Santa's littlest (and cutest!) helper

Hey everyone! We're only 11 days away from Ruby's first Christmas and Shane and I couldn't be more excited. 

This Christmas is going to be a little different than usual, and not just because we have another stocking to hang up. For the first year in either of our lives, we won't be spending Christmas in Knoxville with our families. Both sets of parents and my sister are planning on visiting us around Christmas, but we won't be making the rounds of Christmas parties or seeing any of our extended family.

It was a really hard but necessary choice for us to stay in Nashville this year. Ruby will be just twelve days shy of two months old, which means she won't be vaccinated yet. It sounds like tempting fate to have her in close contact with so many people at the height of cold and flu season. We're just not ready to test the limits of her little immune system yet and would rather not spend Christmas Day in the ER for a fever. It also doesn't sound like much fun to cram her, our two dogs, and our luggage plus Christmas presents into our VW Golf for a three-and-a-half hour car ride. Considering she screamed her head off on the way home from the grocery store right down the road, I don't think she's ready for long trips yet. 

In spite of the change of location this year, we're determined to have an awesome Christmas. It would be impossible not to, with such a little cutie pie to celebrate with! Check out our fun Christmas activity from last night, a photo shoot with our little elf baby in front of the Christmas tree! 

Disclaimer: I am in no way a professional photographer and was using a camera borrowed from my sister. In case you notice the lighting looks a little funny, it's because I waited until nighttime to take pictures (silly me) and was depending on lamps for assistance. 

I know all people think their baby is the cutest, but c'mon...she's adorable! 

I'm still amazed we were able to get this shot. This took a lot of patience and Shane dangling a dog treat over my head. They'd each take turns trying to come get the treat from him, so it's a Christmas miracle that both dogs were still and looking at the camera at the same time. 

If you look carefully in the background, the large white oval on the tree is her footprint ornament. Directly under it is a Santa head ornament with my fingerprint on it from my first Christmas. Didn't plan that but it's a nice coincidence :) 

Elf feetsies! The booties are from Target.

  

Ruby with her reindeer ornament from Little Sapling Toys, it's personalized with "Baby's First Christmas 2015" engraved on the back. 

She's getting a few of their adorable toys in her stocking but shhh, it's a surprise! 

We'd already bought her plenty of gifts but I couldn't help myself when I was shopping for the other kids in the family a few days ago...so the new presents got tagged from Santa to cover my tracks ;) 

Eventually even the best models get tired and ready for some milk. This was the one good shot I was able to get of her adorable Rudolph onesie from Hello Half Pint which we bought at an arts festival this summer. She had so many cute tie dye onesies and shirts for little ones, it was hard to pick our favorite! I'm sure we'll be visiting her booth the next time she's in town. 

To our friends and family in Knoxville...we hope you have a wonderful celebration this year, and hopefully we'll get to video chat you. We look forward to visiting you all at the next big holiday celebration when the weather and new parent stress levels are more amenable :) in the meantime, if anyone's ever in the Nashville area, be sure to stop by! 

Day 25: Shopping spree!

Today Shane and I went to Lowe's to pick up supplies for several projects around the house. We've got a lot to catch up on now that it's warm enough to work outside comfortably. I noticed some peeling paint around the back door today and we've still not stained our new decks yet. We've still got to wait until dryer weather for that one, but we can at least get started on some other items on our list! Like new shutters (ours are wooden and rotted), new front porch lights, plants for the front yard, and raised vegetable beds for the back yard. 

Don't listen when people tell you that you need a truck to haul stuff. We've proven time and again that a VW Golf will do just fine ;)

It was supposed to rain this afternoon, plus a friend borrowed our drill, so replacing our lights was as far as we got. Here's the before shot:

Our front porch lights were a dark brown / bronze color when we moved in, but since then they'd faded to light brown. They weren't our style anyways, but now that the paint looked so terrible, we decided it was time to find them a nice new home on Craigslist. 

The new black front porch fixtures will match our new black shutters, and they're a much more classic style than the old ones. On the right is our old garage light and new one. Our house needed some more night lighting, so this one will do just the trick.

Cross your fingers that the weather stays nice and we'll be able to work on some of our other projects soon!

Day 14: More SNOW!

Nashville had pretty much recovered from the crazy snow and ice storm two weeks ago. We even had a day here or there that felt pretty warm. I went to the gym in SHORTS and felt fantastic. 

Spring isn't quite here yet though, and that groundhog was so right when he said we'd get six more weeks of winter. Last night around midnight the rain turned into sleet and didn't stop. By the time I woke up this morning, we'd gotten around three inches of snow and it was still falling. 

So pretty! Charlie and Sheldon had a great time hopping around in it today. Charlie wanted to stay out there for a while, we had to make him come back in! Then Shane and I got out and tried to play in the snow a little bit. I was sad to discover it wasn't good snowman snow :( so we walked around our neighborhood to scope out the road situation. We even got to do our good deed for the day when we helped push a neighbor's car over an icy patch. 

Of course Nashville State cancelled classes for the day. Since Thursday is my last class day, I got to start Spring Break early! I cannot tell you how much I was dreading today's biology lecture, so I'm super glad to miss out on that one. Of course both my biology and precalculus teachers made sure to post make-up homework assignments online. Maybe I'll go sit in a hot tub somewhere while reading my bio book to make up for the lack of beach-like atmosphere around here. 

It was a great snow day with Shane and the doggies. I know I'm getting spoiled with another day off, but I can't help it! What can I say? I love spending time with those three, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. 

Day 6: Night at the movies!

We broke our normal weeknight routine tonight with some help from our friends Faith and Kaylis. They had gotten free tickets for an advance screening of the new Will Smith movie Focus and had an extra set of passes. Shane and I don't go to the movies a lot because we're on a tight budget and are super picky about what we do see, but who can turn down a freebie?

Sneak peek ticketing works differently than regular movies. Regular movies can sell out, but sneak peeks hand out way way more tickets than they have seats and it's first come, first serve when you get there. Tonight's movie was set to start at 7:30 so we got there at 6:45 to get in line...behind the couple hundred folks already there. The line snaked throughout the whole lobby and we got real worried we weren't going to make it in. Rumor was the first guy in line showed up to the theater around 4:00. I'm all for a free movie, but I'm not that committed!

This is like 1/10th of the line. A lot of people had already gone in and we were making backup plans to walk around the mall instead. I felt bad for the poor lady checking passes, she looked so frazzled. I overheard her later saying the promo team had been told the screening was going on at another theater 15 miles away and they'd gone there first, whoops!

No worries though, because we made it in. We were on the second row and had to look straight up at the screen, but at least we weren't in the front row! Those poor people. 

Left to right: Shane, me, Kaylis, Faith

 Shane and I had to look up the movie trailer after we heard about the passes, so it wasn't like this was a movie we'd been looking forward to for months. We normally stick to comedies and don't see many dramas, but I thought the movie was pretty good. If you haven't seen the preview ( watch it here ), a quick synopsis with no spoilers...Will Smith is a pro con artist and brings a new woman into the group, teaching her the tricks of the trade. It was crazy seeing just how much they stole, and how easy it seemed! Especially the parts where they'd be pickpocketing...makes me want to be extra careful when I'm out in a crowd. 

I give the movie a 7/10, only because drama-type movies aren't my absolute fave, and while it was good, it wasn't the best movie I've ever seen or anything. If you're a Will Smith fan, it's a must go. For anyone else, it's a good movie that most would enjoy, even if it's just when it comes to Netflix / Redbox.

Day 2: SNOW!

Since Sunday, everything in Nashville has been coated in a layer of ice and topped with a sprinkle of snow. We have even more in the forecast for tonight! 

Based on the way things are going, it's likely my Golf won't make it out of the driveway until spring. They've finally managed to clear most of the major roads, but our neighborhood is treacherous. If I had ice skates, I'd take them for a spin. 

I'm really thankful that we insulated under the house this summer, or we'd be frozen. We've been extra lucky that our power hasn't gone out, I know some have been without for days. 

Our backyard hasn't been so lucky though. Our tropical oasis bamboo privacy screen has turned into a pile of limp spaghetti. 

I'm hoping / guessing that they'll bounce back? If not we're gonna have some problems, because the view of the neighbor's yard is bleak. 

Our gutters also filled and froze, and then overflowed to create an icicle jungle, which is magical. 

Charlie and Sheldon have enjoyed playing around in the snow. We even let them off leash for a while so they could explore. Don't worry, Shane was close by with his daddy voice ready in case he needed to call them back. 

Sheldon had such a good time I could barely get him to sit still for a picture! He spent a lot of time running around the car, hoping we were going for a ride.

Charlie really likes the cold and wants to spend a surprising amount of time in it. We basically have to drag him in after potty breaks. My theory is that the white snow makes the brown squirrels so much easier to spot. 

** Note to readers: if you see Charlie's bare patches on his legs, don't despair. He has pretty serious skin allergies, which we work hard to keep under control with help from his vet. He's okay, I promise.

I am thankful that I got to spend this impromptu vacation with Shane and the doggies. We've had fun watching tons of Hulu and vegging out on the couch for nearly a week. Plus I finally got a chance to take the tags off my snow pants (had them 5 years now?) and break out my snow boots (which I almost got rid of a few weeks ago). 

Three school snow days have spoiled me, I'm not ready to go back to the real world!

Weekly update: Catch us if you can!

To see our whole weight loss journey, click here.

Today Shane and I did something that I NEVER thought we'd be able to do...

WE RAN A 10K / 6.2 MILES!!!!

Shane and I participated in the Farm Bureau Holiday 5k and 10k put on by the Robertson County YMCA. It was the third race in a three-race bundle we purchased through the Y. We had originally planned on doing the 5k but decided at last minute to go for it and do the 10k. Our training plan had us doing a 6 mile run this weekend anyways so it really worked out. It was quite a drive to get there, but the course was really pretty, so that made it all worth it. 

Just two weeks ago I was struggling to run a 5k, but the marathon training has really helped. I'm not going to lie, when I have to run my next 3 mile training run on Tuesday, I'm probably still going to struggle a bit. I'm not a great runner by any means. It's just like that time I took a couple hot yoga classes...it's hard to motivate yourself to go, and it's really rough to make it through, but you feel magical after it's over. It helps to think back on past successes to help motivate yourself through the next run. I'll just have to remind myself that I've done it once and I should be able to do it again. 

I tried using an iPod Shuffle for music today instead of taking my phone. I normally stream Pandora and GPS track my run, but that's a lot of unnecessary data usage. The Shuffle worked out nicely, except I realized that most of the music in my library is way too slow for running. I'm going to have to do some major iTunes shopping before next time. 

Our finish times were amazing (for us). Shane finished in 1hr 3 min / 5th in his age group and I finished in 1 hr 12 min / 7th in my age group. The winner finished the run in 38 minutes which is just insane, but I'm also kinda jealous and hope that's us someday. It would be nice to at least place because they're always giving out goody bags that look fun. 

We're already super excited for our next run. There's a Santa themed run we're thinking of doing in December with some of our family and it looks pretty festive and fun. We're going to have to opt for a 5k for this next race, since we're not quite ready for a 1/2 marathon yet. Instead of distance, we'll get to work on our speed. 

I'm really excited to see where this marathon training takes us. It's not going to be easy, and we're probably going to have some setbacks. But we're going to try, and that's what counts. 

Weekly weigh in + Happy 4th of July!

To see all past weigh ins, click here. To see my whole weight loss journey, click here.

I'm back from a short hiatus and better than ever. Shane and I had a big two weeks. We have both been working on our new, more intense weightlifting routines. We ran a 5k. We joined a DietBet. And we hosted an awesome 4th of July party! But more on that in a minute...let's get down to business with our weigh in:

My progress: I've lost 3lbs since last weigh in in for a total of 41lbs lost...I'm now at 185lbs.

45.6% of my goal complete!

Shane's progress: He's lost 2lbs since last weigh in in for a total of 46lbs lost...he's at 263lbs.

36.8% of his goal complete. 

We ran in the YMCA Firecracker 5k on July 4th and had an awesome time. I am so proud to report that I ran THE WHOLE WAY without stopping once! When I started the Couch to 5k program earlier in the year, I seriously thought I was going to fall dead of a heart attack after a 30 second run. And I ran for 3.1 miles in 35 minutes! I'm not going to be winning any land speed races any time soon, but I made it through to the end and I couldn't be happier. I am so proud of Shane too, he finished the race a whole 4 minutes faster than me and clocked in at 31 minutes! 

If you've ever pondered the idea of becoming a runner or just need a way to get in shape (don't we all)...I can't recommend the Couch to 5k training program enough. It's not always easy, but anything worth having is worth the work, and this is worth it. Working to become more fit has changed my life in so many ways already, and I can't wait to see where it all takes me. You should totally try it, because if I can become a "runner", anyone can. 

Shane and I have also joined a DietBet to help keep us motivated, specifically the Shays Father-Son SummerShapeUp. Shay Carl Butler, the host of the challenge, is a YouTuber (see his main channel here: Shaytards) who films videos with his wife, five kids, and various other family members...and who Shane is absolutely obsessed with. Shay Carl lost a lot of weight a couple years ago and has since hosted several DietBets to help motivate his viewers to do the same.  In case you're unfamiliar with the DietBet website and/or app, you join a challenge for a fee (in this case $30 each) with other DietBetters, and by the end of the specified amount of time, if you didn't reach the fitness goal you lose your money, but if you DID reach the goal, you get to split the pot of money with all the other winners. In this bet, we have 28 days to lose 4% body weight (for me, that's 7.5 lbs). There are currently 1,292 players and a pot of $38,760! If we win, we are liable to get a nice chunk of money. 

Last but certainly not least, this year Shane and I hosted our 4th Annual Elliott and Horner Family and Friends 4th of July Extravaganza. We are so lucky to have family near enough to come and visit us occasionally, and we always have a great time cooking out and shooting off fireworks. This year was extra-special because it was the one year anniversary of becoming homeowners! It seems like just yesterday that we moved in, and we still have so many things we want to work on. I'll work on getting some updated pictures on here for y'all too, because there are a lot of things we've done since this post last year. 

Check out the video below to see just how much fun we had! I'm already planning for the 5th Annual party next year :)

Weekly weigh in!

To see all past weigh ins, click here. To see my whole weight loss journey, click here.

My progress: I've lost 1lb since last week in for a total of 36lbs lost...I'm now at 190lbs.

40% of my goal complete!

Shane's progress: He's lost 2lbs since last week in for a total of 43lbs lost...he's at 266lbs.

34.4% of his goal complete. 

I've had an absolutely AMAZING week! 

I hit 40% of my goal complete. I'm really getting there and making awesome progress. 

My BMI (body mass index) is now officially just "overweight" instead of "obese". OMG! 

Oh yeah, and did I mention I ran a 5k this weekend?! We did the Color Me Rad 5k at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds here in Nashville. 

Before 

You start out wearing white, and with the help of colored cornstarch and colored water, you end up a walking or running rainbow by the end. 

We went last year by ourselves and had just an okay time. 

This year we went with our friends Julie Ann, Manuel and Carlena and had an AWESOME time! We got together the day before and made tshirts that said "First things first I'm the RADDEST" playing off the lyrics in Iggy Azaela's song "Fancy."

 We all had a blast, and I'm really proud of myself for how much I was able to run. 

And you KNOW it took a lot of scrubbing to get all that color off!

After

We all agreed that this is going to become an annual thing and we're ready to get RAD again next year. You're all welcome to join in on the fun :) 

Shane and I can't wait for our next 5k...the YMCA Mid TN Firecracker 5k on the 4th of July! 

Practice at traveling in space and time

I know, I know...I've kinda fallen off the face of the earth lately. I mean it's only been a week and a half since my last post so that's not too awful, but it feels like it's been FOREVER. 

Before tonight at the Y, it felt like it had been sooo long since we worked out too. It had been eight days since our last run, and six days since the last time we lifted weights. It was only like a week, but it felt like months! We have been busy with family and friends and really fell off the wagon. 

I've got a lot to update y'all on, so why not start with our weekend at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival? Shane's parents came to town to visit on Saturday and then Sunday we all stepped back in time to 16th century England. None of us had been to a renaissance faire before so we didn't really know what to expect. They actually have a real (replica) castle there, the family who built it lives in one of the towers full time. That would be so cool! 

They have been continuously working on the castle since the 1980s and it still isn't finished. The festival was started as a way to let people tour the castle one month out of the year (and raise money) while giving themselves some peace to enjoy their home the other eleven months. Of course they do host a lot of weddings there, and Taylor Swift even shot her "Love Story" music video there. 

We had a great time looking around at all the booths, playing games, eating festival food (I think we were the only ones without a giant turkey leg), and watching shows. It was all going so well until 4:30...we were watching the Birds of Prey show while waiting for the jousting tournament to start...then all of a sudden, drip drip drip. In under a minute, those few raindrops had turned into a torrential downpour. With no hope of the rain letting up, we made a mad dash for the car. We were all absolutely soaked through by the time we made it to the car.

I got in the mood to make a video and also to use the iMovie fairytale theme, so to see any more, you'll need to watch the video below :) We're looking forward to next year's festival, and hopefully we'll actually be able to see the jousting!

It's a deck-saster

So you remember when we got a little carried away with yard work and ripped out our small deck? Well, we had some friends over a couple weekends ago...and...um...our big deck fell off the house. While people were on it.  At least the railing was attached well, right? Yeah...

Ick. We're hoping that there is no major structural damage to the house. We thought the deck was just a tad wobbly, turns out it was mostly rotted, not attached to the house well at ALL, and had zero concrete footers. In fact, the posts were barely in the ground at all. 

Shane got busy with our circular saw and cut it all into pieces. There was basically no useable, good wood on that thing once we got to looking at it. Anybody know a good contractor or deck builder in the area? We've got a nice little redneck setup for the time being...took the stairs from the deck, added some wobbly supports, and voila. It's not great but it's a lot easier to let the dogs walk out rather than having to toss them down. 

So, Yard Crashers crew, you think you could squeeze us in now? 

#25: DG Founders Day!

A bit of background for those of you reading who are not members of Delta Gamma Fraternity... it was founded in 1873 by three girls (Anna Boyd, Eva Webb, and Mary Comfort) who were stuck at school (Lewis School for Girls, Oxford, Mississippi) over Christmas break because of the snow. They decided to form a club with the motto of "Do Good," and later chose the Greek letters Delta Gamma (ΔΓ) as the name of the club. Today the club has grown to an international Fraternity with over 200,000 members. Although Delta Gamma was founded in December, March 15th was chosen as the "official" Founders Day.

Yesterday afternoon the Cookeville Alumnae Association and the Nashville Alumnae Association joined forces with the Epsilon Epsilon - TN Tech chapter of Delta Gamma to celebrate Founders Day at the Lebanon Country Club. I was excited to go as I haven't been able to keep up with everyone as much as I'd like lately and Founders Day is always a really great time. 

We had a nice lunch along with a raffle, a giving tree for donations in honor or in memory of a sister, and our fabulous guest speaker, Fraternity Foundation Director Roxanne LaMuth. 

Mrs. LaMuth gave a speech about the wonderful things the Delta Gamma Foundation and philanthropy, Service for Sight, is doing to help the blind and visually impaired. She shared a lot of interesting history of the foundation, and also filled us in on the latest developments in Service for Sight's newest initiative, Joining Forces, which benefits U.S. service members from all branches of the military who have suffered injuries resulting in vision loss. She has a lot of passion for the Fraternity and our mission and it shows. Her energy is just amazing!

We also had a fashion show featuring hats made by my good friend Julie Ann Mirse of Whimsies by Jules. She's the one in the middle of the front row wearing the white dress with white and black polka dot hat. I got to be in the show and wore a Gatsby inspired headband. Good thing I'd worn my extra long pearls!

I am so proud of Shannon, one of my little sisters, because she won Best New Alumna Member of the Year! She won Collegiate Sister of the Year last year too! She's really racking up the awards, and she deserves it :) 

The best part of the day was getting to see all of my awesome sisters, and especially my DG family. Here I am with my little sisters, Shannon (on my left) and Adrianne (on my right), their littles, their littles' littles, their littles' littles' littles, and so forth. This isn't all of us, but just the ones who could make it to Founders Day. 

I'm so thankful to be a part of such a wonderful organization and share it with so many amazing women. I'm already looking forward to the next Founders Day!

#20: That time I got to pet a kangaroo

I have this weird compulsion that when I see an animal, I want to pet it. Not in the way that the little kids see the baby bunny and pet too hard and accidentally strangle it. I just want to touch it and see what it's skin / fur / feathers feel like. 

At the same time, I also have this low-level fear of most animals. I was terrified of dogs until my family got one when I was about 9. I'm still wary about cats. I think I held my gerbil, turtle, and hermit crab maybe once or twice each. 

Petting zoos are a great way for me to work on this love/fear relationship with animals. When that goat gets too close, I can just back off and make it look like I'm giving the little kids a turn. And when the goat licks that kid in the face and the kid acts like it's no big deal, then I'm shamed into manning up and just touching the darn thing. 

Shane and I went to the Nashville Zoo a bunch when we first moved (see one of our other visits here) and I got on their email list. I was elated when I found out they finally opened their kangaroo petting exhibit last fall, and so was most of the rest of the city. That place was PACKED. And from the looks of this rather manly 'roo in the picture below, a lot of those kids had a lot of questions later. 

The kangaroos get the run of the place while humans are confined to the winding sidewalk. The exhibit had opened about a week before we went, and let me tell you, they learned FAST to stay away from the pavement at all costs. Most of them spent their time lounging on the grass or nomming on the plants in the exhibit. Every once in a while you'd see one hop as fast as it could across the path to get to its mates (lame Australian pun intended) on the other side. They had a "get your picture made with a kangaroo!" portion to the exhibit and you should have seen the line, it probably took an hour or so to get through. That poor little kangaroo looked like it had been given lots of kangaroo prozac too to help it through the experience. 

I was patient and it paid off. Just when we were about to leave the exhibit, this little guy hopped by. He (or she, not sure) was going pretty slow and stopped for a minute to munch on some grass and leaves and wandered just out of reach of all the little kids. Once they had been properly scolded by the zookeepers for stepping on the grass, I got to make my move. This is where long adult arms come in handy. 

It didn't feel exactly like what I thought it would. It was a bit more coarse than I expected, or it just really needed a bath. Do zoo kangaroos get baths? Their fur seemed to be like velcro for all the little leaf and grass bits laying around. 

The Nashville Zoo, while small, is a great way to spend a Saturday. And you never know, you might just get to pet some fun animals. 

And before you comment on this post just to tell me I'm crazy, believe me, I know. 

#4: Sushi-tastic

Tonight we went out for dinner at Bodeli Sushi in Cool Springs with our friends Faith and Kalis. It was my first time at a rotating sushi bar, and it definitely turned out to be an adventure. 

This was our chef. He made all of the rolls right in front of us, which was really neat.

I ordered my usual vegetarian roll, yum! I had already eaten five pieces before I took this picture.

Next were the spring rolls:

I got some chicken fried rice as well...that and veggie roll is my usual. I ate about two bites before the chef started making us all sorts of crazy rolls and it got pretty intense.

I don't know what kind some of these are because he would just make them and hand us a plate.

Had two of this jalepeno roll: 

One of this Angela roll:

One of this kind with the lemon, which was really interesting.

Shane ate all of these salmon things (along with all the other pieces I didn't eat, these plates were only ours, he made a plate for for each couple):

Ate one of the crunchy shrimp:

And one of the red ones of whatever this was (this was the only plate we all shared): 

Kalis had ordered these ice cream balls before the sushi flood gates opened. They were wrapped in rice cakes? according to our chef. I shared a mango one with Faith. 

By the end we were all ready to explode. We walked out of there with a few takeout boxes of rice and sushi. 

It was all really good, honestly I didn't eat anything I didn't like. And this is coming from a person who doesn't eat fish and has never eaten anything other than a veggie roll. I'm really proud of both Shane and myself for trying so many new things. 

If you're ever in the Cool Springs area, definitely check out Bodeli. You might want to fast for a few days beforehand though...