Wedding Prep Weekend!

 Last weekend, I hit the road and headed to Pittsburgh to spend a few days with one of my dearest friends to prep for her wedding!  Kelly and I met at Ohio University, where in the same fraternity (yes, you read correctly, fraternity.  As in co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega.  We did good and had lots of fund doing so.) and she was my roommate and partner in crime in my London study abroad adventure.  I had so much fun spending time with Kelly and being a part of her bridal shower and bachelorette party.  Here are a few photos of my fun, fun weekend:

Thank you tags to go with the party favors

After I arrived, we made a little grocery store run and then started baking cupcakes for the shower, Corona and Blue Moon Cupcakes.  We were up until midnight baking these puppies. Yes, they were delicious.  Yes, you should try them.

Kelly, Bride-to-be, making some
 Corona and Blue Moon Cupcakes.  They were tasty!

Ready for the oven

Let the beer basting begin!

Starting the frosting, why yes,  that is 12 oz. of whipped
cream cheese. 

 The next morning, we headed out for an interval run and then got ready for the shower (which was held at a lovely restaurant called Table).

Beautiful Guest of Honor!

Our finished product!

 After spending the afternoon at the shower, being pampered with Mani's and Pedi's, and some afternoon drinks, we headed to downtown Pittsburgh for the bachelorette festiveness!

Our view from Bar Louie

After enjoying some drinks and dinner at Bar Louie, we headed out for some dancing.

There were fireworks after the Pirates game,
they didn't translate well into photo.

The bachelorette party: (L to R) Sonya, Tamme, Kelly, Kelly,
Annie and Lisa in front

Such a fun, fun weekend.  So glad to be able to spend it with my dear, dear friend and get to know some of her fabulous friends!  Can't wait for her big day in a few weeks!

2011 In Review

We've had a very blessed and busy 2011!  Here were the highlights:

In January we flew to Colorado to meet up with our NC friends and to ski at Vail.

In February we added a new family member, Lila.

In March Chris ventured to Brazil for spring break.

In April we ran a 10 miler with Brittany.

In June we spent a week in the OBX with family and friends.  Shortly after, Chris started making the weekly drive to Cleveland for his internship.

In July we participated in our first adventure race..which ended in a broken hand.  And had our first guest blogger, Brittany!

In September brought Chris home again and the start of school at OSU and the start of football season.  But not before I made a trip to Cleveland for a visit.  We also hosted a baby shower for Danielle and Tim's pending arrivals.

In October we welcomed our first nephews Luke and Logan.  Chris ran is first (and only) marathon and I was so proud of him.

In December we finished out the year by spending the holidays with family and a few sunny days in Sanibel Island, Florida.

What were your favorite parts of 2011?  What are you looking forward to in 2012?  We've got some adventures pending so keep in touch!

Pittsburgh

While in Pittsburgh we did more than just the Ruckus and the urgent care visit. Here's a photo of Chris, myself, Kelly and her fiance Altay. They were wonderful hosts on our city adventure. Our first night in town, we went to the Friday night downtown gallery hop and had dinner at a Pittsburgh institution Pimanti Brothers (where they put french fries on my salad...seriously!) All of this was after our warm greeting with homemade chocolate chip cookies :)

We also took in a classic car show, went for a hike in South Park, enjoyed a great grilled dinner and fire pit with s'mores. All in all, a great weekend with friends!

Fractured Triquetrum-At least it's a good story!

Last weekend, at the spur of the moment, Chris and I decided to meet up in Pittsburgh to spend the weekend with my good friend Kelly and her fiance :)  They were so generous in allowing us to stay in their beautiful and cozy home...once again, thank you!  On Saturday we participated in our first ever adventure race (a Ruckus in this case).  What is a Ruckus???  Well this is the description from the Ruckus website:

This is not a trail run. This is not a mud run. This is an obstacle course.
This event was created for those looking for an "Adult Playground" experience that they can't get anywhere else. The Ruckus obstacle course is designed for those with casual fitness abilities, but is challenging enough for the fittest. There is no time limit and participants are encouraged to run the course at their own pace.
At the end of the day, the course is what the participant chooses to make it, and will provide an unforgettable experience.

And if you want to see more, check out this video.  Yes, I realize that we may be crazy... 

Needless to say, mine truly was an unforgettable experience and I'll always have the x-rays to remember it!  Chris, Kelly and I started with the 10:40am heat on a beautiful Saturday morning.  Chris decided that he was in it for time so he took off ahead of Kelly and I.  The hilly terrain and obstacles made it challenging but fun, over dirt piles, under army nets and through mud pits...until the gauntlet!  Kelly and I were about 1/2 mile from the finish line when as I like to put it, I misjudged my dismount...and fell about 10 feet to the ground landing on my left side (mainly wrist and hip).  Well, my hip took it better than the wrist and I left the race after a the next set of obstacles to head over to the medical tent (I'm still a little bummed that I didn't finish the race).  There I got some ice and was directed to the urgent care for further treatment.  The urgent care folks were very kind and splinted my left arm from elbow to fingertips which really did help the pain, that and the pain relievers they prescribed!  The whole time we were at the urgent care, Chris kept saying "never again, you are never allowed to do a race like this again".

 Team 2 Bobcats and a Buckeye

 Chris "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast"

 Finishing the Ruckus and checking his time :)

Post race, pre-urgent care

I followed up with an ortho specialist on Tuesday and the diagnosis is a fractured triquetrum (small bone in the hand, on the pinky side of the wrist).  I'm now in a removable brace for the next 8 week or so.....which I'm happy with as it could have been much, much worse!  Overall, a great weekend with friends that we will never forget!

Splint from the urgent care...no mobility in left hand

Ortho brace, yay for being able to move my fingers and remove it to shower!

PS. please forgive the hair and makeup...seriously hard to do with one hand!  I even went to the stylist and had her cut 5 inches off my hair just so I could attempt to style it myself.

PPS. Shout out to Chris who completed the race at an awesome pace of 48:53.5 (12:13 per mile).  Remember, 4 miles and 20+ obstacles :)  Great job!