At Last.... (to the tune of Etta James singing...)

HOORAY!! The race is over, AT LAST! Aside from stumbling out of bed this morning on legs that don't seem to want to work, I feel great! The race went remarkably well, and I think Becky and I only ran out of things to talk about for about 3 minutes! Not to get mushy, but there's no way in hell I would have done this without her (granted she was harassing me every step of the way, but...). She's been a great coach and, believe it or not, it's brought us even closer (which even I didn't know was possible). Love you, Beck!

After the race, (and unfortunately, no nap in the afternoon :( we all went to watch the annual Harbor Parade of Boats. It was a bit disappointing this year- seemed like alot less boats than years past, but oh well, it was still a good time with our best of friends! We went and grabbed a drink and some nibbles at a new restaurant downtown called The Buccaneer. A friend of our family just opened it last Monday. The food was great, the drinks even better (try a Crazy Arnold!!) and the place has all kinds of pirate memorabilia all over it. And on top of that, the prices aren't half bad for a downtown restaurant! I highly recommend it :)

Two more weeks of school left...hard to believe that as of December 18th it will all be over. I can't quite seem to get my head around it. Oh well, it will sink in eventually. And, as Eric continues to remind me, FINALLY I'll be bringing home the bacon!

There's an end in sight...

HOORAY! I'm officially employed! I had a job interview Tuesday at St. Francis and was offered the position that afternoon. It's definitely a relief (especially in this job market) to know that there is a job waiting for me as soon as I pass my boards. Speaking of boards, I only have 3 1/2 (!!) weeks left of school. I can't believe this past two years has flown by so fast. I'm feeling overwhelmed at having school exams, exit exams and then boards all within the next month or so, but I'm sure it will be over before I know it!
And thankfully, so will my half-marathon...what a silly idea to run 13 miles in the freezing cold (way to go, Steph, for suggesting it!) I had a relatively good long run this past weekend... thank GOd for energy gels. And I thought that was the last long run until the race. Then my evil sister informed me this week that she thought we should do another. Idiot.
To sum it all up, a million thanks to my hubby, sister, family, and friends for encouraging me not only with school, but also with this whole "exercise thing". As much as I gripe about it, I've definitely surprised myself with how much progress I've made. I can't wait till the race is over and I can get fat again. (just kidding, Beck :)

Can't...Move...My... Legs

So, I thought 8 miles running would be bad. That was until I did 11. Whoever invented half-marathons is stoopid. And I am even stoopider for signing up for one. Only 6 more weeks to go!!

The latest...

We're finally in and getting settled at the new house- YAY! Most everything is unpacked, if you don't count the one room that I've dubbed "the box room"...I try to take at least one thing per day out of that room, but the rest...well, it may eventually make it's way to the trash can!

Where to start with my update??!

First and foremost, I hit a PR on Monday (personal record) - we ran 10 miles in preparation for the half marathon in December. AGh!!! Although I've had a little trouble with a really tight hip flexor, it went pretty well, and I slept like a log last night :)

Second, as of today I officially have only one nursing class (HOPEFULLY) left. I had my final this morning in my mental health nursing class. It was freaking brutal, but it's over now :) Something worth mentioning- last week we went on a "field trip" to the state mental institute in Columbia. I don't even know where to begin in describing that place, other than it's like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. It's old, run down, the staff seem miserable, and I truly feel sorry for the patients that are there. It doesn't help, either, that the money that the state budget had allocated toward mental health ended up going towards building a new stadium for the Citadel. I had some enlightening conversations with the patients up there, and as much as I love psych, I could never see myself working in that environment.

Third, whoever out there enjoys reading and wants something new to read, I (and my sister and my husband and various other people), have become addicted to the Twilight series. I'm never one to enjoy fantasy, and the thought of reading about vampires didn't appeal to me in the slightest...yet, I couldn't put the books down, and now can't WAIT until the movie comes out in November. YAY!!!

Our 1950's get-ups

Lastly, this past weekend, some of our friends hosted a murder mystery party. For those of you that have taken part in these, they tend to be out of control, espcially if sweet tea vodka is involved...This one lived up to the expectations!

Eric's fake tattooed sleeves - does he look like a dirty mechanic to you?

Muddy Buddies

This last weekend, we (a group of 12 of us divided into 3 teams) took part in the US Marine Corps annual mud run in Columbia...and had A BLAST! It's about a 4 mile course through the woods, running up and down hills, jumping in massive mud puddles, rope swings, climbing up rope ladders, more mud puddles, sliding down mud hills into mud puddles, a mud river to walk through (you get my drift...) Needless to say we were absolutely FILTHY by the time we were done, and Stephanie, one of our teammates, had definitely taken a beating on the course. She twisted her ankle, fell another time and scraped up her hip, and busted her elbow up so it was bleeding- but she was a trooper throughout and finished the race! All of the money raised goes towards children and families of those that have lost family members in the war, so it is definitely a great cause.
A HUGE thank you to my sister, who convinced us to do the race, rallied behind all of us during training, , and was standing before the finish line as our team was finishing and screaming (in support) at us the whole time. Thanks Beck!!

FINALLY!!

Well, we're keeping our fingers crossed, but we got a contract to sell our house and we should be closing on it on September 29th!! Everything has gone well so far, and I think the girl that's buying the house is really going to love it.

We went house shopping this past weekend and found a house that we both really liked...and we went and wrote a contract on it last night. 452 signatures later...we're good to go! We should be closing on the new house Oct. 2 (about 4 days after the first closing). YAY!!! Thanks to everyone for their support during this drawn-out process...at last there's an end in sight!

Here's a picture of our humble new abode :)

My life, as I know it, is over...

It's that time of year again...time where everything in our lives revolves around one thing and one thing only...FOOTBALL!! And I'm happy to announce that after a bit of a weather delay, the Seminoles finally got around to playing and successfully trounced Western Carolina on Saturday night. Needless to say, Eric was stoked! Let's hope that the rest of the season is just as great :)