Boycotting Overtime

I've decided I'm boycotting overtime shifts. I picked up waaay too many (as in, one per week) for the past 3 months, and I'm over it. 

Sure, I get paid more money, and that is super fun. But in exchange for the money, I have to give up my time. And that means I have less time to spend doing the things that I love.

For example, spending time with this sweet girl.

I have spent time with her every day for the past 6 days and I still can't get enough. 

Spending time with her also means spending more time with my sister. We've been planning Anniston's birthday party and our complete Fall wardrobe. It's been great.

I also got to have a girl's night with my best friends in the whole wide world, who live far far away and I haven't seen in a few months. It was way way too long, I missed having friends. 

Also, I get to run. While enjoying it! 

I was still running while I was so busy, but running is so much more fun when I'm not super stressed. 

The only downside of less overtime is less shopping. Which I'm working on dealing with. I'm trying to develop a "Fall Shopping Plan" and attempting to "only purchase what I really need".  As my sister and fellow shopaholic stated, spending time together is not good for our wallets. 

But getting to see this sweet face more often is so, so worth it!

Weekend Snapshots

I love weekends!

Sorry I'm so late for posting- it was a fun and busy weekend!

I finally feel like I have a concept of how magical weekends are, now that I am not working them (or at least not working full weekends, only Saturdays). Especially 3 day weekends!

This weekend I ...

Drank yummy coffee

Went to J. Crew with my sister and our new personal shopper 

(she smiles at everything we show her so she's bad for our wallets)

Wore pretty clothes

Classic Crew by alliefay featuring flat shoes

Memorial Monday by alliefay featuring linen skirts

This weekend by alliefay featuring cropped pants

 Opened fun packages

Played with my favorite little person 

Visited with both of my grandmothers, my parents, my aunt and my cousins

Missed my husband 

Now it's time to get back to work!

Weekend Rewind

I had a fabulously productive weekend. I'm still high on endorphins and pure bliss. 

Brandon's best friend Evan just graduated pharmacy school and is moving to Memphis. Yay! He came to stay with us this weekend to go apartment hunting. We took him to dinner at one of our newest restaurant on our 2 favorite restaurants rotation, Las Delicias. 

Jeans, Shirt, Necklace and Shoes- J.Crew
Bag- Kate Spade
Matching Mint headband (not pictured but my new favorite) - J.Crew

This is what I came up with when I had exactly five minutes to get out of my scrubs and get ready. I would say that two hungry boys weren't willing to wait long, but honestly I'm a just a get-ready-in-five-minutes kind of girl.

Saturday morning, I went for a run and a short bike ride to get a few errands done. This was the first time I've ever run in shorts successfully, but it worked because these shorts have built-in compression-type shorts underneath for extra coverage. Love. Need 5 pair. 

Do you love how I managed to tell you the story of the temperature and what I had for breakfast in this one picture? It was 83* and you can barely see the edge of my cereal bowl. 

Dress- J.Crew on clearance!
Shoes- J.Crew
Bag- Kate Spade

Even eventually woke up and we went for a late lunch at the only other restaurant we frequent, R.P. Tracks. The boys goofed off while I got ahead on a few work things for the week. The exercise and productivity that happened this day was phenomenal. 

But then... I had time left over to spend a few hours with my sweet little Annie Ruth. 

And the amount of non productive lounging around that happened Sunday was even more amazing. I tried to work out, and I guess technically I did, but not for long. Did a little online shopping, then Kelly and Anniston came over to see how Anniston liked our pool- this girl is gonna be a swimmer for sure!

I was going to attempt another run Sunday night but a storm was on the way, so I decided to watch a movie with my hubby instead.

It was a nearly perfect weekend! 

Weekend Rewind

Guess what? My last post was last week's Weekend Rewind!..... It was a busy week, I worked 50 hours. Again. Nothing exciting here.

But my weekend was pretty fun.... read on!

Brandon was out of town all weekend. He finished his finals earlier this week, and went to visit his family and friends in middle Tennessee.

My good friend Melaina came to see me, (she actually came in town for a residency conference, but also to see me) and we stayed up late Friday night watching Grey's Anatomy and talking about pharmacy, pharmacists, and how good life is. It was just like the old days!

The good old days, as previously mentioned. We were on the White Coat Ceremony Red Carpet!

Saturday, my Mom and my Grandmother came to visit us. Kelly and I went ahead and gave them their Mother's day presents.

Of course, we had to go outside for a little picture session! After spending time at the house, we had a yummy lunch at Jason's Deli- one of our favorites!

Saturday night, I got to babysit Anniston while Kelly and Brandon went on a date. We had so much fun playing, and I got to rock her to sleep, which is always my favorite. 

Sunday morning, we had a little photo shoot with Anniston. Part 1 of 3, probably. More details later- but just know it's gonna be amazing!

The rest of the day Sunday, we just played with Anniston, edited pictures, and relaxed. 

We decided to give Anniston a bath outside so we could all enjoy the beautiful weather- and she enjoyed it thoroughly!

Now, I'm just enjoying my final moments with the house and the bed to myself before Brandon comes home tomorrow. I kind of enjoy being able to watch whatever I want and spread out when I sleep. But after a day or two, I'd much rather have him by my side even if I have to watch Star Trek and share the bed with him and two furry creatures.

The Weekend I Met Bart Yasso

So, way back in the day (or about two years ago) I read a lil book called "My Life On The Run" by Bart Yasso. He tells amazing stories about his adventurous life- how he has traveled the world doing races, met tons of amazing people, and is now pretty much living the life. He didn't grow up running, either- he started in his twenties! Reading his book was the last push I needed at the time to start running. I told Brandon about how I wanted to travel the world to see all of these amazing places while running, too! After some encouragement from Brandon,  I went outside that day, ran one time around the block, and then almost died of shortness of breath. But I finally caught my breath, and haven't stopped running since.

So, yeah. I'm a huge fan of Bart. I look up to him a lot, and he continues to inspire me with his determination, hard work, and his passion for running (hello.... did you see the article about Comrades? The Amish?). In fact, when looking for a late winter race to keep us motivated during the cold months, my decision was made after I found out Bart would be attending the Little Rock Marathon. We signed up too late to be able to do the half, so we settled for the 10k.

I was so excited when we arrived at our hotel, I completely forgot to grab my copy of "My Life On The Run" when we headed to the expo. (Don't worry- we might get to meet him again at the San Francisco Expo this summer- I'll be sure to remember by book then)

Peabody Little Rock 

All I had was my race bib, so I asked him to sign it, take a picture with me, and be my best friend/lifetime running coach/cheerleader, then we chatted a bit about running. I could have stayed all afternoon talking to him and listening to all of his amazing stories and asking him tons of questions, but Brandon insisted that I play it cool.

Saturday night, we attended the pasta party just for fun- we had never been to one before, and we didn't have much else to do in the exciting city of Little Rock. Guess who sat behind me?

Yes, you better believe it! That is the back of Bart Yasso's head.

My parents- being the totally awesome, supportive parents that they are- decided to join us in LR for the weekend to cheer us on. We met up with them for a post-pasta-party dinner (the pasta party had great vegetarian options for me, but Brandon wasn't digging olive oil and noodles as a vegan option) and then decided to walk around the hotel to see where the Peabody ducks live at night.

We were heading up to our rooms for the night to get some good rest... and it just so happened that we got on the elevator with Bart!

No, I didn't get a picture of this fabulous moment. That would have been too weird, even for me. Brandon swears that I was powerfully speed-walking so that we "happened" to get on the elevator with him.

So?

Brandon and I had both been sick with the crud and a terrible, hacking, cough. I hadn't run in a week and a half. I hadn't even "trained" for the race, really- I've been proud of myself for doing 3 miles when it's 30* outside.

We went out to have fun, but we were both feeling pretty good that day, so we tried to pick up the pace a few times, only to come very close to getting smacked in the face by some vigorously swinging power-walker-arms. Eventually, we made it past the incredibly annoying people who sprint really fast for 0.25 miles then take walking breaks right in front of people who are still running. Next time, I won't under-estimate myself quite so much and line up at the very very back of the starting line.

I couldn't be bothered to put down my banana for a picture.

But thankfully, I made it through without coughing or sneezing on anyone (except for Brandon) and totally grossing everyone out. Our time wasn't what I had hoped- 1:13:something, and I was hoping for under 1:10:00, but my GPS clocked the distance as 6.4mi from all the weaving instead of 6.2. It was a really nice course, beautiful weather, and tons of fun. We are planning on going back next year, for sure!

I was so excited to finally meet the man who inspired me to begin running in the first place. I'm so thankful to him, because I feel so much healthier and happier now that I'm a runner. I've not only found a way to enjoy exercise, but I've discovered a real passion for the sport overall. I love that Brandon and I have something that we enjoy doing together, also. I could go on for days about how much I love running. And Bart. He continues to inspire and amaze me everyday in the way that he reaches out to every runner that he can to offer support and encouragement. From the greatest ambassador for running-