Playing catch up

Here are the highlights of the last several months told by photos because I really can't remember. My brain was very frazzled the first half of the year.  I'll post separately about all of the major running events that Chris has done in the first half of the year later.

November-January

Chris bought me a new Jeep in November!  I've always wanted a Jeep and I couldn't be happier with him, his name is Maximus.

Our Christmas card photo for 2014

New Year's Eve 2014.  We went out to dinner with friends and we were in bed by 10:30!

February-March

For Chris's Valentine's Day present I got him tickets to a whiskey tasting.  He was very excited about it and found several new whiskeys that he likes.

Chris bought me a new Kate Spade purse for my Valentine's Day present.

We celebrated Valentine's Day at one of our favorite restaurants and of course we had to get dessert to celebrate!

Opening day for Razorback baseball 2015

My annual Ribby the Razorback opening day picture.

March was a very interesting month with things breaking.  I was going to go to Vegas in May with Chris since he was going to be there for conference.  But, the rule of 3 happened and I needed a new tire replaced in my new Jeep, the stove blow up and had to be replaced and the heater gave out!  So needless to say I didn't end up going to Vegas!

New stove!

We attended the Wine Opener for Cystic Fibrosis.

I celebrated my birthday with a bright dress that my sister bought me.

Newton wasn't happy about not having any heat.  We woke up and it was in the low 40s in the house.

April- May

Baxter finally got a haircut!

We spent most of our time of course at Baum Stadium!

We attended a Country Chic Gala and we even had to buy Chris a cowboy shirt.  I already had the denim jacket and cowboy boots.

Easter 2015

Last home series for the regular year.

MIA

You've probably been wondering why I haven't posted anything in several months.  Since Christmas my work life turned into a living hell.  My boss hated me so much that she changed my schedule 10 minutes before I left on Christmas break just to ruin my time off.  She was so hateful and mean about it that I finally decided to start looking for another job.  I devoted all of my spare time into finding a new job.  I probably applied for 80 jobs from January to April and went on close to 10 interviews. 

During that time I continued to do the best job that I could.  I loved working there and I planned on staying there for a very long time.  But, my boss just kept making it harder and harder for me to stay there.  She started denying all of my vacation requests yet she would approve all of my other co-workers requests.  I would leave work most days in tears because of how she treated me. I had just about given up when I applied for a job at an area health care provider.  I wasn't sure if I would get it or not so I went ahead and told my boss that we had booked a vacation in October to Jamaica.  She denied my vacation request and said that I took excessive vacations and that she would not approve it.  I was so upset and hurt that I didn't know what to do. 

Thankfully I got the job at the health care provider and everything has worked out for the best.  I love it there and I'm so thankful that I left.  It's been to nice being at a place where everyone appreciates you and having nights and weekends off is an added bonus!!  Now that I'm finally starting to settle into my new work routine I promise to post more on the blog.

Funkytown

This is the longest I've gone without posting to our blog but I really haven't had any motivation to blog or had anything to blog about.  Since about June I've been in a funk, I really don't know how to describe it.  I know that Chris has noticed it and he's been trying to get me out of it.  So if you're wondering why I haven't been acting normally this is why.  Hopefully I'll be back to my normal self soon.  I don't want people to think that there is something wrong with me and I really haven't been spending time with anyone but Chris anyways.  He's gotten the brunt of my mood!

We really didn't do much over the summer.  We celebrated our 12th anniversary on June 8th.  We didn't do anything big since our trip to Mexico was our gift to each other. We attended a couple of charity galas, and watched fireworks.  In August we went to Mena for a wedding and watched some dirt track racing with Chris's family.  That's pretty much the highlights for us over the last couple of months.  Chris has been running a lot because he's training for the St. Louis marathon next month.  So we're really looking forward to a mini vacation.

Child Safety Center Gala

Color of Hope Gala

31

So last Wednesday I turned 31.  For some reason turning 31 was harder than turning 30.  I guess it felt like I was actually in my 30s now.  I started off my birthday festivities with Kathleen.  We of course had to stop by Bliss Cupcakes to celebrate.  I really didn't do anything fun for my actual birthday since Chris was out of town and didn't get back until 10 that night.  I did go to the eye doctor and got some new glasses ordered so that I can see.

I went with black frames and I hope they look okay.  I decided to go with something that I've never had before.  My other option was a wear that was pretty similar to what I already have.

I do love the side details on the frames. 

My sister made this for my birthday.  She knows that I love chevron and she put the heart were we where married at.

She also got me this initial bracelet. 

Thursday Chris took me to Tulsa for the day to celebrate and of course eat some really good food.  We also scooped out the route for the Color Run.  I was worried there might be some hills but it looks pretty flat.  Which is a good thing for me.  Friday and Saturday we went to the baseball games and Saturday night we went out with our friends to celebrate.

We stopped by Garden Ridge in Tulsa and bought a new rug for the living room.

I think I've decided I like the new ribbon boards at Baum.

One day

For the past several months I have been attempting to run.  I started back in August but since January I've been trying to run more constantly.  If you would have asked me three months ago if I thought that I could run for 30 minutes I would have laughed at you.  But yesterday I officially ran for 30 minutes straight!  This is a huge accomplishment for me since I have never been an athletic person.  I don't consider myself a runner yet since I'm extremely slow but hopefully one day I can call myself that.  I've decided to do my first 5K next month in Tulsa.  I wanted to do a fun 5K so I'm going to do the Color Run.  I may have to crawl across the finish line to finish but one way or another I'm going to do it!  I think the thing that is really holding my running back are my shin splints.  I'm not really sure what else I can do for them but my left shin hurts so bad sometimes that it feels like it's broken.  I've been professionally fitted for running shoes and I have inserts.  I do all of the stretches for shin splints but it my be something that I just have to get use to.  If there are any runners out there that have any advice please leave me a comment.  Chris has been training for the Hogeye half marathon.  I've been so proud of how hard he is working towards his goals.  He's lost 70 pounds and he's up to running 9 miles!  He's been such an inspiration to some many people and especially to me!! So if you've been wondering why I haven't updated the blog in awhile that's one of the reasons why.  Hopefully there will be a blog post soon with pictures from my first 5K!

I look like an old lady wearing compression sleeves!

I highly recommend compression sleeves to anyone who has shin splints!!  This is one of the only reasons I have been able to keep running.

The ABCs of Mel

 I've seen this on several blogs on the internet so I thought that I would share with you guys the ABCs of me.  Maybe some of followers who don't know me very well will get some insight into my crazy world! 

A. Age: 29
B. Bed size: Queen.  Sometimes I wish we had a King though!!
C. Chore you hate: Cleaning the toilet but I also hate getting gas in my car.
D. Dogs: Baxter, Morgan and Newton
E. Essential start to your day: Chocolate milk
F. Favorite color: Red and Purple
G. Gold or silver: Silver
H. Height: 5’2
I. Instruments you play: Sadly none
J. Job title: Information Assistant
K. Kids: Our dogs are our children for right now
L. Live: Northwest Arkansas
M. Mom’s name: Marietta
N. Nicknames: Mel, MelMel, Mellie, Melon, Magoo
O. Overnight hospital stays: Yes, when I had to have an emergency appendectomy.
P. Pet peeve: When people spit in front of me or when people are late and they don't call.
Q. Quote from a movie: "Not you, fat Jesus" - The Hangover
R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Siblings: Half sister  Kristine and younger sister Mayline
T. Time you wake up: 6:45
U. Underwear: I'm assuming this means what brand is your favorite, Victoria Secret
V. Vegetables you dislike: Green peppers
W. What makes you run late: Other people.  I can't stand being late!!
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Left arm, neck, and teeth
Y. Yummy food you make:  Considering I can't cook there isn't much that would be good.  But I can cook mashed potatoes okay.
Z. Zoo- favorite animal: Anything at an aquarium.