Running

I hate running at the gym. I hate it.
But, I love participating in running events (i.e. Monument Avenue 10K, Blue Devil Dash, etc.).
I know, that makes NO sense whatsoever.
But I love the feeling of accomplishment after completing a race.

I haven't run the 10K since 2010.  I was signed up to run last year but the week before the race, I hurt my knee.  Go figure, right?

So, in the last 10K I ran, I completed it in 62 minutes. SERIOUSLY? THAT close to being under an hour?!  While I was VERY surprised I ran so well, I thought it would've been cool to finish in under an hour, so that's been my goal since: the next time I run the 10K I will complete it in under an hour.

This semester I've made more of a routine for going to the gym (I shouldn't have excuses because my schedule has a lot of open time after class!).  And, every time I go, I run. I RUN. Even though I hate it.  Now, I'm to the point where if I don't get to the gym and run, my day feels incomplete --does this mean I'm starting to love running? I kinda hope not. haha--  But it does!  At first I started running intervals and I was on the treadmill for 40-45 minutes.  Then, I changed up the intervals and was on for a little bit shorter time.  After that, I started at an okay pace and just running for time, not distance.  That went pretty well, but that "okay pace" would not get me to 10K in under an hour.  Finally, last Friday, I ran 10 minutes at 6.0mph. (sidenote: that may sound like a really wimpy speed, and it actually might be, but I've got to stay at a pace that I can keep for the whole race).  Every time I go to the gym now, I run at that same pace and during my actual workout (not warmup or cooldown), I do not run at a slower speed, and each time I had some time on.  Sure, it might be a minute or two for now, but eventually, I'll be able to run the entire hour.  How do I know I can? Because I ran for over an hour without stopping the last time I did a 10k and now I have to do better!

I've also been keeping up with Fab Ab February, but more on that tomorrow! :)

Uncle Mike !

When we were younger, one of the highlights of our (our = my cousins, sister and me!) summer was being invited down to good ol' Rainbow Acres campground with Aunt Vickie & Uncle Mike!  This meant that lots of swimming, tubing and jet-skiing were coming up!!  And no, not just tubing.  We're talking 3 tubes hooked up so that many of the cousins can tube at once!!  I'm pretty sure that one day, we started tubing mid-morning, took a break to come in for lunch, and went back out tubing until it was time to come in and get ready for dinner!  We would have the greatest times and be so worn out at the end of the day, but it was all worth it.

And that just goes to show that if you do have all hours of the day to spend with someone, especially family, do it. You never know how much longer you'll be able hug them, see them drink Pepsi, and feel so blessed just to know them. 

With that being said, Happy Birthday Angel Mike! We love & miss you!

MOBO (Mortar Board)

In January 2011, I was "tapped" into the Geist Chapter of Mortar Board. A month later, I was initiated as one of the new members of Mortar Board.  Through this organization, I've been co-Historian (which means I get to take lots of pictures! :), helped out with several community service projects, organized and executed The Lasting Lecture, and planned one of Longwood's BEST WEEKENDS: Oktoberfest!!  For the past year, every Monday night at 9:00pm I've met with this wonderful group for meetings that occassionally include fun dancing :)

Last Saturday (the 18th), the new members of Mortar Board were initiated, and the 2012 class of Mortar Board were presented with medals to wear at graduation. 

It's so crazy that the past year has gone by so quickly! We just stayed busy with all the events and planning that we did, that time just flew!  What's even crazier is that tonight, in 2 1/2 hours, I will be going to my last Mortar Board meeting. Ever.  It's bittersweet.  Knowing that I'll have another free night of the week is kind of nice, yes, but I'm going to miss seeing everyone each week, laughing at our inside jokes, and just growing as a group.  Also, this just means I'm one step closer to graduation! :)

Here are some pictures of me receiving my medal:

And, ya know, just doin' my job!

Photography Techniques

I love taking pictures, but I also love looking at pictures just as much.  Now that I am starting to have some  free time, there are many different photography techniques/tips that I'm hoping to work on more.

(if you click on any of the pictures below, they will take you to the link where the picture as from, and you will also be able to see more pics of its kind! :)

One thing is, I really want to work on taking pictures at night with lights showing up perfectly.  Well, maybe not perfect, but pretty well!  Nighttime pictures are some of my favorite to look at...I love black or dark backgrounds with bright colors that pop up!

I've also wanted to practice and take more Macro shots.  A week or two ago, I ordered a Macro lens filter set for my camera, and I haven't really used them yet!! I can't wait to though :)  The set includes a +1, +2, +4 and +10 macro effect, and they conveniently come in a nice carrying case!  If I could take a picture like this one day, I'd be in heaven!!

Now, of course you may know that in August I received a pretty, shiny, sparkly ring ;)  Even though it's been 6 months, I still haven't taken the time to take a picture of my ring, other than on my phone, really.  Hopefully, I'll get some time to play around with light like this picture shows, and get some really neat pictures :)

Finally, I want to work more with the shutter speed setting on my camera.  Honestly, I don't really ever use it.  I think I can count on one hand the amount of times I may have played with the shutter speed setting.  Again, if I could one day take pictures that I would come out like this, I'd start staying up later into the night ;)

Anyone have any other photography techniques they're working on or think I should look into, too?



Valentine's Day :)

I know this post is LONG overdue, so here it is :

While we KNOW you should love / show love everyday, Matt and I still always do something for Valentine's Day. It's kind of funny, because so many people think that since we are at the same school, that we see each other ALL the time. Yeah, that's false! I wish we saw each other all the time. Really, the only time Matt and I are together, we're eating. haha. We eat dinner together every night, and lunch just about every day. But that's about it. Our schedules/meetings/duty are always conflicting. When we eat, we're usually at Dhall or getting fast food. Occasionally on the weekends we like to cook (I use "we" lightly, as Matt does most of it, and I simply try). So, it was nice for Valentine's Day to have a good meal, even if we did get to finally celebrate on February 16th.

On February 14th, I gave Matt his present. Partly because I have a hard time keeping secrets from him, and also because it was Valentine's Day of course! It was a bag of random stuff with cheesy--no, really cheesy--reasons why I included each thing :

 (Sorry some of these pictures are a bit blurry!!)

Then, a couple days later, we had dinner :)  When I got to Matt's, he had set their table up nicely (the best part to make me love it even more?? That red tablecloth is a Christmas tablecloth :)

chocolate rose :)

 He made steak with garlic (I just love garlic!), Pasta Roni Angel Hair with Herbs (my fave!), peas, and rolls!

And for dessert? Chocolate cake, icing and red sprinkles!!

After dinner, we watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.  His excitement when I told him that was the movie I brought confirmed that we're "mint" to be ;)

Pin It Friday!

You'll have to forgive me for the serious lack of posting this week.  This past week has been so busy and awful it's ridiculous!! Thank GOODNESS it's finally the weekend!  Hopefully I'll now be able to relax some.

Even though it's late in the day, I still wanted to get up a "Pin It Friday" post! I think this might be my favorite thing to blog about.  I love Pinterest and I hope you'll enjoy seeing some of the things I've been pinning.

from my Smile board:

from my Old School board:

anyone else remember this book?? I used to love it!

from my Disney board:

this picture makes me SO happy!

from my There Are No Words board:

and from a board I just love, my Before I Die board:

happy Friday! :)

basketball!

I had never been to a Longwood Basketball Game until my Junior year.  Now that this season's home games are coming to an end, I'm really regretting missing out on 2 years of games!!  But no worries--I just know I'll be back in years to come to see more! :)

This past Saturday, Longwood's Men's team played a game that kept us on the edge of our seats all throughout!  (Okay, that expression was only used to describe the excitement; I stood for the entire game! haha)  The team played so well, and while we lost 100-99, it was a GREAT game.  I LOVE how much spirit the students, faculty, and fans all have when it comes to basketball. It's AWESOME and I'm definitely going to miss it!  Enjoy some pictures from the game!

there's Kelsey!

If you know me..then you kinda know Matt too!

If you know me, you know that I am in love with the movie Cars.  I just like to keep in touch with my inner child, I guess.  Or maybe it's because Mater makes me laugh every time I watch it.

If you know me, you know that I'm so OCD.  It might almost be bad, I'm not sure.  I can't stand for things to be out of their place.  It drives me nuts.

If you know me, you know that I love taking pictures.  It doesn't matter what of, really, I just love pulling out my camera whenever, wherever.

If you know me, you know that I love Michael Bublé!

If you know me, you know that I love love love Christmas!  Along with the decorations, the songs, the movies, etc., I just like the Christmas feeling.

If you know me, you know I love puppies. They're. So. CUTE. I just want to snuggle with them and play with their ears!


Now, what do all of these things have in common, besides the fact that they're all about me?
They're kind of all about Matt, too.


May of 2007 was the first time we ever watched Cars together, and he then learned how much I loved Mater. (3 months later, he gave me a stuffed Mater for my birthday :)

Matt always has to deal with me being OCD about stuff.  Sure he makes fun of me because of it, but I just laugh and say, "I can't help it!!"

Matt knows I love to take pictures, but will always make a goofy face when I try to take a picture of him.

I had heard songs by Michael Bublé before, but I never really knew who he was.  Then Matt started listening to him more often, then I was hooked, and in 2010 we went to a Michael Bublé concert!!!!

Well, Matt's not as in to Christmas as I am.  Okay, maybe he's far from it.  Every year he tells me it looks like Christmas threw up in my room.  Sure I might have a ton of Christmas decorations in one room, but when we live somewhere, I'll have enough to decorate every room plus some!

Matt knows how much I love puppies and will show me random puppy pictures that he comes across.  We've even talked about what dogs we will have when we're married.  You'll just have to wait to find out about those ;)


Along with all of these things, Matt knows even more about me......goofy stuff.....serious stuff.......RA stuff......school stuff......everything.  And for some reason, he's okay with dealing with all of this for the rest of our lives.  And I'm thankful for that.

Since today is Valentine's Day, the first thing I did this morning was post this on his Facebook:
"I promise not to love you only on February 14th, but also on the other 364/365 days of the years we'll spend together. <3 "

MattMatt-

You know I'll never be able to tell you how much I love you, but I do love you for putting up with me and all of the crazy things I love. 

I love you!!

(I'd write more on here to you, but you'll get your card tonight....haha)

Pin It Friday!

If you have an account on Pinterest, I guarantee you're addicted.  It's pretty much a known fact that if you're on Pinterest-you're never off!

When I was tagging people for my last post, as I was on Lori's blog, I saw that she had a post titled "Pin-It Friday".  Wasn't sure what it was, but from the name, I knew it just HAD to deal with Pinterest, of course!  After looking through her post and seeing links to another blog, I just knew I also had to do this!

(the previous 2 images are from: here)

I haven't decided if I will definitely do this every Friday or not, but I might, we'll see! I'm going to share a few of my favorite Pins, each from a different board I have!  Hope you enjoy, and please share your favorite pins, too! :o)

from my Harry Potter board:

This pic was showing how Harry, Ron and Hermione's wardrobe colors have stayed within the same color scheme all throughout.

from my food & drink board:

I love this idea so much! I will definitely have to do this someday.

from my Places I Want to Go board:

Dublin, Ireland

from my quotes board:

and from possibly my favorite board--puppies!:

so cuuuuuuuute!!!!

have a great weekend :o)

e-l-e-v-e-n

The Rules:1. Post the rules
2. Post 11 fun facts about yourself
3. Answer the questions the tagger gave you in their post & then create 11 new questions for the people you tag
4. Tag 11 people and link them in your post
5. Let them know you've "tagged" them

11 fun facts about me:
1. If my planner ended up lost or stolen, I think my life might end.
2. I have Chapstick on me at ALL times! (literally and figuratively speaking)
3. I will have a new last name in 485 days!
4. I love anything that is black and has neon colors.
5. I LOVVVVVE Crispy Chipotle Snackwraps from McDonalds!! (with no cheese) So unbelievably declicious!
6. I'm slightly addicted to Pinterest (sarcasm on the 'slightly').
7. I love glitter!
8. I think cupcakes taste better than regular cake.  I don't really know why.
9. I love to speak in French.
10. I don't plan on sharing too many wedding details, because I want everyone to be surprised ;)
11. Christmas may only be celebrated on December 25th, but for me, Christmas begins in October and continues through...well...at least through today!

Questions from Kelly for me to answer:
1. Where is the coolest place you have traveled?
It's a close tie between Disneyworld and Times Square.  Disneyworld--I mean, come on, what's not to love?!  Times Sqaure--I could stand in the middle of Times Sqaure and just look at all of the lights forEVER (and take pictures of course!)

2. What is your favorite book?
Definitely any of the Harry Potter books!
I also really love the Karen Kingsbury series.
(also see this post. i didn't want to leave a super long answer!)

3. What are you most thankful for in your life?
Family, Friends, Fiancé, Faith, Food.
Yes, I had to make them all start with the same letter!

4. What is the best concert you've ever been to?
Michael Bublé. HANDS DOWN.

5. What is your favorite Superbowl party recipe?
Well, first of all, I don't really cook. I'm trying, but I still always need Matt's help...
Secondly, whenever I've gotten together with people to watch the Superbowl, all of the food provided has been snacky/junk food, so I guess no recipes were actually used ;)

6. Why did you start blogging?
For my family and friends at home to keep up with my life when I went away to college.
And just to share the 57843920 pictures I take (approximately).

7. Did you have any resolutions for 2012??
Nope! Didn't make a single one!

8. Who is your favorite author?
J. K. Rowling (did you see that one coming?)

9. If you could switch careers and have your dream job, what would it be?
My current career is full time student (for 12 more weeks....).
My dreeeeam job would ultimately be to be a wedding photographer (and not get stressed/nervous). It's something I've at least thought of since senior year in high school (um..just realized that was 4 years ago now..)  As far as a job within my major field, and with the large amount of motivation, I'd want to be an orthopedic doctor. 

10. What's the best movie you've seen lately?
Hmm...I haven't seen any new movies lately, but I've watched a lot of movies that I love in the past week or so: Dodgeball, Christmas With the Kranks, Motocrossed, Zenon (the 1st and 2nd ones!)...

11. Charlie Sheen or Kim Kardashian?
Kim!


Who I've tagged:
1. Aunt Diane
2. Ashley Link (V.A. Photography)
3. Katie
4. Lindsey
5. Jordan
6. Sara
7. Lori
8. Tori

(if you click on the names, you can go to their blogs!)

Okay, I must be really lame...I don't know 11 people to tag in this...

Questions for who I've tagged:
1. What is your favorite office supply? (I'm obsessed with sticky notes!)
2. What is your guilty pleasure? (a certain food? a tv show? pinterest??)
3. If you could live in a different era, what time period would you choose?
4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
5. What do you like to do on a rainy day?
6. If you could be really good at one sport, what would you choose?
7. What is your favorite season, and why?
8. If you could trade places with any famous person, who would it be?
9. Do you prefer the Summer or Winter Olympics?
10. Do you have a favorite dish you like to cook?
11. What would you do for a Klondike bar?

Pendleton family get-together!

This past weekend, all the family got together to celebrate Memaw's birthday!! We ended up celebrating Memaw's and Abby's birthdays!

We got together for dinner first--we had a taco bar! This was seriously like the best taco bar I've ever had in my life.  My cousin, Jake, cooked the meat, rice, peppers and onions, etc. and all of that yummy stuff plus the toppings everyone bought = perfection!

Now, before I get on with the pictures, I must warn you: THERE. ARE. A. LOT.  It's hard not to take pics, especially when you're with the fam!

Victoria enjoying her food:

Gabe insisted that he be drinking his kool-aid while I took the picture:

I wanted to enjoy "the good stuff" the most, so I just put all the fixins on my plate and had a few tortilla chips.  Like I said before: soooooooo good!!

 (I even went back for seconds---I rarely go back for seconds!)

This is a pretty typical picture of Abby & Alison:

And then we got this idea to do some awkward family photos, but no one could stop laughing long enough to do so!!

*Note: in these photos, please pay attention to Abby's face. While everyone else's face changes some, Abby's is the same in every single one!! haha*

Uncle Xel thinks we're nuts, but what else is new?

Hi Mom :)

We missed you Gabby :(

I'm telling ya - we do not  know how to take normal pictures:

Aunt Diane & one of her dogs--Pippa maybe? I can't remember!

*(Also check out her blog for some pics from the party!)*

The aftermath:

Memaw's birthday cake:

and Abby's birthday cake!

Victoria has learned the hard way--you do not want to start a tickle fight with Matt!

Sisters!

I've never seen someone enjoy cake as much as Maddox did this weekend!

Alison, Matt, and Uncle Xel

Despite the flare, I love this picture of Gabe:

Who knew you could have so much fun under a table??

And last but not least, one of my favorite pictures from the entire night:

*(The sticky note was originally indicating which salsa was HOT. haha)*