Pumpkin carving party!!!

As promised!! Here is my post about my Halloween get together I hosted!! We all had so much fun- it was such a great group of girls- and I’m so extremely lucky to have such amazing,  intelligent,strong,beautiful friends ♥️ we were treated to pretty views of the fall foliage and enjoyed each other’s company, and yummy fall foods! 

Me with vast majority of my favorite women of swva!!! Love you all 😘

Our pumpkins!! 

It’s an orb 😂 it’s really smoke but when I took the picture I claimed it was a ghost 👻 

Camille’s beautiful “la Luna e las Estrellas”

 Laura, robins and Kate’s handiwork 

 Beth’s executioner 

 Beth is the pumpkin carving wizard 

 Jack and Todd free handed their pumpkins as I did I 

Hard at work! 

 Me and mama bear!! 

 Gluten free pumpkin pie! 

Todd being edgey 
 

Me and my amazing friend Camille who handled hanging out with a cult of ultrarunning alpha females extremely well 

I had table decorations!! This was a swanky party 🎈 

End of the day I am just grateful I was able to share a happy evening with some really dynamic awesome ladies and definitely want to make us all getting together like this a regular occurrence♥️ mellow Monday day after masochist!! 

One of the coolest things I’ve done in 2018

 One of the coolest things that I’ve done this year was for my 40th birthday I did something I’ve never done before but always wanted to! I went snorkeling at a reef in the Florida Keys- to see “Christ of the Abyss” statue 

It’s located in John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo, Florida 

http://pennekamppark.com/

I found out about it on Pinterest looking for ideas of things to do on our vacation and found tons of posts about the statue and decided that would be an amazing adventure! 

So- Brock and I went to a dive shop- bought some gear- nothing expensive- mask and snorkels and we rented out flippers - drove to the park-  

We looked around the park there were cannons reclaimed from some English ships(shipwrecks )from the 1700s 

We had stopped by the grocery store and got some things to make for a yummy picnic lunch 

And then we made friends with a friendly squirrel who wasn’t bashful in the least- I feel he was wanting to join in on the feast 

 was an hour boat ride out to the reef - we rode with about 50 other tourists- but it really wasn’t that bad- the tour guides gave a brief demo about how our vests worked and the rules and guidelines to follow for safety and to keep the reef as pristine and untouched  as possible  It was a little windy and choppy but I still found the experience very fun and enjoyable 

I took many pictures with my iPhone that had a plastic bag /pouche with a magnetic closure specifically for water sports - this worked beautifully for still shots- I found videos were a challenge ulitizing this method - we also used a go pro - 

Post dive we came back to our resort and cleaned up for an amazing dinner and beautiful sunset! Key sunsets are amazing ♥️

Another sunset shot from the gulf side- where our resort playa de largo was located 

 There was a manatee that would show up and swim with us everyday- we were careful to never touch him or give him fresh water etc- both are illegal did you know that? 


Us enjoying outside dining and watching the sun go down after an amazing day adventuring - this trip has made me definitely want to return to the keys to check out other dive locations and snorkel more- I’m

Completely happy I did something I had never done before- just went and did it- did I get boat sick?? Yes! But I didn’t hurl 😃

My obsession with decorating for fall

So this month I’ve been fully immersed in decorating for fall- more than I can ever recall?  

Its really just my front porch and dining room- but I think I enjoyed it as much as decorating for Christmas only more so! (Christmas triggers me like no other holiday I find it so stressful and hard emotionally (draining) so I’m def in the bah humbug crowd personally other than making sure my kids have an amazing time- and I enjoy going to my parents farm- other than that I’m counting the days until dec 26th so I can take the tree down and move on to New Years- (which I enjoy much better)  so I think that’s why I feel so good about fall- no pressure - it feels homey and safe 

Here are some of my fall decorations for this year 

Apologies for the non running content of this post- but it’s just something that makes me happy!! There are multiple

Facets that make up each individual So I wanted to share it- ♥️🎃
So call for comments: do you decorate for fall? Why or why not? Also what is your favorite season -and why? 

Band Mom and Date Night

We are having a busy weekend and I’m having a hard time sneaking in my workouts and runs- but that’s okay!!

My oldest son Jack is in band and it’s really kept us hopping this fall with games and competitions. He had a game on Thursday and today we travel to Pulaski, Va for jacks last competition of the season. It’s been so amazing to watch him grow and flourish just this year alone -

Here are some pictures from his game on Thursday 

And last night, because the game was moved to Thursday- Brock and I found ourselves with the rare opportunity to get to go to dinner together and have a date night!!  He works out of town pretty much Monday- Friday every week. Lately he has even had to work some weekends so it’s been - ugh- so freaking hard- I miss him terribly and the kids miss their dad as well. I completely appreciate how hard Brock works to provide an amazing life for us- and completely appreciative of the opportunities he has to make money but - we still miss him and want him home- over the moon happy when he comes home. 




I think we clean up just fine ♥️😁

Brock is tapering for mmtr 50 next weekend- and I’m so excited to get to crew for him and see all my friends at the race!! Going to Lynchburg ultras is like a big family reunion for me, as these ( along with WVMTR)are the first ultras I ran as a newbie ultrarunner and they are the ones I find myself going back to year after year because of the people and sheer positivity I experience running and crewing at their races!! 

Lastly and I know this will be a blog post later this weekend or Monday: I am having a party!!! I’m so excited- I decided I was isolating myself way too much and what better way to break out of that than to invite 5or 6 of the coolest chicks you know?! So Sunday afternoon- I’m hosting a pumpkin carving party- costumes optional (I’m dressing up!) and I can’t wait- all the ladies I invited are so unique and cool in their own rite- and best part each of them are my friends! Like real friends!  Like if I was hurt or sick or needed help I know I could call any of these women and they would be there without hesitation to help- and same me for them- So that feels soooo good to me- to gather a collective of people I adore like that! So I’ll keep you guys updated how the party goes and be sure to take pictures!! 

Hope your weekend is fantastic ♥️ hug your family, friends, dogs and kitties and tell them you love them- life is short!! 

Few of my favorite things right now...

Wanted to share some of things that I’m quasi obsessed with currently! None of this is advertising - no one asked me to promote anything- I just wanted to share them because they seem to make my life and health better

 I use these two cook books ALOT. Loads of great information and fast and easy recipes! I got “run fast, cook fat, eat slow” from Amazon and “wicked good” from booksamillion

 I have used many different brands of ghee and this hands down is my favorite - I bought it from Earthfare. I use this instead of butter - I also use it for when I make golden milk- (my go to warm evening/before bedtime drink) and I put it in. My coffee in the mornings

 Omg- y’all- using gelatin like this is a game changer- if you haven’t heard about it’s many benefits PLeASE do yourself a favor and research it- it helps heal your gut- it helps your skin,hair and nails- it gives you tons of protein! And you can put it in everything! I place a serving in my golden milk I drink every evening but you can also stir it into soups! It’s amazing- and you can make healthy gummies for your kids (or for yourself)!


And last but not least- because I’ve raved- about golden milk- this is a mix I like to use-  but you can easily make your own- I bought this from Earthfare as well- tsp of this to 12 oz of unsweetened warm almond or coconut milk- with some gelatin ghee- maybe a little  local honey - it’s money and you will

Sleep like a baby!! 

I hope each of you is having an amaZing day today! It’s little cool out but feels so crisp and exillerating!! Do something good for yourself today! Whether it’s moving around, taking an exercise class, going for a run or walk, eating nourishing foods or even just remembering to take your vitamins!! ♥️

Cutting back hedges, making room for more light in my life

Yesterday was a bear. It was the third day that I spent with my 72 year old dad clearing brush and cutting back my hedges in my landscaping because they had become so overwhelming to me- they were blocking the  sunlight that comes into my house - and also growing up against my house and just making a mildewy mess- I love plants- and at first recoiled at having to trim them back what I felt was severely- but as my dad pointed out- in the long run it makes them grow correctly it makes them heartier and healthier and give me space- so as we were working I noticed the more sunlight and space I was making by trimming- the more I could breathe I literally felt lighter and better- the sheer overgrowth of my landscaping I felt had choke hold on me and I didn’t realize it- I wish I had before and after but this walk way I couldn’t even use before it was like a green tunnel and really mosquito-y in the summer 

Now it’s so open and lovely and I feel I can actually utilize it- so my point is - what other things have a subconscious choke hold on our psyche? Are there places in our life that are so out of control and over grown- we need to prune and trim and cut it back into submission so that it actually works for us  and makes sense again? Just something to think about- but I know I want to make more  space for myself  and for things to look lovely and have access to plenty of sunshine!!! ♥️

I was so tired last night for dinner I made soup again but this time it was my spin of beef pho- but I used  fake ramenoodles soba ? I think so their name (gluten free) sirloin from pounding mill land and cattle ( my parents farm) and I used beef bone broth I had made- if anyone wants the  precise recipe I can post it later- 

It’s going to be another beautiful October day! Clear blue bird day crisp high 60- I’m getting ready to go run 🏃‍♀️- 5 miles then plan to take maverick for a walk-  here are some pictures of the back of my house with maverick this morning- I’m just so happy how everything looks in my yard now ( and that I can breathe) 

 Maverick be like “lady stop taking pictures of me” 

Okay  lastly this is a humble brag - yesterday I fixed my son todds bounce back for lax- it had gotten messed up when the yard dudes moved it to mow around it - and since spring had been under my back porch in a crumpled sad heap- and it drove me crazy- I hated it - I wanted to throw it away but was too afraid I would scratch my truck trying to load it by myself because it was so cumbersome- 

My dad said he would help me haul it away yesterday and I said well let me try one more time to see if I can get it to stand and not fall down-  and for whatever crazy reason and some wd40 I got it to work 

 So I had a happy child

After school who practiced on his bounce back 

Then he practiced cradling and shooting for an hour- so that is a victory  in my book. My goal is just to continue to dig out small victories like the bushes or the bounce back every day - 

Hope everyone has an awesome Wednesday!!!