The Mardis Family Toddler Trot

After Daniel and I ran our 10K and Katie and Lee ran their first half marathon (BIG deal!), and  Charlotte got to run a little "sprint" after her parents' race, so Felicity wanted in on the action.

Before we sat down to dig in, we orchestrated the First Annual Mardis Family Toddler Trot! Well, total it was more like 4 mini races because once they got started, there was no stopping them! "Again! I want to do another one!" Who can say no to these cuties?

On your mark, get set, GO!

The welcoming committee at the finish line--waiting with a high five!

Toddler Trot Part 2 or 3

Mom/Aunt Kirby with the proud finishers!

And then ensued the post-race celebrations of playing in the leaves! 

Such a fun memory and I loved getting to have the whole family in one house together :) 

Gobble Jog 2012

School and work have taken over my life. Between end of the semester projects, papers, and quizzes in combination with a 30 hour work week and the start of the holidays, I have been one very busy girl! And a busy girl means that I have been a slacking blogger. But school is winding down (work is still crazy) but at least that's one big chunk of a time eater that's going away by this Wednesday! So a recap in parts:

Thanksgiving morning started with an early wake up call after a night of sleeping on an air mattress (lots of family over means limited bed space in the Mardis household!) and bundling up before Daniel and I headed towards downtown Marietta!

I kind of liked running in cooler weather but I don't know if I could ever run a race without a theme...4th of July, Thanksgiving...a race without costumes just wouldn't be a race!

I loved running through neighborhoods because of the community feel--people were outside drinking coffee and bloody mary's, eating doughnuts, playing the tuba, cheering, and of course wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving! So fun!

(I don't think you can read the sign, but it says "Ferver Drive Welcomes Gobble Joggers"--love it!)

I finished the race in 1:09:58, my fastest time yet! I really was keeping a steady pace the whole time, but I was especially proud that I ran the whole thing--as in no walking! Woop! Woop! 

Me and my fellow finisher 

8 10K's down, lots more to go!

My Nugget and My Number

I had a ton of fun! The rest of my Thanksgiving Day recap is on it's way!

On the Road Again

Tomorrow morning, I'm running my first non-Peachtree 10K! I've run 7 Peachtrees so I'd say I'm pretty experienced with the course, the hot temperatures, and thousands of people surrounding me on the 6.2 mile race. The Gobble Jog might be just a bit different. I'm guessing about 30 degrees cooler, a few (or more than a few) less thousand people, and I have no clue how hilly or flat the course is. I feel pretty prepared for the race after getting back in the swing of running these past few months--I think I might even like a race in cooler temperatures! Wish me (and my brother in law, Daniel!) luck and think of me when you're rolling out of bed probably by the time I'll be headed back home to crawl back in bed after the race! And then, of course, pig out on some yummy Thanksgiving treats to reward myself :) 

Trendy and (one day) Professional

The other day I wore one of my favorite dresses from Anthro. It's a classic little black dress in a not so classic cut, which is what I love about it. It's the perfect nice wedding dress. Case and point:

But for work, I need a few layers for warmth (it is always freezing in the store!!) and just a little bit of outfitting to spruce it up. So this was the outcome of my attempts of layering.

I felt like this was totally blog post worthy because our personal stylist at the store even complimented my outfitting so that put some extra pep in my step after that! 

Dress: Cutout Collar Dress; Anthropologie

This is so my "go to" belt from Anthro...and I loved that it was brown enough to toe the line with brown and black, but not an obvious clashing. 

Sweater: Merona Ruffle Cardigan; Target. Belt: Anthropologie

 So I had to lean over and take a selfy of my legs for this one...so 1) I have lumpy knees 2) not the most flattering angle, but you do what you gotta do for the sake of a blog post, right? 

Tights: Sheer Polka Dot Tights; Antrhopologie. Boots: Wedge Boot with Buckles; Cathy Jean 

 Earrings: Pave Posts; Anthropologie

Tah-dah!! One of these days when I have for real job as a counselor, I totally plan on wearing this outfit to the office sometime. Trendy and (one of these days) professional. 

Another Year Older and Hopefully Wiser

This past Tuesday was my 26th birthday! Like I've mentioned a time or two before, I love birthdays and this year was no exception! Since I had asked the day off of work and didn't have class, I had a whole day to celebrate!

The morning wasn't too exciting; I enjoyed a big bowl of oatmeal, a long run, and some TV. All of which are rarities on most week days.

Brittany (Pease) Hughes and I met up at Moe's for lunch so I could get my free birthday entree--let the free birthday goodies begin!! Since Pease had time to kill between work and swim practice, we headed over to Town Center so we could test out some mattresses to go with Brittany and Ross' new king bed they just bought! Macy's has an awesome clearance section of mattresses that are crazy marked down so Pease and I had some fun going from bed to bed to compare and contrast. They both went back that night and bought the one she and I put as our first pick!

After that, we headed over to Old Navy because they have some really great dresses lately!! I only meant to buy one dress, but after trying on both of these, it was too hard to turn either of them down!

After a little shopping splurge, I decided to keep up the self pampering after Brittany had to leave for swim practice so I stopped by Starbucks for my free latte before going to get a manicure and pedicure. Starbucks, mini massages, and getting my nails done--pure girly bliss. 

Later that night I went to dinner with friends and family at Mirko! I hate that I have so many friends that are so far away, but it is pretty great to finally have a birthday in Marietta with so many of my close friends I haven't gotten to celebrate with in serveral years while I was off celebrating with Chattanooga and Athens friends! A little give and take I guess. But I had such a great time seeing so many people I love in one place and that is the best present I could have gotten! 

I think birthdays are such great reminders of how wealthy I am in great friendships with some many people that I care so much about! What a great birthday and here's to a great 26th year of life :) 

Friday Night Football Game-For Old Time's Sake

After coming home from Athens, I had talked to Kirby about her plans to go watch Lee's marching band perform at their last regular home game of the season with her family. I was plan-less so I decided it was a good idea to join when I got the invite! It was so much fun to hang out with Felicity, relive my marching band days, and spend time with family on a chilly fall night!

The Girls :)

The Clelands'

Felicity is not always nearly as fond of Uncle Lee as she was this Friday so we were pretty excited about this and took it as a photo opp!

Trying to win over Felicity to the idea of wearing her owl hat was not as easy...instead Daniel was just making a fashion statement. 

Wearing Gigi's gloves that were a liiiitle too big! Adorable. 

Reliving my high school days vicariously through the Norcross Band! 

One of my favorite things that Felicity did that night was that she kept asking where the football players were and saying that she wanted to put on a football helmet and play football later! Hilarious. And adorable.

Update on the Alpha Gam House

This past Friday, I went to Athens to do my advisor duties and meet with my collegiate girl to do some change in membership status meetings. I am so so grateful to have a flexible schedule at this time in my life to be able to pick up on a Friday morning and spend most of the day in Athens to help out. After a few hours of conferences and a pit stop on North Campus so I could walk under the Arch just because I can...I was headed to visit with Mischa and Paytton at their new house in Bishop--a short drive from the Classic City. I took a slight detour for the purpose to stalking the house to take these pictures just for you! I am a dedicated blogger here, people.

So for the house update: There are walls! It looks more like a house. But the latest news I found out at Exec this past Sunday is that the move in date has been pushed back until the end of January due to rainy day delays on building. Also, mark your calendars Gamma Alpha alums! IRD is April 20th this Spring and we'll have an open house to get a peek into the addition! I know I'll be there for sure!

And just some of droves of cars of the construction workers taking over our what used to be the alum lot. 

It's coming along and I know without a doubt that it will be absolutely beautiful and will look more like an addition to the original house rather than a 70ish looking afterthought.