Seven Wonderful Years

Our favorite wedding photo, taken by our dear friend and amazing photographer, Orlando.

I can hardly believe that seven years have passed since our wedding day, which I will always remember as the best day of my life. Last night, as we celebrated, we watched and re-watched our wedding video, so thankful that a family friend had thought to bring their camera with to document a few moments of our day. It brought back a flood of memories -- Leslie's beautiful voice as she sang at the ceremony -- walking down the aisle with my Dad -- the warm laughter of the whole room as Orlando worked to perfect the photograph of us cutting the cake -- Daniel as an eleven-year-old, strutting in front of the camera -- Mark's mom's laughter filling the air during Mark's toast.

God has blessed us again and again over the years, and I couldn't have asked Him for a more wonderful husband.

Mark, thank you for your endless love and support. Thank you for understanding the demands of my job that take me away so often - I miss you tonight. Thank you for the beautiful meals that you lovingly prepared for me this weekend -- the seared tuna and avocado sandwiches with sweet potato fries were amazing, the grilled shrimp and sauteed spinach were delicious, and the crab and shrimp stuffed salmon with hollandaise sauce was Out Of This World. You have a way of making me feel so incredibly special. I can't wait to watch our future unfold and look forward to the many years to come. Happy Anniversary, honey. I love you!

Training in the Windy City

Just got back from a week in Chicago:) As I was recovering from last weekend's awesome marathon training run, I was reminded of another recent trip back home where I had the opportunity to do a Saturday morning run along Lake Michigan.

We were staying with Mark's dad, so I began the run at 55th Street, and made my way north towards downtown. It was a cool and cloudy day with a few sprinkles - perfect running weather - and I loved every minute of the 10-mile run.

As I was leaving, I turned back to grab my cell phone, remembering just how much fun I had documenting my run in San Francisco last year. Here are the snapshots I took, some better than others:

Cloudy Chicago Skyline

Shedd Aquarium

Soldier Field (GO BEARS!)

Gold Star Families Memorial and Park

Waterfall behind McCormick Place

20-Miles Strong

With 2 of my running buddies, Lindsey and Kandyce - 20 miles conquered!

Looking back on the last few months of blog posts, I realized that not only have the postings been scarce, but they have also done a very poor job of documenting my marathon training experience. Last year, I shared story after story of my journey, and this season with just four weeks to go I'm sorry to say that I've given you nothing.

Training has had its fair shares of ups and downs, with the ups far outweighing the downs this time around. I started out with a great pair of shoes that have given me no trouble with blisters and callouses. Best of all, its the right type of shoe for me, correcting the knee issues of last season. Hallelujah! Still, even with best support in shoes out there, I still over-pronate and have turned to supplemental arch supports help reduce shin splints and keep me from more serious injury.

Aside from the mechanics of it all (is there really more than that?!?!), the Team In Training experience has been amazing. I'm proud to be running and fundraising for this great organization, supporting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I've met some amazing people -both fellow runners, and team honorees - that have inspired and encouraged me along the way. Injury prevention clinics and track workouts have been scheduled over the course of the last few months for our benefit. And I am beyond thankful for having a group to share my long endurance runs each Saturday morning.

These events are so well planned, with courses mapped, miles marked and water stops (with ice, water, Gatorade, pretzels, energy bars, Gu's - you name it), that I look back to last year as I tried to do 14, 16, 18 miles on my own, and I cringe. This morning was the peak of it all with a 20 mile run, in San Francisco, with all the local chapters present for the event.

Living near the race destination sure has its benefits! We did a "course preview" running a fair portion of the Nike Marathon course. Let me tell you, there were hills that challenged me to no end, and it was grueling and tough, but I finished it and now feel more prepared than ever for October 19th!

And when it was all over, we crossed the street and submerged our tired legs in the Pacific Ocean! It was the most refreshing feeling I've ever experienced - the perfect way to ice the soreness away.

Bring on the cold!

Icing our sore legs in the Pacific Ocean - amazing.

Quality Friday: Every Day is a Celebration

We love our new home. Although the boxes are not quite unpacked, we feel settled and content here, and can't get enough of our surroundings. The scenery - endless miles of rolling hills, lush green trees and breathtaking views - will never grow old. And our new town has a great downtown area with cute shops and fun restaurants, so different from the area we left.

Seems like every chance we get, we're hopping in the car to explore the area around us. Its been much easier to do so given my light travel schedule the past two weeks, and that Mark no longer works on weekends (yay!).

Last Saturday afternoon, with me in a celebratory mood after a good, long, training run, we decided to head towards the neighboring town of Guerneville, and found ourselves at the world famous Korbel Vinyards for champagne tasting and a delicious lunch at the Korbel Delicatessen.

The view was amazing,

the champagne - thoroughly enjoyable,

and we brought home our fair share for future indulgence.

Wasting no time, we opened a bottle that evening, enjoying it with a decadent meal of smoked salmon, served on crackers with red onion and capers, and fine cheese. And like so many moments during these past weeks, we've found ourselves toasting and celebrating life.

Hope that you have had cause to celebrate recently! Cheers to you this Quality Friday!

Country Living

City boy and girl have officially moved to the country.

Some days, we step outside and can smell the cows that live down the road.

Yesterday, on a trip to the local Walgreens, we met this rooster and some of his friends who were hanging out near the entrance.


And late at night, when we're sitting on our balcony we see deer playing along the creek bed that lies less than 50 feet from our home, sometimes even venturing up to the paved path. Earlier tonight, two of them curiously watched me as I tried to quietly take their picture.