Tiger Trek

A couple of weeks after Bo Bikes Bama our local Auburn club had their Tiger Trek night where Coach Gene Chizik (Auburn's football coach) spoke, scholarships for next year were awarded to two future Auburn students, and a silent auction to raise more money for scholarships took place. I had to watch J (the kid I nanny for) overnight so he had to tag along since I had already bought a ticket to attend. He got to meet Aubie (Auburn's mascot) and had Coach Chizik sign his football. We also bid on some items in the silent auction and won three of them.

He was so nice when he talked to J and signed our stuff

Coach Chizik speaking

One of my wins from the silent auction-priceless!

What I had Coach Chizik sign for Allan

We also walked away with a $35 Gigi's Cupcakes giftcard as well as a picnic basket with an Auburn tablecloth and a wooden bowl in it. All in all I would say it was a pretty great night and I'm sure they were able to raise a lot of money for scholarships. Now if I can just make it until football season starts again I'll be fine!

Are you a college football fan?

Do you participate in alumni events for the high school and/or college you graduated from?
**Both of us have our 10 year HS reunions this summer which we are honestly looking forward to!

Our First Vlog

Alright, let me be the first to say that I assumed I could shoot a video on my iPhone, upload it to my computer, and it would be done. Wrong! It took Allan and his fancy computer ten minutes to do what I spent two hours trying to do and then it took me 5 days to get the video to load because I didn't hit upload. Just don't ask! It's finished and we really hope you guys enjoy it!

A few notes before watching:

1. Turn up the volume.
2. Ignore my appearance (I literally woke up 5 min before we shot this!)
3. Our next vlog will be better and won't take me a week to post!

What relationship advice would you give others?
What's the best relationship advice you've ever been given?

Bo Bikes Bama

In the past month I've had the opportunity to attend a couple of events in our area that important to the Auburn family. Bo Bikes Bama took place in April over the course of a week during which Bo Jackson (Auburn football player, Heisman winner) biked across Alabama to raise money for the Governor's Emergency Relief Fund and raised over $500,000. A friend of ours from college rode from Guntersville to Cullman so I volunteered to drop him off.

As soon as I parked I saw someone who I would have sworn was Scottie Pippen. A few minutes later I found myself standing in front of Ken Griffey Jr. and all I could think was that Allan has his rookie card and I could be getting it signed.

I felt so short next to Scottie Pippen

Bo spoke for a few minutes and then they headed off but not before I took a couple of photos!

Getting ready to ride-Bo Jackson is in the center of the photo

Our friend who rode from Guntersville to Cullman

Any bike riders out there?
**I ride Allan's bike every now and then but there's no way I could have biked 50 miles in a day.

Speechless Sunday-Gaylord Opryland Hotel

Wish You Were Here by Beth K. Vogt Review

In Wish You Were Here Beth addresses one of the worst fears of any bride leading up to her wedding day: Am I marrying the right man? Allison wasn't sure about that after an accidental kiss with her groom's brother (the best man) left her with feelings she couldn't deny for him and not her fiance. Leaving the groom at the altar and stealing her best friend's car are just the beginning of the mess Allison gets herself into as she embarks on a journey to first discover who she wants to be before she can decide who she wants to be with. That journey isn't without its own adventures as two brothers fight for her attention and love whether they mean to or not. Allison learns one of life's hardest lessons that she can't control everything. She must relinquish control and let God take control of her life if she ever wants to be happy.

Book Info

About the book: Wish You Were Here | Beth K. Vogt Allison Denman is supposed to get married in five days, but everything is all wrong. The huge wedding. The frothy dress. And the groom. Still, kissing the groom's brother in an unguarded moment is decidedly not the right thing to do. How could she have made such a mistake? It seems Allison's life is nothing but mistakes at this point. And pulling a "Runaway Bride" complete with stealing, er, borrowing her best friend's car doesn't seem to solve her problems. Can Allison find her way out of this mess? Maybe she just needs to stop orchestrating everything. Allison prefers being the one in control, and giving it up is not going to be easy. But to find her way again, she will have to believe that God has a plan for her and find the strength to let Him lead. About Beth:  Beth K. Vogt provides her readers with a happily ever after woven through with humor, reality, and God's lavish grace. She's a non-fiction author and editor who said she'd never write fiction. She's the wife of an Air Force physician (now in solo practice) who said she'd never marry a doctor-or anyone in the military. She's a mom of four who said she'd never have kids. Beth has discovered that God's best often waits behind the doors marked "Never." She writes contemporary romance because she believes there's more to happily ever after than the fairy tales tell us. Beth earned a journalism degree from San Jose State University and met her husband Rob when he knocked her down at a karate studio. They've been married for 31 years. They have four children, ranging in ages from 28, 25, 23 and - thanks to a funny thing happening on their way to the empty nest-a 10-year-old. The Vogt Team, which now includes a "daughter-in-love" and "son-in-love," enjoys hiking and camping in Colorado. Read more about Beth at her website. Link to buy the book Blog Tour Schedule

Celebrate with Beth by entering her Wish You Were Here Giveaway!

One "happy" winner will receive:

• A brand new iPad with Wi-Fi (The must-have, do-everything gadget!)
• Wish You Were Here by Beth Vogt (Swoon worthy.)
• $15 iTunes Gift Card (Music, books, apps, & more.)

Hurry, the giveaway ends on 6/4/12. The winner will be announced 6/6/12 on Beth's website!

Just click one of the icons below to enter! Tell your friends about Beth's giveaway on FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

I received this book free of charge from Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest review.

Viola Valley Half Marathon Recap

The Good

• Beautiful course
• Friendly and helpful volunteers at the aid stations
• Personalized email with my results within hours of the race
• No hassle with parking, packet pickup, pre-race bathrooms, etc.
• People who lived along the course were out in their yards cheering, hosing us down, and doling out much needed words of encouragement

The Bad

• Rolling hills were prevalent along the course and killed my hopes of a new PR but I still loved the course and will run it again if they continue to have the race
• Ashley AKA redonk runner mentioned this in her recap: 8AM start in the south in May is probably not a great idea so I'd like to see it start at 7AM for future races

This was our approach to the Mile 12 marker

 The Ugly

Honestly, nothing was ugly as far as the race is concerned. My steak the night before, however, is an entirely different story...

I could have taken 100 pictures of the course but I used restraint so here are some of my favorites!

I love old barns!

We turned off the road up ahead and ran to the left

COWS! Hands down my favorite buddies along the course!

Gorgeous corn field that I'm sure will be breathtaking later this summer and fall

Oops, I totally forgot to mention my time. I finished in 2:37:09 which is exactly 12:00 miles. I was pleased with my time considering the hills and the heat. Call me crazy but this was just as hot and hilly as Nashville yet I ran it more than 12 minutes faster. I'm convinced that if you put me on back country roads with some grass, trees, cows, and no hills and turn me loose I'm going to run a fast race. I enjoy the peace and quiet and I never run with music so being able to enjoy the scenery and not have to weave around people or listen to other people's conversations makes me a happy runner!

What's the most scenic race you've participated in?

What's the most beautiful place you've been on vacation?
***Bahamas!!! Not Nassau but a small remote island where our friends have a house. No phone, no internet, and no worries!

Anniversary Gifts

I had hoped to do a vlog for today's post about what we had leaned in our first three years of marriage but I'm not home until late tonight so that will have to wait until tomorrow. I am going to take a minute and brag on Allan for being an excellent gift getter. He may not always say what he thinks or feels but he always finds a great card and an absolutely amazing present to remind me how lucky I am to have him. Three years ago after we got married we went on our honeymoon to Ft. Lauderdale/Miami, FL, and I stepped into Neiman Marcus for the first time and made my way to the shoes. I slipped my feet into a pair of Manolo Blahniks and fell in love. They were orange and fit like a glove! They were on clearance at the time but I couldn't justify spending hundreds of dollars on a pair of shoes. One year later for our first anniversary these shoes made their way into my life and they are the crown jewel of my shoe collection!

Absolutely gorgeous!

Allan set the bar pretty high giving me these shoes and last year when I took my jewelry to get cleaned in February I fell in love with a pearl ring. This is one of the only pieces of jewelry I've picked out for myself and unfortunately by the time our anniversary arrived last May I had lost all of my jewelry except for my diamond studs and wedding rings. Luckily my best friend found them in my library (don't ask because I have no idea how they winded up in the chair in there!) over New Year's so lately I've been wearing my pearl ring that was supposed to be my second anniversary present. It's one of those pieces of jewelry that once you put it on you know instantly that it was made for you. I realize how cliche that sounds but I swear it's true with this ring.

I'm normally not big on rings with thicker bands but I loved the intricate detail in this one

Last Friday as Allan and I sat in the hotel with our laptops I showed him an email I had gotten about a Soleus watch and Spibelt combo deal. I'm all about a good deal so I hopped online to research the watch and stumbled upon this blog's review. That review pretty much sealed the deal for me that I would be getting this watch. The fact that I get a Spibelt too is a bonus since I already love my Spiband! Allan told me to buy it so I'm guessing this is my anniversary gift. This watch will be put to good use this summer as I focus on more speed work. I realize I've committed a cardinal sin in the running world by not getting a Garmin but the review I read did a great job comparing features of this watch to that of a lower end Garmin and I think for me this watch will be perfect. Once I've had time to use it for awhile I'll be sure to post a review on the blog.

Super excited to test this out!

I don't bring up these presents as evidence that Allan loves me. It's the things that you can't wrap in a package or put a price tag on that show me how he feels day after day.

• driving for hours to a small town to watch me run a half while you sweat to death waiting for me to finally finish
• hitting the clear button on the microwave when there's extra time left because you know it will drive me nuts if you don't
• tucking me in at nighttime since I have the bedtime of an old lady
• never leaving the toilet seat up
• your devotion to God, country, family, and friends
• loving Sasha and Lucky almost as much as I do
• encouraging my independence 
• always... (this is an inside thing between Allan and I with regards to forgiveness which is ALWAYS freely given without question)

The day we got engaged-4/21/08

Here's to many more years together Allan! I love you Punkin! Fingers crossed that we get to do a vlog which I promise will have cute wedding pictures.