsom

Thank you Lord that this school year is wrapping up! The last few months have been really tough with AnnaBelle being so sick.. It seems like every time we'd turn around she was running fever and one of us was having to miss work. We have become regulars at the after hours pediatric clinic in Hattiesburg! Anna knows every Dr and every nurse there like they are family! So sad!!! But finally, we are getting some relief! Anna will be getting tubes in her ears on Tuesday! I am so thankful that my little doll will feel better, but I am very nervous about it too! I am just a Nervous Nelly by nature, and i hate the thought of her having to go through this! Just say some extra prayers for us Tuesday morning if you will.
ON a happier note...I am so excited that i am about to finish up this school year that has been not-so-fun, and get to spend every waking minute with my sweetie! I will cherish those moments! Anna has grown SO fast! I can't get over the fact that I am planning her one year birthday already! Too much for this sentimental girl to handle!!!

Did I mention Anna FINALLY GOT TEETH!!! Hooray! Anna teeth, mommy more gray hair! Coincidence!?!?!

you have GOT to be kidding me!!!

It has finally happened! I knew that it was inevitable, but I prayed that these days were far into the future for me.
For those of you who know me, and I mean who REALLY know me, know that vain is not a word that one would use to describe me. Don't get me wrong, I like nice things but I am way too cheap to by them for myself! And now that Anna Belle is here it is ALL about her!
My roots are showing, my eyebrows haven't been waxed in goodness knows how long, I havent had a manicure since before she was born, nor do I see the point, and if you work with me, there IS a reason I have not broken out the flip flops yet!!! Seriously yall, I just care way more about other things.
I have never been one to freak out as my birthdays rolled around. I was thrilled to turn 30! I thought it was so cool to be a 30 year old for some very strange reason. I have friends who really struggle with this. I mean they dread their birthdays for months, start examing their face with magnifying mirrors, taking before and after pictures as they try their newest wrinkle creams. (You know who you are;) ) I have never been that girl...until now!!!
It was just last week that it happened. I was getting ready for school. Yes, I know! That is bad enough, right??? And then I spotted it. It was shining like a beacon in my newly darkened hair! gray..."Say What????" Yes, a gray hair! It was hideous! I kinda freaked out! I mean, really freaked out. I contemplated on whether I should tell douglas or not, as if it would change something. But there I was, standing in the bathroom, a month shy of my 31st birthday having my vain, oh-my-gosh-not-me moment!
Worst part...found another one 3 days later!!! Let the dye jobs begin!!!

You know you want it!!!

So, I have this AMAZING friend, Dawn who has incredible talents! She sings beautifully, she is a great teacher, an amazing mother, and now add artisan/entrepreneur to the list!
Dawn recently started a business called "Hello Dearie"! They make the CUTEST bunnies you have EVER seen out of the funkiest fabrics! Anna and I are serious fans! Anna has 2 Hello Dearie originals already, Elenor and CoCo. (They are her faves!!!)
But to add to her fabulousness, Dawn is now teaching sewing classes and making these really awesome things!!! Like this ruffle apron! YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT!!!


So check out all of her cuteness at http://www.hellodearie.com/

Goodbye Rebecca

This has been a long and difficult journey for our friend and aunt, Rebecca Neal, but last Monday, April 12, Rebecca said goodbye. Rebecca fought a 7 year battle with cancer. She battled with class and grace and tenacity! So many were inspired by her and her response as she stared death in the eye.

Douglas and I actually lived with Rebecca for about 2 months while we were building our home in Columbia. At the time, I was frustrated because we were cramped and I didn't have my space, not to mention that I wasn't to happy to be living in Columbia at all anyway. However, I am so grateful that I had that time with Bec. We had a lot of fun together! She had the BEST skin products and she ALWAYS wanted to share! She was a free spirit and I might not have caught on to all of her lessons then, but I do appreciate that it is a nice way to live your life!

Rebecca was never able to hold Anna because the cancer had spread into her backbone and she was not allowed to lift anything over 5 pounds. She hated that! She always looked longingly at Anna as everyone else got to love on her. Well, the last few weeks, we have visited Bec several times a week and our last visit with her, which was the Saturday before she died, Rebecca said, "I AM HOLDING THAT BABY!" and she grabbed Anna and they played and laughed for quite a while. It was beautiful! I snapped about 30 pics!!! I loved it! It meant so much to all of us.



After weeks of unbearable suffering, God gave Rebecca a few good last days! God is so good. Goodbye Rebecca! We'll miss you always!

Poll: Bunny Photo Contest

Anna was selected as a finalist in a photo contest! Pleases help her win by voting daily for number 4! Thanks!


Poll: Bunny Photo Contest

Oh, How we love the weekends!!!

Last weekend was so beautiful here! We met up with some family and took Anna and my super fabulous niece Charley to the zoo and the park in Hattiesburg! It was a great day! Anna LOVED the slide!

Newbie!

Okay...so I have jumped on the blogging bandwangon! But for those of you who know me well, you know not to expect a daily post! I HOPE to be a good blogger, but seriously people, I play in markers, glue, play doh, and paint all day at work, and then change diapers, make bottles, and play patty cake, in the afternoons! Not that exciting by most standards! However, somedays, magic happens! Like when Anna took her first steps or played patty cake with my mom. Those are the special things to me and the things I'll take a few minutes to share with you!