Life lately

I feel like I always say this, but it's been another busy couple of weeks. It seems like all of my social activities for the junior board I serve on has fallen in the month of July. Crazy how that happens, but we had a baseball game at the begining of the month and then a 5k run a couple of weeks ago, followed by a mix & minlge event with the governing board of Triumph–all of which were good times!

We also had a shower filled weekend a couple of weeks ago. Nicole's lingerie shower was Friday night and I loved this cute gift her sister put together with all types of lingerie—adorable. Then the next night was the couples shower at my house that I helped several of our other friends host. We had a retro theme with good food and fun games. Everything turned out fantastic and we all had a great time.

Last Tuesday J & I had date night at Bettola since he'd never been and I rarely go. Of course I couldn't branch out from my "usual" and ordered a pizza, even though he got pasta and I was eating a pizza by myself. I had leftovers for two days, which was pretty awesome.

This past weekend we went to the Alabama Outdoors party on the porch Friday night, followed by a Barons game with some friends of ours. It was the first time I'd ever sat out on the lawn at the stadium. And while it's a lot harder for me to follow the game in that area, it's definitely still a good time. Especially when the weather is nice!

Then Saturday I did my usual workout routine, followed by a hair appointment and then I made my first trip to the "new" Nordstrom Rack in town. I took Jill so we could find a dress for her upcoming high school reunion. We somehow made a great find with the very first dress she tried on, but you know us girls. We still ran around town just to "be sure" we had the perfect dress. Turns out we had it right the first time :)

Later that night, J & I had dinner with Luke, a friend of his that was in town for the weekend, and Luke's sister's family who actually live here in Bham. I am loving getting to meet all of his friends lately. I just wish they lived closer so we could hangout more often!

Sunday after church, J & I hit up the showing of To Kill a Mockingbird at the Alabama Theater with Joy and Justin. Such a great movie and I never get tired of going to the Alabama. It's just so beautiful and the organ that comes up from below the stage is always a great highlight.

Pretty soon we'll be in wedding mode for Nicole & Torry's upcoming nuptials. Excited about celebrating them and getting to see friends framily come back in town again...stay tuned for the fun!

Life lately

It's been a while since I've last done a "life lately" post. It's probably because I seemed to have gotten in a bad habit of not taking as many photos over the past few weeks. There's actually been a decent amount of things I've done so that's kind of a bummer. But I do at least have a few pics to share.

A couple of weekends ago we got an early start with a birthday dinner celebration in honor of Heather at the J. Clyde on Thursday. So glad she appreciates and shares my love for that place. The next night I went with Katie, John and Kyle to the Alabama Outdoors Party on the Porch event that supported Ruffner Mountain. I wish I had taken a pic of my truck fries that I got from the Cantina truck. But obviously there's no time for such shenanigans when you're holding steak, queso and pico on top of garlic fries. We also even made it to Marty's to see a second band play for the night.

Since J and all my friends seemed to be out of town, I spent the next day devoted to entirely too much physical activity (11 miles of running and an hour of horizontal conditioning...who am I?!) and then promptly returned to the YMCA pool for some afternoon sun worshipping. That Sunday was Father's day so I went home and hung with the fam and played with the kiddos, and took my usual power nap, too.

This past weekend was jam packed with a whole lotta fun. Friday night was a going away dinner at Cocina for another couple from church (seriously, why is everyone leaving?!) followed by catching a few bands play at a benefit for Gip's Place, including getting to see Henry "Gip" Gipson actually play. You haven't lived til you've seen a 92-year old man play the blues on guitar. Just sayin!

Then Saturday I particpated in my first ever indoor climbing competition (more on that in another post), followed by a well deserved lunch at FIVE and then to cheer on John at the skeeball finals. Then Sunday after church, J and I hit up the afternoon showing of The Princess Bride at the Alabama Theater. Somehow I had never seen this movie and he had never been to the Alabama, so it was a win-win. Afterward we stopped for ice cream at Edgewood creamery—clearly the best way to end an already amazing weekend.

Free fun: Trail run

Ok, I should be honest. I don't know if I should call this free "fun" but maybe a free butt kickin workout instead?

I mean, it's fun for me, but I don't know that many other people who consider running in 80-something degree heat while trying to keep from falling down because of tree roots and mud as "fun"... but if you do and you're in the Birmingham area, then you should come join Alabama Outdoors as they host trail runs tomorrow night at Red Mountain Park.

I went last Tuesday with this group and while the first mile was brutal (to be fair, I had already ran 5 miles that morning) after I was able to accept that my breathing wasn't ever going to quiet down I settled in and managed to hang in there for the next mile until we stopped and saw a pretty amazing view of downtown Birmingham. The second half was definitely a lot easier and it seemed a lot quicker, too. But I think that's how most all of my runs feel.

Anyhow, I've been a runner for a long time but I've never done a trail run. And if this hadn't been a group meeting at a certain spot with a person leading the run, I might not have ever even tried a trail run. So if you're looking for a way to shake up your running schedule or for a different workout entirely or you just want to meet new people, I think this is a great way to do all of those things. It's also a great way to check out the latest park addition to the Birmingham area. (side note: They have a zip line - how cool is that?)

Just be sure you get there as close to 5:45 p.m. as possible because there are outdoor companies with shoes available for you to try out on the run and it's first come, first serve. Plus, you need time to sign a waiver and figure out what running group you want to be in before the groups leave at 6:00 p.m.

Here are the details:
1. Tuesday May 22nd & May 29th
2. Arrival time at 5:45 p.m. at Red Mountain Park
3. Free shoe demo opportunity
4. Beginner level group - 4 miles at a 12 min. pace*
5. Intermediate level group is a possibility, depending on runners in attendance - 10 min pace
6. Advanced level group - 6 miles at an 8 min. pace

*I strongly advise joining the beginner level group if you've never done a trail run, even if you run on the road all the time. The "12 minute pace" includes the water stops, so really you are actually running at a faster pace.

Hope to see you on the trail!