Baby, let’s cruise…

I know I’ve been a bit quiet on here but I have a really, really good excuse.  I did happen to get married on Saturday 😀  It was a wonderful, beautiful, amazing day and I’m sure I’ll share some more details in future posts…especially when I get the pictures back.  This is my favorite candid moment caught from the day so far…

Me with my bestie from high school and her little one!

But I just wanted to pop in and say hi and bye!  The new husband and I are going cruising to the Bahamas tomorrow through Sunday.  I’ve been on one cruise before but this will be his first.  I’m super excited after a whirlwind weekend of family, friends, and fun to just chill out and do nothing.  I’m not going to have to make any crazy decisions.  I can’t wait!!

When I come back, it’ll be back to a more normal work schedule and hopefully some cool new things happening on the fitness front.  This is going to be a good summer!  See y’all in a week!!

Anybody got any last minute cruise tips to share? 😉

Weekend Whirlwind

Photo date was a success!!  This has been a very busy and super fun weekend.

Cars & Coffee was a packed house this month.  The fiance and I left the house at 7am and after a Starbucks stop (for him, not me…I don’t do coffee lol) we got to the lot around 7:30.  Unfortunately, the SAAB’s were already being pushed down the lot by the BMW’s…grrrrr.  We were warned that as the weather begins to get warmer that more and more cars will come out and we (the SAAB club) will need to arrive earlier and earlier…sigh.

Anyway, there were tons and tons of cars there.  All kinds and as a disclaimer I will state now and forever that I don’t know much if anything about cars other than, “Hey, that one is really shiny,” or, “That green one is really pretty!”  You have been warned!!

The highlights of the meet up included a blue Bronco that I drooled over.  An old, 70’s style Bronco is actually my dream car.  When I tell people this they always laugh at me, saying they could never see me driving such a vehicle but I want one SOOOOOOO badly!

Then there was this monstrosity.  A Jeep/truck hybrid ready to take guests through the gates of Jurassic Park.  I didn’t get to speak to the owner of this vehicle but it certainly turned a bunch of heads.

Two antique cars were there.  A 1935 Dodge and a 1930 Ford Model A.  The Dodge had wooden wheels…weird.

Here are a couple more of my faves:

This screams “Meet George Jetson!”

Probably the most impractical car I’ve ever seen 😛

This event is so much fun.  It was a beautiful day and I thoroughly enjoyed walking around taking pictures.  The day didn’t end there though.  I spent the rest of the day running errands, picking up last minute wedding doo-dads, and trying out a new Pinterest burger recipe.

Sunday Funday included rounding up a random neighborhood dog who mysteriously appeared in our backyard.  After watching him for a bit I watched said dog jump and climb at least 5 feet into a tree.  I’ve never seen a dog climb like that before!!  So strange.

After mystery dog was scared back into his own yard, the fiance and I headed out to breakfast and then a winery tour/tasting via a Groupon from my future sis-in-law.  It was for a winery we’ve actually been to before but free wine is always a good thing.  We took the tour again and actually learned a few new details about wine making.

I told the fiance that this was just a preview for next weekend when we are attending the Great Grapes Wine and Food Festival.  Day long wine tasting…yay!  I’m sure you’ll get a review of that event in a few weeks 🙂

Starting a new week with all engines revving!  Monday Motivation for all!!  Hope everyone out there had a wonderful weekend and is ready for an outstanding week!!

Do you know what day it is?!?

As you’ve, no doubt, been wading through countless engagement and pregnancy announcements via Social Media today another important event has probably slipped your mind.  It is Fred and George Weasley’s birthday!!

Yes, the two jokesters from the Harry Potter world celebrated their day of birth today.  Very fitting that they should be born on April 1st.  J. K. Rowling just loves those seemingly unimportant details being found in her books.  So, in honor of this super fun day of days, I’ve decided to share with you some wonderful insight into Harry Potter’s most beloved twins.

And lastly, “28 Reasons Fred and George are the Best Characters in the Harry Potter Series!”

28 Reasons Why Fred and George are the Best Characters in the Harry Potter Series

Anyway, thank you for indulging in my Harry Potter love.  I’m going to watch “Prisoner of Azkaban” now.

 

 

Challenge Accepted

I have found that when I have a lot of free time on my hands and things are not as structured in my life as they could be I tend to lose motivation and just take each day as it comes.  Is this relaxing?  Yes.  Productive and motivating?  Not so much…

I’ve learned to push back against this carefree “la dee da” attitude by participating in various challenges.  You may be asking, ‘What kind of challenges do you mean?’  In this interactive age of constant social media updates there is no lacking of challenges for an individual to join to stimulate mind, body, and soul.  

Right now I am participating in 2 fitness challenges and one photography challenge.  Who would have guessed I would gravitate towards those things, right?  😛  As I am in the process of getting wedding dress ready I am completing a daily back challenge.  

Here it is (Courtesy of Jodi Higgs):

I

Last month I completed her 30 day arm challenge and I just found a 30 day oblique challenge.  Hello, April and bikini weather!  I’ve taped this calendar to our mantel and I cross off each day as it is completed.  It’s nice to look at that calendar at the end of the month and see a bunch of X’s indicating that a lot of work was done.  It’s pretty easy to modify these exercises, too, depending on fitness level.  Renegade Rows are evil and that’s all I have to say about that.

This month I’m also participating in a 30 Day Hustle sponsored by motivational speaker, blogger, author Jon Acuff.  He’s written some amazing books on switching careers, finding your passion in your day job, and just life in general.  The 30 Day Hustle is different for everyone who participates.  I’m not as active as other members of the group but it’s great to get online each day and see how we are all “Hustling.”  My individual goals for my hustle included starting this blog (yay!), running 2+ miles at LEAST 12 days this month, and participating in I Heart Faces March photography challenge.  

I Heart Faces is one of MANY blogs I follow.  One of their main goals through their webpage is to highlight photographers of all backgrounds and abilities.  They do this by posting numerous challenges throughout the year.  Anyone can participate and for this particular challenge I decided to create all of my photographs with my iphone.  It adds an extra element of interest to the pictures since I want each picture to look crisp and clean, with great detail and composition without the added post processing I would typically due with my DSLR.  Here are a sampling of the pictures I’ve used for the challenge this past week.  

Day 17-Something Green

 

Day 18-Shadows

Today-In my bag

I’m excited to see how these challenges play out the rest of this month.  In the mean time, I think I’ll look up some races to enter since there’s really nothing more motivating for a runner than to be timed and placed along side your peers.  Catch ya’ll later!

 

 

 

Weekend Roundup

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone out there!  I must admit I am lacking in the green apparel department today but luckily, the only people I’ve interacted with know better than to try and pinch me!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  Mine was pretty action packed.  The weather in the Raleigh area has been so weird lately it’s hard to plan anything.  Luckily, Saturday was beyond beautiful.  A little breezy, but that’t to be expected for this time of year.  The fiance and I headed towards downtown around lunchtime to partake in a local Brunswick stew festival.  13 different stews to try meant a very full belly.  Each stew was very unique.  Some had chicken, some beef, pork, potatoes, etc.  Some even used more traditional ingredients like venison.  The festival took place at a local Harley Davidson and there were plenty of hogs to check out while you ate.  

 

After stuffing our faces we had to take advantage of the sunny afternoon.  I went for a run while the fiance took the dog for a walk around the block.  Jackson, our dog, is so spoiled.  He has a fenced in backyard so he usually gets to roam around outside without the annoyance of a leash.  Needless to say, when the leash is on, he’s not super agreeable to it.  

Sunday rolled around and we had another pretty fun outing planned.  The fiance is an Air Force Veteran who is a part of The Wounded Warriors.  This is awesome not only because Wounded Warriors is such a great organization, but because they include us in some pretty awesome freebies.  Yesterday, we got to attend our first NHL game and participate in the Carolina Hurricanes Military Appreciation game.  It was a pretty fun excursion.   

 

The team warmed up in camo jerseys.  Awesome!

I love food at sports events and was not disappointed.  We even had our snacks delivered directly to our seats.  How cool is that?? 

I realized as the game was progressing that I really don’t know much about hockey.  All I know about hockey I’ve pretty much learned from movies like ‘The Mighty Ducks’ and ‘Miracle’.  Oh well…even though I couldn’t quite follow everything that was happening on the ice it was a fun experience.  The weather had changed from sunny and breezy on Saturday to cold, rainy, and windy on Sunday so it was nice to be inside.

Now, it’s a new week and it’s looking like it will be a busy one.  I’ve avoided the outdoors for most of today due to more rain, freezing rain, etc.  Just saying the words “wintry mix” cause some drivers around here to lose their minds!  

Is anyone else looking for spring to get here and STAY here??

The World’s a Playground

Why am I blogging?  I had thought about starting a blog a few months ago but wasn’t really sure what my blog would be about.  Guess what!  I’m still not completely sure lol.  I guess it’s about me…simple, right?  Well, who am I?  Based on the title of my blog I’ve defined myself as a runner and a shutterbug (aka amateur photographer).  Those two things are going to pop up a lot on this blog.  They are truly two of my main passions in life right now.  If I could spend my days running/hiking/being outside (weather permitting) and taking pictures of all the beautiful things around me, I would be a happy camper.  To quote Zooey Deschanel’s character in the wonderful movie ‘Yes Man’: “The world’s a playground. You know that when you are a kid, but somewhere along the way everyone forgets it.”  This is a character who leads a group running on trails taking pictures as they go.  Hmmmmm…maybe I should try that around here!

I’ve been lucky enough to do a lot of both (running and picture taking) over the last few months.  I live in an area where natural beauty is prevalent.  And I have never lived anywhere that encourages outdoor activities through vast amounts of state parks, hiking trails, greenways, as much as central NC does!  It’s truly a spectacular place to live.

See what I mean??

So…this blog is going to be an outlet for me to share my love for the place I live through my photography.  I will share more about my new found love of running and how that has impacted all aspects of my life (including the shutterbug in me!)

Oh, hey! Nice to see you!!

This is my blog.  There are many like it, but this one is mine!  Sorry…corny movie line, I know.  But, welcome!  I’m sure there will be much strange and hilarious rambling on here.  If I had to guess, most will involve my developing love of running, my burgeoning passion for photography, and a million pictures of my awesome dog, Jackson!  Can’t wait to see where this journey will take me.  Hope you come along!